England, Essex Parish Registers - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
This Collection will include records from 1538 to 1900.

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 occasionally list the person’s birth date as well as their baptism or christening date. Burial entries list the Abode (or Parish) at the time of death,​ the burial date,​ and age at death. 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. Information in parish registers and bishops’ transcripts can be verified against each other.

List of Parishes
Abberton

Abbess End

Abbess Roding

Albury

Aldham

Allhallows

Alphamstone

Althorne

Ardleigh

Ashdon

Ashen

Ashingdon

Aveley

Aythorpe Roding (Aythorp Roothing)

Bardfield Saling

Barking

Barkway

Barley

Barnston

Bartlow

Basildon

Beauchamp Roding

Belchamp Walter

Bentley

Berden

Berners Roding

Bexley

Billericay

Birch

Birchanger

Bishop's Stortford

Blackmore

Bobbingworth

Bocking

Boreham

Bovinger

Boxted

Bradwell

Bradwell On Sea

Braintree

Brentwood

Brightlingsea

Bromley

Broxted

Bulphan

Buttsbury

Canning Town

Castle Camps

Castle Hedingham

Chappel

Chelmsford

Chignall St James

Chigwell

Childerditch

Chipping Ongar

Chrishall

Clavering

Coggeshall

Colchester

Colne Engaine

Copford

Copford Green

Danbury

Debden

Dedham

Deptford

Dutch Village (Much Holland)

Earls Colne

East Ham

East Hanningfield

East Tilbury

Easthorpe

Eastwood

Eight Ash Green

Elmdon

Elsenham

Epping

Farnham

Feering

Felsted

Finchingfield

Fobbing

Fordham

Frating

Fryerning

Fyfield

Good Easter

Gravesend

Grays

Great Baddow

Great Bardfield

Great Braxted

Great Bromley

Great Burstead

Great Canfield

Great Chesterford

Great Dunmow

Great Easton

Great Hallingbury

Great Parndon

Great Sampford

Great Tey

Great Totham

Great Waltham

Great Warley

Great Wigborough

Great Yeldham

Greenstead

Greensted

Halstead

Harlow

Hartford End

Hatfield Broad Oak

Hatfield Peverel

Havering-atte-bower

Hawkwell

Hazeleigh

Hempstead

Henham

Heybridge

Heydon

High Easter

High Laver

High Ongar

High Roding

Hockley

Hornchurch

Horndon On The Hill

Hutton

Ickleton

Ingatestone

Ingrave

Inworth

Kelvedon

Laindon

Lambourne

Lambourne End

Langdon Hills

Langford

Langley

Layer De La Haye

Layer Marney

Leaden Roding

Lexden

Lindsell

Linton

Little Baddow

Little Bardfield

Little Bentley

Little Braxted

Little Burstead

Little Chesterford

Little Chishill

Little Dunmow

Little Easton

Little Ilford

Little Laver

Little Leighs

Little Sampford

Little Thurrock

Little Totham

Little Waltham

Little Wigborough

Little Yeldham

Littlebury

Loughton

Magdalen Laver

Maldon

Manuden

Margaret Roding

Margaretting

Marks Tey

Mashbury

Matching

Melbourn

Messing

Middleton

Moreton

Moulsham

Mount Bures

Mountnessing

Mucking

Mundon

Nazeing

Newport

North Weald Bassett

Orsett

Oxen End

Pebmarsh

Peldon

Pleshey

Prittlewell

Purleigh

Radwinter

Radwinter End

Rainham

Rawreth

Rayleigh

Rettendon

Rickling

Rivenhall

Rivenhall End

Rochford

Romford

Roxwell

Roydon

Royston

Runwell

Saffron Walden

Sandon

Sawbridgeworth

Shalford

Sheering

Shelley

Shellow Bowells

Shenfield

Sible Hedingham

South Benfleet

South Hanningfield

South Hornchurch

South Ockendon

South Weald

Southminster

Springfield

St Lawrence

St Osyth

Stanford Rivers

Stanford-le-hope

Stansted Mountfitchet

Stanway

Stapleford Tawney

Stebbing

Steeple

Steeple Bumpstead

Stisted

Stock

Stone

Stratford

Sudbury

Takeley

Terling

Thaxted

Theydon Bois

Theydon Garnon

Theydon Mount

Thorley

Tilbury

Tillingham

Tilty

Tolleshunt D'arcy

Toppesfield

Ugley

Wakes Colne

Waltham Abbey

Walthamstow

Wanstead

West Bergholt

West Ham

West Hanningfield

West Horndon

West Thurrock

West Tilbury

Wethersfield

White Colne

White Roding

White Roothing

Wickford

Wickham Bishops

Widdington

Willingale

Wimbish

Witham

Wivenhoe

Woodford

Woodford Bridge

Woodham Ferrers

Woodham Walter

Woolwich

Wormingford

Wrabness

Writtle

Baptism
records may contain the following information:


 * 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 may contain the following information:


 * Marriage date
 * Name of the bride and groom
 * Age of the bride and groom
 * May list names of parents or other relatives
 * Residence of the bride and groom[[Image:England Church of England Parish Register
 * 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 are also given.
 * After 1837, the full names of the fathers are given.
 * May note if a spouse is single or widowed at the time of the marriage.

Death
records may contain the following information:


 * 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 to Use the Record
To search for a person in a Church of England parish register, it would be helpful if you knew the following information:


 * Where the person lived and the corresponding parish
 * When the person lived; if you do not know the time period, you must estimate it from what you know of more recent generations.

Search the Collection
To search the collection using the index:

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.

Using the Information
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.

Baptism or christening records list the parents’ names, making it possible for you to connect your ancestor to an earlier generation. 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. The records also list the father’s occupation, which makes it easier to identify your ancestor's family when more than one family with the same name lived in the parish.

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.

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. The occupation of a deceased male might be given (especially after 1812) and can help identify your ancestor when there is more than one person by that name in the area.

Unable to Find your Ancestor?
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.

Signatures in the records might be used to identify a particular individual by the handwriting style.

Knowing the occupation might also provide you the opportunity to find other records about your ancestor.

General Information About These Records
Parish registers are one of the best sources for identifying individuals and connecting them to parents, spouses, and other generations. In July 1837, the government instituted the civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths. However, parish registers continue to play an important role because they are often more readily available than civil registers. Bishops’ transcripts are a backup source for parish registers that are missing or illegible.

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached Wiki 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.

Related Websites
Essex Record Office

Related Wiki Articles

 * England
 * England Church Records
 * Essex
 * England Vital Records
 * Quick Research Links - England

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Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the information published in FamilySearch.org Historical Record collections. Sources include the author, custodian, publisher and archive for the original records.