United States, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
The collection consists of an index and images of baptisms, marriages, deaths, and burial records from throughout the country. The Midwestern states are heavily included. Some records extend beyond 1900. These records are in multiple languages.

Record Content
Marriage records usually contain:


 * Name of husband and wife
 * Ages of husband and wive
 * Places of residence
 * Social status such as unmarried or widowed
 * Names of witnesses and their residences
 * May give names of parents and their residences
 * May give birth dates and places
 * May give information on previous marriages

How to Use This Record
To begin your search it is helpful to know:


 * Name of bride and groom
 * Approximate marriage date and place

Search the Collection
To search the collection: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select the appropriate "Event Place" ⇒Select the appropriate "Record Type and Years" 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.

Using the Information
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. For example:


 * Use the dates, names and places to locate census records
 * Use christening and birth records of christenings (baptisms) to identify a person’s birth date and place.
 * Use the age to calculate the person’s birth date.
 * Use the records of deaths or burials to find cemetery, obituary and funeral records.
 * Use the records of deaths or burials to find probate records.
 * Use church records of marriages to identify a couple, the marriage date and place, and to begin compiling a family group. They are an excellent substitute for civil marriage information.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * It is often helpful to extract the information on all children with the same parents. If the surname is unusual, you may want to compile entries for every person of the same surname and sort them into families based on the names of the parents. Continue to search the birth records to identify siblings, parents, and other relatives in the same or other generations who were born in the same county or nearby.
 * Church records are considered a primary source. They are usually reliable because they are kept by the minister, or a clerk appointed by the minister, who usually recorded an event at or very near the time it occurred.

Unable to Find Your Ancestor?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Look for an index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume. Local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby counties.

General Information About These Records
The entries are recorded in register books in columns or in paragraphs without columns. Records are preserved under varying conditions. Many are subject to deterioration or destruction. Some are well preserved in archives. Some denominations have established record gathering and preservation programs.

Record History
Church records in the United States began in the early 1600s. They can be found in the churches, church archives, or university archives. They normally records christenings, confirmations, marriages, and deaths. An infant’s christening usually took place within a few days or few weeks of the birth, depending on the religion. Some churches, such as the Baptists, baptized only adults not infants. Members of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints blessed their infants when they were a few weeks or a few months old. Many religions tested the church knowledge of those that had been baptized as infants and then confirmed them a member of that religion. Frequently, a person’s age at confirmation was between 14 and 20.

Why This Record Was Created
To know who were members, Churches were required to record the date a person was baptized into the Christian religion. Many churches also recorded the date of birth along with the date of baptism. Church were also required to record the burial and marriage dates of the members of the local congregation. Only some churches performed confirmations and were required to record the names of those that were confirmed members of the church.

Record Reliability
Church records are considered a primary source. They are usually reliable because they are kept by the minister, or a clerk appointed by the minister, who usually recorded an event at or very near the time it occurred.

Related Web Sites
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Archives

Related Wiki Articles

 * Lutheran Church in the United States
 * United States Churches by Denominations

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
Citations for individual image records are available for this collection. Browse through images in this collection and click on the "Show Citation" box: United States Census, 1900

When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the information published in FamilySearch.org. Source citations include the author, custodian, publisher and archive for the original records.