India Church Records: Difference between revisions

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India

Church Records

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

Church records are an excellent source for accurate information on names and dates and on places of births, marriages, and deaths. Many people who lived in India who had British or European ancestry, married into or were adopted by British families, or who converted to Christianity, have information recorded about them in church records. About 80% of church records in British India are believed to have survived. Since civil authorities did not begin registering vital statistics until 1872, church records are the best source for family information before that date.

The first step in researching European or Anglo-Indian ancestry in colonial India is to use the church records. For administrative purposes, colonial India was divided into three Presidencies, Bombay, Madras, and Bengal. Protestant and Catholic churches began to keep records in India in 1698 (Madras), 1709 (Bombay) and 1713 (Bengal). Each year, these records were transcribed and sent to the capital of the Presidency, where they were indexed. The records and indexes were then sent to headquarters in London. This practice ceased at Independence in 1947. Learn more about family history in the India Office Records.

Parish maps can help you determine which parish to search. Maps will reveal neighboring parishes to search if your ancestor is not listed in the parish where you expected him or her to be. See India Maps for more information.

Online Resources[edit | edit source]

India: British Subjects - Baptisms, Births, Marriages, Deaths and Burials[edit | edit source]

1628-1969 UK, Foreign and Overseas Registers of British Subjects, 1628-1969 at Ancestry - index ($)
St Michaels Church, Baptismal Register - Index of Names at FIBIS - index & images
1676-1914 India (French Overseas) Civil Registration and Parish Registers, 1676-1914at France National Archives - index & images
1698-1948 Parish register transcripts from the Presidency of Madras, 1698-1948(*) at FamilySearch Catalog - images and incomplete index.
1707-1898 Madras Baptism Indexes (India Office Records) at FIBIS - index
1709-1948 Parish register transcripts from the Presidency of Bombay, 1709-1948(*) at FamilySearch Catalog - images and incomplete index.
1712-1965 United Kingdom, British India Office, Births and Baptisms, 1712-1965 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
1713-1948 Parish register transcripts from the Presidency of Bengal, 1713-1948(*) at FamilySearch Catalog - images and incomplete index.
1719-1948 India Deaths and Burials, 1719-1948 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
1724-1996 India, Archdiocese of Goa, Roman Catholic Priesthood Candidates, 1724-1996 at FamilySearch, index & images.
1743-1990 India, Madras Diocese Protestant Church Records, 1743-1990 at FamilySearch, images only.
1751-1880 St Thomas’ Mount, Madras Baptisms at FIBIS - index
1788-1790 St Mary of the Angels, Madras Baptisms at FIBIS - index
1786-1947 India Births and Baptisms, 1786-1947 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
1792-1948 India Marriages, 1792-1948 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
1793-1859 Register of births and baptisms kept at the Holy Nazareth Church, Calcutta at FIBIS - index
1801-1948 Bengal Baptism Indexes at FIBIS - index
1809-1997 Church records, 1809-1997 of St. Mark's Church in Bangalore(*) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
1810-1827 Trichinopoly St John's Church Baptisms at FIBIS - index & images
1815-1848 Madras Fort St. George, St. Marys Church Baptism Indexes at FIBIS - index
1831-1864 Chandernagore Civil Birth Registration Index at FIBIS - index
1832-1840 Bangalore baptisms at FIBIS - index
