South Africa, Methodist Parish Registers - FamilySearch Historical Records

South Africa

What is in This Collection?
This collection of parish records from the Methodist Church in South Africa covers the years 1822 to 1996, and includes images of baptisms, marriages, and burials from several towns in South Africa. These records are written in Afrikaans and English. See the section For Help Reading these Records for translation helps.

Methodism arrived in South Africa with British soldiers in 1806, but the mission was launched by Barnabas Shaw, who reached the Cape in 1816, and William Shaw (unrelated), who accompanied the British settlers of 1820. Barnabas Shaw established a mission among the Khoi at Leliefontein in Namaqualand, and colleagues ventured across the Orange River into present-day Namibia and what are now the northern provinces of South Africa. William Shaw established Methodism throughout the British settlement in Albany and rapidly planted a chain of mission stations between the Cape Colony and Natal. In the late nineteenth century, missionary work was extended into the gold-mining area in Gauteng and north through modern Limpopo into Zimbabwe. Six missionary districts of the Wesleyan Methodist church became an affiliated conference in 1883. An independent conference was constituted in 1927 and enlarged in 1931 to include the Transvaal Missionary District of the British Conference and the small Primitive Methodist Mission.

Church records include important vital information, which can also help identify other ancestors. The civil registration records can be researched also after 1895.

These parish records were created to record the events of baptisms, marriages, and burials for the members of the Methodist Church in South Africa, and are a reliable source for doing genealogical research in South Africa.

Reading These Records
These records are in Afrikaans and English. For help reading these records see the following guides:
 * Afrikaans Word List
 * Netherlands Language and Languages
 * South Africa Language and Languages

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:

Baptism
 * Date and place of baptism
 * Name and gender of child
 * Parents’ names, including maiden name of mother
 * Parents’ residence
 * Child's age or date of birth
 * Name of person who solemnized baptism

Marriage
 * Date and place of marriage
 * Full name and age of groom
 * Groom's marital status, occupation and residence
 * Full name and age of bride
 * Bride's marital status, occupation and residence
 * Marriage by license or banns
 * Names of person(s) giving consent for the marriage
 * Names of witnesses

Burial
 * Name and age of deceased
 * Residence of deceased
 * Date and place of interment
 * Name of person presiding at interment

Coverage Table
The collection contains records from the following locations and years:

How Do I Search the Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the 
 * 1) Select Country
 * 2) Select Province
 * 3) Select Municipality or Town
 * 4) Select Record Type and Years to view the images

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Continue to search the records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have moved, been recruited or lived nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family. Repeat this process for each new generation you identify
 * Compile the entries for every person who has the same surname; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual. This compiled list can help you identify possible relations that can be further verified by researching vital records indexes in the country
 * When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. Save a copy of the image or transcribe the information. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details such as a title, an occupation, or land ownership. Add this new information to your records of each family. You should also look for leads to other records about your ancestors
 * Church Records often were kept years before government records were required and are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900

I Can't Find the Person I'm Looking For, What Now?

 * Switch to a different record collection. Depending on the time period, Civil Registration records may be more useful
 * While searching, it is helpful to know such information as the ancestor’s given name and surname, some identifying information such as residence and age, and family relationships. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as an ancestor and that the ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times
 * Keep in mind that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name
 * Standard spelling of names typically did not exist during the periods our ancestors lived in. Try variations of your ancestor’s name while searching the index or browsing through images. Pay special attention to how the name should have been pronounced and try variations on the pronunciation
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names
 * Search the indexes and records of local genealogical societies
 * Earlier records may not contain as much information as the records created after the late 1800
 * There is also some variation in the information given from one record to another
 * Be aware that there may have been some transcription errors

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.