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From: Dick Jones <>
Subject: Importance of 1 Jan 1813
Date: Fri, 3 Apr 1998 17:20:11 +0000


Hello Valerie and fellow listers

Some of you may not be aware of the importance of the date, 1 January 1813,
with regard to the IGI indexing system for Wales.
.From 1 January 1813 the established church started to use a standard
printed baptism register with a column for the parents' surname.

When the IGI was started in 1968, it was decided that ALL baptisms in Wales
before 1 January 1813 would be entered with the father's GIVEN name as the
child's 'surname' in the surname index.

For the early period covered by the IGI most Welsh people had not adopted
settled English-style surnames and were following the naming pattern in
which the son of David Evan would be known as Thomas David. This pattern
had evolved from the ancient Welsh 'ap' patronymic naming system by the
dropping of the 'ap' or 'ab'.

However the above cut-off date was applied to IGI entries irrespective of
whether the parents were actually following the Welsh naming pattern or had
adopted fixed English-style surnames. (The more remote a community was from
English influences the later fixed English-style surnames were adopted -
the old naming pattern was still in use in parts of Anglesey and
Caernarvonshire as late as 1870.)

So John, the son of William ROBERTS would appear in the Welsh IGI Surname
Index as John WILLIAM if the entry was from before 1 January 1813 and as
John ROBERTS if after that date.

One has the ridiculous situation in which Elizabeth, the daughter of Lewis
BRIGSTOCK (originally an immigrant from England), was baptised in 1716 and
appears in the Welsh IGI Surname Index as Elizabeth LEWIS when the family
clearly had a fixed English surname!

The indexers blindly followed the rule in the vast majority of cases but
there are instances where some pre-1813 baptisms have been indexed under
the 'correct' surname.

Incidentally each Welsh county has two indexes, a 'Given Name Index' and a
'Surname Index'.

Its all fully explained on p 93 - 103 of the following paperback. It is a
mine of information and thoroughly recommended. A new edition will be out
soon.

'Welsh Family History' (A guide to research) edited by John Rowlands and others
Published by the Association of Family History Societies of Wales (1993)
ISBN 0 9520727 0 X

Best regards
Dick Jones
Leigh-on-Sea, Essex. U.K.

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