Jewish Registers of Birth, Marriage and Death/Burial

Nature of Source

Birth Records
Tracing Jewish birth records is a challenge because of inconsistent and careless record keeping by Jewish communities. Jewish authorities only began the process of registering births from 1764. Before this date Jewish births were rarely recorded. The early birth, , marriage and death registers records were typically held by individual congregations and are only available from the congregations themselves or from a few specialist collections. However, following the introduction of civil registration in 1837 Jewish births can be found in the civil registers.

Marriage Records
Jews and Quakers were exempt from the Hardwicke Act of 1753, which required all marriages must take place in an Anglican church and only after the publication of banns. As a result, Jewish congregations kept their own marriage records but after 1837, Jewish marriages can be found in the civil registers.

A key document to look for is the Ketubah which is the formal Jewish marriage contract written in Aramaic with an English translation. These survive from the beginning of the 18th century. The Ketubah was usually kept by the bride and in most cases the synagogue kept a copy but only in the later part of the 19th century. The document includes the date of marriage (both the secular and Hebrew date), the place of marriage, and the Hebrew names of the bride and groom. It was very common (and still is) for marriages to take place in a private house and all that was required to make it legal was the presence of the registrar for marriages, a chuppah and a Rabbi.

For marriages under Orthodox Jewish law, it was necessary to obtain a marriage authorisation granted by the Office of the Chief Rabbi following an interview with the Beth Din or rabbinical court. The authorisation was granted after the authorities were satisfied that both parties were halachically Jewish or that they had an acceptable Certificate of Conversion. These authorisations contain much of interest such as the names of the couple, their addresses, places of birth, previous marriages, the names of any of the bridegroom’s brothers and the name of the synagogue. Many have been digitised and made available at United Synagogue’s website.

It’s important to note that many orthodox Jews in the 19th century failed to register a marriage with the civil authorities despite repeated calls from the Registrar General for the practice to stop. As a result, some might have had what was known as a stille chuppa for which no civil record exists. Check The London Magazine and the Gentleman’s Magazine which carried wedding announcements of wealthier Jewish families.

Death and Burial Records
Jewish burial records are typically kept by individual congregations, with entries from 1886 often including the deceased’s place and country of birth. Jewish monumental inscriptions are invaluable as they frequently show entire family relationships. The Hebrew inscriptions on tombstones usually include the deceased’s Hebrew name which will also the father’s name.

Another important resource are memorials known as yahrzeit plaques. Erecting a small memorial plaque in a synagogue dedicated to deceased loved one has been the practice for many years. Yahrzeit means anniversary in Yiddish, but is only used in connection with the anniversary of a death. The plaques include the name of the deceased, the date of death, and the Hebrew name which includes the given name of the father. Synagogue records often include the yahrzeit dates of former members and local Jewish newsletters may announce anniversaries of former members

Historical Context

Jewish records in Britain are influenced by several historical factors.
The history of Jewish settlement in Britain has a significant impact on the availability and type of records.

When researching Jewish ancestry, it is important to understand that the evolution of Jewish life in England did not result in a central Jewish authority gathering and collecting records on individuals. As a result, Jewish records are dispersed across various libraries, museums, and local synagogues. Jews were expelled from England in 1290 under King Edward I’s Edict of Expulsion. The ban lasted for 366 years until their unofficial readmission in 1656 under the rule of Oliver Cromwell.

Two main groups of Jews settled in Britain:

• Sephardic Jews: Arrived from Spain and Portugal following their expulsion in 1492.
• Ashkenazi Jews: Originated primarily from Eastern Europe, mainly from Russia and Russian-controlled territories from the 1880s.

Jewish communities settled all over Britain from large cities to small towns. A community could establish a synagogue if ten males were present to form a Minyan, the quorum required for certain religious obligations.

Search Issues

It is worth noting Jewish marriages were exempt from the 1753 Hardwicke’s Marriage Act, which required marriages to be conducted in Anglican churches with published banns. This exemption allowed Jews to maintain their religious marriage practices.

