Basic tools, websites and records for genealogy research in Wales or for Welsh families abroad.

1. Welsh Family History: Getting Started

2. Agenda
• Getting started
• Free help
• Records for family history
• Websites

3. GETTING STARTED

4. What you need to get started
• A place, the parish name is good
• Having the village or farm name is best
• Name of the ancestor
• Reference tools
– Gazetteers
– Maps
– Book: Parish Registers of Wales

5. Jurisdictions
• Several levels of
jurisdiction applied to
the area where your
ancestor lived.
• The parish and diocese
are very important for
family history research.

8. A great “free” program that handles
Welsh naming patterns

9. FREE HELP

10. Familysearch.org

12. RECORDS FOR FAMILY HISTORY

13. The parish was the center of the world
Before 1834 the parish was
the both the civil and
ecclesiastical center of life.

14. Parish Registers
• Recording christenings,
marriages and burials went
into effect in 1538.
• There are just over 1,000
ancient parishes (created
before 1813) but only 71
have records that survive
before 1600.
• Many parishes have no
registers before 1754.

15. Key Dates
• 1538 Order to begin recording christenings, marriages
and burials
• 1538 – 1732 expect registers in Latin
• 1698 – 1703 some events not registered to avoid
taxation
• 1752 the first day of the year is changed from 25
March to 1 January

16. Key Dates
• 1754 separate, pre-printed forms used to record
marriages
• 1597 – 1917 Bishop’s transcripts
• 1783-1794 Stamp Act taxed all registrations
• 1813 printed forms used for christenings & burials
• 1837 parishes use the same form for marriages as civil
registration

17. Christenings
Christenings often show:
• child’s given name
• Father’s name
• Mother’s name
Sometimes included:
• Family residence such
as the village, street or
farm name
• Father’s occupation

18. Post 1812 parish register

19. Bishop’s Transcript

21. Marriages

22. Marriages
• Get your bearings
– Map of the country
– Map of the county showing all parishes
– Atlas and Index of Parish Registers
FHL book# 942 E7pa

23. Start with a marriage index
• Search the Family History Library Catalog by
doing a place search for the county
• Use the IGI
• Marriage and Census Indexes FHL book# 942
D27gjh

26. Marriages pre 1754

27. Pay close attention to all names

28. Typical post 1753 parish register

29. Details to watch for 1754-1837

31. • I’d like to look at a Banns register for 1818 but
according to Parish Registers of Wales the
records do not exist.
• Note that the BTs start a generation earlier than
PRs

32. Banns register

34. Banns register

35. Marriage by license

36. Nonconformist Records
Template 007.ppt 36

37. FamilySearch Research Wiki
Template 007.ppt 37

38. Template 007.ppt 38

39. Template 007.ppt 39

40. Template 007.ppt 40

41. Template 007.ppt 41

42. Carmarthenshire Nonconformist Records
Template 007.ppt 42

43. Glamorgan Nonconformist Records

47. Census records often group family
members together

48. Census records often group family
members together

49. Census records often group family
members together

50. Record Supplements/Substitutes
• Poor quality or missing
parish registers and
Bishop’s transcripts
may be supplemented
by monumental
inscriptions.

51. WEBSITES

63. The Search page allows you to filter

64. The Search page allows you to filter

65. The image page has the option to
enlarge & download the image

68. http://www.slideshare.net/darris