Canada, Nova Scotia Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Canada Nova Scotia

What is in this Collection?
These church records cover 1720-2001, and dates vary for each parish. These records include parish registers of baptisms, marriages, deaths, a few censuses, and other records for some Church of England in Canada and Catholic parishes from Nova Scotia. Some parish registers are written in French or Latin. Nova Scotia church records are generally found in the individual parishes or congregations or in church-diocesan archive centers. The individual parishes are found in the Nova Scotia Church Records article.

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
Baptismal records usually contain the following information:
 * Date and place of baptism
 * Full name of child
 * Birth date
 * Some church records record legitimacy of child
 * Parents' names and their residence
 * Father's occupation

Confirmation records usually contain the following information:
 * Name of child
 * Date of baptism
 * Date of birth
 * Names of parents
 * Place of birth of parents
 * Names of witnesses

Marriage records usually contain the following information:
 * Names of the bride and groom
 * Their places of residence
 * Date and place of marriage
 * Names of witnesses
 * Name of officiator at ceremony

Burial records usually contain the following information:
 * Name of deceased and their residence
 * Age of the deceased
 * Date of burial
 * Name of person performing burial ceremony
 * Sometimes, parents' names if deceased is a child
 * Sometimes, a spouse's name if deceased was married

How Do I Search the Collection?
You can search the index or view the images or both. To begin your search it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor
 * The name of a relative or date of the event

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page then:
 * 1) Select the County
 * 2) Select the City or Town
 * 3) Select the Denomination and Parish
 * 4) Select the Record Type and Year Range

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.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Cite the record. See below for help citing this collection.
 * Look at an image of the original record. The original may contain information that was not recorded in the index. To find a copy of the original record, visit the Antigonish Catholic Diocese page.
 * To help keep track of your research, you may want to keep a research log. FamilySearch has an example example research log which you can download.
 * Use the information you have found to find the person in census records.

I Can’t Find Who I’m Looking for, What Now?

 * If your ancestor does not have a common name, collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This can help you find possible relatives.
 * Search the records of nearby areas
 * Check for other names. An individual might appear under an unexpected name for a variety of reasons:
 * - They might have been listed under a middle name, nickname, or abbreviation of their given name.
 * -A woman may have returned to her maiden name after the death of her husband.

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.

Collection Citation:

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