Exploring family history in Kent could take encompass seafaring ancestors with coastal connections, sheep farming on Romney Marsh, more urban connections in the historic city of Canterbury, or anything in between. Here's a guide to some key genealogical resources available in the county, looking at the three main physical repositories together with the associated online accessibility.
Kent History and Library Centre, Maidstone
Serving as the central repository for Kent's archival materials, the Kent History and Library Centre in Maidstone houses approximately 14 kilometers of documents, some dating back to 699 AD. These collections include parish registers and wills, which are particuarly useful within genealogical research. Researchers can access these materials on-site to delve into the county's past.
ONLINE?
Kent History and Library Centre has an online catalogue, which includes a significant number of catalogued entries from their collections. If you are not local to the county, then documents can be ordered from them, which will be sent digitially. This service is often same-day, which is not always the case when ordering from archives!
Canterbury Cathedral Archives
For those interested in ecclesiastical history or records specific to the Canterbury area, Canterbury Cathedral Archives offers a treasure trove of documents. The archives include original parish registers for East Kent, together with myriad other ecclesiastical documents and Kentish records.
ONLINE?
Parish registers which are held in Canterbury Cathedral Archives, but also elsewhere within the Archdeaconry of Canterbury, have been indexed and digitised as part of the 'Kent Baptisms' collection on www.findmypast.co.uk. The indexing is not always perfect, and sometimes leaves a lot to be desired, but this is mitigated by the fact that manual searches can be made by undertaking your own searches of the digitised registers. There are a handful of Kent parishes not included in this collection, where the registers either are not deposited with an archive, or the parish witheld consent.
Medway Archives Centre
Focusing on the Medway area, the Medway Archives Centre provides access to a variety of records, including local government documents, maps, and photographs. This resource is particularly useful for research centered around the Medway towns and their unique histories.
ONLINE?
Medway parish registers have been indexed as part of the 'Kent Baptisms' collection on Findmypast, but digitial images are not included on this website - however, the indexed entries are linked to the digitial images which are available via Medway Council's Cityark website. Thus if you have Kentish ancestors, it is highly likely that images of the relevant parish registers for where they lived will be available to view online.
