GuidedResearch:Why Can't I Find the Record - Durham Births

This page will give you additional guidance and resources to find birth information for your ancestor. Use this page after first completing the birth section of the Durham Guided Research page.

Mandatory birth registration started in 1837. However, universal compliance did not occur until 1874. Before 1837, births and baptisms can be found in church records (mainly the Church of England). The oldest baptism records date to 1538.

Additional Databases and Online Resources

 * 1538-1975: England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975  at Ancestry ($)

Additional Records with Birth Information
Substitute records can contain information about more than one event, and are used when records for an event are not available. Because the substitute records may not be created at the time of the event, it may contain incorrect information. Search for as many substitute records as possible to corroborate information found in substitute records to help improve accuracy.

Tips for finding births
Success with finding birth records in online databases depends on a few key points:
 * Your ancestor's name may be misspelled. Try the following search tactics:
 * Try searching for the parents if known. Sometimes a child's first name is not on the birth record.
 * Try different spelling variations of the first and last name of your ancestor.
 * Try a given name search (leave out last names).
 * Try broadening the name search, such as using wildcards or searching for similar sounding names (instead of exact matches only).
 * Example: check "Name Variants" on FindMyPast or "Sounds like" or "Similar" on Ancestry


 * Expand the date range of the search.
 * Try searching with the county name only instead of by parish.
 * If your ancestor's name is common, try adding more information to narrow the search.

Known Record Gaps
Records Start Mandatory birth registration started in 1837. However, universal compliance did not occur until 1874. Before 1837, births and baptisms can be found in church records (mainly the Church of England). Although the oldest baptism records date to 1538, many parish churches did not start recording baptisms until the 1600s.

Records Published

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.