GuidedResearch:Why Can't I Find the Record - Cardiganshire, Church of England Marriages

Back to Wales Guided Research.

This page will give you additional guidance and resources to find marriage information for your ancestor. Use this page after first completing the marriage section of the Cardiganshire, Church of England Guided Research page. If researching after 1837, see Civil Registration.

Additional Databases and Online Resources

 * 1653-1933:  Cardiganshire Marriages and Banns  at FindMyPast ($)

Additional Records with Marriage Information
Substitute records may contain information about more than one event and are used when records for an event are not available. Records that are used to substitute for marriage events may not have been created at the time of the marriage. The accuracy of the record is contingent upon when the information was recorded. Search for information in multiple substitute records to confirm the accuracy of these records.

Finding Town of Origin
Knowing an ancestor’s hometown can be important to locate more records. If a person immigrated to the United States, try Finding Town of Origin to find the ancestor’s hometown.

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Ask the Community
Select a community research group where you can ask questions and receive free genealogy help.

Tips for finding marriages
Successfully finding marriage records in online databases depends on a few key points. Try the following search suggestions:
 * Spelling variations. Your ancestor's name may be misspelled. Search with spelling variations for the first and last name of your ancestor.
 * Search given name. Search by given name by leaving out the last name.
 * Search for bride. Search by the bride’s name rather than the groom’s name.
 * Add information. For common names, add more information to narrow the search such as approximate year of marriage or the county the marriage took place in.
 * Date range. Expand the date range of the search by 5 years.
 * Know county. Because of the abundance of common names, knowing the county is important to narrow down the search. Go to Finding the Wales County or Parish of Origin to learn how to find the county.

Known Record Gaps
Records Start Mandatory birth registration started in 1837. However, universal compliance did not occur until 1866. Before 1837, births and baptisms can be found in church records (mainly nonconformist records). Although the oldest baptism records date to 1538, most churches did not start recording baptisms until the 1600s. Records Published by FamilySearch Collection coverage tables show the places and time periods of original records published by FamilySearch. For any FamilySearch collections you did not find your ancestor in, check the coverage table for gaps in the online collection. If the time period or location your ancestor lived in is missing from the collection, it may require searches in records found at original repository or finding substitute records for the event.

Records Destroyed Some church records may have been lost, destroyed, or damaged (especially in the 1500s and early 1600s). More specific information is not known. Civil registration records are generally complete.
 * Wales Marriages, Coverage Table