Baudains

Baudains family page

An unknown Mrs Baudains, photographed in the 19th century

Record Search

Direct links to lists of baptisms, marriages and burials for the Baudains family can be found under Family Records opposite. If you want to search for records for a spelling variant of Baudains, or for any other family name, just click below on the first letter of the
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From August 2020 we have started adding records from non-Anglican churches, and this process will continue as more records, held by Jersey Archive, are digitised and indexed. Our database now includes buttons enabling a search within registers of Roman Catholic, Methodist and other non-conformist churches. These records will automatically appear within the results of any search made from this page.

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Mr Baudains with Prince in 1906

Origin of Surname

The name is believed to stem from a Medieval personal name Baudin, from the Germanic baldo means bold or audacious (not 'bald').

If, however, the name is a corruption of Baudoin, Bauydouin, Bauduin it comes from the Germanic Baldwin, which has essentially the same derivation - 'bold friend'.

Early records

The name is found in the Assize Roll of 1309 and in a deed of 1420, in the possession of the heirs of the de Gruchys, formerly of La Chasse, Trinity, in which Colin Baudains, John Baudains and Guillet Baudains, being brothers, all of the parish of St John, are parties. The Jersey Chantry Certificate of 1550 contains seven Baudains. Cardin Baudains, who was probably a native of St John, was living in St Martin in about 1465. He married Perrotine Sebire and had descendants in the east of the Island. The family, however, retained links with St John throughout the 16th century.

Recent research, and the 1420 deed, which survives in the private Reynolds/Pallot Collection, therefore point to St John as being the parish of origin, or cradle, from which sprang other branches of the family in St Martin and elsewhere, in Jersey.

The variations Baudains dit La Gerche and La Gerche dit Baudains are found from 1725 onwards. They seem to be interchangeable rather than indicating different branches of the family.

Payne's Armorial of Jersey

Little is known respecting the origin or descent of this family, although at one time it must have been of consideration in the island, as the names of many of its members in the 15th and 16th centuries swell the roll of the insular clergy. Among them are those of Sire Richard, and Sire Augustin Baudains ; while John Baudayns is mentioned as being one of the four sworn men of St Clement's parish appointed in the Visitation of the State of the Fortifications of Jersey, in 24 Henry VIII.

The family possessed the fief of Guille Payn, from whom it was alienated by marriage in the 16th century, and was enjoyed respectively by those of Sarre and Payn, in the possession of which latter it now remains. In its grounds stood a chapel, one of the precursors of the parish churches, known as the chapel of Augustin Baudains. This has long been demolished, but some of its antique carved ornaments are in existence, being built into the walls of the house that stands near its site, and a massive stone cross formerly surmounted the gable of its chancel.

The munificence of one of its members has kept the memory of his family eternally enshrined in the grateful remembrance of its countrymen. This was Lorans or Laurence Baudains, by some supposed (and correctly) to have been in orders, but by others to have filled the office of schoolmaster of the parish of St Martin. He was a man of substance, and possessed property not only in his native parish of St Martin, but also in several others; and his piety is proved by his will, wherein, among other bequests, he leaves money to repair a chapel in the church of St Martin, the name of which does not appear (" Chapelle tombee et en mal ordre ") ; and his Bible, together with a silver cup and saucer, to the church of St Martin.

University grants

The gift by which he is best known is the one he made of 32 quarters of wheat-rentes, with a water mill and its appurtenances (called Denmark Mill, situated in the parish of St Laurence), the proceeds of which were for ever to be applied towards the assistance of young Jerseymen, whose means are otherwise insufficient, in obtaining a university education, to fit them for the service of the Church in Jersey. Many of the most eminent insular ecclesiastics have owed to this foundation the education which rendered their names famous, amongst whom may be mentioned the Doctors Lempriere and Valpy, some of whom, on accepting preferment in England, are said to have refunded, with a justice that redounds to their credit, the sums which they had received from this beneficent and pious bequest.

This was only a part of the original plan of the donor, which had for its primary object the foundation of a college, which would provide for the youth of the island the curriculum of a mathematical and classical education. The bounty was not sufficient to carry this out. For the proper distribution of "Baudain's gift", 13 governors or trustees were appointed by patent of l0 September 1610. These governors, whose number is kept intact, by filling up death vacancies, were, and are, chosen from the most influential and talented of the Jersey gentry.

Baudains left collateral, although no direct descendants, whose families are still in existence. Curiously, his wife survived his death but by a day :— They were buried in the same grave, in the churchyard of St Martin, 28 June 1611. His house, situated in that part of the parish of St Martin known as La Ville Bree, still exists.

