Prince Edward Island Church Records

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Historical Background
Traditionally the population of Prince Edward Island has been evenly divided between Catholic and Protestant affiliations. The 2001 census indicated number of adherents for the Roman Catholic Church with 63,240 (47%) and various Protestant churches with 57,805 (43%). This included the United Church of Canada with 26,570 (20%); the Presbyterian Church with 7,885 (6%) and the Anglican Church of Canada with 6,525 (5%). If one considers that the founders of the United Church of Canada were largely Presbyterians in Prince Edward Island, the Island has one of the highest percentages of Presbyterians in the country. The Island also has one of the largest number of Free Church of Scotland buildings in Canada.

Information Found in the Records
To effectively use church records, become familiar with their content. Click on these links to learn about a specific record type:

Look for online records.

 * Public Archives and Records Office Online Collections
 * Public Archives and Records Office Online Collections Search Engine

FamilySearch

 * 1721-1885, index and images — How to Use this Collection
 * 1777-1985, images — How to Use this Collection
 * 1661-1959 Index — How to Use this Collection
 * 1661-1949 Index — How to Use this Collection
 * 1664-1955 Index — How to Use this Collection

Ancestry.com

 * Prince Edward Island, Canada, Baptisms, Marriages, Burials, 1780-1983, index and images, incomplete ($)
 * Web: Prince Edward Island, Baptism Index, 1788-1943, index, ($)
 * Prince Edward Island, Canada, Marriage Registers, 1832-1888, index and images, ($).
 * Prince Edward Island, Canada, Death Card Index, 1810-1913, index and images, ($).

Other Collections

 * Island Register Scroll down to "Church Records". Then select an individual church description.
 * Public Archives and Records Office Online Collections
 * Public Archives and Records Office Online Collections Search Engine
 * United Church - Records-PARO

Master Name Index

 * Master Name Index, Search Engine Incomplete.
 * Master Name Index of the Prince Edward Island Museum and Heritage Foundation Part one
 * Master Name Index of the Prince Edward Island Museum and Heritage Foundation Part two
 * These are names extracted from census returns, marriage bonds, land and church records, passenger lists, newspapers, obituaries, and so forth. Original at Charlottetown, P.E.I.: P.E.I. Genealogical Society and P.E.I. Museum and Heritage Foundation, 1985

Look for digital copies of church records listed in the FamilySearch Catalog.

 * The FamilySearch Library (FS Library) has microfilmed and/or digitized records for churches in the Canada.
 * Online church records can be listed in the FamilySearch Catalog under Prince Edward Island, the county, or a town.
 * Because the churches gave copies of their records to the government for civil registration, search under both thhe "Church records" and "Civil registration" topics.
 * If you find a record that has not yet been digitized, see How do I request that a microfilm be digitized?
 * Some records might have viewing restrictions, and can only be viewed at a FamilySearch Center near you, and/or by members of supporting organizations.
 * To find records:
 * a. Click on the records of Canada, Prince Edward Island.
 * b. Click on the "Church records" and "Civil registration" topics. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.
 * c. Or, click on Places within Canada, Prince Edward Island at the top of the page, and a list of provinces will appear.
 * d. Click on your province.
 * e. Click on the "Church records" and "Civil registration" topics. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.
 * f. Next, click on Places within Canada, Prince Edward Island, [COUNTY] and a list of towns will appear.
 * g. Click on your town if it appears, or the location which you believe was the parish which served your town or village.
 * h. Click on the "Church records" and "Civil registration" topic. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.
 * i. Some combination of these icons will appear at the far right of the listing for the record. FHL icons.png. The magnifying glass indicates that the record is indexed. Clicking on the magnifying glass will take you to the index. Clicking on the camera will take you to an online digital copy of the records.

