Genealogy Chat

Hello, If I find a birth of a relative on the IGI without a mothers name and only the fathers does that mean the mother died in childbirth? Shirley

Shirley If it's a date in the 1700's the name of the mother was not always included in the parish registers, so the IGI won't have the info either. I think the clergy thought the mother was not of enough importance to include. After all they only gave birth to the child, nothing more than that!!!!! I have found lots in parish registers that have only the father's name. Margaret

Hello Margaret, Thanks for that. I did wonder about it. seems a few IGI records of my ancestors were motherless. Now I know why. Shirley

Please remember that the IGI and other FamilySearch information is not 100% reliable. It is recommended that you double check all information in the original registers so you don't wander off on the wrong twig of your tree! Maz. XX

Thanks for that Maz. I only put names on my tree if I am certain. Shirley

How can you double check an entry onIGI records if they are prior to 1837? Tricia

Patricia Parish registers, that is what IGI is a transcription of. Check at the county record office of the county in which the particular place in situated. There are some amazing errors in the IGI, never take it as gospel, it has been said that some of it is a work of fiction Margaret

A crestfallen OH! now I have to face a lot of parish register work. If the census ties in with the IGI information,ie: my gt gt grandmother is shown on IGI as born 1803 and the 1891 census show the correct age,can you not assume that the information is correct. Tricia

Patricia I would never assume anything. Why are you worried about the parish registers? They can be full of info you would never expect to find. Example: An ancestor of mine commited suicide. I would never have known this if the vicar hadn't recorded suicide next to his burial record in the register. I have since found (with the help of someone on GC) the newspaper report of his death. All thanks to a vicar. Also, unless you are prepared to stop at 1837 you have to consult the parish registers to go any further back. Margaret

Patricia please take note of all the above comments. IGI is only an aid and is not perfect. You have to check the parish records. If I go on IGI I can trace 1 branch of my family back to 1620. Do I assume it is correct? That is why I am going to Lincoln next week to look at the records, to see with my own eyes. I can only say that parish records are great as you learn so much. A handy tip though to all who look at PR is first look at the Bishops Transcripts. Thes have been typed by many a kind soul from Parish records and save loads of time. Then look at the PR. You will eventually track everything re that particular ancestor and that makes the thrill even greater. Good luck, John

Hi Margaret and John. I now appreciate that the parish records can give me more information but my problem with searching them, is that I live in Middlesex and the relatives I am researching originated in Cheltenham. I am using the services of a researcher to find the births and marriages of the ones I cannot find online. This method would prove to be rather expensive to use at all times. Perhaps I will spread the cost over a longer period and select certain individuals to verify. regards Tricia

Does anyone have experience of getting pre 1837 information from London. Either Westminster or the London Metropolitan Archives? I would be interested in their experience.

I have a query about parish registers in the 1700's not including the mother's name, posted by Margaret Harrison (although I am not that far back yet!) Do you mean that there is no record of the mother, ie. on later birth certs the mother's name is recorded, but as you have to rely on parish records in the 1700's is there another way of finding out the mother's name? Hope that is clear as I am confused. Lynne

Lynne I don't know if this happened in all parishes, but I have found some from 1600's and 1700's that do only have the fathers name. It will say for example John Smith son of John. The only way I have found to guess at the mother is to find the marriage of the man in question. Be also very careful to check burials because very often the woman would die and the man remarried and continued to have more children with the next wife. There is not much else we can do about it now I don't think it's just another way of how women were thought of as second class citizens. Margaret

Maz posted a reminder that the information on the IGI should be checked in the original register. I did that last week - the IGI dates were mostly accurate (some were wrong) BUT the IGI gave dates of birth, with the source given as the film of the registers. I know that sometimes the parish registers do show a birth date, but none of the ones I checked last week did. Judith

Judith I think that's why we say the the IGI is sometimes a work of fiction. Very few parish registers give the date of birth, it's up to the vicar. Margaret

To Patricia: If you have any more Cheltenham queries, the records are held at Gloucester R.O. I go there frequently. Unfortunately my ancestors were all non-conformist. which complicates things. If you have any unsolved searches, let me know and I will check them for you.

Just another word of caution Bishops Transripts are a transript (from which a lot of the IGI is transcribed from) and they can contain errors or omissions, they don't always carry the same information as the Parish Registers themselves. But BT's are very useful where the PR's are missing or damaged. If you don't live in the area you are researching, then try your local LDS family history centre and you will be able to hire the films. You can also hire films at Worcester Record Office. Parish Registers are well worth looking at, even if it is only to see how acerbic the vicar could be towards unmarried mothers! Ros