England, Kent, Canterbury Parish Registers - FamilySearch Historical Records

England Kent

Collection Contents
These parish registers will include baptisms, marriages, banns, and burials records filmed at the Canterbury Cathedral Archives. The index is being created by FindMyPast.com

Earlier registers contain lists of events in the parish. This means that christenings, marriages, and burials could be grouped together on one page. Later registers (especially after 1812) contained more information depending upon the minister keeping the records. Eventually, printed forms were used and filled out by hand.

Children were usually christened a few weeks after birth, but you may find adult christenings as well. Some families would use the same name for multiple children until one survived past childhood. Because of this you may find multiple children that seem to be the same person with different christening dates.

Marriage banns were required by law. This meant couples had to have the minister announce or post notice of their intent to marry for three Sundays unless they obtained a license. This gave others the opportunity to object to the marriage. Usually banns do not list the marriage date. Marriage banns meant that a couple was planning on getting married. Don’t assume that a couple actually followed through until you find further proof.

Burials usually took place in the deceased’s parish a few days after the death.

How Do I Search the Collection?
As you are searching it is helpful to know such information as your ancestor's given name, surname, residence, age, and family relationships. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times.

Search the Collection
To browse by image: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select the "Name of Town, Parish/Church" category ⇒Select the "Event Type and Year Range (with Volume)" category which takes you to the images

What Do I Do Next?

 * Use the estimated age to calculate a birth date.
 * Burial registers may mention infant children, including stillbirths, who were not christened.
 * Use the name, birthplace, relatives listed, and county of residence to search census records.
 * Use the date of the marriage bann to estimate a marriage date and look for the marriage record. Remember that the existence of a marriage bann doesn’t mean a couple actually got married.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * It was common practice in families to give their child the Christian name of a deceased older sibling. Pay careful attention to multiple mentions of the same name and event dates associated with that name.
 * Titles may be clues to property ownership, occupations, rank, or status within the community.
 * Continue to search the index and records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives.
 * The posting of banns doesn’t mean that a marriage actually took place.
 * Stillbirths are never found on christening records.

What if I Can't Find Who I'm Looking For?

 * Consider searching the records of nearby localities. Canterbury is located within Kent County, so you might try searching for records within that area.
 * Try searching bishop’s transcripts, which are copies of parish records and useful when it appears a parish record may be incomplete or damaged.
 * Your ancestor may have changed religions during his or her lifetime. Nonconformist church records may be another place to look.

Citations for This Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection citation:

Record citation (or citation for the index entry):