Nature of Source
Records of those that followed a career as a clergyman in the Scottish and English churches. Resources include biographies and personal histories as well as certificates of ordination. The church courts dealt with the ordination of clergy and their appointments to serve in a particular parish, although the right to appoint clergy was not the sole responsibility of the bishop.
The hierarchical ministry structure within the Anglican church consists of three levels, namely bishop, priest and deacon. The majority of priests began their career at the lowest level as a deacon who had limited clerical responsibilities The parish priest can variously be described a vicar, rector, incumbent or presbyter.
Historically, a rector headed a parish in receipt of both greater and lesser tithes and was thus self-supporting whilst a vicar headed a parish that only received the lesser tithes and relied on the financial support of the diocese. Perpetual curates formed a separate category of clergy who were nominated directly by the bishop and were wholly supported financially by the diocese. Perpetual curates were only appointed to parishes not served by a rector or vicar and were of a higher status to curate who acted as an assistant parish priest. Under the Pastoral Measure 1968, all perpetual curates became vicars in 1969. The term parson can refer to all incumbents and a chaplain was usually found in the military, at universities and overseas.
The main published directory of clergymen is Crockford’s Clerical Directory which remains in print today and published by Church House Publishing. The directory includes clergy of the Episcopal Church in Scotland, the Established Church of Ireland and up to 1982, certain colonial and other overseas Anglican churches. A typical entry will record birth and death details (not recorded in the earlier editions), academic qualifications, date of ordination and career details. The other important directory is the Clerical Guide and Ecclesiastical Directory published from 1817 which was replaced by the Clergy List from 1841 to 1917. Also check diocesan directories published locally which will contain details of the parish and its appointed officials. Some editions of the Clerical Guide are available to read online or download from Google Books or the Internet Archive whilst editions of the Clergy List are available online at Familyrelatives.com. The Gentleman’s Magazine also carried reports of clergy deaths.
The majority of clergymen studied divinity at university, many at Oxford or Cambridge, before firstly becoming a deacon and then a priest. See University & College Records for more information. Notices of appointments, retirements, deaths and obituaries can be found in the two leading Anglican newspapers; the Church Times established in 1863 and the Church of England Newspaper established in 1828. The Church Times Archive, 1863-1892 and 2000-present is available online in partnership with UKPressOnline. The Church Times website holds information from 2004 onwards and can be found by using the on-site search facility.
Holders of public office which included clergymen were required to sign an oath of allegiance. For more information on these various oaths see:
Association Oath Rolls
Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy
Where Found
Lambeth Palace Library (The Library also holds material including archival, manuscript and printed resources for the research of individual clergymen)
Diocesan Archives (Information about libraries and archives in cathedrals and links to their websites)
County Record Offices (Find the details of a local UK archive from a searchable list of over 2,500 archives hosted by The National Archives)
Society of Genealogists (The religious section of the library contains runs of the Clergy List and Crockford’s Clerical Directory as well as works on nonconformist ministers. The Fawcett Index is a mixture of clergy and north country families extracted from a variety of sources)
Period Covered
1500 – Onwards
Genealogical Value
- Name of clergyman and address.
- Qualifications and places of education.
- Date of ordination and details of previous posts held.
Further References
- Bertie, David. Scottish Episcopal Clergy, 1689-2000: T & T Clark, 2000
- Crockford’s Clerical Directory: various publishers, 1858-onwards (Some editions available to read online or download from Google Books)
- Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae: The Succession of Ministers in the Church of Scotland from the Reformation: T. & T. Clark Publishers (A few volumes are available from the Internet Archive)
- Hart, Arthur Tindal. Clergy and Society, 1600-1800: Church Historical Society, 1968
- Owen, Dorothy Mary. The Records of the Established Church in England: British Records Association, 1970
- Small, Rev. Robert. History of the Congregations of the United Presbyterian Church, from 1733 to 1900: David M. Small, 1904 (Listing of ministers of the United Presbyterian and other secession Churches available online at Internet Archive)
- Towey, Peter. My Ancestor was an Anglican Clergyman: Society of Genealogists, 2006
Websites
www.history.ac.uk/gh/clergy.htm (Sources for tracing clergy at the Guildhall Library)
www.lambethpalacelibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/37/2021/05/Research-Guide-Anglican-Clergy.pdf (Lambeth Palace Library Research Guide: Biographical Sources for Anglican Clergy)
www.open.ac.uk/Arts/building-on-history-project/resource-guide/source-guides/Londonclergyman.pdf (How can I research a London clergyman?)
