Canada, Newfoundland, Vital Statistics, 1753-1893

What is in This Collection?

This collection contains records dating from 1753 to 1893. The records include images of church record transcripts. These records contain baptisms, marriages, and some burials from many churches in the province. Burial records were not systematically gathered for this collection so only a very small number are found in the collection.

Civil registration started in Newfoundland and Labrador in 1891 and 1892. At that time, all clergy were required to register every baptism, marriage, and burial conducted within their jurisdiction. Prior to 1891, no central registry existed, so the only record of a baptism, marriage, or burial was the one held by the church. During the 1930s and 1940s, Sir John Charles Puddester was disturbed that the original parish registers were in bad condition and some of the records had been lost in fires and other disasters. So, he initiated a program of transcribing the pre-1891 church records. Burial records were not requested, although some churches did submit them. The collection contains mostly Protestant records; only 6 of the 124 volumes are Roman Catholic records. Civil registration did not exist in Newfoundland and Labrador until 1891 or 1892. The Newfoundland Registers of Vital Statics were created in order to gather birth and marriage information from churches for the time period before 1891.

Additional records and/or images may be added to this collection in the future.

To Browse This Collection

What Can These Records Tell Me?

The following information may be found in these records:

Collection Content

Sample Images

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  1891 Birth Record

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  1861-3 Marriage Record

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  1889-90 Death Record