Excerpt from Key to the Ancient Parish Registers of England and Wales In the performance of my task no available source of information has been unexplored, and it is hoped that the Annotated Index, which shows at a glance the date of the earliest entry in every Parish Register in England and Wales, and in which every transcript that has been printed is noted, will prove by its usefulness that my labours have not been in vain. I am only too conscious of the shortcomings of this publication, but can at least plead that I have honestly endeavoured, at a sacrifice of much time and labour, to compile a work which may be both of some historical interest and of some real value to the genealogist. I have to express my grateful thanks to the Bishops and Clergy throughout the country for information on various points or for kind permission to inspect the ancient records in their custody. I am particularly indebted to Canon Hensley Henson, Rector of St. Margaret's Church, Westminster, who has not only granted me access to the historical registers of his parish, but has also allowed me to illustrate this volume with extracts from them. I have only to add that I shall be much obliged to anyone who will point out my omissions, or correct my mistakes, and that it will give me much pleasure to afford any further information in my power to those who consult this work. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.