Source Information
About Buckinghamshire, England, Extracted Church of England Parish Records, 1535-1812
This database is a collection of historical parish registers from Buckinghamshire, England. Parish records--primarily baptisms, marriages, and burials--provide the best source of vital record information in the centuries before civil registration. All of the data was transcribed as it was originally presented in various published registers and books. For this reason, you will find interesting phonetic spellings and large descriptive tables of contents.
What should I know about this collection?
Due to the nature of the records and because the records were originally compiled by a third party, it is difficult to absolutely verify the completeness and validity of the data.
Historical Context
A large number of parish records date from the sixteenth century, when a series of mandates required clergy to compile records of baptisms, marriages, and burials within the parish, and to send an annual copy to the Bishop. Essentially, there are two sets of records: the parish copy and the copy the clergyman sent to the Bishop each year, known as Bishops Transcripts. Many records were destroyed, lost, or simply not kept during the Civil War (1642-1660). Of the surviving records, many have since been transcribed and collected by genealogical societies. The records are a valuable resource for finding vital information of people of the time. The content of the records may vary between the two sets.
Civil registration of births, deaths, and marriage, often called General Registration, began in July of 1837. It provides a national vital records index that simplifies searches and includes people who may not have been associated with a church. The civil records are more readily available than parish records (parish records after 1837 often aren't filmed) and are easier to use. But many births went unrecorded in the early years of civil registration, so parish records are still extremely valuable.
Buckinghamshire: Fenny Stratford - St. Martin's Chapel, 1730-1812Buckinghamshire: Newton Longville - Parish Register, 1560-1840
Buckinghamshire: - Registers of Marriages, 1552-1812
Buckinghamshire: - Registers of Marriages, 1582-1812
Buckinghamshire: - Registers of Marriages, 1605-1837
Buckinghamshire: - Registers of Marriages, 1558-1837
Buckinghamshire: Little Woolstone - Parish Registers, 1596-1813
Buckinghamshire: Great Woolstone - Parish Registers, 1538-1811
Buckinghamshire: Chesham - Parish Register, 1538-1636
How do I find copies of the originals?
These records are a finding aid that help researchers locate an ancestor in a particular time and place in history. With a location and an approximate date, the microfilm number of pertinent corroborating records can often be found on the LDS Church's FamilySearch site (www.familysearch.org) in the Family History Library Catalog. The Family History Library in Salt Lake City has the largest collection.
For unfilmed original parish records go to The Phillimore Atlas and Index of Parish Registers, under the county of interest. This will then direct you the County Record Office where the registers are housed. You can also contact local genealogy societies or local parishes for information on viewing original records. See Crockford's Clerical Directory, a directory of Church of England clergy, if you wish to write to a parish. It is published annually.
There are other church records, and a search on Familysearch.org on the FHLC can provide you with listings of original parish records by doing a locality search for your county/parish, then look under "Church Record" type.