This post is by Wayne Shepheard.
What is the oldest document you have found for an ancestor? Do you have a picture or image copy of it?
Church registers are among the most common sources for information. They are also among the most desirable as they are primary sources for birth, marriage and death dates, the building blocks for genealogical research. But many church records don’t reach back even to the 16^th century, due to a lack of preservation or, in some instances, because they were never created.
Vital records appear to have been kept in most regions from the early 16^th century onward, with a few local exceptions:

• England – parish registers mandated in 1538 at the time of the Reformation; only a few Roman Catholic parishes have vital data from before this date, mainly for only prominent families

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parish_register#England

• France – civil legislation mandated registers be kept from 1539; oldest have been found in Givry Parish from 1334.

https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/France_Church_Records

• Germany – Protestant records from 1524, St. Sebald in Nürnberg; most reform churches kept records from 1650

https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/Germany_Church_Records

• Italy – mandatory from 1563 onward; oldest in Gemona del Friuli from 1379

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parish_register#Italy

• Scotland – requirement for records of baptisms and marriages from 1552; most areas date from much later

http://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/guides/birth-death-and-marriage-records/old-parish-registers

• Sweden – some parish registers date to 1620s; churches were ordered to record detailed books from 1686

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parish_register#Sweden
One might well ask why it took that long before authorities across Europe demanded the registration of births, marriages and deaths. Perhaps it was to do with governing bodies wishing to keep new and more accurate lists for tax purposes.
Genealogists may also find names of their ancestors, not necessarily with correct, or any surnames, hand-written in manorial or property documents. Other sources might be court records, both civil and criminal.
A tremendous upheaval in European population occurred following outbreaks of the Black Death of the mid-14^th century resulting in the displacement or migration of great numbers of people. Connections to their origins may well have been lost with the mass movement of these working class people. Genealogists today would have great difficulty in tracing these families back further than the 15^th or 16^th centuries.
So the vast majority of us, who descend from regular people, will find difficulty in tracing our full family history. This may be one reason why so many family histories end up with Charlemagne in their tree.
In my search for the oldest genealogical-related record, I found a reference to a marriage in 449 BC interpreted from the Elphantine papyri, part of 175 documents found in Egypt in 1893. The record appears to be a formal recognition of the marriage between a Jewish temple officer, Ananiah, and Tamut, an Egyptian slave (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephantine_papyri#/media/File:Aramaic._Marriage_Document,_July_3,_449_B.C.E..jpg).

Marriage Document of Ananiah and Tamut, July 3, 449 BCE, Brooklyn Museum
The oldest record image for family members in my own library does not quite go so far back! It is for the 1603 baptism of an 8^th great-grandaunt, Marie Sheppeard, in Plympton St. Mary parish, Devon. At least I am pretty confident she was related. The existing parish register only begins in 1602 so unfortunately just misses the baptism of my 8^th great-grandfather, Nicholas Shepheard, which I believe took place in 1601. I do have a copy of the record of his marriage to Margerit Lee in the same parish in 1630, the baptisms of two of their children in 1633 and 1638, and his will, made in 1657.
It is very important to actually see original or copies of original documents. Too often transcriptions and indexes misstate information. Getting back before 1600 is a challenge, though.
What is the very oldest record you have found for which you have seen a copy of the actual document? How did you come across it?
About the Author
Wayne is a past student of Pharos, having attained a certificate (with distinction) in Family History Skills & Strategies (Intermediate). He is a volunteer with the Online Parish Clerk program, handling four parishes in Devon, England. He has published a number of articles about various aspects of genealogy in several family history society journals. Wayne has his own blogsite, Discover Genealogy, in which he relates his experiences as a family historian.