North Carolina Church Records

--

Historical Background
Major religious denominations were established in North Carolina in the following years: Society of Friends (Quakers) (1672), Anglican/Episcopal (1700), Baptist (1727), Presbyterian (1730), Lutheran (1740), Moravian (1753), and Methodist (1772). The Baptist church was dominant by 1860 and remains so today. North Carolina residents, like those of other Southern states, since the colonial era have historically been overwhelmingly Protestant, first Anglican, then Baptist and Methodist. Before the Civil War, the Baptists split into regional associations of the North and South, over the issue of slavery.

By the late 19th century, the largest Protestant denomination in North Carolina was the Baptist, when both whites and blacks were considered, but the latter people had set up their own organizations. After emancipation, black Baptists quickly set up their own independent congregations in North Carolina and other states of the South, as they wanted to be free of white supervision. Black Baptists developed their own state and national associations, such as the National Baptist Convention USA, Inc.

The state also has a special history with the Moravian Church, as settlers of this faith (largely of German origin) settled in the Winston-Salem area in the 18th and 19th centuries. Presbyterians, historically Scots-Irish, have had a strong presence in Charlotte and in Scotland County.

Currently, the rapid influx of northerners and immigrants from Latin America is steadily increasing ethnic and religious diversity: the number of Roman Catholics and Jews in the state has increased, as well as general religious diversity. The second-largest Protestant denomination in North Carolina after Baptist traditions is Methodism, which is strong in the northern Piedmont, especially in populous Guilford County. There are also a substantial number of Quakers in Guilford County and northeastern North Carolina.

Information Found in the Records
To effectively use church records, become familiar with their content. Click on these links to learn about a specific record type:

Look for online records.

 * Bible, cemetery and church records from North Carolina, D.A.R. collection

FamilySearch Indexes

 * 1700-1970 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1866-1964 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1759-1979 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1898-1994 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

 * 1843-1925 North Carolina, L.D.S. baptisms card index, 1843-1925.

Lutheran

 * 1781-1969 - U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Church Records, 1781-1969, index and images, incomplete.($)

Quakers (Society of Friends

 * Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy. Vol. I: (North Carolina Yearly Meeting)
 * 1681-1935 U.S., Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935, index & images ($). Incomplete.

Look for digital copies of church records in the FamilySearch Catalog.

 * The FamilySearch Library (FS Library) has a substantial collection of original church records and transcripts on microfilm for churches in the United States.
 * Online church records can be listed in the FamilySearch Catalog under the state, county, or town.
 * If you find a record that has not yet been digitized, see How do I request that a microfilm be digitized?
 * Some records might have viewing restrictions, and can only be viewed at a FamilySearch Center near you, and/or by members of supporting organizations.
 * To find records:
 * a. Click on the records of United States, North Carolina.
 * b. Click on Places within United States, North Carolina and a list of counties will appear.
 * c. Click on your county if it appears.
 * d. Click on the "Church records" topic. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.
 * e. Click on Places within United States, North Carolina [COUNTY] and a list of towns will appear.
 * f. Click on your town if it appears, or the location which you believe was the parish which served your town or village.
 * g. Click on the "Church records" topic. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.
 * h. Some combination of these icons will appear at the far right of the listing for the record. FHL icons.png. The magnifying glass indicates that the record is indexed. Clicking on the magnifying glass will take you to the index. Clicking on the camera will take you to an online digital copy of the records.

-

Consult available finding aids.
These aids generally provide lists of records that are known to exist and information on their location.

Southern Baptist Convention
Inventory of the church archives of North Carolina : sponsored by the North Carolina Historical Commission, Southern Baptist Convention:


 * Alleghany Association, e-book
 * Brunswick Association, e-book
 * Central Association, e-book
 * Flat River Association, e-book
 * Raleigh Association, e-book
 * Stanly Association, e-book
 * Yancey Association, e-book

Correspond with or visit the actual churches.
Some records are still held in the local churches. Contact the current minister to find out what records are still available.
 * Make an appointment to look at the records. Or ask the minister of the church to make a copy of the record for you.
 * To find church staff available, you might have to visit on Sunday.
 * Ask for small searches at a time, such as one birth record or a specific marriage. Never ask for "everything on a family or surname".
 * A donation ($25-$40) for their time and effort to help you would be appropriate.
 * If the church has a website, you may be able to e-mail a message.
 * See the Letter Writing Guide for Genealogy for help with composing letters.
 * Each denomination page offers an online address directory of local churches for that denomination.

Check the church records collections in archives and libraries.
Some church records have been deposited for preservation in government archives or in libraries. Watch for links to digitized, online records offered by the archives. Some archives provide research services for a fee. For others, if you cannot visit in person, you might hire a researcher. '''Here you will find archive information unique to the state. Many more archives are kept by denomination. For denominational archives, go to  Searching for Church Records by Denomination.

-

Baptist
Baptist Historical Collection Special Collections Z. Smith Reynolds Library Wake Forest University P.O. Box 7777 Winston-Salem, NC 27109-7777 Telephone: 336-758-5089 Fax: 336-758-5605
 * 1750-1899 U.S., Southern Baptist Church Records, 1750-1899 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
 * Browse by Church
 * Digitized Collections

Free Will Baptist Historical Collection Moye Library Mount Olive College 634 Henderson St. Mount Olive, NC 28365-1699 Telephone: 919-658-7827 Toll Free: 1-800-653-0854 Fax: 919-658-8934
 * Library Search Engine
 * Online Collections

The Primitive Baptist Library 4057 N NC Highway 87 Elon, NC 27244 Phone: 336-484-5503 E-mail: [mailto:familyproviders@live.com familyproviders@live.com] (An appointment should be made before visiting.)