Due to the lack of formal Jewish registers, some Jews registered baptisms or marriages with local Anglican clergy to officially record the event legitimate descent of a person for purposes like inheritance issues. It is worth remembering this as a useful workaround for finding Jewish records in the absence of official Jewish records.

It is important to note that Ashkenazi synagogue records might be written in Hebrew or Yiddish and often use the person’s Hebrew name which might not correspond to their civil name. They might even only include the person’s first name or even a nickname.

However, some burial registers survive and the records from the Bevis Marks Congregation from 1733-1918 form the bulk of such registers and represent a significant collection.

The Jewish Chronicle, first published in 1841, is an essential source for birth, marriage, and death notices with a surprising amount of genealogical information packed into a typical entry. The digital archive is accessible free to all JC subscribers and on a pay as you go basis for non-subscribers. The Gentleman’s Magazine often reported on the lives of wealthy Jewish families and is useful for births, marriages and deaths announcements.

Jewish Naming Traditions
Jewish naming conventions is an important facet of researching Jewish family history.

The Shem Ha’kodesh (Holy Name)
In Jewish tradition, every child is given a religious name known as the shem ha’kodesh, shortly after birth. This sacred name comprises three elements:

• The individual’s Hebrew given name, followed by:
• The phrase “son of” (ben) or “daughter of” (bat), followed by:
• The Hebrew given name of the person’s father

There is value to this naming pattern as it shows the name of the individual and the father’s name. Unfortunately, there are cases where the Hebrew name bears no relation to the father’s civil first name.

Ashkenazi Naming Patterns
The naming customs of Ashkenazi Jews originating from Central and Eastern Europe offer clues to Jewish family relationships. These traditions include:

• A new born is named after a deceased relative, thus narrowing down the date of death
• The first son is named after the paternal grandfather and the second son after the maternal grandfather.

In recent years, it has become common to use a relative’s name as a child’s middle name, further offering clues to common ancestry.

Sephardic Naming Patterns
In contrast to Ashkenazi customs, Sephardic Jews often name their children after living relatives and is considered a way of honouring the relative.

See also
Holocaust (Shoah) Records
Jewish Records
Yizkor Books & Shtetl Records

Where Found

The London Archives
The holdings include:

• The proceedings of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, 1806-1995.
• The archives of the United Synagogue.
• The archives of the Office of the Chief Rabbi.
• Records of the London Beth Din.
• Births, circumcisions, marriages and burials records from the Federation of Synagogues including the Sephardi synagogue Bevis Marks and the Spanish and Portuguese Jews’ Congregation archives dating from the mid-17th century.
• Records of other Congregation Synagogues including birth, marriage, burial and circumcision registers.
• Archives of the Jew’s Free School.
• Archives of the Westminster Jew’s School.
• Records of the London School of Jewish Studies.
• Records of Jewish welfare organisations.

Society of Genealogists
The society holds various resources including:

• Anglo-Jewish Archives. Includes community histories, family papers, and records from Jewish institutions.
• Publications of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain and the Jewish Historical Society which includes transcripts of synagogue records.
• The Society is home to the library of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain staffed by their volunteers and has its own space in the building.
• Colyer Fergusson Collection which has family pedigrees, lists of newspaper notices, and abstracts of wills.
• Hyamson collection of notes on Jewish families
• the Mordy Collection (Knowles Collection) which consists of a card index of information on individuals and families originally indexed and compiled by the late Isobel Mordy
• Montefiore-Hyamson Collection.
• D’Arcy Hart Collectionn.

Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain
The society dedicated to promoting and supporting Jewish genealogical research in the UK. It assists both beginners and experienced researchers to discover more about Jewish family history research. The society hosts Special Interest Groups focusing on research in European countries and a number of member only databases. The library holds over 1,200 reference books, maps and leaflets and major Anglo-Jewish genealogies and other family trees. It holds one of the largest collections of Yizkor (Memorial) books in the UK, covering many of the destroyed communities of Europe The JGSGB’s Register of Professional Researchers and Translators is available on request. The society publishes a quarterly journal called “Shemot” (Names). The extensive library is located in the premises of the Society of Genealogists. The library is a separate entity and has its own space in the building.
Leopold Muller Memorial Library
Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies. The collections are primarily focused on Anglo-Jewish and European Jewish materials, holding various special collections including the Kressel, Elkoshi and Hugo Gryn collections all searchable on SOLO. The library also houses 90,000 academic books and 1,000 periodical titles.
The Jewish Museum London
The cultural institution is dedicated to exploring and preserving the history and heritage of Jewish people in Britain through universal themes of migration, family, faith and culture.

