Wisconsin Church Records

During the 1800s, two major denominations—the Catholics and the Lutherans—were widely represented in Wisconsin. This was largely due to the tremendous number of German, Polish, and Scandinavian immigrants who settled in the state. Methodists and Baptists were also represented but in much smaller numbers.

The records of many denominations have been preserved. They are especially valuable because often they cover time periods before the state began registration of vital statistics. The Family History Library has microfilm copies of many church records from Wisconsin. Church records have also been deposited with the state historical society. Although some records of congregations have been gathered to major denominational repositories, the majority still remain with the local congregation.

The Family History Library has several Historical Records Survey inventories, completed in the 1940s, of the church archives in the state. These inventories may help you identify what records are available and where they may be located:

Historical Records Survey (Wisconsin). Guide to Church Vital Statistics Records in Wisconsin. Madison, Wisconsin: Wisconsin Historical Records Survey, 1942. (FHL book 977.5 K23h; film 1036234 item 5.) This gives the exact years of the church registers.

The Family History Library has inventories that list the records available in the individual churches. The inventories were prepared by the Historical Records Survey between 1938 and 1942:

Assembly of God, FHL film 982044 item 7

Disciples of Christ, FHL film 982044 item 6

Moravian Church, FHL book 977.5 K2hi; film 2055227 item 6

Church of the Nazarene, FHL film 982044 item 8

Protestant Episcopal, FHL film 1036232 item 4

United Brethren in Christ, FHL film 982044 item 5

To learn which towns or cities had churches in 1940, see:

Historical Records Survey (Wisconsin). Directory of Churches and Religious Organizations in Wisconsin. Madison, Wisconsin: The Wisconsin Historical Records Survey, 1941. (FHL book 977.5 K24h; film 1036193 item 12; fiche 6051165.) This directory lists churches by denomination, and at the end the churches are listed by county. Though it lists towns or cities which had churches, it does not give the year the registers began.

The Family History Library has histories of several denominations. An example is Stephen Peet, History of the Presbyterian and Congregational Churches and Ministers in Wisconsin (Milwaukee, Wisconsin: S. Chapman, 1851; FHL book 977.5 K2p; film 982027 item 5).

Some churches have gathered their records into central repositories or archives. The major denominational repositories are:

Lutheran
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA Archives) 8765 West Higgins Chicago, IL 60631 Telephone: 773-380-2818 Fax: 312-380-2977 Internet: http://www.elca.org/archives/

The above archives has microfilms of Evangelical Lutheran congregations for region nine, which includes Iowa, Illinois, upper Michigan, and Wisconsin. Many of their records can be borrowed for a small fee. (For a list of the church records for approximately 200 Wisconsin congregations in the collection, see FHL fiche 6330690-93.)

Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod Department of Archives and History 2929 North Mayfair Road Milwaukee WI 53222 Telephone: 414-256-3888 Internet: http://www.wels.net/cgi-bin/site.pl?

The following yearbook contains the names of congregations of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod and includes name, telephone number, and address of the minister:

Yearbook of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Northwestern Publishing House, 1989–. (FHL book 977.5 K24w 1990.)

Concordia Historical Institute 801 DeMun Avenue St. Louis, MO 63105 Telephone: 314-505-7900 Internet: http://chi.lcms.org/quarterly.html

They have some records of existing Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod congregations and records of some that have closed.

Methodist
Wisconsin Conference United Methodist Church 750 Windsor Street Sun Prairie WI 53590 Telephone: 608-837-7328 Internet: http://www.wisconsinumc.org/content/index.php

For a history of the Methodist church in Wisconsin, see Pansey S. F. Bennett, History of Methodism in Wisconsin (Cincinnati, Ohio: Cranston &amp; Stowe, 1980; FHL book 977.5 K2b; film 1036198 item 6).

Roman Catholic
Archdiocese of Milwaukee 2000 West Wisconsin Avenue Milwaukee, WI 53403 Telephone: 414-769-3340 Internet: http://www.archmil.org/

The church records of the parishes in the above diocese have been microfilmed to about 1920 and are available through the Family History Library. These records include parishes in about eleven counties in southeastern Wisconsin. The records are cataloged by the town where the parish is located.

Diocese of Green Bay 1910 South Webster Avenue P.O. Box 66 Green Bay, WI 54301 Telephone: 414-435-4406 Internet: http://www.gbdioc.org/

Diocese of La Crosse 421 Main Street P.O. Box 982 La Crosse, WI 54601 Telephone: 608-788-7700 Internet: http://www.dioceseoflacrosse.com/

Diocese of Madison 15 East Wilson Street, Box 111 Madison, WI 53701 Telephone: 608-256-2677 Internet: http://www.madisondiocese.org/stats.html

Diocese of Superior 1201 Hughitt Avenue, Box 969 Superior, WI 54880 Telephone: 715-392-2937 Internet: http://www.catholicdos.org/

There is a current directory of congregations:

The Official Catholic Directory. New Providence, New Jersey: P. J. Kenedy &amp; Sons, in association with R. R. Bowker, annual. (FHL book 282.025 Of2.) This directory is available at many public libraries and has addresses and telephone numbers of Roman Catholic churches. The 1936 edition is on FHL fiche 6104166.

Drouin Collection 1621-1967 of French Canadian records indexed at Ancestry.com. This collection has over 15 million entries for French Canadian genealogical and vital records. Be sure to search for spelling variations of the ancestor's name. This index includes Quebec notarial, vital, and church records, Acadian Catholic records, Ontario French Catholic records, early French Catholic records in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New York, and Wisconsin.

The early Roman Catholic mission records, 1695–1821, for the mission of St. Ignace of Michilimackinac contain information about many of the early traders in what is now Wisconsin and are published in:

Draper, Lyman Copeland, ed. Collections of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. Madison, Wisconsin: State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1855–. (FHL 977.5 B2wc; on films beginning with film 924580.) This series has the register of baptisms of the parish of St. Ignace de Michilimakinak, 1695–1821 (vol. 19), marriages 1725–1821 (vol. 18), and burials 1743–1806 (vol. 19).