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Your Ancestors in South Manchester can be traced.
To a large extent we all stand on the shoulders of our ancestors. We inherit family genes, family traits, the family myths and traditions.
But
who were our ancestors? Where did they live? Who did they marry? How did they
make a living and support their families? Were they rich? Were they desperately
poor? Did they even leave skeletons in cupboards or vast unclaimed fortunes?
Everyone has their own personal reasons for seeking their roots. Perhaps a
need to find a sense of place in an ever-changing world. Perhaps a wish to
prove a family legend, or simply surprise a relative or friend with a distinctive
and unique gift. Whatever you want I am here to help you.
Your
ancestors can be traced! this
is achieved by subjecting a wide variety of historical sources to detailed
investigation and analysis. These sources include civil registers of births,
marriages and deaths, census returns, parish registers, wills and many others.
These documents are located in both national and local archives. but also
a high level of genealogical and historical knowledge and expertise.
I can offer you all of these professional services
to help build a picture of your family origins.
I can either assist you with a query or conduct all the research for you and
produce a report for you to pass on through the Generations.
Brief
History of the References
Records of baptisms, marriages and burials have been kept from the earliest
of times. However the survival rate for most of the earliest records is somewhat
small. During the reign of Henry VIII, in 1538, Thomas Cromwell decreed that
proper registers be kept of all baptisms, marriages and burials that ocurred
in every parish. However, the reality was somewhat different from the ideal.
There were further decrees during subsequent reigns but it has to be said
that they have left us with a less than ideal legacy of records. In fact,
of the 11,000 or so parishes, there are fewer than 1,000 with complete records
back to the 1500s. This is due to various reasons, the primary one being that
although it was the responsibility of every priest to keep records the amount
of information actually recorded was left to his discretion (or otherwise!)
.
The situation was improved somewhat with the introduction in 1597 of what
are known as the Bishop's Transcripts. These are transcriptions of the parish
registers which were required to be returned annually to the Bishop. The theory
was good, but in practice some registers could not be transcribed because
they had been lost or destroyed prior to 1597. Later records often suffered
a similar fate. However, the survival rate of the Bishops Transcripts was
much better than the parish registers so between the two we have a much more
satisfactory (although not ideal) source of information.
Roman
Catholic
Some registers survive from 1778 when the Roman Catholic Relief Bill was enacted
but few were kept prior to this. In 1840 registers were supposed to be surrendered
to the Registrar General to comply with the Royal Commission of 1837. However,
few were.
Quakers
Prior to surrendering their registers in 1840 an index was made of all their
entries. This index is accessible on microfilm. Usually Quaker records are
more detailed than their Anglican counterparts. Of course, Quakers did not
believe in baptism of children but they did record dates of birth in registers.
Furthermore they continued to perform marriage ceremonies after Hardwicke's
Marriage Act was enacted on 25th March 1754.
©
2001 JOSEPH PLATT