Civil Registration in the United Kingdom Part 2

The Value of Civil Registrations

The previous lesson dealt with a brief historical overview, the record availability of, and the value of civil registrations in the United Kingdom. This lesson will discuss how to analyze the information found in a civil registration and the various clues provided.

Locality Clues

As you might suspect, registration districts in the United Kingdom cover very different areas from parishes or townships that we are more familiar with. Even if you know the name of the town or parish where someone was born, married, or died, you will usually be very surprised at the name of the registration district. It may be totally unfamiliar to you in the case of a child who was born in a hospital, the registration district for the child's birth would be the district where the hospital is located, not the child's home. This is another reason it is so important to check the quarterly indexes as explained in the previous lesson, even if you have the exact parish. It will save you money when ordering the certificate, because it saves the clerk time in finding what you want.

Place names in Scotland, Wales, and Ireland can also be a challenge. Sometimes the same name can be in several areas, towns can completely change their name, and some towns have been absorbed into others. It is helpful to spend a little time with a good introductory book such as Tracing the History of Place Names by Charles Whynne-Hammond. His book explains the value of the place name in explaining history, geography, and the nature of the society. Also be aware of unique terms used in each country. The Scottish Association of Family History Societies publishes A Scottish Genealogist's Glossary by Burness.

Place spellings as well as ages are often incorrect in civil registrations just as they may be incorrect in United States vital records. Those who spell, calculate the dates, or inform the public about an individual often make mistakes. Those who made indexes of the original records may have misspelled the capital letter of the surname as well. Therefore, use several documents to verify information on your ancestors.

While traveling throughout Europe on a study group, your writer never became lost until traveling on a train through England. Local pronunciation of place names caused me to completely miss my stop. If on an 1850 census you find someone who says he is born in Haseboro, Norfolk, you will find no such place exists. A local authority will point out that Haseboro is a local pronunciation of Happisburgh. In Wales the Welsh accents are often misunderstood. Look at a good gazetteer that will provide both the English and the Welsh spellings for place names.

Naming Difficulties

If you are researching in Wales or Scotland, you must study the naming patterns of these countries before you embark very far on your genealogy journey. Without spending much time on this topic, suffice it to say you will run up against parallel patterns of girls named for grandmothers; interchangeable names such as Jean, Janet, or Jane; or you may find patronymics. This is a system where the surname changes with each new generation based on the given name of the father. Of course, spelling variations constantly abound.

Good books are available on the topic such as Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry by Kathleen B. Cory and Your Scottish Ancestry: A Guide for North Americans by Sherry Irvine. In England there is Scott Smith-Bannister's Names and Naming Patterns in England 1538-1700.

Finding Aids

Once you have traced all your ancestors in the civil registrations as far as possible, your next option is to try the baptism, marriage and burial registers of the Church of England or in one of the various Nonconformist sects. By using the church records and the 1841 to 1891 census records where they exist, you will find ample clues for putting together the entire family. But to bring the family to life, it is important that your search of civil registrations be accompanied by a good map. An essential map guide to England, Wales, and Scotland is The Phillimore Atlas and Index of Parish Registers edited by Cecil Humphery-Smith. The Genealogical Publishing Company has printed An Index to the Townlands and Towns, Parishes and Baronies of Ireland. Samuel Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of Ireland contains an excellent map of each county with a history and a list of its major landowners.

Let's look closely at a civil registration for other clues it might contain. Notice the occupation of the father on birth records as well as on many marriage records. If the occupation is unique, a study of that subject would also be useful.

Let's look closely at a civil registration for other clues it might contain. Notice the occupation of the father on birth records as well as on many marriage records. If the occupation is unique, a study of that subject would also be useful.

A marriage civil registration in a year close to a census could provide clues to the place the census would be found. Then when the couple is found on the census, the name of the parish for the parents is usually provided. This then leads to another civil registration of birth. Each child in a family should be sought after once you have their names and approximate ages in the census records because you never know what further clues to locality and occupation might be found. D. J. Steel’s General Sources of Births, Marriages, and Deaths Before 1837 could provide further clues.

