In the nineteenth century, most British and European countries began keeping national birth, death, and marriage records. Prior to that time, these events were documented in parish church registers of baptisms, marriages, and burials.

Keep in mind that not all births, marriages, and deaths were recorded in the early days of civil registration. People in remote regions frequently found it inconvenient to take a day off work to travel many miles (as it was in those days) to the local registrar. Some people were skeptical of the government’s motivations for requesting such information and refused to register. Others may have registered the birth of one child but not the birth of another.