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Alabama Research Outline |
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Table of Contents
Records Of The Family History Library
Familysearch™
Family History Library Catalog
Archives And Libraries
Courthouse Fires
Computer Networks And Bulletin Boards
Bible Records
Biography
Cemeteries
Census
Federal Censuses
Colonial Censuses (1706–1795)
Territorial Censuses (1795–1810)
Census Substitutes
State Censuses (1820–1866)
Confederate Veterans’ Censuses (1907, 1921, 1927)
Church Records
Baptist
Episcopal
Methodist
Presbyterian
Roman Catholic
Court Records
Directories
Divorce Records
Emigration And Immigration
Gazetteers
Genealogy
Nationwide Indexes
Web Sites About Your Family
History
State Histories
Local Histories
Land And Property
Patents, Tract Books, And Land Entry Case Files
County Land Records
Choctaw Lands Allotted East Of The Mississippi River (1837–1906)
Maps
Military Records
Revolutionary War (1775–1783)
War Of 1812 (1812–1815)
Indian Wars (1812–1814)
War Of Texas Independence (1835–1836)
Indian Wars (1836–1838)
Mexican War (1846–1848)
Civil War (1861–1865)
Spanish-american War (1898–1899)
World War I (1917–1918)
World War II (1941–1945)
Minorities
African-american
Italian Immigrants
Native Races
Creeks
Cherokees
Additional Cherokee Records
Choctaws
Chickasaw
Bibliography For Published Books And Articles
Naturalization And Citizenship
Newspapers
Inventory On The Internet
Obituaries
Periodicals
Probate Records
Societies
Taxation
Vital Records
County Records Of Births And Deaths
State Records Of Births And Deaths
County Marriage Records
State Marriage Records
Voting Registers
For Further Reading
Comments And Suggestions
Church records and the information they provide vary greatly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation, such as age; dates of baptism, christening or birth; marriage information, such as the bride’s maiden name and the names of both sets of parents; death or burial date; admissions; and removals. Records may include names of other relatives who were witnesses or members of the congregation. The members of some churches were predominately of one nationality or ethnic group. Church records are important for Alabama family research because civil authorities in Alabama did not begin registering vital statistics until after 1908.
Roman Catholic church records for Mobile date from about 1700. In the 1800s, the largest religious groups in Alabama were the Baptist, Methodist, and Presbyterian churches. To find information about churches up to 1870, such as when the churches were founded, names of ministers and early members, and associated cemeteries, see:
Daughters of the American Revolution (Alabama). Some Early Alabama Churches (Established Before 1870). Birmingham, Ala.: Parchment Press, 1973. (FHL book 976.1 K2d; computer number 254142; film 1026262 item8; computer number 2691.)
The Family History Library has a few church records for Alabama, but most remain with the local churches. Some denominations have collected their records into central repositories. You can write to the following addresses to learn where records of a particular denomination are located.
Special Collection, Samford University Library. See the “Archives and Libraries” section of this outline for the address. The Samford University Library Website has an inventory of their records.
For histories of the Baptist Church, see:
Holcombe, Hosea. A History of the Rise and Progress of the Baptists in Alabama. 1840. Reprint, Bessemer, Ala.: West Jefferson County Historical Society, 1974. (FHL book 976.1 K21h; computer number 248039.) This history of the Baptist Church to 1840 is indexed.
Flynt, F. Wayne. Alabama Baptists: Southern Baptists in the Heart of Dixie. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1998.
A list of the Episcopal congregations in Alabama before 1939 is:
Inventory of the Church Archives of Alabama: Protestant Episcopal Church. Birmingham, Ala.: Alabama Historical Records Survey Project, 1939. (FHL book 976.1 K2h; film 897366 item3; computer number 253734.) This gives the location of each church with a brief history and describes the types and years of records that existed for each congregation in 1939.
Alabama church records are listed in the Locality Search of the Family History Library Catalog under:
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CHURCH RECORDS
Baptist
Episcopal
Methodist
Houghton Memorial Library
Huntingdon College
1500 E. Fairview Ave.
Montgomery, AL 36106-2148
Telephone: 334-833-4421
Fax: 334-263-4465
Internet address: www.huntingdon.edu
E-mail: edidwell@huntingdon.edu
Charles Andrew Rush Library
Birmingham-Southern College
900 Arkadelphia Rd.
P.O. Box 549020
Birmingham, AL 35254-9990
Telephone: 205-226-4740
Fax: 205-226-4743
Internet address: www.bsc.edu/library
A history of the Methodist Church in Alabama is:
Lazenby, Marion Elias. History of Methodism in Alabama and West Florida. N.p., 1960. (FHL book 976.1 K2L; computer number 248037.) This book includes a list of deceased ministers and a name and subject index.
Presbyterian
Presbyterian Historical Society
425 Lombard St.
Philadelphia, PA 19147
Telephone: 215-627-1852
Fax: 215-627-0509
Roman Catholic
Diocese of Mobile—Birmingham
Some of the records of this diocese are available on microfilms at the Family History Library.
400 Government St.
P.O. Box 966
Mobile, AL 36633
Telephone: 334-434-1585
Fax: 334-434-1588
ALABAMA- CHURCH HISTORYALABAMA- CHURCH RECORDSALABAMA, [COUNTY], [TOWN]- CHURCH HISTORYALABAMA, [COUNTY], [TOWN]- CHURCH RECORDS
[FamilySearchTM: Research Guidance
Version of Data: 6/8/2001]