Worcestershire Parish Records

[Bob Spiers]

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.

Everyone at some time or another has to make up their minds on whether they can afford a subscription to the main players like Ancestry & FMP. There are others in the field - MyHeritage and The Genealogist to name two - but neither suited me. If had to keep just one it would be Ancestry and ensure I had a Tree hosted with them. (Preferably a Public one, but again a matter of choice).

I began with Genes Reunited (GR) and remained loyal to them for years (modest fees as I recall). GR is now part of Brightsolid as is FMP and I find the latter well worth its cost for the additional benefits it brings. Not so keen on Scotland's People because of their PAYG methods, but if you have Scottish heritage, then likely something to grim and bear.

Most sites offer instalment payment methods which I do not recommend as it can mean paying far more than a yearly subscription; but perhaps the way to begin if funds are tight. For annual subscriptions best to take advantage of special officers in the same way one does when considering an Ancestry DNA test.

I understand the need to promote 'Free' sites to those who cannot afford to take out subscriptions. I had a mentor to guide me in this long ago in the form of the Birmingham Senior Genealogical Officer (whose position was made redundant when records where moved to the Central GRO in London). He introduced me to LDS records (Family Search) and others along the way. His parting words, after telling me he was being made redundant, was to suggest I gave serious consideration to taking out a subscription to Ancestry.

In the end I reached this decision and took out a Subscription to Ancestry, and much later to FMP. I have never regretted either decision. Of course at first this got me into trouble with my other half asking why I thought it necessary to 'squander' money. There was a counter to this and many will guess what this might be but as a clue 'shoes and handbags' played a part.

 

[Bob Spiers]

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.

Thank you Sue for your profound insight into the way FreeREG (FR)works and speaks volumes for the hit and miss way things happen (or don't as the case may be). Like the property buying mantra it is all down to "location- location, location". I'm afraid patience is not one of my virtues but at least I will now understand in my occasional use of FR why it can produce a NUL return. As for volunteering, sadly for reasons on which I will not elaborate, that is not an option.

 

[peter]

at least I will now understand in my occasional use of FR why it can produce a NUL return

The good news is that it only takes a moment to find out the statistics for a parish of interest - whether it's a parish in Worcestershire or anywhere else. As Bob says, it's important to know whether the lack of results is because our ancestor wasn't baptised/married/buried in the parish, or because the registers have yet to be added to the database.