Locating old church records

[vicky]

Here are some places to look for church records, from this web site-

www.episcopalarchives.org/religious_archives.html


Other Archives of Religion


Contact these central agencies for information on local church archives, college and seminary archives, and special historical collections of religion in America:

Office of the Historiographer of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, P.O. Box 301, Williamstown, MA 02167, Tel. [phone].
Email: [e-mail]
Repository of general and annual conference minutes; reports of various departments such as missions and publications; and congregational histories and other local materials. The materials are housed in the office of the historiographer and other designated locations.

American Baptist Archives Center, P.O. Box 851, Valley Forge, PA 19482-0851, Tel. [phone].
Website: www.abc-usa.org/abhs
Repository for the non-current records of the national boards and administrative organizations of American Baptist Churches in the USA. Collections include mission files, publications, correspondence, official minutes and annual reports.

Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center, 1445 Boonville Ave., Springfield, MO 65802.
Website: www.agheritage.org
Official repository for materials related to the Assemblies of God, as well as materials related to the early Pentecostal movement in general.

The Catholic University of America (CUA), The American Catholics History Research Center and University Archives (Life Cycle Institute), 101 LCI, Washington, DC 20064, Tel. [phone].
Website: www.libraries.cua.edu/archives.html

Marquette University, Department of Special Collections and Archives, P.O. Box 3141, Milwaukee, WI 93201-3141, Tel. [phone].
Website: www.marquette.edu/library/collections/archives/index.html
Collection strengths are in the areas of Catholic social action, American missions and missionaries, and other work with Native Americans and African Americans.

University of Notre Dame Archives, 607 Hesburgh Library, Notre Dame, IN 46556, Tel. [phone],
Website: www.nd.edu/~archives
Papers of bishops and prominent Catholics and records of Catholic organizations.

Andover Newton Theological School, Franklin Trask Library, 169 Herrick Rd., Newton Centre, MA 02459, Tel. [phone] ext. 252.
Website: www.ants.edu
The collections document Baptist, Congregational and Church of Christ history, including personal papers relating to national denominational work and foreign missions, with emphasis on New England Church history.

Congregational Library, 14 Beacon St., Boston, MA 02108, Tel. [phone].
Website: www.14beacon.org
Documentation on the Congregational, Congregational Christian, Christian, and United Church of Christ throughout the world, including local church records, associations, charitable organizations, and papers of clergy, missionaries and others.

Historical Foundation of the Cumberland Presbyterian Churches, 1978 Union Ave., Memphis, TN 38104, Tel. [phone].
Website: www.cumberland.org/hfcpc
Official archives of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and CPC in America.

Disciples of Christ Historical Society, 1101 19th Ave. South, Nashville, TN 37212, Tel. [phone].
Website: www.dishistsoc.org
Collects documents of the Stone-Campbell Movement.

Evangelical and Reformed Historical Society, Lancaster Theological Seminary, 555 W. James St., Lancaster, PA 17603, Tel. [phone],
Website: www.erhs.info.
Manuscripts and transcriptions of early German Reformed Church (U.S.) 1725-1863; Reformed Church in the United States 1863-1934, and Evangelical and Reformed Church 1934-1957 records of coetus, synods, and classes, pastoral records, and personal papers.

Archives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, 8765 West Higgins Rd., Chicago, IL 50531-4198, Tel. [phone].
Website: www.elca.org/os/archives/intro.html
Official repository for the church-wide offices of the ELCA and its predecessors. For further information on synod and regional archives, contact the Chicago archives or check the ELCA World Wide Web site. For ELCA college and seminary archives, contact those institutions directly, or consult the ELCA Archives.

Concordia Historical Institute, Dept. of Archives and History, 801 De Mun Ave., St. Louis, MO 63105-3199, Tel. [phone].
Website: www.chi.lcms.org/
Official repository of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Collects synodical and congregational records, personal papers and records of Lutheran agencies.

American Jewish Historical Society (2 locations): Center for Jewish History, 15 W. 16th St., New York, NY 10011, Tel. [phone]. and the Friedman Memorial Library, 2 Thornton Rd., Waltham, MA 02453, Tel. [phone].
Website: www.ajhs.org/
Archival repositories of the Jewish people in America, including significant religious contributions to American life.

Archives of the Mennonite Church USA-North Newton, Bethel College, 300 East 27th St., North Newton, KS 67117-0531, Tel. [phone].
Website: www.bethelks.edu/services/mla
An official repository for the Mennonite Church USA, its predecessor the General Conference Mennonite Church, and several other organizations.

Family History Library, Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints, 35 North West Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84150-3400, Tel. [phone].
Website: www.lds.org
Primarily microfilmed parish registers of Jewish, Catholic and Protestant bodies; also civil and military records of genealogical significance. Records gathered from more than 120 countries; available at more than 3500 family history centers of the Mormon Church open to the public. See their website for a list of family history centers.

