Much of the work I do for clients is based on the Isle of Wight. Should you require my services in carrying out research, or in visiting the Archives on your behalf, please get in touch. You’ll find more information specifically about my Isle of Wight based research service [here].

However, I’ve prepared this page in the hope that you’ll find it useful in progressing your own research. It will give you an idea of what resources are available.

Local archives
The local County Record Office is at 26 Hillside, Newport, Isle of Wight, PO30 2EB.
The website is [here].
This page from their website gives an idea of the extent of their holdings, and some of their online databases. The staff are very approachable and extremely helpful. They will advise if what you need isn’t listed, or if you need help in working out what sets of records might help.

Family research relating to the Isle of Wight is impacted by the limited availability of parish registers online.  The entries in these baptism, marriage and burial registers are the main tool we use to build the skeleton of our ancestral lines before the advent of Civil Registration and the decennial Census in 1837-1841 – and they add useful information after this time too.  Generally, family historians make use of powerful search engines provided by commercial genealogy websites to access, at the click of a button, a selection of potentially relevant records, with digital images of the originals for further scrutiny.  This is not possible for Isle of Wight research.  Instead, a visit to the Isle of Wight County Record Office (IOW CRO) is required, where research commences with a review of a hand-written card index including all entries on the parish registers and certain other local records.  The cards are arranged by surname (including variations) and then by Baptisms, Marriages, Burials and Miscellaneous.  Within these sections, individual index cards are arranged chronologically.  The system is very straightforward and efficient to use.

In addition to the card index at the IOW CRO, there is also an online index, produced by FamilySearch.com, the genealogy website belonging to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose religious tradition places great emphasis on ancestry.  Key information from each parish register entry was transcribed by FamilySearch volunteers, and used to create an index.  These index entries are available both at FamilySearch’s own free-to-use website and, by agreement with them, at other commercial genealogy websites. 

There is value in both indexes.  However, always in genealogy research, to be absolutely certain of the information on the record, we need to see it for ourselves – whether that be the actual original document or a digital image of it.  The indexes are therefore a finding aid, their value being in that they lead us to the exact spot in the register where the record is to be found.  Transcriptions vary in quality.  Online indexes in particular require the transcriber to place information in specific ‘fields’, which may mean that some information on the original is omitted.  Unlike the local people and archivists who produced the IOW CRO card index, those creating the FamilySearch index are unlikely to have local knowledge.  Records indexed as ‘Newport, Isle of Wight’, for example, sometimes turn out to be ‘Newport, Monmouthshire’, and probably vice versa, while the arrangement of ancient parishes and the local chapelries within them can cause confusion.  The difficulty of reading handwriting from previous centuries also poses problems in transcribing unknown local surnames and place names.  This does result in errors and discrepancies.

Nevertheless, it is useful to use the two indexes in tandem – drawing upon the chronological arrangement of the card index alongside targeted searches for individual names on FamilySearch.  However, regardless of the route to identification of likely records, an essential final stage is to find each entry in the parish registers using the microfiche at the County Record Office.  If you are used to online index searches returning many records at the click of a button, please bear in mind that this stage can be very time consuming, particularly since some of the microfilm reels are old and delicate and must be wound on slow speed, but is vital to ensure that the correct information, in its entirety, is found and drawn upon, along with the correct citation.

Bishop’s Transcripts for these Baptism/Marriage/Burial records are lodged with the Hampshire Archives, at Winchester. These are also not available online. The website is [here].

Roman Catholic sacramental records (Baptism, Confirmation, Marriage) are recorded in the relevant parish register which usually remains in the parish, not in the relevant Catholic Diocesan Archives, and not at the County Record Office. Examination of the registers is at the discretion of the parish priest but may be restricted to relatives, or it may be possible to obtain a certificate of the entry from the parish administrator. Unfortunately these records are often not digitised and not available via any genealogy website.

Isle of Wight Family History Society
There is one very active family history society that covers the whole Island and has lots of resources available for non-members as well as additional ones for members.
The website is [here].

Local History Societies
There are several local history societies and heritage centres, some more active than others, and some more directly relevant to family history. None of them covers the entire Island; rather they focus on specific towns. However, you may find someone there who can answer a question or point you in the right direction.
Click the links below to find out more.

Bembridge Heritage
Brading Community Archive
East Cowes Heritage Centre
Freshwater & Totland Archive Group
Friends of East Cowes (Cemetery)
Friends of Northwood Cemetery (Cowes)
Folk on Wight
Hampshire Constabulary History Society
Historic Ryde Society
Newchurch History
Ryde Social Heritage Group – lots of resources online that may help with your research.
Sandown & District Historical Association
Shanklin & District History Society
St Helens Historical Society
Ventnor Heritage Centre
West Wight Heritage Centre
Yarmouth Society

Other Resources
British Coastguards and their families
GENUKI Isle of Wight
Island Eye – the History pages are very useful.
Isle of Wight Historic Postcards
Isle of Wight Photographers Index 1850-1940
Memorials and Monuments on the Isle of Wight
Wight Church Network – includes a map and information about churches.
Wightpedia