You will need to know the place of origin before searching them. Therefore, these records are usually more useful for proving you have found the correct place of origin rather than for finding a place of origin. Completely extracted and indexed by county, these records are also listed in the International Genealogical Index . The International Genealogical Index also indexes many, but not all, church records for some countries, including Scotland, England, Germany, Mexico, and the Scandinavian countries. Check the Family History Library Catalog for other indexes to church records.
Many archives have church records, and they often publish inventories of their holdings.
Archives may also compile indexes to the church records of the region they serve. Civil Registration Civil registration records of births, marriages, deaths, and sometimes divorces are kept by national or local governments. Finding an emigrant in civil registration records usually means you have found his or her place of origin. In most cases, it is not a means of finding emigrants. Their value increases when they are indexed nationwide, such as in England and Wales after 1837, New Zealand after 1848, Scotland after 1855, and Ireland after 1864.