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Searching the Prince Edward Island Baptismal Index |
To maintain the integrity of the information in the Prince Edward Island Baptismal Index,
the data has been entered as it appears on the index cards housed at the Public Archives
and Records Office. Therefore, the spelling of names of people, places, and churches may
not be accurate by today’s standards. If a particular baptismal reference comes into question,
many of the original church records may be viewed on microfilm at the Public Archives and Records Office.
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Users may search the Prince Edward Island Baptismal Index in several ways; how you search
the database depends on what information you already have concerning a particular individual.
You may choose from the following search options:
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Child’s Name and Date Search: This type of search will allow you to enter a child’s surname,
given name, and possible year of birth/baptism. Although the card index housed at the Public
Archives and Records Office of PEI allows for the entry of both the birth and baptismal years,
the clergymen did not always write down the child’s birth date and occasionally wrote down the
child’s age in terms of days, weeks, or months. Usually the baptism falls within a year of
child’s birth although you might find an entry which indicates that the individual being
baptised was an adult. Because of these variations in data entry on the part of the clergymen,
both the birth and baptismal years are searched.
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Child’s Name and Place of Birth/Baptism: This search will allow you to enter the child’s surname,
given name, and place of birth or baptism. Because clergymen did not always indicate place of
birth, or the child’s place of residence (which was not necessarily the same as place of birth),
the index does not always provide this information. Therefore,
both the "Place of Birth" and "Place of Baptism" fields are searched. The place of baptism is
often indicated in the index although, if it is not, one can usually discern this by determining
the location of the church mentioned in the record. In cases where the place of birth or residence
is not given, one can usually assume the child was living in close vicinity to the church in
which the baptism took place.
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Father’s Name Search: This function will allow you to refine your search for a baptismal record
if you know not only the child’s name but also the father’s name. Enter both the child’s given
name and surname as well as the father’s given name and surname. You may leave the father’s
surname blank if you question whether or not it is the same as the child’s.
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Mother’s Name Search: This function will allow you to refine your search for a baptismal record
if you know not only the child’s name but also the mother’s name. Enter both the child’s given
name and surname as well as the mother’s given name and maiden name. You may leave the mother’s
maiden name blank if you are uncertain what it is.
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Parent’s Name Search: If you know the names of a couple and wish to determine what children they
had, you may use this search. Enter the surnames and given names of the father and the mother. If you
do not know the maiden name of the mother, leave the field blank. DO NOT enter the mother’s married
name in this field.
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**Please remember that when searching any names whether given or surname for the child, mother or father,
try any variations of spellings, nicknames, or in the case of given names, second or third possible names
as well as initials. Spelling was not standardized in the late 18th and 19th centuries. Therefore,
ministers and priests often wrote names the way they believed the names were spelled which was not
necessarily in accordance with the family. Also, clergymen often abbreviated names, given names in particular.
Click here for a list of examples of common abbreviations and
nicknames of given names.
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How to read the results of a search
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The results of a search in the Prince Edward Island Baptismal Index will indicate the number of hits
and produce a list of possible entries which meet the criteria you have specified. The results will
appear in a list of 20 possible baptismal records, with the option to view all hits. The results are
sorted by the name of the child and then by year of baptism.
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The following fields are displayed in the results list:
Child’s Full Name
Birth Date
Baptism Date
Mother’s name
Father’s name
Birth Place
Baptism Place
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By clicking on one of the names of the children in the result list, you will be taken to a new web page,
entitled "Individual Results", which provides more detailed information about that particular child’s
baptism. This page will provide information from the above mentioned fields as well as the Officiating
Clergy, Church Name, Church Location, Record Book Number, Record Book Page, Entry Number (which is sometimes
given in lieu of a page number), and any Notes which pertain to the entry. This Notes field often contains
information from the index cards which does not apply to any of the standard fields on the cards. Examples
include such terms as: "illegitimate"; "adult"; "Twin of Jane Doe"; "Father’s name unknown" etc.
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If you wish to obtain a microfilm print copy of a particular child’s baptismal record from the actual
church records you may do so from the Individual Results page.
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This information has been taken from website "Public Archives and Records Office"