South Africa, Netherdutch Reformed Church Registers (Pretoria Archive) - FamilySearch Historical Records

South Africa

What is in the Collection?
This collection will include records of christenings, marriages, and membership records of the Netherdutch Reformed Church of Africa located in Pretoria for the years 1838-1991. These records are from various areas of South Africa, Namibia, and Zimbabwe.

The Dutch East India Company sent a crew to create a Dutch settlement in the Cape of Good Hope in 1652. Many of the members of the crew belonged to the Dutch Reformed Church, and created a community in Cape Town. The church group suffered from several divisions, most notably the Doppers.

Reading These Records
These records are written in English and Afrikaans. See For Help Reading These Records for help with translation.

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For Help Reading these Records
These records are in Afrikaans and English. For help reading the records, see the following wiki articles:


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 * South Africa Language and Languages

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Use the age in the citizen to find an approximate birth year to begin your search in church or civil records.
 * Continue to search the records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have moved, been recruited or lived nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family. Repeat this process for each new generation you identify. Compile the entries for every person who has the same surname; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual. This compiled list can help you identify possible relations that can be further verified by researching vital records indexes in the country.
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 * Church Records often were kept years before government records were required and are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900.

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

 * Switch to a different record collection. Depending on the time period, either Civil Registration records or Church Records may be more useful.
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Citing this Collection
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