Dauphin County, Pennsylvania Church Records

List of Churches and Church Parishes in Dauphin County

 * FamilySearch Places

Databases with Several Denominations

 * 1620-1991 (*) at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images


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


 * 1744-1844 Dauphin County, Pennsylvania Church Records at Ancestry ($).


 * 1757-1825 Humphrey, John T. Pennsylvania Births, Dauphin County, 1757-1825 Washington, D.C.: PA Genealogy Books, 2005..


 * Dauphin County Church Records at USGenWeb Archives - Includes Church histories and records.

Lutheran Church
Bindnagle Lutheran and Reformed Church, Derry Township
 * 1724-1793 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch — index

Hill Lutheran Church, Derry Township
 * 1752-1825 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch — index
 * Records of the Hill Lutheran Church in Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, 1892 at Ancestry ($).

Klinger's Evangelical Lutheran and Reformed Church, Upper Paxton Township
 * 1787-1875 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch — index

St. John's Lutheran Church near Berrysburg, Miflin Township
 * 1780-1875 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch — index
 * 1854-1873 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch — index

St. Matthew Evangelical Lutheran Church, Lykens Township


 * 1872-1875 St. Matthew Evangelical Lutheran Church, Lykens Township, Baptism Index 1872-1875 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. Batch

St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Middletown


 * 1783-1861 St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Middletown, Baptism Index 1783-1861 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. Batch
 * 1814-1822 St. Peter's Church, Middletown, Baptism Index 1814-1822 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. Batch
 * 1835-1858 St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Middletown, Baptism Index 1835-1838 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. Batch

Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church, Killinger


 * 1770-1855 Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church, Killinger, Baptism Index 1770-1855 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. Batch

St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Derry Township


 * 1757-1866 St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Derry Township, Baptism Index 1757-1866 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. Batch

Union Salem Church, Berrysburg
 * 1837-1875 Union Salem Church, Berrysburg, Baptism Index 1837-1875 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. Batch
 * 1863-1880 Union Salem Church, Berrysburg, Marriage Index 1863-1880 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. Batch

Zion Evangelical Lutheran and Evangelical Reformed Congregations, Erdman


 * 1769-1875 Zion Evangelical Lutheran and Evangelical Reformed Congregations, Erdman, Baptism Index 1769-1875 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. Batch

Zion Lutheran Church, Harrisburg


 * 1795-1809 Zion Lutheran Church, Harrisburg, Marriage Index 1795-1809 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. Batch

Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, Hummelstown


 * 1753-1875 Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, Hummelstown, Baptism Index 1753-1875 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. Batch
 * 1823-1830, 1847, 1855-1880 Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, Hummelstown, Baptism Index 1823-1830, 1847, and 1855-1880 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. Batch

Methodist Church

 * 1860-1997 Saint Paul's United Methodist Church, Harrisburg, Pa. at Ancestry ($). Baptisms, marriages, and deaths.

Presbyterian Church
The first three churches established in the county were the Hanover, Paxtang and Derry Churches. These were organized prior to 1730.Luther Reily Kelker, "History of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania" (New York: Lewis Publishing Company, 1907) 224-240. ;


 * 1741-1810 Marriage Record of Paxtang and Derry Churches, 1741-1810 (Pennsylvania Archives, Series 2, Vol. 8, Part 10) at Ancestry ($); Google Books

The Hanover Presbyterian Church was built in 1736 in a Scotch-Irish settlement in what is now Lebanon County. This settlement was previously in Lancaster County, before Dauphin County was formed. Wayland F. Dunaway, The Scotch-Irish of Colonial Pennsylvania (Chapel Hill, N.C.: The University of North Carolina Press, 1944), 53-54. Free digital version at PA's Past: Digital Bookshelf at Penn State.

Derry Presbyterian Congregation, Derry Township

Harrisburg Presbyterian Church
 * 1807-1839 Derry Presbyterian Congregation, Derry Township, Baptism Index 1807-1839 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. Batch
 * 1807-1841 Derry Presbyterian Congregation, Derry Township, Marriage Index 1807-1841 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. Batch


 * 1798-1803 Harrisburg Presbyterian Church Marriage Index 1798-1803 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. Batch

Pine Street Presbyterian Church, Harrisburg


 * 1858-1876 Pine Street Presbyterian Church, Harrisburg, Baptism Index 1858-1876 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. Batch
 * 1865-1866 Pine Street Presbyterian Church, Harrisburg, Marriage Index 1865-1866 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. Batch

Westminster Presbyterian Church, Harrisburg


 * 1889-1890 Westminster Presbyterian Church, Harrisburg, Baptism Index 1889-1890 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. Batch
 * 1873-1885 Westminster Presbyterian Church, Harrisburg, Marriage Index 1873-1885 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. Batch

Reformed Church
Hoffman Reformed Church


 * 1800-1855 Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, 1800-55: Hoffman Reformed Church at Ancestry ($). Includes more than 8,400 records of baptisms, marriages, and burials for the Hoffman Reformed Church located in the Lykens Valley.

Shoop's Reformed Church, Harrisburg


 * 1771-1830 Shoop's Reformed Church, Harrisburg, Baptism Index 1771-1830 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. Batch

Archives, Libraries, and Societies with Church Records
The Historical Society of Dauphin County has an excellent collection of records and photographs for many local area churches. Their records include baptisms, marriages and death records for many Dauphin County churches, some dating back to the 1700's. The society also maintains an archive with hundreds of manuscript items. Details of their manuscript holdings are available on their website. For information about research services and fees, see the "Research Fees" page.

The Capital Area Genealogical Society in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania has some published Dauphin County church records. See the Research Library Holdings page for a 2010 pdf. list of all their holdings.

For a good history concerning early churches of Dauphin County, see History of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. The religion section is divided into town and township and discusses the denominations in each of the areas.