Nova Scotia Church Records

The Public Archives of Nova Scotia has many original church registers as well as microfilm copies. The Protestant registers generally cover 1780–1914. There are Catholic records 1679–1914. A list of these holdings can be found in Genealogical Research in Nova Scotia, by Terrence M. Punch.

Church records, besides those above, are generally found in the individual parishes or congregations or in church-diocesan archive centers. For more information concerning the whereabouts of certain registers, contact the appropriate denomination below:

Anglican
Diocese of Nova Scotia Attention: Archivist 5732 College Street Halifax, NS B3H 1X3 CANADA Telephone: 902-420-0717 Fax: 902-425-0717 Internet: http://www.nspeidiocese.ca/

Written authorization is required to use these records. Some searches can be made by mail.

Baptist
Vaughn Memorial Library Acadia University Wolfville, NS B0P 1X0 CANADA Telephone: 902-585-1249 Fax: 902-585-1073 Internet: http://library.acadiau.ca/archives Internet: http://luxor.acadiau.ca/lib2006/guides/history/newsa.html

The Atlantic Baptist Historical Collection does not contain birth, baptism, marriage, or death certificates. The most useful genealogical information is the list of church members; it usually gives the dates members were received into the church, their date of baptism, and, if applicable, the date of their dismissal from the church.

Catholic
Most registers are still found in the individual parishes. Sometimes information can be obtained from:

Archdiocese of Halifax P.O. Box 1527 Halifax, NS B3J 2Y3 CANADA Telephone: 902-429-9800 Fax: 902-423-5201 Internet: http://www.catholichalifax.org/

Drouin Collection 1621-1967 Ancestry.com index of French Canadian records. This collection has over 15 million entries for French Canadian genealogical and vital records. Be sure to search for spelling variations of the ancestor's name. This index includes Quebec notarial, vital, and church records, Acadian Catholic records, Ontario French Catholic records, early French Catholic records in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New York, and Wisconsin.

Presbyterian
Presbyterian records are usually found in the individual churches. For more information, contact the church in the community in which you are researching.

United Church of Canada
Maritime Conference Archives 32 York Street Sackville, NB E4L 4R4 CANADA Telephone: 506-536-0998 Fax: 506-536-2900 E-mail: Maritime Conference Archives (Contact Maritime Conference Archives) Internet: www.marconf.ca/archives.htm

Contact Person: Ms. Judith Colwell, Archivist

For registers of other denominations (such as Adventist, Congregationalist, Jewish, and Lutheran), determine the location of the church, and then arrange to see any records that may exist.