England, Dorset, Parish Registers - FamilySearch Historical Records

England Dorset

What is in the Collection?
This collection is an index to church records from Dorsetshire, covering the period 1538-1936. Availability of records may vary by year and locality.

A parish register is a record of ordinances performed in the Church of England. Every minister recorded all the baptisms (or christenings), marriages, and burials which took place in his parish each year, and bound them into a single, handwritten volume. After 1754, a new law required that marriages be recorded in a separate book, and banns, or proclamations of the intent to marry put forth in the parishes of both the bride and groom, were to be recorded in yet another book. Starting in 1812, pre-printed registers were introduced, and separate registers were then kept for baptisms, marriages, and burials. Often kept within a county record office or other archive repository, registers 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.

Dorsetshire, or modern Dorset County, is one of the historic counties of England. It is located on the English Channel coast in southwestern England.

Collection Content
This collection refers to baptism, marriage, and burial records. Baptism record entries are the most common in the index, followed by burial records, with marriage records constituting the smallest portion.

What Can This Collection Tell Me?
The following lists indicate potential information given in each type of record. It must be remembered that every record may not give all of the listed information.

How Do I Search the Collection?
This section provides information on how to search the collection, what to do with information once found, and what to do if no record is found.

As you are searching it is helpful to know such information as your ancestor's given name and surname, some identifying information such as residence, age, estimated [event] year, and family relationships.

To search this collection by name:vv Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors 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 compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor.

To browse by image: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select the "County" category ⇒Select the “Town, Parish/Church" category ⇒Select the “Event Type and Year Range" category which takes you to the images

Search the collection by image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination.

List of Parishes Included
Abbotsbury

Admiston

Affpuddle

Alderholt

Allington

Almer

Arne

Ashmore

Askerswell

Athelhampton

Batcombe

Beaminster

Beer Hackett

Bere Regis

Bettiscombe

Bincombe

Bishop's Caundle

Blandford Forum

Bloxworth

Bluntshay

Bothenhampton

Bourton

Bradford Abbas

Bradford Peverell

Bradpole

Bramblecombe

Branksome

Branksome Park

Bridport

Broadstone

Broadwindsor

Bryanston

Buckland Newton

Buckland Ripers

Burton Bradstock

Catherston Leweston

Caundle Marsh

Caundle-Purse

Chalbury

Chaldon Herring

Chetnole

Chettle

Chideock

Clifton Maybank

Colehill

Corfe Castle

Corfe Mullen

Cranborne

Dewlish

Dorchester

East Chaldon

East Holme

East Lulworth

East Stour

Edmondsham

Ensbury

Farnham

Fifehead Magdalen

Fifehead Neville

Fleet

Folke

Fontmell Magna

Frampton

Gillingham

Glanvilles Wootton

Godmanstone

Gussage All Saints

Hampreston

Hamworthy

Hermitage

Hilfield

Hilton

Hinton Martell

Holt

Holwell

Hooke

Horton

Iwerne Minster

Kingston

Langton Long Blandford

Langton Matravers

Leigh

Littlebredy

Litton Cheney

Loders

Long Bredy

Long Crichel

Longburton

Longfleet

Lytchett Minster

Manston

Mappowder

Margaret Marsh

Marnhull

Marshwood

Martinstown

Melbury Abbas

Melbury Bubb

Melbury Osmond

Melcombe Bingham

Melcombe Regis

Melplash

Milborne St Andrew

Milton Abbas

Milton On Stour

Minterne Magna

Moreton

Nether Compton

Netherbury

North Poorton

Oborne

Over Compton

Owermoigne

Parkstone

Piddletrenthide

Pilsdon

Plush

Portesham (Portisham)

Powerstock (Poorstock)

Preston

Pulham

Puncknowle

Purse Caundle

Ryme Intrinseca

Stalbridge

Stratton

Sturminster Newton

Sutton Waldron

Swanage

Swyre

Sydling St Nicholas

Symondsbury

Tarrant Gunville

Tarrant Hinton

Tarrant Keyneston

Tarrant Rushton

Thornford

Tolpuddle

Turnworth

Wareham

West Chelborough

West Knighton

West Lulworth

West Moors

West Orchard

West Parley

West Stour

Weymouth

Whitchurch Canonicorum

Wimborne Minster

Wimborne St Giles

Winterborne Abbas

Winterborne Clenston

Winterborne Houghton

Winterborne Kingston

Winterborne Monkton

Winterborne Muston

Winterborne Whitchurch

Winterbourne Steepleton

Witchampton

Woodsford

Woolland

Wyke Regis

Baptism or christening records list the parents’ names, making it possible for you to connect your ancestor to an earlier generation. You may find a birth date listed or be able to approximate a birth date. After 1812, the baptismal records list a place of residence, making it easier to identify your family by where they lived. The records also list the father’s occupation, which makes it easier to identify your ancestor's family when more than one family with the same name lived in the parish.

Marriage records sometimes state the residence for the bride and groom. You can use this information to look for their baptisms and to identify the children of this couple. Sometimes the groom’s occupation is listed, which could help you find more records about the groom. Marriage records after 1754 list the names of witnesses, who were often family members. These can help you identify your ancestor’s family. Signatures in the records might be used to identify a particular individual by the handwriting style.

After 1812, and sometimes before, burial records include the age of the deceased. Use this age to approximate the person’s birth year and to find the baptismal record. If the deceased is a child, the parents’ names might be given. This information helps to extend your family another generation. The occupation of a deceased male might be given (especially after 1812) and can help identify your ancestor when there is more than one person by that name in the area. Knowing the occupation might also provide you the opportunity to find other records about your ancestor.

What if I Can't Find Who I'm Looking For?

 * Transcription is a human process and can include error. If you are searching a computer data base which has been indexed exactly as viewed, it may be necessary to search on variants of the given name and surname.
 * The transcriber may have faithfully rendered Thos. or a Latin spelling like Xpher and your search for Thomas or Christopher may not produce a search result.
 * Parish register entries may not correspond with post 1837 Civil Registration certificates. The registration of Marriages involves a quarterly return from each authorized person (Registrar General approved) to the local Registry Office and each Registry Office in turn to form a National Index.
 * The transcription of information from the event may not correspond to the original entry.
 * Since Civil Birth registrations are only partial in the early decades of Civil registration parish registers may be the only source of record for infant birth and death in a period of high infant mortality rates.

General Information About These Records
Parish registers are one of the best sources for identifying individuals and connecting them to parents, spouses, and other generations. In July 1837 the government instituted the civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths. However, parish registers continue to play an important role because they are often more readily available than civil registers. Bishops’ transcripts are a backup source for parish registers that are missing or illegible. If possible, you may want to search both the parish registers and the bishops’ transcripts since one is a handwritten copy of the other and might contain differences.

Banns indicate the parish of residence of the bride and groom. This information often leads to the records of another parish. You can search for the baptisms of the bride and groom in the parishes of residence since these might also be the parishes where they were born.

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached 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
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information; Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):

Image Citation: