Entering data from a parish baptism, marriage or burial register

Contents

• Baptisms
• Examples of baptism entries
• Marriages
• Examples of marriage entries
• Burials
• Examples of burial entries

Baptisms	The data contained in the baptism database comprises the following fields: County Place Church Register entry number (if applicable) Date of birth (in some registers after about 1860) Date of baptism Firstname Sex Father's forename(s) Mother's forename(s) Father's surname (sometimes not available if an illegitimate. Then see Mother's surname) Mother's surname (Maiden name if shown) Abode (in registers 1813 onwards) Occupation of father (in registers 1813 onwards) Notes (any extra notes in the register)
Entering baptism data	The above are the different data "fields" in the baptism database. The following provides explicit information on the nature and content of those fields. Column heading Examples & Format Data in this column A county GLS NTT The County name The name of the County MUST be entered in capitals using the Chapman county codes, e.g. NTT, GLS, HEF etc. B place Ruardean Nottingham The name of the town or village Please enter in lower case with the first letter capitalized. C church St Ethelred St Mary AT Methodist High Pavement Congregational The name of the church, parish or congregation. Larger towns may have more than one parish or church, so it is important to identify the specific parish. The name could include a BT, AT, TR or EX to indicate it is from the Bishop's Transcript or Archdeacon's Transcript, just a transcript or an extract. Please enter in lower case with the first letter capitalized. D no 483 Register entry number The post 1813 baptism and burial registers as well as the post 1754 marriages usually contain a register entry number. If so enter this as a numeric field. However, most early registers do not have register entry numbers. If the register does not contain this field then leave it blank in the transcription. E birthdate dd mon yyyy 30 Sep 1853 25 Jan 1742/3 Birth date Note that the date is is entered as text and not date format. This is because the Microsoft Windows date format cannot handle years earlier than 1900 and certainly not something like 1742/3 which is what we use to describe a date before March 25 in any year before 1752 when the calendars changed and the actual year is uncertain. When using the split year convention where there is a decade or century change make sure you indicate this eg 1729/30 or 1699/00. If no birth date is shown in the register, leave this column blank. If the day is missing enter just month and year. If the day is unclear use either _ for an unreadable digit or * for an unreadable day. If the month is missing enter dd * yyyy. If day and month are missing just enter the year. If they are unreadable use an entry of * * yyyy. If all are missing leave the field empty. F baptdate dd mon yyyy 30 Sep 1853 25 Jan 1742/3 Baptism date Enter as indicated for the birth date given above. G firstname John James Mary William James Christian or forename Please transcribe the name as written even if it is abbreviated and including even those that are written in latin. (The search engine is to be modified to search for all possible alternate forms of a modern name.) Use lower case with a leading Capital letter. If a person has several forenames, e.g. James Theodophilus John, then record all names. There is no real limit on the size of the name field within FreeREG. Be wary of apparent surnames which are really Christian names, e.g. a person may be named Sarah Denman NEEP. Do NOT include any qualifier such as Jr or Sr these should be entered as notes. H sex M or F or m or f or - Sex Please enter this field based on the gender specified usually by the notation "son of" or "dau of". Do not guess based on the name. It may seem obvious now, but in older times some names referred to a different sex! e.g. Julian used to be a female's name. There is also often a confusion in the spelling of the female Frances and the male Francis. So if you see Frances look see whether it says "dau" or "son". Use a blank or - to indicate those cases where the gender of the child is just not clear. I father John James Moses Father's Christian or forename(s) See above for details on how to enter the forename. If the father's name is not stated (for example in the case of an illegitimate) then leave this column blank. J mother Joan Mary Elizabeth Mother's Christian or forename(s) See above for details on how to enter the forename. K fath-surname SMITH JOHNSON Father's surname Please use all upper case letters. Enter the spelling exactly the same as it appears in the register. A widow's surname would be entered in this field. Do NOT include any qualifiers to the name in this field, such as Snr, Jr, or Esq place these in the notes field. L moth-surname ROBINSON SMITH Mother's surname (Maiden) This is the mother's surname prior to marriage i.e. her maiden name. Please do NOT enter her married surname in this field. Please use all upper case letters. Enter the spelling exactly the same as it appears in the register. If the mother was unmarried then enter her surname in this field. Most registers do NOT carry a married woman's maiden name. Some do indicate a "late NAME" for the mother's maiden surname. If this is the case, then enter the "NAME" in this column as her surname. If the mother's surname is not given leave this field blank. Do NOT include any qualifiers to the name in this field, such as Snr, Jr, or Esq place these in the notes field. M abode Ruardean High St 23 High St Napoleon Sq. Cinderhill Abode / Address This is only usually shown in baptism registers from 1813 onwards. If it is not stated, then leave this column empty. Use lower case with a leading Capital letter. Be especially careful to surround a field using commas or speech marks in quotation (speech) marks and to double the quotation mark if it is included in the field. Please note though that only the following special characters ?!:;.