Chicago Roman Catholic Parish Baptisms

Each result will provide a transcript and image of the original baptism register from the Archdiocese of Chicago. Records currently included in this collection span from the mid-1800s up to 1925.

• First name(s)

• Last name

• Sex

• Birth year

• Baptism year

• Baptism date

• Father’s first name(s)

• Father’s last name

• Mother’s first name(s)

• Mother’s last name

• Residence

• Birth place

• Parish

• Church location

• City

• County

• State

Make sure to check the image relating to the transcript as the image may provide additional details concerning your ancestor. Additional details you may find are sponsors’ names, the name of the minister who performed the ceremony, and notice of a later marriage.

Baptism entries were sometimes updated by the parish priest with details of the parishioner’s subsequent marriage as Catholic priests were charged with noting all vital events of their parishioners, even after they had left their home parish.

The Archdiocese of Chicago was first established as a diocese in 1843 and later as an archdiocese in 1880. The archdiocese serves the Catholic population of Cook and Lake Counties in northeastern Illinois and consists of 6 vicariates and 31 deaneries.

During the nineteenth century, Chicago was one of the fastest growing cities in the world, the population increasing twentyfold between 1860 and 1910 to make it the fifth largest city in the world. Chicago was a veritable boomtown, with its population swelling with emigrants from Europe; Czech and Polish emigrants represented a large proportion of this growing population. Czech emigration peaked in the 1870s, and because many were devout Catholics, Czech Catholic churches were built all over the city. One of these churches was St Vitus. You can view the records of St Vitus in this collection as well as other Czech churches, including St John Nepomucene.

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)

• Christening (baptismi, baptizatus, renatus, plutus, lautus, purgatus, ablutus, lustratio)

• Child (infans, filius/filia, puer, proles)

• Father (pater)

• Godparent (patrini, levantes, susceptores, compater, commater, matrina)

• Married together with (matrimonium contraxit cum)

• Mother (mater)

• Name and residence (nomen et residentia)

• Parents (parentes, genitores)

• When (quando)

• Where (ubi)