Lesotho, Evangelical Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Lesotho

What is in the Collection?
This collection contains records kept by the Lesotho Evangelical Church from 1874-1983. There is a possibility that a few records may be dated as early as 1839.

The church was previously named the Paris Evangelical Mission or the Church of the Basutoland. Church records include births, baptisms, marriages, and membership lists. The original documents are kept in the Morija Museum and Archives in Morija, Lesotho.

Reading these Records
The collection is written in both English and Southern Sotho, also known as Sesotho. See the section For Help Reading these Records for translation helps.

What Can these Records Tell Me?
Membership lists generally include:
 * Name of the member
 * Birth date
 * Baptism date
 * Age
 * Church branch name
 * Names of close relatives

Marriage records generally include:
 * Date of marriage
 * Names of the bride and groom
 * Ages
 * Parents’ names on both sides
 * Witnesses names

Birth and Baptism records, often combined, generally include:
 * Name of child
 * Date of birth
 * Place of birth
 * Parents’ names
 * Place of baptism
 * Date of baptism
 * Name of the person who performed the baptism

Sample Images
Click on image for a larger view.

For Help Reading these Records
Some of these records are in Sesotho. For help reading the records, see the following articles:


 * South Africa Language and Languages
 * Sesotho Online

Search the Index
Search by name by visiting the Collection Page: 1. Fill in the search boxes on the Collection Page with the information you have 2. Click Search to show possible matches

View the Images
You can view the images. Before using this collection it is helpful to know:
 * The name of the person you are looking for
 * Approximate date of the event (birth, marriage, etc.)

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page: 1. Select the appropriate "District and parish" 2. Select the appropriate "Record type and year range" 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.

For more tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

I Found Who I'm Looking For, What Now?

 * When looking through the baptismal records, look for other children with the same surname or relatives on the list
 * Use the church records to help identify additional family members
 * Use the church records to help identify places where your family may have moved
 * Use the church records to help identify unknown dates and places

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

 * Try checking South African records. Lesotho is a small country landlocked by South Africa, and your ancestor may have spent time there.
 * Check the birth and baptismal records for variant spellings of the names.
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. There also may be variations in the spelling of names. Try variations while browsing through images.
 * Witnesses listed on the marriage record may be relatives of the bride and groom

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection citation

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):

Image citation

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