Four million Welsh parish records online

As noted in an earlier post today, FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk) has now launched four million Welsh parish registers, as part of a collaboration with the National Library of Wales and the Welsh County Archivists Group. From the site:

The records cover Cardiganshire, Carmarthenshire, Denbighshire, Flintshire and Glamorganshire. Further details are as follows:

• Baptisms: 1,418,921 records covering 1538-1911
• Marriages: 950,254 records covering 1539-1926
• Banns: 340,002 records covering 1701-1926
• Burials: 1,169,685 records covering 1539-2007

Coming soon are records for the following counties: Anglesey, Brecknockshire, Caernarvonshire, Merionethshire, Monmouthshire, Montgomeryshire, Pembrokeshire and Radnorshire.

For more information visit www.findmypast.co.uk/content/news/welsh-records

UPDATE: Here's the press release from FindmyPast:

BAPTISMS, MARRIAGES AND BURIALS FROM WELSH ARCHIVES PUBLISHED ONLINE FOR THE FIRST TIME

Today, in honour of St David's Day, leading family history website findmypast.co.uk has announced the launch of the first tranche of parish records from Wales - part of a major new project with the Welsh County Archivists Group and the National Library of Wales.

3,878,862 million records from parish registers from the Church in Wales can now be searched for the first time online from today comprising:

1,418,921 baptism records covering 1538-1911
950,254 marriage records covering 1539-1926
340,002 marriage banns covering 1701-1926
1,169,685 burial records covering 1539-2007

These records cover the counties of Cardiganshire, Carmarthenshire, Denbighshire, Flintshire and Glamorganshire.

Over the following weeks approximately 5 million more Welsh parish records from Anglesey, Brecknockshire, Caernarvonshire, Merionethshire, Monmouthshire, Montgomeryshire, Pembrokeshire and Radnorshire will be added to the website, enabling anyone to search the complete parish records from Wales online for the very first time.

Catherine Richards, county archivist from the Welsh Archives, said: "Archive Services in Wales hold a wealth of information, and our written history reflects the rich culture and heritage of the Welsh nation. Celebrating family history has had a long tradition in Wales. Welsh Law made it essential for people to know how they were descended from an ancestor and the ancient patronymic system was an important way of conveying and reaffirming lineage. The importance of tracing Welsh roots has been revived through modern genealogy. Parish registers provide one of the primary sources for the family historian and help to bring to life Welsh ancestors from the past."

Paul Nixon, Content Licensing Manager at findmypast.co.uk added: "This is a really exciting development for anyone with Welsh family history. Even if you are currently unaware of your Welsh roots, a simple search of the 46 million UK parish records at findmypast.co.uk will now potentially reveal relevant results from the new Welsh Collection, opening up a whole new chapter in your research."

The records can be accessed within the Life Events section of findmypast.co.uk and are free to search. The transcripts and handwritten images of the original parish registers can be viewed with PayAsYouGo credits or with a Full subscription to findmypast.co.uk.

Chris