England, Cheshire Parish Registers - FamilySearch Historical Records

England Cheshire

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FamilySearch International works closely with governments, archives, and societies to bring its vast historical records content online into full compliance with all applicable legal parameters by record type, country, and record custodian. The current privacy cut off dates for the European Union are 100 years for Births and 75 years for Marriages; there are no privacy restrictions on Deaths records. The later records in the England, Cheshire Parish Registers 1538-2000 are for deaths; births and marriage records are only available up to the stated cut off year.

What is in the Collection?
This collection will include records from 1538 to 2000.

The collection includes some parishes within the Diocese of Chester which are in fact in the county of Lancashire. Indeed some parishes include within their parish bounds both sides of a river which marks the county boundary. Until the 1847 creation of the Diocese of Manchester and the later creation of the Diocese of Liverpool and Blackburn, the Diocese of Chester contained parishes throughout Lancashire. It is useful to explore Lancashire Parishes as well as Cheshire Parishes and to use England Jurisdictions 1851 to locate pre-1851 parish boundaries. This collection covers records for the years 1538 through 2000.

Baptisms (christenings), marriages, and burials were recorded on blank pages in a bound book called a register. The events of baptism, marriage, and burial were all recorded in one volume until 1754, when a law required that marriages be recorded in a separate book. Banns, or proclamations of “an intent” to marry, were recorded in yet another book. Starting in 1812, preprinted registers were introduced, and then separate registers were kept for baptisms, marriages, and burials. Before 1812, bishops’ transcripts were usually recorded on loose pieces of paper. Following that year, the transcripts were recorded on the same preprinted forms as parish registers.

In 1537, the Church of England mandated that parishes begin keeping church registers by the next year (1538). These church registers continue to the present. Bishops’ transcripts, or copies of parish registers, were required beginning in 1598 and continued to the mid-1800s.

The vast majority of the English population belonged to the Church of England. Only since the mid-19th century have other religious groups made headway.

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.

Most bishops’ transcripts of Church of England parish registers have been preserved. Many have also been copied to microfilm or microfiche. The condition of the records is relatively good considering their age and their storage conditions over the centuries. In 1598, ministers were required to copy their registers onto parchment. If the minister failed to make such a copy, the register for that parish and its records did not survive. During the Commonwealth period, 1649–1660, many parish registers disappeared, and many transcripts were not kept because ministers were deposed from their parishes.

Parish registers were created to record church events of baptism or christening, marriage, and burial. Baptismal entries usually list the person’s birth date, and burial entries list the death date. In the Church of England, baptism, which was also called christening, was performed soon after the birth of a child. Marriage in the church legally united a man and a woman for civil legal reasons and for the purpose of founding a religiously sanctified family. Burial is a function of the church to inter the deceased soon after death.

Church of England parish registers are the most reliable and accurate family history source until July 1837, when the government instituted the civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths. Parish registers continue to play an important role because they are often more readily available than civil registers. Information in parish registers and bishops’ transcripts can be verified against each other.

Coverage Table A list of the counties and events contained in this collection is found in the England Cheshire Church of England Registers and Bishops Transcripts (FamilySearch Historical Records) Coverage Table.

Collection Content
Baptism records from a Church of England parish register may include the following:


 * Baptism date
 * Name of the child
 * Sex of the child
 * Legitimacy of the child
 * Marital status of the parents
 * Social class of the parents
 * Name of the father and often mother’s given name
 * May list the residence of the parents, especially after 1812

Marriage records from a Church of England parish register may include the following:


 * Marriage date
 * Name of the bride and groom
 * Age of the bride and groom
 * May list names of parents or other relatives
 * After 1837, the full names of the fathers
 * Residence of the bride and groom
 * Marital status of individuals and couples
 * May list the dates that the marriage was announced (also called “banns published”). This normally took place on three separate occasions prior to the marriage and gave anyone with a valid reason a chance to object to the marriage.
 * After 1754, the full names of witnesses
 * May note if a spouse is single or widowed at the time of the marriage

Burial records from a Church of England parish register may include the following:


 * Burial date
 * Name of the deceased. If the deceased is a child, the father’s name might be given. If the deceased is a married woman, the husband’s name might be given.
 * Age of the person
 * Residence of the deceased
 * May give the sex of the deceased
 * Residence of the deceased

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search in these records, it would be helpful if you knew any or all of the following information:


 * Names of parents
 * Approximate year and place of baptism
 * Name of bride and groom
 * Approximate year and place of marriage
 * Name of deceased
 * Approximate year and place of death

To search this collection by name:c Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. 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.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line video at FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.


 * You may find a birth date listed or be able to approximate a birth date.
 * After 1812, the baptismal records list a place of residence, making it easier to identify your family by where they lived.
 * Marriage records sometimes state the residence for the bride and groom. You can use this information to look for their baptisms and to identify the children of this couple. Marriage records after 1754 list the names of witnesses, who were often family members. These can help you identify your ancestor’s family. Signatures in the records might be used to identify a particular individual by the handwriting style.
 * After 1812, and sometimes before, burial records include the age of the deceased. Use this age to approximate the person’s birth year and to find the baptismal record.
 * If the deceased is a child, the parents’ names might be given. This information helps to extend your family another generation.

What if I Can't Find Who I'm Looking For?
Bishops’ transcripts are a backup source for parish registers that are missing or illegible. If possible, you may want to search both the parish registers and the bishops’ transcripts since one is a handwritten copy of the other and might contain differences.

Banns indicate the parish of residence of the bride and groom. This information often leads to the records of another parish. You can search for the baptisms of the bride and groom in the parishes of residence since these might also be the parishes where they were born.

Known Issues with These Collections
England, Cheshire Parish Registers, 1538-2000:

For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

England, Cheshire Bishop’s Transcripts 1598-1900 known issues:

For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

Citing 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.

Parish Registers Collection Citation and Bishop Transcripts Collections Citation

"England, Cheshire Parish Registers, 1538-2000" and "England, Cheshire Bishop's Transcripts, 1598-1900." Database. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : accessed 2016. Citing Church of England Record Office, Chester, England.

Parish Registers Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):

Bishop Transcripts Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):