Cornwall
Church Records
Contents
Anglican Church Records.
- The Lambeth Palace library has call books for the Archdeaconry of Cornwall 1713-1749 (Court of Arches Exhibits Ff 35c-v). The call books record dates of induction of incumbents of parishes and could be of interest to those with clergyman ancestors.
- The list of surviving Cornish parish registers and their availability, appears as part of "Church Records" detail on each parish page.
- The Church of England (Anglican) have a website providing information about, and links to, sources for tracing your family history. Much of what is covered will be held in archives and repositories across the country but their pages aim to give a guide to where to find information, and in particular which Anglican sources are likely to be of use and how to find them.
- Records of the Diocese of Exeter, (which included most of those relating to Cornwall up to 1875), 13th-20th centuries (including bishops' registers of institutions, ordinations, licences, and consecrations, faculties, marriage bonds and allegations, tithe maps and apportionments, glebe terriers, consistory court act and deposition books, testamentary and other papers) are available in the Devon Record Office.
- Further information about English Church records is available from GENUKI.
- Original/copies of the Parish Registers of Cornwall are available at the Cornwall Record Office, which also has a more complete collection of Bishops Transcripts. A Source list is available from the Office itself (County Hall, Truro, TR1 3AY).
- The Cornwall Centre (Kresenn Kernow) holds copies of the Bishop's Transcripts on microfilm for the majority of parishes in Cornwall. Most date from the mid-sixteenth century to approximately 1670/80, from 1737-1740 and from 1773-1812. The Library produces a list of holdings.
- Parish register information in the UK is increasingly being transcribed onto Internet websites by the Free Registration Project which is searchable.
- The OPC Project for Cornwall have begun transcribing parish records: baptisms, marriages and burials; these are on-line.
- Cornish Parish Registers - background and details of what is available from Cornwall FHS.
- The LDS Church have placed some baptisms, marriages and (a very few) burials on their FamilySearch site. Researchers should be aware that less than 70% of Cornish parish registers have been filmed by the LDS.
- Transcriptions of Cornish parish registers in the custody of the Cornwall Record Office are listed.
- The Batch Numbers of the IGI index for Cornwall are available on-line.
- A list of Cornwall's Parish Registers, which are in the Library of the Society of Genealogists, is now on-line.
- Phillimore Marriage transcripts of Cornish parish registers are available on CD and, increasingly, on-line by the UK Genealogy Project.
- The Anglican parishes of Cornwall at the turn of the 21st Century are listed and available on-line.
- Crockford's Clerical Directory, listing Church of England clergy from the mid-19th century, is on-line.
Non-Conformist Records.
- Some Non-Conformist records are available on-line through the OPC Search Facility.
- Baptisms for the Tavistock Wesleyan Church (incldes East Cornwall) 1866 to 1871 are available on-line through the OPC search Facility (C-PROP).
- The Cornwall Family History Society have published transcripts of 1813-37 Quaker Marriages and 1813-37 Quaker Burials which occurred in Cornwall.
- Cornwall Legacy have published on CD all records kept by the Quakers between 1609 to 1837, and held in London and the Cornwall Record Offices, and covers the whole county for the period up to 1837.
- Cornwall Legacy have also published on CD Nonconformist Registers held at the PRO. These are complete transcriptions of all the Methodist, Baptist and Independent registers sent to London at the start of civil registration in 1837. The registers are for Nonconformist baptisms and burials for the whole on Cornwall. The disk also includes an index to all the registers concerned (1760-1837).
- Information from The Bible Christian Magazine is available on-line.
Jewish Records. There is an on-line database listing Jewish records of marriages and burials available.
Specific Information - Marriage Records.Specific Information - Burial Records.
- General. Until 1929, the minimum ages people could marry were 12 for girls and 14 for boys; in 1929 both ages were raised to 16. The consent of parents was required for those under 21.
