Finding Faith and Family in Church Records
Length: 60 minutes
Summary: Church records offer more than baptisms, marriages, and burials. Membership rolls, pew rentals, missionary reports, and denominational newspapers reveal ancestors’ faith, social standing, and community life. Learn where to find these records, how to interpret them, and ways to use them to enhance your family history research.
Audience Level: Intermediate (with tips for all levels)
Requirements: Projection for computer on a large screen; internet connection
Content: 4-page PDF handout
Outline
This presentation begins with an overview of the essential role churches played in Canadian communities as spiritual, cultural, and social centres. Next, we explore various types of records beyond the usual baptisms, marriages, and burials, including membership lists, pew rentals, missionary reports, and denominational newspapers. How these records can shed light on your ancestors’ spiritual lives, community involvement, and social status will be shown. Advice on finding these records in archives, online databases, and digitized collections from denominational, provincial, and university sources will be discussed. We'll focus on strategies for interpreting these records, including decoding theological terms, identifying biases, and connecting your findings to other genealogical sources.
Attendees will learn how to:
- Identify types of church records beyond baptisms, marriages, and burials.
- Locate records in denominational, civil, and online archives.
- Interpret church-specific language and contextualize the information.
- Cross-reference church records with other genealogical sources.
- Apply findings to enrich family narratives.
Book This Webinar NOW!
Click HERE to have me present this webinar either through your group’s virtual meeting platform or my StreamYard platform. Includes 45-50 minutes of instruction plus 10-15 Q&A session, PDF handout and a limited time (one year) webinar recording.
