The Most Comprehensive Search-Engine for England Ancestors: 

FamilySearch.org/search 

Which database would you search, first:  i.e. names from Lancashire church records of a) a database-pool of 21 million names, or, from b) an older Lancashire church records database pool of merely 3.8 million names? The choice seems quite obvious! 

Yet I'd wager to say (though I'm not a betting person) that you didn't know that when you search for ancestors in strictly FamilySearch’s “Historical Records” page (HRP—see https://bit.ly/2RnsumQ), that your search is automatically limited (with hardly any exception) with fractional lower numbers of names in the old databases found there in that portion the website! So, user [of the FamilySearch Historical Records page] beware! 

While it’s true most of these old published stand-alone databases (in HRP) come with images attached (a wonderful feature), those databases, however, are not often updated with fresh, newly indexed name entries!

As FamilySearch indexes close to a million names a day), what happens to fresh name entries from newly indexed records, and where can you access and search them? The answer and the purpose of this brief article is to reveal that just about all newly indexed names are automatically funneled or processed--in almost real-time--to their databases found in FamilySearch’s main search engine (SEP—>see https://bit.ly/2zgLdsi). So always choose wisely when using FamilySearch.org to search for ancestors:  Choose ALWAYS to first use the main search engine page (SEP--see above screen-shot), when searching for ancestors online! To do this, follow these simple steps when you visit FamilySearch.org's main search (engine) page (SEP—https://bit.ly/2zgLdsi): 

1) type the ancestor’s data 

2) then type in name of an i.e. England county in the “Location” field

3) click “Search”!

Because you are using the main search engine, you are now searching the best, most comprehensive and updated county-wide datasets provided by FamilySearch! And FamilySearch has been indexing Church of England and Nonconformist church registers since at least 1969 and has the most published data online (Greater Middlesex [partially] and Oxfordshire [mostly] excluded).

Here’s the county by county current comparison of England county dataset total numbers in both SEP and HRP. When you see the totals, you will realize you are drastically limiting the numbers of names against which you are searching when using the (HRP) database sets in the Historical Records page vs the when you use the main Search Engine page (SEP):

County Name	Search Engine Page (SEP) searches--	Historical Records Page (HRP) searches--
Bedfordshire	1.5 million – 90%	NA
Berkshire	1.2 million – 70%	NA
Buckinghamshire	1.2 million – 65%	NA
Cambridgeshire	1.9 million	182,000 – only 10%
Cheshire	8.5 million	6.6 million
Cornwall	3.1 million	840,000 – 29%
Cumberland	1.5 million – 80%	NA
Derbyshire	6.3 million	2.7 million
Devonshire	4.4 million	2.4 million – 55%
Dorsetshire	3.3 million	1.5 million
Co. Durham	3.3 million	100,000 (marrs only) 03%
Essex	3.4 million	1.4 million – 50%
Gloucestershire	4.3 million – 60%	NA
Hampshire	4.6 million	1.4 million – 33%
Herefordshire	2.5 million – 80%	NA
Hertfordshire	1.8 million – 95%	NA
Huntingdonshire	1.4 million – 65%	NA
Kent	9.8 million	1.9 million – 20%
Lancashire	21 million	1.8 million - 09%
Leicestershire	2.5 million	2.5 million – 100%
Lincolnshire	6.5 million	1.3 million – 28%
London	1 million – 90%	NA
Middlesex	5.5 million – 28%	1.2 million (Westminster only)
Norfolk	5.1 million	1.4 million -
Northamptonshire	100,000	71,000 – 71%
Northumberland	2.9 million	854,000 – 32%
Nottinghamshire	1.8 million	NA
Oxfordshire	360,000	NA
Rutland	600,000	326,000 – 52%
Shropshire	2 million	NA
Somersetshire	2 million	NA
Staffordshire	9.6 million	4.8 million – 50%
Suffolk	10 million	NA
Surrey	5.7 million	2.1 million – 40%
Sussex	5.8 million	2 million – 35%
Warwickshire	6.2 million	2.8 million – 44%
Westmorland	1.2 million	NA
Wiltshire	3 million	NA
Worcestershire	2.5 million	NA
Yorkshire	12.6 million	NA
ENGLAND TOTAL:	174 million (SEP)	41.7 million – 24% vs SEP

