Disciples of Christ Church in the United States

United States   Church Records   Disciples of Christ Church Records

History in the United States

 * The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)is a Mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States and Canada.The denomination started with the Restoration Movement during the Second Great Awakening. It is often referred to as The Christian Church, The Disciples of Christ, The Disciples, or the D.O.C.
 * In 2008 there were 679,563 members in 3,714 congregations in North America.
 * The name "Disciples of Christ" is shared by three other groups: the Churches of Christ, the Independent Christian churches and churches of Christ, and the Christian Congregation. They emerged from the same roots.
 * The Stone-Campbell movement began as two separate threads, each without knowledge of the other, during the Second Great Awakening in the early 19th century. The first of these two groups, led by Barton W. Stone began at Cane Ridge, Bourbon County, Kentucky. The group called themselves simply Christians. The second, began in western Pennsylvania and Virginia (now West Virginia), led by Thomas Campbell and his son, Alexander Campbell.
 * The two groups united at High Street Meeting House, Lexington, Kentucky, with a handshake between Barton W. Stone and "Raccoon" John Smith, on Saturday, December 31, 1831. Source: Wikipedia

Restoration Movement Family Tree
This Restoration Movement Family Tree diagrams the affiliated branches of this religion.

Information in the Records
Births and Baptisms: Births were not recorded always and baptisms could be adult or child. Children's baptisms might name just the father. Adult baptisms might mention married couples. Occasionally, an entire family joined the church and were all baptized at once. Baptism was not required, so your ancestor might not show up at all.

Marriages: Name of bride and groom, residences, date of marriage, officiator's name.

Deaths: Mentioned on membership lists.

Membership Lists: Name, maybe maiden name, spouse's name, date joining church, prior congregation, and where moved to when leaving, death date and age at death.

Conversion Stories: Early on, members had to explain how they became converted, in order to join the church.

Other Records: Minute bools, disciplinary actions, financial records, church histories, obituaries of ministers.

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.

Addresses:


 * Disciples of Christ Find a Congregation
 * Independent Restoration Movement Christian Churches Directory
 * Christian Churches and Churches of Christ Directory of Churches, USAChurches.com
 * CHURCHES OF CHRIST IN THE UNITED STATES

Historical Society
Disciples of Christ Historical Society 7229 Main Street P.O. Box D Bethany, WV 26032 Phone: (615) 327-1444 E-mail: info@discipleshistory.org Disciples of Christ Historical Society is the official archives for congregations of the Stone-Campbell tradition, also known as the Restoration Movement. The Society is incorporated as a general ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and serves the three branches (called "streams") of the Stone-Campbell tradition: the Churches of Christ, Independent Christian Churches/Churches of Christ and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The Society holds the historic records of approximately 23,000 congregations, 40,000 bibliographic files, as well as personal papers of 35,000 members of the denomination, such as Ronald Reagan and Janice Joplin. Source: Wikipedia
 * Website
 * In Person Research Request Visits require two weeks advance reservation.

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.