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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.
E-Mail to:
platt644@btinternet.com
©
2001 JOSEPH PLATT