England, Bristol, Non-Conformist Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection contains an index to birth, baptismal, marriage, and burial records from the city of Bristol for the years 1777-1936. The records come primarily from the following denominations: Methodist, Society of Friends (Quakers), Catholic, Presbyterian, Unitarian, Wesleyan, Swedenborgian, Congregational, and Baptist. The original records are held at the Bristol Records Office.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:

Birth
 * Name of declarant (usu. father)
 * Age, occupation and residence of declarant
 * Name of child
 * Sex of child
 * Date and place of birth
 * Names of parents, including maiden name
 * Names, ages, and occupations of witnesses (usu. godparents)
 * Residence of parents

Baptismal
 * Date and place of baptism
 * Given name of child
 * Date and place of birth
 * Names of parents
 * Occupation of father
 * Legitimacy of child *Marital status of parents
 * Names of godparents

Marriage
 * Date and place of marriage
 * Names of bride and groom
 * Ages of bride and groom
 * Previous marital statuses of bride and groom
 * Occupations of bride and groom
 * Residences of bride and groom
 * Birthplaces of bride and groom
 * Names of parents, including maiden names
 * Names, ages, and occupations of witnesses

Death and Burial
 * Date and place of burial
 * Date and place of death
 * Name of deceased
 * Age at death
 * Cause of death
 * Marital status of deceased
 * Name of spouse
 * Birthdate and place of deceased
 * Residence of deceased
 * Occupation of deceased
 * Surviving family members
 * Father of deceased, esp. if infant
 * Occupation of father, esp. if infant

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching, it is best to know the following information:
 * Name of the person
 * Date range for the record

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. The city lies between Somerset and Gloucestershire and has been politically administered by both counties in part at various times
 * 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
 * When you search christening records, remember that it was not unusual for a child to be christened weeks or even months after birth
 * Note that marriages often took place in the town where the bride resided

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in England.
 * England Guided Research
 * England Record Finder
 * Research Tips and Strategies

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.