Genealogy Chat

Anyone know when birth, death and marriage certs started, and was it always the law to register an such an event? What's the best way to prove any family lines before then? I know there is the 1837 date, but can you get certs going back to then?
What's the oldest cert you have obtained?
Thank you : ) Fiona

You can get certificates going back to July 1837, however not all births were registered. It was actually a legal responsibility to register the event after July 1837, however there were no penalties for not doing so until 1875, so some people just did not bother. Even after 1875 there are some events not registered.

Before 1837 you have to rely on parish records, i.e. baptisms, marriages and burials. You can check on line on the IGI at www.familysearch.org, or visit the local record offices.

Kath. x

Registration started on 1 July 1837. It became compulsory in about 1875 so you may not always find a cert until then. Even after 1875 not all families registered the births of children so there are still some gaps.

Prior to 1837 you're in the realms of parish registers.

Jill

Fiona,

Yes 1837 is the date, July 1st to be specific. Yes you can get them back that far - my earliest is a marriage from December 1837. You can get them online from the GRO for £7 (although some other sites will try to rip you off by charging much more). There are many threads on here giving more info on how to order.
Before that date, parish records are the main source. These are usually kept at the county records office local to the event, although a lot are available on CDs from Family History Societies or paysites like Ancestry.

Good Luck.

RobG

I think it was compulsory from the start it's just that in the early days the registrar used to travel across his patch and collect the information, so it was easier to slip through the net. In practice I have found a pretty high success rate for the ones I have been interested in, perhaps I have been lucky.

The rules were tightened up in 1875 putting the onus on the parents to go to the registrar, rather than wait for him to come to them. The six week rule was introduced and penalties for non registration were also increased. I suspect though, that there were many late registration where they fibbed about the date of birth, to avoid getting into trouble.

There were also some important changes to the registration of deaths at that time which made it a requirement for all deaths to be certified, unless there were extenuating circumstances making this impossible. This is the opposite of what tended to happen before.

This is an invaluable web-site if you wish to learn more

http://home.clara.net/dixons/Certificates/indexbd.htm

Thank you everyone, very much!
I will see how far back I can get then, would be pretty cool to have the older certs in my hands and the proof that that I'm getting my information right : )
Fiona

The earliest certificate I've obtained was, I believe, for September 1837, so at the very beginning of the system.

For London BMDs Ancestry's premium subscription takes some parish records back to 1754. I upgraded recently and the additional cost has more than paid for itself in time and train fares.

I have to beat that. I have a certificate for a child born 1st July 1837 and registered on 14th July, Number 13 for the District.

I totally agree with InspectorGreenPen. So often you will be told births possibly weren't registered. However about 95% of births were registered between 1837 & 1875, and this became higher when the onus was on the parents to register; approximately 99%.

Ozi