How to Search Marriage Records in London
Marriage records are very useful to governments and individuals for different reasons. For a person, marriage records offer insight into lineage and family trees. They can help in identifying paternal and maternal branches of a family. Many people who use marriage records to research their backgrounds can find many interesting details including the exact dates of marriage, location of marriage, surnames and maiden names. The government uses the data in a more impersonal manner. In most cases they are interested in populations and behavior. They use the marriage data to derive information for future services that need to be provided to citizens. In most cases the marriage records in London are used in conjunction with birth and death records to get an exact picture of the residents of the city. Government organizations can identify population shifts, birth rates, marriage rates, marital age, family size and other interesting facts that help in planning for the future. Marriage records are also important when it comes to identification and citizenship. That is why all the marriage records of London come under the control of the Identity and Passport Service (IPS).
Instructions
-
1
General Register Office
The GRO is in charge of storing all death, birth and marriage records. When searching for marital records, individuals will need to access the index that is made available by the GRO. The index dates back to 1837 and contains millions of records from both within the borers of the United Kingdom and overseas. -
2
Complete Index
The GRO sends updated copies of the index to libraries across the United Kingdom. In London, individuals can find the index at The British Library. The entire collection is available on microfiche.
Location: 96 Euston Rd, London NW1 2DB, United Kingdom View Map -
3
Online Search
If you do not want to physically search through the entire index, you can access the FreeBDM website here. This online resource lists millions of records available in the GRO index. Unfortunately the entire index is not yet online so some missing marriage records may need to be searched physically. -
4
Paid
Researchers can also contact private search firms that charge a fee to go through the records. They can also order marriage certificates for people's personal records. Some of these companies include:
Find My Past
BMDIndex
Family Relatives
.Next%20stop%3A%20Pinterest "Pin It")
