England, Northumberland, Cumberland, Durham, Miscellaneous Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

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. The England, Northumberland Miscellaneous Records collection is available to the Family History Library, FamilySearch Centers, and to members of the supporting organization, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The images can be viewed at a FamilySearch Center near you.

Record Description
This collection will include records from 1570 to 2005.

This collection includes records from the Northumberland Archives Service. Record types include Parish Registers, Electoral Registers, Non conformist Records, and Parish Chest. The records are from towns and parishes throughout Northumberland.

Each type of record was created for a different purpose, but most were created to keep track of the vital events happening in the lives of the citizens and to safeguard their legal interests.

For a list of records by date or locality currently published in this collection, select the Browse link from the collection landing page

Record Content
Records may include the following information:


 * Full name
 * Polling district or residence
 * Names of parents, spouse, or other family members
 * Type of event (such as marriage or death)
 * Date and place of the event
 * Names of witnesses

How to Use the Record
To begin your search, it would be helpful if you knew the following information:


 * The name of the individual or individuals such as the registered voter, bride and groom, the infant, or the deceased
 * The place where the event such as a christening, marriage, or death) occurred
 * The approximate date the event occurred

Compare the information in the record to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct person. You may need to compare the information of more than one person to make this determination.

Search the Collection
To search the collection image by image select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page: ⇒ Select the appropriate "Name of County" ⇒ Select the appropriate "Name of Town, Parish/Church" ⇒ Select the appropriate "Event Type and Year Range (with Volume)" which will take you to the images.

Search the collection by image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination.

Using the Information
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family.

For example:


 * By following your ancestor through the electoral registers, it is possible to determine how long the person remained at a particular residence and to help establish a migration pattern for the family.
 * Use the residence to locate your ancestor in the census and church records.
 * Use the location of the land to locate land tax assessments and probate records.
 * The name of the property may also be a clue to the occupation or sect. Occupations can lead you to church or military records.
 * Watch for titles as they can be clues to social status, occupations, sect, or other family members with the same name.
 * Use the marriage date and place as the basis for compiling a new family group or for verifying existing information.
 * Compile the entries for individuals with the same surnames; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual.
 * Continue to search the records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have been born, married, or died in the same parish or nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family or even the second marriage of a parent. Repeat this process for each new generation you identify.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.

It is often helpful to extract the information on all individuals with the same surname in the same general area. If the surname is uncommon, it is likely that those living in the same area were related. Be sure to extract all individuals before you look at other records. This can help you identify related individuals to look for in other records.

Tips to Keep in Mind
Some other helpful tips to keep in mind are:


 * The residence or abode may be different from the location of the property so your ancestor may be found in records of another locality.
 * Married family members may have lived nearby but in a separate household so you may want to search an entire town, neighboring towns, or even a county.
 * Additional searches may be needed to locate all members of a particular family.
 * There is also some variation in the information given from one marriage record to another record.
 * Witnesses are usually close family members

Unable to Find your Ancestor?
If you are unable to find the ancestors you are looking for, try the following:


 * Check for variant spellings of the surnames.
 * Check for indexes. Local historical and genealogical are often good resources of indexed records.
 * Search the records of nearby parishes.

General Information About These Records
Church Records

In 1530, King Henry VIII established the Church in England, also known as the Anglican Church, the State Church, or the Episcopal Church. A law passed in 1537 required ministers to record the baptisms, marriages, and burials that took place in their parishes. Priests recorded these events in registers and kept them at the parish level, which is the lowest level of authority in the Church of England. Within some parishes, chapelries were created to provide for the worship needs of the parishioner when the parish church was not easily accessible. Chapelries sometimes had the authority to perform baptisms, marriages, and burials, so they kept their own registers. Several parishes formed a deanery (presided over by a dean), several deaneries formed an archdeaconry (presided over by an archdeacon), and several archdeaconries formed a diocese (presided over by a bishop).

Beginning in 1598, ministers were required to send copies of their registers to an archdeacon or bishop annually. These copies are referred to as bishops’ transcripts, or sometimes archdeacon transcripts. As a result, two copies of many parish registers exist from 1598 to about the mid-1800s. After civil registration began in 1837, the value of keeping bishops’ transcripts diminished, so by 1870 most parishes had stopped making them.

Banns are proclamations of an intent to marry. After 1754 these banns were required to be read for three consecutive Sundays before a marriage so that anyone with reasons against the marriage could oppose it. Banns were read in both the bride’s parish and the groom’s parish.

Known Issues with This Collection
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Related Websites
Northumberland Archives Service

Related Wiki Articles

 * Northumberland
 * England Church Records
 * England Northumberland, Miscelleneous Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Quick Research Links - England

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
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Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the information published in FamilySearch.org Historical Record collections. Sources include the author, custodian, publisher and archive for the original records.