Our holdings contain the records of baptisms, confirmations, marriages, and burials of thousands of people. For the most part the record keeping of the priests has been very good.  There are unfortunate gaps in parish records due to registers that were lost or burned in church fires.  In addition to pensions these records are needed for marriages, passports, and genealogy.  Some of the early priests made comments in the vestry books, such as, “So cold the communion wine froze,” or “Attendance poor due to a cricket match, disgraceful!” - Howard Hisdal, Diocese of Kootenay Archivist 2002-2009

Accessing Vital Records

Privacy legislation governs access to all parish registers, so you can only request your own record unless it is:

  • a baptism more than 100 years old
  • a marriage more than 75 years old
  • a burial more than 20 years old

If you are requesting a record on behalf of someone else, please have them send written permission to the archives so that the archivist can release the information to you.  

To request records and other information from the archives email archives@kootenay.info