Ohio Church Records: Difference between revisions

By 1900 the prominent denominations in Ohio were Roman Catholic, Methodist, and Presbyterian. There were also groups of Baptists, Lutherans, and Society of Friends. The following handbooks may help you locate and use church records:  

Gill, Charles Otis, and Gifford Pinchot. ''Six Thousand Country Churches''. New York, New York: Macmillan, 1919. (Family History Library book 977.1 K2g; film 908228 item 2.)  

Lubbers, Ferne Reedy, and Margaret Dieringer. ''Advent of Religious Groups into Ohio''. N.p., 1978. (Family History Library book 977.1 K2a; film 1033939 item 21.)  

While the majority of church records remain with the local churches, the Family History Library, [http://www.ohiohistory.org/ Ohio Historical Society], and [http://www.wrhs.org/ Western Reserve Historical Society]have copies of local records from some churches. The Family History Library has film copies of the manuscript collection in the Western Reserve Historical Society. See ''A Guide to Manuscripts at the Ohio Historical Society'', described in [[Ohio Archives and Libraries|Ohio Archives and Libraries]].  

Many of the local church records available at the Family History Library have been microfilmed at various archives and libraries. Whenever possible, these are listed in the Family History Library Catalog under OHIO, [COUNTY], [TOWN] - CHURCH RECORDS. While no listing of Family History Library films by repository is available, the Family History Library Catalog identifies when and where each record was microfilmed.  

Denominational histories for groups such as the Church of the Brethren, Evangelical, LDS (1830 to 1838), Lutheran, Mennonite, Methodist, Moravian, Presbyterian, and Roman Catholic are listed in the Locality Search of the Family History Library Catalog under OHIO - CHURCH HISTORY and OHIO, [COUNTY], [TOWN] - CHURCH HISTORY.  

Lists of incorporations of churches before 1850 are included in:  

''Data Abstracted from the Laws of Ohio, 1803-1900''. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1960. (FHL film 223918.)  

=== Locating Church Records ===

Local church records are listed in the Place Search of the Family History Library Catalog under OHIO, [COUNTY] - CHURCH RECORDS or OHIO, [COUNTY], [TOWN] - CHURCH RECORDS.  

Statewide or regional records are listed under OHIO - CHURCH RECORDS. An example is:  

Shaker Membership Card Index. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1974. (Family History Library films 934620-23.)  

Periodicals have published records of many Ohio churches. These are referenced in the PERiodical Source Index (PERSI) described in the "[[Ohio Periodicals|Periodicals]]" section of this outline.  

You may contact the following to learn where their records are located:  

'''BAPTIST'''  

North American Baptist General Conference <br>7308 Madison Street <br>Forest Park, IL 60130 <br>Internet: http://www.nabarchives.org/  

To learn more about Baptist records, see:  

Eltscher, Susan M., comp. ''The Records of American Baptists in Ohio, and Related Organizations''. Rochester, New York: American Baptist Historical Society, 1981. (Family History Library book 977.1 A1 number 239; fiche 6088732.) Cover title: ''A Basic Guide to Regional Baptist Archives and Historical Resources for Ohio: Baptist Archives and Records Survey''.  

'''LUTHERAN'''  

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) <br>8765 West Higgins Road <br>Chicago, IL 60631-4198<br>Telephone: 773-380-2818 <br>Internet: http://www.elca.org/  

If a church is still active, the church will be able to help locate the records. The records of churches in the United States that have been disbanded are located at the ELCA Archives in Chicago. The archives has records of many congregations, and those on microfilm may be borrowed for a small fee.  

A partial list of church records in its collection is listed in:  

''ALC Archives''. ALC Congregations on Microfilm. Dubuque, Iowa: The Archives, [197?]. (Family History Library fiche 6330690-93.) Arranged by the state and city in which the congregation resides. Fiche 6330692 includes Ohio. The ALC (American Lutheran Church) Archives are now part of the ELCA Archives.  

'''METHODIST'''  

Methodist Historical Commission <br>L.A. Beeghly Library<br>Ohio Wesleyan University<br>43 Rowland Avenue<br>Delaware, OH 43015<br>Main Library Telephone: (740) 368-3285<br>Internet: http://library.owu.edu/spuma.htm  

United Methodist Church<br>601 W. Riverview Avenue<br>Dayton, OH 45406-5543<br>North District Telephone: (888)227-9490<br>South District Telephone: (937)227-9475  

For additional help in locating Methodist records, see:  

Harter, Frances D. ''Guide to the Manuscript Collection of Early Ohio Methodism: United Methodist Church of Ohio''. Delaware, Ohio: United Methodist Archives Center, 1980. (Family History Library book 977.1 K23h; fiche 6017063.)  

