Cardiganshire

The National Library of Wales. (NLW) Aberystwyth. The major repository of information relevant to Welsh genealogy, such as Bishop's Transcripts of Parish Registers, Marriage Bonds and Allegations, Nonconformist Records, Probate Records, Tithe Maps and Apportionment Schedules, Legal and Administrative Records, Estate Records and Personal Papers, Pedigree Books, Newspapers, etc.

Hugh Owen Library, Penglais Campus, Aberystwyth, SY23 3DZ. 01970 622399
This is the main library of the University of Wales, Aberystwyth- includes a Celtic Collection.

Ceredigion Archives. Aberystwyth. E-mail Ceredigion Archives.
Their Collections Catalogue summary is a must visit page and as an example of their extensive holdings, at June 2017 their Featured Collection section contained;

• The Hafod Uchtryd Estate Collection
• The Friends of Hafod Collection
• The Gwilym Evans/Beekeeping/Welsh Plant Breeding Station Collection
• The New Quay Harbour Company
• Searchable database of early vehicle registrations in Cardiganshire

Ceredigion Public Libraries 

The Royal Commission on the Ancient & Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW), Plas Crug, Aberystwyth, SY23 1NJ 01970 621200 Fax 01970 627701
This is the library of the government organization responsible for surveying and recording the archaeological and built heritage of Wales. It also curates the National Monuments Record for Wales (NMRW) which holds the national collection of information about the historical environment. Coflein combines information about the NMRW archive collections.

Ceredigion Museum - "Has a collection of about 60,000 items from the county of Ceredigion. The majority of specimens are objects that were made or used in the county between about 1850 and 1950."

The National Archives (TNA) has details of many archive repositories in the UK with links to their web sites, if any.

A Cardiganshire Bibliography - Books and articles of interest for Family and Local Historians: many of which can be read online

It is acknowledged that the principal source of the details of books etc included on these pages is the online catalogues of the National Library of Wales

Held at the NLW ;

• Papers of John William Evans, Felindre [ John Y Gwas ], c 1880-c 1960, local historian, with much biographical data relating to Cardiganshire and Carmarthenshire.

Details of extant records on Archives Network Wales for the following;

• Business Records, Cardiganshire 1558-1995 (accumulated 1975-2001) - various
• Record Office Business Survey Documents "In 1977-1978, Carmarthenshire Record Office carried out a survey of businesses in Carmarthenshire, Cardiganshire and Pembrokeshire, producing synopses of their history and survey lists of their records."

Held at the NLW ;

• Material preserved from salvage collected in campaigns organised by The Cambrian News during the Second World War : includes many tradesmen's and business records, largely of Cardiganshire interests, 1818-1941.

Held at Ceredigion Archives;

• Ledgers and day books of several C19 businesses in the county.

Ceredigion County Council "Since the municipal cemeteries were opened in the late 1800's, burial records were traditionally kept in Burial Books with, in many cases, an accompanying map of the layout of the cemetery. These Burial Book records have now been digitised along with new maps of the cemeteries." Search the Cemetery Database

The cemeteries are;-

• Aberystwyth (Plascrug) - earliest recorded burials: 1860
• Aberystwyth (Cefn Llan) - earliest recorded burials: 2006
• New Quay - earliest recorded burials: 1925
• Lledrod - earliest recorded burials: 1979
• Cardigan - earliest recorded burials: 1876

Graveyard Welsh - a guide to interpreting Memorial Inscriptions.

M.I. Surveys of a number of burial grounds are available on microfiche from Dyfed FHS

Cardiganshire FHS have MI survey indexes (Anglican churches) for sale on microfiche. All the Cardiganshire hundreds are covered for two separate periods, i.e 1813-1837 and 1838-1865. They also have an Index (10,000 + entries) to deaths and burials from non-conformist records, various dates which are detailed on the relevant parish pages here.