Successful searches are made dramatically more possible in FamilySearch.org’s by using the main search engine (SEP)! Contrastingly, the stand-alone databases in the Historical Records (browse) page (or HRP) are only fractionally as helpful!  Always(!) use our main search engine, first! Then try the databases found in our Historical Records page--with their respective images.

Happier hunting to all!

  A Hand List of Online England County-wide Indexes


This list provides the largest and most powerful ‘finding’ sources county by county for online indexed or transcribed *CMBs (christenings, marriages and burials) in England. The websites below show county-wide coverage for each county which are currently available to England family history researchers.


This code key is for the County List of best websites (below):

• FS – FamilySearch.org
• FMP -  FindMyPast.co.uk
• AC - Ancestry.co.uk
• OPC – Lancashire, Sussex, Warwickshire, etc., “Online Parish Clerk”; Google to find
• Joiner MI – Joiner Marriage Index; see at www.joinermarriageindex.org.uk ($)
• FHS – Family History Society; Google to find website by county name
• Soc. Gen. – Society of Genealogists, London; see at www.sog.org.uk ($)
• TheGenealogist or TG – see at www.TheGenealogist.co.uk ($)
• FreeReg – see at www.FreeReg.org.uk
• BMI - Boyd’s Marriage Index - now located on FMP (see above)

County List - best websites with church record databases for finding ancestry:

