Minnesota, Paynesville, Grace United Methodist Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in the Collection?
This collection consists of digital images of records from Grace United Methodist Church in Paynesville for the years 1866 to 1968. Some of the records are in German. For help reading the records, see the following wiki articles:


 * German Word List
 * German Language and Languages

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
The information in the records varies by event and time period. You may find any of the following:


 * Names
 * Event dates such as birth, marriage, death or burial
 * Event places such as birth or death places
 * Names of other family members and witnesses
 * Ministerial Records

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:


 * The name of your ancestor
 * The age of your ancestor
 * The place where your ancestor lived
 * The approximate year of marriage
 * The name of the intended spouse

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒ Select the 'Record Type, Volume, and Year Range' category which takes you to the images.

Look at each image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination. Keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. Save a copy of the image or transcribe the information. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details. Add this new information to your records of each family. You should also look for leads to other records about your ancestors.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Use the church record information to find family in census, church, and land records.
 * Use the birth, marriage and/or death information to obtain a copy of the original certificates from the county.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times.
 * Titles may be clues to property ownership, occupations, rank, or status within the community.

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking for, What Now?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for alias names, nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Look for an index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume. In addition, local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records.
 * Search the records of other churches in the area.

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation:

Image Citation: Top of Page