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Date |
Event(s) |
| 1 | 1741 | - 1741—1837: Protestant Dissenters' Registry
A registry for Protestant events was set up at Dr. Williams Library in London, closed 1837 with 50,000 entries.
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| 2 | 1763 | - 1763: Marrying Age Raised
Minimum age for marriage set at 16 thereby raising the previously accepted age for marriage of girls from 12 to 16 and of boys from 14 to 16. Individuals under the age of 21 years still needed the consent of their parents to a marriage before the marriage would be permitted to proceed. On marriage records individuals that are over 21 often have their age listed as "full age" rather than an exact age.
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| 3 | 1778 | - 1778: First Catholic Relief Act
First Catholic Relief Act to relieve the burden of followers of that faith.
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| 4 | 1783 | - 1 Oct 1783: The Stamp Act
23 Geo. Ill, c. 71: Tax of 3p per entry instituted which was to be paid on every entry of a birth, christening, marriage or burial. Some churches and parishioners refused to record their vital events - baptisms and marriages. Some families took their children to be baptised, or marriages to be performed, to parishes that were sympathetic to the burden that had been placed on them by the government. The levy was collected directly by the incumbent of the parish and he was allowed to retain 10 percent as a commission.
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| 5 | 1785 | - 1785: The Stamp Act Extended
Provisions in this act were extended to non-conformist events.
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| 6 | 1791 | - 1791: Second Catholic Relief Act
Permitted the conduct of ceremonies and the registration of churches and priests.
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| 7 | 1794 | - 1794: The Stamp Act Repealed
The Stamp Act was repealed.
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| 8 | 1800s | - 1800s: Congregationalists
Independents became known as Congregationalists.
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| 9 | 1801 | - 1801: First census
Taken for statistical reasons only, but a few returns that give names have survived from 1801-1831 and are usually to be found stored in the parish chest of a parish.
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| 10 | 1813 | - 1 Jan 1813: Rose's Act
Commencement of the provisoes of Rose's Act "for the better regulating and preserving of Parish and other Register of Births, Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials in England" (52 Geo. Ill, c. 14), had the effect of requiring the Church of England rites of baptism, marriage and burial to be recorded in a completely new and uniform manner. Baptisms were to include the occupation of the father, or mother, as the case warranted, as well as the place of residence of the parents and the name of the cleric performing the ceremony. Occupation and place of residence, although not seeming to be of much significance can greatly aid in keeping families of similarly named parents in proper relationship to their respective children. Burials were to begin recording the age of the deceased, the name of at least one parent if the deceased was a child, the occupation and place of residence of the deceased, or in the case of a child the occupation and residence of the child's primary parent. Again, the name of the cleric performing the ceremony was added. Marriages were to be recorded in a precise format that was supposed to allow for the stipulation of the bride and groom's respective marital status at the time of the marriage and their respective places of residence. To the marriage entry was added whether the marriage took place by banns or licence and the signatures of two witnesses along with the signatures of the parties to the marriage. And, again, the name of the cleric performing the marriage was also added. All of these tiny pieces of information - clues to relationships - can assist one in researching their family history.
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| 11 | 1829 | - 1829: Catholic Emancipation Act
This Act ended all statutory religious, political and social persecutions of Roman Catholics.
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| 12 | 1832 | - 1832: Reform Act
Gave the voting franchise to many more people and introduced electoral registers.
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| 13 | 1834 | - 1834: Poor Law Amendment Act
The commencement of the second period of poor relief in England and Wales. The old parish system of poor relief was abolished and the first Boards of Guardians of the poor was introduced.
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| 14 | 1837 | - 1 Jul 1837: Civil Registration
The start of the General Register of Births, Deaths and Marriages in England and Wales.
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| 15 | 1841 | - 1841: First Nominal Census
This census was the first to require the names of all members of a household to be recorded along with a generalized statement of place of birth and the provision for the rounding down of ages over 15 by 5 years to the nearest 0 or 5, e.g. a person aged 59 was to be recorded as aged 55 and a person aged 23 was to be recorded as aged 20. Occupation was also included but no relationships of the individuals within a household to the head of the house was made until 1851. The nominal census returns continued decennially to 1911 being the latest census to be released to the public arena.
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| 16 | 1859 | - 1 Jan 1859: Principal Probate Registry
The Registry was established and the jurisdiction of proving Wills and granting of probates was removed from the ecclesiastical courts to the District and general Probate Registries as of 1 January.
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| 17 | 1860s | - 1860s: Christian Revival Society
This Society was formed by William Booth.
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1761 -