EDITOR'S NOTE: This article is the first of our special religion articles that appeared in the March/April 2001 issue of Ancestry Magazine: "Religious Records: A Closer Look".
In the world of religious records, the Catholic religion focuses on seven sacraments, most of which are conferred upon members throughout their lifetime.
In 1547, the Council of Trent decreed that records be kept of the sacraments each person received. No longer was a marriage by mutual consent of two baptized persons a valid one; two witnesses and a priest were required. Baptism, confirmation, and burial acts were also to be entered in parish registers.
Since that time, the church has made records of some of the following sacraments administered during a person’s life: Baptism, Penance (Confession), Eucharist (Communion), Confirmation, Holy Orders (Priesthood), Marriage, and Extreme Unction (Last Rites). In addition, a convert may have a record of abjuration of heresy at the time of baptism.
As you research these records, it is also a good idea to remember that, at a time when priestly visits were few and far between, a couple would occasionally have their marriage validated (blessed) and several children baptized (legitimated) on the same day–that rare day when the priest visited.
Baptism
Baptismal records usually include the date of baptism, date of birth, name of the child, name of the father, maiden name of the mother, parish of residence, and parents’ marital status. This is followed by the names of the godfather and godmother (sponsors), and sometimes their relationship to the child.
At baptism, a child was often given two names, at least one of which was a saint’s name. Both of these names may have been recorded. In some cultures, girls were given the name "Mary" and boys were given the name "Joseph." They were often called by their middle names, a confusing practice when both names were not recorded.
Confusion for researchers sets in when they discover that, when a child married, he or she stated a parent’s called name rather than the official name. Problems also arise in instances where a child was given the same name as an older living sibling.
A long interval between birth and baptism indicates infrequent priestly visits. A parish of residence that is different from where the act is recorded leads to another group of records to investigate.
The marital status listed on the baptismal record can possibly indicate the location of the parents’ marriage record. Legitimately married means that the couple was married by a priest. Legally married means that the couple was married by a Protestant clergy member or a magistrate.
Godparents were often chosen from the parental families, and family composition might be constructed from this information on the certificate. It is an honor to serve as godparent, and prominent community members often act in this capacity. Also, children are commonly given the name of a godparent.
Penance, Eucharist, and Confirmation
Records of the sacraments of first communion and confirmation are not very informative, but they can indicate a person’s presence in a specific time and place. Historically, a child made his or her first communion at the age of reason (the specific age changed over the years), and an annual list of first communicants was made. If the child was baptized in another parish, church officers obtained that record as proof and may have indicated such on the list. Also as part of the process, the person made his or her first confession just prior to the first communion.
A bishop bestowed confirmation whenever he made one of his infrequent visits. A list of the confirmands was made in the parish registers and once in a while the sponsors were included. Sometimes, one man and one woman sponsored the entire group.
There are no other identifiers on the list, so researchers must be cautious when assuming that Jane Smith of the record is the same person being researched.
Marriage
For genealogical purposes, the marriage record is the most informative among Catholic records. In addition to providing the names and ages of the bride and groom, the parents of the bride and groom are named, and the record includes the mother’s maiden name. There are indications of whether a parent’s residence is in another parish and notations about deceased parents. The relationship of the witnesses might also be stated, and this is a valuable clue. Occasionally, a researcher may find a record that also lists the occupation of the groom and both fathers, most often found in European and Quebec parishes.
Banns were traditionally read for three consecutive Sundays before the wedding, in order to discover any impediment to the marriage.
The bishop granted a dispensation from publishing all three banns if, for example, it was too far to travel, the bride was pregnant, the couple included one or two widowed persons, or one individual was a recent convert. Dispensations were also given for reasons of close relationship (consanguinity) or spiritual affiliation, such as a prior marriage to the spouse’s sibling. Dispensations are usually entered into the record as a marginal note, and the original dispensation document may be kept at the diocese.
Burial
One purpose of the burial records is to serve as proof that the surviving spouse is free to marry. Information in the record is often scanty, including only the name of the deceased and date of burial. But even the name may be less than satisfying to the researcher. It may state: "Wife of Daniel Jones, aged [blank] years."
An example of an atypical burial record is found in the registers of St. Mary & St. Donatus parish in Bellechester, Minnesota. It reads: "Joseph Conrad, died 10 September 1879, buried 11 September, born Sheldon, New York, age twenty-three years, cause of death typhoid fever, received all the sacraments, buried at Belvidere. Jean Meier, priest."
Fortunately, the other extreme is also atypical. An example is found in the burial registers of St-Luc at Grosse-Ile, Québec, the parish at the quarantine station. In 1847, during a typhus epidemic, the following entry was common for the time [It is translated from French.]: "Number of burials each day during the quarantine without it being possible to give the names–23 June, 112 persons."
