England, Devon Bishop's Transcripts - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection contains an index to and images of baptismal, marriage, and burial records in the county of Devon for the years 1558-1887. Bishop’s transcripts contain more or less the same information as parish registers, so they are an invaluable resource when a parish register has been damaged, destroyed, or otherwise lost.

To learn more about the content and importance of bishop's transcripts, see the England Bishop's Transcripts page.

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. 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?
Baptism records may contain the following:
 * Name
 * Date of baptism
 * Place of baptism
 * Gender
 * Names of the parents

Marriagerecords may contain the following:
 * Names of the bride and groom
 * Date of marriage
 * Place of marriage
 * Genders
 * Marital status

Burialrecords may contain the following:
 * Name of the deceased
 * Date of burial
 * Place of burial
 * Age
 * Estimated year of birth

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * Name of the person
 * Date range for the record

View the Images
To view images in this collection:
 * 1) Look at the England, Devon Bishop's Transcripts, Coverage Table article to determine the folder/film number for the images you want to see
 * 2) Go to the Browse Page
 * 3) Select the Film number 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?

 * Make sure to look at an image of the original record. The index entry contains only the most basic information necessary to identify a person; the original record often contains more information than is contained in the index. Save or print a copy of the image, if possible
 * Use the information to find other records such as census, vital, land and probate records
 * Continue to search the index to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives. Remember 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. Use other information, such as place of birth, age, occupation, or names of parents, to determine which candidate is the correct person
 * Vary the search terms. For example, search by either the given name or surname to return broader list of possible candidates which can then be examined for matches. Alternatively, try expanding the date range; this is especially useful in searching baptismal records, as it was not unusual for a child to be baptized weeks or even months after birth
 * An individual might have been listed under a middle name, 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 they were pronounced. Pay attention to how the name should have been pronounced and try spelling variations that could have that pronunciation
 * Some women reverted to their maiden names after the death of their husbands
 * Search the records of bordering locations. In the period of this collection, most people never lived more than 20 miles from their place of birth, though smaller moves were common. For this collection, bordering locations include the English counties of Yorkshire and County Durham to the south, Cumberland to the west, or the Scottish counties of Berwickshire and Roxburghshire to the north.
 * The individual in question might not have records in the Church of England at all, but rather belonged to a nonconformist denomination. See the Northumberland Nonconformist Records page for more information.
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby locality in an area search. Marriages often took place in the parish where the bride resided
 * The individual in question might 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.

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, Devon, Bishop's Transcripts, 1558-1887.” Database with images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : accessed 2015. Citing Devon Record Office, England.
 * Collection Citation:

Top of Page