England, Bristol, Non-Conformist Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

England Bristol

What is in the Collection?
This collection contains vital records of nonconformist individuals from the city of Bristol, covering the period 1777-1936. Availability of records may vary by year and locality.

Used primarily from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century, ‘’nonconformist’’ was a term used to refer to an English or Welsh Christian who violated the Act of Uniformity 1559 by belonging to a sect other than the established state religion, the Church of England. These individuals therefore did not “conform” to the law, and from this dissent arose the term. By 1850, many different groups fell into the nonconformist category, including Reformed Christians (Presbyterians and Congregationalists), Baptists, and Methodists, and by 1888, when most of the Act of Uniformity was repealed, approximately 15 percent of the population of England and 80 percent of the population of Wales were considered nonconformists. See England Nonconformist Church Records for more information.

While not the most universal source for English genealogical research, nonconformist church registers often are the most informative and accurate source available for English family history until the start of civil registration in 1837. Nonconformist birth and baptismal registers are fairly common, and they generally contain more information than those of the Church of England. Except for the Quakers and Jews, nonconformist denominations generally did not keep marriage records, especially after 1754. Nonconformist burial records are also less common, as nonconformist individuals were buried in Anglican churchyards if a churchyard belonging to their sect was not locally available.

Now a modern administrative county unto itself, Bristol has long been one of the major cities of southern England. It is a coastal city located on the southwestern peninsula of Great Britain, straddling the border between counties of Somersetshire and Gloucestershire, and gives its name to the Bristol Channel.

Collection Contents
Baptism records may include:
 * Name and gender of child
 * Parents' names
 * Date of birth
 * Date of baptism
 * Residence

Marriage records may include:
 * Name of bride and groom
 * Date of marriage
 * Place of marriage

Burial records may include:
 * Name and age of deceased
 * Date and place of death
 * Date and place of burial
 * Names of surviving family members

How Do I Search the Collection?
To search for a person in a nonconformist church's records, you must know the following:


 * Where the person lived
 * Their denomination or sect
 * When the person lived; if you do not know the time period, you must estimate it from what you know of more recent generations.

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 “Record Type" 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.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family.

For example:


 * Use the parents' names along with the child’s birth date and place as the basis for compiling a new family group or for verifying existing information.
 * Use the birth date along with the place of birth to find the family in census records.
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate probate and tax records.
 * Occupations listed can lead you to other types of records such as employment or military records.
 * The name of the officiator may be a clue to their religion or area of residence in the county.
 * Compile the entries for every person who has the same surname as the bride or groom; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual.
 * Continue to search the records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have been born, married, or died in the same county or nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family or even the second marriage of a parent. Repeat this process for each new generation you identify.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * Earlier records may not contain as much information as the records created after the late 1900.
 * There is also some variation in the information given from one marriage record to another record.
 * Check for variant spellings of the surnames.
 * Check for a different index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby counties.

Record History
A Nonconformist church was one that disagreed with the Church of England (Anglican). They may have disagreed with its rites of worship, opposed its authority, or objected to it being heavily supported and subsidized by the government. The better-known Nonconformist groups were Independents (Congregationalists), Baptists, Presbyterians (including Scots Congregations), Methodists, Roman Catholics, Society of Friends (Quakers), Brethren Church, Jews, French Huguenots (Walloons), and Mormons (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). Roman Catholics and Jews trace their heritage back to earlier eras. Baptists, Presbyterians, Independents, and French Huguenots all had their beginnings in the 16th century. The others were established in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Few Nonconformist registers exist before 1700 because of persecution. By the late 1700s or early 1800s, many denominations had started keeping registers. Some were better at keeping records than others. The denominations usually did not have a formal hierarchy, so the records were kept on a local level. However, some denominations did form central registries. The Presbyterians, Baptists, and Independents (Congregationalists) established central birth registration in 1743; and the Methodists did so in 1773.

Some of the births, baptisms, marriages, and burials for Nonconformists were recorded in Anglican registers. Between 1695 and 1705, Anglican ministers were required to register the births of any children in their parish who were not baptized. Even though many Anglican ministers ignored this act, some Nonconformists’ births were recorded this way. And some Nonconformists’ children were even baptized in Anglican parishes. By law, marriages after 1754 were required to take place in Anglican parish churches and be recorded in their registers. Nonconformists were often buried in Anglican churchyards because there were no other burial grounds until the early 1850s, when civil cemeteries opened. Sometimes Nonconformists’ burials were recorded in both Anglican and Nonconformist registers. Huguenots often left their recording to the Church of England. Until the end of the 19th century, some Methodists let the Church of England record their baptisms and burials.

Many Nonconformist registers have been preserved. A law passed in 1836 required Nonconformist groups to send their registers through 1837 to the Registrar General’s Office. Many complied but not all. In 1857, additional records were turned over to the registrar general. The records that have survived are generally in good condition and are now held at the National Archives. More recent registers are held in county record offices, in local chapels, and in regional and central denominational archives. Most registers have been microfilmed, and some have been transcribed and published.

Citing this Collection
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.

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