Church Records

To locate church records, first of all, you need to know the denomination and the location where your ancestor lived. You can often find the denomination on census records. However, don't assume that they would have attended a church belonging to that denomination - because of transportation problems, people often simply attended whatever church was nearby. You may have to try more than one set of records. Ontario church records are difficult to find because there is no central repository - they are all over the place!

My sources for some of the following: Genealogy in Ontario: Searching the Records by Brenda Dougall Merriman, and Here be Dragons! Navigating the Hazards in Canadian Genealogy by Althea Douglas (both books which I recommend! Both available for purchase from Ontario Genealogical Society)

Any mistakes here are mine - I have done very little church research for myself and I don't have ancestry in each of these denominations! If you find any mistakes, do let me know (knowledgelady@yahoo.com).

Please note: Church of England is Anglican, Church of Scotland is Presbyterian.

United Church of Canada: Methodist, some Presbyterian

These records are kept in Toronto at the Central branch of the United Church of Canada. They have published four microfilms of Wesleyan Methodist Baptismal Records which are currently being transcribed for publication by Ontario Genealogical Society. These baptisms are also available online at Bill Martin's website.

$ Book: Wesleyan Methodist Baptisms for Perth County 1844-1898 can be purchased from Perth County Branch OGS.

You also might want to try to get your hands on a copy of the book Guide to Family History Research in the Archival Repositories of the United Church of Canada (Whew! what a title!), Toronto, OGS, 1996.

Presbyterian

Some Presbyterian churches joined the United Church in 1925. Others did not. So you should try to find out if the church you're interested in remained Presbyterian. If so, then you need to search in the Presbyterian Archives located in Toronto.

Anglican

The Diocese of Huron has its archives located in London, Ontario.
They have a webpage with information on their genealogical holdings.

Roman Catholic

$ Book: Roman Catholic Marriage Records of Ontario 1828-1870, compiled by Renie Rumpel.

Mennonite

The area has a strong Mennonite history. Check with the Mennonite Archives of Ontario located in Waterloo, and have a look at their Microfilm Holdings (broken link).

You can also search the Canadian Mennonite Encyclopedia Online for the name of a church or city to get information about it and its history.

Related topics within Perth County GenWeb:
Vital Statistics (Civil Registration)
Cemetery Records

Meg Fuller Perth County Coordinator

Photos in banner courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA-OWI Collection, LC-USF34-051862-D and LC-USF34-031979-D.

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