New Brunswick Church Records - International Institute

Church Records
Many records of births, marriages and deaths are not kept by governments. In New Brunswick the registers kept by churches and missionaries, those that have survived, are held in many places.

Methodist records are in the United Church archives, Presbyterian registers may be there or with the Presbyterian archives, and if the family said they were Episcopalian check both the Church of England and Methodist Episcopal records. Church of England Parish Registers are kept by the individual Anglican Diocese archives; those of the Roman Catholic Church are also with their Diocese, but the Diocesan boundaries of the two denominations are different.

Who Keeps Church Records
Religious denominations govern their institutions in one of two basic forms; hierarchical or congregational. Hierarchical denominations view authority as descending from Heaven to Pope or Crown, thence to Archbishops (Archdiocese), then Bishops (Diocese), and so down to Parishes and individual incumbents.

This type of organization can manage a worldwide institution with various sub-structures (such as religious orders that teach or provide for medical or social needs), but its basic nature is authoritarian. Their great virtue is the production and preservation of excellent and continuous records, at least where fire, damp, mice and men have not been too active.

Rebels against such established churches tended to form congregational structures, where each congregation is responsible for its own activities but may come together with others in some sort of co-operative gathering (Conference, Synod or Council) to manage affairs that go beyond the small unit. Their history is sprinkled with charismatic preachers and leaders who have a tendency to split over minor points of theology and go off in all directions. Their records, alas, are only as good as the individual sect, minister or congregation wanted them to be. Some keep records, some do not, some survive, some do not.

Many settlers came to colonies in the New World because they offered religious freedom. The result is a confusing number of religious denominations that split and change and then merge again at the end of the 19th century. Sorting them out has been done for Canada in the Historical Atlas of Canada, Volume III, Plate 34 “Religious Adherence”. To see the balance of denominations in each County in New Brunswick, look at Volume II, Plate 52 “Religious Denominations, 1891,” which uses multi-colour pie-charts and maps to display the religious diversity across the country.

In New Brunswick
The Marriage Act that came into force in 1791 confined the privilege of solemnizing marriages to Church of England (Anglican) clergymen, and generally disallowed marriages by Justices of the Peace or dissenting preachers. This was all very well for the Loyalists along the St. John River and in Charlotte County who had Anglican clergymen among them in fair numbers, and who were responsible for the Act in the first place. Authority, hierarchy, and good records were all dear to Loyalist establishment’s hearts. They thought the Congregational dissenters had fomented revolution, Presbyterians were highly suspect. Baptists? Newlight!! In the established settlements in Chignecto most Church of England members were being influenced by William Black and Methodism, and the New England Planters tended to be Congregationalists or some sort of “Newlight Baptists” influenced by Henry Alline. Up on the Mirimichi many Scottish settlers were Presbyterian. The Acadians, of course, were Roman Catholic, as were many aboriginal tribes that had been “converted” by missionary Priests coming down from Québec for a century or more.

The nearest Church of England clergyman was often far, far away and the original act had included exceptions: where both parties to the marriage were Quakers, or in communion with the Church of Rome or Kirk of Scotland, the marriage might be solemnized according to the manner of that denomination, and in “parishes where there was no Anglican clergyman resident, a marriage might be solemnized by a justice of the quorum.”

As well, there were itinerant missionaries, the Anglican Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG), The “Newlight Baptist” (James Manning, Joseph Crandall) and Methodist (William Black and his followers ) and Roman Catholic priests from Québec. All of these registers may be deposited far from where a couple lived. LAC and PANB both hold parish registers and related documents, and there are also denominational archives, discussed at the end of this section.

Microfilmed Records
Some very early New Brunswick Records are on microfilm, and listed in LAC’s Checklist of Parish Registers 1986, pages 15-27. They include SPG records, Township Books (called civil registers), and L. Allison’s cemetery recordings. Be sure to check Cumberland County in Nova Scotia.

The PANB has microfilmed the records for a number of the older churches in each community, and their holdings, dates, and microfilm numbers are listed in the County Guides; there is a shorter list in the Genealogist’s Handbook for Atlantic Canada.

Naturally, later 20th century church records remain in the custody of the individual churches, and where they have been filmed, the films are often designated “Confidential” and require a letter from the church granting permission to view the film.

What to Expect The best records are kept by large, organized institutions, the worst were by some itinerant evangelical preachers.

Birth and Baptism The recording of a baptism, as well as a birth date, will depend on the religious denomination, but the following generalizations suggest what you may find. Just remember, there are always exceptions.

Roman Catholic The practice is to baptize an infant as soon as possible after birth, and registers usually note the day of birth and day of baptism, if different (born yesterday or born this day). Parents names are given, and be sure to check who the Godparents are, often they are close relatives.

