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

So why did the marriage take place in Foochow, China?

Documenting the marriage of an American citizen (or citizens) overseas fell to US consulates and embassies. In this case, Albert Pontius, the US consul at Foochow, provided a certificate of marriage bearing the seal of the consulate and recording the facts surrounding the marriage. The bride, groom, and minister were all involved in Congregationalist missionary and educational efforts, but you’ll find soldiers, travellers, and other assorted American ex-pats in these records as well.

Contained in this database are reports of US citizens’ marriages abroad submitted by US Consulates between the years 1910 and 1949. Marriage ceremonies conducted outside the US are subject to the laws of the country in which the individuals are married by civil or religious officials. Once the marriage has taken place, officers at the U.S. Consulate authenticate the foreign marriage document and report it, hence the collection of forms in this database. If the spouse is a foreign national they can then apply for U.S. citizenship. Some of the records are also accompanied by a letter regarding the status of the spouse’s passport application (whether it has been granted or denied).

Marriage certificates in the form of marriage licenses have existed far longer than either birth or death certificates in the US, which became standard on a national level in the early 1900s. Licenses were legally required as early as the 1500s in countries like England to document that neither of the individuals was married to someone else and that they were of age.

Information in these records includes:

• Surname
• Consulate location
• Date
• Birth place
• Age
• Spouse’s name
• Local residence
• Witness’s name
• Marriage officiator

Search US Consular Reports of Marriages 1910-1949

The collection, also referred to as the ‘Lang Registers’ , contains the marriage records of Gretna Green’s most prolific minister, David Lang, who was renowned for his ‘immodest air’ and clerical style.

Gretna Green became a popular destination for young English elopers after Lord Hardwicke’s Marriage Act, passed in 1753, required parental permission for all couples wanting to marry under the age of 21. This law did not apply in Scotland where boys could marry at 14 and girls at 12.

A mile inside the Scottish border, Gretna Green was the first changing post in Scotland for the stagecoaches on the main route from London to Edinburgh. It was also the first place couples arrived at when eloping to Scotland, resulting in thousands of weddings taking place in what quickly became known as Britain’s ‘marriage capital’.

Almost anybody could conduct a marriage ceremony in Scotland as long as two witnesses were present. This resulted in a range of tradesmen, including many blacksmiths given that Gretna Green was a changing post, setting themselves up as ‘ministers’ and charging for their services.

Dubbed ‘Anvil Priests’ by the locals, ceremonies were often conducted over the anvil with the blacksmith officiating, which was why the blacksmith and his anvil have come to symbolise Gretna Green weddings.

In order to restrict the rising number of couples eloping to Gretna, Parliament passed an act in 1857 that required for one of the parties to have resided in Scotland for a minimum of three weeks prior to the wedding for the marriage to be recognised in England. Gretna Green marriage rates were never quite the same thereafter yet its reputation as the ‘Las Vegas of the UK’ remained and lives on today.

Gretna Green wedding scandals have made newspaper headlines since the mid-1700s. Among the records are a number of notable people and famous nuptials, including:

• The Shrigley Abduction – A national scandal in 1826, Edward Wakefield duped wealthy 15-year-old heiress Ellen Turner into marriage at Gretna Green by claiming her father, a wealthy mill owner and Sheriff of Cheshire, was a fugitive and if she would agree to marry Wakefield, her father would be saved. Ellen consented and they were married on the 8th of March 1826 by blacksmith David Lang.
• John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham – The marriage of the British Governor General and High Commissioner of British North America known as ‘Radical Jack’ to Lady Louisa Grey is recorded in 1816. Also a British Whig statesman and colonial administrator, Lambton was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in 1837 for his political work at home and abroad.

The Gretna Green Marriage Registers, 1795-1895 were transcribed as part of the Ancestry World Archives Project (AWAP), which provides the public with indexing software and training support to enable them to contribute in making even more historical records available and searchable online. To date, thousands of Ancestry members around the world have contributed their time to this project.

As the original marriage certificates which comprise this collection were badly age damaged, Ancestry experts also spent many months conserving them before they were digitised.

Search Gretna Green Marriage Registers, 1795-1895