Discover your family history

Trace your family history

Parish registers

The archives hold many resources which can help you to trace the history of your family. We hold records for Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes

There is a subscription to Ancestry which you can use free of charge in any Buckinghamshire library. Their records include the census returns from 1841 to 1911, which list everyone living in each property every ten years.

We hold registers of baptisms, marriages and burials from most of the parish churches in the county. There are also registers from nonconformists, such as Methodists and Baptists.

Request a parish register entry.

Order historical certificates

The registration service can produce copies of certificates. These are available for births, deaths, marriages or civil partnerships which took place in Buckinghamshire. Registers date from 1 July 1837 - this is when official records began.

Order historical registration certificates

General Register Office index of births, marriages and deaths

You can also look at the National index of births, marriages and deaths. Certificates can be ordered from the General Register Office.

Wills

Wills can give information about property and the names of wives and husbands, children and other relations. The archives contain many wills for Buckinghamshire, dating from the fifteenth century to 1858. After 1858 you can check the National Probate Index, which has copies of wills to 1943.

View our local history records

You may also be able to find useful information in local history records.

Staff will be happy to provide information and advice about the records here.