AMERICAN CHURCH RECORDS

by Hazel Bentley

 

Colonial America was perhaps the most religiously diverse place on earth at that time. During the Revolutionary War, you will find dozens of different denominations were already well-established, some having been in North America for five generations.

 

•          Church records are not public records and do not fall under regulations as county an state records do, therefore, it could take some digging to find records; but it could be worth the search.

 

STEPS AND STRATEGIES

 

•         Identify the ancestor.

•         Establish a timeline of where he/she lived and when. (Census Records)

•         Search for the local churches in the area when and where he/she lived.

–        County Histories

–        City Directories

–        Heritage Quest  and Persi (Uintah Co Library)

 

WHICH CHURCH

•         The vast majority of non-British immigrants to North America were the Dutch of the 17th century and the Germans of the 18th century. Each brought its own culture, which included churches. Many of the Germans were Lutherans; however, a significant number belonged to the German Reformed Church (now part of the United Church of Christ).

 

•         The most common denominations during this time period were:

•         German Reformed

•         Dutch Reformed

•         Mennonites Germans

•         Brethren  Germans

•         Amish Swiss “re-baptizers”

•         Quakers Dutch settled in Penn.

•         Congregationalists Broke off from C of England

•         Roman Catholic Preferred by French & Spanish

•         Presbyterian had it’s origin in Scotland.

•         Huguenot  French Protestant Immigrants

 

THE RECORDS THEY KEPT

 

•         Record keeping practices were similar in most of the denominations. They generally recorded the baptisms and marriages, but burials only infrequently.

•         An obituary could tell where the service was held.

•          Marriage records might show the clergy.

•         Once you determine what church your ancestor attended, you may find that it no longer exists. The records could be at the denomination archive depository or donated to the historical society. The historical society could know where the records are.

•         If you write to the church send a ssae and a small donation and be specific about the information you are seeking. (“…a baptismal record for Susie Smith born in 1900,” is preferable to “…all the jones baptisms”

•         One of the best sources is SLC FHC. WWW.familysearch.org

•         Search the catalogue by place and you should find a list of church records.

 

OTHER WEBSITES

 

•         http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/churches/

•         http://www.awesomegenealogy.com/churchrecords.shtml

•         http://www.cyndislist.com/religion.htm

•         http://www.pitts.emory.edu/

•         http://www.pitts.emory.edu/archives/Methodist.html

•         http://www.gcah.org

•         http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~baptist/

•         http://www.sbhla.org/archives.htm Southern Baptist Archives

•         http://www.baptisthistory.org/sbaptistbeginnings.htm  Great history