www.library.manchester.ac.uk/search-resources/special-collections/guide-to-special-collections/methodist/using-the-collections/researching-your-family-history/printed-lists (University of Manchester Library: Printed lists of Methodist ministers and lay people)
www.churchofengland.org/about/dioceses (Church of England Dioceses & Parishes with a Diocesan Map)
http://anglicansonline.org/uk-europe/england/dioceses/index.html (Anglicans Online: England by Diocese. The links take you to the Anglicans Online page for the indicated diocese. You can also try the Church of England’s own map of its dioceses with links to basic parish information)
www.dur.ac.uk/library/asc/collection_information/family.records/clergy (Durham University Library: Family and Local History Records: Records of Church of England Clergy Guide to tracing information on Church of England diocese of Durham clergy, including ordinations, nominations to curacies, appointments to livings, rectories and vicarages, resignations of livings and related records)
https://theclergydatabase.org.uk/reference/list-of-locations (Clergy of the Church of England Database: A-Z list of English Anglican dioceses with details of parishes and former incumbents)
www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/YRY/YKS/Church (GENUKI: Hierarchy of the Church of England in the 1820 period and later. The following is intended to show the functions of the various people in the Church of England at around the time which the Topographical Dictionary of Yorkshire and other books transcribed on this site were written)
www.tonyhj.ca/Priest/glossary_of_titles.html (Glossary of Anglican Clergy Titles)
https://boards.ancestry.co.uk/topics.occupations/mb.ashx (Ancestry Message Boards: Occupations)
www.churchinwales.org.uk/en/about-us/structure (The Church in Wales: Structure of the Church in Wales)
www.ireland.anglican.org/find-a-church (Church of Ireland. Search the name of a church, town or parish or use the map to find a church near you. If you would like to search the list of clergy, please go to the directory for all clergy serving in parishes on the island of Ireland)
Scotland
www.christianstogether.net/Articles/138977/Christians_Together_in/Christian_Life/Presbyterianism_Scottish_style.aspx (Christians Together: A Brief History of the Presbyterian Christian Church in Scotland)
www.scran.ac.uk/scotland/pdf/SP2_8religion.pdf (A History of The Scottish People: Religion In Scotland 1840-1940)
www.edinphoto.org.uk/1/1_church_of_scotland.htm (EdinPhoto: A brief history of the Church of Scotland and some other churches including summary of break-aways and mergers)
www.scotland.org.uk/history/disruption (TravelScotland: The Great Disruption of 1843)
www.scotshistoryonline.co.uk/episcopal-church.html (Scottish History Online: The Scottish Roots of the Episcopal Church)
www.scotland.anglican.org/who-we-are/organisation (Scottish Episcopal Church Organisation. Information about the internal structure of the church)
Online Databases
https://theclergydatabase.org.uk (The Clergy of the Church of England Database, 1540-1835. The database contains the careers and biographies of all clergymen in the Church of England based on names extracted from primary sources such as dioceses registers, licensing books and liber cleri found in record offices. The site also contains reference material relating to the structure and work of the church including an A-Z list of English Anglican dioceses with details of parishes and incumbents. Clergy appointed to institutions such as houses of correction are also recorded. Exact dates of birth and death are not included. The contents of Church of England Clergy Database can also be searched at Connected Histories together with a number of other databases)
British History Online (Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae, 1541-1857: The work is also known as the Higher Clergy of the Church of England is useful for identifying higher clergy such as bishops and archdeacons associated with the cathedrals of England and Wales. The Fasti Ecclesiae Hibernicae covers Irish cathedrals with some editions available at the Internet Archive. British History Online consists of a digital library of British historical sources developed by Institute of Historical Research and the History of Parliament Trust. The site is free to use with a search facility linking users to full transcripts of various sources)
www.crockford.org.uk (Crockford’s Clerical Directory: Online biographies of over 26,000 Anglican clergy in the UK from 1968)
www.findmypast.co.uk (Global Christian Leaders Index, 1051-2016. Worldwide list of names of those who were leaders of churches and where they served)
https://surman.english.qmul.ac.uk (The Surman Index Online: Biographical card index of Congregational ministers held at Dr Williams’s Library)
https://sheffieldindexers.com (Sheffield Indexers: Sheffield Anglican Clergy, 1866-1934, Courtesy of Hugh Waterhouse)
https://archbishopsregisters.york.ac.uk (York’s Archbishops Registers Revealed. Free access to over 20,000 images of registers with a searchable index of names, subjects, places and organisations dealing with wills and probate dating from early as 1267 and the appointment of parish and diocesan clergy)
www.findmypast.co.uk (Irish Catholic Church Directories, 1836-37. This directory lists all members of the clergy and parishes in Ireland for the years 1836 and 1837, as well as much of the Catholic hierarchy throughout the world)
www.ancestry.co.uk (Crockford’s Clerical Directories, 1868-1932. Search biographies of Anglican clergy in the UK. It also provides other information such as details about the Anglican churches and benefices in England, Wales, and Ireland)
https://ukpressonline.co.uk/ukpressonline (UKPressOnline. Church Times, 1863-current)
Scotland
http://mappingthescottishreformation.org (Mapping The Scottish Reformation: A database of the Scottish clergy, 1560 to 1689. Search the careers of around 700 Scottish clergymen and almost 500 of their wives from Lothian and Tweeddale, the region surrounding Edinburgh between 1560 and 1689. The data is extracted from documents held at the National Records of Scotland)
www.ancestry.co.uk (Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae. The succession of ministers in the parish churches of Scotland. Biographies of Church of Scotland ministers covering 1560-1866)
www.findmypast.co.uk (Church Of Scotland Ministers 1560-1949. Explore PDF images of the “Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae: The Succession of Ministers on the Church of Scotland from the Reformation”. Compiled by Hew Scott, D.D)
www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Community_Trees_Project#Scotland (FamilySearch Community Trees Project: Ministers of Scotland. This database contains lineage-linked families extracted from Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae a compilation of ministers of the Church of Scotland from the Reformation)
www.ecclegen.com/general-index-general-index (ecclegen: Ministers of the Free Church of Scotland 1843-1900. General Index of Scottish Presbyterian Ministers. Search details of ministers in the Annals of the Free Church of Scotland by William Ewing as well as supplementary biographical details from old online newspapers)
CD Roms
GenFair (Clergy Lists covering a number of years giving details of the clergy in England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and the Colonies. Crockfords Clerical Directory. The contents are similar to the earlier Clergy Lists but are much more detailed giving vital personal information about each individual such as where they studied, when they matriculated and all of their previous posts)
S & N Genealogy Supplies (Crockford’s Clerical Directory 1929; the Clergy List 1852; Index Ecclesiasticus 1800-1840)
Anguline Research Archives (Products include: The Clerical Guide, 1822. The guide contains a register of the present Prelates of the Church of England; a list of all the Benefices and Chapleries in England and Wales and the names of their respective incumbents, with the dates of their institution)
