England, Devon, Parish Registers - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
The index to this collection refers to baptism, marriage, and burial records from the western part of the county of Devon for the years 1538-1912. This collection was done in cooperation with FindMyPast, and a full version of the index can be found at their website.

Parish registers have been kept at the local level across England since the mid-1500s. Due to this long and relatively stable tradition, these records are central to English genealogical research as they are often one of the only sources for finding families and individuals in England before the start of civil registration in 1837.

To learn more about parish registers, please see the England Parish Registers page.

Image Visibility
Whenever possible, FamilySearch makes images available for all users. However, rights to view images on our website are granted by the record custodians.

These images can be viewed online by members of the supporting organization(s), at a Family History Center near you, or the Family History Library. Also, the images are viewable to users who are part of the (enter the contributing organization here), or to users who have contributed to the FamilySearch Indexing effort. Learn how to be a part of FamilySearch indexing here.

For additional information about image restrictions, please see the Restrictions for Viewing Images in FamilySearch Historical Record Collections page.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
Baptism records include:
 * Name of the child
 * Date and place of baptism

Marriage records include:
 * Names of the bride and groom
 * Date and place of marriage

Some records also include:
 * Age
 * Estimated year of birth

Burial records include:
 * Name of the deceased
 * Date and place of burial

Some records also include:
 * Age
 * Estimated year of birth

Sample Records
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Coverage Table
This table lists the parishes represented in this collection, as well as the types and years of records available for them. The numbers in parentheses are the Digital Folder Numbers.

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of the individual you are looking for
 * Approximate date of the marriage

View the Images
To view images in this collection:
 * 1) Look at the Coverage Table above to determine the folder/film number for the images you want to see
 * 2) Go to the Browse Page
 * 3) Select the Film number to view the images

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Look at an image of the original record, if possible. The index entry generally lists only the most basic identifying information for an individual; the original record may contain further information which was not indexed *Save or print a copy of the image if possible
 * If you found a baptism record, use the information to search for a date of birth in a civil register
 * If you found a baptism record, use the date to approximate an age and search for their family in census records
 * If you found a marriage record, follow the new family through censuses
 * Note that family members often appear on an individual's vital records, such as in the role of witnesses to a marriage
 * Continue to search the index to for the same surname to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * Names were often written according to its pronunciation. Pay special attention to how the name should have been pronounced and try other spelling variations that could have that pronunciation
 * Individuals might have been listed under a middle name, a nickname, or an abbreviation of their given name
 * Vary the search terms. For example, search by either the given name only, surname only, or expand the date range to return broader list of possible matches
 * It would not be unusual for a child to be baptized weeks or even months after birth
 * Search the records of nearby parishes. For this particular collection, this step may require finding records in the bordering English counties of Cornwall to the west or Somerset and Dorset to the east
 * Some parish records might have been lost over time. The Bishop's Transcripts can also be a good source. See the Devon Bishops' Transcripts page for more information
 * The individual in question may not have records in the Church of England at all, but rather might have belonged to a nonconformist denomination. See England Nonconformist Church Records for more information

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached Wiki article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.

"England, Devon, Parish Registers, 1538-1912."Database with Images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : accessed 2017. From "Church of England parish registers 1538-1911." Database and images. findmypast. http://www.findmypast.com : n.d. Citing images provided by FamilySearch International.
 * Collection Citation:

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