Lutheran Church in the United States

United States   Church Records   Lutheran Church Records 

History in the United States
The first Lutherans in what would become the United States were members of the Swedish Lutheran Church who landed in the Delaware Valley in 1638. Many Lutherans came to Pennsylvania in the 1700s, brought by immigrants from Germany and Scandinavia. Settlement of Scandinavian Lutherans was especially high in the Upper Midwest states.<

Types of Church Records

 * Baptisms (infant)
 * Confirmations
 * Marriages
 * Burials
 * Communicants / Member lists
 * Register of families

Where they are Located
Concordia Historical Institute The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod 801 De Mun Avenue St. Louis, MO 63105 Telephone: 314-505-7900 Fax: 314-505-7901

Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA Archives) 8765 West Higgins Road Chicago, IL 60631-4198 Telephone: 773-380-2818

German-Russian Lutheran Ancestry

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.]

Cyndi's List - Lutheran http://www.cyndislist.com/lutheran/ If a local church is still active, they can help you find their records. The records of disbanded U.S. churches are at the ELCA Archives in Chicago. The archives has records of many congregations; those on microfilm can be borrowed for a small fee. Partial lists of church records in its collection are:

Ministers -- A list of Lutheran ministers and the churches they served: https://www.ourfamtree.org/records/religion/lutheran
 * American Lutheran Church (ALC) Archives. ALC Congregations on Microfilm. Dubuque, Iowa: The Archives, [197-?]. (Family History Library fiche .) Arranged by state and city of congregation. The ALC Archives are now part of the ELCA Archives.
 * American Lutheran Church Shelf List Index to Their Church Records Microfilmed as of 1987. N.p., 1988. (Family History Library book .)
 * A guide to most Lutheran churches and addresses is:
 * Lutheran Church Directory for the United States 1982. New York, New York: Lutheran Council in the USA, 1981. (Family History Library book .)