The Society's Baptisms Database was started in 1999. The eventual objective is to record all baptisms from the parish registers of Buckinghamshire up to 1901. We have already recorded most of them - over 910,000.

The Society's Marriages Database contains all available register entries for marriages which took place in Buckinghamshire between 1538 and 1837 and we are adding all marriages up to 1901 (over 235,000 marriages).

The Society's Burials Database was started in 1999. The eventual objective is to record all burials from the parish registers of Buckinghamshire up to 1901. We have already recorded most of them - over 660,000 - but there are still quite a few to go.


We maintain a register of the names and locations which our members are researching known as "Members' Interests".

Members are invited to submit their surname interests for inclusion in our list of Members' Interests

Always wondered how to determine which nth cousin x times removed you are from a relative? Well read on and you will be able to work this out for yourself!

Lets assume we have a family starting with Ada and Albert who are married and have two children Barry and Beryl. The family tree continues as set out below

One of the gateways to understanding what is found in any catalogue is understanding how the archivist undersands the item. This we can discover from where it is placed in the catalogue. The item must have been produced for a reason and understanding  the reason could help with the meaning the researcher is trying to glean from the information.

Here is an incomplete list of the top level groups in the Buckinghamshire Archives catalogue. Any additions will be welcome.

If the item you are looking at is in the QS part of the catalogue, you are looking at something involving a criminal activity such as a quarter sessions trial or som administration role withing the county of Buckinghamshire.

 

The most used parish resource are the registers for baptisms, marriages and burials but there are many other parish records which may have survived and could help family historians. Below is a list of the various parish records, if they have survived they are most likely to be in the County Record Office.

This article is a contribution to Bucks Archaeological Society's Bucks Local History Network on 24th October 2020.

See Bucks Archaeological Society for details.

 

Weller Ledger Book

Below are some Frequently Asked Questions about the use of the Bucks Church Finder

Dates of UK Parish Registers

UK Parish Registers go from 1538 to the present day. Not all records survive.

A useful source of information is "The Phillimore Atlas and Index to Parish Registers" by Cecil Humphrey-Smith which contains parish maps and a list of registers (and dates) available.

1751 - The Nine Month Year and 1752 - the year they stole 11 days

Before 1751 the UK worked by the Julian calendar (25th March, Lady Day, to 24th March). By this time most of Europe, with the exception of Russia, had switched to the Gregorian calendar (1st January to 31st December).

Dates of Civil Registration

Civil Registration started in the UK on 1st July 1837 and continues to the present day.

Acts of Parliament which created Civil Registration

Bucks FHS does not participate in finding living people and is compliant with Data Protection Legislation.

Here are some links that will help you to find living people

Subcategories

The Society has been creating databases of Family History data for over 15 years. We can provide searches in the databases listed below.