Entre Rios y la República Oriental del Uruguay

From Buenos Aires, the Anglican and Scots Churches moved out into the surrounding provinces during the nineteenth century, following the movement of settlers from Britain. Beginning in the first half of the century, immigrants seeking land to cultivate looked northwards, as well as to the south and west.

Conveniently, the great River Uruguay proved to be an excellent corridor for travellers, so pioneering farmers established themselves in Entre Rios on the west bank and on the Banda Oriental (east bank), territory that was already an independent nation, the República Oriental del Uruguay. As the British, and many other peoples, populated these lands, so in time the church presence followed.

The Presbyterian Church sent the Revd Lachlan McNeill in 1866 to minister to the Scots families on the estancias on the east bank of the River Uruguay. The Anglican Church established congregations in Concordia (Entre Rios), Salto and Fray Bentos (Banda Oriental) from 1867. However, the clergy sent to these places found that, with the ease of communication presented by the River Uruguay, they were called on to meet the needs of the families living on both banks of the river.

So we find in the registers of baptisms and marriages, people from a wide area and from the two adjoining nations. Initially, it presents a slightly confusing picture to the researcher, but in the transcriptions on this website, each document has been presented in its entirety. The result is that researchers may be required to switch from one source to another in order to follow the history of any particular family. To add a further layer to the complexity, a certain number of baptisms and marriages relating to the people living in these zones was recorded in the registers of the Buenos Aires churches, indicating perhaps that the clergy at the centre, from time to time, travelled out to Entre Rios and to Uruguay to take the ceremony.

To maintain a clearer picture of the churches' activities in these areas, the registers belonging to the Concordia Church are given a separate division on the website (Entre Rios) and the activities of the clergy working on the east bank of the River Uruguay are to be found under the heading Uruguay. In due course of time, it is hoped to add to this division the transcription of the registers belonging to the Anglican Church in Montevideo.

In the question of the survival of the parish registers, the picture is mixed.
St Thomas' Church, Concordia has baptisms and burials from 1883, when that church was founded.
Salto Anglican Church: there is a transcription of the entries in the baptismal register from 1868 to 1920, the register of marriages celebrated between 1869 and 1912 and the register of burials between 1869 to 1920.
Fray Bentos Anglican Church: the first marriage register (1872-1892) is preserved in the London Metropolitan Archives.
The Fray Bentos and Salto Churches are now part of the Diócesis Anglicana de Uruguay.
The Scots Church church archives in Buenos Aires include the Revd Lachlan McNeill's register of baptisms and marriages for the years 1866-1883.