Dorset, England Genealogy

Dorset or Dorsetshire is a maritime county located in the lower southwestern part of 'England'.

Civil Districts
When civil registration of births, marriages and deaths began in 1837, Dorset was divided into a number of registration districts, each containing several parishes. The index to the civil records gives the name of the district where an event took place. Click here to see a list of the civil districts in Dorset and the parishes covered by each.

Read more about England Civil Registration.

Parishes
See a list of the parishes of Dorset with links to articles.

Probate Jurisdictions
Before 1858, every town and parish in Dorset was under the probate jurisdiction of several ecclesiastical courts. To read more about probate records and see a list of Dorset towns and parishes and the probate courts that had jurisdiction over them, go to Dorset Probate Records.