General Help
The data online is contained in a number of tables.
You can set the check boxes to include or exclude specific tables.
Use the Search Box to search the selected tables for a word or words.
Set the list entry below to determine how the words are used, for example
"All of the Words" will only return records containing all of the words you have entered.
The Summary page only contains the main details from an entry.
You can click on some of the column titles to sort the data on that column
- a powerful facility. For example, you can sort by date, by name, by page, by occupation etc.
Sorting on Page will display records in the same order as the original document.
Click on Details to see all the details for a record.
Click on an entry in the Household/Address column to to see all the records for that address.
You may be able to click on More... to see more information compiled from other sources, or on View Image to see an image of the source document. These links will open in a new browser window.
More Information on the Details page may contain information relating to an entry but from other sources.
The Initials are those of the contributor:
[PG] Peter Godfrey, [RG] Ron Green, [RR] Rosemary Rainbird, [TM] Tony Millatt.
There is a detail list of the source of most of this information at
Summary of Parish Records held in Resource Centre xxx .
Whilst every care has been taken with the transcription of information,
should you find any errors please
Contact Us
with details so that amendments can be made.
Baptisms at East Mersea Parish Church
Information covers 1942 to date.
It is derived from the church register and images of the register pages are available on the image database in the Museum.
Baptisms at West Mersea Parish Church
Transcription is underway, starting from 1634.
Baptisms at West Mersea Methodist Church
Information covers 1904 to date.
It is derived from the church register and scanned images of the register pages are available on the image database in the Museum.
Baptisms West Mersea Free Church (Congregational, Union Church, Top Chapel)
Known in many registers as "Independent Meeting West Mersea".
Information covers 1765 to 1838 and is derived from the registers.
Baptisms East Mersea Strict Baptist Chapel in Meeting Lane
Information covers 1802 to 1896 and is derived from the registers.
Baptisms Great Wigborough Parish Church
Information covers 1602 to 1812 and registers transcribed in "The Parish Registers of Great and Little Wigborough", Mrs P.A.F. Stephenson, 1905.
Baptisms Little Wigborough Parish Church
Information covers 1586 to 1812 and registers transcribed in "The Parish Registers of Great and Little Wigborough", Mrs P.A.F. Stephenson, 1905.
The record of a baptism in the register will normally produce 4 records in the list
- for the person baptised, the mother, the father and the Minister.
Date column contains the date of the baptism.
Father's name [data3 and data4].
Mother's name [data5 and data6].
Marital Condition [data7].
Address or Place column contains the Abode, as listed in the register.
Sponsors [data2]
Minister name of the Minister, from the register. [Data1].
Search on keyword baptism if you only want to see Baptism records.
Burials at East Mersea Parish Church
Information covers 1813 to 1996.
It is derived from the church register and images of the register pages are available on the image database in the Museum.
Burials at West Mersea Parish Church
Information covers 1678 to 1953, but with some gaps that are not yet transcribed .
It is derived from images at Essex Record Office and from the Microfiche copy of the church register. Microfiche copies are available in the Museum.
Burials at West Mersea Free Church (Congregational, Union Church, Top Chapel
Information covers 1765 to 1837 and is derived from the registers.
Burials or deaths relating to East Mersea Strict Baptist Chapel in Meeting Lane
Information covers 1813 to 1911 and is derived from the registers. It is not known if any of these people were actually buried in Meeting Lane.
Great Wigborough Parish Church
Information covers 1570 to 1997
Little Wigborough Parish Church
Information Covers 1587 to 1792
Burials at Peldon Parish Church
Information covers 1899 to 2014 and is derived from the registers. All are now available online.
Search on keyword burial if you only want to see Burial records.
Census records
Information currently covers East Mersea, West Mersea, Abberton, Fingringhoe, Langenhoe, Peldon, Salcot and Virley,
Great and Little Wigborough for
the years 1841, 1851 1861 1871 1881 1891 1901 and 1911.
The 1921 Census for East Mersea, West Mersea, Abberton, Peldon, Wigborough, Salcot and Virley are covered, other parishes being worked on.
Date column contains the date of the census.
Address or Place
For 1851, on the Summary page,
this column contains the Household number. The census did not record an
address.
Houses Uninhabited and Inhabited is on the census form for
1841, 1871, 1881 [Data1 and Data2]
or 1861 [Data2]
1891 and 1901 have Inhabited/Uninhabited [Data2] and number of rooms if less than 6 [Data1]
1911 has the and number of rooms [Data1]
Marital Condition (for 1911 should include the number of whole years married).