+=*,"()[]{} are allowed in a text field. N fath-occupation blacksmith miller carpenter gentleman Rank, Trade or Occupation of the father. This is normally only shown in registers from 1813 onwards, but may appear in earlier registers. Use lower case with a leading Capital letter. Be especially careful to surround a field using commas or speech marks in quotation (speech) marks and to double the quotation mark if it is included in the field. Please note though that only the following special characters ?!:;.+=*,"()[]{} are allowed in a text field. O notes illegitimate spurious single woman private baptism pb twin Any other notes which are margin notes or additional notes in the register. For example, a person may be stated as "Mr. John SMITH" or "John SMITH Jnr." or "John SMITH the elder" Overflow of extended information from other columns. Transcriber notes and interpretations are also valid notes. Be especially careful to surround a field using commas or speech marks in quotation marks and to double the quotation mark if it is included in the field. Please note though that only the following special characters ?!:;.+=*,"()[]{} are allowed in a text field. [ FreeREG Home Page ] [ Contributing to the Project ] [ Entering Data ] See also: a standard format for the data
Marriages	The data contained in the marriages database comprises the following fields: County Place Church Register entry number (if applicable) Date of marriage Groom forename Groom surname Groom age (if shown) Groom's parish (if stated). Note: it is only usually stated if the parish of residence of the groom is different from the parish where the marriage took place. This is not necessarily the place of birth. Groom's condition (e.g. bachelor or widower - if blank assume bachelor, but check original) Groom's occupation (if stated) Groom's abode (1837 onwards only. May be omitted in the database) Bride Forename Bride Surname Bride age (if stated) Bride's parish If stated. Note: it is only usually stated if the parish of residence of the bride is different from the parish where the marriage took place. This is not necessarily the place of birth. Bride's condition (e.g. spinster or widow - if blank assume spinster, but check original) Bride's occupation (if stated) Bride's abode (1837 onwards only. May be omitted in the database) Groom's Father's name (post 1837 marriages, but occasionally earlier, may be omitted from the database record) Groom's Father's occupation (post 1837 marriages, but occasionally earlier, may be omitted from the database record) Bride's Father's first name Bride's Father's surname Bride's Father's occupation Names of up to two witnesses (usually only 1754 and later) Notes (any side notes in the register) For items not included in the database, we suggest looking at a copy of the original marriage registers on microfiche/film. That is always advisable anyway!
Entering Marriage Data	The above are the different data "fields" in the marriage database. The following provides explicit information on the nature and content of those fields. (Note that some transcriptions entered before the FreeREG project began may not include all of these items) Column heading Examples & Format Data in this column A county NTT GLS The County name The name of the County MUST be entered in capitals using the Chapman county codes, e.g. NTT, GLS, HEF etc. B place Ruardean Nottingham The name of the town or village Please enter in lower case with the first letter capitalized. C church St Ethelred St Mary AT Methodist High Pavement Congregational The name of the church, parish or congregation. Larger towns may have more than one parish or church, so it is important to identify the specific parish. The name could include a BT, AT, TR or EX to indicate it is from the Bishop's Transcript or Archdeacon's Transcript, just a transcript or an extract. Please enter in lower case with the first letter capitalized. D no 483 Register entry number The post 1813 baptism and burial registers as well as the post 1754 marriages usually contain a register entry number. If so enter this as a numeric field. However, most early registers do not have register entry numbers. If the register does not contain this field then leave it blank in the transcription. E marrdate dd mon yyyy 30 Sep 1853 25 Jan 1742/3 Marriage date Note that the date is is entered as text and not date format. This is because the Microsoft Windows date format cannot handle years earlier than 1900 and certainly not something like 1742/3 which is what we use to describe a date before March 25 in any year before 1752 when the calendars changed and the