Church records and the information they provide vary greatly, depending upon the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members (age; dates of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage information; maiden name of wife; and death date), names of other relatives who were witnesses, or names of members of the congregation. The members of some churches were predominately of one nationality or ethnic group.

Before 1900, the largest religious groups in Indiana were Roman Catholic, Methodist Episcopal, Christian (Disciples of Christ), and Baptist. For the historical background of religious groups in Indiana, see:

Rudolph, L. C. Hoosier Faiths: A History of Indiana Churches and Religious Groups. Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press, 1995. (FHL book 977.2 K2ru; computer number 816479.) This describes general history and Indiana history, and includes biographies of significant local leaders of 50 major religious groups. It is indexed.

Transcripts of many Indiana church records, including over 175,000 indexed names, are published in Indiana Source Book: Genealogical Material from the Hoosier Genealogist, cited in the “For Further Reading” section near the end of this outline.

The Family History Library has some church records and published histories. These include “pastor pocket records” kept by early circuit riders, and abstracts of numerous records of the Society of Friends. The following directories may help you find church records.

A Directory of Churches and Religious Organizations in Indiana. 3 vols. Indianapolis: Historical Records Survey, 1941. (FHL book 977.2 K24d; vols. 2 & 3 on film 1036694; computer number 237524.) The Family History Library does not have volume one, which pertains to Marion County. Volume two is for the Calumet Region (Lake, Porter, and LaPorte Counties). Volume three pertains to Northern Indiana, part one: Adventist Bodies-Mennonite Bodies; part two: Methodist- Y.W.C.A. In addition to an index to churches in Indiana, there is an index of denominations that includes the name and location of the churches.

Rudolph, L. C. and Judith E. Endelman. Religion in Indiana: A Guide to Historical Resources. Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana Univ. Press, 1986. (FHL book 977.2 K23r; computer number 423153.) This book contains an excellent bibliography of published works, a list of repositories for the different denominations, and histories of congregations.

For brief histories and addresses of the various church denominations in Indiana, see pages 76–89 of Mona Robinson’s book Who’s Your Hoosier Ancestor?: Genealogy For Beginners, listed in the “For Further Reading” section of this outline.

Many denominations have collected their records into central repositories. Use the following addresses to locate records.

Baptist

Indiana Baptist Collection
Franklin College Library
Franklin, IN 46131
Telephone: 317-738-8164
Fax: 317-738-8787
Internet: www.franklincoll.edu/pub/index.html

Disciples of Christ

Christian Theological Seminary Library
1000 W. 42nd St.
Indianapolis, IN 46208
Telephone: 317-924-1331
Fax: 317-923-1961

Lutheran

Archives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
8765 West Higgins
Chicago, IL 60631
Telephone: 773-380-2818
Fax: 773-380-2977
Internet: www.elca.org/os/archives/geneal.html

This archive has microfilms of German, Danish, and Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran congregations. Many of their records can be borrowed on microfilm for a small fee. You can write to ask if they have records of a specific congregation. For information about lists of some of the church records in their collection, see the “Church Records” section of the United States Research Outline.

Methodist

Archives of DePauw University and Indiana United Methodism
Roy O. West Library
DePauw University
Greencastle, IN 46135
Telephone: 765-658-4406
Fax: 765-658-4423
Internet: www.depauw.edu/archives/aschome.htm

The Family History Library has some Indiana Methodist histories and church records.

Presbyterian

Archives of the Presbyterian Church of Indiana
Duggan Library
CR College
CR, IN 47243-0287
Telephone: 812-866-7161
Fax: 812-866-7172
Internet: www.CR.edu/library

Roman Catholic

University of Notre Dame Archives
P.O. Box 513
221 Hesburgh
Notre Dame, IN 46556
Telephone: 219-631-6447
Fax: 219-631-6772
Internet: www.nd.edu

The records of all four Roman Catholic dioceses in Indiana are available on microfilm at the Family History Library. These records include the dioceses of Evansville, Fort Wayne-South Bend, Gary, and Lafayette, plus the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, all to about 1916.

The early church records of Vincennes, in what is now Knox County, have been microfilmed and are available at the Family History Library.

Catholic Church. St. Francis Xavier (Vincennes, Indiana). Parish Registers, 1780–1960. Salt Lake City: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1985. (FHL films 1433361-65; computer number 398837.) The original records are at St. Francis Xavier Church, Vincennes, Indiana. They list baptisms, confirmations, communions, marriages, deaths, and graves of soldiers who served in the War of 1812, the Black Hawk War (1835), the Mexican War, and the Civil War. These records may have information about persons from various parts of what is now Indiana and persons traveling through Vincennes.

Other microfilmed Roman Catholic records for Vincennes are also listed in the Family History Library Catalog, such as St. Thomas (1865–1984) and St. John the Baptist (1847–1947).

Society of Friends (Quakers)

Many Quaker records are kept at the Indiana Historical Society. (See the “Archives and Libraries” section above for the address.)

Another library with Quaker records is:

Earlham College
Friends Collection
Lilly Library
801 National Road West
Richmond, IN 47374-4095
Telephone: 765-983-1287
Fax: 765-983-1304
Internet: www.earlham.edu/%7Elibr/quaker/resources.htm

An important source for information about Indiana Quakers is:

Heiss, Willard. Abstracts of the Records of the Society of Friends in Indiana. 6 vols. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society, 1962-1977. (FHL book 977.2 K28h; fiche 6051380-386; computer number 411625.) This includes records of births, marriages, deaths, removals, dismissals, and memberships.

A unique source listing many Indiana Quakers is:

Nelson, Jacquelyn S. Indiana Quakers Confront the Civil War. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society, 1991. (FHL book 977.2 H2n; computer number 634527.) Appendix C lists Indiana Friends (Quakers) who served in the Civil War. For each man, it generally lists birth date, parents’ names, monthly meeting and county thereof, company, regiment, rank, and death date.

The Locality Search of the Family History Library Catalog lists church records under:

INDIANA, [COUNTY]- CHURCH RECORDSINDIANA, [COUNTY], [TOWN]- CHURCH RECORDS

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