Family History Tips-Part 32

More Genealogical Adventures Away from Your Computer: Visiting Places of Worship 
by Brenna Corbit, Technical Services Librarian


A few weeks ago I pushed you from your chair to chase your ancestors down in actual cemeteries rather than the virtual burying ground of records. Not that you need to chase anyone since they’re all restfully asleep. Anyway, hopefully you realized real cemeteries can reveal more than a website such as Find-a-Grave.com. And, perhaps, while scanning headstones, you may have noticed a church nearby.

Next to census records, church records and other places of worship are one of the best sources for piecing together family histories. But so few are available online, and too many are loathsome, indexed transcriptions--oh my, the errors that abound! Therefore, it's time for another field trip. 

    Top photo—New Hanover Lutheran Church, New Hanover Township, Montgomery 

     County, Pa., built in 1767. While visiting the church in 1998, the sexton gave me a

     tour and explained its history. My early Burkhardt ancestors are buried here. Another

     one of their descendants is RACC’s Ron Borkert who passed away in 2006.

     Bottom photo—The names of those who helped have the church erected are still

     legible on the original supporting columns. My ancestor Georg Burgkart (1718—1782)

     whose sons and grandsons were masons and bricklayers is one of them. 

        Photos: Brenna J. Corbit, 1998

                            

Tons of church records are kept in various county and state historical and genealogical societies, but many of them are transcriptions, too. However, many places of worship still keep their original registers, and some are stored at dioceses and other regional religious headquarters. 

I have not retrieved most of my records this way, but there were a few registers I needed to view at various churches since copies of their records were not available elsewhere. I also want to point out that my experience is with various Christian sects, but I am sure other religions keep some kind of records.

There are usually four types of records found in church registers:

1. Baptisms—include the baptism date, birth date, names of the parents, often including the mother’s maiden name, and sponsors. Pay attention to the latter since they may be related and offer connective clues. In some rare cases, a baptism will include the full names of the grandparents. 
2. Marriages—include the date of the marriage and full names of the brides and grooms. Some records may give parentage, residence, and occupation. 
3. Deaths/burials—include the date of death, date and place of burial, and maybe the spouse and parents. It may also include a birthdate, but usually an age in years, months and days. If no birthdate is included use a birthdate calculator. There are differences between burial records and headstones found in cemeteries. Not everyone has a tombstone for one reason or another. There may be none because of financial reasons, disappearance due to sinking into the ground or vandalism, or it may be totally eroded and illegible. Thus, you may not find a stone, but you might find the burial record. 
4. Confirmations and communions—I find little use for these records because they do not usually give anything more than a list of names. They may be clues when trying to locate a person, but when dealing with common names, I cannot tell one Jacob Schmidt from another in a list with no ages or relationship information. A few do give more details, but this is rare. 

Here are my tips for exploring church records:

• Certain Christian sects are better record keepers than others. My experience shows that German Lutheran records are far more prolific compared to Episcopalian records, for example. 
• Always call ahead to see if records are available and when would be a good time to see them. 
• Have a pair of archival gloves. Many record books are quite old and quite delicate. 
• Ask if it is okay to photograph a record. 
• Most places only allow pencils, not pens, since the latter is non-erasable. 
• Many places do not ask a fee if you are conducting your own research, but it is nice to offer a donation. 
• If your host has free time, ask for a tour of the place. It is amazing what history they can share with you. 
• Afterword, send a letter of thanks. 
• Many ministers covered several churches and kept their own records of baptisms. Therefore, there maybe two sets of records. 
• Some churches are not too friendly when sharing their records and hold on to them quite tightly as if you are there to commit identity-theft with people many decades dead. So be as nice and patient as possible. I once had to wait in a separate room to see the marriage record of my great grandparents and was not permitted to see them until the attendant carefully covered all other entries in the marriage register. 

As with cemeteries, seeing the places where your ancestors were baptized, married, and had their last rites is far more enriching than some scanned image or index online. So, keep your engines running as we travel to other exciting places finding your past.