CHURCH RECORDS

For the genealogists records of Births, Marriages and deaths are primary sources of valuable information. These invaluable material have been generated by various agencies such as the Anglican Church which was the Established Church until 1869 and which has branches in most of the Family Islands, the Methodist Church, Baptist Denominations and other organized Churches.

Within the church records, genealogists can expect to find information such as dates of baptisms, marriages and burials. Names of parents, godparents, occupations and ages of bride and groom can also be found.

The Anglican Church records held at the Archives span the period 1733 - 1992. The Collections is comprehensive but by no means complete as some churches have not deposited their documents. The records are original manuscripts which are generally not handled by the public. However most of them are on microfilm and these are issued to researchers for use. In-depth list of records are also available to the public.

In The Bahamas the Parochial System was in use. The first parish was formed in 1734, it was called the Parish of Christ Church. St. John's Parish, Harbour Island, was established in 1768. Additional parishes were created throughout the eighteenth, nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

The Methodist Church is divided into a number of circuits which extend throughout the archipelago therefore a large quantity of documents have been amassed. These records covering the years 1802 - 1980 were deposited in the Archives in August 1988. Despite the fact that it is a large deposit it is nevertheless incomplete. These microfilmed records are available for public use with the consent of the President of the Methodist Church. In order to preserve the original, public handling of them is not allowed

The various churches in The Bahamas can be contacted for further information on past and current records.