Birth Certificates: 189 Years of Civil Registration in Swansea
Birth Certificates: 189 Years of Civil Registration in Swansea Swansea Family History Originally published in The Bay Magazine, July 2015. Revised and expanded: November 2026 Introduction: A New Era in Family History On 1 July 2026, England and Wales marked the 189th anniversary of the introduction of civil registration of births, marriages and deaths. It was a development that transformed the way in which the lives of ordinary people were officially recorded. For family historians, the introduction of civil registration on 1 July 1837 represents one of the most important milestones in genealogical research. Before this date, researchers depended largely upon parish registers recording baptisms, marriages and burials. From July 1837, a national system of civil registration provided an additional source of evidence about individuals and their families. In this article, we shall examine the history of birth certificates, using examples from Swansea to add some colour and put some meat on...
