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Optional Course Print Material: Canadian: Religious Records
*Course material will only be sent to students who are registered in the course.
For many regions of the world, the records associated with the ancestral place of worship are the backbone of genealogical research. Registers of baptism, marriage and burial are of great use prior to vital statistic registrations in Canada. In the early years of settlement, the Government passed laws which forbade certain groups from performing various services.
This course will cover where to look for these registers and other religious records in Canada, what type of data you should expect to find, and how to evaluate what you have found. Information found can also provide stories that can be added to the family history.
Course Length: 7 weeksMODULE 1
INTRODUCTION
Why Church Records?
Finding the Records
The Church Archives
Records Which Have Disappeared
Church Records in Public Archives
Printed Books of Church Records
MODULE 2
DENOMINATIONS IN CANADA
Examples of Religious Groups
United Church of Canada Archives
MODULE 3
BAPTISMAL RECORDS
Who could be baptized?
What difficulties do baptismal records present to researchers?
Should we bother with Godparents?
MODULE 4
MARRIAGES & BURIALS
Marriage Records
What are Banns
Burial Records
What will burial records tell us?
MODULE 5
OTHER RECORDS
Minutes of Annual or Business Meetings
Financial Records
Membership Lists
Records of Subgroups or Other Organizations
Parish Census
MODULE 6
FINDING HELPFUL BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Denominational Histories
Diocesan, Synod or Convention Histories
Congregational Histories
Regional Church Histories
Local Histories
Published Missionary Memoirs or Letters
Bibliographies
Histories of Religious Groups or Group Biographies