The UK BMD site "provides 2559 links to websites that offer on-line transcriptions of UK births, marriages, deaths and censuses. A wide range of other indexes and transcriptions are also available for most counties, these may include parish records, wills, monumental inscriptions etc"

Cardiganshire FHS have various censuses included in their research service

Carry out initial searches on all censuses 1841-1911 on LDS Family Search - using basic data supplied by Find My Past (subscription site) and all follow up searches are directed there

Church Plans Online - the Lambeth Palace Library holds a searchable database of the Incorporated Church Building Society's images of the plans of various churches

Welsh Chapels & Churches

Cardiganshire Chapels Database project - a parish based database (with a single county index)

The Union of Welsh Independents "Over 400 independent Congregational churches are affiliated to the Union of Welsh Independents".

The Presbyterian Church of Wales site has a list of CM chapels, under Churches. "The Presbyterian Church of Wales is one of the largest Christian denominations in Wales, with some 20,000 members and 606 churches."

Dyfed FHS - Various church and chapel photographs can be viewed

Parishes of Dyfed. This section of the Dyfed FHS site lists the parishes, churches, and chapels, within the three counties of Dyfed. It contains all those currently identified, by the National Library of Wales, where the location of registers is known. Each entry gives the OS National Grid Reference and name of the church or chapel, if known, (religious denomination), parish, county code and (page name).

Details of extant records on Archives Network Wales for the following;

• Gomer M. Roberts, Hanes Capeli, Books and Papers
  "The leading authority on the history of the Calvinistic Methodist Connexion, the Rev. Dr Gomer M. Roberts (1904-1993) came from the farm of Cwmbach, Llandybie, Carmarthenshire. ......... [he] collected a large amount of archival material for the Calvinistic Methodist archives, and books relating to Capel Isaf, Llechryd, Capel Mair, Llanfair Clydogau, Capel Dewi, Llandysul, Capel Mair, Cardigan and Capel Tabernacl, Cardigan all in Cardiganshire"

Notes re parish pages. Explanatory details of abbreviations used on the parish pages under Church Records.

England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index Marriages 1754 - 1837 on Tinstaafl Transcripts  - Work in progress

National Library of Wales An online searchable index of Marriage Bonds and Allegations. It contains details of some 90,000 marriages by licence which took place in Wales between 1616 and 1837. In early 2016 the NLW made changes in its online catalogue and now the only apparent method of finding these bonds is to search the main catalogue

Indexes to Burials for 1813-1837 for all the Cardiganshire hundreds are available for purchase on microfiche from Cardiganshire FHS

Monumental Inscriptions. MIs for various cemeteries are available within their Research Service from Cardiganshire FHS, check with the site to see what exactly is covered.

Many Parish register indexes, and indexes of baptisms, marriages and burials are available for purchase on microfiche from Dyfed FHS.

The Dyfed FHS has indexed all marriages for the period 1812-1837. Published copies of the index, in sets of parishes grouped by hundreds, are available for purchase.

Family Search UK/Ireland - Historical Record Collections
IGI Batch Numbers - Hugh Wallis's site and Archer Software's site

Here are Parish Register Copies for Cardiganshire in the Library of the Society of Genealogists.

North Wales BMD Births, Marriages and Deaths on the internet. Clwyd and Gwynedd Family History Societies, and Montgomeryshire Genealogical Society are collaborating with the local Registration Services to make the indexes to these records freely searchable via the Internet. Although the indexes are not yet complete for all years and districts, it is hoped that the database will eventually cover all North Wales births, marriages and deaths for the years 1837 to 1950.

The UK BMD site "provides 2558 links to websites that offer on-line transcriptions of UK births, marriages, deaths and censuses. A wide range of other indexes and transcriptions are also available for most counties, these may include parish records, wills, monumental inscriptions etc"

Detailed listing, by Brett Langston, of the places covered by the old and current Cardiganshire Registration districts.

A list of places in Cardiganshire by Dyfed FHS showing which parish, hundred and Registration District they are in.

Certificates of birth, death and marriage can be obtained from the Superintendent Registrar at the following District Register Offices:

• Cardiganshire Central
• Cardiganshire South
• Cardiganshire North

Cardiganshire Constabulary Register of Criminals, 1897-1933 - on the NLW's site. Here is a name finding aid compiled by Joan Sims.

