Lutheran Church in the United States

United States   Church Records   Lutheran Church Records 

History in the United States
When Lutherans came to North America, they started church bodies that reflected, to some degree, the churches left behind. Many maintained their immigrant languages until the early 20th century. They sought pastors from the "old country". Many in dependent churches were established. It wasn't until over time, that they organized into synods and conferences.

The first Lutherans in what would become the United States were members of the Swedish Lutheran Church who landed in the Delaware Valley in 1638 to establish the colony of New Sweden. Many Lutherans came to Pennsylvania in the 1700s, brought by immigrants from Germany and Scandinavia. A significant number of Scandinavian Lutherans settled in the states of the Upper Midwest. Large numbers also settled in major cities such as New York, Chicago, and Seattle.

The Lutheran church in the United States has historically been made up of several synods and conferences. There are at least 20 smaller Lutheran denominations in North America, with some of them being doctrinal offshoots of larger groups through the years, or groups that never merged. Source: Lutheranism by region

With 3.4 million members, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is the largest American Lutheran denomination, followed by the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS) with 2.0 million members, and the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) with 350,000 members.Lutheranism

This Lutheran Religion Family Tree diagrams the relationship of the many Lutheran "conferences".

Information Recorded in the Records
Different time periods and practices of different record keepers will affect how much information can be found in the records. This outline will show the types of details which might be found (best case scenario):

Baptisms
Children were usually baptized a few days after birth, and therefore, the baptism record proves date of birth.

Marriages
Marriage registers can give:

Burials
Burial registers may give:

Writing to Local Churches

 * ELCA Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Congregation Finder
 * LCMS The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod Church Finder
 * Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) Locator
 * AFLC Association of Free Lutheran Congregations Church Finder
 * NALC North American Lutheran Church Congregations
 * AALC American Association of Lutheran Churches Church Finder
 * CLC Church of the Lutheran Confession Church Finder
 * ELCM Evangelical Lutheran Conference & Ministerium of North America Church Finder
 * ELDONA Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America Parish Finder
 * LCR Lutheran Churches of the Reformation Congregations
 * ELS Evangelical Lutheran Synod Church Finder
 * LCMC Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ Church Finder

Archives
Concordia Historical Institute The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod 801 De Mun Avenue St. Louis, MO 63105 Telephone: 314-505-7900 Fax: 314-505-7901

Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA Archives) 8765 West Higgins Road Chicago, IL 60631-4198 Telephone: 773-380-2818

German-Russian Lutheran Ancestry

Odessa3.org - This site contains German-Russian emigrant ancestry in pocket settlements in mid-west states of North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska. Contains transcribed minutes of meetings, membership lists (some with parentage listed), birth, deaths, and marriages.]

Cyndi's List: Lutheran

If a local church is still active, they can help you find their records. The records of disbanded U.S. churches are at the ELCA Archives in Chicago. The archives has records of many congregations; those on microfilm can be borrowed for a small fee. Partial lists of church records in its collection are:

An incomplete list of Lutheran ministers and the churches they served can be found at OurFamTree.com, Lutheran Denomination Summary.
 * American Lutheran Church (ALC) Archives. ALC Congregations on Microfilm. Dubuque, Iowa: The Archives, [197-?]. (Family History Library fiche .) Arranged by state and city of congregation. The ALC Archives are now part of the ELCA Archives.
 * American Lutheran Church Shelf List Index to Their Church Records Microfilmed as of 1987. N.p., 1988. (Family History Library book .)
 * A guide to most Lutheran churches and addresses is:
 * Lutheran Church Directory for the United States 1982. New York, New York: Lutheran Council in the USA, 1981. (Family History Library book .)