Information for Family Historians
St James’ Church was the second Anglican church in Sydney.  It was consecrated by the Reverend Samuel Marsden on 11 February, 1824, and has been in continuous use as a place of worship since that date.  The baptism, marriage and burial registers of the church are a valuable source of information for family historians.  They are, however, very fragile and, for conservation reasons, are not generally available to researchers, nor can they be photocopied.

 

Microfilmed records

In order to make these records available for research, while ensuring their preservation, the following registers have been microfilmed: 
  • Baptisms 11 February 1824-21 December 1924 *
  • Banns of marriage 7 March 1824-11 September 1864
  • Marriages 27 February 1824-24 August 1963 *
  • Marriage declarations 1870-1892
  • Burials 29 February 1824-1856
 * Records after this date are not currently available for general research. 

These microfilms are available at:
  • The Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales, Macquarie Street, Sydney (see their website http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/ for opening hours)
  • The Society of Australian Genealogists, Richmond Villa, 120 Kent Street, Sydney (see their website http://www.sag.org.au/ for details of membership and opening hours)
 

The Society of Australian Genealogists (SAG) Reel Numbers for the microfilmed St James’ Church records are as follows: 

Baptisms         1826 - 1835                             SAG Reel 62
Baptisms         May - June 1835                                  SAG Reel 136
Baptisms         1835 - 1854                             SAG Reel 61
Baptisms         9 July 1854 - 21 December 1924       SAG Reel 86
Banns of marriage      1824 - 1864                             SAG Reel 62
Marriages        1824 - 1825                             SAG Reel 61
Marriages        1826 - 1835                             SAG Reel 62
Marriages        Nov 1835 - January 1839                    SAG Reel 136
Marriages        1839 - 1853                             SAG Reel 61
Marriages        1853 - 1858                             SAG Reel 64
Marriages        15 May 1858 - 9 December 1892       SAG Reel 65
Marriages        December 1892 - 1915                       SAG Reel 136
Marriages        28 August 1915 - 18 April 1925           SAG Reel 137
Marriages        18 April 1925 - 12 February 1934       SAG Reel 66
Marriages        24 February 1934 - 22 February 1947 SAG Reel 67
Marriages        28 February 1947 - 24 August 1963   SAG Reel 68
Marriage declarations 1870 - 1877                             SAG Reel 62
Marriage declarations 1877 - 1884                             SAG Reel 63
Marriage declarations 1884 - 1892                             SAG Reel 64
Burials 1824 - 1825                             SAG Reel 61
Burials 1826 - 1834                             SAG Reel 62
Burials 1834 - 1838                             SAG Reel 136
Burials 1839 - 9 August 1856                          SAG Reel 61
Burials 22 Dec 1845 - 28 July 1846                SAG Reel 68

 

The following notes may assist you with your research:

Baptisms 1824 - 1924
Marriages by banns 1824 - 1864
Marriages by license 1824 - 1963
Marriage declarations 1870 - 1892
Burials
Indexes to the St James’ Church registers
Cemeteries in Sydney and its suburbs
Monuments and memorials in St James' Church
The parish of St James: A Cautionary Note
NSW Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages