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Worcestershire Parish Records
- Thread starter PaulB
- Start date
Bob Spiers
LostCousins Superstar
Ancestry offers extracted Worcestershire C of E Parish Records 1541-1812 and FMP Worcestershire Baptism, Marriage & Burial Parish records (dates not qualified) but the county is not over blessed for online records I'm afraid. If you haven't already you should also try Worcestershire County Council (Parish Register) site which you will find here WCC
Neither site has very many records - fewer than 65,000 at Ancestry and fewer than 50,000 at Findmypast. The good news is that there are nearly 900,000 at FreeREG.
Also see FamilySearch.
A
At home in NZ
Guest
Your freereg link goes to the home page of this forum.
Bob Spiers
LostCousins Superstar
As a long time Worcestershire researcher, I would endorse Peter's recommendation to use Family Search as often that has turned up trumps for me when other online avenues have failed. However I have always been disappointed with FreeREG despite its claim to have nearly 900,00 county records transcribed. Despite frequent searches for umpteen parishes from all points of the county compass, it managed to produce a NUL return, time after time. Of course some successes, but too few to recall and certainly not enough to give any recommendation.
When all else fails (and with Worcestershire researching that is often) I turn to the Worcestershire branch of Midland Ancestor (of which I have long been a member) and seek the help of the branch member offering to help members with their research.
Previously I would have turned to a dear senior relative, a cousin of my mother's cousin. She still resides in Worcester, a keen Family Researcher; an amateur Worcestershire Historian and before she retired through ill health a Worcester Cathedral tour guide. Sadly these days with infirmity (not to mention Pandemic restrictions) I usually manage little more than a chat and a talk over old times. I will always be greatly indebted to her for the things she passed on to me, not only about family, but places and parishes within the county and thought nothing of taking a trip to the 'Hive'(the Worcestershire Records Office) to interrogate Microfilm archives to answer questions that had stumped her.
When all else fails (and with Worcestershire researching that is often) I turn to the Worcestershire branch of Midland Ancestor (of which I have long been a member) and seek the help of the branch member offering to help members with their research.
Previously I would have turned to a dear senior relative, a cousin of my mother's cousin. She still resides in Worcester, a keen Family Researcher; an amateur Worcestershire Historian and before she retired through ill health a Worcester Cathedral tour guide. Sadly these days with infirmity (not to mention Pandemic restrictions) I usually manage little more than a chat and a talk over old times. I will always be greatly indebted to her for the things she passed on to me, not only about family, but places and parishes within the county and thought nothing of taking a trip to the 'Hive'(the Worcestershire Records Office) to interrogate Microfilm archives to answer questions that had stumped her.
A
At home in NZ
Guest
This link is still not working.
Bob Spiers
LostCousins Superstar
Try this link then FreeReg
It does, but I don't know why - if you copy the link it works fine. Perhaps a technical expert can enlighten us.
I wasn't recommending FamilySearch search as a source of Worcestershire records - the FamilySearch page I linked to is about Worcestershire and where the records can be found.
FreeREG will tell you instantly how many records they have transcribed for a given parish. In many cases there are none - typically FreeREG volunteers work parish by parish.
However there are still more than 10 times as many Worcestershire records in total as at the sites you recommended.
Bob Spiers
LostCousins Superstar
Neither would I but simply that when using Family Search to research an individual by name to see what BDM records are available and isolating Worcestershire for the search, it surprisingly rewards where others fail. Nothing more nothing less.
As for FreeReg I relate only by personal success/failure rates and care little for how how many records they claim. For instance it seldom rewards when seeking Worcester (as opposed to Worcestershire) parishes and seemingly precious few of the parishes in and around the city. However it is what it is and if someone is luck enough to alight on a parish whose records have been thoroughly transcribed, they may be lucky so no harm in them being aware of FreeReg's existence.
Of course FamilySearch is worth searching, but the page I linked to is far more important than that, and I didn't want others to make the same wrong assumption.
Frankly I'm appalled - that's twice you have referred to the number of records that FreeREG 'claims' as if their numbers can't be trusted. Perhaps rather than casting aspersions on the work of volunteers (many of whom are also LostCousins members) you should join their number and then you can transcribe the parishes of interest to you.
Bryman
LostCousins Megastar
And so am I that you have been so critical! I did not read Bob's comments the way that you have. I do not think that he is disputing or questioning their figures, just that the total number of records is of little interest to him. What is more important to him is how successful, or otherwise, he is at finding the records that he is searching for. As he says, that is his personal view and may be very different for other searchers.
Bob did not cast any aspersions on the quality of work carried out by any of the volunteers. I think that you owe him an apology.
