England, Hampshire Bishop's Transcripts - FamilySearch Historical Records

England Hampshire

What is in this Collection?
This collection consists of Anglican church records from the county of Hampshire for the years 1538-1980. Availability of records may vary by year and locality. Beginning in 1598, every parish priest of the Church of England was supposed to make a copy of his parish register and send it to send to the archdeacon or bishop every year. Termed either archdeacon’s or bishop’s transcripts, these copies were generally produced in the same form as a regular parish transcript. Many priests stopped producing these transcripts with the beginning of civil registration in 1837, but they did not fully disappear until after 1870. As bishop’s transcripts generally contain more or less the same information as parish registers, they are an invaluable resource when parish records have been damaged, destroyed, or otherwise lost. However, because bishop's transcripts are, as their name implies, copies of the original records, they are more liable contain errors than parish registers might be. Most collections of bishops’ transcripts have been preserved, and their condition is relatively good considering the age of the records and their storage conditions over the centuries. Many collections have also been copied to microfilm or microfiche. One of the 39 historic counties of England, Hampshire, also known as Southamptonshire in the period of this collection, is located in southeastern England on the English channel. Until the late nineteenth century, the county also administered the Isle of Wight. For a list of parishes which historically made up this county with links to more information about each of them, see the Hampshire Parishes page.

How Do I Search the Collection?
To search the collection by name: Fill in the requested information in the boxes on the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the individuals in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to look at the information on several individuals comparing the information about them to your ancestors to make this determination. Keep in mind: For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.
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What Do I Do Next?
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Did You Find the Person You Were Looking For?

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Citing this Collection
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