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Roman Catholic Church in Canada

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Roman Catholic Church

Historical Background

Canada Roman Catholic dioceses

The Roman Catholic Church is the mother of most other Christian churches. Until the early 16th century it was the Christian church in western Europe. Roman Catholicism was the earliest European religion brought to Canada, by the French who founded their colonies in Québec and Acadia. It has remained here, a firm presence in every province and territory, ever since. As each area of the country has been opened for new settlement, there have been Catholic missionaries (priests and nuns) to establish churches, schools and hospitals.

Many bishops and priests have been encouraging to genealogical work and in Québec, in particular, have made possible the extensive publication of records in book form. Some dioceses, such as Hamilton (Ontario), have a policy of restricting access to the records, but these attitudes are largely the result of the bishop of the time and may change with a new administrator; at any rate, local priests or parish secretaries often have different ideas about the registers. It is always best to enquire locally.

In Ontario, the majority of Catholic dioceses, in agreement with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints microfilming program, have since allowed their parish registers to be filmed. The cut-off date was 1910. Each diocesan archives, as well as the FamilySearch Library, has filmed copies of these 18th-19th century registers. As mentioned above, there are still some holdouts among them. An overall history of the Roman Catholic Church in Canada would be too general to be of use to the family historian, but most dioceses have published histories of one sort or another, and there are a great many supplementary historical publications which can be profitably used by researchers.[1]

Information Found in the Records

To effectively use church records, become familiar with their content. Click on these links to learn about a specific record type:

Finding the Records

Look for online records.


Caution sign.png

Online databases are incomplete. This can lead to two common errors:

  1. Near matches: Researchers might mistakenly accept an entry very similar to their ancestor, thinking it is the only one available. Only use information that matches your ancestor in date, place, relationships, and other details.
  2. Stopping research: Researchers might assume the database proves church records do not exist. Actually the record is still out there, just not in this incomplete collection of records. Keep searching!

Ancestry.com

The Drouin Collection

Loiselle Card Index

Jacques-Henri Fabien Collection

  • 1657-1974 Jacques-Henri Fabien Collection This collection of microfilm consists of genealogical information over the period 1657 to 1974, distributed on more than 250,000 cards, mostly for marriages, that indicate date and place, names of spouses and their parents. The collection includes parishes in the Outaouais region of Québec and Ontario, some parishes in Eastern and Northern Ontario, counties of Pontiac, Vaudreuil, Châteauguay, Huntingdon, Beauharnois, l'Assomption, Laval, Deux-Montagnes and Argenteuil, in Quebec.

FamilySearch

Canadiana Online

Canadian Research Knowledge Network

In 2018, CRKN merged with Canadiana.org, an organization dedicated to the preservation and access of Canada’s documentary heritage since 1978.

Canadian Research Knowledge Network
411 - 11 Holland Avenue
Ottawa, ON
K1Y 4S1
Canada

Phone:(613)907.-7040

Look for digital copies of church records listed in the FamilySearch Catalog.

FamilySearch Library
Salt Lake City, Utah
  • The FamilySearch Library (FS Library) has microfilmed and/or digitized records for churches in the Canada.
  • Online church records can be listed in the FamilySearch Catalog under the province or a town.
  • If you find a record that has not yet been digitized, see How do I request that a microfilm be digitized?
  • Some records might have viewing restrictions, and can only be viewed at a FamilySearch Center near you, and/or by members of supporting organizations.
  • To find records:
a. Click on the records of Canada.
b. Click on Places within Canada and a list of provinces will appear.
c. Click on your province.
d. Click on the "Church records" topic. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.
e. Or click on Places within Canada, [PROVINCE] and a list of towns will appear.
f. Click on your town if it appears, or the location which you believe was the parish which served your town or village.
g. Click on the "Church records" topic. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.
h. Some combination of these icons will appear at the far right of the listing for the record. FHL icons.png. The magnifying glass indicates that the record is indexed. Clicking on the magnifying glass will take you to the index. Clicking on the camera will take you to an online digital copy of the records.

Correspond with or visit the actual churches.

Some records are still held in the local churches. Contact the current minister to find out what records are still available.

