The Channel Island of Jersey’s Baptisms, Marriages and Burials are now available on Ancestry
Here is a press release that I got yesterday. As a Jersey born family historian I think that this is quite important news for those people that can’t get to the island to do research into their ancestors – although this is not the only online resource, in which you can find Jersey men and women within, it is the first time that these particular records have been published on the internet.
Jersey Heritage is delighted to announce that, as a result of a collaboration with Ancestry and with the kind permission of the Dean of Jersey, the Island’s Church of England baptism, marriage and burial records from 1540 – 1940 are now available to search online for the first time.
The collection includes over 72,000 images covering the key milestones in the lives of hundreds of thousands of Islanders from Tudor times to the beginning of the Second World War.
The records are searchable by name, birth date, parish, baptism, marriage and burial date, name of spouse and name/s of parents, and these records contain vital information for anybody looking to find out more about an ancestor who lived in Jersey.
Local Personalities
A number of famous names can be found in this important collection from philanthropists and artists of the 20th century to well-known sporting figures, including:
- Jesse Boot – 1st Lord Trent, of Boots the Chemist, businessman and philanthropist, who transformed the small business founded by his father into an international retail company. Jesse came to Jersey to convalesce after an illness in 1886 and met his future wife, Florence Rowe. The couple were married at the St Helier Town Church on the 30th August 1886 and on their marriage record Jesse’s occupation is described as a ’wholesale druggist’. The couple retired in Jersey, where they made a number of very generous donations to help improve the lives of Islanders such as FB Fields.
- Lillie Langtry – actress, renowned beauty and mistress of King Edward VII. Lillie, who was born Emilie Charlotte Le Breton, was baptised in the Parish Church of St Saviour on the 9th November 1853, by her father Reverend William Corbet Le Breton. Lillie married her first husband, Edward Langtry in this same parish church on the 9th March 1874 and was eventually laid to rest in the cemetery on the 23rd February 1929, following her death in Monaco.
- Harry Vardon – golfer, six times winner of the British Open. Henry William Vardon was baptised in the Parish Church of Grouville on 12th June 1870. Harry did not take up golf until his late teens, as he needed to work from a young age to help support his family. When he decided he could make a career from the sport his natural talent shone through and it was not long before the young man from Jersey who had been too poor to buy his own golf clubs went on to become acknowledged as the world number one. Vardon won the British Open Championship six times, which is a record that still hasn’t been broken. He also toured America, winning the US Open in 1900, and becoming golf’s first international superstar.
The records are predominantly recorded in French, this being the written language at that time, but they follow a standard format and with some French knowledge they are relatively easy to interpret.
Linda Romeril, Archives and Collections Director at Jersey Heritage said; “The publication of the Church of England registers by Ancestry is a significant step forward in opening up access to Jersey’s records. These unique images can now be accessed by individuals with Jersey connections around the world.
”We know that a number of people left Jersey over the centuries and believe that their descendants will now be able to find their connections to our unique Island. We hope that this will encourage individuals to continue the stories of their Jersey ancestors by searching our catalogue www.jerseyheritage.org/aco for more information and ultimately visiting the Island to discover their roots.”
Rhona Murray, Content Manager at Ancestry, adds: “We are delighted to be working with Jersey Heritage to provide online access for people all around the world to these valuable parish records. The large-scale historic migration from the Island has resulted in a broad Jersey diaspora across the globe, so whether you’re aware of having heritage from the Island or are curious to discover if you have ancestors from the Channel Islands, now is the perfect time to search these collections on Ancestry and find out.”
The images can be searched by visiting www.ancestry.co.uk. As part of the agreement with Ancestry there is now free access to search the Ancestry catalogue at Jersey Archive.
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