England, Kent, Parish Chest - 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, Kent, Parish Chest 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.

For those in the United Kingdom, images may also be viewed by visiting the Kent History and Library Centre in Maidstone, England.

What is in This Collection?
The collection consists of Parish Chest records for the county of Kent. These include Vestry Minutes, Charity Records, Churchwarden Accounts, Overseer Accounts, and other various records. Availability varies by year and locality.

Church records were kept in a chest (or strongbox) known as the parish chest. Records other than the parish registers were called "parish chest records." Some of these records still exist from the 16th century, but many do not begin until the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century.

The England Parish Chest records from Kent contain the following records:


 * Vestry minutes (Parish presiding council)
 * Poor and Other Rate records (Payment records)
 * Bastardy bonds (Records of financial support of illegitimate children)
 * Churchwardens Accounts (Parish financial accounts)
 * Settlement and Removal Records (Poor relief or welfare records)
 * Apprenticeship records (Records of poor children put out as apprentices)

Collection Content
Parish Chest records may include the following information:


 * Name of testator
 * Date of event
 * Place of event
 * Names of witnesses
 * Receipts
 * Tax rates
 * Place of legal settlement
 * Name of parents
 * Name of master
 * Length of apprenticeship

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search, it would be helpful if you knew the following information:


 * Name of ancestor
 * Place of birth and approximate year of birth
 * Names of parents
 * Name of spouse

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 County" category ⇒Select the "Name of Parish" category ⇒Select the "Event Type and Year Range (with Volume)" category which will take you to the images.

Look at each image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine which one is your ancestor. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to make this determination.

What Do I Do Next?
Once you have found the information, consider the following to help you on your research:


 * Use the ages to determine the birth year of the family member
 * Take the name of the husband and wife to find a marriage date and place.
 * Use the residence to search for census information

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in Kent.
 * Kent Guided Research
 * England Record Finder
 * England Research Tips and Strategies

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * Search for a child instead of your ancestor.
 * Search for the spouse of the ancestor to identify the children of your ancestor.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * 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.
 * Check for variant spellings of the names.
 * Titles may be clues to property ownership, occupations, rank, or status within the community.
 * Search the parish records of nearby localities.

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.