Nebraska Church Records

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Historical Background
Before 1900 the largest religious groups in Nebraska were the Roman Catholic, Methodist Episcopal, [[Lutheran Church in the United States|Lutheran,] and [[Presbyterian Church in the United States|Presbyterian] churches.

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.


 * Nebraska Monthly Meeting: Quaker Records, ($), index
 * 1875-1899 - at FamilySearch — index

The Nebraska State Historical Library has an extensive collection of Protestant church records. These are listed in the reference leaflet Nebraska Church Records at the Nebraska State Historical Society. Library research services are fee-based. Some materials are available for loan via Interlibrary Loan through your local public library.

The Family History Library has very few church records from Nebraska. It has microfilms of some Presbyterian records, such as session minutes, baptisms, and membership rolls. The library also has DAR transcripts of some other denominations' records.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons)
Early Nebraska ward and branch records are available on microfilm at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Find film numbers by searching 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 records.

Lutheran
Archives of the Nebraska Synod 4980 South 118 Street, Suite D Omaha, NE 68137-2220 Phone: (402) 896-5311 Fax: (402) 896-5354 E-mail: [mailto:nebsynod@aol.com office@nebraskasynod.org]

Early congregations and pioneers are described in Charles F. Sandahl, The Nebraska Conference of the Augustana Synod. (n.p.: Nebraska Conference, 1931); film 1036240 item 3

Abstracts of records relating to German immigrants can be found in:


 * German Immigrants in Nebraska Protestant Church Records.

Odessa3.org - This site contains German-Russian emigrant ancestry in pocket settlements in mid-west states of North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska. Contains transcribed minutes of meetings, membership lists (some with parentage listed), birth, deaths, and marriages.

Methodist
Nebraska Wesleyan University Historical Archives United Methodist Church 5000 St. Paul Avenue Lincoln, NE 68504 Phone: (402) 465-2400 Fax: (402) 465-2189

United Methodist Historical Center Nebraska Conference P.O. Box 4553 Lincoln, NE 68504-0553 Phone: (402) 465-2175

Presbyterian
Presbyterian Historical Society United Presbyterian Church in the U.S. 425 Lombard Street Philadelphia, PA 19147 Phone: (215) 627-1852 Fax: (215) 627-0509

Hall's Index of American Presbyterian Congregations briefly summarizes information published as part of General Assembly minutes, annual denomination yearbooks, and related sources. The index contains the organization and dissolution dates of churches, denomination and location changes, mergers, etc. Search Hall's Index to see if a Presbyterian congregation existed in a town or city, and then search CALVIN, the on-line catalog, to learn what registers, minutes, and other records are available in the Presbyterian Historical Society Archives.

Roman Catholic
Diocese of Grand Island P.O. Box 153 2708 Old Fair Road Grand Isle, NE 68802 Phone: (800) 652-0004

There are no records at the above site.

The diocese includes the counties of: Arthur, Banner, Blaine, Box Butte, Brown, Buffalo, Cherry, Cheyenne, Custer, Dawes, Dawson, Deuel, Garden, Garfield Grant, Greeley, Hall, Hooker, Howard, Keith, Keya Paha, Kimball, Lincoln, Logan, Loup, McPherson, Morrill, Rock, Scotts Bluff, Sheridan, Sherman, Sioux, Thomas, Valley and Wheeler.

Diocese of Lincoln P.O. Box 80328 Lincoln, NE 68501-0328 Phone: (402) 488-0921

The diocese includes the counties of: Adams, Butler, Cass, Chase, Clay, Dawson, Dundy, Fillmore, Franklin, Frontier, Furnas, Hamilton, Harlan, Hayes, Hitchcock, Jefferson, Johnson, Kearney, Keith, Lancaster, Lincoln, Nemaha, Nuckolls, Otoe, Pawnee, Perkins, Phelps, Polk, Red Willow, Saline, Richardson, Saunders, Seward, Thayer, Webster and York.

Chancery Office Archdiocese of Omaha 100 North 62 Street Omaha, NE 68132-2795 Phone: (402) 558-3100 Fax: (402) 558-3026

For a helpful history see Henry Weber Casper, History of the Catholic Church in Nebraska, Three Volumes (Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Catholic Life Pub., 1960-66); book 978.2 K2c. A brief History of the Archidiocese of Omaha is available as part of the Catholic Encyclopedia.

The Archdiocese includes the counties of: Antelope, Boone, Boyd, Burt, Cedar, Colfax, Cuming, Dakota, Dixon, Dodge, Douglas, Holt, Knox, Madison, Merrick, Nance, Pierce, Platte, Sarpy, Stanton, Thurston, Washington and Wayne.