  • Make an appointment to look at the records. Or ask the minister of the church to make a copy of the record for you.
  • To find church staff available, you might have to visit on Sunday.
  • Ask for small searches at a time, such as one birth record or a specific marriage. Never ask for "everything on a family or surname".
  • A donation ($25-$40) for their time and effort to help you would be appropriate.
  • If the church has a website, you may be able to e-mail a message.
  • See the Letter Writing Guide for Genealogy for help with composing letters.

Addresses

Check the church records collections in archives and libraries.

Some church records have been deposited for preservation in government archives or in libraries. Watch for links to digitized, online records offered by the archives. Some archives provide research services for a fee. For others, if you cannot visit in person, you might hire a researcher.

Library and Archives Canada
395 Wellington Street
Ottawa ON K1A 0N4
Canada
Service Points Outside Ottawa

Telephone: 613-996-5115 or 1-866-578-7777 (toll-free in Canada and the United States)
TTY: 613-992-6969 or 1-866-299-1699 (toll-free in Canada)
Fax: 613-995-6274


Library and Archives Canada holds only a small collection of parish registers, none of which are comprehensive for any region. Most are transcripts rather than originals, available on microfilm and listed in our Checklist of Parish Registers (ISBN 0660538636). Due to the heavy volume of inquiries we receive, we are unable to conduct searches in parish registers.

Canadian Council of Archives / Conseil Canadien des archives
130 Albert Street, Suite 1201
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 5G4
Canada

Toll free 1-866-254-1403
Fax (613) 565-5445
Email: info@archivescanada.ca

  • ArchivesCanada.ca Archive Search You can search the holdings of more than 800 archives across Canada through this portal, formerly known as CAIN (Canadian Archival Information Network).

In 2018, CRKN merged with Canadiana.org, an organization dedicated to the preservation and access of Canada’s documentary heritage since 1978.

Canadian Research Knowledge Network
411 - 11 Holland Avenue
Ottawa, ON
Canada
K1Y 4S1
Phone:(613)907.-7040

Correspond with genealogical or historical societies.

Some church records have been given to historical societies. Also, historical societies may be able to tell you where the records are being held. To find a society near you, consult these lists:

Contact local libraries.

Churches sometimes donate their records to local libraries. Call or write to the libraries in the close vicinity of the church your ancestors might have attended and the towns where they resided.

Look for published books with transcripts of church records.

Many early records, especially from the 1600's and 1700's, have been transcribed and published in books.
These books can be digitized and available online. Check these online digital libraries:

Dark thin font green pin Version 4.png Try different keywords in various combinations:the name of the town,
the name of the specific church, the denomination, "church records", and "[PROVINCE] church records".

Consult the PERSI index for records published in journals.

  • PERiodical Source Index (PERSI) at Allen County Public Library; index. PERSI is an index to family and local history periodicals from 1847 to the present. Many of these periodicals publish church records. If you locate an index entry for a church, you will then need to find the periodical. Use the WorldCat.org search engine to find a library near you that carries the periodical. Library reference desks can be contacted to request a copy of articles, or you may need to hire a researcher.


Carefully compare any record you find to known facts about the ancestor

You will possibly find many different people with the same name as your ancestor, especially when a family stayed in a locality for several generations, and several children were named after the grandparents or aunts and uncles. Be prepared to find the correct church records by organizing in advance as many of these exact details about the ancestor as possible:

  • name, including middle name and maiden name
  • names of all spouses, including middle and maiden name
  • exact or closely estimated dates of birth, marriage, and death
  • names and approximate birthdates of children
  • all known places of residence
  • occupations
  • military service details


Dark thin font green pin Version 4.pngCarefully evaluate the church records you find to make sure you have really found records for your ancestor and not just a "near match". If one or more of the details do not line up, be careful about accepting the entry as your ancestor. There are guiding principles for deciding how to resolve discrepancies between records that are seemingly close. For more instruction in evaluating evidence, read the Wiki article, Evaluate the Evidence.

References

  1. ↑ Merriman, Brenda Dougall. "Canadian Denominational Background Roman Catholics and Lutherans - International Institute, " International Institute of Genealogical Studies (2012), https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/Canadian_Denominational_Background_Roman_Catholics_and_Lutherans_%28National_Institute%29.
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