Using Church Records
for Genealogical ResearchChurch records may inlcude baptisms, marriages, burials, as well as membership and participation in church activities. Church affiliation often accounts for migration patterns.
Don't assume your ancestors had the same church affiliation as that of your contemporary relatives. How do you find which church your ancestors attended? Look at proximity. Notice the names of clergymen who married and buried them; with a little research you can determine the chruch with which that person was affiliated. See if the obituary includes church membership.
The LDS has filmed many church records; more so for churches in other countries than those in America.. The D.A.R. transcriptions often include church records and transcriptions are often in local periodicals published by county, regional and state societies. Some churches have archives of their records.
Articles about finding and using church records: | Baptism and Christening Records | Blessing of Church Records | Church Records in the U.S. |Faith of Our Fathers: Discoveries Made with Church Records | Finding Your Ancestors' Church | Greenwood on Church Records | Locating Church Records | Locating and Using Religious Records for Family History | Locating"Lost" Churches | National Church Repositories | Searching for a Catholic Nun | Step by Step: Discovering Your Ancestor's Religion. |
Message Boards: Religions and Religious at Rootsweb.com
WPA. Inventory of Church Archives publications can tell you what records existed at a church in the 1930's.
Specific
Baptist: Southern Baptist Historical Church Records & Archives -- see especially their pages on family history and links to other collections.
Catholic: CatholicLinks.org links to Catholic libraries and archives.
Church of Ireland Church of Ireland Genealogy and Family History
Jewish
Mennonite: Mennonite Church Historical Committee, with links to archives, indexed obituaries and their Historical Bulletin
Methodist: General Commission on Archives and History: United Methodist Church . You may want to purchase a microfilm or CD from their catalog of available resources. Note especially their CD index of Conference Journal Memoirs.
In Michigan, Adrian College Library houses the United Methodist Archives of the Detroit Conference and Albion College Library housese the United Methodist Church West Michigan Conference Archives.
Moravian:The website of the Moravian Church Archives devotes a whole section to the interests of the family historian. See also: Moravian Church Genealogy Links
Reformed Dutch: Reformed Dutch Church Records
Quaker Quaker . You may want to consult the WPA Inventory of Church Archives of Society of Friends: Pennsylvnia (find in a library). although it concentrates on Ohio resources, Friendly Research provides an extremely helpful guide to understanding and finding Quaker ancestors, .
More links: | UK & Ireland Church Records | Cyndi's List: Religion and Churches |