Baptism Records

What are Baptism Records and How Do You Recognize Them?

Baptism records are historical or administrative records that record when an individual participates in the rite or ordinance of baptism. They can vary in format depending on the country, time period, and institution that issued them.

Baptism records typically serve as a record of:

• The name of the individual baptized
• Date of baptism
• Place of baptism (church name, parish name, city name)
• Sometimes parents or next of kin or witnesses.

Baptism records often have a standardized format and may include:

• A ledger or register book with multiple entries per page
• Typed or handwritten entries
• Headers like:
• “Name” or “Name of Child”
• “Parents”
• “Date and Place of Baptism”
• “Date or Place of Birth”
• “Sponsors or Witnesses”
• “Clergyman” or “Minister”
  

Keywords

Here is a comprehensive list of common English terms and their equivalents in the languages wherein these records are written, using terminology typically found on historical or official documents. The languages were selected based on the entities in different countries that created baptism records.

Natural Group

Baptism records may be part of a larger church or parish register or archival collection. Most institutions follow a hierarchical archival system, so when digitizing baptism records, it’s important to understand how the records are currently stored.

At the archive, baptism records may be grouped hierarchically starting with any, but not all, of these levels:

• Chronological order (e.g., 1914–1918)
• Location (e.g., Cathedral of the Madeline)

Descriptive Metadata

The record type is a distinctive class of records, as defined by their use or function, used to document events. The record type should match the event(s) recorded on the page. For Baptism records, If a page contains multiple record types, each one should be entered as a separate entry.

For covers (front and back) and any blank pages following the front cover or preceding the back cover, including the title page and the opening and closing statements, use the record type Administrative Image. For other blank pages that are not right after or before a cover, the correct record type is NED.:

1. Date: Enter the Baptismal Year
   
   • If the lowest hierarchical level constitutes records from specific months, then include the months with the year, e.g., Jan-Feb 1911.
   • If the lowest hierarchical level constitutes records from a single specific month, then include the month with the year, e.g., May 1884.
2. Locality: Enter the city/town/village in which the church, parish, or civil register is located that created the baptism records.
3. Creator: Using the language of the records, enter the name of the church, parish, denomination, or civil registry that created the baptism records (the Record Custodian and Creator may be the same depending on where the records are currently stored).
4. Volume: Enter the surname ranges and/or volume numbers that constitute the natural group:
   
   • Church/Civil registry
     
     • 1888
     • A–C
     • Arnold-Clark
5. Title: Enter the respective title using the language of the records.

Custodian Reference ID: Enter the ID in the format relevant to the archive.