actual year is uncertain. When using the split year convention where there is a decade or century change make sure you indicate this eg 1729/30 or 1699/00. If no birth date is shown in the register, leave this column blank. If the day is missing enter just month and year. If the day is unclear use either _ for an unreadable digit or * for an unreadable day. If the month is missing enter dd * yyyy. If day and month are missing just enter the year. If they are unreadable use an entry of * * yyyy. If all are missing leave the field empty. F groom-firstname John James Mary William James Groom's Christian or forename Please transcribe the name as written even if it is abbreviated and including even those that are written in latin. (The search engine is to be modified to search for all possible alternate forms of a modern name.) Use lower case with a leading Capital letter. If a person has several forenames, e.g. James Theodophilus John, then record all names. There is no real limit on the size of the name field within FreeREG. Be wary of apparent surnames which are really Christian names, e.g. a person may be named Sarah Denman NEEP. Do NOT include any qualifier such as Jr or Sr these should be entered as notes. G groom-surname SMITH JOHNSON Groom's surname Please use all upper case letters. Enter the spelling exactly the same as it appears in the register. Do NOT include any qualifiers to the name in this field, such as Snr, Jr, or Esq place these in the notes field. H groom-age 17 21 51 Minor The Groom's age The age field is usually an integer number representing the age in years. Normally text is NOT permitted in this field. However, the term "Minor" which means under 21 years is permitted. Also permitted if "of age", "of full age" and 'full age". No special characters are permitted in this field. If no age is stated, leave this column blank. I groom-parish Ruardean Nottingham St Mary Littledean GLS The parish of residence is usually only stated in the register if it is different from the name of the parish where the marriage took place. If the parish is in a different county, then that will also usually be stated. Ideally, we should use the Chapman Code for the county name in the database. If the register does state the parish, but it is the same as the parish where the marriage took place, or if the entry states "of this parish", then leave this column empty. Be especially careful to surround a field using commas or speech marks in quotation (speech) marks and to double the quotation mark if it is included in the field. Please note though that only the following special characters ?!:;.+=*,"(){}[] are allowed in a text field. J groom-condition Bachelor Widower Groom's condition bachelor or widower - if blank assume bachelor K groom-occupation Railway Shunter Baker Groom's occupation Lower case with leading capital letter. L groom-abode 83 Hazlewood Road Groom's residence at the time of marriage Be especially careful to surround the field in quotation (speech) marks if using commas and to double the quotation mark if it is included in the field. Please note though that only the following special characters ?!:;.+=*,"()[]{} are allowed in a text field. Usually only found in post 1837 registers. M bride-firstname Joan Mary Elizabeth Bride's Christian or forename See above as for groom forename N bride-surname ROBINSON SMITH Bride's Surname See above as for groom surname O bride-age 17 21 51 Bride's Age See above as for groom age P bride-parish Ruardean Nottingham St Mary Littledean GLS Bride's parish See above as for groom parish Q bride-condition Spinster Widow Bride's condition spinster or widow - if blank assume spinster R bride-occupation Cleaner House keeper Bride's occupation See above as for groom occupation S bride-abode 2 Bells Terr. High St Bride's abode See above as for groom abode T groom-fath-firstname John William James Groom's Father's forename See above as for grooms forename U groom-fath-surname SMITH JONES Groom's Father's Surname See above for grooms surname V groom-fath-occupation baker butcher gentleman captain Rank, Trade or Occupation of the father. See above as above for grooms occupation W bride-fath-firstname Robert William Richd Bride's Father's Christian or forename See above as above for grooms forename X bride-fath-surname Mary Susanna Bride's Father's Surname See above as above for grooms surname Y bride-fath-occupation Farmer Tailor Bride's Father's occupation See above as above for grooms occupation Z witness1-firstname Mary Alice Witness forename See above as above for grooms forename AA witness1-surname JONES First Witness Surname See above as above for grooms surname AB witness2-firstname James Mary Second Witness forename See above as above for grooms forename If there are more than two witnesses, enter the others in the notes column. AC witness2-surname ROBINSON Second Witness Surname See above as above for grooms surname AD notes Lic. son of Mr John SMITH Rector of this Parish Notes Any other notes which are margin notes or additional notes in the register. As most marriages were by Banns, this fact is not usually transcribed. Other forms such as by license are transcribed. e.g. marriage by Licence (Lic.). If the groom or bride signs with an X mark, make a note he signs X or she signs X (Do not be tempted to use speech marks!) Overflow of extended information from other columns can also go here. [ FreeREG Home Page ] [ Contributing to the Project ] [ Entering Data ] See also: a standard format for the data
