Requirements:

• an entry in this field is mandatory and is the three-letter Chapman county code
• enter in upper case

Examples:

ABD, NTT, FLN, DUR
(Aberdeenshire, Nottinghamshire, Flintshire, and Durham, or County Durham)

Requirements:

• an entry in this field is mandatory
• enter the name of the town or village
• enter in lower case with initial capitals as appropriate

Examples:

Betws-y-Coed, Nottingham, Prestonkirk, Chorlton cum Hardy

Requirements:

• an entry in this field is mandatory
• enter in lower case with initial capitals

Examples:

St Ethelred, St Mary, Holy Trinity, Methodist, All Saints (North Street)

Guidance:

Enter the name of the church, parish or congregation Take care with this as larger towns may have more than one parish or church.

If a place has two churches with the same name, then use parentheses for the identifier part, as in the example.

Requirements:

• an entry in this field is mandatory
• enter in upper case
• use one of the codes from the list of Register types

Examples:

AT, PR

Guidance:

This is a change in practice.

Requirements:

• enter the register number (or page and position), if there is one

Examples:

483, 25c

Guidance:

Usually found in marriage registers after 1750. Enter the number without leading zeroes.

If only the page has a number, enter that number, plus a lower case letter to indicate position on page. If there are no numbers, leave blank.

Requirements:

• enter the date of the marriage
• use the format dd Mon yyyy or dd Mon yyyy/y(0) if appropriate

Examples:

30 Sep 1853, 25 Jan 1742/3, 19 Feb 1689/90, 02 Jun 1545

Guidance:

If no marriage date is shown, or if all or part of the date is missing or illegible, see Dates in General guidance.

Requirements:

• enter the date that the contract for marriage was agreed, or leave blank
• use the format dd Mon yyyy or dd Mon yyyy/y(0) if appropriate

Examples:

30 Sep 1853, 25 Jan 1742/3, 19 Feb 1689/90, 02 Jun 1545

Guidance:

If no contract date is shown in the register, leave blank.

Usually only found in registers for the Church of Scotland.

See Dates in General guidance for further help.

Requirements:

• enter one of y, yes, licence, by licence, by_licence, marriage_by_licence, or true (lower or upper case) if the register states that the marriage was by licence, or leave blank

Examples:

yes, Y

Guidance:

Most marriages will be by banns.

Requirements:

• enter the forename or names, as given
• use lower case with leading capitals

Examples:

Joseph, Saml John, Henrey, Gulielmus

Guidance:

Transcribe the name as written, even if abbreviated or written in Latin or if it looks wrong. If a person has more than one forename, enter them all.

Be wary of apparent surnames that are really part of the forename. For example, the complete name Alexander Denman Neep would be entered as Alexander Denman in this field and NEEP in the surname field.

Enter any qualifier, such as Jr or Sr, in the person’s title field and not as a note: this is a change in practice.

Requirements:

• enter the groom’s surname as given
• use upper case for the whole surname

Examples:

OWEN, WARD, BAIRD, SMYTH

Guidance:

Enter the spelling exactly as given, even if it looks wrong.

Enter any qualifier, such as Jr or Sr, in the person’s title field and not as a note: this is a change in practice.

Requirements:

• enter as written

Examples:

Jr, Sr, Esq, Dr. Professor

Guidance:

If not stated, leave blank.

Requirements:

• enter the groom’s age as given
• enter an integer (whole number) or one the phrases below

Examples:

17, 21, 51, Minor

Guidance:

In general, text is not allowed in this field. However, “minor” (under 21) is allowed, as is “of age”, “of full age” or “full age”.

If the register says “under 21” or “under age”, or “under”, record this as “minor”, and put what the register actually says in the Notes field.

If no age is stated, leave the field blank.

Requirements:

• the groom’s parish or place of residence, if it is different from the event parish
• if the parish is stated as being in another county, append the three-letter Chapman county code, entered in upper case

Examples:

Newton
Ealing MDX
Gillespie, Glenluce
Silloth CUL

Guidance:

If the register does state the parish, but it is the same as the parish in which the marriage took place, or if the entry states “of this parish”, then leave the field empty. If there are more local details, such as a farm or road, enter these in the abode field.

