Why can't I Find It ?
Copeland - Family History Research Problems
Or - “ why you might not be able to find any trace of your missing ancestor ”
There are several reasons why a researcher cannot find that elusive entry.
1. In the Parsons Pocket
2. Migration
3. In the Registrars Office
4. Never Registered
5. Never Indexed
6. Payments & Taxation
7. A Missing Minister
8. Family not using the Established Church
9. Accidents to the Parish Register
10. Forgetful parents
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1. In the Parsons Pocket
Many years ago an experienced researcher said to me that the most likely reason for not finding entry in the register, when you were certain there should be one, was that the information was “still in the Parsons pocket”.
This was a reference to the fact that the clergy rarely entered the details of an event in the register at the time of the Service, but made either a mental note or an actual note of the event, on a piece of paper. This was then lost or forgotten at the time that the minister settled down to his paperwork. This situation may have been rectified at the time of the annual transcription of the Parish Register for the Bishop, particularly if the transcription was carried out by the church-wardens or an other church official. They would have used their local knowledge to correct any missing entries particularly in a small country parish where everyone knew each other. Hence the necessity to always check both sources - Register & BT’s.
2. Migration
Newcomers to family history are often surprised by the mobility of their ancestors even in the years before the arrival of the railways. People wanting to better themselves by hunting out new opportunities and the decline of the agricultural economy along with the rise of factory working are but two of the reasons. The family farm being passed down to the eldest son has always meant that the younger sons had to move away to make a living to support their own families
3. In the Registrars Office
A senior member of the County Records Office, when providing helpful information to family historians, once wrote: -
“More people got married in Registry Offices in the 1880’s than we might think: so if you’re stuck for a marriage of the later 19th century, it’s always worth trying the Registrar’s records. Register Office marriages, of course, will not appear in any other source, apart from the local or national newspapers.”
4. Never Registered
Civil Registration for Births, Marriages & Deaths introduced by an Act of Parliament on 1 July 1837. At this time the responsibility for entering the event onto the Civil Register rested with the Registrar of BMD! Parents were not required to notify the event only to answer the Registrars questions. This process of registration was NOT made mandatory upon the population, along with penalties, until a new Act was published in 1874 and starting in 1875. There was of course a fee payable for having the data entered onto the registers. If you were a poor person and there was no effective sanction for non-compliance then why bother.
5. Never Indexed
The National Indexes of BMD are also the source of trouble for the family historian. Time spent “googling” will show the evidence provided by those researchers who have meticulously compared both the Church records and local Registrars own books with the content of the National Indexes. All this work shows that the errors are in the range expected from any routine human activity - error rates of between 1 & 4 per 100 entries. Some areas were much worse - one registration area had missing rate of 12 in 403 for one quarter.
Ref: “A Comedy of Errors” - reviewed by Anthony J.Camp, Family Tree Magazine, March 1999.
6. Payments and Taxation
There has always been a charge, 6d or 1/-, that should have been payable to the local Vicar for carrying out baptisms and weddings and other services. From time to time the King saw fit to add a tax to this fee particularly when he was short of money to pay for the latest war. For a poor family any charge was an imposition but to add a tax on top was too much and at such times there was an increase in irregular marriages to bypass these costs. Such events obviously went un-recorded.
One centre for these irregular marriages was the water corn mill at Muncaster, with the miller standing in for the local minister. There are several others recorded for this region.
Taken from the Compert Books of the Ecclesiastical Court, for the Archdeanery of Copeland - 1697-98
“Henry Cook, married clandestinely at a place called Muncaster Mill, had children baptised and buried at Gosforth.”
If you suspect your ancestors of being other than Church of England, cannot find a marriage, or would like to know who was the supposed father of an illegitimate child, these records might help you.
There was also a tradition, particularly in country districts, of having a “civil” service whereby family members carried out a “service” and it would no doubt be witnessed by the local community. The Act of Marriage was the shaking of hands including the fathers of the bride & groom.
7. A Missing Minister
Such irregular events would be most likely to happen when the parish church was between Ministers. If a priest left a church for whatever reason - then the parish elders could not start to find a replacement until a letter of resignation had been received from the outgoing minister. This letter would not be written until the minister had found a new position. This could leave a gap of many months and indeed years - where a parish would have had no minister to carry out the Church services. This period would be covered by clergy from an adjacent parish who would fill-in until a new incumbent Minister was appointed by the Bishop. Obviously this procedure would have increased the risk of a “parsons pocket” event, particularly during the dark & bad weather of winter. Another outcome could be the event appearing in the “wrong” register, or indeed both registers.
Baptisms were a different matter. Having a baby registered into the church community was important, both for its soul and its future welfare. This registration would ensure that if ever such a child / adult fell upon hard times then the parish relief procedure [ the Poor Law ] would provide a measure of support for that person. No entry in the Register of Baptisms meant there was no proof of responsibility falling upon the parish elders.
8. The Family not members of the Established Church
The Church of England is referred to as the established church. Copeland had its share of non-established or Dissenting churches, many brought here by people migrating into the area from regions where such churches were supporting the particular needs of the local population. These churches tended to have a short life before being absorbed into another, similar, church. Records were lost but where they have survived they tend to be found in the National Archive at Kew in London. Roman Catholic records are usually still with the parish but the records for St.Marys Cleator Moor are available at Whitehaven R.O. The Quaker community kept excellent records and again they are to found on Microfilm at Whitehaven as well as in London. Researchers working with these problems should refer to a specialist book dealing with the specific religion in question.
Also, see the separate page on the Dissenting churches.
9. Accidents to the Parish Register
Many church records have deteriorated over the years despite being recorded on velum - as required by the law. Small country chapels did not have the proper facilities for dealing with the registers. They suffered from both water damage and hungry church mice. Later more damage was inflected on the pages in Victorian / Edwardian times by various officials using the latest ink restorer to make faded writing easier to read. No doubt, in many cases, at the behest of early family historians ! Anyone researching in the Gosforth parish registers will find several years made completely unreadable by this treatment. If you find register pages, or parts of pages, that have the appearance of being painted over with some type of black ink - then you will now know the reason.
Working by Candle light has given rise to holes appearing in register pages, invariably removing the most valuable information for your particular researches. I have even heard it said that occasionally the holes were put there deliberately, to remove some unfortunate family occurrence from the written record ! Both ink restorer blackouts and infuriating holes - are to be found in the first Eskdale register.
10. Forgetful parents
As well as forgetful curates there were also forgetful parents. If the mother had a difficult childbirth or worse, died in the process, then it would not be unreasonable to expect that the harassed father may have forgotten to have the child baptised. This would be more likely to happen in the towns - as a country parish would be more likely to provide family support for the father.
Nev.Ramsden, December 2008