Connecticut Church Records

Historical Background
The Congregational Church was predominant in early Connecticut and was the state church until 1818. Other prominent churches in the state are the Methodist and Episcopal churches (colonial period), and the Roman Catholic and Baptist churches (19th century).

Information Found in the Records
To effectively use church records, become familiar with their content. Click on these links to learn about a specific record type:

Look for online records.
'''Ancestry.com, FindMyPast.com, and MyHeritage.com can be searched free of charge at your local family history center or the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

FamilySearch

 * Index cards to vital records of Connecticut churches at the Connecticut State Library
 * Connecticut, Church Record Abstracts, 1630-1920. Index.
 * Connecticut, Church Records, 1660-1955. Index, incomplete


 * Connecticut, Births and Christenings, 1649-1906 is a name index to birth, baptism, and christening records. Description of records.


 * Connecticut, Marriages, 1630-1997 is a name index to marriage records. Description of records.
 * Early Connecticut Marriages as Found on Ancient Church Records Prior to 1800, Bailey, Frederic W., 7 vols. New Haven, Conn.: Bureau of American Ancestry for Family Research, 1896-1906.
 * Connecticut Deaths and Burials, 1772-1934 is a name index to death and burial records from the state of Connecticut. This set contains 2,010,979 records. Description of records.

Ancestry.com

 * New England, Select United Methodist Church Records, 1787-1922. Index. ($)
 * Early Members of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, ($). Index

Other Collections

 * Dunham-Wilcox-Trott-Kirk indexes church, cemetery, probate and other early New England, New York and New Jersey records with links to abstracts of the records.

Consult available finding aids.
These aids generally provide lists of records that are known to exist and information on their location. To learn about church records existing in 1942, see:
 * Guide to Vital Statistics in the Church Records of Connecticut. (New Haven, Conn.: Connecticut Historical Records Survey, 1942). 974.6 K23g; film 924002 item 2; fiche 6051300

Look for digital copies of church records listed in the FamilySearch Catalog.
The Family History Library has an extensive microfilm collection of records of the Baptist, Congregational, Episcopal, Methodist, and Methodist Episcopal churches. Published histories are available for denominations, such as Episcopal, Roman Catholic, Latter-day Saint (Mormon), and Universalist.
 * Online church records can be listed in the FamilySearch Catalog under the state, county, or town.
 * If you find a record that has not yet been digitized, see How do I request that a microfilm be digitized?
 * 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 United States, Connecticut.
 * b. Click on Places within United States, Connecticut and a list of counties will appear.
 * c. Click on your county if it appears.
 * d. Click on the "Church records" topic. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.
 * e. Click on Places within United States, Connecticut [COUNTY] and a list of towns will appear.
 * f. Click on your town if it appears, or the location which you believe was the parish which served your town or village.
 * g. Click on the "Church records" topic. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.
 * h. 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.

Check the church records collections in archives and libraries.
Some church records have been deposited for preservation in government archives or in libraries. Watch for links to digitized, online records offered by the archives. Some archives provide research services for a fee. For others, if you cannot visit in person, you might hire a researcher.

Connecticut State Library 231 Capitol Avenue Hartford, Connecticut 06106 Telephone: 860-757-6500 or toll free: 866-886-4478 More than 600 churches have deposited their records with the Connecticut State Library.
 * E-mail
 * Website
 * Index cards to vital records of Connecticut churches at the Connecticut State Library

Baptist
American Baptist - Samuel Colgate Historical Library 1106 South Goodman Street Rochester, NY 14620-2532 Phone: (716) 473-1740 Fax: (716) 473-1740

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons)
Early church records, for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for Connecticut wards and branches can be found on film and are located at the Family History Library. The film numbers, for each ward, can be locate through the FamilySearch Catalog. Or by refering to Jaussi, Laureen R., and Gloria D. Chaston. Register of Genealogical Society Call Numbers. 2 vols. Provo, Utah: Genealogy Tree, 1982. (FHL book 979.2258 A3j; fiche 6031507). These volumes contain the film numbers for many (but not all) membership and temple record films.

Congregational
Connecticut Historical Society 1 Elizabeth Street Hartford, CT 06105 Phone: (860) 236-5621 Fax: (860) 236-2664

The Congregational Library 14 Beacon Street Boston, MA 02108-3704 Phone: (617) 523-0470 Fax: (617) 523-0491

Episcopal
Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut 135 Asylum Avenue Hartford, CT 06105-2295 Phone: (860) 233-4481 Fax: (860) 523-1410

Methodist
United Methodist Archives Center Drew University Library P.O. Box 127 Madison, NJ 07940 Phone: (201) 408-3189 Fax: (201) 408-3909

Moravian
The Moravian Archives 41 West Locust Street Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18018 United States of America Phone: (610) 866-3255 Fax: (610) 866-9210

For information concerning missions to the American Indians, visit Moravian Missions Among American Indians. For a map and list of missions, visit Early Moravian Missions in Eastern Pennsylvania and Surrounding Areas 1740-1773.

Mission records are also available in the. The records are indexed in the Book 970.1 F642i.

Roman Catholic
Diocese of Bridgeport 238 Jewett Avenue Bridgeport, CT 06606 Phone: (203) 416-1354

The diocese includes the county of: Fairfield

Diocese of Norwich 201 Broadway P.O. Box 587 Norwich, CT 06360 Phone: (860) 887-9294 Fax: (860) 886-1670

The diocese includes the counties of: Middlesex, New London, Tolland and Windham

Diocese of Hartford 134 Farmington Avenue Hartford, CT 06103 Phone: (860) 541-6491 Fax: (860) 541-6309

The diocese includes the counties of: Hartford, Litchfield and New Haven

Correspond with or visit the actual churches.
Some records are still held in the local churches. Contact the current minister to find out what records are still available.
 * Make an appointment to look at the records. Or ask the minister of the church to make a copy of the record for you.
 * To find church staff available, you might have to visit on Sunday.
 * Ask for small searches at a time, such as one birth record or a specific marriage. Never ask for "everything on a family or surname".
 * A donation ($25-$40) for their time and effort to help you would be appropriate.
 * If the church has a website, you may be able to e-mail a message.
 * See the Letter Writing Guide for Genealogy for help with composing letters.
 * Each denomination page offers an online address directory of local churches for that denomination.

Correspond with genealogical or historical societies.
Some church records have been given to historical societies. Also, historical societies may be able to tell you where the records are being held. To find a society near you, consult these lists:
 * Society Hill List of Connecticut Societies

Carefully compare any record you find to known facts about the ancestor
You will possibly find many different people with the same name as your ancestor, especially when a family stayed in a locality for several generations, and several children were named after the grandparents or aunts and uncles. Be prepared to find the correct church records by organizing in advance as many of these exact details about the ancestor as possible:
 * name, including middle name and maiden name
 * names of all spouses, including middle and maiden name
 * exact or closely estimated dates of birth, marriage, and death
 * names and approximate birthdates of children
 * all known places of residence
 * occupations
 * military service details

Carefully evaluate the church records you find to make sure you have really found records for your ancestor and not just a "near match". If one or more of the details do not line up, be careful about accepting the entry as your ancestor. There are guiding principles for deciding how to resolve discrepancies between records that are seemingly close. For more instruction in evaluating evidence, read the Wiki article, Evaluate the Evidence.