As I mentioned in my post about English parish registers , civil registration in England and Wales began in 1837 and it is relatively easy (but expensive and slow) to obtain a copy of a birth, marriage or death certificate from the GRO (General Register Office). Prior to 1837, it was the church that logged vital records in registers in every parish. So, if you are researching your ancestors in Wales, you are going to need to find Welsh parish registers. Unfortunately, there is not one place where all the records are kept; the historical physical registers are usually now kept in the county archives.
To help you locate Welsh parish registers, I have posted a link table in the Resources section on this website. The historic counties of Wales are listed with a link to the relevant physical archive so if you are visiting in person, you can plan your trip. Also listed are links to the Family History Society for each county. Often these societies have their own databases and online shops where you can buy local records on disc, including transcriptions of parish records. Some societies can also help with your research for a fee.
If you are researching online start with Family Search as these records are free. These records were produced in conjunction with FindMyPast and are the most comprehensive Welsh records online. You can see the transcriptions on the Family Search site, but you will need a subscription to FindMyPast to see scans of the actual documents. I have only linked to the Baptism records on FMP, but they also have Marriage and Burial records.
The table also has links to the collections held by Ancestry and The Genealogist .
Click here to access the Welsh Parish Register Guide
Please see my other posts for information on English, Scottish and Irish church records.
See also: How to find British Non-Conformist Records
For more Welsh genealogy resources see: The Best Welsh Genealogy Resources
For further reading on Welsh genealogy , check out the following:
There are more genealogy books in the Resources section here.
Please pin a pin to Pinterest:
I have lots of Ancestry from the UK, Alfred Woodward 1829 Sommerset, Donald Campbell Argyles 1843 , Fredrick C Bennett. From Scotland.
That’s great Chris. You may find these previous posts useful: https://bespokegenealogy.com/find-your-scottish-ancestry/ and https://bespokegenealogy.com/free-genealogy-websites/
Good luck!