Colorado Church Records

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Historical Background
Major religious affiliations of the people of Colorado are 64% Christian, of whom there are 44% Protestant, 16% Roman Catholic, 3% Mormon, and 1% Eastern Orthodox.

The largest denominations by number of adherents in 2010 were the Catholic Church with 811,630; non-denominational Evangelical Protestants with 229,981; and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with 151,433.

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.


 * 1692-1942 - at FamilySearch — index

An inventory that can help you find church records is:


 * Guide to Vital Statistics Records in Colorado, Volume 2. Church Archives. Denver: Colorado Historical Records Survey W.P.A., 1942; book 978.8 A3h; film 897482 item 9. This book lists churches that existed about 1940.

Look for digital copies of church records listed in the FamilySearch Catalog.

 * The Family History Library (FHL) has a substantial collection of original church records and transcripts on microfilm for churches in the United States.
 * 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, Colorado.
 * b. Click on Places within United States, Colorado 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, Colorado [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.

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For Conejos County, some of these church records are available online. http://cogenweb.com/conejos/cr/churches.html

Many denominations have collected their records into central repositories. You can write to the following addresses to learn where their records are located:

Baptist
American Baptist Historical Society P.O. Box 851 Valley Forge, PA 19482-0851 Phone: (610) 768-2374

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons)
Early Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Church records for Colorado Ward and Branch records can be found on microfilm at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. The film numbers for each ward are listed in the FamilySearch Catalog. A good reference is:


 * 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 2 fiche).

These volumes contain the film numbers for many (but not all) membership and temple record films.

Episcopal
Diocese of Colorado 1300 Washington St Denver, CO 80203-2008 Phone: (303) 837-1173

Methodist
Rocky Mountain Conference Historical Society Ira J. Taylor Library Iliff School of Theology 2201 S. University Boulevard Denver, CO 80210-4798 Phone: (303) 744-1287 Fax: (303) 777-3387 or (303) 777-0164 email: [mailto:info@iliff.edu info@iliff.edu]

Presbyterian
Presbyterian Historical Society 425 Lombard Street Philadelphia, PA 19147 Phone: (215) 627-1852 Fax: (215) 627-0509 [mailto:refdesk@history.pcusa.org refdesk@history.pcusa.org]

Roman Catholic
Archives of the Diocese of Colorado Springs 228 North Cascade Ave. Colorado Springs, CO 80903 Phone: (719) 636-2345

The diocese includes the counties of: Chaffee, Cheyenne, Douglas, Elbert, El Paso, Kit Carson, Lake, Lincoln, Park and Teller

Archives of the Archdiocese of Denver 1300 South Steele St. Denver, CO 80210-2599 Phone: (303) 722-4687 Fax: (303) 331-8071

The Archdiocese includes the counties of: Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Clear Creek, Denver, Eagle, garfield, Gilpin, Grand, Jackson, Jefferson, Larimer, Logan, Moffat, Morgan, Phillips, Pitkin, Rio Blanco, Routt, Sedgwick, Summit, Washington, Weld and Yuma

Diocese of Pueblo 1001 No. Grand Avenue Pueblo, CO 81003 Phone: (719) 544-9861 Fax: (719) 544-5202

The diocese includes the counties of: Alamosa, Archuleta, Baca, Bent, Conejos, Costilla, Crowley, Custer, Delta, Dolores, Fremont, Gunnison, Hinsdale, Huerfano, Kiowa, Las Animas, Mesa, Mineral, Montezuma, Montrose, Otero, Ouray, Prowers, Pueblo, Rio Grande, Saguache, San Juan and San Miguel

For a history of the Catholic church in Colorado, see:


 * Salpointe, Rev. Jean Baptiste. Soldiers of the Cross: Notes on the Ecclesiastical History of New-Mexico, Arizona and Colorado. Banning, Calif.: St. Boniface's Industrial School, 1898; digital version at Google Books; 1967 reprint: book 973 K2sj