Boyd's & Pallot's

Marriage Index

Boyd's Marriage Index, begun by Percival Boyd in the 1920s and covering the period 1538 to 1837, was compiled from English parish registers, bishops' transcripts, and marriage licenses in sixteen counties. Since only about one third of the parishes are represented, however, this compilation it is incomplete, having less than sixteen percent of all English marriages for that period. The microfilm publication consists of three parts: Boyd's Marriage Index (microfiche 94/2144), arranged by county with records of brides and grooms; Boyd's Marriage Index, 1538-1837, Second Series (microfiche 94/2143), and Boyd's Marriage Index, 1538-1837, 3rd Series (microfiche 94/2147), both arranged by bride and groom. The second and third series are sometimes referred to as the miscellaneous series. These indexes are useful in determining the date and place of a marriage as well as the particular parish in which it occurred. They may also help in estimating the frequency of a surname in a particular geographical area, or to identify the place of origin of someone who married in England before emigrating to North America or elsewhere.

Pallot's Index to Marriages is essential for researchers with London ancestry, as it covers all but two of the 103 parishes in the old City of London. The dates span the time from 1780 to the onset of General Registration in 1837. The more than 1.7 million marriage entries come mainly from London and Middlesex, but also include entries from 2500 parishes in 38 counties outside of London--many not available in other sources. Also included are several records from counties in Wales. With indexing beginning in 1813, several of the registers transcribed in Pallot's index no longer exist, having been destroyed or lost.

The index slips were handwritten on paper slips, and indexing continued regularly over a period of more than 150 years. Each slip identifies the church or chapel in which the marriage was celebrated, the names of bride and of groom, whether spinster, bachelor, widow or widower and sometimes other details along with the date of the event. The entries in this database are linked to the images from which the data was extracted.