“If at
first you don’t succeed, search, search again. That’s why we call it re-search.” -
Unknown
Many of us have ancestors who held
the Catholic faith. Today, I wanted to share with you some resources, which can
make finding your Catholic ancestors a little bit easier.
1.
Start
with the Archdiocese/Diocese where their parish was located
If you
know which parish that your ancestors were members of, you may start by
visiting the website of the diocese in which the parish is located. Locate the
genealogy or archives web page, where their policy will be available for
requesting sacramental records: marriage, baptism, death, etc. Below, I have
linked the genealogy page for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati’s genealogy page. Here, you may download a PDF request form and mail
it in, or submit a request through an online form, along with a $25.00 research
fee.
Archdiocese
of Cincinnati Genealogy Webpage:
2.
What
if I don’t know
which parish my ancestor attended?
In
2017, there was a large project launched to digitize Catholic parish records
and make them available through the genealogy website, FindMyPast. The goal of
the project is to digitize Catholic Church records in Britain, Ireland, and
North America. Millions of records are already on the website, and there are
many, many more that will be added in the coming years. The sort of Catholic
records that you will be able to locate on the website are baptisms, marriages,
deaths and burials, and congregational records, and more. Records that are
available so far, include records of the dioceses of Philadelphia, New York,
Cincinnati, Chicago, Wilmington and Toledo. The international collection
includes records from Westminster, Liverpool, Middlesbrough, and Northampton in
England and all Scottish Archdioceses and dioceses.
The
FindMyPast website offers a 14 day free trial for new members. After the free
trial, a membership is $14.95 per month or $129 per year to access these
Catholic church records.
Find
My Past Catholic Heritage Archive:
3.
Catholic
Deaths and Burials
If you
have Catholic ancestors, it is likely that they were buried in a Catholic
cemetery.
 |
| Burial Information for Harry and Anna Fedczak and Harry Fedczak Jr. for Mt. Calvary Cemetery (Click on image to make text visible) |
 |
| Map of Mt. Calvary Cemetery, which shows where Harry, Anna, and Harry Jr. are buried |
This
past Spring, I took a trip to Wheeling, West Virginia to do some ‘genealogical sightseeing’.
During this trip, I wanted to visit the cemetery where my 2nd
great-grandparents, Harry and Anna Fedczak were buried. I knew that they were
buried in Mt. Calvary Catholic Cemetery, but I did not know which section of
the cemetery they were in. I looked online and found that there was no website
for the cemetery.
So, I went
to the website for the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston and found contact
information for the secretary of Mt. Calvary Cemetery. She was able to provide
the location of their shared grave, a map, and additional burial information,
along with information for their son, Harry Jr., who is also buried in Mt.
Calvary.
When I
took the trip, I was able to easily find them in the cemetery.
4.
Contact
the Parish!
While
the best place to start is the diocese website and formally requesting records,
don’t be afraid to contact the parish
that your ancestors attended, if it is known. There is usually only one or two
archivists per diocese and in large dioceses they can get very busy. Sometimes,
it can be easier to contact the church to see if they have the record you are
looking for!
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