Parish Registers and the IGI

Introduction

The primary tool in genealogical research is probably the birth, marriage and death (BMD) records of an individual. From early times the keeping of these records was the responsibility of the Ecclesiastical authorities. The Civil authorities assumed responsibility for these matters in 1878.

The Marriage Act of 1849 permitted marriages in other than the Established Church and provided for a printed form to be used for the recording of a marriage. Certified copies of these forms were forwarded to the Registrar General, initially on an annual basis, but later each quarter.

Pre March 1878

The major source for genealogical information is the Parish Registers (PRs) of the Established Church. These books have been kept from earliest times and are available from about the middle of the 17^th century. Unfortunately the standard of record keeping was not consistent with modern genealogical requirements. There are known cases where the incumbent did not bother to keep any records. In addition the physical care of the books was not always the best, so much so that as early as the middle of the 18^th century conscientious incumbents were already copying the decaying PRs.

The table at the bottom of this page list the earliest known record for each PR and any known gaps in the Register.

In 1911 the Manx Government called in all the extant PRs and manually copied them in order to complete, as far as possible, the records of the Registrar General. These copied PRs are identifiable by the words "Official Copy" which appears at the top of each page. The process was subject to the usual errors of any manual system. A modern analysis would indicate that Manx names have been accurately transcribed but there are some errors in non-Manx names. I do not know which, if any, of the PRs were returned to the Parish Churches and which were retained for safe keeping and are now in the possession of Manx National Heritage.

Post March 1878

After the introduction of Civil Registration all births and deaths were legally required to be registered with the Civil Authorities. These records are kept and maintained by the Registrar General.

Certified copies of marriage records were forwarded by each church or registry office on a quarterly basis.

Dissenters, 1849-1878

The Civil Registration Act of 1849 provided for the registration of births and marriages for those who declined the services of the Established Church. As stated above, marriages were recorded on a standard form and forwarded to the Registrar General. Baptisms could also be recorded. This had the advantage that parentage could be proved for legal purposes.

Dissenters, pre 1849

The 1849 Registration Act made provision for the retroactive recording of births/baptisms and marriages provided they were sworn to on oath. In practice this meant that certified copies of any Dissenting Church Registers were forwarded to the Registrar General.

The IGI - What and How

The IGI - International Genealogical Index - is the largest collection of genealogical records worldwide. It is compiled and maintained by the Mormons or Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the LDS. It is part of a Mormon's religious obligation to identify their ancestors and to this end the LDS has an ongoing programme to identify and record genealogical records. Most civil authorities cooperate in this effort. However, as part of the reason for this effort is to perform a form of retroactive baptism into the Mormon faith, many religious bodies do not cooperate. This means that the IGI is far from complete.

In the 1940s and 1960s the LDS made an effort to microfilm the records available in the Isle of Man. The civil authorities cooperated and the result is an abundance of material of all kinds is now available to researchers at any LDS Family History Centre the only cost being a nominal rental fee for the microfilm.

Among the material that was filmed is the "Official Copy" volumes of the Parish Registers. These films were later transcribed and indexed by groups of volunteers. The resulting indices for baptisms and marriages were incorporated into the IGI.

The IGI - Limitations

The IGI should be used as a starting point, as an indicator of where to look. On a world-wide basis the IGI is far from complete. The lack of an entry should not be considered as significant. For Manx records it is remarkably complete but it sometimes takes a bit of skill, knowledge or luck to locate an entry.

The transcriptions were done by people who were unfamiliar with the records and, in particular, with Manx names. The results can be somewhat surprising at times. Place names, which are often used in the PRs do distinguish between persons with the same name, sometimes show up as surnames - "John Kelly Ballachrink" in the PR may turn up under "Ballachrink, John Kelly" in the IGI. An underscore "_" is used as shorthand for "sic". "Joney_" will appear together with "Joney". One group of transcribers was not sure of the spelling, another was quite happy. Check all possible spellings of a name and all possible transcriptions. In particular, "a", "e" and "o" are often confused as are "u" and "n". An "m" may be transcribed as two separate letters. "Kermode" may easily become "Kinrade" or vice versa.

If you can't find a first-born child, remember that it was Manx custom to consider a child to be fully legitimate if the parents married within two years of the birth. Look under the mother's maiden name.

Official records are not the only source for IGI entries. Family pedigrees submitted by LDS members are also used in building the IGI. Unfortunately, some of the research is not supported. This is why you may see multiple entries for the same event. Be especially wary of any date that is prefixed with "abt" (about). These are at best an inspired guess and at worst wishful thinking. Also disregard any entry that has "Mr.", "Mrs." or "Miss" as a name. Early baptismal records gave only the father's name. A researcher argues there must have been a mother and so inserts a notational "Mrs" into their pedigree. This "fact" now finds its way into the IGI.

(A personal note: in my own family research I have made a statement to the effect that "X was probably born ca [year] to possibly parents [father Y and mother Z]". Subsequently a correspondent has confirmed by suppositions. When asked for the source of their information they quoted back my own musings on my web site. Check sources.)

Earliest and Known Missing Parish Records