1835-1856 Roman Catholic returns of baptisms, marriages and burials, 1835-1856(*) at FamilySearch Catalog - index & images
1830s-1850s St Thomas’ Mount, Madras Baptisms at FIBIS - index
1852-1990 Christ Church Chennai Madras - Chaplains at FIBIS - index & images
1854-2012 India, Gujarat Diocese Protestant Church Records, 1854-2012 at FamilySearch, images only.
1858-1881 Madras St Andrews Church, Vepery - Baptismal Register at FIBIS - index
1858-1898 Bombay Baptism Indexes at FIBIS - index
1858-1881 St Andrews Church, Baptismal Register 1858-1881 at FIBIS - index & images
1858-2014 India, Haryana, Gurgaon, New Colony, St. Michael's Church, parish registers, 1858-2014(*) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
1860-1871 Madras Baptism Indexes (India Office Records) at FIBIS - index
1874-1898 Christ Church, Mount Road - Marriage Register 1874-1898 at FIBIS - index & images
1880-1898 All Souls Church, Coimbatore - Burial Records at FIBIS - images & images
1880-1900 Madras St Michaels Church, Coimbatore - Baptismal Register at FIBIS - index & images
1887-1997 Registros paroquiais (cópias), 1887-1997, Catholic Church, Saint John the Baptist (Benaulim, Goa)(*) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
1913-1995 Registros paroquiais (cópias), 1913-1995, Igreja Católica, São Felipe e São Tiago (Cortalim, Goa)(*) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
1913-1996 Registros paroquiais (cópias), 1913-1996, Catholic Church, Saint Inês (Panaji, Goa)(*) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
1914-1956 Registros paroquiais (cópias), 1914-1956, Catholic Church, Our Lady of the Rosary (Siridão, Goa)(*) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
1914-1957 Registros paroquiais (cópias), 1914-1957, Catholic Church, Our Lady of Snows (Rachol, Goa)(*) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
1914-1982 Registros paroquiais (cópias), 1914-1982, Catholic Church, Saint John the Evangelist (Neurá, Goa)(*) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
1914-1988 Registros paroquiais (cópias), 1914-1988, Catholic Church, Our Lady of Snows (Raia, Goa)(*) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
1914-1988 Registros paroquiais (cópias), 1914-1988, Catholic Church, Saint John the Baptist (Pilerne, Goa)(*) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
1914-1990 Registros paroquiais (cópias), 1914-1990, Catholic Church, Our Lady of Piety (Divar, Goa)(*) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
1914-1990 Registros paroquiais (cópias), 1914-1990, Catholic Church, Saint Thomas (Aldona, Goa) at FamilySearch, images only.
1914-1991 Registros paroquiais (cópias), 1914-1991, Catholic Church, Saint John the Baptist (Carambolim, Goa)(*) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
1929-1999 Parish registers, 1929-1999, Catholic Church, Our Lady of Purification Church (Manambathi Kandigai, Chinglepet)(*) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
1940-2013 India, Delhi, Delhi, Shahdara, St. Joseph's Church, parish registers, 1940-2013(*) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
1940-1947 Registros paroquiais (cópias), 1940-1947, Catholic Church, Our Lady of the Rosary (Rivona, Goa)(*) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
1947-1990 Registros paroquiais, 1947-1990, Catholic Church, Saint Cajetan (Bastora, Goa)(*) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
1949-1967 India and Pakistan, ecclesiastical returns, registered 1949-1967(*) at FamilySearch Catalog, indexed images.
BMD, Madras Birth/Baptisms - Coimbatore, St Michaels Church at FIBIS — index & images ($)
BMD, Madras Birth/Baptisms - Vepery, St Andrews Church at FIBIS — index & images ($)
BMD, Madras Death/Burials - Coimbatore, All Souls Church at FIBIS — index & images ($)
BMD, Madras Marriages - Chennai, Christ Church at FIBIS — index & images ($)

