The study of parish registers is quite apart from that of old deeds. The writing of the former begins at the period where the latter usually end, for deeds written in the seventeenth century are regarded by the antiquary as ‘modern’; but then comes the most difficult handwriting of all to decipher, because the old race of scholarly clerks had died out and been replaced by less educated men.
Parish registers are unique in many ways. They contain information nowhere else obtainable. Sometimes, besides the mere repetition of names, there are inserted scraps of original information, for the clergyman had undisputed control of the volumes until 1652, which remained usually in the keeping of his deputy, the parish clerk, and either of them could enter in the books whatever he pleased.
Every now and then an outcry arises as to the condition and care of parish registers, and desire is expressed that they should be deposited in a large public office similar to the Public Record Office; but anyone who has wished to make or obtain extracts from the registers at the diocesan registries is well aware of the trouble and expense involved. Search fees soon mount up. As regards expense and difficulty of searching, the Registers of Ireland are far worse than England. Many are the known instances where the precious volumes have been purposely mutilated, or by neglect suffered to fall into decay and illegibility; but, as a whole, it is wonderful to see the excellent condition and preservation of these old records, which, if once removed out of their own parishes into a large public collection, would lose all individuality, and become merged in the mass of manuscripts which are more or less buried in every large library.
It is a pity that some arrangement cannot be made to ensure preservation by a few copies being printed of each register. Transcribing is gradually being undertaken privately, but ought to be worked on a more systematic plan with uniformity throughout England. The Parish Register Society prints volumes, but there is no special library or collection of transcripts, printed or MS., and the British Museum refuses to buy any because they are not ‘original,’which, by the way, could not legally be bought or possessed by anyone.
The printing of a few copies would not in any way affect the fees accruing to the clergy from researches, but rather tend to increase them, for at present much information is lost because its whereabouts is unknown. It is this question of search-fees which causes such a steady resistance on the part of the resident clergy to any such project. But in spite of this the work has been begun already, and some day will be a public affair, and not left to private enterprise. The registers of many parishes are printed, or have MS. transcripts all ready for the press; nor is the expense as great as might be imagined. A few copies unbound may be produced at a cost of from £3 to £10, and can easily be covered by subscription.
It is not unusual, when applying by letter for extracts from an old register, to receive a reply of apology from the clergyman recommending a personal search on the part of the inquirer, as the information could not be sent owing to inability to read the unfamiliar old handwriting. This would be avoided if a typed or printed copy properly indexed were at hand for reference, while on any important matter, where an attested copy from the original was necessary, it could be obtained as heretofore, for legal work the original must be consulted, and a certificate obtained from the clergyman.
The history of English parish registers commences from the Reformation year of 1536, copied from the Spanish idea. Whether any previous system had existed we are unable to say, for information on the subject is lacking. Here and there fragments of registers are known earlier than the above-quoted date, but these are the exception, not the rule. Deaths noted down by the chantry priests or monks are found on the margins of old monastic breviaries, when prayers for the souls of the departed had been desired.
The subject is one of vast importance, for without proper registration it is impossible to decide the legality of a marriage or prove legitimacy of offspring, both necessary points of law where inheritance of landed property is concerned.
The scheme of parochial registration, as devised by Henry VIII.’s shrewd minister Cromwell, was only copied from a like plan long in use abroad.
The idea at first, being new to the English people, met with much opposition, being mistaken for a new species of taxation. Nevertheless, Parliament ordered it to be carried out under penalty of fines, and, being found a valuable institution, was submitted to, until custom fully established it. Thus our parish registers cannot be older than 1536. Though in a few instances earlier MSS. exist they are the exception, for the order did not become general till two years later,therefore 1538 may be reckoned as the year when registers may be said to have in reality begun in England.
At first the registers were carefully written, the entries being in Latin. After a while less care was taken. The notes were made on rough strips of paper called ‘clerk’s notes,’ and were supposed to be entered at fixed intervals in the book; but often this was irregularly performed, and the strips were mislaid and lost before they could be copied. In some parishes both the clerk’s notes as well as the old register book may still be seen and compared. Very few persons know that these are the original entries, and I believe ignorance of the fact excludes them as legal evidence. The religious uncertainty of the succeeding reigns caused the question of registration to be ignored, but Queen Elizabeth issued several commands on the subject, notably that by which transcripts were yearly sent at Easter to be preserved among the diocesan records.