Bedfordshire:  FS – 1.2m or nearly 98% county coverage
Berkshire:  FS – has abt 1.2m (70% co. coverage);FMP – 1.1m
Buckinghamshire:  FS – has abt 1.2m or nearly 50% county coverage;FMP – 2.1m Buckinghamshire county archive has some 
       marriage licences online;
Cambridgeshire:  Cambridgeshire FHS – CDs for 100% co. to 1900; CDs available also at FHL); FS 1.9m - ~70% coverage for co.; 
      Freereg – 46%; Boyds Marr Indx – 85% at FMP
Cheshire:  FS – 9m ~70% coverage; Cheshire Parish Reg. (CMBs) Proj (31 parishes only); Ancestry – 5m; FMP – 6.5m
Cornwall:  FS – 1.6m (80%);OPC – 1.9m (85+%); BMI. – 80%; FreeReg – 85% (mostly marriages)
Cumberland:  FS – has 1.5m (80+% county coverage)
Derbyshire:  FMP – 5.3m 85% and FS – 4.9m 75%; Ancestry – 6.4m
Devonshire: FMP – 7m and FS – 4m—abt 50% coverage; FHL also has some parish register transcripts
Dorsetshire:  FS – 8.6m; FMP – 3.6m, & Ancestry.com – 7.7m; theGenealogist – 1.5m
Durham:  FS – 80+% county coverage; FMP – 3.6m;www.durhamrecordsonline.com; Freereg – 74% theGenealogist – 1.8m;
Essex: FS – 3.4m; Ancestry – abt 2.2m entries; theGenealogist – 2.5m; FMP – 700k;also Essex Rec. Office (SEAX) online has images
      of PRs but no transcriptions;
Gloucestershire: Ancestry.com – 10.2m; FS – 3.4m; Avon FHS CDs; Gloucestershire archives: http://ww3.gloucestershire.gov.uk 
      /genealogy/Search.aspx
Hampshire: theGenealogist – 3.2m FS has 4.2m (part. pre-1750);FMP – 2.9m FMP; Hants Record Office marriage index (mostly
      complete); Freereg – abt 30% coverage;
Herefordshire:  FS – has over 80+% county coverage up to 1880; Bertram Merrell Marr. Index (on microfiche at FHL); Herefordshire
      FHS – marrs 1538-1957; burials- 1813-1839
Hertfordshire: FS – has nearly 90% or 1.8m up to 1875; FMP – 1.8m
Huntingdonshire:  FS – 1.4m; FMP has 228k burials
Kent: FS 8.2m East Kent & West Kent FHS has CDs with abt 70% marrs. coverage; and FMP – 2.2m or most of East Kent; 
      Ancestry – 2.m
Lancashire: FS 21m, incl Mchstr;  Ancestry – 12.6m, incl Mnchstr; incl Liverpool RCs – 2.4m; Lanc OPC  8m; Freereg – 30%  FMP –  
      1.7m Manchester
Leicestershire:  Leicestersh. Fam. H. Soc.CDs - 70% cov; FS – 1.1m or 40%; FMP – 3.5m
Lincolnshire:  FS – 6.25m or abt 85+%; Freereg – 82% coverage; FMP – 4.5m
London [City of]: FS abt 90+%; Ancestry.co.uk – abt same
Middlesex:  Ancestry.co.uk – 27.4+ million (~60+%, largest online; Westminster mostly excluded); plus Pallots Marriage Index – 
      1780-1837 (80%); Docklands ancestors – abt 1m entries for Greater London’s East-end parishes of Middlesex; FS – 5 million
      entries; Westminster only--FS - 1.8m; FMP 5.4m for Westminster.
Monmouthshire:  FS – 5.1m; FMP ~1m 
Norfolk:  Ancestry – 8.5m; FreeReg.org.uk - nearly 75% coverage; FS – 4.5m; FMP – 4.3m; thegenealogist – 3.6m, completing rest of 
      county by 2017; Genealogy.doun.org has abt 300k PR/BTs entries; see also Tinstaafl
Northamptonshire: Northamptonshire R.O. has marriage index; Northhants FHS published BMB indexes on CDs - see at 
      www.familyhistorynorthants.co.uk; Ancestry – 7.6m; Freereg –  71% coverage; FS – FHL has CDs
Northumberland:  FS – 2.9m or 85+% coverage; FMP – 2.3m; Joiner MI; Freereg – 80% coverage; theGenealogist – abt 2+m
Nottinghamshire:  Ancestry – 4.3m; FS – 1.8m (70%);freereg - 90% cov.FMP – 2.2m; more TG – 1m
Oxfordshire: AC – 4.3m; FS – abt 366k or ~08% coverage; Oxford FH Soc. (see their website) has numerous parishes transcription
      publications for sale
Rutlandshire:  LRFHS.org.uk has numerous CDs available; FS abt 100k or 25% coverage for county;  FMP - ~361k
Shropshire:; FMP – 3.9m (has most burials) FS – 2m (~50%, some burials)
Somerset:  FreeReg.org.uk – has nearly 85% county coverage; Ancestry 7m; FS -  30% or 2m; FMP – 5m­; theGenealogist – ~1m
Staffordshire:  FS – 9.6m or 85+% coverage; FMP – 4.6m; Freereg – 3.2.m
Suffolk: Suffolk FHS CDs - ~60% coverage (by deanery name), burials completed; FS ~65+% (10m);  (Boyd’s Marriage Index or BMI –  
      33%) (avail. on FMP) FMP – 1m
Surrey: Ancestry – 3.8m; FS – 3.7m or abt 70+% coverage; FMP has 500k
Sussex:  FS – 5.8+m coverage; Sussex OPC - many parishes completed; Burchall Marr index - E. Sussex; Leeson Marriage Index – 
      on CDs; FMP – 1.2m ;theGenealogist – 3m
Warwickshire: Ancestry – 6.4m; FS – 4.6m; FMP – 4.9m; Warwickshire OPC has indexed many parishes; Freereg – 56% coverage;
Westmorland:  FS – largest databases for county with 70+% coverage or 1.2m
Wiltshire:  FMP – 5.1m; FS – 3m or nearly 50% coverage; Nimrod Marriage Index is complete; Freereg – 80% - mostly marriages; 
     Ancestry – 3m; more in Summer of ‘17
Worcestershire:  FS – nearly 75% coverage or 2.5m; see Birmingham and Midland Society publications; theGenealogist – 2.1m+ 
     entries 
Yorkshire: Ancestry.co.uk – 11.8m PRs/5.8m BTs – tot. 17.6m; FS – 12.1m; FMP – 21.4m; Joiner Marriage Index – 2m+; Sheffield
     Indexers – partial data, no post-1754 entries for Cath

