Church Records Research Tip

Generally church records rank as the best available sources for information on birth, marriage, and death data. Long before vital records registration was required churches faithfully recorded this information. Often baptism and christening dates were used as the date of birth in family histories. Though many times the baptismal record will include the birth date or the baptism may be done within a few days of birth, it is possible that the baptism date could be inaccurate by as much as three years.