Citing parish registers not associated with a fixed location

In the Protestant Parish Registers of Quebec, during the 1800's, many churches did not yet have a permanent church building. As a consequence, it is not uncommon to see something like a "Church of England" register for the "Township of Clarendon, Bristol and Litchfield". Within the record, the writer invariably states the exact township of residence for the person or persons of interest.

Normally; in a citation, one would give the name of the church and show the building location in parentheses. This works well when the church had a fixed location in which events were held. In the noted case, the event may have taken place in any one of the townships comprising the parish, but typically would have occurred in the township of residence (e.g. Clarendon Twp.).

"Church of England (Township of Clarendon, Bristol and Litchfield, Pontiac Co., Quebec, Canada)" would most accurately identify the set of records used and is, in fact, the way the website shows the scope of the Church of England parish records. However; when trying to understand the records, one would find "Church of England (Township of Clarendon, Pontiac Co., Quebec, Canada)" to be more useful.

What is the generally accepted way this situation is handled in a genealogical citation, so as to not mislead or confuse the reader?

Submitted byEEon Tue, 07/12/2022 - 16:24

History-Hunter,  EE would go with your first option, and then (in the first reference note) add a statement to explain what you've explained here about the non-fixed location.