PARISH RECORDS

Parish registers, that is, the records of baptism, marriage and burial for each and every parish are of fundamental importance to any genealogical research project and have long been recognised as the most important class of record with regard to genealogical research and the construction of family units. The earliest registers commence in 1538 and the recording of these vital events is still practiced today, therefore the period covered by this class of record potentially allows for research on a family to be extended back to the mid 16C.

With the exception of the register or registers that are in current use at a parish church, over recent years the vast majority of completed parish registers and other parish records pertaining to our parish churches have been deposited at diocesan or county records offices. The central location of Yorkshire Family History within the county provides us with easy access to all of the major repositories that hold these vitally important records.

Since Victorian times many parish registers have been indexed and published, either privately by interested individuals interested in the preservation of our heritage or as a series by a local or national publisher with similar interests. In this respect the most notable publisher for the county is without doubt the Yorkshire Archaeological Society; the Parish Register Section of the society is dedicated to indexing and publishing these documents. The section have been responsible for indexing and publishing well over one hundred and sixty volumes of the early, primarily pre-1837, parish registers pertaining to Yorkshire parishes, it also has many unpublished transcripts in the pipeline awaiting publication.

OUR IN-HOUSE SERVICE

Yorkshire Family History has at its disposal the entire collection of the above mentioned volumes together with an incredible number of privately printed volumes. Indeed our printed parish register collection even extends beyond the boundaries of Yorkshire. This vast library of parish information is constantly available at our fingertips and when used in conjunction with the original parish registers that are housed at the diocesan and record offices within the county provides us with an impressive and veritable research facility.

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