Church Records: Difference between revisions

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Guide to locating church records for ancestry, family history, and genealogy research.
Guide to locating church records for ancestry, family history, and genealogy research.


==What Church Records Are==
<br>
*Church records are a valuable source for proving the dates and places of births, marriages, and deaths and the identity and relationships of family members. Births are verified by infant christening/baptism records. Marriages were performed by churches and burial records verify deaths. Some countries organized information in family registers, much like a family group sheet.
<br>
*Church records are extremely important for documenting births, marriages, and deaths that took place before government or civil registration began. In some regions, it was also common for the local church records to function in the role of government civil registries.  
 
__TOC__
==What are church records?==
*Church records are a valuable source for proving the dates and places of births, marriages, and deaths and the '''identity and relationships of family members'''. Births are verified by infant christening/baptism records. Marriages were performed by churches and burial records verify deaths. Some countries organized information in family registers, much like a family group sheet.
*Eventually, countries and states of the U.S. started state keeping birth, marriage, and death certificates. Church records are extremely important before those records started. In many regions, it was also common for the local church records to function in the role of government civil registries.  
*Particularly outside the U.S. church records can contain financial account books, (they record charges for toll bells, fees for masses for the dead, and so on), lists of confirmation, penance register, communion lists, lists of members and the family register.
*Particularly outside the U.S. church records can contain financial account books, (they record charges for toll bells, fees for masses for the dead, and so on), lists of confirmation, penance register, communion lists, lists of members and the family register.
*Scandinavian Lutheran church records kept census records, which in addition to listing basic family information, could include birth dates and the names of  parishes moved from or moved to.
*Scandinavian Lutheran church records kept census records, which in addition to listing basic family information, could include birth dates and the names of  parishes moved from or moved to.


==Types of Church Records==
==What can you find in church records?==
Some types of records created by different denominations include:<br>
==How do you find church records?==
===Baptisms===
Children were usually baptized a few days after birth. Baptism registers usually give:
*the infant's name
*parents' names, often including the mother's maiden name
*status of legitimacy
*names of witnesses or godparents who could be relatives
*baptism date. <br>


You may also find:
----
*the child's birth date
===Wiki Articles===
*the father's occupation
*the family's place of residence
*death information


===Marriages===
===Sidebar Links to Wiki Articles===
Marriage registers may give:
{|
*the marriage date
|-
*the names of the bride and groom.  
|style="border:solid black 2px; padding:10px; vertical-align:top"|
*whether they were single or widowed
<center> <span style="color:DarkViolet">'''See the links to church records in the right sidebar in this typical Wiki main page.'''</span><center>
*give the names of witnesses
[[File:Sidebar census.png|900px]]
*include other information about the bride and groom, such as:
|}
**ages
<br>
**birth dates and places
**residences
**occupations
**parents' names
**the names of previous spouses and perhaps their death dates.


===Burials===
===Online Genealogical Records Pages===
Burial registers may give:
On the main page for each U.S. State page and country page, a blue button leads to a listing of '''online record collections.'''  
*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
*deceased's birth date and place
*parents' names of those being confirmed
*the confirmation date
*their ages or birth dates
*birthplaces
*fathers' names.


==How to Find Church Records==
{|
|-
|
|style="border:solid black 2px; vertical-align:top; padding:10px"|
<center> <span style="color:DarkViolet">'''Look for the blue button on each state and country '''<br>'''main page to link to the Online Genealogy Records page.'''</span><center>
[[File:OGS.png|400px]]
|style="width:50px"|
|style="border:solid black 2px; vertical-align:top; padding:10px"|
<center> <span style="color:DarkViolet">'''A typical Online Genealogy Records page. '''
[[File:Online ogr census.png|700px]]|700px]]
|}
<br>


==Church Records by Location==
*'''Also, all the available Online Genealogy Records pages are linked at''' [[Online Genealogy Records by Location|'''Online Genealogy Records by Location.''']]
Search by country:
<br>
*[[:Category:Church Records]]
<br>
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<br>


==Research Strategies==
===FamilySearch Catalog===
*Church Records collected by FamilySearch, usually digitized and online, are listed in the [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog '''FamilySearch catalog'''.] Enter the name of the country in the "Place Field" and click "Search". A list of record categories will be provided. Select "Census".


[[Category:Church Records]]
[[File:Census in catalog.png|600px]]

Revision as of 11:39, 30 December 2021

Guide to locating church records for ancestry, family history, and genealogy research.



What are church records?[edit | edit source]

  • Church records are a valuable source for proving the dates and places of births, marriages, and deaths and the identity and relationships of family members. Births are verified by infant christening/baptism records. Marriages were performed by churches and burial records verify deaths. Some countries organized information in family registers, much like a family group sheet.
  • Eventually, countries and states of the U.S. started state keeping birth, marriage, and death certificates. Church records are extremely important before those records started. In many regions, it was also common for the local church records to function in the role of government civil registries.
  • Particularly outside the U.S. church records can contain financial account books, (they record charges for toll bells, fees for masses for the dead, and so on), lists of confirmation, penance register, communion lists, lists of members and the family register.
  • Scandinavian Lutheran church records kept census records, which in addition to listing basic family information, could include birth dates and the names of parishes moved from or moved to.

What can you find in church records?[edit | edit source]

How do you find church records?[edit | edit source]

Wiki Articles[edit | edit source]

Sidebar Links to Wiki Articles[edit | edit source]

See the links to church records in the right sidebar in this typical Wiki main page.

Sidebar census.png


Online Genealogical Records Pages[edit | edit source]

On the main page for each U.S. State page and country page, a blue button leads to a listing of online record collections.

Look for the blue button on each state and country
main page to link to the Online Genealogy Records page.

OGS.png

A typical Online Genealogy Records page.

Online ogr census.png|700px]]





FamilySearch Catalog[edit | edit source]

  • Church Records collected by FamilySearch, usually digitized and online, are listed in the FamilySearch catalog. Enter the name of the country in the "Place Field" and click "Search". A list of record categories will be provided. Select "Census".

Census in catalog.png

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