South Africa, Church of the Province of South Africa, Parish Registers - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Record
Suid-Afrika, die Kerk van die Provinsie van Suid-Afrika, Parish registers

Record Description
This Collection will include records from 1801 to 2004, with possibly some records before 1801.

The records in this collection include digital images of parish registers of the Church of the Province of South Africa, also known since 2006 as the "Anglican Church of Southern Africa". The Church includes dioceses in Angola, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Saint Helena, South Africa and Swaziland. Records were acquired from the collection of the William Cullen Library, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, and include baptisms, marriages, deaths, and burials. The text of the records is in English and Afrikaans.

For a list of records by localities and dates currently published in this collection, select the Browselink from the collection landing page.

Record Content
Baptism records may contain the following information:


 * Date and place of baptism
 * Child's name and gender
 * Child's date and place of birth
 * Parents' names and their residence
 * Occupation of father
 * Names of sponsors or witnesses
 * By whom the baptism was performed

Marriage records may contain the following information:


 * Date and place of marriage
 * Race of the bride and groom
 * Name and age of groom
 * Groom's birthplace, marital status and occupation
 * Groom's residence at time of marriage
 * Name and age of bride
 * Bride's birthplace, marital status and occupation
 * Bride's residence at time of marriage
 * Marriage by license or banns
 * Names of witnesses
 * Name of minister and religious denomination

Death records may contain the following information:


 * Date and place of burial
 * Name and age of deceased
 * Residence at time of death
 * Who performed burial ceremony

How to Use the Record
To search the baptism records, it would be helpful if you knew the following information:


 * Names of parents
 * Approximate year and place of birth
 * Parish

To search the marriage records, it would be helpful if you knew the following information:


 * Name of bride or groom
 * Approximate year and place of marriage

To search the death records, it would be helpful if you knew the following information:


 * Approximate year and place of death

Search the Collection
To search the collection image by image ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page: ⇒Select the appropriate "Country" ⇒Select the appropriate "Province" ⇒Select the appropriate "Diocese, Town, and/or Parish" ⇒Select the appropriate "Record Type and Years" which will take you to the images.

Search the collection by image 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.

For Help Reading These Records
These records are in Afrikaans. For help with reading the records, see the following wiki article:

Afrikaans Word List

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

 * Africa Websites
 * Africa Historic Maps
 * South Africa Church Records

Related Wiki Articles

 * South Africa
 * South Africa, Cape Province, Civil Deaths (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Citations for This Collection
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information (often called citing your sources). This will help people find the record again and evaluate the reliability of the source. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records. Citations are available for the collection as a whole and each record or image individually.

Collection citation:

Image citation: