In 1536 England, the Parish Churches were directed to keep official records of baptisms, marriages and burials. This effectively means that the earliest baptism record you could find was from 1536. At such time you’d get the name of the child being baptized and hopefully the fathers name. Years ago, I searched for the baptismal record of my ancestor, Martha Spaven of the Yorkshire village named ‘Westow’. When her baptism record surfaced, I almost fell off of my chair! The information it provided was ‘A Sweet Gold Nugget’. It had the names of Martha, her parents James and Jane as well as James’ father ‘William Spaven’, his wife Mary Dale and her father James Dale of Settrington! It also gave their occupations. Furthermore it gave Janes parents, Thomas and Mary Mackley and her father William Cook! In all my research since, I have never found another baptismal document so detailed.
