A group of small rocky islands off the North West coast of France, and 90 miles South of England. The group consists of Jersey and Guernsey, two or three smaller islands - Alderney, Sark and Herm - and various tiny islets of rock or seacrags. The total area is about 75 square miles. The soil is fertile and exceptionally well cultivated. The islands send large quantities of early potatoes, tomatoes, grapes, and other fruits and vegetables to the English markets. Each of the largest islands possesses its own peculiar race of cattle.
The people, who are of Norman descent, are industrious and fairly prosperous. Their numbers increased from 49,430 (excluding Alderney) in 1821 to 95,840 in 1901, giving at the latter date the great average density of 1,278 inhabitants to the square mile. The language of every-day intercourse is the Norman-French patois; of the popular assemblies, law courts, and churches, modern French. English, however, is taught in schools. The islands enjoy practically home rule. The chief executive officer in Jersey, and also in Guernsey and its dependencies, is the Lieutenant-Governor. The people are Protestants and the islands are attached to the diocese of Winchester.
From the Harmsworth Encyclopedia,1909
For more specific advice regarding the individual Islands follow these links:
John Fuller's Channel Islands Genealogy - includes many useful links and a surnames list of Channel Islands research interests.
Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney and Sark are included in the decennial (1841 onwards) Census for England and Wales and can be found online, see the GENUKI ENG+WAL Census page.
Channel Islanders New Zealand Bound by Olwyn Whitehouse
L.D.S. Catalogue:
The Channel Islands and subdivisions.
Jersey
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Guernsey
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Alderney
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Sark
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Herm
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Jethou
L.R. Burness. “Genealogical Research in the Channel Islands” The Genealogical Magazine (March 1978).
There is a RootsWeb Channel Islands Mailing List with a searchable archive.
These are markers for old pages that have yet to be transferred:
- Research in the Channel Islands FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions).
- Channel Islands Family History: Reading the Records
Norman Wood's Histories of the Four Channel Islands Militias (Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney and Sark).
Quaker Family History Society page on surviving Quaker Channel Islands Records.
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Information related to all of The Channel Islands