Religious Records �Beginning Genealogy

2024

Denise Beeson

Beeson@sonic.net

Genealogy: Using the Right Calendar�

New Year's Day was not always 1 January! Furthermore, it may not be obvious how this can affect your genealogical research.

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Calendars were developed to make sense of the natural cycle of time: days and years from the solar cycle, months from the lunar cycle. It took some experimentation before folks got it to the current system. There are many calendars, but for right now, we need be concerned only with the Julian and Gregorian calendars.

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Tale of two calendars

• The Julian calendar resulted from Julius Caesar's reformation of the system to conform more closely to the seasons.
• The Gregorian calendar was Pope Gregory XIII's solution for the gradual problem that had developed with the Julian calendar: over time the calendar was 10 days off the natural solar cycle. To compensate, the Gregorian calendar dropped 10 days from October in 1582. And to keep this problem of extra days from reoccurring, one day was added to February in every year divisible by 4.
• The Gregorian calendar was adopted by different nations at different times!

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Old vs the New Calendar

Double dating is the practice of giving dates, from 1 January, through February, to 25 March before 1752, two dates to represent the old and the new calendar, for example 23 January 1749/50. This may alternately be shown as 23 January 1749 O.S. (old style) or 23 January 1750 N.S. (new style).

The calendar change affects your research because it is sometimes hard to determine whether the dates are meant to be old style or new style. You may think that the change was not significant enough to make a difference in your research, but it does. If you find records that indicate Abraham was born on 27 March 1741 and his younger sister Ruth was born on 23 March 1741, you may think there is something wrong. In reality, it is likely correct, because 23 March of 1741 in the old style calendar followed 27 March 1741 by about 12 months.

Doubling Dating in Great Britain �and the colonies

• England and its American colonies didn’t “go Gregorian” until 1752, so they lost an extra day.
• The day added to the calendar every four years (leap year) meant that the calendar was now 11 days out of sync with the solar cycle. To take care of this, the system was adjusted so that the leap day is dropped from every century mark not divisible by 4.
• Instead of dropping 10 days in October, the British dropped 11 days in September and changed the New Year from 25 March to 1 January.
• Why do you need to be aware of this interesting bit of trivia? The calendar change makes dates in the months of January, February, and up to 25 March, prior to 1752, subject to double dating.

George Washington’s birthday

• George Washington's birthday, 11 February 1731, under the old calendar became 22 February 1732 under the new calendar and would be expressed as 22 February 1731/32. This doesn't actually change the date of his birth, merely the way it is expressed.
• In 1731, February was almost the end of the year because 1732 began on 25 March. After the year 1752 there are two things to contend with: the dropping of 11 days, and the change of the beginning of the year from 25 March to 1 January.

International dating

• No Colonial ancestors? You’re still not off the hook: The Julian problem can affect your international family tree well into the 20th century.
• For Example, Russia didn’t convert completely from Julian time until 1918; Romania and Yugoslavia switched in 1919. Greece stayed on the Julian calendar until 1923.
• In these late-adopting countries, fairly recent marriage certificates, immigration documents and even postmarks may be dated almost two weeks behind calendars used elsewhere at the time. Your German kin could’ve left Berlin Sept. 7, 1909, yet reached Moscow Sept. 6.

Conversion links

Consult a “New Style” Julian Converter like Rosetta Calendar  https://rosettacalendar.com or Converting Between Julian and Gregorian Calendar in One Step from Stephen Morse. Just type in your Julian date and the tool will reckon it against our modern calendar.

If you find a pre-1752 date, write it exactly as you found it. Then access an Old Style-New Style Julian converter—not just any Julian converter; it also must account for old New Year’s Days. Ian’s English Calendar hosts a good one; just type in the Julian date; a modern Gregorian date pops out.

Tree Tips�

• Though the difference of 11 days can explain some records (he died on the third of the month but was not buried until the thirteenth), genealogists should not convert dates to account for the 11-day difference unless the old style date would cause confusion. If it does, change it, but indicate that the date has been conformed to the new style calendar. Or leave it as is and explain the seeming discrepancy.
• Genealogy format is usually day/month/year in your tree. Ancestry.com automatically changes it for you. In US records, 8/11/1928 is Aug. 11, 1928. In European records, it’s Nov. 8.

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Ceremonial Events

Baptism, Marriage and Burial

Record types

• Baptismal
• Marriage
• Burial

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Vital Records vs Liturgical Event

Baptism

• Infant having “grace” vs a “believers:
• Infant baptism is NOT a birth records but a church event.

Church of England- the baptism was recorded by the following Sunday –

Germany was 3 calendar days after event

Danger of LIMBO

Baptismal records (NOT a birth record)

• Records was handwritten noting the Date, name of child, father’s name (not always the mother) sponsors & officiate; see handwriting tips to understand the penmanship, i.e.. Double SS’s
• After 1812 preprinted forms in England; prior to handwritten
• Often the wife's maiden name was used as the middle name of infant.
• See collateral relationships in those that were witnesses or attending.
• Note calendar changes Latin calendar vs calendar of the time.
• Records may also include fathers' occupation, location of birth, etc.

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Marriage

• Marriage announcement

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• Marriage Bands

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• Marriage Certificate vs License

Marriage records �Why are Records Kept?

Church laws monitoring family relationships- Consanguineous relationships or “inbreeding”

Exception when it was convenient you will find a dispensation records i.e., royalty, Kennedys in the US

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Records for community information; dictated by a government in some cases.

Church ceremonial (Registers)

• Contained Name, father/mother, occupations (see online guide for language differences) Written in Latin—see preprinted forms.
• “Banns” Of marriage required 3 consecutive weeks to alert the public of pending marriage. Used to avoid multiple marriages or information barring a bride /groom from the marriage.
• To avoid announcement a “civil license” may have been purchased to avoid a church wedding
• Colonial American see Quaker meeting minutes. The entire community witnessed the event!
• Does the record exist? Note that churches have closed and consolidated records.

Other Church Records

• School Records, Financial records, editorial comments.
• Family Books: “familienbush”. Local records of community events linked with church records.
• Note that church records maybe held in local churches, the diocese or archdiocese. You may have to $ for records
• Some Protestant denominations may have annual books held in the regional office i.e., Methodist.
• Colleges and Universities with religious roots may have records.
• Always site your sources so that you can “prove” your information but also to return to the records for a second look!

Death or burial records

• Vital records will record at the county, state or as directed by the jurisdiction vs Church records
• Burial information/tombstone may not be accurate since the “informant” may be an attending physician or member of the family. “Cause of death” may not be what we would term today.
• Where the death occurred may not be the burial or religious record. Church may have had cemeteries on site or “sacred” ground in a local cemetery.
• Mortuaries may have been dedicated to a religious sect working closely with religious cemeteries.
• Review the “custom” of the time vs today's burial customs. Prayer cards and programs celebrating the death.

Gretna Greene?

• https://www.ancestryacademy.com/videos/marriage-mills-and-gretna-green
• https://www.ancestryacademy.com/videos/gretna-green-weddings-in-the-us

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• Gretna Green - Wikipedia

How to search!

• Does the record exist?

Ancestry.com see Search Catalogue Keyword Church (see databases) check for domination in locations. Largest collection of Methodist records.

Family Search.org see “Research Wiki “ and see records by country, state or ?

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• Be sure to read the explanation of the database to understand what is presented.

Conclusion

• Understand the historical context of the church you are researching and how they kept their records (or not).
• Review the record closely to find collateral relationships.
• Create your timeline, note that the calendar may have changed.
• Record you sources to verify your conclusion and to return to the record
• Does the record exist??

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