Ohio, Cleveland Trinity Lutheran Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
This collection contains church records from the Trinity Lutheran Church in Cleveland, Ohio and includes baptisms, marriages, deaths, burials, communions, congregational registers and other miscellaneous records. The collection covers the years 1853-1986.

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the information published in FamilySearch.org Historical Record collections. Sources include the author, custodian, publisher, and archive for the original records.

Suggested citation format for a record in this collection.

Record Content
Key genealogical facts found in baptismal records may include:


 * Full name of person being baptized
 * Child's gender
 * Baptism date
 * Birth date
 * Name of father
 * Place of baptism
 * Name of mother

Key genealogical facts found in marriage records may include:


 * Date and place of marriage
 * Name and residence of groom
 * Groom's birth date and place of birth
 * Name of groom's parents
 * Maiden name of groom's mother and her birthplace
 * Name and residence of bride
 * Bride's birth date and place of birth
 * Name of bride's parents
 * Names of witnesses and their residence

Key genealogical facts found in marriage records may include:


 * Name and residence of deceased
 * Date and place of death
 * Cause of death
 * Age and place of birth (sometimes, birth date)
 * Date and place of funeral services
 * Burial information
 * Names of survivors

How to Use the Record
To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select the "Browse" link in the initial search page ⇒Select the "Record Type, Date Range and Volume" category which takes you to the images.

Look at the images one by one comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine which one is your ancestor. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to make this determination.

To begin your search you will need to know the following information:


 * The ancestor’s name
 * The approximate date of an event such as the christening or baptism

Once you have located your ancestor in a church record, compare the information in the record to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct person. You may need to compare the information of more than one person to make this determination.

Carefully evaluate each piece of information in the record. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors.

The following suggestions may be helpful to you:


 * Use birth and baptismal records to identify a person’s birth date and place. These are an excellent substitute for civil birth records.
 * Use confirmation records to identify a person’s birth date and place and his or her age. If only the age is given, use it to calculate the person’s death date.
 * Use death, burial, or funeral records to identify a person’s birth date and place. Use age at the time of death or burial to calculate the person’s birth date. These are an excellent substitute for civil death records.
 * Use marriage records to identify a couple, and the marriage date and place and to begin compiling a family group. These are an excellent substitute for civil marriage records.
 * Use church records in general to identify other family members who may have served as witnesses to an event.
 * Use the date of the event along with the locality to find the family in census records and land records.
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate church and land records.
 * Extract the information on all children with the same parents. If the surname is unusual, you may want to compile entries for every person of the same surname and sort them into families based on the names of the parents. Continue to search the birth records to identify siblings, parents, and other relatives in the same or other generations who were born in the same county or nearby.

If you do not find your ancestor, try these suggestions:


 * Look for variant spellings of the names.
 * Check the records of other congregations in the area or nearby communities.
 * Check the records of other religious sects in the area or nearby communities.

Be aware of the following:


 * An infant’s christening usually took place within a few days or weeks of the birth, depending on the religion. Some churches, such as the Baptists, baptized only adults, not infants. Members of other sects blessed their infants when they were a few weeks or a few months old.
 * Many religions tested the church knowledge of those that had been baptized as infants and then confirmed them a member of that religion. Frequently, a person’s age at confirmation was between 14 and 20.
 * Church records are considered a primary source. They are usually reliable because they are kept by the minister, or a clerk appointed by the minister, who usually recorded an event at or very near the time it occurred.
 * There is also some variation in the information given from record to record.

Related Websites

 * Trinity Lutheran Church
 * Ohio Lutheran Church Records and Histories

Related Wiki Articles

 * Lutheran Church in the United States
 * Ohio

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the wiki article Help:How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.

Citation Example for a Record Found in a Historical Record Collection
“Argentina, Buenos Aires, Catholic Church Records, 1635-1981,” images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org: accessed 28 February, 2012), La Plata &gt; San Ponciano &gt; Matrimonios 1884-1886 &gt; image 71 of 389 images, Artemio Avendano and Clemtina Peralta, 1884; citing Parroquia de San Ponciano en la Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Matrimonios. San Ponciano, La Plata, Buenos Aires.