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How and Why to Record GODPARENTS in Your Family Tree

VIDEO PODCAST by genealogist Lynn Serafinn on how and why to record godparents in your family tree. Pros and cons of two different methods.

In Catholic baptisms, every child has at least one godparent, but most typically two (a godfather and a godmother). Not every family historian bothers to record these godparents’ names in their family tree, and even those who do might not be making the best use of the information they can glean from them.

Occasionally godparents will have a family connection to the parents, and they can sometimes lead us to discover information about the family we didn’t previously know. But even when they do not have a familial connection to the child, hunting down godparents can frequently help us uncover otherwise undiscoverable information about our ancestors — especially those born before the beginning of the parish records. But how do you do this?

In this 40-minute video, I cover: 

  1. WHY you would want to record godparents in your tree.
  2. Types of INFORMATION you can discover by looking at godparents.
  3. EXAMPLE of how many people record godparents, and why I do not use that method.
  4. EXAMPLES of how I record godparents and why.
  5. A look at an old BAPTISMAL RECORD from the 1500s.
  6. Example of doing a ‘GODPARENT REVIEW’ to try to identify an unknown mother of the children.

Kindly excuse the momentary screen blackout near the beginning of the video. I only noticed it after I uploaded it to YouTube.

I hope you find this video informative, and that it will help you in your research. I welcome your comments and questions below. Alternately, feel free to send me an email via the contact form on this website. 

BEFORE YOU GO…

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Until next time!

Lynn Serafinn, genealogist at Trentino Genealogy

Warm wishes,
Lynn Serafinn
Genealogist at https://trentingenealogy.com
26 January 2024

P.S. I have not yet booked any trips to Trento for 2024 (fingers crossed, I will get there later this year). But…

THE GOOD NEWS IS: I have MANY resources for research here in my home library, and I am able to do research for many clients without having to travel to Trento.  I am now taking bookings for Spring 2024.

If you would like to book a time to discuss having me do research for you, I invite you to read my ‘Genealogy Services’ page, and then drop me a line using the Contact form on this site. Then, we can set up a free 30-minute chat to discuss your project.

Join our Trentino Genealogy Group on Facebook: http://facebook.com/groups/TrentinoGenealogy

Lynn on Twitter: http://twitter.com/LynnSerafinn

View my Santa Croce del Bleggio Family Tree on Ancestry:
https://trentinogenealogy.com/my-tree/
CAVEAT: Please note that the online version is many years out of date, as I have been working on it offline, and have added many thousands of new people and fixed many errors. 

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