Wales CMBs:  FS.org – 7.5m; see below; FMP – 8.1m (abt 65%)- see under name of co.)

§  Anglesey: FMP – 502,000; FS.org – 301,000
§  Breconshire: FMP – 304,000; FS.org – 313,000
§  Denbighshire:  FMP – 892,000; FS.org – 819,000
§  Caernarvonshire: FMP – 404,000; FS.org – 227,000
§  Cardiganshire: FMP – 151,000; FS.org – 200,000
§  Carmarthenshire: FMP – 590,000; FS.org – 702,000
§  Flintshire: FMP – 628,000; FS.org – 657,000
§  Glamorganshire: FMP – 2.1m; FS.org – 2.3m
§  Merionethshire: FMP – 293,000; FS.org – 191,000
§  Monmouthshire: FMP – 617,000: FS.org – 550,000
§  Montgomeryshire: FMP – 993,000: FS.org – 593,000
§  Pembrokeshire: FMP – 495,000; FS.org – 539,000
§  Radnorshire: FMP – 145,000; FS.org – 150,000

·   Wiki.familysearch.org – look under single parish name, or County’s List of Parish’s on County page. Scroll to “Church Records”; then click links to parish records online

British Navy/Royal Marines:  FMP 1m; TNA (the nationalarchives.gov.uk)
·         British Army and nationals’ BMDs abroad 1730-1969:  Ancestry – 437,000; TNA
·         British Consulate BMBs 1810-1968: Ancestry – 21,000; TNA
·         British Army Pensions:  FMP has several W.O. pension records indexed; TNA
·         British BMDs (births, deaths & marriages) at sea 1844-1890:  437,000 at Ancestry; TNA
·         British India BMDs 1647-1948 – FMP – 2.5m;  FIBIS.com; theGenealogist.co.uk
·         British Merchant Seamen 1835-1857:  FMP – 1.9m; TNA
·         Nationals Armed Forces Marriages 1796-2005 – FMP – 242,000k
·         Nonconformist/nonparochial registers: FS – several million entries; indexing since about 1976; thegenealogist.co.uk; bmdregisters.co.uk
·         Old Bailey Quarter Sessions (Grtr London, S. Eng.) & Accts 1674-1913 – FMP – 1.2m
·         Quakers:  FMP 1.3m; FS – has indexed most of its large collection of Quaker registers

Miscellaneous “Tips” to Find Ancestors online at FamilySearch.org:

     FamilySearch.org – has many burials now online for numerous counties
     FamilySearch.org – is now indexing in most England counties, generally; if your county is NOT listed in the “Browse all published collections” on the FS “Search” engine page, then instead, search under the name of county by typing it in; or search at the parish level (spelt correctly).
     Probate records: most counties have county-wide indexes available online; Google under 1) county name, with the search terms “index” and “probate” (or “will”); or better, use Wiki.familysearch.org and click on “England/[name of]County/Probate”; follow steps
     “Google” the search terms:   1) [name of] county 2) “Indexes” & 3) i.e. “Baptisms”
     www.parishregisters.com ($)– a.k.a. East Dockland (London) Ancestors or view at FMP




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Tracing Elusive Pre-1855 Scottish Ancestry

Did you know that hardly 50 percent of Scotland's pre-1855 population appear in Scotlandspeople.gov.uk's "Church Registers" database? Or, Did you know that by the year 1851, about 60 percent of our Scots ancestors were non-subscribing or dissenting church-goers outside of the Church of Scotland--the government-sponsored or established church?  That's something we are not told when searching the "one-stop-shop" website that is www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk! 

