South Africa, Church of the Province of South Africa, Parish Registers - FamilySearch Historical Records

South Africa

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South Africa, Church of the Province of South Africa, Parish Registers, 1801-2004 CID1468076 {{{CID2}}} {{{CID3}}} {{{CID4}}} {{{CID5}}} {{{CID6}}} {{{CID7}}} {{{CID8}}} {{{CID9}}}
This article describes a collection of records at FamilySearch.org.
South Africa
Flag of South Africa
Location of South Africa
Record Description
Record Type:	Parish Registers
Collection years:	1801-2004
Languages:	Afrikaans, English
Title in the Language:	Suid-Afrika, die Kerk van die Provinsie van Suid-Afrika, Parish registers
FamilySearch Resources
South Africa Genealogy
Africa Websites
Africa Historic Maps
South Africa Websites
Related Websites
Records and Resources in South Africa
Cape Master Death Notice Index Project
Archive
William Cullen Library, Wits University, Johannesburg

What is in the Collection?

This Collection includes records from 1801 to 2004, with possibly some records before 1801.

The records in this collection include digital images of parish registers of the Church of the Province of South Africa, also known since 2006 as the "Anglican Church of Southern Africa". The Church includes dioceses in Angola, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Saint Helena, South Africa and Swaziland. Records were acquired from the collection of the William Cullen Library, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, and include baptisms, marriages, deaths, and burials.

You can browse through images in this collection using the waypoints on the Collection Browse Page for South Africa, Church of the Province of South Africa, Parish Registers, 1801-2004.

Collection Content

Sample Images

Click on images for a larger view.

• South Africa, Church of the Province of South Africa, Parish Registers DGS 4453526 20 Baptism.jpg

  Baptismal Record

• South Africa, Church of the Province of South Africa, Parish Registers DGS 5026994 55 Marriage.jpg

  Marriage Record

• South Africa, Church of the Province of South Africa, Parish Registers DGS 5026983 50 Burial.jpg

  Burial Record

What Can this Collection Tell Me?

Baptism records may contain the following information: Date and place of baptism Child's name and gender Child's date and place of birth Parents' names and their residence Occupation of father Names of sponsors or witnesses By whom the baptism was performed

Marriage records may contain the following information: Date and place of marriage Race of the bride and groom Name and age of groom Groom's birthplace, marital status and occupation Groom's residence at time of marriage Name and age of bride Bride's birthplace, marital status and occupation Bride's residence at time of marriage Marriage by license or banns Names of witnesses Name of minister and religious denomination

Burial records may contain the following information: Date and place of burial Name and age of deceased Residence at time of death Who performed burial ceremony

How Do I Search the Collection?

To search these records, it would be helpful if you knew any of the following information:

• Names of parents
• Name of ancestor
• Name of ancestor's spouse
• Approximate year and place of birth/marriage/death
• Parish

Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page:
Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor.

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page:
To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links:
⇒ Select the "Browse" link in the initial search page
⇒ Select the "Country" category
⇒ Select the "Province" category
⇒ Select the "Diocese, Town and/or Parish" category
⇒ Select the "Record Type and Years" category which takes you to the images

What Do I Do Next?

When you have located your ancestor’s death record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

• Use the age in the citizen to find an approximate birth year to begin your search in church or civil records.
• Continue to search the records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have moved, been recruited or lived nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family. Repeat this process for each new generation you identify. Compile the entries for every person who has the same surname; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual. This compiled list can help you identify possible relations that can be further verified by researching vital records indexes in the country.
• When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. Save a copy of the image or transcribe the information. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details such as a title, an occupation, or land ownership. Add this new information to your records of each family. You should also look for leads to other records about your ancestors.
• Church Records often were kept years before government records were required and are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900.

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking for, What Now?

• Switch to a different record collection. Depending on the time period, either Civil Registration records or Church Records may be more useful.
• While searching, it is helpful to know such information as the ancestor’s given name and surname, some identifying information such as residence and age, and family relationships. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as an ancestor and that the ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times.
• Keep in mind that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
• Standard spelling of names typically did not exist during the periods our ancestors lived in. Try variations of your ancestor’s name while searching the index or browsing through images. Pay special attention to how the name should have been pronounced and try variations on the pronunciation.
• Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for these names as well.
• Search the indexes and records of local genealogical societies.
• Earlier records may not contain as much information as the records created after the late 1800.
• There is also some variation in the information given from one record to another.
• Be aware that there may have been some transcription errors.
  
  

Known Issues with This Collection

	Problems with this collection? See a list of known issues, workarounds, tips, restrictions, future fixes, news and other helpful information.

For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached Wiki article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to support@familysearch.org. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

Citing this Collection

Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection citation:

Collection Citation: The citation for this collection can be found on the Collection Details Page in the section Cite This Collection.

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):

When looking at a record, the citation is found below the record. You can search records in this collection by visiting the search page for South Africa, Church of the Province of South Africa, Parish Registers, 1801-2004.

Image citation:
This template has been deprecated and is no longer used.

When looking at an image, the citation is found on the Information tab at the bottom left of the screen. You can browse through images in this collection by visiting the browse page for South Africa, Church of the Province of South Africa, Parish Registers, 1801-2004.

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DGS stands for Digital Genealogical Society also known as an Image Group Number. Each set of digital images is assigned a DGS number for identification purposes.