Most of the old parish register books now existing are transcripts made according to Queen Elizabeth’s command, as can be seen at a glance, for the handwriting is uniform throughout, which could not have been the case if the notes made by the clerk had been periodically copied into the book. Curiously, the date of these Acts is not known. The bulk of the transcripts date from 1558.Another more stringent Act, to ensure yearly copies being made, was passed upon James I.’s accession to the throne, and the clergyman’s name was to be affixed to each page as witness that the copy was faithfully exact. Had these wise regulations been carried out to the letter, and in the spirit that was intended, we should now possess an invaluable corroboration of the accuracy of the parish registers; but alas! the transcripts to be found in the diocesan registries are meagre and imperfect. Years and series of years are missing, and the entries are so lacking in detail as to be practically useless. In some dioceses no transcripts remain—Rochester, for instance.
Personal search can, of course, be made among the diocesan registers, and this is strongly to be recommended, for any mistakes in a transcript render it not only valueless, but mischievous. Extracts from registers are the most dangerous material a genealogist has to deal with. Unless further authenticated by wills and old deeds to confirm the relationship, it will be found no easy job to piece together these broken links in the chain of evidence, and without wilful misrepresentation being intended, mistakes may and will occur.
Take, for instance, any name, and try to trace out the pedigree with the help of the parish register only. At first it is easy enough, whether worked backwards or forwards, but after the firstthree or four generations have been worked out all certainty of relationship is lost, and becomes confused.
The handwriting of the parish registers is a combination of the old set law-hand and the personal handwritings mentioned in the second chapter. Original entries (i.e., entries made at the time of performing the religious ceremony) are seldom met with before the middle of James I.’s reign, by which time the Latin language had fallen into disuse.
The Commonwealth Government passed an Act of Parliament appointing paid registrars to every village (1653). These were often illiterate men, whose only accomplishments consisted of being able to read and write, and whose zeal and discretion alone regulated the keeping of the register books. This duty was often but ill-performed, especially when age and infirmity overtook the registrar, who continued in office until death relieved him of his duties. No second registrar seemed in any case to have been appointed, nor did the Act of Parliament provide for such a contingency, and the work of keeping the registers devolved again upon the clergyman and his assistant clerk.
For several years after the Restoration of 1660 the registers were irregularly kept, and very erratic. The old race of educated clerks wasgone. Formerly, when the registers first began, clerkships may have been filled by men educated in the monasteries, who, when turned adrift, were glad to employ themselves as priests’ chaplains or private tutors as a means of livelihood.
Until the last century very few small schools of any kind existed for the poorer classes, except those provided by charitable bequests. These were few and far between, and could be of little benefit to the masses of the people. No wonder, then, that the ill-paid clergy were obliged to be content with very uneducated men to serve in the capacity of clerk. The registers of the latter part of the seventeenth century are indited in every variety of illegibly bad writing.
The chief difficulty of reading the old registers lies in the immense variety of forms a name was capable of passing through, owing to the laxity of English spelling and pronunciation. The people only knew their own surnames by oral tradition, and were entirely dependent upon the parish clerk, who wrote down the name as it sounded to him, and as sounds have a different effect on different persons, the commonest names often appeared in very strange and unrecognisable disguises before they finally crystallized into their modern forms. Eeles, Yeeles, became Wells.
It is not unusual to find items of miscellaneous information jotted down at random by the clergymanamong the entries of births, marriages, and deaths. Heavy falls of snow, disastrous floods, periods of drought, storms of any kind, were all events of great local importance in country places, and would remain for a long time as traditional landmarks in their annals. Alas! such items are rare, and are now rendered impossible in the printed columns of the modern register books.
The most useful and least troublesome way to catalogue the contents of a parish register for reference is to write out the year, and below it enter the births, marriages, and deaths, with the names occurring under each heading, but without taking the time or trouble to copy the dates of day or month, these last being only required for law investigations, and for which purpose a signed certificate from the clergyman direct from the originals only would be received as evidence.
Parliamentary blue-books have been issued on the subject of parochial registers, and a most useful pamphlet is issued by the Parish Register Society every few years, giving as complete a catalogue as possible of all registers of which up to the present day printed copies or indexes have been made.