Derbyshire, England Genealogy

England Derbyshire

Guide to  ancestry, family history and genealogy parish registers, transcripts, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.

County Information
"DERBYSHIRE, or Derby, a midland and almost central county in England; nearly alike distance from the eastern and the western seas, and from Scotland and the English channel. It is bounded on the NW, by Cheshire; on the N and NE, by Yorkshire; on the E, by Notts; on the SE, by Leicestershire; on the S, by Warwickshire and Staffordshire; on the W, by Staffordshire and Cheshire...

"Derbyshire contains 132 parishes, parts of 6 others, and 6 extra-parochial tracts; and is divided into the borough of Derby, and the hundreds of High Peak, Wirksworth, Scarsdale, Appletree, Morleston and Lit-church, and Repton and Gresley... and constitutes an archdeaconry in the diocese of Lichfield...

"The places of worship in the county proper, in 1851, were 250 of the Church of England, 45 of Independents, 39 of Baptists, 6 of Quakers, 11 of Unitarians, 1 of Moravians, 222 of Wesleyan Methodists, 10 of New Connexion Methodists, 132 of Primitive Methodists, 6 of the Wesleyan Association, 34 of Wesleyan Reformers, 2 of Lady Huntingdon's Connexion, 2 of the New Church, 2 of isolated congregations, 6 of Latter Day Saints, and 8 of Roman Catholics...

"Population in 1801 was 161,567; in 1821, 213,651; in 1841, 272,202; and in 1861, 339,327..."

The above extract is from: John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72). To see the full account, go to Vision of Britain.

Research Tools
For more help with Derbyshire ancestry, visit one of these websites:


 * Derbyshire Family History Society.

Jurisdictions
Use an interactive mapto find jurisdictions for each parish in Derbyshire.

The Domesday Book records the names of wapentakes but by the early modern period the county appears to be divided into hundreds with one exception, the wapentake of Wirksworth.

Civil Districts
When civil (government) registration of births, marriages and deaths began in 1837, Derbyshire was divided into registration districts, each including several parishes. For a list of districts and the parishes they include, click here.

Read more about England Civil Registration.

Probate Jurisdictions
Before 1858, every town and parish in Derbyshire was under the probate jurisdiction of several ecclesiastical courts. To read more about probate records and see a list of Derbyshire towns and parishes and the probate courts that had jurisdiction over them, go to Derbyshire Probate Records.

Useful Websites

 * Derbyshire Resources and help pages on RootsChat Derbyshire Resources and help pages. (Free).

To view an excellent list of web sites and/or web pages for Derbyshire and many of its parishes, visit FHLFavorites.info.


 * www.derbyshire.gov.uk/images/Parish%20Register%20Guide_tcm44-17013.pdf An excellent guide by DERBYSHIRE RECORD OFFICE AND DERBY DIOCESAN RECORD OFFICE 25 June, 2010 including: 1. A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE REGISTERS OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND 2. FURTHER PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SOURCES FOR TRACING YOUR FAMILY HISTORY-Lists type of source, area of coverage and where you can find them 3. CHURCH OF ENGLAND REGISTERS-An extensive list which gives details of parish registers which have been deposited in the Record Office as Diocesan Record Office for the Diocese of Derby.