Catholic Family History Society Publications
Catholic Ancestor Journals
The Catholic Ancestor Journals are again available via the online shop at GENfair www.genfair.co.uk

Available so far:
Booklets around 22 pages A4, £3.00 each, plus £1.50 post & packing for up to two booklets:
The above printed publications can only be ordered through
The following publications are available for purchase from our site. Clicking on the title above each publication will open a new window in the appropriate part of the GENfair site. From there you may order the publication by using a credit card. In case of difficulty downloading contact
Printed publications (books) may also be ordered through
The Margaret Higgins Database of Catholics in England and their Friends: 1607 - 1840
- Year
- Surname and Forename(s)
- Status/Occupation
- Age (Yrs)
- Length of Residence
The amount of information given varies and it is rare to find that all of these fields contain information for an individual. The data has been compiled over very many years by Brother Rory Higgins FSC of Australia and other members of the Catholic Family History Society.
- Baptisms : 1794-1812, 1812-1819, 1820-1831, 1832-1841 & 1842-50
- Marriages : 1831-1836
- Burials : 1816-1825 & 1832-1837
- plus a List of Parents, extracted from the Baptism Registers
St.Mary's is the oldest existing Catholic Church in Manchester and Salford. The Manchester Mission first began in 1773, in a room in Roman Entry (off High St.). In 1776, it moved to Rook Street Chapel (off Market St.). The Mission finally moved, in 1794, to Mulberry Street and remained on the same site, as a functioning parish church, to the present day. The Registers have been fully transcribed and, with the exception of the Marriages, are presented in Surname sorted order.
St. Patrick's was founded in 1832 to cater for the huge intake of Irish people into Manchester. It quickly became Manchester's largest Roman Catholic parish numerically with more than 1,000 baptisms in some years.The CD-ROM contains scanned copies of the original baptism register for the period 2 Mar 1832 to 30 Dec 1860. The index contains over 26,000 entries in the form child's surname, Christian name, mother's maiden surname, date of baptism, register page number and image number.
The plot on which St. Patrick's chapel was established in 1832 was big enough to include a sizeable graveyard. It soon became the focal point for the burial of Catholics over much of North Manchester, even as far afield as Openshaw. The period covered in this Index is from May 1832 to June 1858, when burials ceased. The entries total 27,094. As well as the name of the deceased and the date of burial, the cause of death and address are given in many entries. A considerable number of the deceased do not appear in the GRO Death Indexes, even as late as 1857.
This CD-ROM contains transcriptions with indexes of 12 baptismal registers from the Sardinian Chapel in Lincoln's Inn Fields from 1772 to 1841. This mission has been rightly termed 'the Mother Church of the Catholic faith in the Archdiocese of Westminster'. In total the indexes contain over 60,000 names.
This CD-ROM contains scans of 27 indexed transcriptions of Catholic parish registers from churches, chapels and missions in the County of Middlesex. All were located in the ecclesiastical division known as the London District until 1850, and thereafter that part of the London District which fell within the Archdiocese of Westminster following the reorganisation of 1850.
The registers cover:
- Bavarian Embassy Baptisms 1748-1838 Marriages 1747-1840
- St Aloysius Baptisms 1802 Confirmations 1808-1820
- St Boniface Baptisms 1812-1862
- St Mary Moorfields Baptisms 1763-1839 Marriages 1777-1853 Burials 1819-1853
- Virginia Street Chapel Wapping Baptisms 1789-1800
- Westminster St Mary Baptisms 1809-1838
Volume 2 complements Volume 1 with scans of a further 23 indexed transcriptions of Catholic parish registers from churches, chapels and missions in the ecclesiastical division known as the London District until 1850. The registers on this CD cover:
- Fr
ench Chapel Royal: Baptisms 1842-1911 and Marriages 1846-1910
- Kentish Town, St Alexis: Baptisms 1849-1854
- Blessed Virgin Mary of Czestochowa and St Stanislaus Kostka Chapels, Central London: Baptisms 1863-1877
- Soho St Patrick: Baptisms 1779-1851, Index to Baptisms 1793-1937, Confirmations 1818-1854 and Marriages 1809-1856
- Southwark St George's Fields Chapel: Baptisms 1788-1823 and Marriages 1823-1837
- St James, Spanish Place, Westminster: Baptisms 1732-1848 and Marriages 1732-1845
- Standon, Old Hall Green, Herts.: Baptisms 1811-1831, Confirmations 1814-1849 and Marriages 1812-1848
- Virginia Street Chapel, Wapping: Baptisms 1832-1840
This is a valuable finding aid for those researchers with Catholic ancestors in Lancashire. It contains names which appear in the wills of persons reputed to be Catholics. Over 4,000 wills are included and the Index shows the names of nearly 50,000 testators, beneficiaries, family members and witnesses. In addition, wherever possible, the reputed Roman Catholic status of the testators and others has been confirmed by reference to other sources such as parish registers and Returns of Papists, which are also noted in the Index.
St Anne, Junction St, Ancoats, was founded in 1848. Approximately 9,000 entries with about 40,000 names in all, including godparents. Contains both a transcript and scanned copies of the original baptism register All names in the register are fully indexed.