Another under utilized genealogy resource is Church Records. We tend to focus our research on civil records, but need to be aware that often church records pre-dated civil records and are a great resource as well. In the BMD Records section of this website there are about 15,000 collections of civil records that are available online. Yes, that's a lot, but we need to also search church records as well.
What can we find in church or synagogue records? Here's just a shortlist of what nuggets we can find:
- Baptisms and Christenings
- Marriages
- Deaths
- Burials
- Confirmations
- Membership lists
- Church Minutes
- Church Directories
- Transfer Letters
- Bar or Bat Mitzvahs
- Sunday School lists
- Church newsletters
In addition, many folks also documented important events in family bibles, so they need to be searched as well if the event information has been digitized.
Here are a couple of articles that you might find useful:
- U.S. Church Records Research Guide
- United States Church Records
- A Genealogist’s Guide to Using Catholic Records in Genealogy Research
There is a large number of Free Online Church Record collections; the links accessible by state below:.
Note: Some of the links listed below take you to a FamilySearch Collection of digital images. Near the bottom of the page under Film/Digital Notes is the name of each sub-collection. If there is a camera icon at the right of the name (in the Format column) then the collections' images are browsable. If there is a camera with a key icon, it is only available at a Family History Center or affiliated library. If there is a film reel icon, then it is only available in microfilm format, not digital.
(Updated January, 2020; recently added links are in BOLD):
- Buena Vista, Holy Cross Church Church Records, 1925-1965
- Callahan, First Baptist Church Church Minutes, 1841-1943
- Columbia County, New River Baptist Church Minutes of meetings and lists of members, 1899-1974; church history, 1833-1912
- Coral Gables, St. Phillip's Church Church Records, 1948-1991
- Cypress, Cypress Baptist Church Minutes of meetings and lists of members, 1888-1965
- Florida Church Archives Inventory
- Florida, Births and Christenings, 1880-1935
- Florida, Church Records, 1834-1997
- Florida, Christ Church, Pensacola Records of the parish 1851
- Florida, Church and family Records, 1947
- Florida, St. Augustine Parish, Roman Catholic Records, White baptisms, 1784-1799
- Fort Lauderdale, St. Mark's Church Church Records, 1954-1991
- Fort Lauderdale, All Saint's Episcopal Church Church Records, 1925-1991
- Fort White, Columbia County, "OLD" Elim Baptist Church Records
- Gadsden County Church Records
- Hawthorne, First Baptist Church Church Records, 1853-1959
- Hollywood, St. John's Episcopal Church Church Records, 1926-1991
- Inverness, Inverness Cumberland Presbyterian Church Church Records, 1891-1941
- Jacksonville, Immaculate Conception Church, Baptismal Records
- Jacksonville, Baptismal Records of Immaculate Conception Church
- Key West, Holy Innocent's Church Church Records, 1901-1916
- Key West, St. John's Episcopal Church Church Records, 1876-1894
- Key West, St. Paul's Episcopal Church Church Records, 1734-1882
- Lake Helen, Blake Memorial Baptist Church Church Minutes, 1891-1951
- Lake Worth, St. Andrew's Church Parish Registers, 1914-1991
- Lake Worth, Bethesda-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church Church Records, 1889-1991
- Lakeland, First Baptist Church Church Minutes and memberships, 1897-1963
- Leesburg, History of the Morrison Memorial Methodist Church, 1857-1957 : Record of pastors, 1858-1957
- Leesburg, Records of St. James Episcopal Church from 1877 to 1953
- Leesburg, Records of the First Presbyterian Church from 1869 to 1943 and 1949 to 1956
- Madison County, Concord Baptist Church Church Minutes, 1841-1868
- Miami Methodist Episcopal Church South, Church Records
- Miami Springs, All Angels Episcopal Church Parish Registers, 1979-1991
- Miami, Christ Episcopal Church Church Records, 1910-1991
- Miami, St. Agnes Episcopal Church Church Records, 1906-1963
- Miami, Todos Los Santos Episcopal Church Church Records, 1973-1991
- Miami, Trinity Cathedral Episcopal Church Church Records, 1888-1945
- Miami, Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church Records of marriages, infant baptisms and deaths from 1896-1920 :
- St. Augustine Historical Society Church Records
- St. Petersburg, Pinellas County Records, vol. 2 : (church, marriage, Bible, cemetery, etc.)
- Tallahassee, St. John's Episcopal Church Records
- Tallahassee, St. John's Episcopal Church Parochial Records 1832-1880
- Tampa, El Bethel Baptist Church Church Records, 1902-1971
- Tampa, First Methodist Church Records 1901-1916
- Tampa, Lewis Memorial Cumberland Presbyterian Church Church Records, 1924-1941
- West Palm Beach, Holy Trinity Episcopal Church Church Records, 1891-1991
Good Luck and Happy Hunting!
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