as recorded in .../as that may sound

[GUEST2008]

Hi

His father was deeply engrossed in a genealogical study of every family in
Walwyk, as recorded in the Parish Registers, counting it a
very happy day when he could say, ‘Do you realize that
when Ralph Fletcher married Matilda Hayward, he was
marrying his grandmother’s aunt? Fantastic as that may
sound, when you consider the dates . . .’


Does it mean he was studying every family whose name was written in the Parish Registers?

I'm not sure what "fantastic as that may sound" mean? Maybe: Isn't that fantastic?

[emsr2d2]

Hi

His father was deeply engrossed in a genealogical study of every family in
Walwyk, as recorded in the Parish Registers, counting it a
very happy day when he could say, ‘Do you realize that
when Ralph Fletcher married Matilda Hayward, he was
marrying his grandmother’s aunt? Fantastic as that may
sound, when you consider the dates . . .’


Does it mean he was studying every family whose name was written in the Parish Registers?

I'm not sure what "fantastic as that may sound" mean? Maybe: Isn't that fantastic?

He was studying every family from Walwyk (a town) whose details were recorded in the local Parish Registers.

"Fantastic" is used here to mean "difficult to believe". He is saying that even though it might be hard to believe that someone could marry their grandmother's aunt, it was probably quite common in those days. This is suggested by the final part of your quote "when you consider the dates..." I imagine it goes on to suggest that a long time ago, it was not uncommon for someone to marry a fairly close relative.

[GUEST2008]

Hi

What do you mean by "details"? Something more than just their names and dates of birth?

So he's saying: It may be hard to believe it, but when you look at the dates ...

cheers

[emsr2d2]

Hi

What do you mean by "details"? Something more than just their names and dates of birth?

So he's saying: It may be hard to believe it, but when you look at the dates ...

cheers

The Parish Registers in the UK record births, christenings, deaths and marriages. So it would contain the birth of a child, the date of birth, place of birth, the names of the parents and possibly the address. The marriage records would show the full names of the bride and groom, possibly their addresses and maybe even their occupations. The death records show the full name, date of birth and date of death (possibly place of death).

I don't know if all Parish Registers contain the same information. I'm basing that on the one I saw when I was looking into my family history.

Here's an example of the baptism (christening) page from a Parish Register. As you can see, it contains the date of the baptism, the child's name, the parents' names, their address, their occupation(s) and who performed the baptism service.

Yes, he's saying "You may find that hard to believe but you might find it easier to believe when you look at the dates (years) we are talking about".

[GUEST2008]

thanks a lot!