Church Records

Before states were required to keep records, events were recorded in local churches. Births, deaths, marriages, baptisms, confirmations, communions along with other important events. Even if you have copies of sources from other repositories for these particular events, it might be beneficial to also seek out the church record that corresponds with these events. While I follow the belief of "The more the merrier" when it comes to sources, sometimes these records will include other information you may not have had.

Where to start?
Based on what you know about your family will determine the churches you can look into. What was your family's religion? Where did your family come from? Certain countries and even different locations in those countries had their different religions. Once you determine what their religion possibly was, look for local churches that were close to where those relatives lived. Even if you didn't know what their religion was, you can still check local churches.

Case Study: I was trying to locate the marriage record for my grandma's first marriage. I knew it had taken place because I had photographic proof. I could not find a state, city, or county record though. To be fair, the last names were difficult ones. ILG and Valdes (There was also a spelling of Valdez, but that's not how my ancestor spelled their name)So the next step was to check for church records. Here is what I did to track it down. Even though later in years my grandma was Baptist, she grew up Catholic. I had proof of this from documents my mom had. I had the certificate she received when she took first Communion. It was from St. Andrews Church. So that was the first place to start. I contacted St. Andrews Church (I was lucky they were still around) by phone first, then by mail requesting any information. A few weeks later I received a letter back. Sadly, they had no record of anyone by that name getting married in their church. I was very frustrated. So I reached out to my aunt Patty for help. She told me at the St. Louis County Library Headquarters, there is a map on the wall that shows the locations of churches in the city. She said, locate the street my grandma lived on, and see what churches were nearby. So I did that on my next visit. I found the street on the map (Pennsylvania Street) and located the nearest Catholic churches in the area. First was St. Boniface. Luckily, the St. Louis County Library Headquarters had copies of those records in the library on microfilm. I found the index of Catholic Churches, located St. Boniface, and then matched up the microfilm with the record I was looking for. Since I didn't have an exact date, I had to use a range. I knew my grandma was married by 1940 (according to the 1940 census) and my Uncle Jerry was born around 1938. My grandma told me she was about 15 when she got married which would put that around 1935. So I started with 1935 and searched forward from there. After searching for a few minutes, I almost fell out of my seat with excitement when I saw their names in the index. Then from the index, I found the actual church record. Not only did I have their marriage date, I also had the names of my grandma's husband's parents names, the church in which both people were baptized and who officiated the marriage. The headings were written in Latin, so it took a little translating through Google Translate, but I was able to read everything I needed. So as you see, I was able to find more information from one record from a church, than I would have if I'd only had a state marriage record. I can't even begin to list all the possible information you could get from church records. My advice is to make it a point to find as many records as you can from churches.

Case Study: We learned from an obituary, that my husband's great Aunt went to a specific church where she lived. So we contacted that church in hopes of getting some information about her. The information was got about her had nothing to do with records connecting to a specific event, BUT it did give us a glimpse into her life. She played the piano and was very involved in the church. They even had a copy of the church directory she was in that had her photo! So even though you may not get specific records, you may just end up with special information that you were never find anywhere else.

Other helpful tips from GAA members:

"I always send a donation. I think it helps keep the willingness to assist. It also shows that we appreciate them helping us" ~ Jackie B.

"I was allowed to copy records at a local church using their copier and paper, so I donated 1,000 sheets of printer paper." ~ Sandy S.

"Try and follow up on witnesses to baptisms and weddings. They are often other family members and you can go back several generations even if your direct line is a dead end when you find a cousin whose parents shared parents with someone on your direct line." ~ Beth V.

"We have a lot of small rural churches with graveyards with unmarked burials and often there's no office or secretary to call for information. Call a local funeral home for the name and contact information of the church's sexton. The sexton has to keep a map of the burials so they know who's been buried, when and where." ~ Stephanie H.

"There's much more than christenings, marriages, and burials. You may also find memberships lists, or references to people who left churches, either due to disagreements or because they moved, and in the latter case the new location is sometimes mentioned (or previous if you're seeing them in the location to which they moved)." ~ Kay R.

"When I went to my grandmothers Catholic Church in Paris, Ky. the priest was happy to let me see the pew cards. That gave me a wealth of info back 5 generations. Found comments about one that was less than complimentary! Then evidence that my grandmothers sister wasn't her sister but the child of her uncle! She died never knowing that!" ~ Janet S.