Period Covered

1690 – Onwards

Genealogical Value

Birth Registers

• Name of child and date of birth.
• Parent’s names.
• Congregation and synagogue.

Marriage Registers

• Name, age, condition, occupation and address of bride and groom.
• Name of bride and groom’s father and occupation.
• Names of witnesses.
• Date of marriage and name of synagogue.

Ketubah

• Names of bride and groom.
• Father’s name and names of witnesses.

Burial Registers

• Name of deceased.
• Name of the cemetery.
• Date of burial.
• Family relatives.

Further References

• Berk, Louis. East End Jewish Cemeteries: Brady Street & Alderney Road: Amberley Publishing, 2017
• Dobson, David. The Jewish Presence in Early British Records 1650-1850: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2014
• Gandy, Michael. Family History Cultures And Faiths: How Your Ancestors Lived And Worshipped: TNA, 2007
• Joseph, Dr Anthony. My Ancestors were Jewish: Society of Genealogists, 2002
• Kershaw, Roger. Immigrants and Aliens. 2nd ed.: TNA, 2004
• Kolsky, Rachel & Rawson, Roslyn. Jewish London: A Comprehensive Guidebook for Visitors and Londoners: New Holland, 2012
• Kurzweil, Arthur. From Generation to Generation: How to Trace Your Jewish Genealogy and Family History: Jossey-Bass, 2004
• Leventhal, Michael & Goldstein, Richard. Jews in Britain: Shire Publications, 2013
• Lewin, Harold. Marriage Records of the Great Synagogue, London. 1791-1885: Lewin, 2004
• Lewin, Harold & Lewin, Miriam. Birth Records of the Great Synagogue, 1791-1877 & Hambro Synagogue, 1770-1905: Lewin, 2009
• Lewin, Harold. New Synagogue Births, 1774-1896 and Marriages of the New Synagogue, 1790-1823 and 1837-1860 and Hambro Synagogue, 1797-1837 & post 1862: Lewin
• Menachemson, Nolan. A Practical Guide to Jewish Cemeteries: Avotaynu, 2007
• Segal, Joshua. A Field Guide to Visiting a Jewish Cemetery: Jewish Cemetery Publishing, 2005
• Steel, D & Samuel E. Sources for Roman Catholic and Jewish Genealogy and Family History: Society of Genealogists, 1986
• Wenzerul, Rosemary. Tracing Your Jewish Ancestors: Pen and Sword, 2014
• Wenzerul, Rosemary. Jewish Ancestors? A Guide to Jewish Genealogy in the United Kingdom: Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain, 2011
• Wenzerul, Rosemary. Genealogical Resources within the Jewish Home and Family: FFHS, 2002

Bevis Marks Sephardic synagogue records of birth, circumcision, marriage & burial published in six volumes. The volumes are available at many libraries. For a list of volumes see www.cantab.net/users/peter.brunning/melhado/bm.html.

