Georgia Church Records

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Introduction

In the colonial period, the Church of England, Presbyterian, Lutheran, and Moravian churches were the largest religous groups in Georgia. After 1900 the largest religious groups were the Baptists and Methodists.

The largest collection of Georgia church records can be found at the Georgia State Archives. The archives borrowed pre-1940 church records from many local congregations and preserved them on microfilm. The collection is continually growing but is not complete.

The Family History Library has some Georgia church records, including records for Baptist, Methodist, Episcopal, and Presbyterian congregations. Most are from the Georgia State Archives. You may also want to use the library's histories of the Lutherans, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, and others.

Many denominations have collected their records into central repositories. You can write to the following addresses to learn where their records are located.

Baptist

Georgia Baptist Historical Collection
Eugene W. Stetson Memorial Library
Mercer University
Macon, Ga 31207

The Family History Library has microfilmed some research materials at Mercer University. For example, FHL 204489 includes ten histories of various Baptist associations. There are also histories and inventories such as the following:

• Inventory of the Church Archives of Georgia: Atlanta Association of Baptist Churches At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Film 1425645 Item 3; Book 975.8 K2hb A copy is available online at Archive.org.
• Campbell, Jesse H. Georgia Baptists: Historical and Biographical. Richmond: H.K. Ellyson, 1847. Digital Version; At various libraries (WorldCat); {{FHL|195312|item|disp=FHL Film 1033617 Item 3; Book 975.8 K2c (1874 edition)}; 1847 edition FHL Film 206288 Item 2 A copy of the 1874 edition is available at Archive.org.
• History of the Baptist Denomination in Georgia. Atlanta, Ga.: J.P. Harrison & Company, 1881. At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Film 896565

Church of England (Anglican, Protestant Episcopal)

If your ancestor was a minister in Colonial Georgia, see:

• Frederick Lewis Weis's The Colonial Clergy of Maryland, Delaware, and Georgia, is an alphabetical listing of the clergy in Delaware from 1638-1776, and includes names, dates, and places. A copy of the book is located in the FHL Collection. For a copy nearest you, check WorldCat.

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons)

Early church records, for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for Georgia Wards and Branches can be found on film and are located at the LDS Family History Library in Salt Lake City. The film numbers, for each ward, can be locate through the FamilySearch Catalog . Or by refering to Jaussi, Laureen R., and Gloria D. Chaston. Register of Genealogical Society Call Numbers. 2 vols. Provo, Utah: Genealogy Tree, 1982. FHL Fiche 6031507 (2 fiche); Book 979.2258 A3j. These volumes contain the film numbers for many (but not all) membership and temple record films.

Methodist

United Methodist Museum
P.O. Box 24081
St. Simons Island, GA 31522
Phone: (912) 638-4050
Fax: (912) 638-9050
E-mail Address: methmuse@bellsouth.net

For a history of the Methodist Church, see:

• Harold Lawrence, Methodist Preachers in Georgia 1783-1900 (Tignall, Georgia: Boyd Pub., 1984). At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 975.8 K2L
• James Lloyd Knox, Methodist Preachers in Georgia 1783-1900, a supplement. (Milledgeville, Georgia : Boyd Pub. Co., c1995). At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 974.743 K2a

Moravian

The Moravian Archives
41 West Locust Street
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18018
United States of America
Phone: (610) 866-3255
Fax: (610) 866-9210

For information concerning missions to the American Indians visit Moravian Missions Among American Indians. For a map and list of missions visit Early Moravian Missions in Eastern Pennsylvania and Surrounding Areas 1740-1773.

Mission records are also available through FHL Collection. The records are indexed in Index to the records of the Moravian Mission among the Indians of North America by Carl John Fliegel. At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 970.1 F642i, 4 vol.

Roman Catholic

Office of Archives and Records
Archdiocese of Atlanta
680 W. Peachtree Street, N.W.
Atlanta, GA 30308-1984
Phone: (404) 978-2772
Fax: (404) 885-7462

The Archdiocese includes the counties of: Baldwin, Banks, Barrow, Bartow, Butts, Carroll, Catoosa, Chattooga, Cherokee, Clarke, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, Dade, Dawson, DeKalb, Douglas, Elbert, Fannin, Fayette, Floyd, Forsyth, Franklin, Fulton, Gilmer, Gordon, Greene, Gwinnett, Habersham, Hall, Hancock, Haralson, Hart, Heard, Henry, Jackson, Jasper, Lamar, Lincoln, Lumpkin, Madison, McDuffie, Meriwether, Monroe, Morgan, Murray, Newton, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Paulding, Pickens, Pike, Polk, Putnam, Rabun, Rockdale, Spalding, Stephens, Taliaferro, Towns, Troup, Union, Upson, Walker, Walton, Warren, White, Whitfield and Wilkes.

Archivist, Catholic Diocese of Savannah
601 East Liberty St.
Savannah, GA 31401
Phone: (912) 201-4070

The diocese includes the counties of: Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Baker, Ben Hill, Berrien, Bibb, Bleckley, Brantley, Brooks, Bulloch, Burke, Bryan, Calhoun, Camden, Candler, Charlton, Chatham, Chattahoochee, Clay, Clinch, Coffee, Colquitt, Columbia, Cook, Crawford, Crisp, Decatur, Dodge, Dooly, Dougherty, Early, Echols, Effingham, Emanuel, Evans, Glascock, Glynn, Grady, Harris, Houston, Irwin, Jeff Davis, Jefferson, Jones, Lanier, Lee, Liberty, Long, Lowndes, Macon, McIntosh, Miller, Mitchell, Montgomery, Muscogee, Peach, Pierce, Pulaski, Quitman, Randolph, Richmond, Screven, Seminole, Stewart, Sumter, Talbot, Tattnall, Taylor, Telfair, Thomas, Tift, Toombs, Treutlen, Turner, Twiggs, Ware, Wayne, Webster, Wheeler, Wilcox and Worth.

References

A wiki article describing an online collection is found in:

Georgia Births and Christenings (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Family History Library (FHL); now called, FamilySearch Library (FSL)