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 February, 2020; recently added links are in BOLD):
- Axtell, Salem Methodist Episcopal Church Church Records, 1881-1957
- Bellevue, First Presbyterian Church Church Records, 1851-1899
- Colombus, Presbyterian Church Communicants, 1870-1916
- Columbus, Congregational Church Church Records, 1865-1913
- Frontier County, St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church Parish register, 1892-1915
- Gerald, St. Paul's United Church of Christ Church Records, 1855-1995
- Hastings, New York Avenue Congregational Church, Records
- Hastings, New York Avenue Congregational Church, Records, 1908 to 1977
- Hayes County, Trinity Lutheran Church Church Records, 1883-1926
- Holdrege, Prairie Methodist Episcopal Church Church Records, 1883-1921
- Jefferson County, Church Records
- McCook, First Baptist Church Baptismal and Membership Records, 1892-1900
- Nebraska, Church Records, 1875-1899
- Nebraska, Miscellaneous Church Record Collections
- Nebraska, Some Early Lincoln Church Records
- Omaha, Trinity Cathedral Church Records, 1857-1886
- Omaha, First Baptist Church Church Records, 1884-1898
- Omaha, First Methodist Church Church Records, 1868-1895
- Omaha, First Presbyterian Church Church Records, 1877-1889
- Sidney, Christ Episcopal Church 1828-1908 Parish Register
- Trenton, Trinity Lutheran Church Parish Register, 1887-1916
- Wayne County, Salem United Church of Christ Church Records, 1901-1946
- Wilcox, United Methodist Church. Church Records, 1886-2017
Good Luck and Happy Hunting!
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