District of Columbia Church Records

Before 1900 the largest religious groups in the District of Columbia were the Roman Catholic, Baptist, Protestant Episcopal, and Methodist Episcopal churches.

To locate church records see:


 * A Directory of Churches and Religious Organizations in the District of Columbia, 1939. Washington, D.C.: District of Columbia Historical Records Survey, 1939; 975.3 K24h; digital version at Ancestry ($).

The Family History Library has few District of Columbia church records. It has begun to digitize its collection:


 * 1830-1955 - - free. Description


 * 1811-1950 - - free. Description


 * 1840-1964 - - free. Description

You can write to the following addresses to learn where records are located:

Baptist
American Baptist Historical Society

The Library in Rochester is now closed to researchers, with interim director Betsy Dunbar working full-time, preparing collections for packing. We are not accepting any more research requests "by mail" in 2007 nor are we scheduling appointments to our Rochester Library at this time. We will also close the Valley Forge Archives Center to visitors beginning in mid-June. We are inviting researchers to plan to visit us in 2008 at our new location on the Atlanta campus of Mercer University.

An informative history is:


 * Brush, John Woolman. Baptists in Massachusetts. Valley Forge, Pa.: Judson Press, 1970..

Episcopal
The Episcopal Church Historian Washington National Cathedral Massachusetts and Wisconsin Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20016 Telephone; 202-537-6200 Fax: 202-364-6600

St. Alban's Parish Massachusetts and Wisconsin Avenue, N.W. Washington DC 20016-5098 Telephone: 202-363-8286 FAX: 202-363-6828

Mailing Address:

3001 Wisconsin Avenue NW Washington, DC 20016

For information on Episcopal churches see:


 * Inventory of Church Archives in the District of Columbia: The Protestant Episcopal Church, Diocese of Washington, 2 vols. Washington, D.C.: Historical Records Survey, 1940;.

Lutheran
Tri-Synod Archives Thiel College 75 College Avenue Greenville, PA 16125 Phone: (724) 589-2131
 * Archives hold records for closed churches. For open churches write directly to the local church.

Methodist
United Methodist Archives Center Drew University Library 36 Madison Avenue Madison, NJ 07940 Telephone: 973-408-3289 Fax: 973-408-3909

Mailing Address:

P.O. Box 127 Madison, NJ 07940-0127

Union Methodist Episcopal Church, Washington, D.C.

Baptisms


 * 1860-1875 - Union Methodist Episcopal Church, Washington, D.C. Baptism Index 1860-1875. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

Marriages


 * 1860-1883 - Union Methodist Episcopal Church, Washington, D.C. Marriage Index 1860-1883. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

Roman Catholic
St. Patrick's Church in Washington, D.C. has parochial registers dating back to the foundation of the city.

Historiographer Archdiocese of Washington 5001 Eastern Avenue Washington, D.C. 20017 Telephone: 301-853-4500 Fax: 301-853-3246

Mailing Address:

P.O. Box 29260 Washington, DC 20017

A wiki article describing an online collection is found at:


 * District of Columbia Birth Returns (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * District of Columbia Marriages (FamilySearch Historical Records)