Alabama Church Records: Difference between revisions

Alabama Church Records (view source)

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 ==Historical Background==
 Alabama is located in the middle of the Bible Belt, a region of numerous '''Protestant Christians'''. A majority of people in the state identify as '''Evangelical Protestant'''. As of 2010, the three largest denominational groups in Alabama are the [[Baptist Church in the United States|'''Southern Baptist Convention''']], [[Methodist Church in the United States|'''The United Methodist Church''']], and '''non-denominational Evangelical Protestant'''. Many Baptist and Methodist congregations became established in the Great Awakening of the early 19th century, when preachers proselytized across the South. The [[Presbyterian Church in the United States|'''Presbyterian''']] churches were strongly associated with Scots-Irish immigrants of the 18th century and their descendants.<ref> Wikipedia contributors, "Alabama", in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia,'' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alabama#Religion, accessed May 2020. </ref>
-==Prepare by Collecting Background Information==
-You will possibly find many different people with the '''same name as your ancestor,''' especially when a family stayed in a locality for several generations, and several children were named after the '''grandparents or aunts and uncles'''. Be prepared to find the correct church records by organizing in advance as many of these exact details about the ancestor '''as possible''':
-*'''name''', including '''middle name and maiden name'''
-*names of all '''spouses''', including middle and maiden name
-*exact or closely estimated '''dates of birth, marriage, and death'''
-*names and approximate birthdates of '''children'''
-*all known places of '''residence'''
-*'''occupations'''
-*'''military''' service details
-<br>
-[[File:Dark_thin_font_green_pin_Version_4.png|50px]]'''Carefully evaluate''' the church records you find to make sure you have really found records for your ancestor and not just a '''"near match"'''. If one or more of the details do not line up, be careful about accepting the entry as your ancestor. There are guiding principles for deciding how to resolve discrepancies between records that are seemingly close. For more instruction in evaluating evidence, read the Wiki article, [[Evaluate the Evidence|'''Evaluate the Evidence'''.]]
 ==Look for online records.==
 Some records have been digitized and posted online, where they are easily searched. These are listed at the top of this page and on the [[Alabama Online Genealogy Records|'''Alabama Online Genealogy Records page''']].