Georgia Church Records

United States    Georgia     Church Records

Before 1900 the largest religious groups in Georgia were the Baptists and Methodists.

The largest collection of Georgia church records can be found at the Georgia State Archives. The archives borrowed pre-1940 church records from many local congregations and preserved them on microfilm. The collection is continually growing but is not complete.

The Family History Library has some Georgia church records, including records for Baptist, Methodist, Episcopal, and Presbyterian congregations. Most are from the Georgia State Archives. You may also want to use the library's histories of the Lutherans, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, and others.

Many denominations have collected their records into central repositories. You can write to the following addresses to learn where their records are located.

Baptist
Georgia Baptist Historical Collection Eugene W. Stetson Memorial Library Mercer University Macon, Ga 31207

The Family History Library has microfilmed some research materials at Mercer University. For example, includes ten histories of various Baptist associations. There are also histories and inventories such as the following:


 * Inventory of the Church Archives of Georgia: Atlanta Association of Baptist Churches
 * Campbell, Jesse H. Georgia Baptists: Historical and Biographical. Richmond: H.K. Ellyson, 1847. 206288 item 2; 1874 edition:  book 975.8 K2c; film 1033617 item 3; digital version at Family History Archives.
 * History of the Baptist Denomination in Georgia. Atlanta, Ga.: J.P. Harrison &amp; Company, 1881. 896565

Church of England (Anglican, Protestant Episcopal)
If your ancestor was a minister in Colonial Georgia, see:


 * Frederick Lewis Weis's The Colonial Clergy of Maryland, Delaware, and Georgia, is an alphabetical listing of the clergy in Delaware from 1638-1776, and includes names, dates, and places. A copy of the book is located in the . For a copy nearest you, check WorldCat.

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons)
Early church records, for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for Georgia Wards and Branches can be found on film and are located at the LDS Family History Library in Salt Lake City. The film numbers, for each ward, can be locate through the Family History Library Catalog. Or by refering to Jaussi, Laureen R., and Gloria D. Chaston. Register of Genealogical Society Call Numbers. 2 vols. Provo, Utah: Genealogy Tree, 1982. (FHL book 979.2258 A3j; fiche 6031507). These volumes contain the film numbers for many (but not all) membership and temple record films.

Methodist
United Methodist Museum P.O. Box 24081 St. Simons Island, GA 31522 Phone: (912) 638-4050 Fax: (912) 638-9050 E-mail Address: [mailto:methmuse@bellsouth.net methmuse@bellsouth.net ]

For a history of the Methodist Church, see Harold Lawrence, Methodist Preachers in Georgia 1783-1900 (Tignall, Georgia: Boyd Pub., 1984; 975.8 K2L

Moravian
The Moravian Archives 41 West Locust Street Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18018 United States of America Phone: (610) 866-3255 Fax: (610) 866-9210

For information concerning missions to the American Indians visit Moravian Missions Among American Indians. For a map and list of missions visit Early Moravian Missions in Eastern Pennsylvania and Surrounding Areas 1740-1773.

Mission records are also available through. The records are indexed in book 970.1 F642i.

Roman Catholic
Office of Archives and Records Archdiocese of Atlanta 680 W. Peachtree Street, N.W. Atlanta, GA 30308-1984 Phone: (404) 978-2772 Fax: (404) 885-7462

The Archdiocese includes the counties of: Baldwin, Banks, Barrow, Bartow, Butts, Carroll, Catoosa, Chattooga, Cherokee, Clarke, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, Dade, Dawson, DeKalb, Douglas, Elbert, Fannin, Fayette, Floyd, Forsyth, Franklin, Fulton, Gilmer, Gordon, Greene, Gwinnett, Habersham, Hall, Hancock, Haralson, Hart, Heard, Henry, Jackson, Jasper, Lamar, Lincoln, Lumpkin, Madison, McDuffie, Meriwether, Monroe, Morgan, Murray, Newton, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Paulding, Pickens, Pike, Polk, Putnam, Rabun, Rockdale, Spalding, Stephens, Taliaferro, Towns, Troup, Union, Upson, Walker, Walton, Warren, White, Whitfield and Wilkes.

Archivist, Catholic Diocese of Savannah 601 East Liberty St. Savannah, GA 31401 Phone: (912) 201-4070

The diocese includes the counties of: Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Baker, Ben Hill, Berrien, Bibb, Bleckley, Brantley, Brooks, Bulloch, Burke, Bryan, Calhoun, Camden, Candler, Charlton, Chatham, Chattahoochee, Clay, Clinch, Coffee, Colquitt, Columbia, Cook, Crawford, Crisp, Decatur, Dodge, Dooly, Dougherty, Early, Echols, Effingham, Emanuel, Evans, Glascock, Glynn, Grady, Harris, Houston, Irwin, Jeff Davis, Jefferson, Jones, Lanier, Lee, Liberty, Long, Lowndes, Macon, McIntosh, Miller, Mitchell, Montgomery, Muscogee, Peach, Pierce, Pulaski, Quitman, Randolph, Richmond, Screven, Seminole, Stewart, Sumter, Talbot, Tattnall, Taylor, Telfair, Thomas, Tift, Toombs, Treutlen, Turner, Twiggs, Ware, Wayne, Webster, Wheeler, Wilcox and Worth.