Hexham, Northumberland Genealogy

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

Parish History
HEXHAM (St. Andrew), a market-town and parish, and the head of a union, in the S. division of Tindale ward and of Northumberland; There are places of worship for Independents and Wesleyans; a Scottish church; and a Roman Catholic chapel, an elegant structure in the decorated English style, built in 1830.

Additional information:

Hexham St Andrew is an Ancient Parish an abbey and Priory church and includes Priestpople, Gilligate,Hencoats, Hexhamshire High Quarter, Hexhamshire Low Quarter, Hexhamshire Middle Quarter, Hexhamshire Stinted Pasture, Hexhamshire West Quarter, Market, and Moorland.

Civil Registration
Birth, marriages and deaths were kept by the government, from July 1837 to the present day. The civil registration article tells more about these records. There are several Internet sites with name lists or indexes. A popular site is FreeBMD.

Church Records
Durham University Library Archives and Special Collections Reference number: DDR/EA/PBT/2/138 Date: 1837-1858 Parish Register transcripts are available to search free online at Record Search.

The dates of the post-1760 transcripts have been noted in detail and sometimes only cover years. For most parishes in the collection there are gaps in the sequence of transcripts. It is advisable to consult the original parish registers for these years and events.

Hexham, St Andrew: Records of baptisms 1643-1948, marriages 1579-1972 and burials 1655-1859 are available at Northumberland Collections Service. Microfilm copies of marriages for the period 1813-1837 can be seen at Tyne and Wear Archives Service. Bishops' Transcripts for the period 1740-1836 are deposited at the Borthwick Institute, University of York and those for 1837-1858 are deposited at Durham University Library Archives and Special Collections, Palace Green, Durham City. The International Genealogical Index (I.G.I.) includes baptisms 1643-1812 and marriages 1579-1812 for this parish, and Boyd's Marriage Index includes marriages 1579-1812 and banns 1754-1812. The Northumberland and Durham Family History Society has published an index to marriages 1754-1851 (microfiche PR206) and a transcript of monumental inscriptions (microfiche TN75). Transcripts of baptisms 1643-1851, marriages and burials 1579-1851, and of monument inscriptions (for Hexham Old Churchyard and Hexham Abbey) are available at Newcastle Central Library, Local Studies Dept.

Nonconformist Records
Records for the following nonconformist churches in the parish of Hexham are available at Northumberland Collections Service:


 * Battle Hill (Methodist) - Marriages 1915-1952
 * Cockshaw Grange (Roman Catholic) - Baptisms 1753-1832, marriages 1766-1838 and deaths 1807-1826.(Transcripts of these records are available at Newcastle Central Library, Local Studies Dept.)
 * Ebenezer (Independent) - Births/baptisms 1781-1836. (A transcript of baptisms 1787-1837 is available at Newcastle Central Library, Local Studies Dept.)
 * Hexham (Roman Catholic) - Baptisms 1737-1754,1768-1826, 1832-1926, marriages 1716-1752, 1842-1953 and deaths 1715-1754, 1833-1963.
 * Hexham Dominican Mission (Roman Catholic) - Baptisms 1715-1754.
 * Hexham P.M. Circuit (Methodist) - Baptisms 1880-1963
 * Hexham Wesleyan Circuit (Methodist) - Baptisms 1797-1954. (Transcripts of these records are available at Newcastle Central Library, Local Studies Dept. and they are included on the I.G.I.)
 * Stonecroft and Hexham (Roman Catholic) - Baptisms 1722-1821, marriages 1716-1806, deaths 1715-1754.
 * Trinity (Methodist) - Marriages 1899-1980

Genealogy From Periodicals
Owen, J. Philip. A Northumbrian Musician. William Gillies Whittaker D. Mus. F.R.C.O. History of William Gillies Whittaker and his wife Mary Ann, and descendants on both the paternal and maternal side. Parents were: John Whittaker and Mary Jane nee Gillies, and William and Susannah Walton Gillies with the following surnames: Turner, Heads, Pearson, Taylor, Siddell, Purves, Watkins, Swan, Percey, with photos. Article dated 1799-1976, and is found in the Northumberland &amp; Durham Family History Society, vol. 35. no.4, pages 127-131, Family History Reference 942.8 B2jo vol.35,no.4.

Poor Law Unions
Alnwick Poor Law Union, Northumberland

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Northumberland Probate Records to find the name of the court having primary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.

Maps and Gazetteers
Maps are a visual look at the locations in England. Gazetteers contain brief summaries about a place.


 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Vision of Britain