So what happened to the 'other half' of Scotland's population? 

Let's say your ancestor[s] name[s] rarely--if-ever--appear in Church of Scotland parish registers. What if they aligned themselves with a dissenting (or Nonconfomforist congregation, or were non-Church of Scotland people who belonged to a non-subscribing Presbyterian faith/denomination? So naturally you then ask: How do I trace such Scottish ancestry in pre-1855?

Seven-Steps to Finding Elusive Pre-1855 Scottish Ancestry
Here are the very next-steps you must take to find further ancestral info when a name does not appear in Scotlandspeople.gov.uk Church Registers (pre-1855).  These next steps are—

1)     Search FamilySearch.org's Family History Library's Scottish Church Records Database Scotland Church Database index (located at FamilySearch Centers in North America, Australia/NewZealand and in the some other FSC worldwide; find at "Get Help" and Local on the F.S. website). Their old DOS-based database index contains some names from both non-parochial and non-seceder (Presbyterian-based) church registers

2)     Then check the FHL online Catalog under the parish name to see what nonconformist/non-subscribing Presbyterian church registers the FHL holds; then register with FamilySearch (it's free) to search these microfilm scans which can be done mostly at home. Note:  FHL hold only between 5-10%.

3)     Scotland’s Peoples’ New Register House in Edinburgh (Princes Street) holds many (but not all dissenting and non-subscribing Presbyterian church registers)

4)     Search the Kirk Session (church court) records at selected regional archives.

5)     Local/Regional archives, such as Dundee City Archives or Strathclyde Regional Archives, etc., online catalog[s] to see what holdings they possess in the way of all nonconformist and non-subscribing Presbyterian church registers in their respective holdings. [Hint:  can Google! to find a list of all Scottish Regional or local archives with links to addresses, online catalogs and email addresses.]

6)     Google! To find online transcriptions of some church registers, i.e. Scottish Episcopal registers or Reformed Presbyterian registers, etc.

7)     Google! To find the target chapel/church’s website/page. Then email to inquire of the registers’ location; then ask if you can make a donation to request a lookup (one upfront, then a follow-up donation after the search has been completed—otherwise you may lose your upfront donated monies); or, the other alternative is to then hire a professional genealogist to go visit the church to the search registers. The funnest way is to fly there, and go visit and search the church and its registers yourself--in person!

Happy Hunting!

Compelling Reasons Why Our Irish Ancestors Left The Emerald Isle

The following article was originally written for Wiki.FamilySearch.org (see Ireland, "Emigration & Immigration")

Reasons Irish Emigrated

The Irish throughout history had many reasons for leaving Ireland. As well many among those remaining in Ireland would have emigrated but were unable to, due to poverty or impoverishment. Many Irishmen during the Great Famine years who did embark were in such sickened and critically weakened condition that death followed many while traversing the high seas to their new world home.
Generally, the Irishman's reasons for emigrating--if not compelled to do so, to countries abroad were due to an intolerable convergence of circumstances including, but not limited to:

• dire economic conditions that destituted families
• austere political policies such as the Crown's Penal laws (from 1695-1829)
• a series of circumstances surrounding devastating crop failures especially in the mid-19th Century.
• social and religious persecution against most nonconformists and Catholics (the dominant segment of Irish society)

Here's a little closer look at the devastating effects of the Penal Laws and other reasons for emigrating.

     A look at Dunseverick Harbour

Many local people began their long emigration trail during the 1800s, being rowed out to catch a passing schooner bound for Glasgow or Londonderry (see above view) where they would embark on one of the many emigrant ships to Australia, New Zealand or the Americas.