Christian Church Records[edit | edit source]

These include records of baptisms, marriages, and burials. Includes not only British, and European members, but native Indians as well. They generally exist from 1700 to present. Some churches were established in the 1600s, but records generally do not exist from that time.

Burial records give date and place of death and deceased name, if in the military has detachment, if a mariner the name of his ship, if a colonist the words “inhabitant”. European nationality was given if not English and if a native Indian the words “India Man” were used. Initially no age was given however, if an infant it was so noted. Cause of death given. Christenings, baptisms and births are often mixed together in the register. The event’s date, the name and sex of the child, it’s father’s name and sometimes that of the mother is given as is European nationality if other than English. The marriage records show date and place of marriage, full name of bride and groom except in the case of an Indian woman where only a European first name is given, the groom’s military affiliation if any and the word “inhabitant” was generally noted.

Locating Church Records[edit | edit source]

To find an ancestor in church records, it helps to know his religion and the parish where he lived. The Imperial Gazetteer may help you find the parish. See the "Gazetteers" section of this Wiki for information about the gazetteer and for other help in finding a parish.

More than 200,000 transcriptions of indexes to church records are available on FIBIS Families in British India Society and India Office Family History Search. All of the church record transcriptions and indexes have been microfilmed and are available on microfilm at the FamilySearch Library (direct link to a list of FS Library Microfilms of Church registers in India). They can be found by using the Place Search for India - Church Records.

Christian Church Organizations[edit | edit source]

Catholic Church[edit | edit source]

This table lists each Catholic diocese in India, the number of parishes in the diocese, the province where the diocese is headquartered. Province is a designation used by the Catholic church and is not the same as a State or Union Territory. Information is as of 2015. See List of Catholic dioceses in India for more information.

