Wales, Court and Miscellaneous Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
This collection contains Court Records and Marriage Bonds from the National Library of Wales. These records are part of a set of gateway records needed to bridge from the census &amp; civil registration era back to the earlier period when land and property records are required for pre 1841 research. Images are being added as they become available. The collection covers the years 1542 to 1911.

Record Content
Court records and marriage bonds may contain the following information:


 * Name
 * Date of event
 * Names of spouse or family members
 * Residence
 * Place of event

How to Use the Record
To begin your search in this collection, it would be helpful to know the following information:


 * Name of ancestor
 * County of event
 * Approximate year of event

Search the Collection
To browse by image: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select the appropriate “Record Type” ⇒Select the appropriate “Locality, Date, Volume” which takes you to the images.

Search the collection by image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. 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.

Using the Information
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. Save a copy of the image or transcribe the information. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details such as a title, an occupation, or land ownership. Add this new information to your records of each family. You should also look for leads to other records about your ancestors. For example:


 * Use the place and names to locate census records for the time period. Census records are taken every ten years. The first to list names was in 1841. For additional information on censues of wales see the wiki article Wales Census.

Related Websites

 * Manorial Documents Register
 * National Library of Wales website
 * England and Wales History Links
 * England and Wales Historic Maps

Related Wiki Articles

 * England Land and Property, Part 2
 * Wales Court Records
 * Wales Marriage Bonds
 * Marriage Allegations, Bonds and Licences in England and Wales
 * Find Marriage Information in Wales 1536 to 1700
 * Find Marriage Information in Wales 1700 to 1837
 * Wales

Citations for This Collection
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information; that is, cite your sources. This will help people find the record again and evaluate the reliability of the source. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records. Citations are available for the collection as a whole and each record or image individually.

Collection citation:

Image citation: