Finding marriage records can be extremely difficult if you do not approach the task correctly. The hardest part is getting started, which means finding the documents in the first place. But how do you find church marriage records?
The process is not as complicated as you may think, as long as you know its specifics. Let’s go over the details so you can find the marriage records you are looking for.
Where Are the Church Marriage Records Kept?
Any marriage that is performed at a church, any church, will have copies of records kept at that church. Fortunately for you, the technological age that we are in gives you an easier way to access them. Unless you want to go on a road trip and visit the church where the marriage took place.
These records are known as parish registers. They have been recorded since laws were set into place requiring them. Unfortunately, there are two time periods when marriage records were not diligently recorded, so you may be unable to find records between 1553 and 1558 and between the years 1642 and 1660. I have also written articles regarding marriage registers.
Can Marriage Records Be Found Online?
The easiest way to find any church marriage records is to go online to one of the platforms that helps you search for records. Many can search records from all the church locations throughout England and Wales. Pick the one that you want to work with and go from there.
- Familysearch.org – This is one of the top sites for searching through your genealogy records. If you cannot figure out how to use their search features, you can go through their teaching files that show you everything you need to know.
- Irishgeneology.ie – If you have any Irish ancestry, you can search through numerous databases, including the church archives.
- Freeukgeneology.org.uk – This site lets you search through their high-quality archives of UK church records.
- Parishregister.co.uk – One more that offers vast search engines you can look through online.
There are other websites that you can use if you prefer. Just do a quick web search on your browser, and you will find more options. I have written articles regarding Ancestry and FindmyPast, but please note that these sites do charge a subscription fee.
How You Can Access Church Marriage Records Offline
Searching for marriage records online is all very well if you have a computer at home and enjoy going on to the internet. But not everyone has access to the internet, or in some cases, does not want to. In that case, you will have a couple of options available. It will take a little more time than if you use online search engines and require substantial effort. But it is possible to find the records you are seeking using this method.
- Church – You can go directly to the church and ask to review their public records. You may find some resistance unless you are a part of their church, but they are public records, so they should let you in. Some churches ask you to make a small donation to church funds, and some churches make a charge to allow you to access the records.
- County Record Office – The second option that you have, which may be the best, is to go to your local county record office. Most record offices hold marriage records for each of the parishes in the area covered by the office. Please note, however, that some marriage records, especially more recent records in a smaller parish, can still be held by the church as the marriage registers are still in use today
Doing research by hand is much more time-consuming. Still, finding the information you are looking for is also more rewarding. You may find that some records have not been scanned online yet, so the only way to find them would be in person. Plus, you would visit the location where the marriage happened in person, which gives you a closer connection to the loving couple you are searching for.
Steps You Need to Follow to Find The Marriage Records
Now that you have decided which route you will use for your search, and you have narrowed down the site you want to use, it is time for some action. You will need to be at the location where you will be searching for the records and have a pencil and paper to take notes. Record Offices do not normally allow you to use a pen because of the fragile nature of the documents, and the danger that some ink could inadvertently get onto the documents, some of which can be hundreds of years old. You can usually use a laptop, but they do make a charge if you wish to plug it in.
- Ask to use the archives of registers that they have.
- Search through the records by using the last name of the married couple.
- Sort through the records that you find until you find the one you are looking for.
Some record offices hold transcriptions of the registers in their possession, so you can search for them in that record before perusing the actual register.
There are some drawbacks to tracing your family in a record office. One of the main drawbacks is that you have to have some kind of idea of the parish your ancestors married in as many record offices do not have an index of marriages throughout the county.
Another drawback is that if you are like me, you will find that your family came from many different areas of the country and you will have to factor in the cost of travelling to the office, the cost of staying in a hotel if you wish to stay for more than one day and also any fees the Office might charge. You also have to factor in the cost of petrol, food etc. It can become very expensive to trace your ancestors in a record office once all these costs are taken into consideration. I have written an article regarding planning a genealogy research trip.
One advantage, however, is that once you have found the record, the Office, on payment of a fee, will allow you to take photocopies of the record as long as doing so will not damage the document. You may even be allowed to take a photograph of the document. The Office does make a charge to people taking advantage of this service, and ask you to sign a copyright form.
If the register you are looking at is on a microfilm or microfiche, you may be allowed to obtain a printout of the record.
Many record offices will also allow you to search on a computer, as many record offices provide access to the internet. Taking advantage of this service gives you the best of both worlds as you can view original documents and also search online if you so wish.
Online Methods
When you opt to use online search engines, there is a little different approach that you will need to take.
- Choose the website that you are planning to use.
- Make an account with them. Make sure you use a password that you can remember, but others cannot guess. Even though the records are public, your work is private.
- Enter the names in the search engine boxes and any other information you can fill in.
- Search through the entries that come up until you find the records you are looking for.
One main difference to using online sites rather than going to a record office is that many sites do make a charge for people using the site. I have written articles regarding Ancestry and FindmyPast.
There are also some drawbacks to using online sites as some of the transcriptions are not always accurate. If you cannot find the record you are seeking, one option is to put in a name without a surname and search through all the records, but this can be a very time consuming process. This option is best if you can input more information such as an approximate marriage date, a spouse’s first name or last name.
Another option is to use the site’s wildcard facility such as using *inton. This will bring up all the surnames ending in inton. Another option is to use Mint*. This will bring up all the surnames starting with Mint. I am sure you can find many other alternatives.
I have found many relatives using these methods, and I am sure you will, too!
Final Thoughts
You can easily find church marriage records throughout England and Wales through many different avenues. It all depends upon you and your specific beliefs, but the papers have all been recorded at all the parishes and churches, except for the years listed above when some rulers or wars prevented them from writing down the information from the weddings.
Online sites can offer you a much more comprehensive range of searches if you are trying to trace your lineage. If you are looking for a specific marriage in a church location that you know of, you may want to visit the church in person anyway. If so, you might as well look up the records by hand. Either way, you go, it is a straightforward process and simple to do once you find the locations or websites and get to it.