Requirements:

• enter the groom’s marital status
• enter in lower case with initial capitals
• if missing, leave blank

Examples:

Bachelor, Widower, Single Man, Virgin, Divorced Man, Previous Marriage Annulled, Previous Marriage Dissolved

Guidance:

If any additional information is provided, for instance a name or a date, enter this in the notes field.

Requirements:

• enter the groom’s occupation
• enter in lower case with initial capitals
• if missing, leave blank

Examples:

Railway Shunter, Baker, Labourer, Miner

Requirements:

• enter the groom’s residence at the time of marriage
• enter in lower case with initial capitals

Examples:

Ruardean
High St
23, High St
Napoleon Sq., Cinderhill

Requirements:

• enter one of y, yes, marked or true (upper or lower case) if the groom made his mark rather than signing his name in the register

Examples:

Y, yes

Guidance:

Do not enter N or No: leave blank if the person signed.

Requirements:

• enter the groom’s father’s forename(s) as given
• use lower case with initial capitals

Examples:

Robert, William, Richd, George Hy.

Guidance:

See groom’s forename for other details of how to enter forenames.

Requirements:

• enter the groom’s father’s surname as given
• use upper case for the whole surname

Examples:

PARRY, FORBES, READ, WALKER

Guidance:

For more details, see groom’s surname.

Requirements:

• enter as written

Examples:

Jr, Sr, Esq, Dr. Professor

Guidance:

If not stated, leave blank.

Requirements:

• enter rank, trade or occupation of the groom’s father
• use lower case with initial capitals

Examples:

Baker, Butcher, Gentleman, Captain

Requirements:

• enter the groom’s mother’s forename(s) as given
• use lower case with initial capitals

Examples:

Sarah, Ann, Mary Ann

Guidance:

See groom’s forename for other details of how to enter forenames.

If not stated, leave blank.

Likely only found in non conformist registers

Requirements:

• enter the groom’s mother’s surname as given
• use upper case for the whole surname

Examples:

PARRY, FORBES, READ, WALKER

Guidance:

If not stated, leave blank.

Likely only found in non conformist registers.

See groom’s surname for other details of how to enter surnames.

Requirements:

• enter as written

Examples:

Jr, Sr, Mrs

Guidance:

If not stated, leave blank.

Likely only found in non conformist registers.

Requirements:

• enter rank, trade or occupation of the groom’s mother
• use lower case with initial capitals

Examples:

Seamstress, Nurse, Lady

Guidance:

If not stated, leave blank.

Likely only found in non conformist registers

Requirements:

• enter the forename or names, as given
• use lower case with leading capitals

Examples:

Elizabeth, Mary An, Phebe, Esther

Guidance:

Transcribe the name as written, even if abbreviated or written in Latin or if it looks wrong. If a person has more than one forename, enter them all.

Be wary of apparent surnames that are really part of the forename. For example, the complete name Sarah Denman Neep would be entered as Sarah Denman in this field and NEEP in the surname field.

Any qualifier, such as Jr or Sr, should be entered using the person’s title field and not as a note: this is a change in practice.

Requirements:

• enter the Bride’s surname as given
• use upper case for the whole surname

Examples:

OWEN, WARD, BAIRD, SMYTH

Guidance:

Enter the spelling exactly as given, even if it looks wrong.

Any qualifier, such as Jr or Sr, should be entered using the person’s title field and not as a note: this is a change in practice.

Requirements:

• enter as written

Examples:

Jr, Sr, Dr. Professor

Guidance:

If not stated, leave blank.

Requirements:

• enter the Bride’s age as given
• enter an integer (whole number) or one of the phrases in given below

Examples:

17, 21, 51, Minor

Guidance:

In general, text is not allowed in this field. However, “minor” (under 21) is allowed, as is “of age”, “of full age” or “full age”.

If the register says “under 21” or “under age”, or “under”, record this as “minor”, and put what the register actually says in the Notes field.

If no age is stated, leave the field blank.

Requirements:

• the Bride’s parish or place of residence, if it is different from the event parish
• if the parish is stated as being in another county, append the three-letter Chapman county code, entered in upper case

Examples:

Newton
Ealing MDX
Gillespie, Glenluce
Silloth CUL

Guidance:

If the register does state the parish, but it is the same as the parish in which the marriage took place, or if the entry states “of this parish”, then leave the field empty. If there are more local details, such as a farm or road, enter these in the bride’s abode field.

