North Carolina Church History

Historical Background
Major religious denominations were established in North Carolina in the following years: Society of Friends (Quakers) (1672), Anglican/Episcopal (1700), Baptist (1727), Presbyterian (1730), Lutheran (1740), Moravian (1753), and Methodist (1772). The Baptist church was dominant by 1860 and remains so today.

Baptist
For a history of the Baptist churches, see:


 * Paschal, George Washington. History of the North Carolina Baptists. 2 vols. Raleigh, North Carolina: North Carolina Baptist State Convention, 1930–55. 975.6 K2p. There are useful chapters in these volumes concerning the various Baptist associations and groups from the 1600s to about 1860. Mention is made of the various ministers.

A two-volume collection of biographies is:


 * Hamby, Robert P. Brief Baptist Biographies, 1707–1982. 2 vols. Greenville, S.C.: A Press, 1982. 975.6 K2h. The Family History Library has volume 2 only.
 * The South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research has an article "Some Baptist Ministers of South Carolina at the Turn of the Century" which is an 1899 directory of Baptist ministers. It lists biographical details about many ministers born or serving in the state.
 * The Ministerial Directory of the Baptist Churches in the United States of America. Oxford, Ohio: Ministerial Directory Co., 1899. Digital version at Internet Archive.

Church of England (Anglican, Episcopal)

 * London, Lawrence Foushee and Sarah McCulloh Lemmon. The Episcopal Church in North Carolina, 1701-1959. Raleigh, N.C.: The Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina, 1987..


 * Fothergill, Gerald. A List of Emigrant Ministers to America, 1690-1811. London: E. Stock, 1904. Digital versions at Ancestry ($); Internet Archive, 1965 reprint:
 * Weis, Frederick Lewis. The Colonial Clergy of Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Boston, Mass.: Society of the Descendants of Colonial Clergy, 1955. ; digital version at MyHeritage ($).

The Clergy of the Church of England website (work in progress) also contains details of many of their ministerial careers before departing for America.

Lutheran

 * Bernheim, Gotthardt Dellmann, and George H. Cox. The History of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod and Ministerium of North Carolina: In Commemoration of the Completion of the First Century of Its Existence. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.: Published for the Synod by the Lutheran Publication Society, 1902. 975.6 K2b. The history of the various congregations is discussed. The ministers to about 1900 are listed with the dates when they served.

Moravian

 * Clewell, John Henry. History of Wachovia in North Carolina; the Unitas Fratrum or Moravian Church in North Carolina During a Century and a Half, 1752-1902. New York: Doubleday, Page and Company, 1902. Digital version at Internet Archive.

Society of Friends (Quakers)
For histories of North Carolina Quakers, see:


 * Anscombe, Francis Charles. I Have Called You Friends: The Story of Quakerism in North Carolina. Boston, Massachusetts: Christopher Publishing House, 1959. 975.6 K2a
 * Bowden, James. The History of the Society of Friends in America. 2 vols. London: W. &amp; F.G. Cash, 1850-1854. Online at: Vol. 1 - FamilySearch Digital Library, Vol. 2 - FamilySearch Digital Library. Volume 1 includes Carolina.