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

Record Description
The collection consists of images of parish registers recording the events of baptism, first communion, confirmation (to 1907), marriage (to 1930) or death (to 1956) in the Diocese of Belleville (Illinois), Roman Catholic Church. The index to some volumes may reference pages within a given volume beyond our current publication dates. As such, these images are not currently available. In addition to traditional parish registers, this collection includes a small number of census, church history, family and financial records.

Entries are recorded in register books in columns or paragraphs without columns. The text of the records is in Latin and/or English.

For a list of localities currently published in this collection, select the Browse link from the collection landing page.

Record Content
Information found in the Church records usually contain the following:


 * Name of child
 * Date and place of baptism
 * Date and place of birth
 * Parents' names
 * Names of godparents
 * Notes by priest or clerk

How to Use the Records
To begin your search it is helpful to know


 * The name of your ancestor
 * Identifying information such as the event date or names of parents or spouse.

Search the Collection
To search the collection by image ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒ Select the County ⇒ Select the City/Town/Village ⇒ Select the Parish ⇒ Select the Record Type, and Year Range which takes you to the images

Look at the images one by one comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination.

As you are searching it is helpful to know such information as your 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 your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times.

Using the Information
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. Add this new information to your records of each family. You should also look for leads to other records about your ancestors. For example:


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

General Information About These Records
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 where 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.

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.

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.

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached Wiki article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

Related Websites
Genealogical information in Catholic Church records include:

Related Wiki Articles

 * Roman Catholic Church in the United States
 * Illinois
 * Illinois Church Records

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the information published in FamilySearch.org Historical Records collections. Sources include the author, custodian, publisher, and archive for the original records.