Anglican The custom is to baptize an infant as soon as convenient after birth and records will probably note day of birth, as well as parents and Godparents.

United Church of Canada The Church being an amalgamation of earlier Methodist, Congregational, and some Presbyterian congregations, can vary in customs, but usually Christen a child when quite young, though you may find two or more children of the same parents Christened at the same ceremony. The exact date of birth may or may not be entered, but at least one parent is named.

Baptist and Newlight Baptist These congregations had “an historic theological bias against record keeping” and as Phillip G.A. Griffin-Allwood explains, do not expect to find birth dates since “Baptists practice believer’s baptism.” Moreover, you must know which denomination of Baptist, for example, were they Regular Baptists or Particular Dependent Closed Communion Baptists, or some other branch of the Baptist Church?

Marriage
While marriage is considered a sacrament by some churches, it is also viewed as a civil contract, a public event open to the congregation and community. For this reason, governments have kept civil registers of marriages when they ignore births and deaths. Nevertheless, having a marriage registered depended on the clergyman sending the information to the County Clerk, and the clerk being able to read his handwriting. The actual church register may well be the only place you can confirm a marriage. Most denominations recognize degrees of consanguinity, i.e. blood relationships that prohibit marriage. In early settlements, where available marriage partners were limited, consanguinity could present problems. For this reason many Roman Catholic and some Anglican priests are concerned with family lines, and may note such relationships in their records, especially if a dispensation from higher authorities (the Bishop or Archbishop) has had to be obtained.

When checking the actual register, note if any other marriage ceremonies took place the same day; the couples might be related. Always note the names of witnesses who may be friends, but may turn out to be a married sister, or brother-in-law, whose surname is different. Wherever possible, check for any newspaper account of the wedding, and if you can access the whole newspaper, do check the social columns to see who came to town for the wedding.

Drouin and Loiselle Indexes
These are two very extensive “Marriage Indexes” for the Province of Québec, however, they sometimes spill over and include Roman Catholic parishes in Northern New Brunswick. Also northern New Brunswickers may cross the provincial border, to work and to wed.

The Fichier Loiselle, a card index of marriages, 1642-1963, prepared by Père Antoine Loiselle, is in microform as a set of microfiche that fill four card-file drawers, two for the women’s names, two for the men. Take care! The names are alphabetical by surname but then, alphabetical by surname of spouse rather than Christian name of indexee.

The Institut Généalogique Drouin indexed marriages, by the name of the groom in: Répertoire alphabetique des mariages des Canadiens-français 1760-1935, 49 volumes (Longueuil, Québec City: Services généalogiques Claude Drouin, ca. 1989-1990), and by the name of the bride: Répertoire alphabetique des mariages des Canadiens-français 1760-1935: ordre feminin, 64 vols. (Montréal: Institut généalogique Drouin, [1991?]).

Each volume has two sections, related but not always to the marriage date, alphabetical by surname, then by first Christian name, then by surname of spouse.

There is a third section, available on microfilm, which includes marriages between 1930 and 1940, as well as marriages missed or omitted from the first two volumes, and some celebrated outside Québec. While the published volumes are available in many places, this microfilm is not well known or widely available.

Deaths
Most incumbents in local churches keep a record of burials, but may or may not include the day of death. The importance of funerals and burials will vary with the customs of the community and the denomination. Using some early registers, you may notice that Aboriginal societies give considerably more importance to deaths and burials than to birth and baptism.

Burial registers should always be checked against cemetery records and tombstone inscriptions. They may not always agree. Blame human error either in carving the stone or reading it after 100 years. Also check newspapers.

Death Date-Newspaper-Obituary
Remember that there will be a notice giving information on the death and funeral arrangements, but look further for an account of the funeral, and even further for a more elaborate obituary. The local correspondent may need time to consult people who knew the individual, and a week or two to write the piece.

Religious Archives
The University of Saskatchewan developed a list of Canadian archives that have websites; it is now available on the Canadian Archival Information Network. Links are by province, or by type, such as “religious archives”. Your library may have an old Directory of Canadian Archives which also lists most church archives and gives some idea of their holdings. The Canadian Council of Archives’ also gives web addresses.

Because most denominations were around long before Confederation (1867), you will find that while the churches’ “Head Offices” in Ontario may appear to be where their archives are held, in actual fact, the Maritime Provinces were in a quite separate jurisdiction and there are separate archives in the Maritimes.

Anglican
There are no New Brunswick archives for the Anglican Church serving the public. The province is in the Anglican Diocese of Fredericton. Two recent publications may give some guidance: Guide to the Use of the Synod Journals of the Diocese of Fredericton, 1890-1990, by Gillian Liebenberg (Fredericton, New Brunswick, 1995) and Clergy List, Diocese of Fredericton, from 1783 to the present, compiler Elaine C. Mercer (Fredericton, New Brunswick, 1995). The Anglican Diocese of Nova Scotia headquarters are in Halifax.

