We’ve just launched onsite the new Manchester Parish Records, 1541-1985. These crucial records are the result of months of work behind the scenes to digitise the original registers. I can give you an insight into that work from my point of view as one of the camera operators.

The registers are held by Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives which is the appointed Diocesan Record Office for the area. The registers date right back to Tudor times, and consist of baptism, marriage and burial records.

The role of the camera operator involves entering details about each register onto the Ancestry software, including the name of the church and date range covered. Then the register is photographed from cover to cover, with the images saved directly to the computer.

Many of the volumes are fragile due to their age, and careful handing is essential to prevent damage. We use book supports and archival weights to protect the documents and hold pages in place. The camera height can be adjusted depending on the size of the volume – obviously the key is to make sure the writing is in focus. It’s important to get as clear an image as possible as some of the ink has faded and handwriting styles vary greatly.

Different types of register reveal different information. Most of the early registers grouped baptisms, marriages and burials in the same volume.  As time went on more information was recorded; the mother’s name was more likely to be entered on baptism records, the parishes of both the bride and groom appeared in marriage registers and the age of the deceased and sometimes cause of death were noted in burials.  Then in 1813 pre-printed baptism and burial registers were introduced, recording details of where people lived and their professions.

These professions are one of the most interesting features of the parish registers, and they often reveal the development of local industries. Greater Manchester is well known for its manufacturing, transport and textiles heritage and trades relating to these industries were commonly recorded. For example, spinner, carder, dyer and spindle maker were common occupations for people working in the cotton industry.

When we’ve finished the digitisation process, we send the photographs of the registers to be transcribed, and then the images and the information they hold can be put online. Hopefully you all enjoy them, and find some useful information about your family.

Clare Connolly is one of a team of Ancestry camera operators who have been working on the digitisation of the new Manchester Parish Registers, 1541-1985.

©Images reproduced with courtesy of the Manchester City Council

It’s a family history conundrum. You don’t like to imagine your ancestors having difficult lives. But every time they hit tricky times they seem to be really well documented, and provide some of your most fascinating discoveries.

This is true of Poor Law records. It’s definitely the case with criminal records. And it crops up again with our new divorce records.

UK, Civil Divorce Records, 1858-1911  are legal records that were made as part of each divorce case. They provide a blow-by-blow account of all the claims and counter-claims that led up to the split. For example, you could find out exactly where and when your great-grand-uncle started an affair – and even who with!

On top of that, the records include an entire history of the marriage before it all went wrong. This could include the date and place of the wedding, details of any children, and even the couple’s different addresses.

That means that not only can you read about your family’s scandals, but you can use all that extra detail to find more of their birth, marriage and death records, and build up your timeline of their lives.

It almost leaves you wishing more of your ancestors had marriage problems!

Search our new divorce records

See all our birth, marriage & death records

The New South Wales, Australia, Registers of Coroners Inquests and Magisterial Inquiries, 1796 – 1942  contain over 173,000 records and provides a fascinating insight into some of the more unusual causes of deaths of many Australians in colonial times.

The collection reveals that the most common causes of death were by drowning, apoplexy (or stroke) and ‘visitations from God’ (otherwise known as natural causes), though on occasion there are also cases of murders and thieves who were killed during the course of a robbery.

Typically, coroner’s inquests were undertaken for suspicious deaths – homicides, of prison escapees, unexplained deaths and for unidentified bodies.

Just in time for Halloween, we have uncovered records linked to mysterious stories of ghosts and murders enough to make your spine tingle, such as the case of Emily Bollard of Picton, NSW, who suffered a gruesome end in 1916 when she was tragically hit by a train in a railway tunnel. To this day, ghost hunters allegedly still see lights and shadows which have been explained as sightings of Emily’s ghost.

Adding to the ‘supernatural’ feel of this collection are links to domestic tragedy and unsettling deaths of children:

• Studley Park House, Ray Blackstone – On 15 October, 1909, in the grounds of the then Camden Grammar School, 14-year-old Ray Blackstone drowned in the dam after failed rescue attempts by his school mates. His body was placed in the cold, dark cellar of the school until his burial. 28 years later, whilst living in the transformed school house, 13-year-old Noel William Gregory passed away from appendicitis. It’s believed that the spirits of both boys play together and remain in the house as a constant reminder of their tragic lives.

• Tank Street, Morpeth, Stephen Cantwell – Local residents believe that the ghost of 10-year-old Stephen Cantwell, who drowned in an unfinished well behind Campbell’s Store on Tank Street, can be seen around the well. In the house next door, while the spirit of his distraught mother Eliza, who lost sight of him just before he drowned, remains at her vantage point overlooking the well as if still searching for her beloved son.

