The Ancestor Hunt regularly adds and updates new collection links, as well as searches for and fixes broken links.
(This page's most recent update is December 2024)
______________________________________
Another underutilized genealogy resource is Church Records. We tend to focus our research on civil records but need to be aware that often church records pre-date civil records and are a great resource as well. In the BMD Records section of this website, there are about 15,000 collections of civil records that are available online. Yes, that’s a lot, but we need to also search church records as well.
What can we find in church or synagogue records? Here’s just a short list of what nuggets we can find:
- Baptisms and Christenings
- Marriages
- Deaths
- Burials
- Confirmations
- Membership lists
- Church Minutes
- Church Directories
- Transfer Letters
- Bar or Bat Mitzvahs
- Sunday School lists
- Church newsletters
In addition, many folks also documented important events in family bibles, so they need to be searched as well if the event information has been digitized.
Here are a couple of articles that you might find useful:
- U.S. Church Records Research Guide
- United States Church Records
- A Genealogist’s Guide to Using Catholic Records in Genealogy Research
There is a large number of Free Online Church Record collections; the links for the state are below:
Note: Some links listed take you to a FamilySearch Collection of digital images. Near the bottom of the page under Film/Digital Notes is the name of each sub-collection. If there is a camera icon at the right of the name (in the Format column) then the collections’ images are browsable. If there is a camera with a key icon, it is only available at a Family History Center or affiliated library. If there is a film reel icon, then it is only available in microfilm format, not digital. To take full advantage make sure that you are logged in to FamilySearch. The results may be different if you are signed in, rather than not.
Hawaii Church Records
- Hawaii Births and Christenings, 1852-1933
- Hawaii, Births and Baptisms, 1843-1909
- Hawaiian Missionaries, 1822-1894
- Honolulu, Fort Street Church Register of Marriages, 1858-1868
- Honolulu, Fort Street Church Register of Marriages, 1870
- Honolulu, Fort Street Church Register of Marriages, 1871-1881
- Honolulu, Fort Street Church Register of Marriages, 1882-1884
- Honolulu, Bethel Union Church, Church Records, 1837-1887
- Honolulu, Kawaiahao Church Undated List of Baptisms; Baptismal Certificate, 1898
- Honolulu, Second Church Marriage Registers of Rev. Lowell Smith, Pastor of the Second Church in Honolulu, 1837-1886, 1889, 1891
- Island of Hawaii, Marriage Register of Rev. Cowan, 1837-1879
- Island of Hawaii, Marriage Register of Rev. Titus Coan, 1837-1882
- North Kohola, Island of Hawaii, Register of Marriages performed by Rev. Elias Bond, 1852-1887
- Waikane, Oahu, Waikane Church, Church Register, 1863-1877
Good Luck and Happy Hunting!