Illinois, Diocese of Belleville, Catholic Parish Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

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This wiki article describes a collection that is available for free online at FamilySearch Record Search – Pilot Site. To access the collection, see Illinois, Diocese of Belleville, Catholic Parish Records, 1729-1956 .



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 and/or English.

How To Use The Collection
Genealogical information in Catholic Church records include:


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

Related Article
Illinois Catholic Church Records