England, Cornwall Parish Registers - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection contains select baptism, marriage, and burial records from the county of Cornwall for the years 1538-2010. Though the collection primarily contains Anglican records, it also includes some material for nonconformist chapels which were filmed at the Cornwall Record Office at the time of filming Church of England registers. There are also typed transcripts of Society of Friends marriages included for certain areas of the county.

Due to redrawing of diocese boundaries, this collection also contains records from the bordering county of Devon, particularly the perishes of St. Giles on the Heath and Werrington. Until 1876, the Diocese of Exeter covered the counties of Devon and Cornwall on the southwestern peninsula of Great Britain. After 1876, the Diocese of Exeter lost much of its territory to the newly created the Diocese of Truro. Exeter retained most of the county of Devon, and Truro was given the county of Cornwall plus the Devon parishes of Virginstow and St Giles on the Heath.

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.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
Christening records include: Marriage records include:
 * Name of the child
 * Date and place of christening
 * Gender
 * Names of parents
 * Name of the bride and groom
 * Date and place of marriage
 * Genders
 * Ages
 * Marital status
 * Estimated year of birth
 * Names of fathers

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

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

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the :
 * 1) Select County
 * 2) Select Town (with Parish)
 * 3) Select Event Type and Year Range (with Volume) 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?

 * Save or print a copy of the image if possible.
 * Use the information which has been discovered to find more. For instance, use the estimated age given in a marriage or burial record to calculate an approximate year of birth, if that is yet undetermined
 * Use the information which has been discovered to find the individual in civil and census records
 * Continue to search the index to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives. Note that family members often appear on an individual's vital records, such as in the role of witnesses to a marriage

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

 * When looking for a person with a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which individual is correct
 * If listed, a personal title may be a clue to property ownership or occupation, either of which might be noted in other records
 * 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
 * Spelling was not standardized for much of the period of this collection, so names were often spelled as scribes heard them. Pay attention to how the name should have been pronounced and try spelling variations that could have that pronunciation
 * Some women returned to their maiden names after the death of their husbands
 * Vary the search terms. For example, expand the date range or search by either the given name or surname to return broader list of results
 * Search the records of nearby parishes
 * The individual might not have records in the Church of England at all, but rather might have belonged to a nonconformist denomination. See the Cornwall Nonconformist Records page 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, Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-2010." Database with Images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : accessed 2017. Cornwall Records Office, Truro.
 * Collection Citation:

Top of Page