England, Dorset, Parish Registers - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection contains an index to and images of parish baptismal, marriage, and burial records from Dorsetshire for the years 1538-1936. Availability of records may vary by year and locality.

Parish registers have been kept at the local level across England since the mid-1500s. Due to this long and relatively stable tradition, these records are central to English genealogical research as they are often one of the only sources for finding families and individuals in England before the start of civil registration in 1837.

To learn more about parish registers, please see the England Parish Registers page.

Image Visibility
Whenever possible, FamilySearch makes images available for all users. However, rights to view images on our website are granted by the record custodians. Images in this collection are available for viewing if you are a registered FamilySearch user. You can register for a free FamilySearch account here.

For additional information about image restrictions, please see the Restrictions for Viewing Images in FamilySearch Historical Record Collections page.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
Christening records include:
 * Name of the child
 * Date and place of christening
 * Often the parents are listed

Marriage records include:
 * Names of the bride and groom
 * Date and place of marriage
 * Often the parents are listed

Burial records include:
 * Name of the deceased
 * Date and place of burial
 * Age
 * Estimated birth year

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of the individual
 * Approximate date of the event

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the :
 * 1) Select County
 * 2) Select Town, Parish/Church
 * 3) Select Event Type and Year Range to view the images

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * If possible, look at an image of the original record. The online index entry only lists the most basic information from a record; the original may contain further information which was not included in the index
 * Save or print a copy of the image
 * If a christening record is found, search the civil registration for a birth record
 * If a christening record is found, trace the child and parents to censuses
 * If a marriage record is found, search future censuses for the new family
 * If a burial record is found along with the age and estimated birth year, search for birth information
 * Continue to search the index for people with the same surname to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives
 * Often family member's names appear on vital records, such as in the role of witnesses to a marriage

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * Try variations of given names and surnames. An individual might have been listed under a middle name, a nickname, or an abbreviation of their given name
 * Names were often spelled as recorders heard them. Pay attention to how the name should have been pronounced and try spelling variations that could have that pronunciation
 * Vary the search terms. For example, search by either the given name only, surname only, or expand on the date range to return broader list of possible matches
 * It was not unusual for a child to be baptized weeks or even months after birth
 * Search the records of nearby parishes. For this particular collection, this step may require finding records in the bordering English counties of Devonshire to the west, Somersetshire and Wiltshire to the north, or Hampshire to the east.
 * Note that marriages often took place in the parish where the bride resided
 * The individual in question may not have records in the Church of England at all, but rather might have belonged to a nonconformist denomination. See England Nonconformist Church Records for more information

Known Issues with This Collection
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
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.

"England, Dorset, Parish Registers, 1538-1936." Database with Images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : accessed 2017. Citing Church of England. Record Office, Dorchester.
 * Collection Citation:

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