Berks County, Pennsylvania Church Records

List of Churches and Church Parishes in Berks County

 * FamilySearch Places

Databases with Several Denominations

 * 1512-1989 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images; includes various counties; Also at: Findmypast ($)


 * 1520-1999 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images; includes various counties; Also at: Findmypast ($)


 * 1708-1985 Pennsylvania, Church and Town Records, 1708-1985 at Historical Society of Pennsylvania – ($), free to members of the society, List of Churches Included; Also available at Ancestry ($)


 * 1710-1800 Humphrey, John T. Pennsylvania Births, Berks County 1710-1800 2 vols. Washington, D.C.: Humphrey Publications, 1997-1998. ;.


 * 1729-1881 Pennsylvania Church Records - Adams, Berks, and Lancaster Counties, 1729-1881 at Ancestry ($)
 * Berks County church records at USGenWeb. This site contains a list of churches in Berks and Schuykill counties and baptisms, marriages, and burials from Lutheran, Reformed, and other denominations.


 * 1856-1971 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images; includes various counties; Also at: Findmypast ($)

Amish
A branch of the Mennonites, early settlement in the Berks area consisted of congregations in Cumru, Maidencreek and Bern Townships. Bern Township was home to the Northkill Amish. The Northkill settlement was the largest Amish settlement up to the 1780s.

Records for the Amish are not readily available. However, if one does have an Amish background, a good place to start is the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society. Records are not available on-line and can only be viewed at the historical society.

Baptists
Baptists settled in Berks County about 1738 along the Tulpehocken creek by individuals from the counties of Chester and Philadelphia. Two congregations were formed but by 1774 both had disappeared from the Tulpehocken region.

Brethren
Also known as "Dunkards" or "German Baptists," the Brethren were in the Berks County area as early as 1724. However, the first Brethren congregation was settled in 1723 in Germantown, Pennsylvania. Early Berks County congregations were located near Pricetown, Millersburg and Oley with additional groups in the townships of Tulpehocken, Upper Tulpehocken and Bern.

Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, while currently prominent, had very humble beginnings in the county. Part the of Diocese of Allentown, the Catholic population in Berks County began to appear about 1740 and by 1757 had two congregations which amounted to approximately 250 people. It must be remembered that the Catholic Church persecuted the protestant denominations throughout European history. Hence, the protestants of Berks County were leery of the arrival of the Catholic Church arriving in the area. Currently, the FamilySearch Library has few Catholic records. It is best to contact the church or the diocese where the ancestor lived.

Congregational Church

 * 1620-1991 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images; includes various counties; Also at: Findmypast ($)

Episcopal/Anglican Church
Bangor Church, Caernarvon Registers are lost, but some parishioners appear in the registers of St. James's Church, Lancaster. An old trunk was discovered at Bangor Church with "sundry account-books and ancient title-deeds. Christ Church, Reading
 * 1763-1850  in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - index
 * 1767-1777, 1825-1850  in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - index

St. Gabriel's Church, Douglassville Registers begin in 1735.
 * 1735 -1815  in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - index

St. Thomas's Church, Caernarvon Registers are lost, but some parishioners appear in the registers of St. James's Church, Lancaster.

Lutheran Church
The Lutheran denomination existed in the Berks County area as early as 1727 when Lutherans from Schoharie, New York settled in the Tulpehocken area of the county. The German religions were the most abundant denominations in the Berks County area. The Lutheran and Reformed were united in the building of their church edifices. These structures were called "Union" churches as the Lutheran and Reformed congregations took responsibility for the maintenance of the building. The two denominations alternated their church services every two Sundays.

Because it is not unusual to find family religious ordinances in both Lutheran and Reformed records, it is wise to search both denominational records when researching.

Altalaha Evangelical Lutheran Church, Rehrersburg
 * 1757-1842  in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - index

Belleman's Lutheran Church, Centre Township Evangelical Lutheran Church, Sinking Spring
 * 1798-1806, 1831-1871  in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - index
 * 1853  in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - index

Huff's Church, Hereford Township

Little Tulpehocken or Christ's Church Evangelical Lutheran, Jefferson Township
 * 1726-1846  in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - index
 * 1735-1750  in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - index

Maidencreek Lutheran Church, Brandon
 * 1861-1885  in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - index

Mertz Lutheran Church, Rockland Township


 * 1749-1767  in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - index

Oley Hill or St. Joseph's Church, Pike Township
 * 1731-1734, 1754-1881  in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - index

Salem Lutheran Church, Bethel
 * 1861-1885  in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - index

Trinity Lutheran Church, Reading


 * 1838-1885  in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - index

Zion's Moselem Lutheran Church, Richmond Township
 * 1737-1771  in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - index

Quaker (Society of Friends)
Also known as the "Friends," the Quakers earliest settlement in the Berks County area was in 1725 in what was Amity Township. Later meetinghouses were erected in the townships of Maiden Creek and Robeson and eventually in the town of Reading. The Quakers had considerably political control of the county as long as the Penn proprietors controlled the colony of Pennsylvania.

Early Quaker monthly meetings (with years established):


 * Exeter Monthly Meeting, near Stonersville, Pa. (1737). First known as Oley Monthly Meeting. Hinshaw published the early records:.

Reformed Church
Also known as "German Calvinists" or "Dutch Reformed", Reformed congregations had their beginnings in Berks County in the townships of Oley, Greenwich and Heidelberg. The Reformed congregations were heavily associated with the Lutheran congregations. For a list of ministers see the attached reference.


 * History and directory of St. Paul's Memorial Reformed Church, North Sixth Street, Reading, Pa. at Ancestry $
 * Berks County, Pennsylvania, 1745-1805: Cacusi or Hain's Reformed Church at Ancestry ($).
 * Berks County, Pennsylvania, 1762-1810: Longswamp Reformed Church Records at Ancestry ($).

Christ Manatawny or Delong Reformed Church, Bowers
 * 1765-1859  in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - index

Friedens New Alemangel White Church Lutheran Church, Wesnersville Host Reformed Church, Tulpehocken Township
 * 1772-1855  in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - index
 * 1740 1875  in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - index
 * 1752-1760  in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - index

Reformed Church, Oley
 * 1763-1783  in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - index
 * 1784 1860  in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - index

St. John's Reformed Church, Kutztown
 * 1840-1951  in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - index

St. John's or St. John's (Hains) Reformed Church, Lower Heidelberg Township
 * 1745-1875  in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - index
 * 1872-1883  in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - index



Archives, Libraries, and Societies with Church Records
Many denominations dot the landscape of Berks County. Visiting the church your ancestor attended is recommended; however, many times, due to distance, that is not possible. The Historical Society of Berks County has an on-line index of more then 1.2 millions names, gleaned from the records of more than 300 local churches. It is not a complete index but still worth your time if you are looking for baptism, marriage, and burial records. The index is searchable in numerous ways, but searching by last name or church name is probably most popular. The index lists the name of the record, volume and page number where the individual record can be found. The volume and page number refer to books located at the historical society. To view the actual record, use the printable on-line form that can be mailed to obtain a copy of the record or visit the society. There is a fee for acquiring the record by mail. Check the website for current fees.

The Berks County Genealogical Society has various records for churches throughout the Berks County area. However, the society has not put the records on-line and to view the records one must go to the society. Church records of Berks County are located under the Research tab.

Additional church records can be located at Linkpendium and by searching the FamilySearch Catalog. The FamilySearch Catalog has a plethora of for Berks County, many are limited in the time frame they cover. When searching the FamilySearch Catalog, be sure to also search at the town and township level.