Diocese	Parishes	Province	Diocese Description
Adilabad	32	Hyderbad
Agartala	16	Shillong	Comprises the entire state of Tripura
Agra	35	Agra	Consists of the following districts in Uttar Pradesh: Agra, Aligarh, Auraiya, Budaun, Bulandshahr, Etah, Etawah, Farrukabad, Fathegarh, Firozabad, Gautambudha Nagar, Hathras, Kannauj, Mainpuri, Mathura and in Rajasthan, Bharatpur and Dholpur
Ahmedabad	42	Gandhinagar	In the state of Gujarat: the districts of Ahmedabad, and Kheda
Aizawl	29	Shillong	Comprises the districts of Cachar, Hailakandi and Kaimkanj of Assam and the entire state of Mizoram
Ajmer	10	Agra
Allahabad	39	Agra
Alleppey	39	Trivandrum
Ambikapur	51	Raipur
Amravati	19	Nagpur
Asansol	15	Calcutta
Aurangabad	23	Nagpur
Bagdogra	19	Calcutta
Balasore	39	Cuttack-Bhubaneswar
Bangalore	135	Bangalore
Bareilly	55	Agra
Baroda	44	Gandhinagar
Baruipur	22	Calcutta
Belgaum	67	Bangalore
Bellary	41	Bangalore
Berhampur	23	Cuttack-Bhubaneswar
Bettiah	12	Patna
Bhagalpur	69	Patna
Bhopal	35	Bhopal
Bijnor	53	Agra
Bombay	122	Bombay
Bongaigaon	29	Guwahati
Buxar	14	Patna	Civil Districts of Buxar, Bhojpur, Bhabua, and Rohtas
Calcutta	42	Calcutta
Calicut	39	Verapoly
Chanda	6	Nagpur
Chikmagalur	38	Bangalore
Chingleput	86	Madras and Mylapore (Meliapor)
Cochin	41	Verapoly
Coimbatore	64	Madras and Mylapore (Meliapor)
Cuddapah	59	Hyderbad
Cuttack-Bhubaneswar	36	Cuttack-Bhubaneswar
Daltonganj	23	Ranchi
Darjeeling	57	Calcutta
Delhi	84	Delhi
Dibrugarh	34	Guwahati
Dindigul	55	Madurai
Diphu	22	Guwahati
Dumka	50	Ranchi
Eluru	113	Visakhapatnam
Gandhinagar	17	Gandhinagar	In the state of Gujarat: the districts of Gandhinagar, Mehsana, Patan, Banaskantha, and Sabarkantha
Goa e Damão	167	Goa e Damão
Gorakhpur	30	Agra
Gulbarga	25	Bangalore
Gumla	37	Ranchi
Guntur	84	Visakhapatnam
Guwahati	42	Guwahati
Gwalior	25	Bhopal
Hazaribag	23	Ranchi
Hyderabad	94	Hyderabad
Imphal	49	Imphal
Indore	25	Bhopal
Itanagar	30	Guwahati	Civil Districts: Tawang, West Kameng, East Kameng, Papum Pare, Upper Subansiri, Lower Subansiri, Kurung Kamay, West Siang, East Siang, and Upper Siang
Jabalpur	13	Bhopal
Jagdalpur	23	Raipur
Jaipur	26	Agra
Jalpaiguri	29	Calcutta
Jammu-Srinagar	42	Delhi
Jamshedpur	34	Ranchi
Jashpur	50	Raipur
Jhabua	30	Bhopal
Jhansi	24	Agra
Jowai	12	Shillong
Jullundur	109	Delhi
Kannur	59	Verapoly
Karwar	65	Bangalore
Khammam	60	Hyderabad
Khandwa	34	Bhopal
Khunti	19	Ranchi
Kohima	44	Imphal
Kottapuram	55	Verapoly
Kottar	81	Madurai
Krishnagar	22	Calcutta
Kumbakonam	89	Pundicherry and Cuddalore
Kurnool	52	Hyderabad
Kuzhithurai	100	Madurai
Lucknow	40	Agra
Madras and Mylapore (Meliapor)	132	Madras and Mylapore (Meliapor)
Madurai	69	Madurai
Mangalore	113	Bangalore
Meerut	59	Agra
Miao	33	Guwahati
Muzaffarpur	21	Patna
Mysore	78	Bangalore
Nagpur	34	Nagpur
Nalgonda	65	Hyderabad
Nashik	34	Bombay
Nellore	83	Visakhapatnam
Neyyattinkara	72	Trivandrum
Nongstoin	16	Shillong
Ootacamund	62	Madras and Mylapore (Meliapor)
Palayamkottai	48	Madurai
Patna	33	Patna
Pondicherry and Cuddalore	101	Pondicherry and Cuddalore
Poona	30	Bombay	Consists of the civil districts of Pune, Satara, Solapur, Sangli, Kolhapur, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg
Port Blair	14	Ranchi
Purnea	16	Patna
Quilon	102	Trivandrum
Raiganj	33	Calcutta
Raipur	66	Raipur
Rajkot	14	Gandhinagar	In the state of Gujarat: districts of Amreli, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Rajkkot and Surendrangar in Saurashtra and Kutch
Ranchi	34	Ranchi
Rayagada	23	Cuttack-Bhubaneswar	Civil districts Kalanhandi, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Nuapada, and Rayagada
Rourkela	41	Cuttack-Bhubaneswar	Comprised the four Orissa Districts of Sundargarh, Sambalpur, Bolangir and Dhenkanal
Sagar	40	Bhopal
Salem	57	Pondicherry and Cuddalore
Sambalpur	22	Cuttack-Bhubaneswar
Satna	16	Bhopal
Shillong	34	Shillong
Shimoga	22	Bangalore
Simdega	33	Ranchi
Simla and Chandigarh	55	Delhi
Sindhudurg	21	Goa e Damão
Sivagangai	78	Madurai
Srikakulam	33	Visakhapatnam
Sultanpet	21	Verapoly	Civil district of Palakkad, State of Kerala
Tanjore	89	Pondicherry and Cuddalore	Comprises the entire districts of Thanjavur, Thiruvarur and Nagai (excepting two taluks of Papanasam and Kumbakonam in the district of Thanjavur). It is also covers six taluks of Pudukottai district and two taluks of Cuddalore district.
Tezpur	32	Guwahati
Tiruchirapalli	67	Madurai
Trivandrum	85	Trivandrum
Tura	41	Shillong
Tuticorin	111	Madurai
Udaipur	50	Agra
Udupi	50	Bangalore
Ujjain	41	Bhopal
Varanasi	44	Agra
Vasai	34	Bombay
Vellore	84	Madras and Mylapore (Meliapor)
Verapoly	164	Verapoly
Vijayawada	98	Visakhapatnam
Visakhapatnam	67	Visakhapatnam
Warangal	63	Hyderabad

