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Today in the mail I received a copy of the death register for Maryanna Zierak. The list of Sacraments includes Confirmation, Communion, and Extreme Unction (Anointing of the Sick). Why doesn't it include Marriage? She was married. Perhaps because it just didn't fit?

I mostly ask because I'm trying to find her marriage record, or any other record which might contain her parent's names. I'm hoping that the absence of Marriage as a sacrament means either she wasn't married in the Catholic church or wasn't married in that parish or there's no record of it or.... something. Anything.

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PolyGeo
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  • What's your best guess for what's written in column four? – Jan Murphy Aug 26 '14 at 00:00
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    @JanMurphy "Wojciech (mąż)". Wojciech is the Polish form of Albert, her husband's name. mąż is Polish for husband –  Aug 26 '14 at 00:03
  • Would someone outside their usual parish be confirmed before receiving communion and then extreme unction? The answer to that question might be a clue as to whether her marriage record would be found in this parish, or elsewhere. – Jan Murphy Aug 26 '14 at 00:05
  • I asked a friend of mine who is a Catholic priest and he suggested looking at the baptismal record to see if her marriage was recorded there. In his words "The master record is the baptismal register. That's where marriage and holy orders would be indicated." Since you have her husband's name, if her marriage was noted in the baptism register, it might be a way to confirm (pun not intended) that the register entries belong to the same person. – Jan Murphy May 15 '15 at 23:17
  • @JanMurphy She was baptized in Poland. I'm hoping to get that record soon though. –  May 16 '15 at 02:49

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My guess would be that the sacraments listed in the death register might be those which are associated with someone's death. Any marriage which took place would be in a separate register -- baptisms and births, marriages and deaths all have their own registers.

See The Three R's of Researching Roman Catholic Church Records by Lisa Alzo | May 14, 2013 from Archives.com's Ask the Experts section:

Deaths, Burials and Cemetery Records. Parishes may have detailed records of deaths and/or burials (in particular if the church has its own cemetery). Such records can include the name of the deceased (including maiden names), age at death, date and place of death or burial, the name of the informant, and whether the sacrament of Extreme Unction was received. The birthplace of the deceased may also be listed (if the deceased was an immigrant, perhaps even his or her town or village of origin).

(emphasis mine)

The header for column four says "Names of parents, or wife or husband" which suggests that parents' names are recorded when the deceased is a child, and when the deceased is married the spouse is listed. In the case of someone who is married, to find parents' names you need the marriage or baptism/birth registers.

In addition to the other resources list at the bottom of Alzo's article, see:

Jan Murphy
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