Connecticut Church Records
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Contents
Online Resources
- Connecticut, Church Record Abstracts, 1630-1920. Index.
- New England, Select United Methodist Church Records, 1787-1922. Index. ($)
- Early Members of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, ($). Index
Introduction
The Congregational Church was predominant in early Connecticut and was the state church until 1818. Other prominent churches in the state are the Methodist and Episcopal churches (colonial period), and the Roman Catholic and Baptist churches (19th century).
More than 600 churches have deposited their records with the Connecticut State Library. Most of these records are on microfilm at the Family History Library. Some of these records are indexed in a card index prepared by the Connecticut State Library. This index was microfilmed in 1949: FHL Collection 0002806-74. A useful guide to this collection is List of Church Records in the Connecticut State Library (Hartford: Connecticut State Library, 1976. FHL Collection 974.6 A1 no. 14; FHL Collection 1033856 item 9.
To learn about church records existing in 1942, see:
- Guide to Vital Statistics in the Church Records of Connecticut. (New Haven, Conn.: Connecticut Historical Records Survey, 1942). FHL Collection 974.6 K23g; film 924002 item 2; fiche 6051300
Collections of Church Records
The following index church records as well as other birth, death and marriage records. Microfilm copies of the original records are are available at the appropriate town, the Family History Library, and family history centers.
- Connecticut, Births and Christenings, 1649-1906 is a name index to birth, baptism, and christening records. Description of records.
- Connecticut, Marriages, 1729-1867 is a name index to marriage records. Description of records.
- Connecticut Deaths and Burials, 1772-1934 is a name index to death and burial records from the state of Connecticut. This set contains 2,010,979 records. Description of records.
The Family History Library has an extensive microfilm collection of records of the Baptist, Congregational, Episcopal, Methodist, and Methodist Episcopal churches. Published histories are available for denominations, such as Episcopal, Roman Catholic, Latter-day Saint (Mormon), and Universalist.
Dunham-Wilcox-Trott-Kirk indexes church, cemetery, probate and other early New England, New York and New Jersey records with links to abstracts of the records.
An example of several published church records is:
- Bailey, Frederic W. Early Connecticut Marriages as Found on Ancient Church Records Prior to 1800, 7 vols. New Haven, Conn.: Bureau of American Ancestry for Family Research, 1896-1906. FHL book 974.6 K2bf; FHL film 924061 item 3. This is missing volume 3. Another edition was published in 1982 with additions and corrections and with all 7 volumes in one. FHL book974.6 K2bf 1982
Repositories
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 - Samuel Colgate Historical Library
1106 South Goodman Street
Rochester, NY 14620-2532
Phone: (716) 473-1740
Fax: (716) 473-1740
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons)
Early church records, for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for Connecticut wards and branches can be found on film and are located at the Family History Library. The film numbers, for each ward, can be locate through 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 record films.
Congregational
Connecticut Historical Society
1 Elizabeth Street
Hartford, CT 06105
Phone: (860) 236-5621
Fax: (860) 236-2664
The Congregational Library
14 Beacon Street
Boston, MA 02108-3704
Phone: (617) 523-0470
Fax: (617) 523-0491
Episcopal
Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut
135 Asylum Avenue
Hartford, CT 06105-2295
Phone: (860) 233-4481
Fax: (860) 523-1410
Methodist
United Methodist Archives Center
Drew University Library
P.O. Box 127
Madison, NJ 07940
Phone: (201) 408-3189
Fax: (201) 408-3909
Moravian
The Moravian Archives
41 West Locust Street
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18018
United States of America
Phone: (610) 866-3255
Fax: (610) 866-9210
For information concerning missions to the American Indians, visit Moravian Missions Among American Indians. For a map and list of missions, visit Early Moravian Missions in Eastern Pennsylvania and Surrounding Areas 1740-1773.
Mission records are also available in the FHL Collection. The records are indexed in the FHL CollectionBook 970.1 F642i.
Roman Catholic
Diocese of Bridgeport
238 Jewett Avenue
Bridgeport, CT 06606
Phone: (203) 416-1354
The diocese includes the county of: Fairfield
Diocese of Norwich
201 Broadway P.O. Box 587
Norwich, CT 06360
Phone: (860) 887-9294
Fax: (860) 886-1670
The diocese includes the counties of: Middlesex, New London, Tolland and Windham
Diocese of Hartford
134 Farmington Avenue
Hartford, CT 06103
Phone: (860) 541-6491
Fax: (860) 541-6309
The diocese includes the counties of: Hartford, Litchfield and New Haven
Wiki articles describing the following collections are found at:
- Connecticut Births and Christenings (FamilySearch Historical Records)
- Connecticut Deaths and Burials (FamilySearch Historical Records)
- Connecticut Marriages (FamilySearch Historical Records)
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