Montana Church Records

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Historical Background
Before 1900 the largest religious groups in Montana were the Roman Catholic, Methodist, Episcopal, and Presbyterian churches. Each group arrived during the territorial period to proselyte among the Indians and the miners. The largest denominations in Montana as of 2010 were the Catholic Church with 127,612 adherents, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with 46,484 adherents, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America with 38,665 adherents, and nondenominational Evangelical Protestant with 27,370 adherents.

Missions

 * St. Francis Xavier Mission Jesuit mission 1887-1960
 * Holy Family Mission Jesuit mission 1890-1914 - Guide to records
 * Ignatius Mission 1854 Catholic on Flathead Reservation
 * St. Paul's Mission 1887 Catholic on Fort Belknap Reservation
 * St. Mary's Mission Jesuit 1841-1908
 * St. Paul's Mission Catholic 1887
 * St. Peter's Mission Jesuit 1859-1898

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.
'''Ancestry.com, Findmypast.com, and MyHeritage.com can be searched free of charge at your local family history center or the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Indexes

 * Montana, Select Marriages, 1889-1947, ($), index
 * Montana, Marriages, 1889-1947, ($), index

Dutch Reformed

 * 1856-1970 U.S., Dutch Christian Reformed Church Vital Records, 1856-1970, index and images, incomplete.($)
 * 1856-1970 U.S., Dutch Christian Reformed Church Membership Records, 1856-1970, index and images, incomplete.($)

Lutheran

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

Presbyterian

 * 1701-1970 U.S., Presbyterian Church Records, 1701-1970, index and 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 Family History Center near you, and/or by members of supporting organizations.
 * To find records:
 * a. Click on the records of United States, Montana.
 * b. Click on Places within United States, Montana 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, Montana[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.

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Consult available finding aids.
These aids generally provide lists of records that are known to exist and information on their location.
 * A Directory of Churches and Religious Organizations in Montana. Bozeman, Montana: Historical Records Survey, 1941. book 978.6 K24h; film 908039 item 8
 * Inventory of the Vital Statistics Records of Church and Religious Organizations in Montana. Bozeman, Montana: Historical Records Survey, 1942. book 978.6 V2hi; film 1036415 item 3; fiche 6046711. This gives the types of records available in 1942 and the years covered by the records.

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.

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Government
Montana Historical Society Library and Archives 225 N Roberts St. Helena, Montana 59620-1201 Phone: (406) 444-2681

Lutheran
ELCA Region 1 Archives Archives and Special Collections Mortvedt Library Pacific Lutheran University Tacoma, WA 98447 (253) 535-7586 E-mail: archives@plu.edu
 * Archives hold records for closed churches. For open churches write directly to the local church.

Methodist
Montana Methodist Historical Society Paul M. Adams Memorial Library Rocky Mountain College 1511 Poly Drive Billings, MT 59102 Phone: 406-657-1000 or 1-800-877-6259 Fax: 406-259-9751

Roman Catholic
Diocese of Great Falls—Billings 121 23rd Street South P.O. Box 1399 Great Falls, MT 59403-1399 Phone: 406-727-6683 Fax: 406-454-3480

The diocese includes the counties of: Big Horn, Blaine, Carbon, Carter, Cascade, Chouteau, Custer, Daniels, Dawson, Fallon, Fergus, Garfield, Golden Valley, Hill ,Judith Basin, Liberty, McCone, Musselshell, Park, Petroleum, Phillips, Powder River, Prairie, Richland, Rosebud, Roosevelt, Sheridan, Stillwater, Sweet Grass, Toole, Treasure, Valley, Wibaux and Yellowstone

Diocese of Helena Archive 515 North Ewing P.O. Box 1729 Helena, MT 59624-1729 Phone: 406-442-5820 The diocese includes the counties of: Beaverhead, Broadwater, Deer Lodge, Flathead, Gallatin, Glacier, Granite, Jefferson, Lake, Lewis and Clark, Lincoln, Madison, Meagher, Mineral, Missoula, Pondera, Powell, Ravalli, Sanders, Silver Bow, Teton, Wheatland
 * Contact the local parish for records.

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:
 * Society Hill List of Montana Societies

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.