England, Cambridgeshire Bishop's Transcripts - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
The collection contains an index to and images of baptismal, marriage, and burial records for the county of Cambridge for the years 1599-1860. The collection was originally filmed at the Cambridge University Library.

Bishop’s transcripts contain much of the same information as parish registers, and serve as a replacement when a parish register has been damaged or unavailable. Bishop's transcripts may provide additional information than the original registers.

Image Visibility
Whenever possible, FamilySearch makes images available for all users. However, ultimate rights to view images on our website are granted by the record custodians. Images in this collection are available for viewing if you are a registered FamilySearch user. You can register for a free FamilySearch account here.

For additional information about image restrictions, please see the Restrictions for Viewing Images in FamilySearch Historical Record Collections page.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
Birth records include:
 * Name of the child
 * Date and place of birth
 * Gender
 * Names of parents

Baptism records include:
 * Name of the child
 * Date and place of baptism
 * Names of parents

Marriage records include:
 * Name of the bride and groom
 * Date and place of marriage
 * Marital status
 * Age
 * Estimated birth years
 * Names of parents

Death records include:
 * Name of the deceased
 * Date and place of death
 * Gender
 * Age
 * Estimated birth year

Burial records include:
 * Name of the deceased
 * Date and place of burial
 * Age
 * Estimated birth year

Digital Folder Number List
This collection was published as a DGS browse collection. A table listing each DGS number and its contents can be found at England, Cambridgeshire Bishop's Transcripts, Digital Folder Number List (FamilySearch Historical Records).

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * Name of the person
 * Approximate date of the event

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Save or print a copy of the image or record, if possible. The original may contain information that was not recorded in the index
 * Use the information which you have found to estimate ages in other life events. For example, use a christening date to approximate a marriage date, or a burial record to calculate an estimated year of birth
 * Once you have found a christening or a burial church record, you may want to search for birth and death in civil records (1837 and later)
 * Use the information you have found to find the person and families in census records
 * Continue to search the index to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives. Note that family members often appear on an individual's records, such as in the role of witnesses to a marriage

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * When looking for an individual with a common name, look at all the search results before deciding which is the correct person
 * If your ancestor does not have a common name, collect entries for every person who has the same surname
 * Be careful using the listed age on a marriage record to estimate a birth year. Rather than listing actual ages, clerks often wrote in 21 as the age of both the bride and groom to show that they each were of legal age
 * Search the records of nearby locations
 * Check for other names. An individual might have been listed under a middle name, a nickname, or an abbreviation of their given name
 * Spelling was not standardized for much of the period of this collection, so names were often spelled as scribes heard them. Try searching based on how the name may have been pronounced
 * Vary the search terms. For example, expand the date range or search by either the given name or surname to return a broader list of results
 * The individual might not have records in the Church of England at all, but rather might have belonged to a nonconformist denomination
 * When you search baptismal records, remember that it was not unusual for a child to be baptized weeks or even months after birth
 * Note that marriages often took place in the parish where the bride resided
 * Consult the England Record Finder to find other records

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used..

“England, Cambridgeshire, Bishop's Transcripts, 1599-1860.” Database. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : accessed 2017. Citing Cambridge University Library, England.
 * Collection Citation:

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