Were your ancestors contemporaries of Shakespeare? They were indeed, at some point in your family history. But not everyone knows who their ancestors were at this period of time. As record-keeping varied across countries, this article will focus on tracing ancestry in England before 1600.

Civil registration, which introduced birth, marriage and death certificates, commenced in England in 1837. Prior to this, similar records were kept in the form of “parish registers.”

Parish Registers

Starting in 1538, each parish was required to keep records of the local baptisms, marriages and burials that occurred therein. However, it took quite some time for many parishes to become diligent in keeping these records, meaning that some events simply were not documented.

By 1600, roughly half of all baptisms, marriages and burials were being registered properly. The percentage gradually increased over time, with brief interruptions such as during the English Civil War and the following Commonwealth period (1643-1659).

One parish which did keep records prior to the 1600s is St Peter’s, Kent. For example, the baptism of Stephen Norwood was recorded here in 1588, for the 6th of October. As was common in these times, only the father’s name, and not the mother’s, was written in the book. Stephen Norwood’s father was “Symon” Norwood.

Wills

Another valuable resource for tracing ancestry prior to the 1600s is wills (and related records), which are often available from The National Archives.

The will of William Pontysbury, a merchant of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, was written in 1508. In his will he bequeathed his mills in Burinton to his wife Elizabeth, and directed that after her death they be given to his daughter “Helyne” and a certain Thomas Buryton, perhaps Helyne’s husband. Afterwards they were to be passed onto Helyne’s sister “Dorothe.”

Although miscellaneous records do exist, parish registers and wills are the main resources available for researching ancestry prior to 1600. Other sources include documents from the Court of Chancery, monumental inscriptions, the Herald’s Visitations (especially for noble families) and manorial records, to name a few.

If you would be interested in hiring me to attempt to research your ancestry prior to 1600, feel free to send an email to jake@jhmfamilyhistory.com, or visit the Services page for more information.

Credits:

Ancestry.com.au. (2021). London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812. [online] Available at: https://www.ancestry.com.au/search/ collections/1624/

Stephen Norwood, baptism record, 1588, https://www.ancestry.com.au/discoveryui- content/view/187819834:9841?tid=&pid= &queryId=250bf3886b741ee01e81c9ade5 f78c69&_phsrc=rCZ3794&_phstart= successSource

The National Archives (UK). Will of William Pontysbury. [online] Available at: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/f5069e 5f-bb30-4491-89c4-8 87e20b2555b