Information

This section contains help relating to genealogical research in Kent and Suffolk.
The topics are:

 

Census returns

The decennial census was carried out on the following dates:

Before 1841, very few of the returns have survived. For details of what exists, have a look at the book 'Local Census Listings, 1522-1930', ISBN number 1 86006 052 8, written by Jeremy Gibson and Mervyn Medlycott, and published by the Federation of Family Hsitory Societies.

The following companies are publishing/have published census returns:

The 1851 census has been indexed or transcribed on a regional basis by various family history societies.

For further information, take a look at the information on the Family Record Centre's web-site.

And finally, have a look at the 1901 Census for Great Cockup.

 

Church records

Church of England

The information recorded in Parish Registers was changed by law several times.
Important dates for changes are:

Notes on the above (from what I've observed):

  1. Before 1813, the level of detail recorded was at the discretion of the Parish clerk. Exceptional or unusual events have extreme detail, the normal day-to-day stuff quite often has the absolute minimum.
    For example:
  2. The (normal) minimum age for marriage was 18 with the consent of parents, 21 without. For the majority of marriages I've checked (say 99%), the bride and groom were in their twenties or thirties. The prevalent idea that people married very young is simply not borne out by what I've seen. So if someone got married in 1760, you should consider 1715 to 1743 as the minimum date range to be checked for the person's baptism. [Many of the family history entries loaded into the IGI assume that people married at the age of 18 or 25.]
  3. Before Victorian times (1837), children were frequently named after their parents or other important members of the family. Names such as Henry, John, Thomas, William or Anne, Elizabeth, Mary were extremely common. From 1800 onwards, there was an explosion in the choice of forenames.
  4. Spelling: English isn't phonetic and even as late as Victorian times, the spelling of forenames and surnames would vary for the same individual (even in the same church). Add in the different local accents, and it's no wonder that you see all sorts of strange places recorded in the 'where born' column of a census.
  5. Movement: Be prepared to look over a wide area, especially to find marriages. It's again not generally true that people always stayed in their local parish. Some people did, but just as many have events recorded in other churches. (See the example in the non-conformity section below.)
  6. Why can't I find an entry in the Burial Register?
    The Burial register does not record the death of a person, it records their interment. So, any or more of the following could happen:
  7. Baptisms: A child was normally baptised a few days or weeks after birth. If the person was older, this is frequently noted in the registers.
  8. 'Infant' and 'child':
    The term infant seems to have been used to describe people, say, 0 to 3 years old, whereas child was used for 3 to 10. I'm not exactly sure on this point.
  9. During the 1800s, the population of England increased very quickly. The Church of England built and opened a large number of churches, especially in the Greater London and other metropolitan areas.
  10. There are several publications which identify the churches in a particular area:

Non-conformity

There are broadly two types of non-conformity - (a) religions or churches with a strict sense of membership; and (b) those where membership was not/might not have been a requirement to attend services or have baptisms recorded there.
Examples of (a) are Quakers, Jewish, Methodists, and examples of (b) are Congregational churches.

Taking Isleham Independent Church (1690-1805) as an example, membership was strictly recorded and observed, but the church also allowed non-members to participate. So Thomas Moore of Isleham was a member and quite a lot of detail about him is recorded in the (still extant) membership records, but his son-in-law and step-son [yes, that's the relationship and not a typo], John Fuller of Isleham, only attended the church (and donated a pew to it). The church's congregation travelled up to 50 miles to attend. (For those of you who are interested in the history of the Baptist church, Isleham became a Baptist church in 1806 and contributed some of the leading members of, and beliefs to, the faith.)


Did people swap between non-conformist and Church of England churches?

The answer is YES, because:


Catholic Church

This was officially illegal until 1791. There was, however, a loyal following in England and registers or records do exist from before this date. Michael Gandy has published a series of books detailing the history of the missions [parishes]. The Catholic Family History Society has also published some of its records. Go to the Society of Genealogists' bookshop for details.

 

Civil registration

This was introduced in 1837. It became a legal requirement for all births, marriages and deaths to be reported to the local registrar. Indexes to the entries are available at the Family Record Centre, etc.