Details of extant records on Archives Network Wales for the following;

• Cardiganshire Petty Sessional and Magistrates Courts Records 1861-1988
• Police and Magistrates Records for Cardiganshire 1810-1983

Held at Ceredigion Archives;

• Cardiganshire Quarter Sessions. A set of otherwise poorly surviving records of the Quarter Sessions of Cardiganshire, comprising Order Books from 1739, session files from 1949, appeals from 1926, committee papers from 1952 and sundry pre 1900 documents.
• Some ( mostly 20th century ) petty sessions records.
• Printed treasurer's accounts for Cardiganshire Quarter Sessions 1861-1866.

Dyfed FHS has an online database of towns in Dyfed, includes trade directory descriptions and photographs

Old postcards and photographs of places in Ceredigion;  On Ceredigion Archives/Catalogues with photographs, postcards

Engravings, prints, photographs and other illustrative material relating to Cardiganshire; On Ceredigion Archives/Catalogues with photographs, postcards

Collections of slides; On Ceredigion Archives/Catalogues with photographs, postcards

• "The largest of the Archive’s slide collections is that of Ronald Everson. It extends across thirteen boxes, each containing two hundred slides. Although only the slides most relevant to the Archive’s focus on Ceredigion have been digitized and uploaded, this number still measures some hundreds of images...."

A Vision of Britain Through Time. "This site contains information about your home area from the 2001 census -- and from every earlier British census back to 1801. It can present this information both as maps of the whole country and as graphs showing change over time in your area. It truly offers a Vision of Britain through time"

Principal Markets and Fairs in South Wales. Extracted from Kelly's Directory South Wales 1910

Gazetteer of Markets and Fairs in England and Wales to 1516. The Gazetteer compiled by Dr Samantha Letters is a catalogue of markets and fairs in medieval England and Wales. This is the first comprehensive national survey.

A Description of the county of Cardiganshire from A Topographical Dictionary of Wales (1833) by Samuel Lewis.

Here is a listing of over 800 Cardiganshire place names with their associated parish pages in Genuki

Ceredigion Heritage Official county site listing its attractions e.g museums, libraries etc

Cardiganshire / Ceredigion - on wikipedia

Digital Library of Historical Directories A Project by the University of Leicester.

Pigot & Co. South Wales directory for 1830. CD published by (Archive CD Books). The Cardiganshire related entries as follows have been extracted and can be seen on the relevant parish pages of Genuki;

• Aberystwith with Llanbadarn fawr and Neighbourhoods
• Aberayron
• Cardigan
• Lampeter

Pigot & Co. South Wales directory for 1844. CD published by (Archive CD Books). The Cardiganshire related entries as follows have been extracted and can be seen on the relevant parish pages of Genuki;

• Aberayron and Neighbourhood
• Aberystwith with Llanbadarn fawr and Neighbourhoods
• Cardigan with the village of St Dogmells and Neighbourhoods
• Lampeter
• Tregaron

Dyfed FHS has an online database of Pigot's 1830 Directory South Wales relating to the Dyfed counties only.

Held at Ceredigion Archives;

• Slater's Trade Directory 1858-9 for Monmouthshire, Gloucestershire, North and South Wales. And some other directories for the period 1830 - 1926.

Mormon Migration Database, 1840-1932; an Index of pioneer immigrants with image links to journals, autobiographies, letters, and other narratives. The immigrants were from the British, Scandinavian, Swedish, and Netherlands Missions.

The transcription of the section for this county from the National Gazetteer (1868), provided by Colin Hinson.

Tallis's Topographical Dictionary of England and Wales, published in 1860 in six vols, editor E. L. Blanchard.
See Welsh Family History Archive for all the excellent county maps (showing the hundreds) and those sections of the alphabetical gazetteer that have been uploaded to date.
From the preface;
"In the following pages will be found fully described the past history and present aspect of every place of any significance in England and Wales, forming a work of permanent importance to the commercial world, of ready service to the tourist of the day, and of constant interest to the general reader, who may derive from this source a large supply of entertainment, as well as of information for the amusement and instruction of a leisure hour."

The Cardiganshire section on the wiki of Family Search (LDS)

Graveyard Welsh - a guide to interpreting Memorial Inscriptions.

Cardiganshire Families - a project based on the Dyfed Mailing List

Timeline of genealogically interesting dates by Gareth Hicks

Here are details of the Genealogy Mailing Lists serving the Welsh counties

John Ball's Welsh Family History Archive provides some very useful material and links for those with Welsh ancestry.

