Illinois Catholic Church Records

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Collection Time Period
This information pertains to church records created 1729-1956.

Collection History
Church records in the United States began in the early 1600s. They can be found in the churches, church archives, or university archives. They normally record christenings, confirmations, marriages, and deaths. The Roman Catholic Church is the largest Christian church in the world. Traditionally Catholic records have been kept at the parish level, so a majority of records will be found at the church were the event transpired. Older Catholic records and records of defunct Catholic parishes have often been moved to archives, historical archives or university libraries. Roman Catholics were numerous in Illinois after 1860, especially in the northern industrial areas.

Why This Collection Was Created
To know who were members, Churches were required to record the date a person was baptized in the Christian religion. Many churches also recorded the date of birth along with the date of baptism. Churches were also required to record the burial and marriage dates of the members of the local congregation. Only some churches performed confirmations and were required to record the names of those that were confirmed members of the church.

Collection Reliability
Church records are considered a primary source. They are usually reliable because they are kept by the priest or a clerk appointed by the priest, who usually recorded an event at or very near the time it occurred.

Collection Description
Entries are recorded in register books in columns or paragraphs without columns. The text of the records is in Latin.

How To Use The Collection
Church records have research based on the event they record:


 * Use christening and birth records of christenings (baptisms) to identify a person’s birth date and place. They are an excellent substitute for civil birth information.
 * Use church records of confirmations to identify a person’s birth date and place or his or her age. If only the age is given, use it to calculate the person’s death date.
 * Use church records of deaths or burials to identify a person’s birth date and place. Use age at death or burial to calculate the person’s birth date. They are an excellent substitute for civil death information.
 * Use church records of marriages to identify a couple, the marriage date and place, and to begin compiling a family group. They are an excellent substitute for civil marriage information.
 * Use church records in general to identify other family members who may have served as witnesses to the event.

Collection Content
Genealogical information in Catholic Church records include:


 * Birth and christening dates and places
 * Names of parents and children
 * Death and burial dates and places
 * Ages of children confirmed
 * Places of residence
 * Names of husbands and wives, parents and witnesses
 * Ages of husbands and wives