Church Records - Genealogy 

Locating church records can be challenging. If a church is still in existence, records should be in the custody of that particular church. However, some records may have been published or microfilmed and may be available in a historical society or in a LDS (Latter-Day Saint) Family History Library. Original records of parishes that are no longer in existence may have been donated to a local historical society or to a specific denominational archive. The following offer some basic starting points.

Archives of the Reformed Church in America

http://tinyurl.com/38gf9q 

The Sage Library in New Brunswick contains records of the RCA.

Baptist Historical Collections

http://www.sbhla.org/links.htm 

A directory of Baptist historical collections. Some NJ Baptist church records are housed in the Samuel Colgate Historical Library, but this collection is temporarily closed to researchers and should reopen in 2008.

Directory for Local and Regional United Methodist Archives

http://www.gcah.org/site/c.ghKJI0PHIoE/b.2950475

A directory of where you might be able to find local Methodist Church Records.

Friends Historical Library

http://www.swarthmore.edu/fhl.xml 

Located in Swarthmore, PA, the repository contains Quaker meeting records, family papers, and organizational records. Many finding aids are available online.

Local Catholic Church & Family History Genealogical Research Guide

http://home.att.net/~Local_Catholic 

Although not recently updated, researchers can locate much information here, including a directory of dioceses and churches.

Locating Church Records

http://www.genealogy.com/5_grnwd.html 

A guide to tracking down church records. Also lists some locations where records may be available.

Lutheran Archives Center at Philadelphia

http://www.ltsp.edu/lutheran-archives-philadelphia 

The Northeast Regional Archives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. Contains some Lutheran parish registers. Researchers may want to inquire whether the repository contains records of a specific congregation.

National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections

http://www.loc.gov/coll/nucmc/oclcsearch.html 

Researchers may want to check here to see if a particular church's records have been deposited at a library or archives.

Presbyterian Church in America Historical Center

http://www.pcahistory.org 

Check the Congregation Directory to see where records may be located.

Princeton Theological Seminary

http://libweb.ptsem.edu/collections/Default.aspx?menu=276 

The special collections library "holds selected records of local churches within the bounds of the former Synod of New Jersey." 

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