"Sometimes you can find out who paid for the burial. This is often sons or sons in law." ~ Nancy B.

"Read everything you can. Indexes or horridly inaccurate.....Always read the whole record, you never know what clues you may be holding." ~ Renee V.

"My best tip, they're not always at the church..... The church records could also be at the local historical/genealogical society OR in one case, actually at the church that bought the building after the first one closed...KEEP LOOKING!!" ~ Melissa F.

"There may be more than one church with the same exact name, even in a sleepy little rural area. In such cases, it's likely that no one will think to tell you this information unless you ask." ~ Nancy C. 

Nine Kinds Of Death Records You Should Look For

Family Tree Magazine posted this blog entry today. Very helpful information about the different kinds of death records you should look for. Please take some time and look over it. Click on the image below:

Definitely saving for future reference

Marriage Certificate/License/Registers

Today on my GAA (Genealogy Addicts Anonymous) facebook group, a fellow member was asking about the differences between marriage certificates, licenses, and registers, which one would have more information and which ones we should really have. I've had a little bit of experience tracking marriages and obtaining the documents pertaining to those marriages. So I shared with him my findings. He said it helped make more sense of the different documents so I decided to share what I shared with him. Now, I am in no way an expert, but this is just what I've learned from personal experience.

According to the Genealogical Proof Standard:

Proof is a fundamental concept in genealogy. In order to merit confidence, each conclusion about an ancestor must have sufficient credibility to be accepted as "proved." As stated on the Board for Certification of Genealogy website.

We should always be looking for as many documents that "prove" the facts about our ancestors. In order to draw an accurate conclusion, we must do a reasonably exhaustive search and collect as much data as we can to either prove or disprove the events/facts. So really, the more the merrier. When it comes to proving a marriage, there are many different sources to consider. Depending on the time period and location will determine where to look and what to find. But that is a post for a different day. So far in my research I have run into Marriage Licenses, Marriage Certificates, Marriage Registers and Church Registers. There are more types to consider, but I have not personally run into these. So my post is going to be focused on these topics.

Marriage Licenses vs. Marriage Certificates
A marriage license is a document you must obtain from the county clerk before you get married. A marriage certificate is a document that proves you are married. Typically, couples obtain a marriage license, hold the wedding ceremony, and then have the person who performed the ceremony file a marriage certificate in the appropriate county office within a few days. This may be the office of the county clerk, recorder or registrar, depending on where you live. The married couple will then be sent a certified copy of the marriage certificate. Most states require both spouses, along with the person who officiated and one or two witnesses, to sign the marriage certificate. This is often done just after the ceremony.

Here are some examples of Licenses:

Here are some examples of Certificates

As you can see, licenses have different information than certificates. Both are acceptable forms of proof for marriage. Licenses are easier to locate because they are usually available through the county or state they were married. If they were married in a church, the name of the church (and address) is provided. Sometimes the church does not exist anymore, but the church records can still be found.

Marriage Registers

Sometimes, licenses or certificates are not available. That was the case with my great grandparents. Through Family Search, I was able to locate the marriage register that listed my great grandparents. They were married in Michigan. This register was very helpful because it listed the parents of each person and the witnesses present along with dates and places of residence.

Church Registers

If you have a copies of the License or the Certificate, they will sometimes have the Church listed where the marriage was officiated. This will provide more records for your proof. Although you do not need to have those in order to find the church your relative was married in. That was the case with my grandma's first marriage. I could not locate a certificate or license for this marriage, but I had photographic proof it did occur. My aunt gave me the tip of looking at a map of churches at our local library. I found the street where my grandma was living at the time and the nearest churches within the proximity of that location. So I checked the records of those particular churches for any possible evidence of their marriage. Luckily, I found them in the index of one of the churches. That register provided a lot of information that included parents names, churches they attended, maiden names of the mothers, and other details. I had to take multiple photos of the register to make sure I included all the important data.

St. Boniface Church Registry

As you go back father into time, the records get more primitive. They end up being mainly paragraphs of information. Below are some examples:

I hope this has made the differences between Marriage Certificates, Licenses and Registers a little more clear. If you have the opportunity, try to collect all of them. Again, the more proof the better!