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Correspond with or visit the actual churches.
Some records are still held in the local churches. Contact the current minister to find out what records are still available.
 * Make an appointment to look at the records. Or ask the minister of the church to make a copy of the record for you.
 * To find church staff available, you might have to visit on Sunday.
 * Ask for small searches at a time, such as one birth record or a specific marriage. Never ask for "everything on a family or surname".
 * A donation ($25-$40) for their time and effort to help you would be appropriate.
 * If the church has a website, you may be able to e-mail a message.
 * See the Letter Writing Guide for Genealogy for help with composing letters.

Addresses

 * Canadian Church Directory
 * Each denomination page offers an online address directory of local churches for that denomination.

Check the church records collections in archives and libraries.
Some church records have been deposited for preservation in government archives or in libraries. Watch for links to digitized, online records offered by the archives. Some archives provide research services for a fee. For others, if you cannot visit in person, you might hire a researcher. '''Here you will find archive information unique to the province. Many more archives are kept by denomination. For denominational archives, go to  Searching for Church Records by Denomination.

Public Archives and Records Office (PARO)
Public Archives and Records Office Atlantic Technology Centre (ATC), Suite L20 176 Great George Street PO Box 1000 Charlottetown, PE C1A 7M4 Canada Phone: 902-368-4290 Fax: 902-368-6327 E-mail:archives@gov.pe.ca Most churches kept records of baptisms, marriages, and deaths. The Archives has copies of many church records on microfilm. Indexes are available for some records of the Church of Scotland, St. John's Presbyterian Church in Belfast, St. Peter's Anglican Church in Charlottetown, and St. Ann's Roman Catholic Church on Lennox Island.
 * Genealogy at the Archives
 * Visiting the Archives
 * Public Archives and Records Office Online Collections
 * Public Archives and Records Office Online Collections Search Engine
 * United Church - Records-PARO

New England Historic Genealogical Society

 * Prince Edward Iisland Genealogy at American Ancestors NEHGS has a list of denominations, the church locations for each town, records and years available, and their microfilm numbers for each.. Scroll down to the "Church Records" section, and click on the link, "View full list of denominations."

New England Historic Genealogical Society 99-101 Newbury Street Boston, Massachusetts 02116-3007 1-888-296-3447

If you cannot visit in person, you can hire their staff to search records and prepare copies: Contact E-mail: research@nehgs.org, Telephone: 617-226-1233.

National Archives of Canada
The National Archives of Canada also has the early French Catholic records of Notre-Dame (1724–1758) and St-Pierre (1721–1724, 1749–1758) in St-Pierre-du-Nord. Library and Archives Canada 395 Wellington Street Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Service Points Outside Ottawa

Telephone: 613-996-5115 or 1-866-578-7777 (toll-free in Canada and the United States) TTY: 613-992-6969 or 1-866-299-1699 (toll-free in Canada) Fax: 613-995-6274
 * Genealogy and Family History
 * Aurora: Library Search
 * Voilà: Library Search
 * Archives Search Select "Textual material" to limit your search. Keywords: name of place or religious denomination with "church records," "registres de paroisses," "registers of births," "marriage records," "registers of marriages," "death registers," "burials," "baptisms," "baptêmes," "mariages," "sépultures".

Anglican
Diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island Archives 1340 Cathedral Lane Halifax, NS B3H 2Z1 Canada Phone: 902-406-8982 Fax: 902-425-0717 E-mail: archives@nspeidiocese.ca

Baptist
Atlantic Baptist Archives Acadia University Esther Clark Wright Archives Vaughan Memorial Library Special Collections Acadia University P.O. Box 4 Wolfville, NS B4P 2R6 Canada E-mail: archives@acadiau.ca Reference Desk: (902) 585-1011
 * List of Holdings
 * The Atlantic Baptist Archives at Acadia University preserves the records of nearly 800 Baptist Churches in Atlantic Canada. These archival finding aids are inventories of some, but not all, church records in the Archives. New finding aids will continue to be added as they are created.