Notes

  1. Especially in the early days, it is now clear that not all entries were registered.
  2. The problems of spelling described below (under Church records) also existed for civil registration entries. So you must always consider alternate spellings when checking the indices.
  3. Registration districts don't fall perfectly in line with county boundaries. Therefore you may have to look slightly away from where you expected.
    A 1901 census example: Penge falls in London, Kent and Croydon, Surrey.
  4. The national indices do contain errors and omissions (there's a procedure for reporting them).

Useful web-sites

 

Non-conformist resources

This section explains where to look for non-conformist records in Kent and Suffolk.
Please note that many of the sites contain religious beliefs and opinions which do not necessarily coincide with my own beliefs. The links are provided for genealogical and historical purposes only.


Recommended reading

  1. Tracing Your Ancestors in the Public Record Office published by the Public Record Office, ISBN number 1 873162 61 8.
  2. Catholic Missions and Registers 1700 - 1880; Volume 1: London and the Home Counties published by Michael Gandy, ISBN number 0 952053 51 9.
  3. Catholic Missions and Registers 1700 - 1880; Volume 2: The Midlands and East Anglia published by Michael Gandy, ISBN number 0 952053 52 7.
  4. National Index of Parish Registers - Volume 2; Sources for Nonconformist Genealogy and Family History published by the Society of Genealogists, ISBN number 0 901878 47 2. This covers Protestant denominations.
  5. My Ancestors Were Congregationalists in Engalnd and Wales published by the Society of Genealogists, ISBN number 1 859510 49 3.
  6. My Ancestors were English Presbyterians/Unitarians published by the Society of Genealogists, ISBN number 0 946789 62 2.
  7. My Ancestors were Methodists published by the Society of Genealogists, ISBN number 1 859514 03 0.
  8. My Ancestors were Quakers published by the Society of Genealogists, ISBN number 1 859514 04 9.
  9. The Bishops' register of confirmations in the Midland district published by the Catholic Family History Society, ISBN number 0 952900 62 8.
  10. Guide to Genealogical Sources Part 3 - Non-conformist records published by the Suffolk Record Office.

Libraries and record offices


Wills

This section explains where to look for wills and administrations in Suffolk.


After 1857

From 12th January 1858, all wills were granted probate by the Principal Registry of the Family Division [Principal Probate Registry] which is at First Avenue House, 42-49 High Holborn, London WC1V 6NP; telephone 020 7947 6983; opening times: 10.00 - 4.30 Monday to Friday.
Note that the Bury St. Edmunds has a card index to wills relating to West Suffolk for the period 1858-1928 and that this is cheaper and easier to access than paying for a search at the Principal Probate Registry.

Before 1858

Before 1858 Wills were administered by the Church of England (except for the period of the Civil War) and there were several levels of courts:

  1. The lowest level was the local manorial court which could administer transfers of land. I've only come across one (possible) example of this so far.
  2. The next level up was the courts of the Archdeaconry of Sudbury [West Suffolk] and the Archdeaconry of Suffolk [East Suffolk].
    The deaneries in Sudbury were: The deaneries in Suffolk were: Several parishes were in 'Peculiars' - they were administered by other courts. The parishes were:
  3. The next level up was the Consistory Court of Norwich which covered most of East Anglia.
    These wills are held at Norfolk Record Office.
  4. The highest level was the Prerogative Court of Canterbury (except for very complex cases involving legal action).
    These wills are held at the Public Record Office.
    When you look at the indices, if you see 'Pts' as the county this means that the person was either on a ship or held properties abroad (e.g. in the Colonies, India, USA, etc.)

How did this work?
The court which granted probate was determined on two criteria - the value of the estate; and whether the court had jurisdiction over the location of the properties in the will.
Taking the Fuller family of Buxhall/Stowmarket as an example:


Where are the records held?


Indices published

  1. Archdeaconry of Sudbury
  2. Archdeaconry of Suffolk
  3. Essex
  4. Consistory Court of Norwich
  5. Prerogative Court of Canterbury

Recommended reading

  1. Probate Jurisdictions: Where to Look for Wills by J. S. W. Gibson, published by the Federation of Family History Societies, ISBN number 1 860061 52 4.
  2. Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills and Other Probate Records by Miriam Scott, published by the PRO, ISBN number 1 873162 23 5.