Genealogy Chat

see below

Made our first visit to London Metropolitan Archives last Thursday, coming up on an early train so full fares (£45 for the two of us). Spent eight hours hard labour and came up with practically zilch. Problem is if you only know the district there are twenty or thirty churches to plough through for each district! Nothing appears to be transcribed and very little indexed. Any tips to narrow down the field before we go again? Could we interest the National Lottery Heritage Fund in getting that lot online, I wonder?

Joan who is in this site goes each week so I am sure she can give you some tips. Joan knows her way around all the records. Joan is at LMA today so nudge this up later when she gets back home and I am sure she will help with advice. Good Luck Irene

Brian I know how you feel. I know that my gt grandmother married again sometime between May 1879 and March 1881. But she didn't marry in any of the churches in the parish she lived in in 1879, nor in the ones in the parish she was in in 1881. So I looked at the filing cabinets full of microfilm and thought 'well, her first husband is my direct relative. I can't really spend weeks going through all this - especially when after a few reels you begin to wonder if you've missed it!' V. annoying though, as its not in the GRO index. nell

Helen We picked up an out-of-parish marriage the other week by looking at the Banns in Blackmore (the parish where the groom lived). That gave the entry 'Jill Smith of the parish of Ongar'. Looked in Ongar and there was the wedding. Would never have looked at Ongar otherwise.

I have narrowed down searches in the past by going through each church and noting denomination, when it was built, when it was closed and if it underwent any major restoration works or suffered any extensive damage (and was therefore likely to be closed). Admittedly I didn't have anywhere near 20 churches to chose from but it really did cut down searching time.

Every time someone says 'Would sks look up a post 1837 marriage for me' I shudder, as they really don't know just what they are asking. Croydon has had over 100 places of worship. Not all at the same time and not all registered to conduct marriages, but it gives you some idea of how horrendous the task is. Country marriages are easier to find, but London is really complex. Even if somebody said 'St James', that could be any one of a dozen churches. Hope you didn't feel the day was a complete waste of time. (NB They are open some Saturdays, which is much cheaper on the pocket)

don't know if this will help.... by the door as you enter search room, there are books covering each borough. There is about 6 books for each parish, they cover everything, rates, electrol rolls, schools and of course parishes. If you only have an area, then try loking in these books because as Brenad said not all churches were open all the time. You may be able to cross off a few this way. Also if you have an address from a cert, then try looking at the huge maps ( also near the door) you should be able to narrow if down that way. I have found it is often, though not NOT always the nearest church. Ask the staff to help if you feel uncertain. This is how I have narrowed my searches down, hope it helps.