Family History Enquiries

Tracing family histories is becoming more and more popular, and the Registration Service is an invaluable source of information. Official records for births, deaths and marriages began in July 1837. Before this date, these records were kept within the local parish records, usually in the Parish Church.

Anyone wishing to trace their family history needs to apply to the Register Office in the district in which the event in question took place. This can be done by postal applications or a personal visit to the Register Office. Depending on the amount of information given and the nature of the enquiry these requests may take some time to process as an extensive search by Registration staff may be necessary.

Much of the work undertaken today by the Registration Service is to provide facilities to enable people to register and record all births, deaths and marriages which occur within England and Wales. At the same time as these events are registered, other information is gathered which enables the Government to make provision for services such as health and education.

If you wish to trace your family tree the Registration Service can help you with specific certificates or searches. Local libraries archives can also be a source of information as they have relevant local publications and often hold census records on microfiche or microfilm. In addition to these sources, the Internet can be used to obtain information and various computer programs are now available to help you organise and store your data, once gathered.

The General Register Office can provide further official information.

Barnsley Indexing Project enables anyone who wishes to obtain a Birth, Marriage or Death certificate to locate the register details for the event and then print them out. A request for a certificate can then be presented to the Register Office at Barnsley Town Hall. Upon payment of the appropriate fee, the certificate will be produced.

The project is a joint venture between Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council and volunteers from the Barnsley Family History Society.