John Blankenbaker's Germanna History Notes

Note 1704

Baptismal records are important to family historians because they provide two or three essential pieces of information:

1. The date a person's life began,
2. the names of that person's parents,
3. and the name that the male used throughout life.

Sometimes baptismal records will provide more or less than this.  The practice of keeping baptismal records began at the start of the Protestant Reformation in Switzerland, when Ulrich Zwingli urged the governing council (in Bern) in 1526 to start maintaining church records because many people (e.g., the Anabaptists) were not having their children baptized.  (Zwingli is often regarded as the founder of the Reformed churches.)  The practice of recording births generally spread, rather quickly, through the Protestant areas of Europe.  In 1538, Henry VIII stipulated that every parish priest was to maintain a record of all weddings, christenings, and burials.  A motivation in England was the desire that every citizen be a Protestant.  The Catholic Church initiated its record keeping in November of 1563, as a result of the Council of Trent.

The general rule is that a church which receives official recognition from the state will keep good records, while those who were denied recognition do not keep records.  Consider the Anabaptists in Switzerland who were persecuted severely.  If they kept records, these records might be seized and used by the state against them.  So they did not keep records.  In those areas of Europe where the Catholic Church gained recognition, the records are good.  In England, the Catholic Church was outlawed for periods of time.  There are no records for this church during such times.  In the Eighteenth Century, Catholic records in England and its colonies are sparse.  St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church in Philadelphia has a plaque dating from 1733 noting that it was the only place in the English-speaking world where the celebration of Mass could be performed legally.  Still, St. Joseph's did not start to keep baptismal records until 1758, because until then the priests were English.

The history and place of origin determine whether a church kept records, and this is related to when the church was recognized and allowed.  The German Reformed Church achieved recognition in 1648 as a result of the Thirty Years' War.  While the Presbyterian Church was the recognized church in Scotland, it was classified as a dissenting or non-conforming church in England.  Presbyterian records prior to 1760 are hard to find in Pennsylvania.

The Anglican Church, or Church of England, was an apostolic church where the bishops claimed succession from the apostles and they claimed the only true church had to be apostolic.  The Presbyterian Church made no such claim and drew the wrath of the Church of England.  It was said that it was not a true church.  Under Queen Elizabeth I, the Presbyterian, Congregationalist, and Baptist Churches did not meet the requirements for being a church.  The Moravian and Lutheran churches were considered apostolic and received a more lenient treatment.  At times the Quakers were not oppressed as severely because they did not recognize baptism or communion.
(27 Jun 03)