Church records are a rich source of family history information, covering baptisms, marriages and burials. They can be split into two basic categories: parish records cover members of the established church, namely the Church of England (CoE), Scotland or Wales, while records covering other denominations, from Catholics and Presbyterians to Methodists and Quakers, are grouped under the label ‘non-conformist’. Here, we’ll explain where to find the latter.
Research available records
Non-conformist records stretch way back to 1567, so you could easily get overwhelmed by the amount of information. To start, read a summary of English and Welsh records, which begin with the catalogue code ‘RG’, held by the National Archives (www.snipca.com/39339). A summary of Welsh records within this collection is provided by the National Library of Wales (www.snipca.com/39340).
Those looking…
