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Until recent years, the local church was quite commonly the centre of social as well as religious life in Prince Edward Island communities. As such, church records can be one of the most useful sources of marriage and baptismal information, family members names, and other vital statistics prior to 1906. Records that have not been lost or destroyed by fire or flood have been preserved on microfilm and can be found among the Public Archives and Records Office holdings. Baptismal records for the period between 1886 and 1906 and post-1906 official birth, marriage and death records are kept at the Prince Edward Island Vital Statistics office in Montague, Prince Edward Island.
Cemeteries are a unique source of
information for genealogists. With at least one
and often three or more churches in every Island
community, there are cemeteries scattered across the
province. Church cemeteries are easily accessible sources
of birth and death dates, places of origin, Along with primary sources such as censuses, community directories, deeds, and court records, an exploration of church records and cemetery tombstones are an essential step in retracing Island family roots. These churches and graves hold special significance in that they may represent the only tangible vestiges of ones ancestors presence in an Island community. |