Archives to the rescue

Generally, the work of the Archives does not have the same urgency as the Anglican Community Ministries such as Belong Ottawa, Cornerstone or Centre 105 because it does not address crisis situations like homelessness. But now and then, our work and purposes come together. 

In February, a telephone call came from a woman worried about her brother who was homeless and on the streets. He was a troubled soul, and she was especially worried for him as he had lost all of his photo-I.D. except for his OHIP card. She hoped we would have a record of his baptism in one of our rural churches. Would we accept his OHIP card as photo-I.D., as opposed to the usual passport or driver’s licence? The Archivist explained that the Archives could not ask for an OHIP card (any more than a SIN card) as photo-I.D., but he would accept one if her brother chose to proffer one.

The Archivist then quickly checked in the parish register database at the Archives. He noted two entries regarding the brother’s baptism. The first reference turned out to be misleading, as there was no indication that the brother had been baptized in the 1950s as his sister said.  

But the second reference was to a page in a Service Register (sometimes referred to as a Vestry Book) which showed that the infant had been baptized on a particular date. The Archivist concluded that the baptism had occurred on a busy day at the peak of the baby boom. He telephoned the woman, asked her to fill out the ‘Request for Certificate’ form he was mailing her, and he would try to figure out some solution.

Going back to the database, the Archivist noted that there was a third reference to the man’s baptism. It turned out he had been baptized at a different church than the one his sister thought, and the Archivist was able to issue the certificate. The sister telephoned to express her joy at him being able to obtain this crucial proof of when he was born.