Civil registration began in England and Wales in 1837 (in
Scotland in 1855 and in Ireland in 1864) and is still in operation
today. The system involves the recording of births, marriages and
deaths that occur within the United Kingdom. Although there was
some resistance to the system in the early years and so not all
events were registered, it gradually became accepted practice. In
1875 it became the parents' responsibility to ensure their
children's births were registered.
For the purposes of registration, England and Wales were divided
into registration districts, based on the Poor Law Unions which had
been set up in 1834. The registration districts were divided into
sub-districts, and registrars were appointed to record the details
of all births marriages and deaths occurring in the district. The
details were recorded in registers which were then sent to the
Registrar General's Office in London, where they were copied and
indexed.
There are separate indexes for births, marriages and deaths and
prior to 1984 they are arranged alphabetically in quarterly
volumes. These indexes provide the reference needed to order copies
of certificates from either the General Register Office (telephone
0845 6037788) or they can be ordered from the local register
office:
Peterborough Register Office
Cambridgeshire
Registration Service
General Register Office Indexes:
Available at Peterborough Central Library on microfiche
(1837-1925)
Available online at http://www.freebmd.org.uk/ and
http://www.1837online.com/
(vouchers for this site are available to buy at Peterborough
Central Library).
CAMDEX:
http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/community/bmd/Camdex/
An online family history index that will eventually provide
online access to information on births, marriages and deaths for
the county of Cambridgeshire since 1837. The database can be
searched using a variety of criteria and certificates can be
ordered.
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