West Virginia Church Records

Historical Background
The Church of England (now Protestant Episcopal) was the established church in Virginia (including West Virginia) from 1624 to 1786. Other major religious groups in West Virginia were the Baptist, Methodist Episcopal, Roman Catholic, and United Brethren churches. With the arrival of English and Scots-Irish settlers came West Virginia's early dominant religions. Many families of English origin were Quakers; the Scots-Irish were Presbyterians. Both religions were well established by 1740, and they were followed by Baptists who settled in Berkeley County in 1743 and a Methodist circuit in Berkeley and Jefferson counties in 1778.

West Virginia University Library Archives and History Library. Library of Virginia. To learn about this collection, see:


 * Jewell T. Clark, and Elizabeth Terry Long. A Guide to Church Records in the Archives Branch of the Virginia State Library. Richmond, Va.: Virginia State Library, 1981. 975.5 K23c

Church Archives Inventory
The Depression-Era Historical Records Survey produced detailed inventories of existing church records for the Presbyterian, Protestant Episcopal, Baptist, Methodist Episcopal, Methodist Protestant, and Episcopal churches. These records are helpful when trying to determine the location and existence of church records before 1940.

The Family History library has copies of these surveys available on microfilm which you can order from a local FamilySearch Center. Access these records in the. Choose the denomination of interest.

W. Guy Tetrick also surveyed and described the records of many West Virginia churches.

Baptist
West Virginia Baptist Historical Society Route #2 Box 304 Ripley WV 25271 Telephone 304-372-3675

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
Methodist Historical Society West Virginia Wesleyan College Annie M. Pfeiffer Library 59 College Avenue Buckhannon, WV 26201 Telephone: 304-473-8013 Fax: 304-473-8888 Email: [mailto:librarian@wvwc.edu librarian@wvwc.edu]

Episcopal
Episcopal Diocese of West Virginia 1608 Virginia Street East P.O. Box 5400 Charleston, WV 25361 Ph: 304-344-3597 Fax: 304-343-3295

Most of the early parish registers are incomplete or missing, but those still existing are at the Virginia State Library. An excellent published history is:

Peterkin, George W. A History and Record of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of West Virginia: and Before the Formation of the Diocese in 1878, in the Territory Now Known as the State of West Virginia. Charleston, West Virginia: Tribune Company, 1902. Digital version at Google Books; 975.4 K2p

Roman Catholic
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston serves West Virginia:

Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston 1300 Byron Street P.O. Box 230 Wheeling, WV 26003 Telephone: 304-233-0880 or 1- 888-434-6237 Fax: 304-233-0890

United Brethren
Historical Library Church of the Brethren 1451 Dundee Avenue Elgin, IL 60120 Telephone: 847-742-5100 Fax: 847-742-6103

Websites

 * West Virginia Christian Church Directory (Church Angel.com)
 * West Virginia Church Records Research Guide