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)
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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.
Nebraska Church Records
- Atlanta, United Methodist Church, History & Member List, 1885-1985
- Axtell, Salem Methodist Episcopal Church, The Church Record, 1881-1957
- Columbus, Congregational Church, Church Records, 1865-1913
- Columbus, Presbyterian Church, Communicants, 1870-1916
- First Presbyterian Church, Church Records, 1851-1899
- Frontier County, St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, Parish Register, 1892-1915
- Hastings, New York Ave Congregational Church, Church Records
- Hastings, New York Avenue Congregational Church, Records, 1908 to 1977
- Hayes County, Trinity Lutheran Church, Church Records, 1883-1926
- Holdrege, Prairie Methodist Episcopal Church, Records, 1883-1921
- Holdrege, Trinity Evangelical Church, Church Records, 1889-1966
- Jefferson County, Church Records
- Jefferson County, Endicott Methodist Episcopal Church, Abstracts of Marriage Bonds, 1864-1875
- Lincoln, Early Church Records
- Loomis, Congregational Church, Record and Roll-call Book of the Christian Endeavor Society, 1909-1913
- McCook, First Baptist Church, Baptismal and Membership Records, 1892-1900
- McCook, First United Methodist Church, Holdrege, Centennial Church History, 1884-1984
- Nebraska, Church Records, 1875-1899
- Nebraska, Genealogical Collection
- Omaha, First Baptist Church, Church Records, 1884-1898
- Omaha, Trinity Cathedral, Church Records, 1857-1886
- Omaha, First Methodist Church, Church Records, 1868-1895
- Omaha, First Presbyterian Church, Church Records, 1877-1889
- Phelps and Kearney Counties, Swedish Settlements, Sod Church County, 1879-1937
- Phelps County, Bertrand, Congregational Church Meeting Minutes, 1885-1943
- Phelps County, Bertrand, Congregational Church, Record Book of Woman’s Missionary Society, 1891-1904
- Phelps County, Bertrand, Immanuel Lutheran Church, Historical Documents, 1881-1936
- Phelps County, Bertrand, Pilgrim Church, Register & Record, 1887-1938
- Phelps County, Congregational Church, Abstractions, Baptisms, and Marriage Records, 1885-1985
- Phelps County, Holdrege, Bethal Lutheran Church, Records, 1879-1985
- Phelps County, Holdrege, Church Records, 1888-2017
- Phelps County, Holdrege, Pleasantview Methodist Episcopal Church, Records, 1908-1916
- Phelps County, Holdrege, Swedish Methodist Church, Records & History, 1885-1985
- Phelps County, Loomis, Congregational Church Records, 1892-1913
- Phelps County, Loomis, United Methodist Church, Records
- Phelps County, Swedish Methodist Churches, 1887-2012
- Phelps County, The American Church, Register, 1890-1899
- Phelps County, The Pilgrim Church, Register and Record, 1906-1919
- Phelps, Confirmation Classes, 1888-2017
- Phelps, Holdrege, Swedish Methodist Church, Forty Fifth Anniversary, 1940
- Sidney, Christ Episcopal Church, Parish Register
- Stockham, German Congregation Births
- Stockham, German Congregation Births and Deaths
- Stockham, German Congregation Deaths
- Sutton, Clay County Church Births
- Sutton, Clay County Church Deaths
- Sutton, Clay County Church Marriages
- Sutton, Emmanuel Reformed Births
- Sutton, Emmanuel Reformed Deaths
- Sutton, Emmanuel Reformed Marriages
- Sutton, German Evangelical Congregation Births
- Sutton, German Evangelical Congregation Confirmations
- Sutton, German Evangelical Congregation Deaths
- Sutton, German Evangelical Congregation Marriages
- Sutton, Hope Reformed Births
- Sutton, Hope Reformed Confirmations
- Sutton, Hope Reformed Deaths
- Sutton, Hope Reformed Marriages
- Sutton, Hope Reformed Membership List
- Trenton, Trinity Lutheran Church, Parish Register, 1887-1916
- Wayne County, Salem United Church of Christ, Church Records, 1901-1946
- Wilcox, United Methodist Church, Church Records, 1886-2017
Good Luck and Happy Hunting!