Cambria Archaeology " ..... one of the four Welsh Archaeological Trusts working to help protect, record and interpret all aspects of the historic landscape"

Ceredigion Library have (had?) an index to the Ceredigion ' Papurau Bro': a list of historical articles from Yr Ancr; Yr Angor; Barcud; Bro Ystwyth; Clonc; Y Ddolen; Y Gambo, Y Garthen; Llais Aeron; Lloffion Llangynfelyn; Papur Pawb; Y Tincer
Some of the classifications; Public Houses, Houses and farms, Maritime, Towns & villages, Eminent people and many others

Held at Ceredigion Archives;

• Scrap books compiled by Miss Florrie Hamer who worked at Nanteos and had a keen interest in local history.

See Not everyone knows this.. for random historical snippets on various CGN parishes.

Farms and Estates ; owners and occupiers from census and other records. These details have been submitted by members of Dyfed FHS and can be viewed on their site.

Land Tax Assessments for 1780-1871 for most of the county are in the National Library of Wales. A complete set for 1798 are in the Public Record Office.

A plan of the Mannor of Perveth commonly called Cwmmwd y Perveth being one of the Crown's mannors in the County of Cardigan South Wales. Describing all the wastes and commons and freeholders lands, and the courses and veins of all the mines and silver: done by order of Thos. Walker Esqr., Surveyor General of His Majesty's land revenuesA plan of the Mannor of Perveth commonly called Cwmmwd y Perveth being one of the Crown's mannors in the County of Cardigan South Wales. Describing all the wastes and commons and freeholders lands, and the courses and veins of all the mines and silver  - on the People's Collection Wales site

Here is a simple index relating to parish maps copied from Historic Parishes of England and Wales: an Electronic Map of Boundaries before 1850 with a Gazetteer and Metadata [computer file]. (Kain, R.J.P., Oliver, R.R.).

See here to view a 'sketch map' indicating the position and relative size of each parish within its hundred

Dyfed FHS has an early 20th century OS map of Dyfed

Map of Cardiganshire in 1821.

Welsh county maps on the UK Genealogy Archives site

Lighthouse Personnel in England and Wales and the Channel Islands 1841-1910. Includes;- Table of Keepers; Table of Stations by county; Location map of the lighthouse sites.

Pembrokeshire Archives have an index for "Shipping and Ships", they also hold the records for the port of Cardigan

Welsh Mariners by Dr Reg Davies---includes a searchable database of over 17,000 Welsh born (or Wales resident) Master mariners, mates and engineers who held certificates of competency or service; in practice it is an index of men active from 1850 to 1945 in the merchant navy.

Swansea Mariners by Bryan Richards --- periods 1861 to 1871 and 1890 to 1894, a database of ratings such as un-certificated officers, bosun, able seaman, ordinary seaman, boy, cook, steward, etc in Glamorgan Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire, Cardiganshire, or from around the world. There are 32,000 detailed entries (9/2006).

Details of extant records on Archives Network Wales for the following;

• Shipping registers for Cardigan and Pembrokeshire 1824-1992 "The Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen was established by the Merchant Shipping Act 1872, when the Registrar General of Seamen took over responsibility for returns relating to the registration of ships from the Board of Customs' Chief Registrar of Shipping. In Pembrokeshire, the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen recorded merchant ships registered at the port of Cardigan and at the port of Milford Haven......"

Held at Ceredigion Archives;

• Marine Maps of the Board of Trade 1860-1970 [ maps relating to the Crown foreshore and the safety of navigation in local waters] transferred from the PRO

Cardiganshire Great War Tribunal (Appeals) records; "The Cardiganshire Great War Tribunal (Appeals) Records give a fascinating insight into the lives of men who were called up by the army during the First World War. They contain personal details, information about employment, reasons for the application against enlisting in the armed forces, the ruling of the tribunal and the reasons for this decision."  National Library of Wales/digital gallery/archives

For anyone interested in the history of the Cardiganshire Militia during the Napoleonic Wars after 1803 a number of references to soldiers can be seen in the registers of Walmer parish church, now in the Canterbury Cathedral Archives. They seem to have been stationed there from 1807 to 1811. One of the earliest references is to the marriage of a couple of whom the groom, a soldier of the militia, is described as from Sandown Castle. Sandown is in the Isle of Wight. It is known the militia were stationed in the Isle of Wight from 1804 but this reference suggests a further location for a source of names. The Isle of Wight registers are in the Hampshire Record Office at Winchester. (Contributed by Adrian Lewis Sept 2010).