Requirements:

• enter the Bride’s marital status
• enter in lower case with initial capitals
• if missing, leave blank

Examples:

Spinster, Widow, Single Woman, Virgin, Divorced Woman, Previous Marriage Annulled, Previous Marriage Dissolved

Guidance:

If any additional information is provided, for instance a name or a date, enter this in the notes field.

Requirements:

• enter the Bride’s occupation
• enter in lower case with initial capitals
• if missing, leave blank

Examples:

Nurse, Seamstress

Requirements:

• enter the Bride’s residence at the time of marriage
• enter in lower case with initial capitals

Examples:

Ruardean
High St
23, High St
Napoleon Sq., Cinderhill

Requirements:

• enter y, yes, marked or true (lower or upper case) if the Bride made her mark rather than signing her name in the register

Examples:

Y, yes

Guidance:

Do not enter N or No, but leave blank if the person signed.

Requirements:

• enter the Bride’s father’s forename(s) as given
• use lower case with initial capitals

Examples:

Robert, William, Richd, George Hy.

Guidance:

See bride’s forename for other details of how to enter forenames.

Requirements:

• enter the Bride’s father’s surname as given
• use upper case for the whole surname

Examples:

PARRY, FORBES, READ, WALKER

Guidance:

See bride’s surname for other details of how to enter surnames.

Requirements:

• enter any prefix or suffix to the name of the father of the Bride

Examples:

Jr, Sr, Esq, Dr. Professor

Guidance:

If not stated, leave blank.

Requirements:

• enter the rank, trade or occupation of the Bride’s father
• use lower case with initial capitals

Examples:

Baker, Butcher, Gentleman, Captain

Requirements:

• enter the Bride’s mother’s forename(s) as given
• use lower case with initial capitals

Examples:

Sarah, Ann, Mary An

Guidance:

See bride’s forename for other details of how to enter forenames.

If not stated, leave blank.

Likely only found in non conformist registers

Requirements:

• enter the Bride’s mother’s surname as given
• use upper case for the whole surname

Examples:

PARRY, FORBES, READ, WALKER

Guidance:

If not stated, leave blank.

Likely only found in non conformist registers.

See bride’s surname for other details of how to enter surnames.

Requirements:

• enter any prefix or suffix to the name of the mother of the Bride

Examples:

Jr, Sr, Mrs

Guidance:

If not stated, leave blank.

Likely only found in non conformist registers

Requirements:

• enter rank, trade or occupation of the Bride’s mother
• use lower case with initial capitals

Examples:

Seamstress, Nurse, Lady

Guidance:

If not stated, leave blank.

Likely only found in non conformist registers.

Requirements:

• enter forename(s) of witness as given
• use lower case with initial capitals

Examples:

Phebe Martha, Charles, Esther, Thos.

Guidance:

You may enter up to 8 witnesses as numbered pairs of forename and surname. The field names (column headings) are:

• witness1_forename & witness1_surname
• witness2_forename & witness2_surname
• …
• witness8_forename & witness8_surname

Use only as many pairs of fields as you need.

Requirements:

• enter the surname of the first witness as given
• use upper case for the whole surname

Examples:

ADAMS, COLLIER, MITCHELL, SANDFORD

Guidance:

See witness forename(s) for details of how to enter more witnesses.

Requirements:

• enter any further information that does not belong in one of the other fields

Examples:

Witness 2 signed X
vide 4 June 1674
Bride’s father: deceased
by warrant of B. Edin. to Mr John M'Queen

Guidance:

Do not enter your observations: they belong in the transcriber’s notes field.

Do not include the details of the officiating minister unless there are compelling reasons to do so (that is, something about the minister looks like a clue for a researcher).

Requirements:

• enter your comment or observation about the record

Examples:

A very faint document
Part of record is missing
An ink blob in the person’s surname

Guidance:

Do not use to enter information that is in the register: put that in the Notes field.

Requirements:

• Enter the name of the film or fiche

Guidance:

For use only with an old allocation from the image server or from a source outside of FreeREG.

Do not use if transcribing from an image from the Image server using the new Assignment system.

Requirements:

• enter the number of the image
• for use only with an old allocation from the image server or from a source outside of FreeREG

Guidance:

Do not use if transcribing from an image from the Image Server using the new Assignment system. See the Image file name field for more details.

Requirements:

• Enter the name of the image file in your Assignment

Guidance:

Use only if you are transcribing from an image from the Image Server using the new Assignment process.