New York Church Records: Difference between revisions

{{Block indent|1=a. Click on the [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/results?count=20&placeId=901397&query=%2Bplace%3A%22United%20States%2C%20New%20York%22 '''records of United States, New York'''].|2=3}}

{{Block indent|b. Click on '''Places within United States, New York''' and a list of counties will appear.|3}}

{{Block indent|c. Click on your county if it appears.|3}}

{{Block indent|d. Click on the '''"Church records"''' topic. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.|3}}

{{Block indent|e. Click on '''Places within United States, New York [COUNTY]''' and a list of towns will appear.|3}}

{{Block indent|f. Click on your town if it appears, or the location which you believe was the parish which served your town or village.  |3}}

{{Block indent|g. Click on the '''"Church records"''' topic. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.|3}}

{{Block indent|h. Some combination of these icons will appear at the far right of the listing for the record. [[File:FHL icons.png|75px]].  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.|3}}

<span style="color:DarkViolet">Most Catholic records have not been gathered to central repositories. '''You must determine the town where your ancestors lived and the parish they most likely attended and then write to that parish.''' If a parish has closed, the records may have been sent to the diocesan archives or a nearby parish. If the diocese does not have an archives, the diocese chancellor usually knows where the records are. </span>

{{Block indent|"The most frequent reference requests we get here at the Archives are of a genealogical nature. Until now, the Archives did not hold any sacramental requests and had to direct researchers to parishes throughout the Archdiocese. We are delighted to announce the first stage in making these records more readily available for all researchers. We have worked with Findmypast, a family history company, to digitize and make searchable all baptismal and marriage records of the Archdiocese prior to 1918. To explore the records, visit the [https://www.findmypast.com/page/catholic-records '''Catholic Heritage Archive''']. A list of all of the parishes included in the project can be found here.|2}}

'''Carefully 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|'''Evaluate the Evidence'''.]]