Here is a simple index relating to parish maps copied from Historic Parishes of England and Wales: an Electronic Map of Boundaries before 1850 with a Gazetteer and Metadata [computer file]. (Kain, R.J.P., Oliver, R.R.).

Place Names of Dyfed, provided by the Dyfed FHS, lists the parishes (plus a small number of other places) in Cardiganshire, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire, giving for each the name of its hundred, an OS map reference, and the civil registration district.

Place names in Cardiganshire that have alternative spellings, or have changed completely

Here is a listing of Cardiganshire place names with their associated parishes.

Dyfed newspapers. On Dyfed FHS there is a list of the locations that hold copies of known publications

Ceredigion Library have (had?) online indexes from the Cardigan & Tivyside Advertiser 1866-1930 of several categories including Biographies, Cardigan, Marriages, Obituaries, Cardiganshire Towns and Villages

The British Newspaper Archive is digitising the Cardigan & Tivyside Advertiser and (as at Oct 2017) the years 1870, 1877 & 1879 are accessible online

Held at Ceredigion Archives;

• Cardigan and Teivyside Advertiser ( which serves the south of the county ) from 1866 to date. The Welsh Gazette ( held by the NLW) is very important for news in mid-Cards. and very much worth a look where others fail.
• Cambrian News 1942.

Tivy-Side Advertiser Email; tivy_newsdesk[at]gwent-wales.co[dot]uk

The Cambrian News was published from 1860 to date, [copies at the NLW]

Pint of History is a project about pubs. Pubs in Ceredigion. Old pubs, new pubs, beer houses, ale houses, taverns, inns, hotels, railway waiting rooms and breweries. And, to be fair, the odd Temperance hotel and cocoa house.   

Victorian Professional Photographers in Wales 1850-1925 - a county based database compiled by Mari Alderman, includes sources and a bibliography

Mines in Mid Wales . Homepage for Mid Wales section of The British Mining Database; Cardiganshire Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire.Contains a general history and introduction to Welsh Mining and a list of mines with map references.

List of Mines in Cardiganshire Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire

Apprentices from Dyfed in Bristol in the C17 & C18. Fiche for sale from Dyfed FHS.

Lists of magistrates and police officials in the county of Cardiganshire - extracted from Kelly's Directory of South Wales 1923 (published on CD by Archive CD Books)

Held at the NLW ;

• Papers relating to Cardiganshire lead mines, 1847-1937.
• The records of the Herbert family of Powis Castle, Pembrokeshire includes records of lead and silver mining in Cardiganshire, C18-C19.

See also under Societies

Archaeologica Cambrensis available selectively at the Ceredigion Archives and NLW.

Dyfed FHS produce a journal for members three times yearly which contains many articles of general and specific interest to researchers in Cardiganshire etc.

Cardiganshire FHS produces a journal for members three times yearly which contains many articles of general and specific interest to researchers in Cardiganshire etc

Details of extant records on Archives Network Wales for the following;

• Cardiganshire Electoral Registers 1865-1999

There were seven Poor Law Unions covering Cardiganshire: Mychynlleth (also covering parts of Merionethshire and Montgomeryshire), Aberystwyth, Aberaeron, Tregaron, Cardigan (also covering part of Pembrokeshire), Newcastle Emlyn (also covering parts of Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire), and Lampeter (also covering part of Carmarthenshire). The records for all the Poor Law Unions are in the Cardiganshire Record Office, except some for Cardigan in the Pembrokeshire Record office, and those for Mychynlleth, which are in the Montgomeryshire Record Office.
The records of the Cardiganshire Boards of Guardians, from 1837, are at Cardiganshire Archives.

The County Library in Aberystwyth has an index to press cuttings on subjects of local interest including "workhouses" in Cardiganshire.

