Indiana Church Records

Church records and the information they provide vary greatly, depending upon the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members (age; dates of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage information; maiden name of wife; and death date), names of other relatives who were witnesses, or names of members of the congregation. The members of some churches were predominately of one nationality or ethnic group.

Before 1900, the largest religious groups in Indiana were Roman Catholic, Methodist Episcopal, Christian (Disciples of Christ), and Baptist. For the historical background of religious groups in Indiana, see:

Rudolph, L. C. Hoosier Faiths: A History of Indiana Churches and Religious Groups. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1995. (FHL book 977.2 K2ru.) This describes general history and Indiana history, and includes biographies of significant local leaders of 50 major religious groups. It is indexed.

Transcripts of many Indiana church records, including over 175,000 indexed names, are published in Indiana Source Book: Genealogical Material from the Hoosier Genealogist.

The Family History Library has some church records and published histories. These include “pastor pocket records” kept by early circuit riders, and abstracts of numerous records of the Society of Friends. The following directories may help you find church records.

A Directory of Churches and Religious Organizations in Indiana. 3 vols. Indianapolis, Indiana: Historical Records Survey, 1941. (FHL book 977.2 K24d; vols. 2 & 3 on film 1036694.) The Family History Library does not have volume one, which pertains to Marion County. Volume two is for the Calumet Region (Lake, Porter, and LaPorte Counties). Volume three pertains to Northern Indiana, part one: Adventist Bodies-Mennonite Bodies; part two: Methodist- Y.W.C.A. In addition to an index to churches in Indiana, there is an index of denominations that includes the name and location of the churches.

Rudolph, L. C. and Judith E. Endelman. Religion in Indiana: A'Guide to Historical Resources.'''Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana Univ. Press, 1986. (FHL book 977.2 K23r.) This book contains an excellent bibliography of published works, a list of repositories for the different denominations, and histories of congregations.

For brief histories and addresses of the various church denominations in Indiana, see pages 76–89 of Mona Robinson’s book Who’s Your Hoosier Ancestor?: Genealogy For Beginners.

Many denominations have collected their records into central repositories. Use the following addresses to locate records.

Baptist

Indiana Baptist Collection
Franklin College Library
101 Branigin Blvd
Franklin, IN 46131-2623
Telephone: 317-738-8162 or 1-800-852-0232
Fax: 317-738-8787
Email: library@franklincollege.edu
Internet: http://www.franklincollege.edu/

Disciples of Christ

Christian Theological Seminary Library
1000 W. 42nd St.
Indianapolis, IN 46208
Telephone: 317-924-1331
Fax: 317-923-1961
Internet: http://www.cts.edu/Library/Index.cfm?NavID=9&PageID=80

Lutheran

Archives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
321 Bonnie Lane,
Elk Grove Village, IL 60007

Alternate mailing address:
8765 W. Higgins Rd.
Chicago, IL 60631
(Appointments in advance of visits is advised)

Phone: 847-690-9410
FAX: 847-690-9502
E-mail: archives@elca.org
Internet: www.elca.org/os/archives/geneal.html

This archive has microfilms of German, Danish, and Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran congregations. Many of their records can be borrowed on microfilm for a small fee. You can write to ask if they have records of a specific congregation. For information about lists of some of the church records in their collection, see the “Church Records” section of the United States Research Outline.

Methodist
Archives of DePauw University and Indiana United Methodism
Roy O. West Library
11 E Larabee St
PO Box 37
Greencastle, IN 46135-0037
Telephone: 765-658-4406
Fax: 765-658-4423
E-mail: archives@depauw.edu
Internet: http://www.depauw.edu/library/archives/

The Family History Library has some Indiana Methodist histories and church records.

Presbyterian
Archives of the Presbyterian Church of Indiana
Duggan Library
P.O. Box 287
Hanover, IN 47243-0287
Telephone: 812-866-7165
Fax: 812-866-7172
Internet: http://library.hanover.edu/presbyterian.html

Roman Catholic

University of Notre Dame Archives
607 Hesburgh Library
Notre Dame, IN 46556
Telephone: (574) 631-6448
Fax: (574) 631-7980
E-mail: archives@nd.edu
Internet: www.nd.edu

The records of all four Roman Catholic dioceses in Indiana are available on microfilm at the Family History Library. These records include the dioceses of Evansville, Fort Wayne-South Bend, Gary, and Lafayette, plus the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, all to about 1916. The early church records of Vincennes, in what is now Knox County, have been microfilmed and are available at the Family History Library.

Catholic Church

St. Francis Xavier (Vincennes, Indiana). Parish Registers, 1780–1960. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1985. (FHL films 1433361-65.) The original records are at St. Francis Xavier Church, Vincennes, Indiana. They list baptisms, confirmations, communions, marriages, deaths, and graves of soldiers who served in the War of 1812, the Black Hawk War (1835), the Mexican War, and the Civil War. These records may have information about persons from various parts of what is now Indiana and persons traveling through Vincennes.

Other microfilmed Roman Catholic records for Vincennes are also listed in the Family History Library Catalog, such as St. Thomas (1865–1984) and St. John the Baptist (1847–1947).

Society of Friends (Quakers)

Many Quaker records are kept at the Indiana Historical Society. (See the “Archives and Libraries” section above for the address.)

Another library with Quaker records is:

Earlham College
Friends Collection
Lilly Library
801 National Road West
Richmond, IN 47374-4095
Telephone: 765-983-1511
Fax: 765-983-1304
Internet: http://www.earlham.edu/~libr/content/friends/

An important source for information about Indiana Quakers is:

Heiss, Willard. Abstracts of the Records of the Society of Friends in Indiana, 6 vols. Indianapolis, Indiana: Indiana Historical Society, 1962-1977. (FHL book 977.2 K28h; fiche 6051380-386.) This includes records of births, marriages, deaths, removals, dismissals, and memberships.

A unique source listing many Indiana Quakers is:

Nelson, Jacquelyn S. Indiana Quakers Confront the Civil War. Indianapolis, Indiana: Indiana Historical Society, 1991. (FHL book 977.2 H2n.) Appendix C lists Indiana Friends (Quakers) who served in the Civil War. For each man, it generally lists birth date, parents’ names, monthly meeting and county thereof, company, regiment, rank, and death date.

The Place Search of the Family History Library Catalog lists church records under:

INDIANA, [COUNTY]- CHURCH RECORDS INDIANA, [COUNTY], [TOWN]- CHURCH RECORDS

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