Bob Spiers
LostCousins Superstar
That if I may say so is utter claptrap on a par with Piers Morgan utterances. Luckily I just had time to take in Bryman's comments before taking you to task for misinterpreting what I said, but Bryman has beaten me to the punch and I am most thankful he understood the points being made. Shame you did not interpret in the same way and my turn to be appalled that you did not.
Bob Spiers
LostCousins Superstar
Thank you Bryman and that has saved me an awful lot of response time to Peter who of course jumped the gun and simply misinterpreted things I did not say or mean. You correctly understood what I was saying and for that I am most grateful.
Bob used the word 'claim' in two separate posts and on the second occasion he wrote:
Bob's contributions to the forum are usually valuable and appreciated, but on this occasion he was careless with his language.
The purpose of this discussion is to help PaulB and others with Worcestershire connections. Bob's personal success rate in searching FreeREG would only be relevant for someone searching the same parishes. FreeREG provides statistics parish by parish so it is easy for anyone to check what is in the database for the parishes of interest, and that's what really matters.
Bryman
LostCousins Megastar
Sorry Peter but I disagree completely with your reaction to Bob's comments. I think that you have been very narrow minded and not at all helpful.
I think that Bob's use of the word 'claim' was perfectly acceptable and did not deserve critical comment. It does not necessarily mean that the figures quoted are subject to dispute, just like your claim as to the number of LostCousins members or the number that actively enter references on their My Ancestors page.
Many members contributing to this forum use phrases which are possibly open to interpretation but most readers are prepared to try and understand the intended meaning. It is disappointing that you have not paused to contemplate such possibilities on this occasion.
I thought that Bob had been trying to help PaulB, and others, by sharing his experiences. Obviously, others may not have similar success/failures when searching for other individuals in differing locations but Bob should not be blamed for any lack of alternative views from other members.
You keep referring to the parish by parish statistics provided by FreeREG but Bob has already stated that they are of little interest to him, unless zero. He is really only interested in whether a parish that he is searching contains the records that he is looking for.
I think that Bob's use of the word 'claim' was perfectly acceptable and did not deserve critical comment. It does not necessarily mean that the figures quoted are subject to dispute, just like your claim as to the number of LostCousins members or the number that actively enter references on their My Ancestors page.
Many members contributing to this forum use phrases which are possibly open to interpretation but most readers are prepared to try and understand the intended meaning. It is disappointing that you have not paused to contemplate such possibilities on this occasion.
I thought that Bob had been trying to help PaulB, and others, by sharing his experiences. Obviously, others may not have similar success/failures when searching for other individuals in differing locations but Bob should not be blamed for any lack of alternative views from other members.
You keep referring to the parish by parish statistics provided by FreeREG but Bob has already stated that they are of little interest to him, unless zero. He is really only interested in whether a parish that he is searching contains the records that he is looking for.
A
At home in NZ
Guest
I agree.
In this instance the meaning of claim is being misinterpreted. To claim something is to take ownership.
Stop 'bickering' please boys.
Bob Spiers
LostCousins Superstar
I carried out this 'Search' experiment yesterday using Ancestry, FMP, FreeBMD, FamilySearch & FreeReg. To create a level playing field I gave them one SURNAME (where I could I ticked 'exact' or gave no option for soundex, or alternative), one place Worcester, Worcestershire, and a time span of 1830-1850 (or 1840 +/-10yrs) and concentrated on BMD records.
It will help here if I tell you the surname (my secondary maternal line) was prolific in and around Worcester during this period and beyond. They had an active Builders business in the town and the surname was even for a time part of their business address. I have many records and knowledge of the family and its offshoots drawn from many sources. I expected all data bases to produce individuals with that name regardless as to whether of my line or not. The criteria being: Surname, Place, Time.
Here is the initial outcome of the search:
Ancestry: produced 121 results
FMP: produced 115 results
FreeBMD: produced 16 results
FamilySearch: produced 23 results
FreeReg: produced: No Results found*
* to be extraordinary fair with FreeReg I 'unticked' the Worcester specific box (despite in showed such a data base existed) and allowed just Worcestershire. It produced 5 results and none, of course, applying to Worcester itself.
My lack of enthusiasm for FreeReg goes well beyond this one off experiment. Indeed my disillusionment with it has relegated it to the back burner. I now only consider it when my golden trio (Ancestry/FMP & a toss up between FreeBMD & Family Search) fail to satisfy. Needless to say FreeReg has seldom rewarded but, ever the optimist, there is always the chance it will one day.
So am I prejudiced against Free Reg? Not at all; just that I would not dream of recommending it on the basis of my own experiences. I live in hope that it will or has performed for others and in no way decry or demean the efforts of its transcribers. It is just like the Post Code Lottery... it may be good and beneficial to others; it just hasn't performed in my street.