Arms: (on the seal of "Baudain's gift") Azure, a sun, in its splendour, or, impaling on the dexter side the arms of the island. Legend : " Gouv du don de Baudains, 1611."

Variants

• Baudayns
• Baudayn
• Bauden
• Baudin - common in Normandy today, but also appears on Jersey gravestones
• Boudin is not a variant, but a separate family
• Baudyn
• Baudet (see Bosdet)
• Baudains dit La Gerche
• La Gerche dit Baudains

Family records

Family trees

The trees were all reviewed in 2024

• Aaron Baudains: 17th century
• Cardin Baudains: 15th-17th centuries
• Edouard Baudains: 16th-20th centuries
• Edouard Baudains 2: 16th-20th centuries
• Edouard Baudains 3: 18th-19th centuries
• Hugh Baudains: 17th-20th centuries
• Jacques Baudains: 16th-20th centuries
• Jean Baudains: 17th-29th centuries
• Pierre Baudains: 16th-20th centuries
• Nicholas Baudains: 17th-19th centuries
• Jean Baudains 2: 17th century
• Thomas Baudains: 17th-20th centuries

Family histories and biographies

• A history of the Baudains family and benefactor Laurens Baudains
• Philippe Baudains Constable of St Helier for 21 years
• Laurens Baudains benefactor to island education
• Baudains family members mentioned in a major history of privateering

Church records

Tips for using these links

• Baudains baptisms in Jersey
• Baudains marriages in Jersey (groom)
• Baudains marriages in Jersey (bride)
• Baudains burials in Jersey

Great War service

• Baudains family members who served in World War 1

Occupation records

• Baudains Occupation identity cards

Family wills

• Baudains family wills from 1663 to 1980 held by Jersey Archive

Burial records

• Baudains burial records 1820-1978

Family businesses

Michel Baudains was issuing his own banknotes in 1813, describing himself, as did many other individuals, as 'Jersey Bank'. There was no such organisation. £1 was then worth about £50 at today's values

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  1795 newspaper advert - click to view larger size
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  In 1798 Francois Baudains, living in Jean Cosnard's St Saviour house, advertised a horse, carriage and other items in the Gazette de l'Ile de Jersey
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  In the Gazette de l'Ile de Jersey in 1803 Collas and Baudains were advertising gin, rum and cheese from Holland
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  G F Baudains was a dairy farmer at La Croix, Trinity, in 1920
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  Josue Baudains, son and principal heir of the late Michel Baudains, was imprisoned for debt in 1815 and asked his creditors to meet him at the prison to discuss and agree a financial arrangement
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  Collas and Baudains offered a range of groceries in February 1804
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  Philippe Baudains advertised the 60-ton sloop Aimable Adelaide for sale in Gazette de l'Ile de Jersey in 1799
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  Philippe Baudains advertised the sale of young oaks and chestnuts in Gazette de l'Ile de Jersey in 1799

• T Baudains was a grocer at 66 King Street in the 1830s
• John Baudains was a draper at 74 King Street from 1885 to 1900 and at 72 King Street from 1900 to 1912

Family homes

• Beaupre, St John
• La Franchise' St Martin
• Alphington House, Grands Vaux
• Baudains House, St Clement

1420 family deed

A Baudains and de Gruchy family deed, dated 1420, establishing the Baudains` early residence in St John (courtesy of Mr Herb Reynolds of Calgary, Alberta).

Transcription: A tous ceulx qui ces presents letter Vront ou orront, Thomas Danyel ballif en Lisle de Jers. Sous Noble et Puisst Prce Monssr le duc de Bedeford, comt de Rychemonde et de Kendall, conestable d`engleterre et tss ses pties, saluts, sachent tos q lan de gce myl cccc [surmounted with horizontal line indicating abbreviation, being “t” for cts or “cents”] XX, le jour du Samedi pchn avant la feste Saint [...] furent psent en Jugement a St helier p devnt nos, c`est assavoir Robin de grouchy dune ptie et Colin baudein, Joh baudein et Guillot baudein de la poesse de Saint Joh dautre, les qls baudeins freres, de leur pure Volontey Vendirent cedent et delesserent affin de htage de celle et de leurs hrs au dit Robin et son hrs chinc caboteaux de fo[r]ment de Rente desqls chinc le dit colin [payera?] ii caboteaux le dit John I cab. et le dit Guillot ii caboteaux apprendre et a Recepvoir sur la mason de dit Guillot baudein p le p[ri]ce de xxv frans a Vin et Vente...

