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New Jersey Church Records: Difference between revisions

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===Introduction===


Church records and the information they provide vary significantly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation, such as age, date of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage information and maiden names; and death date. Records may include names of other relatives who were witnesses or members of the congregation. The members of some churches were predominantly of one nationality or ethnic group.


The first churches established in [[New Jersey Genealogy|New Jersey]] were the [[Dutch Reformed Church in the United States|Dutch Reformed]], [[Congregational Church in the United States|Congregational (Puritan)]], [[Society of Friends (Quakers) in the United States|Society of Friends (Quaker)]], and [[Lutheran Church in the United States|Lutheran]]. Church membership waned in the early 1700s, but revivals rekindled interest around 1740. By 1775 the largest denominations in [[New Jersey Genealogy|New Jersey]] were the [[Presbyterian Church in the United States|Presbyterian]], [[Society of Friends (Quakers) in the United States|Society of Friends]], [[Dutch Reformed Church in the United States|Dutch Reformed]], [[Baptist Church in the United States|Baptist]], and [[Anglican Church in the United States|Anglican (Episcopal)]] churches.  
The first churches established in [[New Jersey Genealogy|New Jersey]] were the [[Dutch Reformed Church in the United States|Dutch Reformed]], [[Congregational Church in the United States|Congregational (Puritan)]], [[Society of Friends (Quakers) in the United States|Society of Friends (Quaker)]], and [[Lutheran Church in the United States|Lutheran]]. Church membership waned in the early 1700s, but revivals rekindled interest around 1740. By 1775 the largest denominations in [[New Jersey Genealogy|New Jersey]] were the [[Presbyterian Church in the United States|Presbyterian]], [[Society of Friends (Quakers) in the United States|Society of Friends]], [[Dutch Reformed Church in the United States|Dutch Reformed]], [[Baptist Church in the United States|Baptist]], and [[Anglican Church in the United States|Anglican (Episcopal)]] churches.  
[http://dunhamwilcox.net/ Dunham-Wilcox-Trott-Kirk] indexes church, cemetery, probate and other early New England, New York and New Jersey records with links to abstracts of the records.


In the mid-1800s, the [[Methodist Church in the United States|Methodist]] church was the largest, followed by the [[Presbyterian Church in the United States|Presbyterian]], [[Baptist Church in the United States|Baptist]], Reformed, [[Society of Friends (Quakers) in the United States|Friends]], and [[Episcopal Church in the United States|Episcopal]] churches. The [[Roman Catholic Church in the United States|Roman Catholic]] Church has been the predominant faith since the beginning of the twentieth century, followed by the [[Jewish Genealogy Research|Jewish]], [[Methodist Church in the United States|Methodist]], [[Presbyterian Church in the United States|Presbyterian]], and [[Episcopal Church in the United States|Episcopal]] faiths.<ref>Sydney E. Ahlstrom, ''A Religious History of the American People'' (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1972). {{FHL|282712|item|disp=FHL Book 973 K2ah}}.</ref>  
In the mid-1800s, the [[Methodist Church in the United States|Methodist]] church was the largest, followed by the [[Presbyterian Church in the United States|Presbyterian]], [[Baptist Church in the United States|Baptist]], Reformed, [[Society of Friends (Quakers) in the United States|Friends]], and [[Episcopal Church in the United States|Episcopal]] churches. The [[Roman Catholic Church in the United States|Roman Catholic]] Church has been the predominant faith since the beginning of the twentieth century, followed by the [[Jewish Genealogy Research|Jewish]], [[Methodist Church in the United States|Methodist]], [[Presbyterian Church in the United States|Presbyterian]], and [[Episcopal Church in the United States|Episcopal]] faiths.<ref>Sydney E. Ahlstrom, ''A Religious History of the American People'' (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1972). {{FHL|282712|item|disp=FHL Book 973 K2ah}}.</ref>  


Except for the Dutch Reformed and Lutheran churches in northern New Jersey, few of the earliest church records have survived. The [[Family History Library|Family History Library]] has some important collections of church records described below under the denominational headings.  
Except for the Dutch Reformed and Lutheran churches in northern New Jersey, few of the earliest church records have survived.  
 
===Online Resources===
For help in finding church records not at the [[Family History Library|Family History Library]], see:


*{{RecordSearch|2106099|New Jersey, Church Records, 1675-1970}} — index and images
*[https://archive.org/details/earlygermansofne00cham The early Germans of New Jersey&nbsp;: their history, churches, and genealogies], e-book
*[http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=48130 Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy. Vol. II: (New Jersey and Pennsylvania Monthly Meetings)]
*[http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=2451 Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Church and Town Records, 1708-1985], ($) index/images
*[http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=3315 New Jersey German Reformed Church Records, 1763-1802], index
*[https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1929560 New Jersey, Calvary United Methodist Church Records, 1821-2003], images/no index.
*[http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=61176 New Jersey, United Methodist Church Records, 1800-1970], index and images, ($)
[http://dunhamwilcox.net/ Dunham-Wilcox-Trott-Kirk] indexes church, cemetery, probate and other early New England, New York and New Jersey records with links to abstracts of the records.
*''New Jersey Historical Manuscripts: A Guide to Collections in the State'' (described in [[New Jersey Archives and Libraries|New Jersey Archives and Libraries]]). To locate a copy nearest you, use [http://www.worldcat.org/title/new-jersey-historical-manuscripts-a-guide-to-collections-in-the-state/oclc/15489310&referer=brief_results WorldCat].
*''New Jersey Historical Manuscripts: A Guide to Collections in the State'' (described in [[New Jersey Archives and Libraries|New Jersey Archives and Libraries]]). To locate a copy nearest you, use [http://www.worldcat.org/title/new-jersey-historical-manuscripts-a-guide-to-collections-in-the-state/oclc/15489310&referer=brief_results WorldCat].


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The [[Family History Library|Family History Library]] has nine volumes of church record inventories for the Baha'i, Baptist, Seventh-Day Baptist, Congregational Christian, Evangelical, Presbyterian, Protestant Episcopal, Salvation Army, and Unitarian churches. Each volume is cataloged separately but they have similar titles. Find these volumes in the FamilySearch Catalog Author/Title Search under the title Inventory of the Church Archives of New Jersey.  
The [[Family History Library|Family History Library]] has nine volumes of church record inventories for the Baha'i, Baptist, Seventh-Day Baptist, Congregational Christian, Evangelical, Presbyterian, Protestant Episcopal, Salvation Army, and Unitarian churches. Each volume is cataloged separately but they have similar titles. Find these volumes in the FamilySearch Catalog Author/Title Search under the title Inventory of the Church Archives of New Jersey.  


Some denominations have their records in central repositories. You can write to the following addresses to learn where their records are located:  
Some denominations have their records in central repositories. You can write to the following addresses to learn where their records are located:


===Baptist===
===Baptist===
318,531

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