[Data7]
Age - for 1841 only, if the age was above 15, it should have been rounded down
to the nearest 5. i.e. 19 would have become 15. The rounding did not always happen.
Employer or Employed shown on detail display
- 1891, 1901, 1911 [Data9]
Whether blind or deaf and dumb shown on detail display [Data3]
Business of Employer (1911) [Data3]
Where born [data8].
1939 Register
The records for the 1939 Register for East Mersea, West Mersea, Peldon, Great Wigborough, Little Wigborough, Salcott and Virley, Abberton, Langenhoe, Birch, Easthorpe, Layer Breton, Layer Marney have been transcribed and are available online.
The Register was used by the government for many years and changes of name were added - usually for a marriage. These changes show as "oldname (newname)".
The Register also contains housenames and location for unoccupied houses, but they do not appear in this database.
Register of Electors
Information covers East Mersea for 1868-69, 1905, 1921, 1931, 1939, 1945, 1955, 1977, 1990 and 2001, with a few entries for 1951.
1998, 1999 are scanned but not transcribed (Electors_EM)
Peldon for 1918 and 1929.
West Mersea for 1868-69, 1905, 1921, 1931, 1936, 1939, 1945, 1951, 1955, 1965 (last page is missing), 1973 and 1978.
1968, 1969 and 1984 are scanned but not transcribed (Electors_04, Electors_05)
Great Wigborough 1918 and 1929 - just a few entries.
Little Wigborough 1989
Salcott 1918 and 1929 - just a few entries.
Marriages
East Mersea Parish Church 1725 - 2011
(but some records are missing - see Parish Record Summary ).
West Mersea Parish Church 1625 - 2011.
Abberton Parish Church 1604 - 2012.
Fingringhoe Parish Church 1755 - 2015.
Great Wigborough Parish Church 1560 - 2010
Langenhoe Parish Church 1721 - 1960 (after which the church was demolished).
Little Wigborough Parish Church 1592 - 2010
Peldon Parish Church 1705 - 1980, 2004 - 2011 (1980 to 2004 register has not been located).
Salcott Parish Church 1959 - 2011.
West Mersea Methodist Church 1967 - 1993 and 1998 - 2000.
Mersea Museum has a microfiche copy of the records from Mersea and several
surrounding parishes.
A marriage will normally produce 4 records in the list
- for the husband, wife, husband's father and wife's father.
On the summary screen, the Relationship field shows the role of the named person in a
particular marriage.
Clicking on Details for any of these people will display a single screen with all
marriage details listed.
School Admissions Register
Entries in the Register start 4 September 1899 when the School became a Board School. There appears to have been a separate register for the Infants in the early years. The last entry in the Register is June 1932 and some pupils who started at this time did not leave until 1941.
Data recorded (but not for all entries) includes Date of Admission, Name, Address, Parent or Guardian, Date of Berth, Last School Attended, Date last attended West Mersea, Reason for Leaving, Nature of Employment.
We are grateful to West Mersea School for loaning the Register for the 2021 Summer Exhibition.
Tithe maps
Data from the Tithe Maps for East and West Mersea is available.
There are separate records for each Owner and Occupier.
The information is from local people who worked on the Essex Place Names Project that was organised by Essex Society for Archaeology and History, and Essex Record Office.
Field Number.
Type and Use [Data1]
The Tithe Maps for Essex have been transcribed by the Essex Place Names Project, many available online. See https://www1.essex.ac.uk/history/esah/essexplacenames
For an explanation of Tithes, see TXA03710
Documents transcribed by Mersea Archive Research Group, wills, deeds and other documents
Information is derived from Parish Registers, Hearth Tax,
Quarter Sessions/Assize Records, Wills etc.
Each record is based on a primary name and may include other names mentioned in the document. Most documents are from Essex Record Office. A number have been transcribed and are linked to this database - follow the More... link. Many original documents are only available via Essex Record Office or The National Archives - the ID is listed in the record display if available.
Records in this list may be built up from any of the source registers.
Date where available, is the date of the earliest entry found.
Parish Register Entry where available, is the date or dates
of the parish register entries. [dob]
Address or Place - if a Hearth Tax record exists, it will be recorded here.
The column will include clues as to the address, if available.
Literate [Data9]
Marriage [Data1]
Death [Data2]
Spouse [Data3]
Children [Data4]
Relatives [Data5]
Others Named [Data6]
Goods / Property [Data7]
Other References [Data8]
Document References Essex Record Office or other references for this data.
Link to document if transcribed [Filename]
