Discover your Roman Catholic ancestors from Baltimore in these parish registers from the Archdiocese of Baltimore. The original registers were recorded in Latin. Our search tips provide translations to help you read the original registers. Among the records, you will find George Ruth, who later in life became the baseball legend Babe Ruth.
Discover your Roman Catholic ancestors from Baltimore in these parish registers from the Archdiocese of Baltimore. The original registers were recorded in Latin. Our search tips provide translations to help you read the original registers. Among the records, you will find George Ruth, who later in life became the baseball legend Babe Ruth.
With each result, you will be able to view an image of the original register and a transcript with the facts of the events. The details in each record can vary depending on the time of the event and the amount of information recorded. Most records will include a combination of the following details:
First name(s)
Last name
Age
Birth year
Birth date
Baptism year
Baptism date
Father’s first name(s)
Father’s last name
Mother’s first name(s)
Mother’s last name
Residence
Parish
City
County
State
Images may contain additional details such as, the names of the sponsors or godparents, the child’s birth place, the parents’ residence, and parents’ occupations. In early records, the registers noted the names of children of slaves and the registers included the names of the slave owners.
This collection of sacramental records was digitised from the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s archive of parish records. The Archdiocese of Baltimore is the oldest in America. The records comprise the City of Baltimore and 8 of Maryland’s counties including Allegany, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Frederick, Harford, Howard, and Washington.
If you would like to cite this record in your family history research, Findmypast suggests the following format: [Name of Parish] [(Location)]. Sacramental Registers, 1782 - 1918, [page number], [Item of interest "John Smith and Mary Jones, 17 October 1873"]; Archdiocese of Baltimore. Digital Images. Findmypast. (https://search.findmypast.com/search-world-records/baltimore-roman-catholic-parish-registers-browse : accessed DD MMM YYYY).
For example, the record for baseball legend, Babe Ruth, would be cited as:
St Mary’s Industrial School (Baltimore, Maryland). Sacramental Registers, 1782-1919, page 13, George Ruth baptized 7 August 1906; Archdiocese of Baltimore. Digital Images. Findmypast. (https://search.findmypast.com/search-world-records/baltimore-roman-catholic-parish-baptisms: accessed 7 September 2018).
Most Roman Catholic registers are in Latin. For help deciphering Latin terms, please see the below key terms:
Birth (nati, natus, genitus, natales, ortus, oriundus)
Baptism date (datum baptismi)
Birth date (datum nativitatis)
Birth place (locus nativitatis)
Cemetery (cemeterio)
Christening (baptismi, baptizatus, renatus, plutus, lautus, purgatus, ablutus, lustratio)
Child (infans, filius/filia, puer, proles)
Death, died (obiit, defunctorum, defuncti)
Father (pater)
Godparent (patrini, levantes, susceptores, compater, commater, matrina)
Marriage date (datum matrim)
Married together with (matrimonium contraxit cum)
Mother (mater)
Name and residence (nomen et residentia)
Parents (parentes, genitores)
Priest’s name (nomen sacerdotis)
Witnesses (testes)
When (quando)
Where (ubi)
Years of age (aetatis)