Translation: To all those who will see or hear [read to them] these present letters, Thomas Daniel, Bailiff in the Island of Jersey, Under [the] Noble and Powerful Prince [Plantagenet brother of the King], the Duke of Bedford, Count of Richmond and Kendall, Constable of England and all parts[thereof], Greetings; Know everyone that, the year of grace one thousand four hundred and twenty, the day of the Saturday after the Feast of Saint [....], were present in judgement [justice] at St Helier before us; namely Robin de Grouchy, of one part, and Colin Baudains, John Baudains and Guillemet [Guillot] Baudains of the parish of Saint John, of the other [part], the which Baudains brothers, of their own pure will sell, cede and abandon ownership for good, on their parts and of their heirs, to the said Robin and his heirs, five cabots of wheat rente [annual income], the which five the said Colin [will pay?] two, the said John one cabot, and the said Guillemet [Guillot] two cabots, to be taken and received at the house of the said Guillemet Baudains, for the price of 25 francs, [a glass of] wine and sale [completed]”. There follows a proviso guaranteeing the wheat and payment. The deed is witnessed by two Jurats, Clement Le Hardy and Pierre Le Loreour.

(transcript: Guy Dixon)

Family album

Constable John Baudains, of St Lawrence. A 1949 painting by Edmund Blampied which hangs in the parish hall

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  Philip Baudains
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  Col Baudains' tent at a militia camp
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  Philip Baudains
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  Philip Baudains
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  Philip Baudains, c1907
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  Clifford Baudains
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  Raymond Baudains
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  Edward P Baudains and his daughter
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  Edward P Baudains, who died in the Great War
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  Alfred Bowden (Baudains), Margaret, Peter and John, in Canada, where Alfred changed his name after emigrating from Jersey
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  Philip Bowden (Baudains) (1895-1932), son of Francis and Helena Hubert, emigrated to Quebec in 1913, changed his name to Bowden and married Jean Hunter Wood, father of Irene Mary and Roy Philip
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  William Henry Langdon and Alice Jane, nee Baudains (1865-1942), daughter of Philip and Mary Elizabeth, nee Jeune
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  Alice Jane Langdon, nee Baudains, her husband William Henry and their five children, William, Alice, Francis, Philip and Winifred
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  Francis John Baudains (1894-1917)
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  Florence Mildred Baudains, born in Jersey in 1898, died Canada in 1977. Daughter of Francis and Helena, nee Hubert, married to Robert Cornthwaite (1900-1962). The family name was changed to Bowden in Canada
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  Florence and her brother Alfred, and an unidentified friend
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  Alice May Baudains (1857-1923)
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  Harriet Baudains (1855-1883)
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  Philip Arthur Baudains (1861- )
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  Rachel Langlois, nee Baudains 1786-1850
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  Alice Baudains' bread ration book from the Occupation years
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  Francois La Gerche dit Baudains
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  Florence Mary Baudains dit La Gerche
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  1899 Evening Post advert
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  Alice Jane Langdon, nee Baudains, and Eddie
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  Clifford Vardon Baudains (1888-1966)
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  Elias Baudains (1826- ) and his wife Jane, nee Amy
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  Florence Mary Baudains (1881-1951)
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  Louisa Mary Baudains (1864-1949)
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  Percy Edward Elias Baudains (1883-1944) and Anastasia
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  Albert and Eva Maude English, nee Baudains, Beryl Maude, John and Kenneth Claude

Two sets of twins on a Baudains farm in 1954

Which Elias/Elie?

These pictures, said to be of Elias Josue Baudains, his wife Jane Amy, and their son Francis, were sent to us together with a brief family tree and some supporting documentation. We have been unable to confirm the tree, and we are uncertain about the identity of the father.

We have an existing family tree - Descendants of Edouard Baudains - which shows Elie Josue Baudains (1826- ), son of Elie David Baudains (1800- ) and Elizabeth Lea Marett, married in St John in 1858 to Jeanne Hamon (1832- ). Their only child was Adolphus Elie Baudains, born in 1864. Our database includes the baptism of Elie Josue in St John.

The submitted tree shows Elias Josue Baudains, born about 1826 in St Peter, married to Jane Amy in St Saviour in 1855. The record of this marriage shows the groom as Elie, son of Jean. Elie/Elias are shown in the tree as having children Elias John (1857- ), Jane Louise (1858- ), Frederick (1859- ), Emilie (1865-1949), John (1868- ) and Francis (1869-1942). Their parishes of birth are given as St Helier, St John, St Helier, St Lawrence, St Peter and St Peter, respectively.

