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 September 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.
Rhode Island Church Records
- Amicable Congregational Church, History, 1746-1946
- Annals of Newport Churches, 1698-1821
- East Providence, First Baptist Church, Births or Christenings, 1794-1875
- Hopkinton, Seventh-day Baptist Church, Record of Marriages, August 15th,1804 to January 1st, 1838
- Marriage Records of Rev. Charles M. Winchester in Rhode Island, New York and Massachusetts
- Narragansett, Saint Pauls Church, Births or Christenings, 1718-1875
- New Shoreham, Church Records 1784-1927
- Newport, Friends Meeting, Records of Births, Marriages, and Deaths
- Providence, First Baptist Church, Historical Catalogue of the Members
- Rhode Island Births and Christenings, 1600-1914
- Rhode Island, Miscellaneous Church Records, by County
- Seekonk, Pawtucket and Newman Congregational Church Records of Births, Marriages and Deaths
- Warwick, Historical Sketches of the Churches
- Westerly, Christ Church Marriages
Good Luck and Happy Hunting!