Parish records, early Holy Cross Book Canterbury
We sometimes think of all the information that is available to us today. Thanks in part to the standardization of recorded information and record books required by past governments. A series of mandates in the sixteenth century required clergy to compile records of baptisms, marriages, and burials within each parish. As the clergy were also obliged to send an annual copy to the bishop (called Bishops Transcripts) there are many parish records from this time.
The following is available thanks to Ancestry and Kent, England, Tyler Index to Parish Registers, 1538-1874. This collection contains 340 books of extractions of baptism, marriages and burials from parish registers in East Kent, compiled by Frank Watt Tyler. The collection is held by the Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies (IHGS) and thereat known as "The Tyler Collection".
I am not sure if the pages in the images are the notes of Frank Watt Tyler of images of the original parish records.
Either way there is still some interest in looking at the content.
This is an indexed book, lets start looking at Abbot.
The earliest entry on this page appears to be 2nd December 1593 with the marriage of John Abby and Elizabeth Ramsey.
Followed on 6th April 1600 with the baptism of Elizabeth Abbye, daughter of John. On 8th September 1605, a Son, not sure of his name, again to John. Another son, Eden baptised on 3rd July 1608.
Further on there are entries for burials
At the bottom of the page, on 19th August 1799, John Abbot, of the parish of St Dunstan's married Elizabeth Balderstone, a minor, possibly aged 16, and possibly approved, or married with the permission of the parents.
However, in this instance we are interested in the Nash family.
An easy jump to the indexed page for N.
However, that only leads me to the burial record for Ciselye Nethersole, a widow, on 10th March 1611/12, recorded as 1612 on Ancestry.
Not the expected Nash.
What does the next page reveal?
Another N, but again not Nash. I did find a Nash filed under N, but it was at All Saints Church Canterbury, and the record was on 31st January 1776 James Nash, aged 56, was buried.
This time the Naylor family, with William Alder marrying Mary Naylor on 16th January 1566/7. Interesting that the book picks up the bride as Naylor and not just the groom.
At the end of the indexed portion of the book there are some loose pages, with pre-printed numbers at the top of the page.
Looking through those loose pages we at last come across an entry for Nash.
Pleasantly, there it is.
On 14th October 1776, Nash, Edward is married to Elizabeth Hill of the Parish of St Dunston.
This is a different record to the one found earlier, which established the date of the wedding it the first place. That record was on page 29, but in a different notebook. Fortunately the information is the same so it does not cause a conflict or confusion.
This page, page 29 is in the duplicate book covering Acrise to Crundale, with Canterbury being within that element of A to C. Canterbury the is sub-divided into its churches or parishes, including Holly Cross.
There is also a section for St Dunstan, so hopefully there will be some more baptisms in that section, but that is not for this article.
The conclusion is therefore that these are not the original parish records but the notebooks of, presumably, Frank Watt Tyler, as he compiled his 340 books.