Church of England (Anglican, Episcopal)
'''These churches maintain records in each individual church. Closed parishes are kept in the diocese listed below:''' Diocese of North Carolina 200 West Morgan Street Suite 300 Raleigh, NC 27619

Telephone: 919-834-7474 or 1-800-448-8775 Fax: 919-834-7546
 * Find-a-Church

Diocese of Western North Carolina 900-B Central Park Drive Asheville, NC 28805

Telephone: 828-225-6656 Fax 828-225-6657 E-mail: [mailto:bishop@diocesewnc.org bishop@diocesewnc.org]
 * Find-a-Church

Diocese of North Carolina 705 Doctors Drive P. O. Box 1336 Kingston, NC 28503

Telephone: 252-522-0885 Fax 252-532-5272 E-mail: [mailto:diocese@diocese-eastcarolina.org diocese@diocese-eastcarolina.org]
 * Find-a-Church

Disciples of Christ
Discipliana Collections Barton College Wilson, NC 27893

Telephone: 252-399-6352 Toll Free: 1-800-345-4973 (Call for an appointment.)

Lutheran
James R. Crumley Jr. Archives 4201 Main St. Columbia, SC 29203 Phone: 803-461-3234 Contact form
 * Archives hold records for closed churches. For open churches write directly to the local church.

Moravian

 * The Southern Province Moravian Archives
 * 457 S. Church Street
 * Winston-Salem, N.C. 27101
 * Phone: (336) 722-1742
 * Email: moravianarchives@mcsp.org


 * Website
 * Our Memoir Collection
 * The Genealogy Bookshelves List of family surnames in the collection.
 * Moravian Churches Historical List
 * 1932 Catalog Overview of older holdings
 * Researcher Application Schedule an appointment.

An extensive set of books about the Moravians in North Carolina is:


 * Records of the Moravians in North Carolina, 1752–1879. 11 vols. Raleigh, North Carolina: Edwards &amp; Broughton, 1922–1969. Book 975.6 F2m; Films 1321198 and 1321210–1321211. Each volume is indexed.

Roman Catholic
Archives of the Diocese of Raleigh The Catholic Center 715 Nazareth Street Raleigh, NC 27603y Telephone: 919-821-9700 Fax: 919-821-9705 (call in advance for an appointment) The Diocese of Raleigh serves the following North Carolina counties: Alamance, Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick, Camden, Carteret, Caswell, Chatham, Chowan, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Currituck, Dare, Duplin, Durham, Edgecombe, Franklin, Gates, Granville, Greene, Halifax, Harnett, Hertford, Hoke, Hyde, Johnston, Jones, Lee, Lenoir, Martin, Moore, Nash, New Hanover, Northampton, Onslow, Orange, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Pender, Perquimans, Person, Pitt, Robeson, Sampson, Tyrrell, Vance, Wake, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Wilson.
 * If you know in which church performed the Sacrament in question, please contact that parish first.

Archives of the Diocese of Charlotte 1524 East Morehead St. P.O. Box 36776 Charlotte, NC 28236 Telephone: 704-377-6871 Fax: 704-358-1208 (An appointment is required.) The Diocese of Charlotte serves the following North Carolina counties: Alexander, Alleghany, Anson, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Cabarrus, Caldwell, Catawba, Cherokee, Clay, Cleveland, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Gaston, Graham, Guilford, Haywood, Henderson, Iredell, Jackson, Lincoln, McDowell, Macon, Madison, Mecklenburg, Mitchell, Montgomery, Polk, Randolph, Richmond, Rockingham, Rowan, Rutherford, Scotland, Stanly, Surry, Swain, Transylvania, Union, Watauga, Wilkes, Yadkin, Yancey.
 * If you know in which church performed the Sacrament in question, please contact that parish first.

Society of Friends (Quakers)

 * HEGE Library and Learning Technologies Guilford College 5800 West Friendly Ave Greensboro, NC 27410
 * E-mail: archives@guilford.edu
 * Website
 * Covers North Carolina and the southeastern U.S., Baltimore, Philadelphia

Another source is:


 * Bjorkman, Gwen Boyer. Quaker Marriage Certificates: Pasquotank, Perquimans, Piney Woods, and Suttons Creek Monthly Meetings, North Carolina, 1677–1800. Bowie, Maryland.: Heritage, 1988. 975.6 K2bg

Correspond with genealogical or historical societies.
Some church records have been given to historical societies. Also, historical societies may be able to tell you where the records are being held. To find a society near you, consult these lists:

Next, go to the Wiki article for your ancestors' denomination.
There are frequently additional, nationwide or regional archives and online collections for each denomination. Find the article for your ancestors' denomination and follow the instructions there to access these sources.

Carefully compare any record you find to known facts about the ancestor
You will possibly find many different people with the same name as your ancestor, especially when a family stayed in a locality for several generations, and several children were named after the grandparents or aunts and uncles. Be prepared to find the correct church records by organizing in advance as many of these exact details about the ancestor as possible:
 * name, including middle name and maiden name
 * names of all spouses, including middle and maiden name
 * exact or closely estimated dates of birth, marriage, and death
 * names and approximate birthdates of children
 * all known places of residence
 * occupations
 * military service details

Carefully evaluate the church records you find to make sure you have really found records for your ancestor and not just a "near match". If one or more of the details do not line up, be careful about accepting the entry as your ancestor. There are guiding principles for deciding how to resolve discrepancies between records that are seemingly close. For more instruction in evaluating evidence, read the Wiki article, Evaluate the Evidence.