Ascension Vital Records
Ascension Historical Society has embarked on a joint effort with the Cathedral to preserve, digitize, and formally index the collected baptism, marriage, and death records that the church has held in its 100+ year history.
These vital records are a cornerstone to the community and are rich in genealogical information which spans generations of families. The digitization effort is being made to not only preserve the documents for many more years but to also allow easier access for genealogical research purposes.
This effort started in 2019 with donations contributed by parish members. As of January 2021, 5800 paper documents have been protected, the wedding and baptism indexes are halfway digitized, and the baptism records from 1949-1972 (about 1127 records) have been digitally scanned.
What you can learn in these records:
The earliest baptism, marriage, and death records are typically hand written in register books and written in Greek. About the 1940’s, the records were recorded on forms and continued to be written in Greek. It wasn’t until about the 1960’s that the records began to be recorded in English. For genealogical purposes, later records tend to yield more familial information than earlier records and the information connecting Koumbari is quite helpful when looking for extended family, cousins, etc.
Baptism Records
All records include the child’s name, parent’s names, date of the baptism, name of the presiding priest, and church name and location. The records also can include the child’s birthdate and location, parent’s names, location of residence, and the name of the Godparent(s)/Sponsor(s). The most recent records also can include the birth location of the child’s parents, city of residence, the signatures of the baptism witnesses, and information about the parent’s marital union including their religious affiliations and membership information (if members of the church) as well as the date and location of their marriage.
Marriage Records
The Marriage records tend to include multiple documents and require multiple steps. An “Affidavit for License to Marry” is filled out and needed to be sent to the presiding Diocese office prior to the wedding ceremony in order to obtain permission to marry in the church. Within the records one will find a wealth of information. The names of the bride and groom, birthdates and birth places, places of residence, date of baptism or chrismation, and religious affiliations. The names of the bride and groom’s parents along with their place of birth and religion affiliation is included. There would also be information indicating if the bride or groom had been married prior and, if so, records would be included to prove the dissolution of their first marriage (i.e. divorce records, death record of prior spouse).
Death/Funeral Records
The death or funeral service records tend not to be as formal or detailed in information as the birth and marriage records. These death records can range from information on the planned burial ceremony, a saved copy of the funeral card, and/or the printed obituary from the newspaper. The most common information includes the name of the person who died, date of death, age, and date of burial.
Interested in learning more about this collection? Or supporting the archiving of this collection?
If there is interest in supporting this ongoing and important effort, your donations would be very appreciated and welcomed and can be provided via the church office or this website.If there is interest in requesting a look up service of these records, please use the contact form on the home page of this website.