Websites

FamilySearch Blog
Getting Started with Jewish Genealogy, by Jan Mayer
Family Tree
Where Can I Find Jewish Genealogy Records? By Sunny Jane Morton
Findmypast Blog
How to trace Jewish ancestors and find their family records
Family Tree
10 Essential Online Jewish Genealogy Resources, By Ellen Shindelman Kowitt
Judaism 101
Jewish Genealogy
JewishGen Mythbusters
Top ten myths of Jewish family history research
Center for Jewish History
Research Guides. The site offers guides covering a number of topics such as Starting Your Family History Research, Synagogue Records, Holocaust Research, Jewish Names, and Finding an Ancestral Town.
The National Archives Research Guide
How to look for records of Jewish people and communities in Britain and its former colonies. This is a guide to records held at TNA that document the arrival, settlement, status and activities of Jewish people and communities in Britain and its former colonies over the last 900 years.
JewishGen
Jewish Communities and Records. The aim of this website is to record details of more than 1,150 Jewish communities and congregations that have ever existed in the United Kingdom, as well as in the Republic of Ireland and Gibraltar. The aim is to make this information freely available. The site has an A-Z selection of recommended websites for those researching UK Jewish Genealogy.
JewishGen
Explore millions of records from around the world, identify relatives, discover the towns of your ancestors, experience how they lived, connect with our global JewishGen community, and more. The site hosts extensive resources for researching Jewish ancestry including calculator tools and InfoFile which provides information on topics of relevance to Jewish genealogical research.
Billiongraves
Understanding Jewish Gravestones, by Cathy Wallace.
JewishGen
Reading Hebrew Tombstones.
London Historic Parks & Gardens Trust
Inventory. Online access to information on cemeteries and burial grounds as well as churchyards across the whole of London covering Church of England, Jewish, Roman Catholic, Quaker and other denominations.
European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative
European Jewish Burial Grounds. The site provides a comprehensive database of some 11061 European Jewish cemeteries, burial grounds and mass graves.
International Jewish Cemetery Project
The site aims to document every Jewish burial site in the world. We have successfully collected information about thousands of Jewish cemetery sites all over the world along with information on the location of the cemetery and how to obtain more information.
B&F: Jewish Genealogy and More
Jewish Gravestone Symbols. This is a post about the symbols found on Jewish gravestones.
B&F: Jewish Genealogy and More
Deciphering Jewish Gravestones. A look at some of the Hebrew text you might find on a Jewish gravestone and how to decipher it.
Jewish Gem’s Genealogy
Mining for Your Elusive Ancestors. Blogging about information related to Jewish genealogy found on foreign language websites, including names, events, resources, etc.
Chabad-Lubavitch
Jewish Birthday Calculator. Use this tool to find out your Hebrew date of birth and even print up a custom certificate with your name and Jewish birthday.
Chabad-Lubavitch
Yahrzeit Calculator. Calculate When to Observe Yahrzeit in Any Year.
Behind the Name
Jewish Surnames. Discover the etymology and history of Jewish surnames. For more specific lists, see Hebrew names and Yiddish names.
LSE Charles Booth’s London
Jewish notebooks. Explore four notebooks that give an insight into the work and religious life of the London Jewish community of the 1880s and 1890s.
GenDocs
Victorian London Churches: List of London Synagogues.
Moving Here
Archived website: History and guide to Jewish immigration and transcriptions and images of original documents including photos.
Routes to Roots
Foreign alphabets including Hebrew and Yiddish.
B&F: Jewish Genealogy and More
Personal genealogy focussing on Jewish genealogy offering Jewish genealogy articles, forms, information, news, insight, resources and more.
B&F Compendium of Jewish Genealogy
Links to online resources for all countries in the world covering topics such as History, Genealogy, Cemeteries, Holocaust, Diaspora, Contemporary, Military, Newspapers and Books.
Hidden Treasures
Celebrating Jewish Archives in Britain.
Hidden Treasures is a celebration of British Jewish archives. We support UK-based archives and archivists working with Jewish material and showcase their treasures to tell the story of Jews in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Man over the past thousand years. Search by theme or browse through Britain’s leading Jewish history collections.
Jewish Archives
Directory of Contemporary Jewish Archives and Research Institutions. This directory lists important contemporary archives and research institutions dedicated to Jewish history, browsable by country.

