The society’s research library at 18 Lemon Street, Truro is open to all and staffed by volunteer members (there is a charge for non-members).
Opening Hours
Monday – 11.00 to 15.00
Tuesday – closed all day
Wednesday – 11.00 to 15.00
Thursday – 11.00 to 15.00 and evenings 18.30 to 21.00 (by appointment only)
Friday – By appointment only
Saturday – 10.00 to 13.00 (currently only the first Saturday of the month)
Sunday – closed all day
Resources Available
The GRO indexes (formerly St Catherine’s indexes) for England and Wales.
The complete indexes of civil registration (Births, Marriages and Deaths) 1837-1999 on microfiche and alphabetically arranged for each quarter. Other GRO miscellaneous indexes include war deaths, armed services births, deaths and marriages overseas (1796-1965), Consular indexes; etc.
Census Returns
1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1891 and 1901 for the whole of Cornwall on microfiche. As our volunteer transcribers continue to work, an increasing proportion of parishes are indexed The indexes can be searched on the computer.
1881 British Isles census, indexed by LDS, on microfiche and computer.
The International Genealogical Index (IGI)
1988 edition for Cornwall, England and most of the world. 1992 edition for Cornwall and Devon.
Marriages
All marriages recorded in Cornwall up to the start of civil registration in 1837 have been transcribed and are available for surname search on our database. The Phillimore transcripts (1538-1812) covering most of Cornwall are chronological in parishes (26 volumes) and indexed by CFHS alphabetically for the county. Ross and Boyd Marriage Indexes covering most of Cornwall, both alphabetical in 25 year periods, and containing parishes not covered by Phillimore. Ross goes to the 1870s generally and to 1925 in many cases; Boyd to 1812.
Burial / Monumental Inscriptions (MIs)
The MIs (gravestones) for many burial grounds in Cornwall have been recorded and indexed alphabetically. Most of the burial registers (1813-1837) have been indexed alphabetically. This is an ongoing project and is updated regularly. Many gravestones have been photographed.
Other Material
Transcripts of many Parish Registers; many overseas records; journals of other family history societies including those from overseas; family pedigrees and histories; parish histories; poor law apprenticeship/master records; some passenger lists; strays, much material concerning emigration, particularly to the USA.
Many of the society’s records have been computerised giving rapid access. The society’s computer contains over five million entries at present and more are being added regularly.
Library Services
The society is very proud of its many research facilities and even if you are unable to visit the Library in person, you can still put in a request to our Research Service and our volunteers will do their best to answer your query.