City Dwellers

London is a story in itself. A very good book which explains much about the customs of the people of England and interesting facets of the capital city is David Hey's Family History and Local History in England. He indicated that, "the census returns show when people left London they usually moved only short distances, but migrants into London came from all over the place." Never assume that your ancestors stayed in one place their entire lives. People were very mobile even if they only lived a few miles from their place of birth. Movement into London and other industrial areas expanded greatly after 1851. The development of the railroad and canals throughout the country allowed people to cheaply move much further from their home parish.

As the clues are assembled on the family, it may be discovered that one of the parents can no longer be found even after meticulously searching the civil registration indexes for decades. Then, it is time to move backwards and see if one of them died. It is not unusual for the person to be referred to as living. For example, an entry such as "daughter of George Glenhaven," may give the impression that the father is living, when in fact, this father may be dead for several years prior to the daughter's marriage. You may also find that the occupations change over time as breadwinners would do whatever they could to provide for their families.

Large cities like Dublin have been in existence since the Viking settlements and various ethnic groups from many countries are part of its history. Place naming customs are just as important in large cities as in the more rural areas. Dublin has 83 civil parishes and each is formed of many townlands or city areas. A townland is an ancient division of land which is of various sizes from ten to several thousand acres. Civil parishes are grouped into Baronies and Barony boundaries may divide a civil parish. The territory of an Irish clan anciently established the Barony boundaries. Finally, the Poor Law Unions (PLU) are unrelated to any other division and may even cross county and barony borders. They were established around the workhouse and the functions of the Poor Law Act of 1838 to help the poor. There are seven PLUs in Dublin.

Poor Law Unions were subdivided into District Electoral Divisions (DED) upon which the census returns were arranged. To understand your ancestor's Irish address, read books such as Tracing Your Dublin Ancestors by James G. Ryan and Brian Smith.

Unique Country Variances

Each country in the United Kingdom has its own unique characteristics as well. In Scotland the year 1855 is very important because that is the year Scottish civil registrations begin, but the Scottish civil registrations contain more information than those provided in England and Wales. So try to think of someone in the family who may have been born, married or perhaps died in 1855. Not only will the father and mother's name and occupation be given, but their age and birth place, as well as their marriage date and place will be recorded on the birth certificate for the children born in 1855. This could, therefore, take you back a generation further. If you lose your own ancestor consider his siblings, parents, nieces, nephews, and others who might have remained and left clues to the same ancestors.

In Ireland civil registration did not begin until 1845 with the recording of non-Catholic marriages. However, not until 1864 were all registrations of births, marriages, and deaths started.

Laws Affected the Records

Laws in each country might explain missing entries. In Scotland an illegitimate child was legitimized when the parents later married. But at the birth of the child, the child may have been listed under the mother's maiden name. In fact always look under the maiden name of the woman even at death. She may have divorced. One other caution. If your ancestor is not in a civil registration particularly prior to 1860, that doesn't mean they were not born in the United Kingdom. There are estimates as high as 15 percent of births being missed in those early years. But this should not keep you from searching. Civil registrations are just the best place to begin research in each of the individual countries that make up the United Kingdom.

Assignment:

2. Study one of the civil registrations provided in this lesson.
5. Write down as many clues as you can from one of them.
8. Indicate where else you could go to extend the information further.

About Genealogy Research Associates

Karen Clifford is the Founder and President of Genealogy Research Associates. She is an Accredited Genealogist, an instructor in an Associates Degree program in Library Science-Genealogy and Computers at Hartnell College (Salinas, California) and Monterey Peninsula College (Monterey, California). She has authored several family histories and textbooks including Genealogy & Computers for the Complete Beginner; Genealogy & Computers for the Determined Researcher; Genealogy & Computers for the Advanced Researcher, and Becoming an Accredited Genealogist.

Karen currently serves as Vice-president of the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) and Vice-president of the Utah Genealogical Association (UGA). She is a member of the California State Genealogy Alliance, the Association of Professional Genealogists, the National Genealogical Society, and the New England Historic Genealogical Society. In 1998 and 1999, Karen served as Director of UGA's Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy.

She has received several awards for her volunteer work in the genealogy community including the FGS Award of Merit and the FGS Outstanding Delegate Award.