West Virginia Church Records

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Historical Background
The Church of England (now Protestant Episcopal) was the established church in Virginia (including West Virginia) from 1624 to 1786. Other major religious groups in West Virginia were the Baptist, Methodist Episcopal, Roman Catholic, and United Brethren churches. With the arrival of English and Scots-Irish settlers came West Virginia's early dominant religions. Many families of English origin were Quakers; the Scots-Irish were Presbyterians. Both religions were well established by 1740, and they were followed by Baptists who settled in Berkeley County in 1743 and a Methodist circuit in Berkeley and Jefferson counties in 1778.

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 Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Indexes

 * 1853-1928 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; Index only.
 * 1854-1932 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; Index only.
 * 1854-1932 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; Index only.

Quaker (Society of Friends)

 * 1681-1935 - U.S., Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935, index and images, ($).

Other Collections

 * The Ancestor Hunt: Free West Virginia Online Church Records

Look for digital copies of church records in the FamilySearch Catalog.

 * The Family History Library (FHL) 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, West Virginia.
 * b. Click on Places within United States, West Virginia 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, West Virginia [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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Statewide
These aids generally provide lists of records that are known to exist and information on their location.
 * Inventory of the vital statistics records in West Virginia : Volume II, Church archives. Historical Records Survey., e-book.

Baptist

 * Survey of Baptist churches, West Virginia. Historical Records Survey.

Episcopal

 * Church records survey, West Virginia, Episcopal. Historical Records Survey.
 * Formation of the Diocese in 1878, in the Territory Now Known as the State of West Virginia.']Peterkin, George W. Charleston, West Virginia: Tribune Company, 1902.

Methodist

 * Church records survey, West Virginia, Methodist (Episcopal) South. Historical Records Survey.
 * Church records survey, West Virginia, Methodist (Prostestant). Historical Records Survey.

Presbyterian

 * Survey of church records, West Virginia, Presbyterian. Historical Records Survey.

Books

 * Jewell T. Clark, and Elizabeth Terry Long. A Guide to Church Records in the Archives Branch of the Virginia State Library. Richmond, Va.: Virginia State Library, 1981. 975.5 K23c

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.
 * West Virginia Christian Church Directory (Church Angel.com)

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.

State Repositories
West Virginia University Library' West Virginia University 1549 University Ave. P.O. Box 6069 Morgantown, WV 26506-6069 Phone: 1-304-293-4040 Fax: 1-304-293-6638
 * Genealogy Research
 * West Virginia and Regional History Collection: Search the Archives

West Virginia Archives and History Library West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History The Culture Center Capitol Complex 1900 Kanawha Boulevard East Charleston WV 25305-0300 Phone: (304) 558-0220 Fax: (304) 558-2779
 * Research Requests
 * Manuscript Collection Use your computer's "Find" function to search for the term "Church".

Because West Virginia was part of Virginia until 1861, the Library of Virginia has church records. Library of Virginia 800 East Broad Street Richmond, Virginia 23219-800 By appointment only: call 804-692-3800 to make an appointment. "A Guide to Church Records in the Library of Virginia (2002)" lists these records in the Archives collection, some of which date from the colonial period and most of which are administrative. They contain very few references to births, deaths, or marriages. Represented denominations include Baptist, Christian (Disciples of Christ), Episcopal, Jewish, Lutheran and German Reformed, Methodist, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, Society of Friends (Quakers), and Unitarians. There is no master index to information recorded in the materials in this collection, and individual volumes usually are not indexed. Records of a small number of churches have been transcribed and published. "As administrative units of the established church in Virginia until 1786, the Anglican parishes were charged by law with keeping records of births or baptisms, marriages, and deaths or burials. Few of these registers are extant, and all that survive have been published. Each parish also was required to keep minutes of the meetings of the vestry as a record of the administrative affairs of the church. Such vestry books generally do not contain vital statistics. The ''"Hornbook of Virginia History"' contains convenient cross-referenced lists of parishes of the established church of Virginia between 1607 and 1785. "Other denominations were not required by law to record births, deaths, and marriages; therefore, the types of records and the information recorded therein vary. Although some churches did record vital statistics, most kept only records of business meetings and financial affairs. Published church records can be located by searching the Library’s online catalog."
 * Catalog
 * Genealogical Records at the Library of Virginia

Baptist
West Virginia Baptist Historical Society 1715 Lower Parchment Valley Road Ripley, West Virginia 25271 Phone: (304)-574-9018 E-mail: rosesatsunset@suddenlink.net
 * Archives

Lutheran
Tri-Synod Archives Thiel College 75 College Avenue Greenville, PA 16125 Phone: (724) 589-2131
 * Archives hold records for closed churches. For open churches write directly to the local church.

Episcopal
Episcopal Diocese of West Virginia 1608 Virginia Street East P.O. Box 5400 Charleston, WV 25361 Ph: 304-344-3597 Fax: 304-343-3295
 * Contact the diocese for records of closed churches. For open churches, contact the local church.
 * A History and Record of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of West Virginia: and Before the Formation of the Diocese in 1878, in the Territory Now Known as the State of West Virginia.Peterkin, George W. Charleston, West Virginia: Tribune Company, 1902.

Roman Catholic
Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston 1300 Byron Street P.O. Box 230 Wheeling, WV 26003 Telephone: 304-233-0880 or 1- 888-434-6237 Fax: 304-233-0890
 * Archives
 * Conducting Genealogical Research
 * Archives Research Request Form
 * Archives Fee Schedule
 * Research Payment

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 West Virginia 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.