Zoom Talk: Sin, Sex and Probate with Colin Chapman

Sin, Sex and Probate. a fascinating and accessible guide to the workings of England’s ecclesiastical courts.

Until the mid-19^th Century in Britain, the Church Courts locally and nationally granted permission to marry, proved wills and testaments, and issued licences to curates, school-teachers, midwives, physicians and surgeons.

These courts additionally dealt with law and order, including sexual misdemeanours of laity and clergy. In this revealing lecture Dr Chapman explains how the courts operated and where their records, valuable to all family historians, may be located today.

After his well-received presentation last year on early Censuses, Dr Chapman returns to talk about the Church Courts. He is a retired engineer and scientist who began family history research at the age of seven, encouraged by his grandparents. He went on to found or co-found six county-based family history societies, three of which he is currently their President and of a fourth is their Patron.

He originated the three-letter code for county names, forming the basis for the British and International Standard ISO-3166. He has written fourteen genealogically-related books, including, Sin, Sex and Probate: Ecclesiastical Courts, Officials & Records. He is a Vice President of both the Family History Federation and of the Society of Genealogists.

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