Apart from Jews and Quakers, most people had to get married in the parish church. Parishioners were usually married by Banns, which meant that details of the proposed marriage were announced from the pulpit (of both the groom and bride's parish churches) for three consecutive Sundays prior to the marriage and a challenge issued in the usual way: "If any man knows reason why these two should not be joined etc........".
The delay and public aspect of Banns could be avoided by the purchase of a Marriage Licence (usually from the Archdeaconry Court). Marriage by Licence meant that the couple could be married without Banns being called thus saving time in many instances. Perhaps the groom was leaving the district (member of the navy, or other reason), and they wanted to be married before he left, or perhaps the lady was pregnant, or it might be one of the local 'gentlemen' who worked 'up-country' and only had a short time in the parish, or maybe it was because they could afford to pay for a licence.
Church records include a register of Banns, which are often kept with marriage registers.
- Methodists. From 1 July 1837 Methodists could get married in their own Chapel if it was licensed for marriages BUT the Superintendent Registrar of the area had to be present and record the details in his own register. Before this date, except for Jews and Quakers, all marriages could only take place in the Church of England (Anglican) churches.
- Registry Offices. It was also possible from 1837 to have a civil marriage in a Register Office. On 30 June 1837, two Acts of Parliament became law: the Marriage Act 1836, and the Registration Act 1836 (6&7 Will. 4 c86). By these two Acts, covering Births, Deaths and Marriages, the Guardians were directed to provide a register office and to appoint Registrars of Births and Deaths. The Marriage Act provided the opportunity, for the very first time, of marrying with a civil ceremony. The Clerk to the Guardians was given a right of appointment to the office of Superintendent Registrar, and the power of appointment of Registrars of Marriages. Arrangements for carrying out periodic censuses also devolved upon the Superintendent Registrar and the Registrars. That register of marriages was kept by the Superintendent Registrar also. The registers held by at the Register Office cannot be seen, but Index books can be viewed at an hourly cost.
- Specific links to on-line marriage information can be found as follows:
- Ted Wildy's Marriage Witness Index for Cornwall is available on-line.
- A database of 19th century Cornish Marriages is being compiled and put on-line.
- Anglican Church Registers. Most Church of England marriage registers for Cornwall up to about 1900 have now been deposited with the Cornwall Record Office which is the legal requirement.
- Non-Conformist Church Registers. Marriage registers for Non-Conformist Chapels in Cornwall are NOT available until the 1890s. The only place to find a marriage in a chapel is to apply at the local Register Office asking the Superintendent Registrar to search his/her own book, and pay for the certificate.
Specific Information - Cremation Records. Cremation is now a civil matter rather than a church matter. PENMOUNT CREMATORIUM is a publicly-owned, self-financed facility administered by a Joint Committee representing the four Cornish District Councils of: Carrick, Kerrier, Penwith and Restormel. It is ideally situated two miles from the city centre of Truro on a secluded country estate of twenty-eight acres, eleven of which having been developed as Gardens of Remembrance. Their cremation records are on-line. The records appear to have started in 1956. To access these records, you need to click on Book of remembrance and proceed as instructed. You would have to go through the pages serially if you don't have specific dates because there is no index.
- Cornwall Parish Registers Burial Search is available on-line. However, the list is fairly limited but is being added to.
- Some Cornish burials have been transcribed by the Cornish Forefathers Society.
- BMD Information from the OPC Database.
- Birth Certificates. The Cornwall OPC Project have a birth certificate search facility on their C-PROP database. Those wishing to donate details to the database are encouraged to do so.
- Marriage Certificates. The Cornwall OPC Project also have a marriage certificate search facility on their C-PROP database. Those also wishing to donate details to the database are encouraged to do so.
- Death Certificates. The Cornwall OPC Project also have a death certificate search facility on their C-PROP database. Those wishing to donate details to the database are also encouraged to do so.
This county is maintained by Ian Argall with help and information provided by a number of assistants.
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