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England Warwickshire

This collection includes indexed church records from the county of Warwickshire for the period 1538-1984. The originals are held at the Warwickshire County Record Office.

In its most basic sense, a parish register is a local record of ordinances performed in the Church of England. Due to their long history and broad coverage, parish registers are central to English genealogical research as they are one of the only sources for finding individuals in England before civil registration began in 1837. To learn more about parish registers, see the English Parish Registers page.

One of the 39 historic counties, Warwickshire is an inland county located in the West Midlands region of England. For a list of all the parishes in this county with links to more information about each of them, see Warwickshire Parishes.

What Does This Collection Contain?
This collection contains an index and images of baptismal, marriage, and burial records.

How Do I Search This Collection?
There are two ways to find records for a specific person in this collection: first, searching by name in the index, and second, browsing through images of the original records. Before using either search method, it is best to know the following information: Since every index entry and record image generally contains unique information, the name, location, and date can be used to locate specific records within this collection. If the name, location, and date are not all known, then use other information to decide which entry or image is a correct match.
 * Full name of the individual in question
 * General location of the event
 * Date range for the record

Search the Collection Index
To find a person in the collection index using information which is already known, follow these steps:
 * 1) Go to the collection page to.
 * 2) Enter the requested information into the search box.
 * 3) Click Search to return a list of possible mathes.

View Images of These Records
If granted the right to view images in this collection (see Image Visibility below), follow these steps to find a particular record image:
 * 1) Go to the collection browse page.
 * 2) Click on the correct Name of County link.
 * 3) Click on the correct Name of Town/Parish link.
 * 4) Click on the correct Event Type and Year Range link to go to the image viewer.
 * 5) Use the onscreen controls to move between record images.

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

 * Make sure to fully record all the information given in the index entry. Also, do not forget to cite the record; see below for assistance citing records in this collection.
 * Whenever possible, 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 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?
For additional help searching online collections see the FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks page.
 * When looking for an individual with a common name, look at all the search results before deciding which is the correct person. Use other information, such as place of birth, age, occupation, or names of parents, to help with this decision. If listed, a personal title may be a clue to property ownership or occupation, either of which might be noted in other records.
 * Try variations 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 recorders heard them. 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.
 * Search the records of nearby locations. In the period of this collection, most people never moved more than 20 miles away from the place of their birth, though smaller relocations were not uncommon. For this collection, some potential nearby locations are the areas of Somerset and Gloucestershire bordering Bristol, or perhaps even in the Welsh county of Monmouthshire directly across the channel.

Citing this Collection
Citing sources correctly makes it easier to refer back to information which has already been discovered; proper citations are therefore key to keeping track of genealogical research. Correct citations also allow others to check completed research by helping them find and examine records for themselves.

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

Image Citation
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