The Gambia Church Records

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The Gambia

Church Records

For information about records for non-Christian religions in The Gambia, go to the Religious Records page.

Historical Background

Article 25 of the constitution protects the rights of citizens to practice any religion that they choose. Islam is practiced by 95% of the country's population. The Christian community represents about 4% of the population. Residing in the western and the southern parts of the Gambia, most of the Christian community identifies themselves as Roman Catholic. However, smaller Christian groups are present, such as Anglicans, Methodists, Baptists, Seventh-day Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses, and small evangelical denominations

Information Recorded in the Records

Different denominations, different time periods, and practices of different record keepers will effect how much information can be found in the records. This outline will show the types of details which might be found (best case scenario):

Baptisms

In Catholic and Anglican records, children were usually baptized a few days after birth, and therefore, the baptism record proves date of birth. Other religions, such as Baptists, baptized at other points in the member's life. Baptism registers might give:

baptism date the infant's name parents' names father's occupation

status of legitimacy occasionally, names of grandparents names of witnesses or godparents, who may be relatives

birth date and place the family's place of residence death information, as an added note or signified by a cross

Marriages

Marriage registers can give:

the marriage date the names of the bride and groom indicate whether the bride and groom were single or widowed their ages

birth dates and places for the bride and groom their residences their occupations

birthplaces of the bride and groom parents' names (after 1800) the names of previous spouses and their death dates names of witnesses, who might be relatives.

Burials

Burial registers may give:

the name of the deceased the date and place of death or burial the deceased's age place of residence

cause of death the names of survivors, especially a widow or widower deceased's birth date and place parents' names, or at least the father's name

How to Find Records

Digital Copies of Church Records in the FamilySearch Catalog

Watch for digitized copies of church records to be added to the collection of the FamilySearch Library. 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 Gambia.

b. Click on Places within Gambia and a list of towns will appear.

c. Click on your town if it appears, or the location which you believe was the parish which served your town or village.

d. Click on the "Church records" topic. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.

e. Some combination of these icons will appear at the far right of the listing for the record. . 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.

Writing for Records

You will probably need to write to or email the national archives, the diocese, or local parish priests to find records. See Letter Writing Guide for Genealogy for help with composing letters.

Catholic Church Records

Writing to a Local Parish

Earlier records can be held at the diocese, with more recent records still kept in the local parish. To locate the mailing address or e-mail address for a diocese or local parish, consult:

• The Catholic Directory: Gambia

Historical Background

The Christian community, situated mostly in the west and south of the country, is predominantly Roman Catholic. The history of the Catholic Church in the Gambia is closely linked to Senegal. In 1445 Portuguese arrived on the coast of West Africa with the first attempts of Evangelism. From the ecclesiastical point of view, only in 1931 was born the mission of the Gambia, entrusted to the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, detached from the Apostolic vicariate of Senegambia.

Anglican (Episcopal) Church Records

Writing for Records

• Google Maps search results for Anglican churches in The Gambia

Baptist Church Records

Writing for Records

• Google Maps search results for Baptist churches in The Gambia

Eastern Orthodox Church Records

Dioceses and Archdiocese of the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria and of All Africa

The Gambia is included in the Archdiocese of Guinea.

Jehovah's Witnesses Church Records

Writing for Records

• Google Maps search results for Jehovah's Witnesses churches in The Gambia

Methodist Church Records

Writing for Records

• Google Maps search results for Methodist churches in The Gambia

Seventh-day Adventist Church Records

Writing for Records

• Google Maps search results for Seventh-day Adventist churches in The Gambia