As you go further back in time in researching your family history you will need to start finding information from before 1837 when the official registration details were first recorded. Then census of 1831 was basically just a head count of people although there are some instances when the local enumerator diligently recorded everyone. It's even said that in the case of Whitstable the enumerator filled in the forms from memory but sadly these records are no longer in existence.
Before 1837 the church was responsible for collating information on Births, Marriages and Deaths. This made sense as with most of these events the church was involved. These parish records are not exhaustive, the spellings of names are sometimes slightly different and the records made were of Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, so the dates will vary from that of Births, Marriages and Deaths.
It must also be noted that not all events were recorded, some people were not regular churchgoers, and in other cases listings have been lost or destroyed in fires. Nevertheless these records can be used for cross referencing with names and ages from the 1851 census to take you back another generation or so.
The parish records on these pages are our extract of the Whitstable and Seasalter records from the Kent parish records and are including on the site as a useful first step and an example of what you can find as you travel back in time.
There are many ways these lists can be compiled. The most common method, and one we have adhered to, is to provide separate alphabetical listings for Baptisms, Marriages and Burials.
Click on a letter to see the page for that Surname initial.
| Baptisms | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | No Surname |
| Marriages | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | No Surname |
| Burials | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | No Surname |
