Parish Registers

[behindthefrogs]

Berks FHS has a large number of fiches of Sarum Marriage Licence Bonds for sale and these include Berkshire.  Copies of the fiches which it sells are usually available for use in its search rooms.

I think that the originals of these and any similar Berkshire records including wills, will be in Wiltshire Record Office rather than the BRO as most of Berkshire was in the diocese of Sarum until the middle of the 19th century.  The advantage is that Wiltshire FHS has transcribed many of them.

This of course does not apply to the parish records.

David

[newburychap]

Berks FHS has a large number of fiches of Sarum Marriage Licence Bonds for sale and these include Berkshire.  Copies of the fiches which it sells are usually available for use in its search rooms.

These are also available on CD from Wilts FHS. They are the bonds/allegations held in the WSRO, I would be surprised if the BRO don't have a load of them (to be honest I have never had the need to check their holding).

I think that the originals of these and any similar Berkshire records including wills, will be in Wiltshire Record Office rather than the BRO as most of Berkshire was in the diocese of Sarum until the middle of the 19th century.  The advantage is that Wiltshire FHS has transcribed many of them.

Most Berkshire wills are at the BRO - WSRO only have the Diocesan and most of the Peculiars. Needless to say TNA have the Archdiocesan wills (PCC).

[stonechat]

The Sarum marriage licence bonds DID transfer from Familyhistoryonline to Findmypast. unlike the Berks Marriage Index

[newburychap]

These are also available on CD from Wilts FHS. They are the bonds/allegations held in the WSRO, I would be surprised if the BRO don't have a load of them (to be honest I have never had the need to check their holding).

The Berks RO has a card index to the marriage licence bonds/allegations for the Archdeaconry of Berkshire. However, the originals were destroyed when a local Reading solicitors' office was bombed in WWII.

[rely01]

Hi

I was so excited when I saw the heading Parish Registers and thought at last I can make some progress with my Berkshire ancestors! Then disappointment!

Now I feel proud of Lincolnshire for having archives that are keeping up with the times and allowing FreeReg to transcribe and also for being a very small part of the team that has done the transcriptions - I'm definitely spurred on to get back to my transcribing!

[Lesanne]

  Hello Rely01,
   What names are you looking for and where? I'll keep an eye out for them next time I go home.

Best wishes
Lesanne.

oooo P.S. Welcome to Rootschat... 

[rely01]

Hi Lesanne

Thanks for the offer.

It's mainly the Hatch family, initially at Shinfield; I've got them from familysearch going back to the marriage of John Hatch and Susannah Holloway 15/7/1765. Shinfield, Berkshire, down to the familysearch info that John Hatch baptised 6/9/1801, Shinfield, Berkshire. parents John Hatch and Sarah. I've not got a marriage for him but his daughter (the first child I have for them) was baptised in Shinfield: Hannah Hatch baptised 3/6/1827, Shinfield, Berkshire. parents John Hatch and Maria. They had other children in Shinfield (found via the census): Charles c1830, Thomas c1833, Phillip c1836, John c1838, Sarah baptised 26/7/1840 (from familysearch), Marianne baptised 6/11/1842 (from familysearch), William c1845 and Frederick c1847.

Thomas is my 3 x great grandfather and I purchased a copy of his marriage certificate: Thomas Hatch, Father John Hatch and Mary Cusden, Father Richard Cusden married 3/1/1859 the Parish Church, St Giles, Reading, Berkshire. (The Cusdens were also from Shinfield and I have baptisms but not marriages from familysearch back to Thomas c1770.)

They then have children born in Pangbourne: Hannah 1859 (goes to Brighton), Mary 1860 (goes to Surrey), John 1862 and Sarah 1865 (think death record: Sarah Jane Hatch born c1865. died aged 15yrs, Sept' qtr 1880, Bradfield District, Berkshire, assume Pangbourne where she was living in 1871 and parents are still living in 1881).

John 1862 is my great great grandfather and I purchased a copy of his marriage certificate too: John Hatch, Father Thomas Hatch and Annie Simmonds, Father Samuel Simmonds married 25/12/1883 at St Jude's Church in the parish of East Bristow, Surrey. They then go to London and have children in various districts!

Our biggest stumbling block at the moment is Annie Simmonds. From the census after she was married, she was born c1859 either READING Berkshire England or Caversham, Oxfordshire, England. We've found some Annie Simmonds on the census but not with a father Samuel like the marriage certificate says and tehre's too many to go ordering the possible birth certificates!  So just checking out this possibility would be a fantastic help without taking up too much of your time, unless any of the rest fits in with what you are already doing.

Thanks so much

rely01

[Warwick122]

Oxford record office has the Caversham records for both churches up to about 191, so you might find them there (they are open on Saturdays!!). 

Also good news, Berkshire FHS has brought out a CD of Reading St Lawrence registers, so that should fill in a load of gaps.

[rely01]

Hi Warwick122

thanks for letting me know about Oxford but I don't think I'll be getting there any time soon - I live in North Lincolnshire and had back surgery about 10 weeks ago and only manage to drive to the local town! Trying to find a day when my husband has no meetings at work and can take me to the "local" archives at Lincoln, Doncaster or Beverley is proving impossible at the moment so I think Oxford is out of the question!

Thanks anyway,

Rachel