Genealogy Chat

Thanks Allan for all that info. Debbie

The thing to remember about parish records is that they record baptisms (christenings), marriages and burials, not births marriages and deaths. So if someone was born and christened outside the parish they would not appear in the register. And for dates of birth and death the register will generally only provide the latest possible date, although some clergymen did add more details.
Baptism entries may only show the father's name, sometimes the mother's as well, but not her maiden name (except illegitimate births, where the mother's name would be shown). But if you find the approximate date of birth of a first child you may find the record of the parents' marriage some time in the preceding year (don't rely on it being more than 9 months before!) which can give you the mother's maiden name. So if the marriage to the Spanish party occurred in England you might just be lucky - but don't hold your breath!

BTW, when OTP is shown it doesn't necessarily mean that the party lived in the village/town of that name. Rural parishes in particular often consisted of a number of chapelries, usually separate villages. So while a marriage in parish church A might describe the parties as OTP it's quite possible that they came from B, or even one from B and the other from C, where B and C were chapelries to A.

Thanks Barry

If i was to go to look at parish records for before 1800, would it tell me where people were born as i have been told there might be spanish connections in my family and the only way i can get further back would be that way. Thanks Debbie