Canada, Prince Edward Island Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
This collection contains baptisms, marriages, burials and other records from several churches from the following denominations:


 * Anglican Church of Canada
 * Catholic
 * Church of Christ
 * Church of England in Canada
 * Church of Scotland
 * Free Church
 * Methodist
 * Presbyterian
 * United Church of Canada

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the data and images published on FamilySearch.org. It may include the author, custodian, publisher and archive for the original records.

Suggested citation format for a record in this collection.

Record Content
Key genealogical facts found in this collection generally include the following:

Birth Records


 * Name of Child
 * Gender
 * Name of Father
 * Full maiden name of Mother
 * Profession of Father
 * Date and Place of Birth
 * Date of Baptism

Marriage Records


 * Name of groom
 * Maiden name of bride
 * Date and place married
 * Names of witnesses
 * Residence of groom at time of marriage
 * Residence of bride at time of marriage
 * Religious Denomination

Death Records


 * Full name of deceased
 * Date of Birth
 * Date of Death
 * Date of Burial
 * Place of burial
 * Date of Funeral
 * Officiating minister

How to Use the Record
The Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Church kept more detailed records than some other religions. Baptists, Presbyterians, Methodists, and other groups, especially those that did not baptize infants, often did not keep church registers unless required by law. You can find a person’s religious affiliation in Canadian censuses beginning in 1851.

Children were generally christened within a few days of birth. Christening registers usually give the infant’s and parents’ names, names of godparents or witnesses, and the christening date. You may also find the child’s birth date, father’s occupation, and the family’s place of residence. Death information has sometimes been added as a note.

Burials were recorded in the church record of the parish where the person was buried. The burial was usually a day or two after the death in the parish where the person died. However, many burials were not conducted by clergy and were not recorded by the church.

Early French Catholic records are usually quite detailed, but Protestant marriage records and civil records often give little information about the parents of the couple until mid-19th century. In Upper Canada the names of the bride’s and the groom’s parents began to be recorded in the county marriage registers in 1858.

Beginning your search
To begin searching, it would be helpful if you knew the following information:


 * Ancestor's name
 * Ancestor's Religion
 * An approximate year when your ancestor married, died, or immigrated, or when he or she would have been recorded in records, such as a census.

Searching the Images
To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select the “County” category ⇒Select the “City/Town” category ⇒Select the “Name of Denomination/Parish” category ⇒Select the “Record Type and Year Range” category which will take you to the images.

Look at each image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine which one is your ancestor. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to make this determination.

Using the Information
The information that you have found is very reliable. This collection can help you with the following:


 * If you have a baptism record, the record could reveal your ancestor's parents names and their residence at the time of your ancestor's baptism.
 * Using the residence can help you with researching the census collections
 * Marriage records can provide the maiden name of the bride. They sometimes will reveal the parents names, but not often.

Unable to Find Information?

 * Look for brothers, sisters, uncles, and aunts. Often previous research on relatives gives information or clues about your ancestor as well, including where he or she lived.
 * If you don't find the person in the index, keep trying. People did not always spell names correctly. [You have probably had that happen to you, even now, when people are generally well-educated.] People sometimes went by nicknames or translated names from French to English, for example.
 * It's hard to index every name on a page, especially with unusual names. Try another index, if one exists. Different indexers have different levels of training and experience.

Related Websites

 * Mary’s Genealogy Treasures

Related Wiki Articles

 * Prince Edward Island Church Records

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the wiki article Help:How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.

Citation Example for a Record Found in This Collection
“Argentina, Buenos Aires, Catholic Church Records, 1635-1981,” digital images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org: accessed 28 February, 2012), La Plata &gt; San Ponciano &gt; Matrimonios 1884-1886 &gt; image 71 of 389 images, Artemio Avendano and Clemtina Peralta, 1884; citing Parroquia de San Ponciano en la Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Matrimonios. San Ponciano, La Plata.