How to Use the Catholic Church to Conduct Research
The Catholic Church records the names and dates of sacramental events such as baptisms, confirmations, first communions, marriages and funerals. This information may be found through other sources, including census records or newspapers, but in some cases the church may be the only source of information about family members, especially more distant ancestors. Records are kept by individual parishes, so those looking to research their genealogy or conduct other research that involves these records must contact the church by writing or in person.
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Instructions
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Locate the correct parish. If you don’t know where the family, or the individual attended services, you may have to do some footwork to find where the records are kept. Cross-reference home addresses with addresses of nearby Catholic churches. Most Catholics are members of a parish near their home.
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Ask in writing. Provide a written request directly to the parish connected with the individual or family. The request should be specific, and must give any known information about the person or date you are researching. Give the name of the individual, including maiden and married names, along with a birth date.
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Give clues. If you aren’t sure about this information, give an approximate date with any other information you do have. For example, ask for the name of Jane Smith’s infant son, whom you believe was baptized sometime during the year 1899. Or request the name of George White’s first wife, whom he married shortly before his second marriage in 1920.
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Be friendly and concise. Include your contact information and limit the information you are looking for to a few simple requests to ensure that you get response in a reasonable amount of time.
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Check church construction dates to narrow your search. It may be that the church nearest your target address was not yet built. In that case, try to determine which churches did function during the time period you’re researching. Construction history is sometimes available on the website run by the local archdiocese. Also consider accidents including fires or earthquakes that may have forced parish members to attend elsewhere for a short time. For example, The Archdiocese of Boston offers a list of closed and merged parishes on its website.
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Tips & Warnings
The church allows scholars and qualified researchers to evaluate historical documents by request. Visit the local archdiocese’s website for contact information on the archivist in your region, and seek his permission.
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