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Staff at registration offices will be pleased to help with
any enquiry concerning the registration of births, deaths and
marriages.
They can provide copies of certificates of births, deaths and
marriages registered since 1837.
Kent County Council has six main registration offices.
Information on how to find them can be found on the
local office information page.
What information can my local register office provide?
Official records of births, deaths and marriages in England and
Wales began on 1 July 1837.
For the purposes of registering births, deaths and marriages the
country is divided into registration districts.
Kent has one registration district covering the county with
services provided through six main register offices.
Each office has a superintendent registrar whose job it is to
safely keep all the registers of births, deaths and marriages
completed in that office since 1 July 1837.
They can supply a copy of any birth, death or marriage entry
from any register within their custody
What if I do not have all the correct information?
For a fee you can search the birth, death and marriage indexes
held in the register office.
You must make an appointment to do this. Our staff will of
course be happy to provide you with certificates for any entries
that you find.
If you are not sure where the event occurred, you can visit the
family records centre in London.
The family records centre keeps indexes covering all
registration districts in England and Wales.
The family records centre is based at the General Register
Office at 1 Myddelton Street, London, EC1.
For more information about the family records centre telephone
0208 392 5300 or visit the general register office website (opens in new
window).
What about births, deaths and marriages before 1837?
Events which happened before 1 July 1837, may have been recorded
in church baptismal, marriage and burial registers which are kept
by the county archivist.
Early census returns can sometimes prove useful sources of
information.
The office for Kentish studies at the county hall in Maidstone
will be able to advise you on this, you can call them for
information on 01622 671411.
How do I research a family tree?
There are lots of books, magazines and computer programmes which
will help you begin.
Often the first step is to produce a chart of your immediate
family. You can do this by speaking to your relatives and looking
at their birth, death and marriage certificates.
Family memorabilia, bibles, letters and photographs are also a
good source of information.
Details from national censuses are held at most main libraries
and you can arrange to see these during normal opening hours.
This can help to pinpoint dates on which families first appeared
or disappeared from local records.
Researching your family tree or family history can be very
rewarding but be prepared for surprises.
Ancestors can include the famous and the infamous, if you trace
your family history back far enough you may even find that you are
related in some way to the aristocracy. |