Germany, Prussia, Saxony, Census Lists - FamilySearch Historical Records

England Essex

This collection consists of parish registers from the county of Essex for the years 1538-1870.

In its most basic sense, a parish register is a record of religious ordinances performed in the Church of England. Beginning in 1538, every parish priest was required to write down certain information about every baptism (officially termed “christening” in Anglican use), marriage, and burial that took place in his parish over the course of each year. He was then supposed to bind these pages into a single volume, thereby annually producing a comprehensive history of his ministerial efforts. After 1754, a new law required that marriages be recorded in a separate book, and banns—public proclamations of a couple’s intent to marry—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. It should also be noted that many parish records were not kept during the Interregnum, 1649-1660, due to temporary changes in the hierarchy of the Church of England.

One of the 39 historic counties of England, Essex is a coastal county located in the region of East Anglia, with the River Thames forming its southern border. The London metropolis takes up much of the south and west of the modern county. For a list of parishes which historically made up this county, see the Essex Parishes page.

= How Do I Search the Collection? = Before beginning a search in these records, it is best to know the following information:
 * Full name of the individual in question
 * General location of the event
 * Date range for the record

When put into the search box on the Collection Page, these pieces of information are the most likely to find the correct person, though other information may be used if the name, location, and date are not all known.

Search the Index to the Collection
To search the collection using information which is already known, follow these steps: 1. Visit the initial collection page. 2. Enter the requested information into the search box to search the index to the collection. Searching in this way will return a list of possible matches. 3. Compare the individuals on the list with what is already known to find the correct family or person. This step may require examining multiple individuals before a match is located.

View Images of the Records
If granted the rights to view the digitized records in this collection (see Image Visibility below), follow these steps to get to the images: 1. Visit the collection browse page. 2. Select the appropriate Name of County. 3. Select the appropriate Name of Parish. 4. Select the appropriate Event Type and Year Range to go to the images. 5. Compare the information found on the images with what is already known determine if a particular record relates to the correct person. This process may require examining multiple records before the correct person is located.

Image Visibility
Whenever possible, FamilySearch makes images of digitized records available for all users. However, the rights to view images on this website are ultimately granted by the record custodians. Due to their restrictions, the images in this collection are not available for general viewing, but may be accessed at a local Family History Center, at the Family History Library, or online by members of the supporting organization(s).

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

For Help Reading These Records

 * Many of the records in this collection may be written in Latin rather than English. For help with this language, see the Latin Genealogical Word List.
 * In addition, some of the records in this collection may be written in an old script that can be challenging to read. Refer to BYU’s Script Tutorial for assistance with reading the records.

= What Do I Do Next? =

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

 * Make sure to fully transcribe and cite the index entry for future reference; see below for assistance in citing this collection.
 * Look at an image of the original record. The online index entry generally lists only the most basic identifying information for an individual; the original record may contain further information which was not included in the index. Save or print a copy of the image if possible.
 * Use the information which has been discovered to find more. For instance, use the age listed in the record to estimate a year of birth, if that is yet to be found.
 * If in the appropriate period, use the information which has been discovered to find the individual in civil records. Particularly useful for research in nineteenth-century England are the England Census and civil registration records.
 * Continue to search the index to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives. Remember that family members often appear on an individual's vital records, such as in the role of witnesses to a marriage.

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

 * When looking for a person with a common name, look at all the results for the name before deciding which individual is correct. Use other information, such as place of birth, age, occupation, or names of parents, to determine which entry relates to the correct person. If listed, a personal title may be a clue to property ownership or occupation, either of which might be noted in other records.
 * Check for variants of given names and surnames. An individual might appear under a different name in a record for a variety of reasons:
 * An individual might have been listed under a middle name, nickname, or abbreviation of their given name.
 * Spelling was not standardized for much of the period of this collection, so names were often spelled as they were pronounced. Pay attention to how the name should have been pronounced and try spelling variations that could have that pronunciation.
 * Some women returned to their maiden names after the death of their husbands.
 * Vary the search terms. For example, search by either the given name or surname to return broader list of results which can then be examined for matches. Try expanding the date range as well; this is especially useful in searching baptismal records, as it was not unusual for a child to be baptized weeks or even months after birth.

= Citing this Collection = Below are the proper citations to use for this collection as well as for individual records and images within the collection:

Image Citation
= How You Can Contribute =