Missouri Church Records

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Historical Background
Roman Catholic churches were established in Missouri in the colonial era. Records for St. Louis, for example, date from 1765. Many other denominations came after 1800 with the arrival of various immigrant groups. By 1900 the largest religious groups in Missouri were the Roman Catholic, Baptist, Christian (Disciples of Christ), and Methodist Episcopal (now United Methodist).

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 Indexes

 * 1827-2004 -, very incomplete index
 * 1827-1935 - Index only. Incomplete.
 * 1867-1976 - Index only. Incomplete.
 * 1875-1920 - Index only. Incomplete.

Catholic

 * U.S., French Catholic Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1695-1954, index, incomplete, ($).

Lutheran

 * U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Swedish American Church Records, 1800-1947, index, incomplete, ($).

Methodist

 * Missouri, United Methodist Church Records, 1856-1970, index, images, incomplete, ($)

Presbyterian

 * U.S., Presbyterian Church Records, 1701-1970, index, images, incomplete, ($)

Quaker (Society of Friends)

 * Missouri Quaker Records ($)

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, Missouri.
 * b. Click on Places within United States, Missouri 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, Missouri [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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Consult available finding aids.
These aids generally provide lists of records that are known to exist and information on their location.
 * Inventory of the church archives of Missouri ... ... no.1. Missouri Historical Records Survey.
 * Early Missouri archives. Prepared by the Missouri Historical ... Missouri Historical Records Survey.

Baptist

 * Church and Family History Research Assistance for Primitive Baptist Churches in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Missouri
 * The Ministerial Directory of the Baptist Churches in the United States of America. Oxford, Ohio: Ministerial Directory Co., 1899.
 * Records of American Baptists in Missouri and Related Organizations. Rochester, New York: American Baptist Historical Society, 1982.

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.

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. '''Here you will find archive information unique to the state. Many more archives are kept by denomination. For denominational archives, go to  Searching for Church Records by Denomination.

Non-Denominational
Ruth E. Browning abstracted names and events from The Christian Messenger and created an every name index. The Christian Messenger was a religious newspaper during the 1800's which included "letters with information about the churches, obituaries, death notices, names of subscribers, letters from preachers, etc." The information abstracted from this newspaper came from several counties in Missouri.

Baptist
Missouri Baptist Historical Society William E. Partee Center William Jewell College Archives 500 College Hill Liberty, MO 64068 Phone: (816) 781-7700 ext.5468 Fax: (816) 415-5027
 * Archives Reference

Methodist
Missouri United Methodist Historical Society Central Methodist College Library 411 Central Methodist Square Fayette, MO 65248 Phone: (816) 248-3391 ext. 292 Fax: (816) 248-3045

Commission on Archives and History P.O. Box 127 36 Madison Avenue Madison, NJ 07940 Phone: (201) 408-3590 Fax: (201) 408-3909 Website: Commission on Archives and History United Methodist Church

A useful history is:


 * Seaton, Richard A. History of the United Methodist Churches of Missouri. Missouri Methodist Historical Society, 1984;

Lutheran
Genealoger: Missouri Lutheran Church Records

Roman Catholic
Diocese of Jefferson City 2207 West Main Street P.O. Box 104900 Jefferson City, MO 65110-4900 Phone: (573) 635-9127 Website: Diocese of Jefferson City

The diocese includes the counties of: Adair, Audrain, Benton, Boone, Callaway, Camden, Chariton, Clark, Cole, Cooper, Crawford, Gasconade, Hickory, Howard, Knox, Lewis, Linn, Macon, Maries, Marion, Miller, Moniteau, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Osage, Pettis, Phelps, Pike, Pulaski, Putnam, Ralls, Randolph, Saline, Schuyler, Scotland, Shelby and Sullivan

'''Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph''' 300 East 36th Kansas City, MO 64111 Phone: (816) 756-1850 Website: [http://www.diocese-kcsj.org/content/diocese/archives/ Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph]

Mailing Address P.O. Box 419037 Kansas City, MO 64141-6037

The diocese includes the counties of: Andrew, Atchison, Bates, Buchanan, Caldwell, Carroll, Cass, Clay, Clinton, Daviess, DeKalb, Gentry, Grundy, Harrison, Henry, Holt, Jackson, Johnson, Lafayette, Livingston, Mercer, Nodaway, Platte, Ray, St. Clair, Vernon and Worth

Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau 601 S. Jefferson Ave. Springfield, MO 65806 Phone: (417) 866-0841 Website: Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau

The diocese includes the counties of: Barry, Barton, Bollinger, Butler, Cape Girardeau, Carter, Cedar, Christian, Dade, Dallas, Dent, Douglas, Dunklin, Greene Howell, Iron, Jasper, Laclede, Lawrence, Madison, McDonald, Mississippi, New Madrid, Newton, Oregon, Ozark, Pemiscot, Polk, Reynolds, Ripley, Scott, Shannon, Stoddard, Stone, Taney, Texas, Wayne, Webster and Wright

Archdiocese of St. Louis 4445 Lindell Boulevard St. Louis, MO 63108-2497 Phone: (314) 533-1887 Fax: (314) 533-1889 Website: Archives of the Archdiocese of St. Louis

Most of the St. Louis Archdiocesan records have been microfilmed and are available at the St. Louis County Library. A list of their holdings is too large to publish on their website. Instead, they have published a 348 page guide Guide To St. Louis Catholic Archdiocesan Parish Records detailing their holdings. The book contains the SLCL and FHL film numbers. A very small number of records were not microfilmed and must be obtained through the Archives of the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

The Archdiocese includes the counties of: Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, Perry, St. Charles, Ste. Genevieve, St. Francois, St. Louis City (Independent), St. Louis County, Warren and Washington

The Drouin Collection Early U.S. French Catholic Church Records, 1695-1954 ($) (Ancestry). This database only contains the French Catholic parish records from the United States in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New York, and Pennsylvania. It is the U.S. part of the U.S. and French-Canadian Drouin Collection. For more details see "The Drouin Collection: Six Databases"

The types of records include baptisms, marriages, and burials as well as confirmations, dispensations, censuses, statements of readmission to the church, and so on. They are written mainly in French, as well as English, Latin, and Italian.

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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 Missouri 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.