Apart from the obvious privilege of having ancestors from Yorkshire, many genealogists are doubly blessed in finding that their ancestors came from a parish which used what have become known as Dade Registers. These follow a format devised by a clergyman called William Dade, and the Archbishop of York, William Markham, was so impressed by this that he recommended its use throughout his diocese. The entries in Dade Registers give a large amount of genealogical information, especially at baptisms, where the names, occupations and residences of a child’s parents and grandparents are typically found, as in the following example from Badsworth, which relates to one of my ancestors: Burial entries too usually include some of the same information, for adults as well as children. This is what was given for Sarah Hirst (aunt of Richard above), who was buried in Badsworth on 3 Mar 1803: A more comprehensive description of what the entries contain can be found by following the links at the bottom of this article. The period in which these registers were used was approximately 1778-1812, though as this format entailed the gathering and recording of a great deal more information than had previously been required, it appears that there was some resistance to it: some parishes recorded events with less detail than had been asked, some didn’t persevere with the format, and many didn't adopt it at all. A list of parishes where Dade Registers were used can be found at: Code: http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/YORKSGEN/2002-12/1040220389 This list also includes a few parishes outside Yorkshire where similar register entries have been found. Not in the list, but worth mentioning, is the Diocese of Durham (Co. Durham and Northumberland), where "Barrington Registers" (named after a bishop) were in use at a similar period. They're not quite as comprehensive as the Dade ones, but they do tell you more than the brief entries found in most of the country at that time. Register entries of this kind are so useful that if you find they were being used close to where your ancestors were, in either time or place, it’s always worth checking to see if other family members make an appearance. Information missing in one parish may be there in abundance in another. For further reading: Code: http://www.localpopulationstudies.org.uk/PDF/LPS73/Article_3_Bellingham_pp51-60.pdf (This article also includes a fuller description of Barrington Registers) http://www.sog.org.uk/learn/help-getting-started-with-genealogy/guide-six https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/Dade_parish_registers http://www.bjstarmans.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/How-to-Use-Dade-Registers.pdf
A number of generations of my paternal x great grands lived in the parish of Holy Trinity, Goodramgate, York. The registers have been invaluable for my research...........if only all parishes had adopted the Dade format . Ancestry has many of the Dade registers from York and it's surrounds, they are not indexed but once you familiarise yourself with them it isn't difficult to find your ancestors. They are scanned copies of the registers which have a surname index giving page number.
I must be having a "thick" moment - how does one access these registers? (I have a sub with Ancestry, but can't find them in the Card Catalogue) Jane
My guess is you go to this link which gives you a list of parishes that used the Dade Registers and then you find out where those parish registers are. I could be wrong though. Er sorry didn't read MM's post
That would be my best suggestion too - and bear in mind that a lot of Yorkshire registers are at FindMyPast rather than Ancestry. As far as I know, the extra names (grandparents etc) in the registers haven't been indexed at the sites that host the images, so it would be a case of browsing in the hope of spotting someone. However, some printed transcripts do include all the names in their indexes - I'm thinking particularly of the ones published by the Yorkshire Parish Register Society. I think some of these may now be online (being out of copyright), so it might be a case of looking for those first, then checking the actual registers. (Edit: I think these transcripts will be what MM is referring to - Ancestry doesn't have the original registers for York, so presumably these are what they have instead.)
Yes, arthurk, the one I mentioned is part of the collection, "England: Church of England Parish Records" An example is also to be found here................. https://archive.org/details/parishregisterso41holy
