Newfoundland and Labrador Societies

Family History Society of Newfoundland and Labrador
Family History Society of Newfoundland and Labrador Suite 101A, 66 Kenmount Road St. John’s, Newfoundland A1B 3V7 Telephone: 709-754-9525 Email: [mailto:fhs@fhsnl.ca fhs@fhsnl.ca]

This following information can be found on the Family History Society of Newfoundland and Labrador’s website and with their permission is being reprinted here.

Parish Records and Cemetery Headstone Database
The Family History Society of Newfoundland and Labrador’s (FHSNL) database of Cemetery Transcriptions and Parish Records is available for research by members online and the general public in their resource centre. FHSNL is in the midst of an ongoing project to index all the cemetery and parish records in Newfoundland and Labrador. More than 100,000 birth, marriage, death and burial events have been indexed resulting in around 500,000 name references.

All details found in the parish records or recorded on the headstones of the cemeteries are included in the event records. These details include names of persons, spouses, parents, and witnesses; places of birth, baptism and death; dates; occupations; and similar important information. Everything in the registers has been transcribed to this database. Use of the database is in two stages. In the first stage the index is searched for matches on the Name you submit. The search scope can be limited by Region, Community, Religion, Parish, Type of Event or Date Range if any of this additional information is known. The search result lists all matches and a code reference to the Event that created the index entry. Several references can refer to the same Event since many names are captured from each Event. A special feature of the index allows all variants of a surname to be automatically included in a surname search. Having reviewed the results of your first stage search, you indicate which Event records you wish to receive. You will receive a print-out of all the recorded information about the Event.

Currently available:

They are currently working on parish records from St. John the Baptist (Church of England) and the Basilica (Roman Catholic, marriages 1874-1905) in St. John’s; and King’s Cove (Church of England, marriages and burials).

The FHSNL has collected headstone inscriptions from some 1,300 cemeteries across Newfoundland and Labrador. Please check the list of communities that have headstone inscriptions in their database. A ”beta test” version of a web-based tool to enable searching the FHSNL Headstone database is now on their website but it is only available to members. Membership information is available on their website.

As well, a listing of family and community histories is available online. Directories, periodicals, copies of the Gertrude Crosbie and Mildred Howard files, census records and a collection of general information are available for perusal in the Resource Centre.

The FHSNL is a non-profit volunteer organization dedicated to developing and providing genealogical information in Newfoundland and Labrador. To support the continuing work to compile this valuable information and cover administrative costs FHSNL is charging fees for access to its database. Fees, listed on their website, vary between $2 to $10 depending if you want an Index Search or an Event Record and if you are a member or not.

Your request should include the surname and name variants and the search delimiters (region, community, date range). The request and payment can be sent to their contact address.

For persons conducting a lot of research, membership in the FHSNL is recommended. For a $42 annual fee, one receives membership, their quarterly publication The Newfoundland Ancestor, access their database, and access to their extensive collection of genealogical information. Accounts can be set up, if you will be frequently using the database.

Newfoundland Historical Society Room 15, Colonial Building Military Road St. John’s, NL A1C 2C9 CANADA Telephone: 709-722-3191 Fax: 709-729-0578

Newfoundland &amp; Labrador Genealogical Society 657 Topsail Road Waterford Valley Plaza St. John's, NL A1E 2E3 CANADA Telephone: 709-754-9525 Fax: 709-754-6430

Port au Port/Bay St. George Heritage Association P.O. Box 314 Stephenville, NL A2N 2Z5 CANADA Telephone: 709-643-9042