Online Databases

SynagogueScribes
Search Ashkenazi Synagogue records and Jewish secular records. Synagogue records include: Births, Circumcisions, Marriages, Deaths and burials from Synagogue registers. Secular records include data abstracted from civil sources, such as tax records, wills, settlements, subscriptions etc.
Cemetery Scribes
Search headstone inscriptions with photos from Jewish cemeteries throughout the UK and include war memorials and holocaust memorials. The records include Hebrew transliterations where possible and mini family trees for each individual. Detailed history for some of the cemeteries can be found under Cemetery Histories.
The United Synagogue
Historic Marriage Authorisations 1880-1924
Online access to indexes of Marriage Authorisation Certificates for marriages which took place under the auspices of the Office of the Chief Rabbi.
The United Synagogue
Find a Grave. Search ancestors in one of the United Synagogue cemeteries.
JewishGen
All United Kingdom Database. Search more than 480,000 records for England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man and Gibraltar and the Republic of Ireland extracted from a variety of sources, including synagogue birth, marriage and burial/cemetery records, census records, school records, business directories, the 1851 Anglo-Jewry Database, the Islington Jews Database, Jews’ Free School Admission Registers, 1856-1907, JewishGen Family Finder and others. The database is joint project of JewishGen and the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain.
Jewish Chronicle Archive
Search the world’s oldest continuously published Jewish newspaper going back to 1841. The Archive is accessible free to all JC subscribers. Non-subscribers can gain temporary access on a ‘pay as you go’ basis.
MyHeritage
Online access to The Jewish Chronicle newspaper archive dating back to 1841. The Jewish Chronicle, based in London, is the world’s oldest continuously published Jewish newspaper and contains details of births, marriages and deaths that occurred within the British Jewish community.
FamilySearch Genealogies
The Knowles Collection. The Collection includes records of the Jewish people originally indexed and compiled by the late Isobel Mordy and since added to. The collection consists of the following record sets: Birth, Marriage and Death records from the Great Synagogue of London; Birth, Marriage and Death records from Bevis Marks Synagogue; Cemetery records from Willesden Cemetery in London; Cemetery records from Hoop Lane Cemetery in London; Cemetery records from Southern cemetery in Manchester.
JewishGen
Worldwide Burial Registry. Search close to 4.2 million records and 908,000 photos from approximately 9,500 cemeteries or cemetery sections from 143 countries.
Hesped
The site offers an online treasury of eulogies which were delivered at Jewish funerals and in the following days during shiva prayers in the homes of mourners.
The Susser Archives
Search the documents and papers of the late Rabbi Dr Bernard Susser, historian of the Jews of South West England.
British-Jewry
Transcribed records including burial and marriage registers, shul and school lists, name changes, Jewish Chronicle announcements and naturalisations published in the Jewish Chronicle between 1902 and 1906.
British Jewry The Leeds Database
Information on Leeds Jewish families extracted from sources including: birth, marriage and death/burial registers; census returns; absent voter’s lists; directories; Jewish Chronicle notices.
Findmypast
Greater London Marriage Index. The is a vast collection of marriage records found in London and its surrounding areas. It includes records from London, Middlesex, Surrey, and Hertfordshire as well as 3,100 Jewish marriages from Bevis Marks and the Great Synagogues.
The Genealogist
Jewish Records. These records with linked images contain Births, Bar Mitzvahs, Betrothals, announcements, Marriages, Deaths, Obituaries, Wills, Synagogue seat holders, Killed in Action, British Jewry Roll of Honour 1922, Roll of Service and Tombstones to be set.
Lancashire BMD
Datasets include: North Manchester Synagogue records including those from the Higher Broughton Synagogue 1937, the Higher Crumpsall Synagogue 1937, Manchester Central and North Manchester Synagogues 1937 and the Kersal North Salford Synagogue, formerly the Rumanian shul, 1937.
Manchester And District Council Of Synagogues
Public access to burial records for a number of the Jewish cemeteries within Manchester and the surrounding areas.
Tower Hamlets Idea Store
Princelet (formerly Princes) Street Synagogue, Spitalfields, Marriage Register 1897-1907. Search over 100 marriages which took place at the synagogue.
Irish Jewish Genealogical Society
The society hosts the Irish Jewish Family History Database which includes records of birth, marriage and death as well as school and occupation details dating back to the 17th century. The database also includes Alien Registration records of 1914 to 1922.
Belfast City Council
Burial records: Search around 360,000 burial records from cemeteries including: the Belfast City Cemetery records from 1869 including the Jewish, public and Glenalina extension sections; the Roselawn Cemetery records from 1954; the Dundonald Cemetery from 1905.

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