Congregational Church in the United States

United States   Church Records   Congregational Church Records 

Online Records
"In this series you will find records of: church meetings and votes; births, deaths, baptisms, and marriages; church discipline, including admonitions, confessions, censures, and excommunications; ecclesiastical council minutes. Of particular note are the personal conversion narratives, called "relations", found in several of the collections. These documents, prepared by any individual seeking church membership, offer insight into many under-documented populations including women, children, Native Americans, slaves, and indentured servants."
 * Congregational Library and Archives Online Church Records
 * Connecticut State Library Church Records Index The Church Records index covers about one-quarter of the church records held by the Connecticut State Library, mostly Congregational. There is no specific cutoff date for the index; most entries date before 1850, but there are some to the early 1900s.
 * Index cards to vital records of Connecticut churches at the Connecticut State Library. These records are restricted but may be viewed at anyFamily History Center.
 * Connecticut, Church Record Abstracts, 1630-1920, index and images, at Ancestry.com, ($). Ancestry.com may be used free-of-charge at anyFamily History Center. The Connecticut State Library is home to a large collection of church records dating back to the 17th century. Alphabetized volumes of details abstracted from these records have been created and bound by town/church, then surname. This collection includes those bound compilations. They record dates of admission, baptisms, deaths, dismissions, marriages, and a variety of other details.
 * A list of Congregational ministers and the churches or circuits they served.

FamilySearch Catalog

 * There are hundreds of entries of digitized Lutheran church records listed in the FamilySearch Catalog:
 * Online church records can be listed in the FamilySearch Catalog state-wide, county-wide, or for a 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 statewide records:
 * a. Enter your state name in the "Place" search field of FamilySearch Catalog. You will see a list of topics and, at the top, the phrase "Places within United States, [STATE]".
 * b. Click on "Church records" in the topic list. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.


 * To find county-wide records:
 * c. From the original page, click on Places within United States, [STATE] and a list of counties will appear.
 * d. Click on your county.
 * e. Click on the "Church records" topic. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.


 * To find town records:
 * f. From the list of counties, click on Places within United States, [STATE], [COUNTY] and a list of towns will appear.
 * g. Click on your town if it appears, or the location which you believe was the parish which served your town or village.
 * h. Click on the "Church records" topic. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.
 * i. 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.

Information Found in Church Records
Early Records: Records before the late 1800s were more like historical notes and minutes about the establishment of a church and its activities. The most useful information would be possible membership lists and baptisms (both adult and child) interspersed throughout the notes.

Registers: Standard printed registers of baptisms, confirmations, marriages, deaths/burials were not adopted until the later 1800s.

Births and Baptisms: Births were not recorded always and baptisms could be adult or child. Children's baptisms might name just the father. Adult baptisms might mention married couples. Occasionally, an entire family joined the church and were all baptized at once. Baptism was not required, so your ancestor might not show up at all.

Marriages: Name of bride and groom, residences, date of marriage, officiator's name.

Deaths: Mentioned on membership lists.

Membership Lists: Name, maybe maiden name, spouse's name, date joining church, prior congregation, and where moved to when leaving, death date and age at death.

Conversion Stories: Early on, members had to explain how they became converted, in order to join the church.

Other Records: Minute bools, disciplinary actions, financial records, church histories, obituaries of ministers.

Finding Aids

 * ArchiveGrid Use keyword "Congregational", town name, church name, or minister's name.

Published Transcripts
Many Congregational church records have been transcribed and published. Look for them in these online archives: Try different keywords in various combinations: the name of the town, the name of the specific church, the denomination, "church records", and "[STATE] church records".


 * Google Books
 * Internet Archive
 * Digital Public Library of America
 * HathiTrust Digital Library
 * FamilySearch Digital Library

FamilySearch Digitized Records
Many original and transcribed/published Congregational Church Records have been microfilmed and 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 [STATE LINK records of United States, STATE].
 * b. Click on Places within United States, STATE and a list of counties will appear.
 * c. Click on your county when it appears.
 * d. Click on Places within United States, STATE, [COUNTY] and a list of towns will appear.
 * e. Click on your town if it appears, or the location which you believe was the parish which served your town or village.
 * f. Click on the "Church records" topic. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.
 * g. 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.

Archives and Libraries
Congregational Library and Archives 14 Beacon Street Boston, MA 02108 Telephone: 617-523-0470 Fax: 617-523-0470 - Connecticut State Library - New Hampshire Historical Society New Hampshire Historical Society 30 Park Street Concord, NH 03301 Telephone: 603-228-6688 "A good way to verify the information printed in vital records is through the Society’s collection of original church records. With lists of births, deaths, baptisms, and marriages, church records are often the only resource though which to find or verify this information. Church records can also help place a particular person in a place at a certain time. The church records collection reflects many towns and denominations throughout New Hampshire." - Maine Historical Society John Marshall and Alida Carroll Brown Research Library 489 Congress Street Portland, ME 04101 Phone (207) 774–1822 Fax (207) 775–4301 E-mail: info@mainehistory.org
 * Website
 * Congregational Library and Archives Online Church Records
 * Locations
 * Website
 * List of church records in the Connecticut State Library e-book
 * Church Records Index The Church Records index covers about one-quarter of the church records held by the Connecticut State Library, mostly Congregational. There is no specific cutoff date for the index; most entries date before 1850, but there are some to the early 1900s.
 * Website
 * Genealogy
 * Catalog search of archives for Congregational church records
 * Website
 * Genealogy and Family History Research at MHS Collection holds many published and manuscript church records for Congregational churches. Most extensive collection of Maine Church records in existence.
 * Catalog search keyword "Congregational"

Writing to Local Churches
More recent records are still with the local church. Also older records might still be there, having never been given to any archives. See the Letter Writing Guide for Genealogy for help with composing letters.


 * National Association of Congregational Christian Churches Member Churches Map
 * Conservative Congregational Christian Conference Church Directory