The only baptism we can find is for Emilie, but there is also a baptism in 1863 of Philip Francis, son of Elie and Jane. We have not been able to find any record of the father's birth, but the marriage record suggests that he was Elie, not Elias Josue. We suspected that he and Jane were not the parents of all the children shown in the submitted tree, but there is an 1881 census return for the family showing Elias and Jane, with children Elias John, Frederick, John and Francis, and an 1871 census showing Jane with children Elias, Frederick, Jane, Emily, John and Francis. The father Elias was shown as a seaman in 1881, so presumably he was at sea when the earlier census was taken.

So it does appear that this Elias Baudains was a different person from Elias Josue, born in the same year, and is presumably the person in the photograph below.

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  Elias Baudains and his wife Jane, nee Amy ...
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  ... their son Francis, as a young man ...
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  ... and later in Salvation Army uniform

The Bisson family at Les Fougeres in 1920. Amelie, nee Baudains (1842-1928) on the right, was the wife of Daniel Bisson, and mother of Lucy, Raoul, Eunice, Daniel, Rosa and Phoebe

Family gravestones

Click on any image to see a larger version. See the Jerripedia gravestone image collection page for more information about our gravestone photographs. Images of gravestones in other cemeteries will be added progressively

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  Almorah cemetery
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  Almorah cemetery
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  Les Quennevais cemetery
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  Trinity Church cemetery
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  Trinity Church cemetery
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  St Mary’s Church cemetery
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  St Mary’s Church cemetery
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  St Peter’s Church cemetery
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  Mont a l’Abbe cemetery
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  Mont a l’Abbe cemetery
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  Mont a l’Abbe cemetery
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  Mont a l’Abbe cemetery
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  Mont a l’Abbe cemetery
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  Mont a l’Abbe cemetery
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  Mont a l’Abbe cemetery
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  Mont a l’Abbe cemetery
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  Mont a l’Abbe cemetery
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  Mont a l’Abbe cemetery
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  Mont a l’Abbe cemetery
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  Mont a l’Abbe cemetery
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  Mont a l’Abbe cemetery
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  St Ouen parish cemetery
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  St Ouen parish cemetery
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  St Ouen parish cemetery
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  St John’s Church cemetery
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  St John’s Church cemetery
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  St John’s Church cemetery
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  St John’s Church cemetery
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  St John’s Church cemetery
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  St John’s Church cemetery
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  Philadelphie cemetery
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  Philadelphie cemetery
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  Sion cemetery
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  St Peter parish cemetery
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  St Brelade parish cemetery
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  St Brelade parish cemetery
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  St Brelade parish cemetery
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  St Brelade parish cemetery
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  Surville Cemetery
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  Surville Cemetery
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  Surville Cemetery
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  Surville Cemetery
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  Surville Cemetery
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  Surville Cemetery
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  Surville Cemetery
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  Surville Cemetery
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  Surville Cemetery
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  St Matthew’s, St Lawrence
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  St Lawrence
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  St Lawrence
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  St Lawrence
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  St Lawrence
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  St Lawrence
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  St Lawrence
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  St Lawrence
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  St Lawrence
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  St Lawrence
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  St Lawrence
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  St Lawrence
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  St Lawrence
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  Albert Baudains, Philosophe British Cemetery, Mazingarbe

Tips

The church record links above will open in a new tab in your browser and generate the most up-to-date list of each set of records from our database. These lists replace earlier Family page baptism lists, which were not regularly updated. They have the added advantage that they produce a chronological listing for the family name in all parishes, so you do not have to search through A-Z indexes, parish by parish.

We have included some important spelling variants on some family pages, but it may be worth searching for records for a different spelling variant. Think of searching for variants with or without a prefix, such as Le or De. To search for further variants, or for any other family name, just click on the appropriate link below for the first letter of the family name, and a new tab will open, giving you the option to choose baptism, marriage or burial records. You will then see a list of available names for that type of record and you can select any name from that list. That will display all records of the chosen type for that family name, and you can narrow the search by adding a given name, selecting a parish or setting start and end dates in the form you will see above. You can also change the family name, or search for a partial name if you are not certain of the spelling

The records are displayed 30 to a page, but by selecting the yellow Wiki Table option at the top left of the page you can open a full, scrollable list. This list will either be displayed in a new tab or a pop-up window. You may have to edit the settings of your browser to allow pop-up windows for www.jerripediabmd.net. For the small number of family names for which a search generates more than 1,500 records you will have to refine your search (perhaps using start or end dates) to reduce the number of records found.

New records

Since August 2020 we have added several thousand new records from the registers of Roman Catholic, Methodist and other non-conformist churches. These will appear in date order within a general search of the records and are also individually searchable within the database search form

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