Re: Augustus Maeburn Phillips, 1899
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In reply to:
Augustus Maeburn Phillips, 1899
Michael Davidovics 2/11/11
Dear Michael,
I looked up Cradock. It has a parish church called Sacred Heart established in 1849.Baptism records can be kept in the parish church or in the archives of the Diocese.Usually they are in the parish church.You can write a letter saying your relationship to Augustus and what you know about when he was baptized.(Baptism records are filed by date.)
You address a priest as Dear Father Smith.You address a bishop as Dear Bishop Smith.Use standard business form for the letter.It is a good idea to include a search fee and a self addressed stamped envelope, because baptismal records are filed in ledgers or registrys according to date, so the priest will have to do some manual searching.My diocese charges a $5 per document search fee.I've seen search fees as high as $20.Send what you think is fair, and say that you'll be glad to send more if the search fee is higher.
Be sure to label the money as a search fee, so it doesn't get mistaken for a donation.The Catholic Church has a serious personnel shortage, so there isn't a lot of time to devote to searches.Searches for couples needing to prove they are eligible to marry and for immigrants needing to prove their residency status get priority here in the US.The Church recognizes the need to support and strengthen a sense of family identity by providing genealogical searches when they can.If they don't have time to do a search on Augustus, they should return your search fee.
I've heard that getting records from South Africa can be a problem, so you might like to look for a South Africa genealogy forum to see what other people have done.
This is the link to the diocese that serves Cradock. http://www.catholic-pe.co.za/parishes.htmhttp://www.catholic-pe.co.za/parishes.htmAt the top of the page you will find Parishes.If you click on it, you get a list of parishes filed alphabetically by their towns.
Here is what I found for Cradock (They spell it with one d)
CRADOCK
Sacred Heart 1849
104 Adderley St. PO Box 89, Cradock 5880.
Tel & Fax: (048) 881 2776
Cell: 0834637466 Email: pending
Priest-in-charge: FR. SIMON GAVU,
Mass Times: Sunday 9.30 am ~ Thursday 6.00 pm
Also serving: St John's, Michausdal 1974
Priest-in-Charge: FR. SIMON GAVU
Mass times: Sunday 7.45 am ~ Wednesday 6.00 pm
Also Serving: St Mary's, Notwala St. Lingelihle 1963
Priest-in-Charge: FR. SIMON GAVU
Mass times: Sun. 11.00 a.m.
St Rose's Chapel, Michausdal 1975 .
Institutions: St Rose's Kleuterskool Tel: (048) 881 3681 & Good Shepherd Hospice.
If I think of something else, I'll post again.
Sincerely,
Kate Hagel