India, Madras and Tamil Nadu Parish Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Record

 * India, Madras et Tamil Nadu paroeciae monumentis

Record Description
This collection includes baptism, marriage, family register, and burial records from both the Church of England and Roman Catholic Churches. The records in this collection span from 1681-1990 and are written in English, Latin, and Tamil.

Church records are an excellent source for accurate information on names and dates and on places of births, marriages, and deaths. Many people who lived in India have information recorded about them in a church record. Since civil authorities did not begin registering vital statistics until 1872, church records are the best source for family information before that date.

Record Content
Key genealogical information found in this collection may include the following information:

Baptisms


 * Child's Christian Name
 * Day, Month, and Year of Birth
 * Day, Month, and Year of Baptism
 * Child’s Sex
 * Parents’ Names
 * Residence of Parents
 * Trade or Profession of Father
 * Name of Priest or Minister by whom the Ceremony was performed

Marriages


 * When Married
 * Full Names of Bride and Groom
 * Age of the couple
 * Rank or Profession
 * Residence at the time of Marriage
 * Father's Name and Surname
 * Whether Marriage was by Banns or License
 * Signatures of the Parties
 * Signatures of two or more Witnesses present
 * Name and designation of person by whom the Ceremony was Performed
 * Name and Location of Church where the Marriage was Solemnized

Deaths


 * Full Name of the Deceased
 * Age of the Deceased
 * Day, Month, and Year of Death
 * Nationality, Trade, or Profession
 * Cause of death
 * Day, Month, and Year of Burial
 * Person by whom the Deceased was Buried
 * Place of Burial

Using this collection
Before using this collection, it would be helpful if you knew the following information about your ancestor:


 * Ancestor's name
 * Ancestor's religion
 * Place of residence

When you have found the information

 * You can identify the names of the parents and other children of the family of your ancestor.
 * You can use the birth, marriage or death place to calculate the birth place of the parents

Searching the Images
To search the collection, select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select the “Country” ⇒Select the “Name of State/Province/Department” ⇒Select the “Name of Town/City” ⇒Select the “Name of Parish” ⇒Select the “Select 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 which one is your ancestor. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to make this determination.

Finding the Information
Parish maps can help you determine which parish to search. Maps will reveal neighboring parishes to search if your ancestor is not listed in the parish where you expected him or her to be. See India Maps for more information.

Related Websites

 * Tracing your Asian roots on the Indian subcontinent
 * Microfilms of Church registers in India
 * India Office Family History Research

Related Wiki Articles

 * India Church Records
 * Church of England Parish register transcripts from the Presidency of Madras 1698 to 1948

Citing Family Search Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. 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.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the wiki article Help:How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.

Citation for This Collection
The following citations refer to the original source of the data and images published on FamilySearch.org Historical Records. They may include the author, custodian, publisher and archive for the original records.

Suggested citation format for a record in this collection.

Citation Example for a Record Found in a Historical Record Collection
“Argentina, Buenos Aires, Catholic Church Records, 1635-1981,” images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org: accessed 28 February, 2012), La Plata &gt; San Ponciano &gt; Matrimonios 1884-1886 &gt; image 71 of 389 images, Artemio Avendano and Clemtina Peralta, 1884; citing Parroquia de San Ponciano en la Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Matrimonios. San Ponciano, La Plata.

When the citation has been replaced with a citation specific to the collection being described, the heading should be changed to “Citation Example for a Record Found in This Collection” in Heading style 3.