U.S. Church Records Class Handout

Guide to church records as a genealogical source for researching ancestors.

Courtesy of Jill Shoemaker, Riverton FamilySearch Library

The Value of United States Church Records
Since vital records in most of the United States did not begin until shortly after 1900, the exception being some New England states, church records can be especially useful as a substitute for birth, marriage, and death information, and they add to the historical information about your ancestor.

In many countries, state churches were responsible to keep track of the population and each church reported their vital events to a central church authority. Although there were two or three state churches in America very early for a brief period of time, in 1787 the constitution separated the powers of church and state and each church kept their own variety of records.

Types of Church Records

 * A baptism or christening could be either for a child or an adult, depending on the church and would include the name, date, and place of this event. An actual birth date may be included in some cases.


 * A church marriage record gives the name of the bride and groom, the date of marriage, the ages of the couple, and the residence of the couple


 * Burial records include the name of the deceased, the date of burial, place of burial, the age of the deceased and may include the date and place of death, the name of the spouse, or the name of the parents.


 * Church membership records give the name of the person and the date and the place the list was made. They may also give the spouse’s name, the date of admission, and letters of admission or dismissions.

Immigration and Churches in the United States
Because immigrants from many different countries brought their own churches with them, the United States is a country of religious diversity. See chart beginning on page 4 for different churches brought to the United States from different countries.

Determining the Church your Ancestor Attended

 * Learn what family traditions about the church your ancestor’s may have attended. Are there any pictures of your ancestors with a church in the background?  Does anyone in the family have a baptism or marriage certificate?  Look at your ancestor’s marriage record to see if they were married by a Minister of the Gospel.  Does a family Bible exist, giving the church affiliation of your ancestor?


 * Learn the national origin of your ancestor—immigrants usually attended the same church in the new country that they had in the old country.


 * Learn what churches were available in the towns where your ancestor settled. They may have attended the local church because of its proximity, even though they were members of another church. On the other hand, your ancestor may have traveled some distance to attend their preferred church in the next town or county.  There is also the possibility that an ancestor may have started out with one church and converted to another church.  Look at county histories and city directories for this information.
 * To find county histories and city directories at FamilySearch.org, look at Digitized Books and the FamilySearch Catalog.
 * For county histories at Ancestry.com, click on search, click on the state you are searching, and click on the county you are searching.
 * To find a city directory at Ancestry.com, click on Search, and then click on City & Area Directories under Schools, Directories & Church.


 * Find an obituary of your ancestor or one of their siblings. The church your ancestor attended is often mentioned in obituaries.  Also look for funeral notices to see where the funeral took place. Newspaper websites:
 * Chronicling America
 * World Vital Records.
 * Google newspapers (this project is no longer being worked on)
 * USGenWeb Archives Obituary Project
 * Do a Google search with keywords: "town name", "newspaper" or "state", and "digital newspapers".
 * Ancestry.com United States Obituary Collection
 * Fold3.com. Newspapers are in Non Military Collections.
 * United States Online Historical Newspapers
 * FamilySearch Catalog for your town, county, or state of research.
 * Another Resource is Library of Congress Catalogs, Newspapers in Microform: United States 1948-1983, Volume 1 and 2, Washington: Library of Congress, 1984, Film #1145942, available at the Riverton FamilySearch Library.


 * Look at cemetery records. If your ancestor was buried in a church cemetery, they would have belonged to that church at some time. Also look for sexton records of the cemetery and funeral home records, if it is possible.   Cemetery websites are:
 * Findagrave.com
 * Billiongraves.com
 * NamesInStone.com
 * Do a Google search for other online cemeteries.

Of course, be careful with any information you find to make sure it is accurate and reliable.
 * Check family histories to see if the church your ancestor attended has already been determined.
 * Search Digital Books and the FamilySearch Catalog at FamilySearch.org.
 * At Ancestry.com click on Card Catalog and type the family name into the keyword box.
 * Also, do a Google search for your family.