Marriage Validations
Marriage validations are most often found in settlements that rarely had a resident priest. The validations only name the couple and their witnesses. Furthermore, not all rehabilitations were recorded. According to oral tradition of one family, Theodor Schmitz and Clara Urmes were married by the ship’s captain, and the marriage was later blessed. Years later, when Theodor applied for a Civil War pension, he stated that they were "married by a Catholic priest in La Crosse but no record was made of it." Diligent research bears out this statement.
Parish Census
As with civil enumerations, the quality of a parish census varies. Consider this gold mine from St. Cecelia, Sheldon Town, Wyoming County, New York: "Name of husband: Nicholas Majeris; wife: Catherina Reding; date and place of their marriage: August 1842, Vichten, Luxembourg; parents of husband: John Majeris and Catherina Reding (his mother’s name was the same as his wife’s); parents of wife: Peter Reding and Catherina Weber; names of other children: [five Majeris siblings and three Reding siblings are given]; date and place of birth: husband born March 1816, Usseldingen, Luxembourg; wife born April 1817, Vichten, Luxembourg; date they came to Sheldon: 1842; names of children born: [all are named, with dates and places of baptism]."
Family Registers
If maintained, the Status Animarum (family register) is arranged by family and combines information similar to a parish census with the later-mandated marginal notes. While I have only seen such volumes in Germany and Québec, they certainly exist in the United States as well.
In his article, Duane Galles, author of "Roman Catholic Church Records and the Genealogist" (see Further Reading list) states that, for convenience, the Status Animarum is often kept on index cards that are disposed when the parishioner dies or leaves the parish.
Holy Orders
If a sibling of an ancestor became a priest, a nun, a monk, or a brother, a biographical sketch may have been created. The biographical sketch may be found in the archives of the religious order or at the diocese. For example, when Margaret Reisinger entered the postulancy of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration at the age of fifteen, her parents likely produced a baptismal document from the parish of her birth in Bavaria.
This biographical sketch proved to be more accurate than the one penned many years later by the now adult Sister M. Philippa, FSPA. Parents were motivated to have their marriage blessed and their children legitimized by even the possibility that a child might one day enter religious life. This was because illegitimate children could not receive the sacrament of Holy Orders.
Cemetery Records
If the parish maintained a cemetery, burial records were kept. These records were more like land records, kept to track which cemetery plots were available.
Catholic Research Tips
Sacramental registers are the property of the parish rather than of the pastor, and as such, they remain with the parish. In some places, duplicate copies are deposited with the diocese. But church records are not public property and do not have to be made available for research, although archives are maintained by selected dioceses.
Registers may have been kept in Latin or in the language of the parish. I have read records of a parish in southwestern Germany that were written in Latin, German, and French within the span of a few years.
Latin names can confuse the unwary: Jacobus can be either Jacob or James, and Carolus is either Charles or Carl.
There are several types of record books: chronological books in which baptisms, marriages, and burials are entered in the order they occurred; individual books, which completely separate acts; and sectioned books, in which acts are divided into separate sections.
Researchers should not stop reading just because there is a blank page. This caveat is especially important when reading microfilm. Some registers are made up of pre-printed forms (not standardized), and others have blank pages because the records were entered in narrative form.
In areas where the Catholic church is the only one around, a researcher may find marriages (and sometimes baptisms) of non-Catholics. By the same token, when no Catholic church is nearby, you may find records of your ancestors in Protestant parishes.
Most parish registers are unindexed.
Requests should be directed to the appropriate office that holds records of the appropriate time period. They should also be made in writing and should be specific.
When possible, obtain a photocopy of the original record; it may contain marginal notes that chronicle the person’s sacramental history. For example, if the couple was married in a distant parish, the date and place of the marriage, and name of spouse is written beside each person’s baptismal record, and the person’s subsequent death information might also be noted. Although not required until 1918, these notes can be found in earlier records.
These tips will help you as you get started in researching Catholic records. With preparation and education, you may uncover information that will answer many of your research questions.
Further Research Sources
When looking for ancestral records, it is best to contact the parish, rather than the diocese. When the specific parish is unknown, finding aids are available, such as:
Local Catholic Church & Family History Guide
U.S. Catholic Documentary Heritage Project
Further Reading
Galles, Duane L.C.M. "Roman Catholic Church Records and the Genealogist," National Genealogical Society Quarterly, 74 (December 1986) 271—78.
Jensen, Dr. C. Russell. "Genealogical Word List: Latin," German Genealogical Digest. III (2nd Quarter 1987) 53—64.
Official Catholic Directory or the Kennedy Directory. Published annually since 1817 under varying titles.
Reisinger, Joy CG. Index to NGS and FGS Conferences and Syllabi. (NGS and FGS, 1993. Forthcoming online at both Web sites). Catholic records bibliographies and lecture handouts, focusing on area of the conference.
Humling, Virginia. U.S. Catholic Sources. Ancestry, 1995.
Joy Reisinger, CG, is currently vice president of the Board for Certification of Genealogists and a lecturer for both NGS and FGS conferences on the subject of Catholic research. Author of The King’s Daughters and editor of the former Lost in Canada?, she is a full-time genealogist.
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