A collection of useful hints and tips, including explanations of abbreviations used, dates of significance in your research and anything else seemingly relevant. If you have any email the site administrator.

1601 - Provision of the Poor Laws.

A system of Settlement was laid down by law, and from 1697 parochial churchwardens were empowered to issue a parishioner with a settlement certificate acknowledging his right to their aid. Armed with this, a poor man could travel and take up residence elsewhere, and the wardens of his new parish would accept him because they had documentary evidence on which to return him, if necessary, to the parish that acknowledged responsibility for him.

1710 - Records of Apprentices.

From the year 1710, whenever a boy was apprenticed to a trade a stamp duty had to be paid, and these records of the binding of apprentices survive to provide the name of the apprentice, that of his father or widowed mother, and his master, as well as his parents' abode. Churchwardens and overseers of the poor were empowered to apprentice to husbandry any child under the age of 16 whose parents they judged unable to maintain him. If a master could be found in a neighbouring parish, this form of apprenticeship was often a convenient way of getting rid of a pauper child, because the apprenticeship conferred settlement after a period of forty days. "Husbandry" for a boy and "Housewifery" for a girl, simply meant being a servant on the land or in the house: later, in the industrial revolution, it might mean life in the mill, or even down the mine.

1752 - Change to the Julian Calendar.

In the middle of the 18th century, two changes were made in the English calendar. The first, moved the official start of the year from 25th March to 1st January, so changing January, February and March from being the last three months of the old year to the first three of the new year. The second, by "losing" eleven days from September, was from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian, bringing England into line with the rest of Europe where the Gregorian system had been used since 1582. As the new system was adopted by some before its official introduction, great care must be taken in transcribing extracts containing dates in January, February and March before 1752. The correct procedure is to transcribe the dates in both Old Style and New: 2nd February 1603 Old Style, should be shown as 2nd February 1603/4.

1 January 1753 - Commencement of the provisoes of Hardwicke's Marriage Act

Most significant contribution to family history research comes with the commencement of the prosions of Hardwicke's Marriage Act, or, an Act for the Better Prevention of Clandestine Marriages, which was proposed by Lord Hardwicke and passed during 1752.  The first and foremost important point in research that comes directly from the operation of this law is that every marriage, other than those of Jewish or Quaker faith, had to be performed at a parish church of the Church of England.  Marriages were not permitted at chapelries of the Church of England unless special dispensation had been granted to that chapelry.  Therefore, when looking for marriages that occurred between 1 Jan 1753 and 1 July 1837, when the then new provisions took precedence over marriage ceremonies, you can be assured that the couple had to marry a Church of England parish church.  Again, the only exemptions were those allowed to Quakers and Jews to permit them to marry within their own places of worship.

1 January 1813 - Commencement of the provisoes of Rose's Act

Rose's Act 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.

1st July 1837

The start of the General Register of Birth, Deaths and Marriages in England and Wales.