Therefore, few marriage registers exist for individual non-conformist churches and chapels before 1898. All pre 1837 non-conformist registers should have been deposited with the General Register Office when civil registration was introduced. Some were never handed over but the majority which survive for this date were, and are now in the Public Record Office. We have microfilm copies of those which relate to Dudley Borough. Bear in mind also that some denominations, notably Baptists, do not baptise infants, making family history research in theses records more difficult.
Burial registers are also scare, since few chapels had their own burial grounds.
The first census was taken in 1801 and they have been taken every 10 years since then, with the exception of 1941. No detailed returns were required to be kept until 1841, so this is the first census for which personal details are available. It is not as detailed as the later returns, giving only address, names, approximate ages, occupations and whether born in the country or outside. Ages of everyone over 15 years old are rounded down to the nearest 5 years. It is, therefore, a snapshot, and records people where they were staying on that particular night, not necessarily their permanent address.