American Samoa Church Records

For information about records for non-Christian religions in American Samoa, go to the Religious Records page. =History= Major Christian denominations on the island include the Congregational Christian Church in American Samoa, the Catholic Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Methodist Church of Samoa. Collectively, these churches account for the vast majority of the population.

J. Gordon Melton in his book claims that the Methodists, Congregationalists with the London Missionary Society, and Roman Catholics led the first Christian missions to the islands. Other denominations arrived later, beginning in 1895 with the Seventh-day Adventists, various Pentecostals (including the Assemblies of God), Church of the Nazarene, Jehovah's Witnesses and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

According to Pew Research Center, 98.3% of the total population is Christian. Among Christians, 59.5% are Protestant, 19.7% are Roman Catholic and 19.2% are other Christians. A major Protestant church on the island, gathering a substantial part of the local Protestant population, is the Congregational Christian Church in American Samoa, a Reformed denomination in the Congregationalist tradition. As of August 2017, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints website claims membership of 16,180 or one-quarter of the whole population, with 41 congregations, and 4 family history centers in American Samoa. Jehovah's Witnesses claim 210 "ministers of the word" and 3 congregations.

=Information Recorded in the Records= Different denominations, different time periods, and practices of different record keepers will effect how much information can be found in the records. This outline will show the types of details which might be found (best case scenario);

Baptisms
In Catholic and Anglican records, children were usually baptized a few days after birth, and therefore, the baptism record proves date of birth. Other religions, such as Baptists, baptized at other points in the member's life. Baptism registers might give:
 * baptism date
 * the infant's name,
 * parents' names,
 * father's occupation,
 * status of legitimacy,
 * occasionally, names of grandparents,
 * names of witnesses or godparents, who may be relatives,
 * birth date and place,
 * the family's place of residence,
 * death information, as an added note or signified by a cross.

Marriages
Marriage registers can give:
 * the marriage date and
 * the names of the bride and groom,
 * indicate whether they were single or widowed and
 * their ages,
 * their birth dates and places
 * residences,
 * occupations,
 * birthplaces, and
 * parents' names (after 1800)
 * the names of previous spouses and their death dates,
 * names of witnesses, who might be relatives.

Burials
Burial registers may give:
 * the name of the deceased and
 * the date and place of death or burial.
 * the deceased's age,
 * place of residence, and
 * cause of death
 * the names of survivors, especially a widow or widower,
 * deceased's birth date and place and
 * parents' names

Digital Copies of Church Records in the FamilySearch Catalog
Watch for digitized copies of church records to be added to the collection of the FamilySearch Library. Some records might have viewing restrictions, and can only be viewed at a Family History Center near you, and/or by members of supporting organizations. To find records:
 * a. Click on the records of American Samoa.
 * b. Click on Places within American Samoa and a list of towns will appear.
 * c. Click on your town if it appears, or the location which you believe was the parish which served your town or village.
 * d. Click on the "Church records" topic. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.
 * e. Some combination of these icons will appear at the far right of the listing for the record. FHL icons.png. The magnifying glass indicates that the record is indexed. Clicking on the magnifying glass will take you to the index. Clicking on the camera will take you to an online digital copy of the records.

= Catholic Records =

Writing for Records
To locate the mailing address or e-mail address for a local parish, consult:
 * Catholic Directory: American Samoa

Historical Background
There are seventeen parishes on Tutuila, a narrow, tropical island that is the population center of the territory. The diocese also has a small mission on the island of Manu’a, which is reached by a five-hour boat ride from Tutuila. Catholics comprise about one-quarter of the total population of 66,000 people. Parishes vary in size and accessibility. Tutuila’s main road does not provide access to the entire volcanic island and parishes off the main road are hard to reach without a good SUV. The parish on Manu’a is composed of only four families led by a catechist.
 * The First Catholic missionaries, Marists, landed in Samoa in 1845.
 * The tiny Diocese of Samoa–Pago Pago is arguably the smallest, most remote and exotically located grantee of Catholic Missions. It covers five islands and two coral atolls in American Samoa, an unincorporated territory of the United States in the South Pacific Ocean.

= The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Records =

Historical Background
= Congregational Christian Church Records =

Historical Background
= Jehovah's Witnesses =

Historical Background
=References=