The Workhouse - on Peter Higginbotham's site

Poor Law Unions in Cardiganshire - a breakdown by parish etc

Details of extant records on Archives Network Wales for the following;

• Cardiganshire Board of Guardians Records 1834-1936
  "Records relating to the Cardiganshire Board of Guardians, including Cardigan Union, 1834-1935; Newcastle Emlyn Union, 1916-1925; Lampeter Union, 1871-1930; Tregaron Union, 1912-1929; Aberayron Union, 1854-1922; and Aberystwyth Union, 1878-1936."

Details of extant records on Archives Network Wales for the following;

• Ceredigion District Council Records 1937-1994
• Cyngor Sir Ceredigion County Council Records [c. 1950]-1998 (accumulated 1996-1998)
• Cardiganshire County Roads Board Records 1770-1870

Agricultural Statistics in 1908 for the counties of Cardiganshire, Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Glamorgan as shown in Kelly's Directory for South Wales, 1910

Held at the NLW ;

• Cardiganshire County Roads Board; the records of the Aberystwyth section, 1770-1845, and the Cardigan section, 1803-44, of the Cardiganshire Turnpike Trust, and of the Cardiganshire County Roads Board, 1844-70.

Held at Ceredigion Archives;

• Various Electoral Registers, many for the C20, and some for the C19 for part, and in many cases, all of the county.
• Further records of the Ceredigion Girl Guides Association

The Blue Books of 1847. An inquiry into the state of education in Wales

Dyfed FHS has an online database of Schools and Colleges in the Dyfed counties, many with photographs

Alumni Oxonienses 1715 - 1886. This extract of Dyfed students from a reproduction on CD of the four volumes of Alumni Oxonienses 1715-1886 published by the (Archive CD Books) Project. Extracted and transcribed for the Dyfed FHS by Jonathan Pike. All references to the Dyfed students have been included plus individuals who are known to be connected to Dyfed familes.

Details of extant records on Archives Network Wales for the following;

• School Records for Cardiganshire 1862-1983

Held at Ceredigion Archives ;

• Records of the Education Committee of Cardiganshire County Council, including School Board records and school log books.
• Completed questionaires by head teachers of Cardiganshire schools giving details of the history of their schools, 1932

Held at the NLW ;

• Papers of David Thomas [ 1866-1940], inspector of schools and folklorist ; include a valuable collection of folk-lore made by Cardiganshire schools, 1921-6.

The People's Collection Wales site has material for this county, use the onsite search box

Cardiganshire Criminals - on the NLW blog

The Band of the Cardigan Volunteer Corps marching down Cilgerran High Street 1902, accompanied by members of the Cardigan Naval Reserve. - on People's Collection Wales site

Held at Ceredigion Archives;

• Records of the Guides Association in the county 1915-1985.
• Minute Books of the Women's Institute Executive Committee 1921-1953.

• Cardiganshire FHS.
  It publishes a regular journal for members. It has a small library kept at Ceredigion Archives.
• Dyfed FHS covers the old counties of Carmarthenshire, Cardiganshire and Pembrokeshire. It has several branches, including one in London. It publishes a regular journal for members.
• Ceredigion Historical Society [Cymdeithas Hanes Ceredigion]. "The aim of the Society is to preserve, record and promote the study of the archaeology, antiquities and history of Ceredigion. That objective has remained the same since the foundation of the Society in 1909, though its name was changed to the Ceredigion Historical Society from the Ceredigion Antiquarian Society in 2002. It does this through publication of a regular journal, a three-volume county history, and by holding a regular annual programme of lectures and excursions to historical sites."
  Available on the Welsh Journals Online site - Transactions; Cardiganshire Antiquarian Society 1911/1938; Ceredigion; Journal of the Cardiganshire Antiquarian Association 1951-2002 & Ceredigion: Journal of Ceredigion Historical Society 2002 - 2004.
• Ceredigion Local History Forum "The main purpose of the Forum is to act as an umbrella group, bringing together all the societies and organisations who are involved with local history, heritage and family history within the county of Ceredigion (formerly Cardiganshire), with the aim of raising the profile of local history within the county. "
• Ceredigion Association of National Trust Members - for details see Ceredigion Local History Forum
• Cymdeithas Hanes Ceredigion Historical Society - for details see Ceredigion Local History Forum