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

India

What is in the Collection?
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.

Collection Contents
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

How Do I Search the 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


 * 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

To search the collection, select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page, and then follow this series of links: ⇒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.

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.

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image. Collection Citation:

Image Citation