Registers of births, marriages and deaths

The most useful public records to consider first are generally those of civil registration.

Registers of births, marriages and deaths in England and Wales have been compiled locally since 1837 by officials known as Registrars. Indexes to these registers in the Family Records Centre in London, can be searched in person without charge.

The indexes state last names, forenames, age at death (from 1866 onwards) and the registration district in which an event was registered. The Superintendent Registrar for the Salford registration district has registers and indexes for the area of the present city of Salford with one exception - the registers and indexes for the Little Hulton area before April 1937 which are in the keeping of the Superintendent Registrar for the Bolton registration district.

Charges are made for searches of these indexes (except those in the Family Records Centre) or for the supply of copy certificates of entries in the registers. The registers themselves cannot be examined by members of the public.

From 1841 census returns are worth studying for genealogical purposes and returns (or copies) up to 1891 inclusive are available to the public. A microform copy for England and Wales can be consulted in the Family Records Centre in London. Microfilm copies of local census returns between 1841 and 1891 are held in Salford Local History Library.

Printed sources, such as directories, newspapers and local histories became more numerous in the 19th century than ever before. A large collection of commercial directories, which are particularly useful, is kept at Salford Local History Library.

This page was last updated on 17 November 2010