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*This India List [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/INDIA/2009-12/1262183536 post] advises individual Roman Catholic parish churches were obliged to send an annual copy to their Diocesan offices. These are known in the UK and elsewhere as "Bishop's Transcripts".
:As long as the Diocesan records have not been destroyed, you will always find a copy there from every single parish church within that diocese. If you don’t get a result from the parish (where for instance, as in Burma, many have been destroyed) then write to the Bishop's secretary.
:The same procedure is followed in the Anglican church, and the same reasoning applies
*This India List [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/INDIA/2011-05/1304592791 post] suggests contacting the church in India for hard to find information. “I have seen many comments and notes in register books that are not repeated in the returns which are now in the BL”.
:This would also apply to Anglican churches
*India List [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/INDIA/2010-04/1272663813 post] about searching the registers of the Roman Catholic Cathedral in Agra. “I came to realise that the entries frequently contained more information than one finds in the "Company" registers - but it was necessary in many cases to draw upon my school Latin”. For Latin language aids, see the page [[French]]
*This India List [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/INDIA/2009-11/1258214986 post] gives details of a [marriage] Banns book at Roman Catholic churches. The example mentioned contained information additional to the marriage record.
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==Accuracy==
The ecclesiatical records in the India Office collection are transcriptions of registers from churches in India, sent to London for administrative purposes. As such, there are occasional transcription errors. As an example, the British Library IOR records show the surname as 'Hobeau', whereas the original hand written entry in the register at the church in Madras shows the name as 'Hobson'.<ref> India List [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/INDIA/2011-02/1296753914 post] by Colin Evans</ref> It is also possible to have age transcription errors<ref> India List post [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/INDIA/2010-04/1271243050 Church transcription errors]</ref>
Note that the name of godparents are entered only occasionally on copies of baptisms in the Ecclesiastical Returns held at the British Library. This information is, however, generally available from the church registers in India.
==Records at the British Library==
====Online records and transcriptions====
*'''The commercial website [[findmypast.co.uk has ]] digitised the India Office Church records and they were released online on 29 January 2014.''' Due to the fact that more recent records may contain details for individuals who are still living, the website findmypast host only a basic index for birth/baptism records within 100 years and marriage records under 84 years. <ref> [http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/findhelpregion/asia/india/britishinindia/index.html The British In India Collection]bl.uk </ref>
*Many of the indexes have been previously transcribed by FIBIS Volunteers and are available in the [http://www.search.fibis.org/frontis/bin/index.php FIBIS Search database] under the heading Ecclesiastical Records.
*[[Catholic Churches in Madras]], a list of Roman Catholic churches in Madras, with their date of building and approximate location. This list was kindly transcribed by Peter Bailey.
*[[Calcutta#Other|Calcutta]], a reference to a listing of church records in Calcutta to 1800.
==External links==
*[http://www.awin1.com/awclick.php?mid=2114&id=201071 findmypast]
*House of Lords: [http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/lords/1927/may/31/indian-church-bill-hl Indian Church Bill 31 May 1927] Hansard. An Act to make provision incidental to and consequential on the dissolution of the legal union between the Church of England and the Church of England in India. Follow the links "Forward to" on each page
**Churches Vested in The Crown. (Towns and Names of Churches) Revised List [http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/lords/1927/may/31/diocese-of-calcutta-1 Part 1], [http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/lords/1927/may/31/diocese-of-lucknow Part 2]
*[http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/country/din.html All Catholic Dioceses in [current<nowiki>]</nowiki> India including historical] and [http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/country/dpk.html All Catholic Dioceses in Pakistan including historical] from [http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/ Catholic-Heirarchy.org]
*[http://web.archive.org/web/20080430112154/http://home.att.net/~Local_Catholic/Catholic-India.htm Local Catholic Church History in India]. This is a terrific site by Ann Mensch but which is now archived, which provides a wealth of information on all Indian Catholic dioceses, as well as some interesting links on Catholic family history. Archived version at 30 April 2008.
*[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07722a.htm India] New Advent Catholic Encyclopaedia
*[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06602a.htm Archdiocese of Goa] New Advent Catholic Encyclopaedia
