Genealogy Chat

Phoenix is right, Im sure there is a very active northants fhs as some time back I mailed them and got a very kind email back with some details of a person I was trying to find. If you know the parish and have a good idea of the year of the marriage, the Records Office will normally look it up and photocopy the entry for you for about a tenner. When I have done that they have used the rest of the half hour left to see any other records that might be relevant to you aswell.

Ancestors seldom marry exactly when or where we suspect. Unless you already have an exact date and parish, it may be worth contacting the relevant fhs: http://www.northants-fhs.org/ They have a database with over 800,000 names on it from various sources, and a list of which parishes are covered for which period.

I recently contacted Northamptonshire County Archives about something else (records of Northampton Workhouse inmates) and got a very helpful reply within a day or two. Email address is archivist at northamptonshire (dot) gov (dot) uk. Archivist's name is Crispin Powell.

Jacqueline, Here is the Northamptonshire Record Office website. http://www(.)northamptonshire.gov.uk/Community/record/about_us.htm Remove brackets You may not necessarily have to visit. The Record Office may look the marriage up for you; but there would be a fee to pay for doing that. Have you tried looking for the marriage on the IGI? (International Genealogical Index) Here is the website for the IGI http://www(.)familysearch.org/Eng/Search/frameset_search.asp?PAGE=igi/search_IGI.asp&clear_form=true Remove brackets. Cheers, Horatia

Hi horatia, thanks for information, they were married in northamptonshire, would I have to go there to seach for parish records, regards jackie

Hi Jacqueline, You need to know whereabouts your ancestors/relations married and then go along to the county record office and search the parish registers. Parish registers are normally on Microfiche or Film. These marriages usually contain the name of the bride and groom, what parish they were from, who married them, date of marriage and names of witnesses. The witnesses are often relatives (cousins, siblings or parents). Hope this helps! Cheers, Horatia

You can't - they didn't exist. It's parish registers only. Civil registration began sept 1837 but wasn't compulsory till about 20/25 years later.

Hi, Can anyone tell me if you can obtain a marriage cert before 1837, If it is possible, can you explain how and what information I would need. thanyou, jackie reasons