Devon History Trail
Parish registers

Original registers on printed forms.
From 1754 marriage registers and from 1812 baptism and burial registers were maintained on printed forms. A selection of baptism entries for 1849 from Saint Pancras in Exeter is shown here. Click for a large image. The original register is in the Devon Record Office.

For three centuries from their introduction in 1538 parish registers provided the main means of recording baptisms, marriages and burials, although their completeness was undermined by the rise of nonconformists who maintained their own registers. Beside genealogical research they can be used by community historian to obtain a wide range of demographic information by tabulation and statistical analysis. Transcripts of many parish and non-parochial registers are held in the Westcountry Studies Library with a large collection in the Devon and Cornwall Record Society Library, see the listing of the Society's library, which is available to members only - membership may be taken out in the Westcountry Studies Library. Original registers and diocesan transcripts are held in the Devon Record Office. Go to the parish register source page for fuller information on this source. The main local guide is by Anthony Wilcox: National index of parish registers, vol. 8, part 5: Devon (1999). Also valuable even though outdated is Guide to the Parish and Non-parochial Registers of Devon and Cornwall, 1538-1837 by H.Peskett. Record Office holdings of parish registers are now much more comprehensive (refer to their listing of registers held). The Westcountry Studies Library holds the Mormons' International Genealogical Index for Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Dorset on microfiche with details of 3,500,000 baptisms and marriages indexed for some 500 parishes in the region, mainly for the period 1538-1837. The IGI for the whole world can now be searched on the web at http://www.familysearch.com/. Microfiche coverage for the British Isles is held in the main reference libraries in Devon. Monumental inscriptions are also available but there is no extensive coverage for Devon although the Devon Family History Society are publishing transcripts.

Transcription of selected entries
from the Register of Saint Pancras, Exeter in the 1680s.

In earlier centuries registers were not always as well maintained as in the 19th century and those for Saint Pancras are particularly difficult to disentangle with marriages, baptisms and burials all mixed. The entries below have been taken from the transcript produced by the Devon and Cornwall Record Society. Check the burial against the baptismal entries to see the level of infant mortality. The Act for Burial in Woollen of 1678 was intended to support the woollen industry and required all corpses to be buried in a woollen shroud and an appropriate register to be maintained.
1680 Thomas, son of Mr Humphry Leigh baptised 28 March
Hooner, daughter of John Lewes, baptised 29 May
1684 Thomas, son of Thomas Curtney, baptised 19 February
1685 John, son of Richard Shugburgh, baptised 25 May
Ann, daughter of Edward Portbury, baptised 21 February
1686 William, son of John Coumbe baptised 29 May
Elizabeth, daughter of Philip Pike, baptised 18 July
Elizabeth, daughter of Edward Hemar, baptised 26 August
Richard, son of Richard Shugburgh, baptised 19 December
1689 Ann, daughter of Joseph Stevens, baptised 19 December
...
1680 John Brown & Mary Bradford married 3 December
John Cockram of Coleridge & Armunell Brooke of Bundly married 7 February
1681 Mary, daughter of Philip & Susannah Reepe born & baptised 7 December
1686 Samuel Harford & Mary Woodland married 15 July
William Collings & Jone Tucker married 15 July
Richard Coldridge & Susanna Bennet married 3 November
1687 George Tothill & Lattisha Tucker, widow, married 3 April
[the above two entries are written over a baptismal entry which cannot be deciphered]
Thomas Lethbridge & Joan Thorne married 28 June
...
1682 Mary, daughter of Mr. Phillip Reepe, buried according to ye Act for Buring in Woollen and a certificate thereof Returned within Eight days 17 May
1686 Elizabeth Jacquet, buried according to ye Act for Buring in woollen 18 May
Phillipi, wife of Mr. Charles Hern, buried according to ye Act, &c 5 July
John, son of Mr John Buriel, buried according to ye Act, &c. 16 August
John Hayman buried according to ye Act, &c 27 October
Rebeckath, daughter of Mr Charles herne, buried according to ye Atc, &c 9 December
1687 Katherin Darke buried according to ye Act, &c 6 September
Ann, daughter of Edward Pourtbery, buried according to ye Act, &c 23 January
Richard, son of Richard Shugburgh, buried according to ye Act, &c. 2 February
Margaret, wife of Mr Edward ffoxwell, buried according to ye Act, &c 21 March
1688 Edward, son of Edward Hemar, buried according to ye Act, &c 18 October

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