Church of North India (Anglican)[edit | edit source]

The Church of North India was established in 1970 by the merger of the Church of India, Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon (Anglican); the United Church of Northern India (Congregationalist and Presbyterian); the Baptist Churches of Northern India (British Baptists); the Methodist Church (British and Australian Conferences); and the Disciples of Christ. The Church of the Brethren in India, which was a part of the merger withdrew in 2006.^[1] The Church includes all of the states and Union Territories of India with the exception of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, and is divided into seven diocese: Calcutta, Mumbai, Chotanagpur, Lucknow, Nagpur, North East India, and Nasik.

The Diocese of Mumbai covers the entire state of Gujarat, as well as parts of the states of Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan.^[2]^[3] During the Bombay Presidency (1843 to 1936), it also included Anglican churches in what is now Yemen. The seat of the bishop is located at St. Thomas Cathedral, Mumbai.

States where the Church of North India has parishes

Church	Also Known As	Location	Established
All Saints Church		Bijapur
All Saints Church		Dharwar	1888
All Saints Church		Kirkee	1869
All Saints Church		Lonavala	1903
All Saints Church		Malabar Hill, Mumbai	1891
All Saints Church		Kolhapur
Anscesion Church		Deshpandenagar, Hubli	1905
Ascension Church		Hubli	1905
Christ Church		Ahmedabad
Christ Church		Byculla	1837
Christ Church		Deesa
Christ Church		Karwar
Christ Church		Lusadia Village	1904
Christ Church		Mahableshwar	1842
Christ Church		Rajkot	1842
Christ Church		Surat	1820
Christ Church		Ahmednagar
Christ Church		Steamer Point Aden (Yemen)
Church Mission House		Mumbai
Church of Good Sheperd		Ranibennur
Church of Holy Angels		Rasta Peth, Pune	1883
Church of Holy Name		Hubli, Dharwar
Church of Holy Name		Guruwar Peth, Pune	1883
Church of Sholapur	Epiphany Church	Sholapur
Church of St Mary the Virgin		Castel Rock	1926
Church of the Good Sheperd		Dharwar	1888
Church of the Resurrection		Betgari, Dharwar
Emmanuel Church		Mumbai	1869
Garrison Church		Ghorpadi, Pune	1866
Holy Cross Church		Mumbai	1898
Holy Home University Settlement		Thane
Holy Nativity Church		Matunga	1925
Holy Redeemer Church		Dadar	1925
Holy Trinity Church		Purandar	1865
Kadoli Church		Karoda, Kolhapur	1906
Resurrection Church		Gadag	1895
Seaman’s Institute Bombay	Prince of Wales Seamen's Club	Ballard Estate, Mumbai
St Andrew’s Church		Agripada, Mumbai	1916
St Andrew’s Church		Bhileda, Vijaynagar
St Andrew’s Church		Keshavpur, Hubli
St Christopher Church		Goa	1837
St Christopher Church		Kalyan	1837
St Crispin's Church		Pune	1907
St Francis Church		Panvel	1992
St George’s Church		Ahmedabad	1882
St Georges Church		Kaira	1824
St James Church		Baroda (Vadodara)	1818
St James Church		Thane	1825
St John the Evangelist Church	The Afghan Church	Colaba	1824
St John’s Church Army United Church		Colaba, Mumbai
St Mary’s Church		Belgaum	1869
St Mary’s Church		Parel	1884
St Mary's Church		Kirkee	1915
St Mary's Church		Pune	1821
St Mathew’s Church		Pune	1893
St Matthias Church		Broach (Bharuch)
St Paul’s Church		Pune	1867
St Peter’s Church Pachgani		Satara
St Saviour’s Church		Mount Abu	1834
St Stephen’s Church		Bandra	1853
St Thomas Church		Satara	1847
St. James' Church		Mount Abu (Rajasthan)
St. Mary's Church		Aden Crater (Yemen)
St. Thomas Cathedral		Mumbai	1676
Umerkhadi Church		Mandvi, Mumbai

Church of South India[edit | edit source]

The Church of South India was created as a successor to the Church of England after India's independence in 1947. It is a union of the Anglican Church in India, Pakistan, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka; the South Indian Methodist Church; and the South Indian United Church. The South Indian United Church was formed by a merger of Congregationalist, Dutch Reformed, and Presbyterian churches in 1908.

The Church of South India is comprised of 24 dioceses in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telegana, and the distrcts of Jaffna and Kilinochchi in Sri Lanka. The Madras Diocese is one of eight diocese in the state of Tamil Nadu.

Diocese[edit | edit source]

States where the Church of South India has parishes

Diocese	State / Country
Krishna Godavari	Andhra Pradesh
Nandyal	Andhra Pradesh
Rayalaseema	Andhra Pradesh
Karnataka Central	Karnataka
Karnataka Northern	Karnataka
Karnataka Southern	Karnataka
Cochin	Kerala
East Kerala	Kerala
Kollam-Kottarakkara	Kerala
Madhya Kerala	Kerala
Malabar	Kerala
South Kerala	Kerala
Coimbatore	Tamil Nadu
Kanyakumari	Tamil Nadu
Madras	Tamil Nadu
Madurai Ramnad	Tamil Nadu
Thoothukudi-Nazareth	Tamil Nadu
Tirunelveli	Tamil Nadu
Trichy-Tanjore	Tamil Nadu
Vellore	Tamil Nadu
Dornakal	Telengana
Karimnagar	Telengana
Medak	Telengana
Jaffna	Sri Lanka

Lutheran Church[edit | edit source]

1767-1845 Ny Jerusalemskirken og Zionskirken i Trankebar: List of marriages registered in the danish church register of zion church, tranquebar 1767-1845 (1767 - 1845) (New Jerusalem Church and Zion Church in Tranquebar: List of marriages registered in the DAnish church register) at Rigsarkivet - images; contains marriages

Digital Copies of Church Records in the FamilySearch Catalog[edit | edit source]

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 India.

b. Click on Places within India 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.

External Links[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

↑ Wikipedia, Church of North India. Accessed 30 August 2022.
↑ The Bombay Diocesan Trust Association Pvt Ltd. Churches. Accessed 7 April 2020.
↑ The Bombay Diocesan Trust Association Pvt Ltd. Properties. Accessed 7 April 2020.

[1] Wikipedia, Church of North India. Accessed 30 August 2022.

[2] The Bombay Diocesan Trust Association Pvt Ltd. Churches. Accessed 7 April 2020.

[3] The Bombay Diocesan Trust Association Pvt Ltd. Properties. Accessed 7 April 2020.

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