Journey Home Genealogy

Irish Genealogical Research | Dwight Radford

Call Today! 801.699.2450

Or send us an Email

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Ireland
  • United States
    • American Genealogy (general)
    • Native American
    • African American
  • Canada
  • International Genealogy
    • England and Wales
    • Scotland
    • Other Research
  • Research Services
  • Research Proposal

The United Church of Canada

14 Jun By Dwight Leave a Comment

The largest Protestant denomination in Canada is the United Church of Canada (UCC). It was created in 1925 through a union of the Methodist Church of Canada, over half of the Presbyterian Church in Canada congregations, the Congregational Union of Ontario and Quebec, and the Association of Local Union Churches. The Canada Conference of the Evangelical United Brethren Church joined the UCC in 1968. The UCC has emerged in the tradition of Liberal Protestantism.

The logic behind the uniting of these denominations was practical. Small towns across Canada may have had a Presbyterian, Methodist and Congregational church. Trying to find ministers in rural Canada was a problem. For communities on the prairies, they had already begun uniting prior to 1925 in an Association of Local Union Churches.

This affects your Irish Protestant research. Records for the old denominations are now part of a UCC congregation. They may still be held at the local congregation, deposited at one of the regional conference archives, or at the main UCC Archives in Toronto: www.united-church.ca/local/archivesThe “Archives Directory” on the website provides links to the conference archives. Some UCC congregation records have been microfilmed and are at the Family History Library. However, most are still in Canada.

When you are conducting your Irish immigrant research, and you note the religion in one of the Canadian censuses, the next step is to perhaps think in terms of the UCC to locate and have the appropriate records searched. The Presbyterian registers are trickier as many congregations did not join the UCC. Those records will not be at a UCC archive.

From my own experience, it’s worth your time to track down UCC records. It may be within the local record that the birth place in Ireland is preserved for an immigrant ancestor.

Filed Under: Irish Ancestry Tagged With: Canada, Church records, Libraries and Archives

About Dwight

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Dwight A. Radford

Dwight A. Radford is a professional family history researcher. Along with his staff they specialize in Ireland, England, Canada, African American, Native American, and United States. Connecting families together through historical documents and then creating a cherished family heirloom published book for generations to enjoy. Full bio…

Follow Our Blog

Blog

  • How do You Determine the Associates of Your Ancestor?
  • When to Jump Over the Water in Your Research
  • Grand Lodge of Ireland Membership Records Online

Online Course

  • My Courses
  • Courses
  • My Account

Contact

  • About
  • Contact
  • Research Services

Journey Home Geneology © 2023 · Designed by GO Marketing