Baptism  &  Confirmation Records

Baptism is a sacrament in the Catholic church that is administered to an infant as early as possible after birth.  In Austria, an infant was generally baptized within a few days of birth, and sometimes even on the very day of birth.  In the early days in America, when there was not always a priest nearby, there was sometimes a delay in baptizing a child, but most often it was within the first 6 months to the first year of life.  In later years, when the Fritscher family lived nearer a Catholic Church that had a priest in residence, baptisms tended to be performed within a couple of months after birth.  Since Catholic Churches keep very good records, I was able to find baptism and often confirmation records for our family as members of various parishes in Minnesota, Texas and Oklahoma.    Confirmation of their faith was generally done as children became older and were able to study and understand the many facets of the Catholic Church.  Children as young as eight or nine years of age up through young teens took part in Confirmation.  Confirmations were recorded by the local parish just as baptisms and marriages were.

The menu at the left will provide information from the records that I have found.