South Africa, Dutch Reformed Church Registers (Cape Town Archives) - FamilySearch Historical Records

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• Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth of each partner to find a couple's birth records and parents' names. • Occupations listed can lead you to employment records or other types of records such as military records.

• Use the parent’s birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family.

• Compile the entries for every person who has the same surname as the child being baptized, the bride or the groom, this is especially helpful if the surname is unusual.

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Record Description
The Dutch Reform Church records have been maintained in good conditions. Baptisms and marriages are found in different registration formats, most written in Dutch and others in Afrikaans, Dutch and English. Deaths records are not found among these registers.

Record Content
The key genealogical facts found in most baptismal records are:

• Name of principal

• Date of birth

• Date of baptism

• Father and mother’s names and sometimes their address

• Complete witness’s names and sometimes their address

• Registration place

The key genealogical facts found in most marriages records are:

• Names of groom and bride

• Date of marriage

• Age at time of marriage

• Country of birth

• Civil status at time of marriage

• Occupation

• Residence at time of marriage

• Race

• Place of marriage

Record History
When South Africa was settled by the Dutch in the 16th and 17th centuries they transplanted their Dutch Reformed theology into the African continent. The Dutch Reformed Church of South Africa was formally established in 1652, and became the only official church in South Africa until 1778, when freedom of public worship was given to other churches. The history of the Dutch Reform Church has been very much bound up with the politics of the Afrikaner community of South Africa. The baptism and marriage records are recorded in bound registers, which are kept at the local churches archive in care of the registrar. Since 1928 the registrar sends the registries to be archived at the Central Archive of the Dutch Reformed Church in Cape Town, South Africa.

The Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa consists of three separate churches: the Nederduitse Gereformeede Kerk (the largest and usually called the Dutch Reform Church; the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk (largely restricted to the Transvaal); and the Gereformeede Kerk in Suid Afrika (the Doppers). During the 17th and 18th Centuries the Dutch Reform Church (Nederduitse Gereformeede Kerk) was the only officially recognized Church denomination in South Africa and practically all the whites in the Cape belonged to it. In the following Centuries, several other churches denominations were created in Cape, leaving a decline in the membership of the Dutch Reform Church.

Why This Collection Was Created?
Registers were created to track the church’s members by recording the vital events of christening or baptism (which occurred soon after the child was born), marriage, and memberships.

Record Reliability
The records are usually very reliable since they were recorded by the minister usually when the event happened.

Related Web Sites
Genealogical Institute of South Africa

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Related Wiki Articles
South Africa Websites

South Africa Vital Records Index (FamilySearch Historical Records)

South Africa, Cape Province Civil Registration (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Portal:South Africa/Research Tools

Portal:South Africa/Jurisdictions

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
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Please add sample citations to this article following the format guidelines in the wiki article listed above. Examples of citations:


 * United States. Bureau of the Census. 12th census, 1900, digital images, From FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org: September 29, 2006), Arizona Territory, Maricopa, Township 1, East Gila, Salt River Base and Meridian; sheet 9B, line 71
 * Mexico, Distrito Federal, Catholic Church Records, 1886-1933, digital images, from FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org: April 22, 2010), Baptism of Adolfo Fernandez Jimenez, 1 Feb. 1910, San Pedro Apóstol, Cuahimalpa, Distrito Federal, Mexico, film number 0227023

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For guidelines to use in creating wiki articles that describe collections of images and indexes produced by FamilySearch, see: FamilySearch Wiki: Guidelines for FamilySearch Collections pages

Sources of Information for This Collection:
“South Africa, Cape Province Dutch Reformed Church,” database, FamilySearch Historical Records, 2010; from Genealogical Institute of South Africa. “Dutch Reformed Church Records.” Genealogical Institute of South Africa, Stellenbosch, Cape Town, South Africa. FHL microfilm, 52 reels. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah. We welcome your assistance in adding source citation information for individual archives when collection data was collected from various sources or archives. The format for citing FamilySearch Historical Collections, including how to cite individual archives is found in the following link: How to Create Source Citations for FamilySearch Historical Records Collections