It will help here if I tell you the surname (my secondary maternal line) was prolific in and around Worcester during this period and beyond. They had an active Builders business in the town and the surname was even for a time part of their business address. I have many records and knowledge of the family and its offshoots drawn from many sources. I expected all data bases to produce individuals with that name regardless as to whether of my line or not. The criteria being: Surname, Place, Time.
Here is the initial outcome of the search:
Ancestry: produced 121 results
FMP: produced 115 results
FreeBMD: produced 16 results
FamilySearch: produced 23 results
FreeReg: produced: No Results found*
* to be extraordinary fair with FreeReg I 'unticked' the Worcester specific box (despite in showed such a data base existed) and allowed just Worcestershire. It produced 5 results and none, of course, applying to Worcester itself.
My lack of enthusiasm for FreeReg goes well beyond this one off experiment. Indeed my disillusionment with it has relegated it to the back burner. I now only consider it when my golden trio (Ancestry/FMP & a toss up between FreeBMD & Family Search) fail to satisfy. Needless to say FreeReg has seldom rewarded but, ever the optimist, there is always the chance it will one day.
So am I prejudiced against Free Reg? Not at all; just that I would not dream of recommending it on the basis of my own experiences. I live in hope that it will or has performed for others and in no way decry or demean the efforts of its transcribers. It is just like the Post Code Lottery... it may be good and beneficial to others; it just hasn't performed in my street.
When I carried out test searches for Worcestershire baptisms at Findmypast I found that almost all of the results I got were records that had been provided by FamilySearch. If those were excluded then FreeREG produced many more results than Findmypast.
Note: some search results appear two or three times so, confusingly, Findmypast seem to have more FamilySearch records than FamilySearch themselves!
I appreciate that it's convenient for someone who is already an Ancestry or Findmypast subscriber to be able to search FamilySearch record sets without going to the FamilySearch site. However in general it isn't good practice to recommend subscription sites as sources of records that are free at FamilySearch since many people do not have subscriptions. I aim to avoid this as much as possible and I expect members of this forum to be similarly careful in their recommendations.
You will recall that I linked to a FamilySearch page earlier - this has a list of Worcestershire parishes and you can click on them to view the registers if you are in a FamilySearch Centre or affiliated library, or to search the indexed entries if you're at home.
In general, if you're looking for Worcestershire baptisms start at FamilySearch; next port of call is FreeREG which has a smaller, but still sizeable collection. Ancestry and Findmypast get most of their Worcestershire records from FamilySearch, but they do have some entries that have been independently sourced, so are worth trying if you have a subscription.
Note: some search results appear two or three times so, confusingly, Findmypast seem to have more FamilySearch records than FamilySearch themselves!
I appreciate that it's convenient for someone who is already an Ancestry or Findmypast subscriber to be able to search FamilySearch record sets without going to the FamilySearch site. However in general it isn't good practice to recommend subscription sites as sources of records that are free at FamilySearch since many people do not have subscriptions. I aim to avoid this as much as possible and I expect members of this forum to be similarly careful in their recommendations.
You will recall that I linked to a FamilySearch page earlier - this has a list of Worcestershire parishes and you can click on them to view the registers if you are in a FamilySearch Centre or affiliated library, or to search the indexed entries if you're at home.
In general, if you're looking for Worcestershire baptisms start at FamilySearch; next port of call is FreeREG which has a smaller, but still sizeable collection. Ancestry and Findmypast get most of their Worcestershire records from FamilySearch, but they do have some entries that have been independently sourced, so are worth trying if you have a subscription.
I used to transcribe for FreeREG and probably will again, but for now my caring responsibilities take up the time that I used to spend transcribing. I still get their email discussions between transcribers seeking help with difficult to read records, and when I can I try to help with these. I can tell you that the volunteers are all trained (by other volunteers) and go to enormous lengths to try to provide the best quality transcriptions. The transcribing is organised by county, and some counties are well organised and have lots of volunteers and others don't. Some counties are blessed with volunteers that live locally, own laptops, and (when archives are open) can spend time working from the archives. However a huge number of transcribers work from home, so it also depends on the availability of images for them to transcribe from. Some counties have volunteers able to capture images and others don't. Some county archives are happy for people to capture images and other not so. Also, a volunteer transcriber generally takes on a particular parish at any one time, and their progress will be limited by how much time they can spare. Hence, the coverage does vary a lot from county to county and parish to parish. If you are lucky to have research interests in the places they have lot of transcriptions for then you will find the site very useful. If not, then you will either need to be patient or volunteer to help them yourself. 