Using Church Records to Identify Ancestors

Church record research is a must for any genealogist. Many of our archives have church records available to researchers. There are also independent church archives for specific religions or denominations that can help you discover your ancestor. Learn from a seasoned genealogist and archivist how to find church records in archives.

Finding an overseas ancestral hometown. Tracking a family from one place to another. Researching in a place with record loss. Identifying all the children of an ancestral couple. Finding (or verifying) a birth, marriage or death. Researching extended families. Searching for ancestors who were poor, non-English speaking, ethnic minorities or enslaved. Got any of these brick-wall situations? Learn how church records may be your saving grace.

Finding a U.S. ancestor's church affiliation is the first key step to discovering their stories in related records, but it isn't usually easy. Learn 5 essential strategies, illustrated by inspiring examples. Viewers will come away with sensible, actionable steps they can apply to their own research.

Many Swedes who immigrated to North America (United States and Canada) joined a Swedish American Church. While most of these congregations were Lutheran, there were also Swedish Covenant, Swedish Methodist, Swedish Baptist, Swedish Mission and other free churches. Many of these churches kept detailed records as they did in Sweden. These records are a wonderful source to discover where in Sweden the person came from and in some cases tracing internal migration within North America. This presentation will highlight the history of Swedish American churches, the various denominations and what types of records were kept and where you can find these records both online and offline. We will review a few records to show the immense detail that was kept by some of these churches.

Scottish Kirk Session records have recently come online at ScotlandsPeople. Learn what they represent within the Scottish court process, how they operated and what you will find in the records. Understand how to identify the records needed, how to search and where to go next.

Religious records are essential in genealogy research. Do you know all ancestor's religions? Review the Protestant Reformation and religions in the U.S. Find your ancestor.

These 3 faiths dominated the 1800s religious scene in the United States. Learn a little of their intertwined history; explore a variety of sample records; and learn strategies for finding church records for Baptists, Methodists and Presbyterians.

The Moravians in the 1700s not only settled Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, but their mission work took them to other areas to work with Native Americans. Moravian records include Community Diaries which were required to be kept by each settlement. They were a way for them to record not only ecclesiastical events but other events that affected their settlement such as their interactions with native populations and slaves as they went about doing their missionary work. The German heritage of the Moravians shows in the details of naming visitors (along with any aliases) and relationships among the individuals mentioned. The Moravian records are truly a treasure-trove for anyone whose ancestors were in the same vicinity or time.

Catholic genealogical research has a depth unequaled by any other record group. The documents of the Catholic Church chronicle important events in the lives of members and can provide the key to uncovering otherwise impenetrable family mysteries. Author of the Catholic Genealogy Legacy QuickGuide™ and contributor to The Catholic Gene…