Just north of Bega, surrounded by National Parks and state forests, rests the small New South Wales community of Quaama.  This hamlet was established in the latter half of the 19th century and formerly called ‘Dry River’.  I’m unsure when they changed their name to Quaama – or why – but it was originally spelt with an extra ‘a’ on the end.  I assume that someone believed that was one ‘a’ too many.

It was a beautiful spring morning when I found myself searching for Quaama’s cemetery.  It lies south east of the bucolic village, in a gently sloping field behind the last of the houses. As I parked my car and entered the cemetery, I couldn’t escape the feeling that I was interloping – there was a palpable ‘spirit of place’ here.

The cemetery has a few marked burials in what I assumed were family clusters, but the one that caught my eye stood all alone, some considerable distance from the entrance.

Adam Engelman(n) was born in Germany in February 1842, the second son of Heinrich and Agnes Engelmann (nee Dumm).  He came to Australia with his parents, his older brother Martin and his younger sisters Agnes, Catherine and Elizabetha in March of 1855.  The voyage must have been difficult for the Engelmanns as the infant Elizabetha died on the voyage.

Adam and his family were assisted immigrants brought to Australia by William Macarthur, the youngest son of John and Elizabeth Macarthur.  As his father and older brother were both ‘Vine Dressers’ they no doubt went to work on Macarthur’s extensive vineyards in Camden, New South Wales.

At Bega in September of 1864 Adam married Celia Eden Hayden, daughter of the convict and bushranger known as “Big Jack”.  Celia and Adam had 15 children, though it wasn’t until 1872 that they moved to Quaama with their four daughters.

Adam was naturalised in early 1876, and his brother Martin followed suit the following year – their father Heinrich having undergone the process just a few years after arriving.

It must have troubled Adam – as it must have for all German born Australians – to see the outbreak of the First World War.  How sad that he did not live to see it end, dying only days before the official cessation of hostilities.

Sad too that Adam rests alone; an isolated grave in an isolated burial ground.  In life he would have been surrounded by family, but now he is deserted – or so it would appear.  Many of Adam’s family remained at Quaama – his wife Celia passed away there in 1935 – and perhaps they are buried there too, resting in graves unmarked.

You can read more of Brad’s Grave Tales below -

Brad’s Grave Tales - William Hird

Brad’s Grave Tales - Strange Hartigan

Brad’s Grave Tales – Helen and Kate Graham

Brad’s Grave Tales – The Burnetts

This article first appeared on The Inside History Magazine blog.

We have added over 2.3 million Lancashire parish records to the site this week, including baptisms, marriages and burials ranging from 1538 to 1986. These records reveal the past residents of one of England’s most historic counties.

What’s New -

• Lancashire, England, Births and Baptisms, 1813-1911
• Lancashire, England, Marriages and Banns, 1754-1936
• Lancashire, England, Deaths and Burials, 1813-1986
• Lancashire, England, Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812
• Lancashire, England, Confirmations, 1856-1922

Parish records are the best source of vital record information before the nineteenth century. Before Civil Registration began in 1837, key events in a person’s life were typically recorded by the Church rather than the State. Starting in the sixteenth century, parish records are some of the longest running records available.

The baptism, marriage and burial registers let you build a timeline of your family’s most important events right back to the start of parish records in 1538. Even better, they often reveal parents’ names and addresses, giving you further generations to explore.

These new records are available in our UK Heritage Plus and World Heritage memberships. Let us know on Facebook if you make any new discoveries.

What’s New?

Records have been added in the following areas -

• Brisbane, QLD cemeteries – 50,165 records from 1828-1998 (with images)
• Dubbo and District, NSW cemeteries – 25,394 records from 1808-1995 (with images)
• Central Coast, NSW cemeteries – 8,992 records from 1823-2004 (with images)
• Kinsela (Central Coast), NSW funeral directors registers – 52,589 records from 1905-2007
• Palmdale Lawn Cemetery and Memorial Park, NSW transcriptions – 29,798 records from 1895-2005

What information can I find to help with my Family Tree?

The information given for a record will vary but you may find the following –

• Name
• Age
• Birth date
• Death date
• Burial date
• Name of cemetery
• State in which cemetery is located
• Location of grave or tombstone within the cemetery

Below is an example of one of the records in the collection from a Dubbo cemetery which, in some cases, mentions other family members.

You can search the updated index online at Ancestry.com.au.

Let us know if you make any interesting discoveries!