If you do not see your church listed, please email us: archives@acadiau.ca

Catholic

 * The history of the Catholic Church in Prince Edward Island : from 1835 till 1891, index and images, ($)
 * The arrival of the first Scottish Catholic emigrants in Prince Edward Island and after : memorial volume, 1772-1922, e-book.
 * Roman Catholic 1890 Census - St Mary's RC Church Souris, PEI
 * Roman Catholic 1890 Census for St Margaret's Parish, PEI
 * Marriages Index - Immaculate Conception Roman CatholicWellington, PEI]
 * St Jean-Baptiste de Belle Alliance Miscouche, PEI
 * Selected St. Jean de Baptiste Church Records Malpeque, PEI
 * Marriages- St. Jacques 1855-1900 Egmont Bay, PEI
 * Baptisms- St Jacques 1855-1900, Egmont Bay, PEI
 * Burial Records St Jacques Egmont Bay, PEI
 * Index to Records St. Jacques Egmont Bay, PEI
 * Index Covehead Tracadie Marriages-1887-1900
 * Covehead Tracadie RC Marriages 1887-1900

Church of Scotland

 * Church of Scotland Register of Baptisms for Birch Hill and Murray River

Methodist Church

 * Methodist Register of Baptisms in the Parishes of St. Andrew, St. George, and St. John

Presbyterian Church

 * Baptisms from St. John’s Presbyterian Church, Belfast, Prince Edward Island
 * Families in the Congregation of Belfast, Nov. 1st, 1889

Fundy St. Lawrence Dawning Waters Regional Council Archives
Fundy St. Lawrence Dawning Waters Regional Council 21 Wright St. Sackville New Brunswick E4L 4P8 Canada Phone: 1-800-268-3781 ext. 6159 Email: swallace@united-church.ca
 * Finding Aid
 * The Fundy St. Lawrence Dawning Waters Regional Council/Regional Council 15 Archives is mandated to collect, preserve, and provide access to the records of the Maritime, Gaspé, and Bermuda regions of the The United Church of Canada. We also have pre-1925 records of the Presbyterian, Methodist, and Congregational congregations in the Maritimes and Gaspé which joined The United Church of Canada in 1925.

Go to the Wiki article for your ancestors' denomination to find more archives.
There are frequently additional, nationwide or regional archives for each denomination. Find the article for your ancestors' denomination and follow the instructions there to access these sources. This is especially important if local archives are not given above.

Prince Edward Island Bible Records
Many families have traditionally recorded births, marriages, and deaths in a family bible, family record book, or book of remembrance. A bible was often given by relatives to a bride as a wedding gift, where she recorded information about her immediate family and close relatives. Relationships were seldom stated but were often implied. Names of parents, children, and their spouses, including maiden names, were frequently given along with dates of birth, marriage, and death.

Online Bible Records
 * Prince Edward Island Family Bible Database at The Island Register.com

Correspond with genealogical or historical societies.
Some church records have been given to historical societies. Also, historical societies may be able to tell you where the records are being held. To find a society near you, consult these lists:

Carefully compare any record you find to known facts about the ancestor
You will possibly find many different people with the same name as your ancestor, especially when a family stayed in a locality for several generations, and several children were named after the grandparents or aunts and uncles. Be prepared to find the correct church records by organizing in advance as many of these exact details about the ancestor as possible:
 * name, including middle name and maiden name
 * names of all spouses, including middle and maiden name
 * exact or closely estimated dates of birth, marriage, and death
 * names and approximate birthdates of children
 * all known places of residence
 * occupations
 * military service details

Carefully evaluate the church records you find to make sure you have really found records for your ancestor and not just a "near match". If one or more of the details do not line up, be careful about accepting the entry as your ancestor. There are guiding principles for deciding how to resolve discrepancies between records that are seemingly close. For more instruction in evaluating evidence, read the Wiki article, Evaluate the Evidence.