Where to Find Church Records

 * The Specific Church. Contact the current minister to find out what records are still available.  If possible, make an appointment to look at the records.  Or ask the minister of the church to make a copy of the record for you. A small donation for their time and effort to help you would probably not be unwelcome.  If the church has a website, you may be able to e-mail a message.


 * Church Archives or Central Headquarters: The church records you are seeking may have been sent to the headquarters of the church.  Contact that church to see if they allow public access to their records and to see what kinds of records are available.  For contact information for each church, go to WIKI > United States Church Records and click on a church from the list.


 * Online Church Records:
 * FamilySearch.org
 * Ancestry.com
 * WorldVitalRecords.com. Filter by church records, USA, and state.
 * USGenWeb Archives
 * Cyndislist.com (Click on “U” for United States, then click on a state and then Religion & Churches)
 * American Ancestors


 * Genealogical and Historical Societies: Local churches may have donated their records or allowed genealogical or historical societies to make a copy of their records.  To find a genealogical or historical society in the United States, look at the Wiki page at FamilySearch.org for the state you are searching or look at the FamilySearch Catalog.  Also see Cyndi's List - Societies & Groups, and do a Google search for [County, State] Genealogical [or Historical] Society.


 * PERSI: PERSI is the Periodical Source Index and is available at FindMyPast.com and HeritageQuest.com. PERSI is an index to family and local history periodicals from 1847 to the present. Many of these periodicals publish church records. 


 * College and Public Libraries: Many local universities and public libraries have copies of church records. Look at the state wiki page at FamilySearch.org.  Do a Google search to find their websites and look at their catalogs online.


 * From the International Genealogical Index (IGI): Many church christenings and marriages (such as the Congregational, Dutch Reformed, and Lutheran) have been listed in the International Genealogical Index (IGI). The IGI is available online at www.familysearch.org.
 * Hugh Wallis identifies which church christenings and marriages have been indexed in the IGI on his website: IGI Batch Numbers - British Isles and North America.


 * FamilySearch Catalog: The Family History Library has a substantial collection of original and published United States church records. Go to FamilySearch.org and click on “Search” then click on “Catalog.”  In the “Place-names Search” of the catalog, type in the town where your ancestor lived. If no church records are found, search the county. Click on “Church Records” to see a list of the available church records. Note:  For Jewish church records look under Jewish records rather than church records. If the church record you want is in book form, check to see if it has been digitized.


 * FamilySearch Wiki See United States Church History, or United States, Church Records, 1600s-the Present. Or go to the state you are searching and click on Church Records.

Why Church Records May Not Be Found For an Ancestor
If you can’t find your ancestors in a church record it may be because the church records were destroyed or lost, or the church you ancestor attended did not keep records. Another reason may be because the minister of your ancestor may have been a circuit rider, keeping his own personal records, which may never have been turned over to the church. Sometimes a pastor took the records from one church where he served to the next church where he served. To locate these particular records, find out where the pastor died and contact libraries and societies in the area to see if they have the records. And lastly, there may be no church records for your ancestor because they may not have attended a church.

Summary
Due to immigrants from many different countries, there is a diversity of churches in the United States, each keeping different kinds of records. There are several types of sources you can search to determine the church your ancestor attended. Church records may be found locally, from genealogical or historical society collections, microfilmed at the Family History Library, or online. The information you find in church records can help you know more about your ancestor and may help extend your family lines.

Additional Resources for Searching United States Church Records

 * Ahlstrom, Sydney E., A Religious History of the American People, New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 1972. (FHL book 973 K2ah.)
 * E. Kay Kirkham, A survey of American church records: major denominations before 1880, Digitized.
 * Early American Church Denominations, What Church Did Grandpa Attend? Copyright ©1998 by Beverly Whitaker, MA.
 * Locating Church Records, by Val D. Greenwood (which gives state-by-state church record holdings)