Polish National Catholic Church Commission on History and Archives, 1031 Cedar Ave., Scranton, PA 18505.
Website: www.pgsa.org/pncc.htm
Documents pertaining to the Church's national office, parishes, Prime Bishop, leaders, and organizations.

Presbyterian Historical Society, Presbyterian Church (USA), Headquarters, 425 Lombard St., Philadelphia, PA 19147-1516, Tel. [phone],
Website: www.history.pcusa.org
Collects the official records of the Church's national offices and agencies, synods, presbyteries, and some congregations. The Society also houses records of the Church's predecessor denominations, personal papers of prominent Presbyterians, and records of prominent Presbyterians, and records of ecumenical organizations. In addition, the Southern Regional Office in Montreat, NC holds local and regional records for the fourteen southern states, Tel. [phone].

Princeton Theological Seminary Libraries, Library Place and Mercer St., P.O. Box 111, Princeton, NJ 08542-0803, Tel. [phone].
Website: www.ptsem.edu/grow/library/index.htm
Documents the history of American Presbyterianism, with an extensive collection of alumni biographies, congregational histories, and missionary reports.

Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College, 500 College Ave., Swarthmore, PA 19081-1399, Tel. [phone].
Website: www.swarthmore.edu/library/friends
Official depository for the records of the Philadelphia, Baltimore, and New York Yearly Meetings. Comprehensive collection of other Quaker meeting archives.

Special Collections/Quaker Collection, Haverford College, 370 Lancaster Ave., Haverford, PA 19041-1392, Quaker Bibliographer: Emma Jones Lapsansky, Tel. [phone].
Website: www.haverford.edu/library/special
Repository for material relating to the Society of Friends (Quakers), especially to the segment known from 1827 to the mid-20th century as "Orthodox," in the Delaware Valley.

Salvation Army Archives and Research Center, 615 Slaters Ln., Alexandria, VA 22313, Tel. [phone].
Website: www.salvationarmy.org
Holds the documents of Salvation Army history, personalities, and events in the United States from 1880.

General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists: Archives and Statistics, 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904-6600. Tel. [phone].
Website: www.adventist.org/ast
Repository of the records created at the world administrative center of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and includes the period from the 1860s to the present.

Southern Baptists Historical Library & Archives, 901 Commerce St., Suite 400, Nashville, TN 37203-3630, Tel. [phone].
Website: www.sbhla.org
Central depository of the Southern Baptist Convention. Materials include official records of denominational agencies; personal papers of denominational leaders and missionaries; records of related Baptist organizations; and annual proceedings of national and regional bodies.

Andover-Harvard Theological Library, Harvard Divinity School, 45 Francis Ave., Cambridge, MA 02138, Tel. [phone].
Website: www.hds.harvard.edu/library/bms/index.html
Institutional archives of the Unitarian Universalist Association including the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee; also houses records of many congregations; personal papers of ministers and other individuals.

United Church of Christ Archives, 700 Prospect Ave., Cleveland, OH 44115, Archivist: Bridgette A. Kelly, Tel. [phone], Fax [phone],
Email: [e-mail]
Website: www.ucc.org/aboutus/archives/index.html
Records created in the national setting of the United Church of Christ since its founding in 1957, including the General Synod, Executive Council, officers, instrumentalities, and bodies created by and/or related to the General Synod.

General Commission on Archives and History, The United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 127, Madison, NJ 07940, Tel. [phone].
Website: www.gcah.org
Collects administrative and episcopal records, and personal papers of missionaries and leaders. Holds limited genealogical information on ordained ministers. Will direct researchers to local and regional collections of congregational records and information on United Methodism and its predecessors.

Non- and Inter-denominational repositories

American Bible Society Library and Archives, 1865 Broadway, New York, NY 10023-9980, Tel. [phone].
Website: www.americanbible.org

Billy Graham Center Archives, Wheaton College, 500 College Ave., Wheaton, Il 60187-5593, Tel. [phone].
Website: www.wheaton.edu/bgc/archives

Graduate Theological Union Archives, 2400 Ridge Road, Berkeley, CA 94709, Tel. [phone].
Website: www.gtu.edu/library/archives/ Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, 515 Malcolm X Blvd., New York, NY 10037, Tel. [phone].
Website: www.schomburgcenter.org

Union Theological Seminary, Burke Library, 3041 Broadway, New York, NY 10027, Tel. [phone].
Website: www.uts.columbia.edu

University of Chicago, Regenstein Library, 1100 E 57th St., Chicago, IL 60537-1502, Tel. [phone].
Website: www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/su/rel/

Yale Divinity School Library, 409 Prospect St., New Haven, CT 06511, Research Services Librarian: Martha Smalley, Tel. [phone].
Website: www.library.yale.edu/div