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General => The Common Room => Topic started by: thecalifornialife on Friday 24 December 10 06:30 GMT (UK)

Title: How do I do church/parish research to find information on a ancestor?
Post by: thecalifornialife on Friday 24 December 10 06:30 GMT (UK)
I was looking through google book samples of this genealogy book. It was talking about doing research through church/parish records. How do I go about requesting information from a church? What information should I look for? I am having trouble with this one ancestor. I the name of his wife. I believe he used a couple different first names. I know the name of his wife. Her name is pretty unique (Hulda Wallace). I figured I can search for her in these church records to see what church he attended and to see what name he used. If I can't look for her with him if I have to find birth records through the church, I at least what to know where to start my search for these records.
Title: Re: How do I do church/parish research to find information on a ancestor?
Post by: Guy Etchells on Friday 24 December 10 06:51 GMT (UK)
Not knowing where you are located or the years you are reserching it is only possible to give general advice.

Possibly the easiest route is to visit an LDS Family History Center and order the relevant microfilms of Parish Registers.
Depending on what parish and what time period viewing the parish records could provide a huge amount of information.
Cheers
Guy
Title: Re: How do I do church/parish research to find information on a ancestor?
Post by: thecalifornialife on Friday 24 December 10 07:04 GMT (UK)
For example, I am looking for church information on someone born in Missouri approximately 1860. I imagine that there wouldn't be a million people being born in the northern region of Missouri during 1860. I basically want to find all the people with the last name Wallace who were born during this time. So I would have to go to a LDS Family History Center and order records from all the Parishes who were open during this time? A older record says he was born during March. I believe the birth year is off by a year. I am seriously having the hardest time finding information on him and finding his parents. If my guess on his dad is right, his dad had a really long name and possibility went by different middle names throughout his life.
Title: Re: How do I do church/parish research to find information on a ancestor?
Post by: andycand on Friday 24 December 10 08:16 GMT (UK)
Hi

Your best bet may be to post details on the United States board and hopefully someone has knowledge of Missouri records. Also, the censuses would be worth looking at, you could try the 1870 census and if you can find him and his family then look for the family in the 1860 census.

Andy
Title: Re: How do I do church/parish research to find information on a ancestor?
Post by: sillgen on Friday 24 December 10 08:44 GMT (UK)
Hi
Have a look at the tips on the Beginners' Board http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,480454.0.html

www.familysearch.org is the site we all look at first  to find parish entries from that era and they may well be there and then you follow it up at the LDS centre as you said.
Good luck.
Andrea
Title: Re: How do I do church/parish research to find information on a ancestor?
Post by: nickgc on Saturday 25 December 10 01:00 GMT (UK)
Church/parish records in the US are not anywhere as likely as those in the UK to provide the kind of information you are after.  This is because there was no requirement for registering births until relatively late in US history.  After 20 years of research on my scores of US ancestors I can count the number of church records I have found on one hand with digits left over.

Unless you already know what (if any) church your relative belonged to, and can contact them, and they actually have retained the records in an archive, you are probably wasting your time in pursuing this avenue of research.

Sad to say, but true.

Nick
Title: Re: How do I do church/parish research to find information on a ancestor?
Post by: magsx1 on Tuesday 05 April 11 15:43 BST (UK)
Hi
Have a look at the tips on the Beginners' Board http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,480454.0.html

www.familysearch.org is the site we all look at first  to find parish entries from that era and they may well be there and then you follow it up at the LDS centre as you said.
Good luck.
Andrea

Hi,
I know I am being really thick but what do I do with the following once i have them

indexing project (batch) number:   M11475-1
system origin:   Scotland-ODM
source film number:   6035516

These are just an example not a record i want but thought i would use it as an example to ask you.
Thank you for your help :D

Title: Re: How do I do church/parish research to find information on a ancestor?
Post by: magsx1 on Tuesday 26 April 11 19:11 BST (UK)
 ::)
Does'nt anyone want to help me?
Title: Re: How do I do church/parish research to find information on a ancestor?
Post by: dawnsh on Tuesday 26 April 11 22:06 BST (UK)
Hi magsx1

If you have used the IGI to find an entry in a parish register, you can use the film number in that record to order that parish register on microfilm and view it at your nearest LDS family history centre.

You haven't updated your profile so we don't know where in the world you are. If you're UK based have a look here for local centres and how to access films listed in the catalogue.

Hope this helps.

Dawn

Title: Re: How do I do church/parish research to find information on a ancestor?
Post by: newburychap on Tuesday 26 April 11 23:47 BST (UK)
I know I am being really thick but what do I do with the following once i have them

indexing project (batch) number:   M11475-1
system origin:   Scotland-ODM
source film number:   6035516

M11475-1 is a batch of marriage entries from a parish register, sourced from Scotland (not sure what ODM stands for) and can be found on film number 6035516.

You can view the film at any LDS Family History Centre (they have them all over the world). You will probably have to go along and order the film then wait a while (a week or three) until it arrives.

As it is part of the indexing project you might hit lucky and find it on the LDS site (familysearch), and even be able to see scanned pages from the filmed original.
Title: Re: How do I do church/parish research to find information on a ancestor?
Post by: andycand on Tuesday 26 April 11 23:59 BST (UK)
Quote
M11475-1 is a batch of marriage entries from a parish register, sourced from Scotland (not sure what ODM stands for) and can be found on film number 6035516

This batch and film is actually transcribed from the Statutory Registers for Scotland not the Parish Register, and you can download an image from Scotlandspeople.

It might be a better option to give an example you are interested in as there may be an alternative to a FamilySearch Library

Andy
Title: Re: How do I do church/parish research to find information on a ancestor?
Post by: magsx1 on Wednesday 27 April 11 11:06 BST (UK)
 :) Thank you all very much,