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United States

Church Records in the U.S.
The United States is a country of religious diversity. Unlike many other countries, there has been no “state church,” except for a few periods in some of the early colonies.

Church records in the United States began in the early 1600s. Unfortunately, the United States did not require a civil registration or recording of births, marriages, and deaths until into the 20th Century. Sometimes church records are the only records containing that information about individuals and therefore, are a valuable substitute when vital records do not exist.

Your ancestor may have changed denominations for reasons of convenience or by conviction. When the family moved to a new community, they may have sarted attending a church located there, or they may have changed denominations by conversion.

To learn more about the church records and their repositories in a state, click on a state below.

Information found in Church Records
The information kept by a specific church depended largely on the denomination of the church and the record keeper. Each denomination had guidelines (or lack of guidelines) on what the minister or other church clerks were to record.

Many denominations recorded christenings, baptisms, marriages, and burials of members of their congregation, which consequently recorded birth, marriage, and death dates. However, the information recording these events varies greatly from church to church. Additional information was often recorded when recording events such as parents’ names of couples getting married, god parents and witnesses (often family members and close friends), and even town of birth for some immigrants.

Other church records include communion, admissions and removals, financial records, Sunday Schoool lists, an annual church census, church-related newsletters and other church publications.

For more information about the history of American Churches.

How to search for Church Records
Church records are kept at local churches, in church archives, at historical and genealogical societies and in libraries. Many church records have been pulbished in books and periodicals.

To locate your ancestor in church records you must know:


 * Denomination
 * Where they lived

Determining the Denomination: With the religious freedom in the United States, many different churches have thrived throughout the Country’s history. This may make it difficult to determine the denomination of your ancestor. If you know the country of origin before the family came to the United States, it can give you a clue as to the religion they may have belonged to. If your family originally came from England, they may have belonged to the Church of England and therefore, belonged to the Episcopal Church in the U.S. Be aware that some individuals immigrating were avoiding religious persecution and therefore, may have belonged to a church not popular or common in their home country.

Records that help in determining denomination:


 * 1) What country did your family come from?
 * 2) Look in home sources for church certificates such as a baptism certificate or a marriage certificate. Also search for funeral notices to see what church the funeral took place in.
 * 3) Obituaries may mention the church where the funeral took place for your ancestor.
 * 4) Locate the marriage record or certificate for a couple. If they were married by church authority it will state the name of the clergyman and sometimes the church he was from.
 * 5) Look for the cemetery they were buried in. Some religions have their own cemeteries. If they were buried in a church cemetery, they belonged to that church at one point.
 * 6) Family Bible might reveal which church the family belonged to.
 * 7) County histories may contain information about the local churches in the area that the family may have belonged to.
 * 8) If your ancestor lived in a large city, check the city directory to see what churches were in the same neighborhood her ancestor lived in.
 * 9) Contact the local genealogical society or public library for information on churches in the area.

Where they lived: It is necessary to know the town or at least the county your ancestor lived in to locate their church records. This will help you in narrowing down the possible churches that your ancestors may have gone to.

From the Church
If you know the church your ancestor went to, contact the current minister to find out what records are still available at the church. Some churches keep their records and provide a way for your to make a search or research the records yourself.

From the Denomination Headquarters
When a church closes or the church records are no longer held at the church, often the records of their congregation go the Denomination archives or their church headquarters. Many larger denominations have centralized records and provide a way for the records to be accessed by genealogists. Some denominations still keep their records private and give no access to church records. It is important to contact the church organization and ask concerning the church records to see what is available.

See the United States Churches by Denomination page for information about how to contact these denomination headquarters.

From Family History Centers
The Family History Library (FHL) has a substantial collection of original church records and transcripts on microfilm for churches across the United States. These include records of many denominations, particularly the Quaker, Presbyterian, Congregational, Lutheran, Reformed, and Roman Catholic churches in the eastern, southern, and midwestern states.

The library also has an extensive collection of records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This includes membership records, temple records, and church censuses.

Microfilms of these church records can be loaned to Family History Centers (FHC) located around the world. Locate a Family History Center.


 * 1) Make a search of the Family History Library Catalog (FHLC) to see what records are available on microfilm to order to your local Family History Center, do the following:
 * 2) Go to Family History Library Catalog (FHLC) online.
 * 3) In the “Place Search” of the FHLC, type in the town or city your ancestor lived in.
 * 4) The FHLC will give you a list of possible places that match what you typed. Click on the correct match.
 * 5) Church records are located under the topic of: Church Records. Click on this topic and you will see a list of all the church records available for this particular place in the FHLC.
 * 6) Scan the list of church records available and determine if the church is the right denomination and covers the time period of when you ancestor lived.
 * 7) Click on link for the church record you want to search.
 * 8) Click in the right hand corner button, "View Film Notes."
 * 9) This screen will tell you the film number for the record you want to search.
 * 10) With the appropriate microfilm number, you can now order the microfilm from a Family History Centernear you.