For information on Methodist ministers in Ohio, see:  

''United Methodist Archives (Ohio). Methodist Ministers Card Index: All Ohio Conferences, 1797-1981''. Columbus, Ohio: Ohio Historical Society, 1982. (Family History Library film 1292563-66.)  

'''PRESBYTERIAN'''  

Presbyterian Historical Society <br>425 Lombard Street <br>Philadelphia, PA 19147-1516 <br>Telephone: 215-627-1852 <br>Internet: http://www.history.pcusa.org/  

The Family History Library has numerous records of local churches in Ohio. They were microfilmed at the Presbyterian Historical Society in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Also filmed there is:  

''Shane Manuscript Collection''. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1966-1967. (On 36 Family History Library films beginning with 498614.) The collection includes papers of some Ohio Presbyterian churches and ministers.  

For inventories of Presbyterian churches and their records, see:  

Historical Records Survey (Ohio). ''Inventory of the Church Archives of Ohio Presbyterian Churches.'' Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1972. (Family History Library films 854488, 899320-22.) Inventories are arranged alphabetically by county. Volume one includes indexes by place names, church names, and date of organization. Information was collected about the records, history, buildings, and clergymen.  

Historical Records Survey (Ohio). ''Inventory of the Church Archives of Ohio Presbyterian Churches.'' Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1967. (Family History Library films 506375-80.) This may contain information that is not included in the previous inventory. Records are listed alphabetically by counties.  

'''ROMAN CATHOLIC'''  

'''Archdiocese of Cincinnati'''<br>Chancery Office<br>100 E. Eighth Street <br>Cincinnati, OH 45202 <br>Telephone: 513-421-3131 <br>Fax: 513-421-6225 <br>E-mail: [mailto:commdir@archdiocese-cinti.org commdir@archdiocese-cinti.org]<br>Internet: [http://www.archdiocese-cinti.org/ www.archdiocese-cinti.org]  

'''Diocese of Columbus'''<br>Chancery Office <br>198 East Broad Street <br>Columbus, OH 43215 <br>Telephone: 614-224-2251 <br>614-224-8718 (Sat., Sun., and after hours) <br>Fax: 614-224-6306 <br>Internet: [http://www.colsdioc.org/ www.colsdioc.org]  

'''Diocese of Cleveland'''<br>Chancery Building <br>1027 Superior Avenue<br>Cleveland, OH 44114 <br>Telephone: 216-696-6525 <br>800-869-6525 (Ohio only) <br>Fax: 216-621-7332 <br>Internet: [http://www.cle-dioc.org/ www.cle-dioc.org]  

'''Diocese of Steubenville'''<br>422 Washington Street <br>P.O. Box 969 <br>Steubenville, OH 43952 <br>Telephone: (740)282-3631<br>Fax: (740)282-3327<br>Internet: http://www.diosteub.org/  

'''Diocese of Toledo'''<br>Chancery Office<br>1933 Spielbusch Avenue<br>P.O. Box 985<br>Toledo, OH 43697-0985<br>Telephone: (419)244-6711<br>Fax: (419)244-4791<br>Internet: [http://www.toledodiocese.org/ www.toledodiocese.org]  

'''Diocese of Youngstown'''<br>Chancery Office <br>144 West Wood Street <br>Youngstown, OH 44503 <br>Phone: (330)744-8451<br>Fax: (330)742-6448<br>E-mail: [mailto:doychancery@impresso.com doychancery@impresso.com]<br>Internet: [http://www.doy.org/ www.doy.org]  

'''SOCIETY OF FRIENDS'''  

Ohio Yearly Meeting of the <br>Society of Friends <br>Olney Friends School <br>61830 Sandy Ridge Road <br>Barnesville, OH 43713 <br>Telephone: (740)425-3168<br>Internet: http://www.ohioyearlymeeting.org/  

Evangelical Friends Church, Eastern Division <br>5350 Broadmoor Circle, N.W. <br>Canton, OH 44709 <br>Telephone: 330-493-1660 <br>Fax: 330-493-0852 <br>Internet: http://www.tecumsehefc.org/  

The Family History Library has microfilm copies of the Quaker records from Wilmington College, Wilmington, Ohio and from the Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania.  

'''JEWISH'''  

Jewish Genealogy Society of Cleveland<br>996 Eastlawn Drive<br>Highland Heights, OH 44143-3126<br>Telephone: (440)449-2326<br>E-Mail: [mailto:br1595@aol.com br1595@aol.com]<br>Internet: http://www.clevelandjgs.org/