If the 17th and 18th century Penal laws of the Royal Crown leveled at many Nonconformist societies, and in Ireland--especially Catholic society and later, i.e. the Highland Clearances in Scotland--could mostly be summed up in one word:  "brutalisation" seems to fit the bill for those times. For example, from at least as early as the year 1603, imagine a family homestead which prior to this time was once held by the family for several centuries, but was suddenly ripped from beneath their feet and which forced many onto the 'street' in abject poverty practically overnight.
These and other intolerable conditions in Ireland forced Irish (especially Catholic) emigrants to leave the country.
There were four central motivating factors which caused so many Irishmen to turn their backs on their homeland, in order to escape and thrive in a new existence abroad:

Political Culture of Persecution 

• Austere taxation and tithes policies
• Continual doctrine of ‘Conquer and divide’ policies enacted over centuries seized and evicted lands from native Irish Catholics
• Could not hold public office  
• Could not practice law
• Cruel landlords (not all--as there were compassionate ones among the many)
• Sponsorship of land price increases ('rent-racking')--allowed to unbearable rate levels--tossed hoards of already poor families, ‘out onto the street’
• Could not build a (i.e. Catholic) chapel/parish or live within 5 miles of the civil parish church
• Disallowance of land ownership for all Catholics

Economic 

• British government backed England’s grain exportations—but not Ireland’s; farmers emigrated
• New farming techniques increased output, decreasing the need for agricultural laborers
• Manufacturing industries sprang up, causing less emphasis in farming
• Irish poor-law provided means by which vast numbers were granted mostly free passage to countries abroad

Social and Religious

A culture of social and religious persecution by the local Protestant-led and British Crown government was manifest in utter disregard and total distrust of Catholics’ loyalty to the Crown, and escalated to harsher laws enacted, such as the 1695 Penal laws passed by the Crown government, which stripped many Nonconformists and of course Catholics in Ireland of their civil rights to—

• choose between attendance in a Catholic, or a Protestant place of worship
• vote
• enter a profession
• receive an education
• serve as officers in British armed forces
• teach in, or enroll in colleges
• defend themselves with weapons
• be employed or an employer in a trade or in commerce
• own a horse of greater value than five pounds
• purchase nor lease land
• inherit land or moveables from a Protestant
• buy or receive a gift of land from a Protestant
• rent any land that was worth more than thirty shillings a year
• reap from his land any profit exceeding a third of the rent
• be a guardian to a child
• hold a life annuity 
• leave infant children under Catholic guardianship
• accept a mortgage on land in security for a loan
• attend Catholic worship
• educate his child
• be instructed by a local Catholic teacher nor be educated abroad
• practice their own religion outside of the Protestant faith

Crop Failures 

• Devastating crop failures—especially The Great Famine from 1846 to 1851 decimated or starved to death, nearly a million people
• British government’s lack of food aid to Ireland during The Great Famine coerced nearly half the surviving population to leave Ireland
• Famine brought abject poverty, severe malnutrition inducing poor health, and adversely affected (to some--even death) 3-4 million Irish
• During the Great Famine years: Grains out of Ireland, were exported to England, while Irish were dying from the famine or causes due to it

Overall, some of the great positives borne out of these waves of Irish emigrants was the fact that millions the world over, have benefited from their rich Irish heritage.  On the backs of their respective Irish ancestors, each descendant (or not) has reaped the benefits of solid industrial and manufacturing infra-structures in their current societies such as in the Americas--the building of the extensive railroad, canals, steel and iron foundries, highways and remote byway systems, and often strong political leadership roles played in the evolvement and development of each nation's local and national governments.

Further Reading

1. O hEithir, Breandan, A Pocket History of Ireland, The O'Brien Press, Dublin, Ireland, 1989
2. MacManus, Seamus, The Story of the Irish Race, The New York Irish Publishing Co., 1921

Category: Ireland