Burials	The data contained in the burials database comprises the following fields: County Place Church Register entry number (if applicable) Date of burial Forename Relationship (e.g. wife of, son of, daughter of, widow of [name] ) Male relative forenames Female relative forenames Surname Age at death (if stated) Abode (if stated) Notes (other notes may include additional information such as occupation, if stated)
Entering Burials Data	The above are the different data "fields" in the Burials database. The following provides explicit information on the nature and content of those fields. Column heading Examples & Format Data in this column A county NTT HEF The County name The name of the County MUST be entered in capitals using the Chapman county codes, e.g. NTT, GLS, HEF etc. B place Nottingham Radford The name of the town or village Please enter in lower case with the first letter capitalized. C church St Ethelred St Mary AT Methodist High Pavement Congregational The name of the church, parish or congregation. Larger towns may have more than one parish or church, so it is important to identify the specific parish. The name could include a BT, AT, TR or EX to indicate it is from the Bishop's Transcript or Archdeacon's Transcript, just a transcript or an extract. Please enter in lower case with the first letter capitalized. D no 483 Register entry number The post 1813 baptism and burial registers as well as the post 1754 marriages usually contain a register entry number. If so enter this as a numeric field. However, most early registers do not have register entry numbers. If the register does not contain this field then leave it blank in the transcription. E burdate dd mon yyyy 30 Sep 1853 25 Jan 1742/3 Burial date Note that the date is is entered as text and not date format. This is because the Microsoft Windows date format cannot handle years earlier than 1900 and certainly not something like 1742/3 which is what we use to describe a date before March 25 in any year before 1752 when the calendars changed and the actual year is uncertain. When using the split year convention where there is a decade or century change make sure you indicate this eg 1729/30 or 1699/00. If no birth date is shown in the register, leave this column blank. If the day is missing enter just month and year. If the day is unclear use either _ for an unreadable digit or * for an unreadable day. If the month is missing enter dd * yyyy. If day and month are missing just enter the year. If they are unreadable use an entry of * * yyyy. If all are missing leave the field empty. F firstname John James Mary William James Person's Christian or forename Please transcribe the name as written even if it is abbreviated and including even those that are written in latin. (The search engine is to be modified to search for all possible alternate forms of a modern name.) Use lower case with a leading Capital letter. If a person has several forenames, e.g. James Theodophilus John, then record all names. There is no real limit on the size of the name field within FreeREG. Be wary of apparent surnames which are really Christian names, e.g. a person may be named Sarah Denman NEEP. Do NOT include any qualifier such as Jr or Sr these should be entered as notes. G relationship son of dau of wife of widow of relict of Relationship If a relationship is not stated, then leave this column blank. Abbreviate "daughter" to "dau" (it saves on typing time!) Note that "relict" means "surviving widow of..." - the same thing as "widow of". H rel1-male-first John Male Relative's Christian or forename See above as for Person's forename. I rel2-female-first Mary Female Relative's Christian or forename See above as for Person's forename. J rel1-surname SMITH Surname of relation Please use all upper case letters. Care! sometimes the surname is different from that of the person who was buried. K surname SMITH ROBINSON Surname of person who was buried Please use all upper case letters. Enter the spelling exactly the same as it appears in the register. Care! sometimes the person has a different surname than the relative's surname. L age 17 21 51 2y5m 3m 3w 3d infant child Age at death The age field is usually an integer number representing the age in years. Alternative formulations involve an integer followed by d (for days),w (for weeks) or m (for months). The only valid text permitted is "infant" or "child". No special characters are permitted in this field. If no age is stated, leave this column blank. M abode Ruardean High St 23 High St Napoleon Sq. Cinderhill Abode / Address This is only usually shown in burial registers from 1813 onwards. If it is not stated, then leave this column empty. N notes cholera plague Rector of this Parish Any other notes which are margin notes or additional notes in the register. Overflow of extended information from other columns can also go here. [ FreeREG Home Page ] [ Contributing to the Project ] [ Entering Data ]

Examples of baptism entries
Examples of marriage entries
Examples of burial entries
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Last update
12 March 2008 / RN/DKD