Baptists
Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, is to the Baptist what Mount A. is to Methodists. It is here you should go to find Baptist related material. The webpage for Acadia University Archives has a clear warning:


 * Many genealogical researchers come to the Acadia University Archives, interested in the Baptist Historical Collection. These records are usually not helpful, as the Baptist faith in general did not record births. Marriages and deaths were also infrequently recorded, if at all.

If at all possible, try to secure a copy of Phillip G.A. Griffin-Allwood, “The Mystery of Baptist Records, or the Lack Thereof”, Generations, Vol. 18, No. 2, Summer 1996, pages 32-36. Your local library, using Inter-library loan services might produce a photocopy of the five pages. If you are not a Baptist, this will explain many mysteries and where to find records.

Presbyterian
The Presbyterian Church in Canada has only one archival repository, that is in Toronto. Details of holdings and services can be found on their website. Archivists are Kim Arnold and Bob Anger. Searches (maximum 2 hours) are undertaken, for a fee, but expect at least a month’s wait.

Roman Catholic
There are four Roman Catholic Dioceses in New Brunswick, all under the Archdiocese of Moncton. Only Saint John has an archive service.

United Church of Canada
The Guide to Family History Research in the Archival Repositories of the United Church of Canada, published by OGS in 1996, has in its centre fold a chart of the “Union of Churches in Canada Leading Towards The United Church of Canada” which, if you can sort it out, will give you a good idea of the many branches of the Methodist, Congregational and Presbyterian denominations you must contend with in the 18th and 19th century.

Published in 1996, the section on the Maritime Conference Archives, is no longer correct. Formerly held in Halifax, in a basement room at Pine Hill Divinity Hall, the Maritime Conference Archives were moved to Sackville, New Brunswick, into refurbished ground-floor space in the Maritime Conference Building. The official opening took place on May 1, 1998.


 * Maritime Conference Archivist
 * Email: [mailto:archives@marconf.ca archives@marconf.ca]

In 1998, Carolyn Earle retired and was replaced by Judith Colwell. A native New Brunswicker, Judith had been employed at the Canadian Baptist Archives at McMaster Divinity College in Hamilton, Ontario. Her article, “All That Stuff”, Generations, Vol. 21, No. 4, Winter 1999, describes what you can expect to find in this archive which holds the documentary history of the Maritime Conference of the United Church of Canada from c.1925, and is also the depository of Methodist, Congregational and much Presbyterian material from earlier years.

Early Chignecto church records, especially Methodist material, may also be found at Mount Allison University Library or Archives. As well, some historical essays have been published by the Canadian Methodist Historical Society in Toronto.

Church Histories
We don’t think of individual church histories as potential sources of family data, unless we are researching a minister who served in a community. However, they may be worth checking. There is usually information on the burial ground or grounds, and where and when each was in use. I have seen photographs with gravestones just barely legible, and frankly, you never know until you look.

Between the Canadian centennial (1967) and the provincial bicentenary (1984), a lot of small churches were inspired to put together their history. Typical of the genre is The History of the United Baptist Church at Penobsquis (Moncton 1981), by Grace McLeod and Phyllis Hall. It is somewhat curiously organized, filled with names, dates and early photographs but lacking an index and poorly bound (my copy is shedding pages). Nearby, The Sussex Corner Bicentennial Committee compiled the History of Sussex Corner July 1984, edited by former teacher W. Harvey Dalling, curator of the Kings County Historical and Archival Society Inc. museum at Hampton. Two of the 32 pages are devoted to churches, eight to education, with a list of teachers from 1855.

More scholarly productions are Peter Penner’s The Chignecto ‘Connexion’: The History of Sackville Methodist/United Church (Sackville: Sackville United Church, 1960), which is well indexed, and Shirley A. Dobson’s The Word and The Music: The Story of Moncton’s Central United Church and Its Methodist Roots (Moncton: Central United Church, 1994), a valuable study of early Methodism in Chignecto, as well as a church history, but no index.

A useful little guide-book to churches and church locations is by Roger M. Holdsworth, Faith of our Fathers: The Story of New Brunswick’s Centennial Churches and of early religious life in the Maritimes (St. Stephen: self-published, n.d.). It contains a brief history of the various denominations active in the province and a list of 184 “Centennial Churches”, their location, name, denomination and date. If someone was a minister, or Deacon, or ran the Ladies’ Aid, these very local histories can undoubtedly be found at the local library or possibly accessed through the denominational archive.