Nebraska Church Records: Difference between revisions

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Nebraska Wiki Topics

Beginning Research

Record Types

Nebraska Background

Cultural Groups

Local Research Resources

For greater success, use all the Wiki Articles in this series:

Historical Background[edit | edit source]

Before 1900 the largest religious groups in Nebraska were the Roman Catholic, Methodist Episcopal, [[Lutheran Church in the United States|Lutheran,] and [[Presbyterian Church in the United States|Presbyterian] churches.^[1]

Information Found in the Records[edit | edit source]

To effectively use church records, become familiar with their content. Click on these links to learn about a specific record type:

Minutes or Historical Narrative

Finding the Records[edit | edit source]

Look for online records.[edit | edit source]

Ancestry.com, FindMyPast.com, and MyHeritage.com can be searched free of charge at your local family history center or the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Online databases are incomplete. This can lead to two common errors:

Near matches: Researchers might mistakenly accept an entry very similar to their ancestor, thinking it is the only one available. Only use information that matches your ancestor in date, place, relationships, and other details.
Stopping research: Researchers might assume the database proves church records do not exist. Actually the record is still out there, just not in this incomplete collection of records. Keep searching!

Nebraska Monthly Meeting: Quaker Records, ($), index
1875-1899 - Nebraska, Church Records, 1875-1899 at FamilySearch — index

The Nebraska State Historical Library has an extensive collection of Protestant church records. These are listed in the reference leaflet Nebraska Church Records at the Nebraska State Historical Society. Library research services are fee-based. Some materials are available for loan via Interlibrary Loan through your local public library.

The Family History Library has very few church records from Nebraska. It has microfilms of some Presbyterian records, such as session minutes, baptisms, and membership rolls. The library also has DAR transcripts of some other denominations' records.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons)[edit | edit source]

	The usage of "Mormon" and "LDS" on this page is approved according to current policy.

Early Nebraska ward and branch records are available on microfilm at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Find film numbers by searching 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 book 979.2258 A3j; fiche 6031507). These volumes contain the film numbers for many (but not all) membership and temple records.

Lutheran[edit | edit source]

Archives of the Nebraska Synod
4980 South 118 Street, Suite D
Omaha, NE 68137-2220
Phone: (402) 896-5311
Fax: (402) 896-5354
E-mail: office@nebraskasynod.org

Early congregations and pioneers are described in Charles F. Sandahl, The Nebraska Conference of the Augustana Synod. (n.p.: Nebraska Conference, 1931); FHL Collection film 1036240 item 3

Abstracts of records relating to German immigrants can be found in:

German Immigrants in Nebraska Protestant Church Records.

Odessa3.org - This site contains German-Russian emigrant ancestry in pocket settlements in mid-west states of North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska . Contains transcribed minutes of meetings, membership lists (some with parentage listed), birth, deaths, and marriages.

Methodist[edit | edit source]

Nebraska Wesleyan University
Historical Archives United Methodist Church
5000 St. Paul Avenue
Lincoln, NE 68504
Phone: (402) 465-2400
Fax: (402) 465-2189

United Methodist Historical Center
Nebraska Conference
P.O. Box 4553
Lincoln, NE 68504-0553
Phone: (402) 465-2175

Presbyterian[edit | edit source]

Presbyterian Historical Society
United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.
425 Lombard Street
Philadelphia, PA 19147
Phone: (215) 627-1852
Fax: (215) 627-0509

Hall's Index of American Presbyterian Congregations briefly summarizes information published as part of General Assembly minutes, annual denomination yearbooks, and related sources. The index contains the organization and dissolution dates of churches, denomination and location changes, mergers, etc. Search Hall's Index to see if a Presbyterian congregation existed in a town or city, and then search CALVIN, the on-line catalog, to learn what registers, minutes, and other records are available in the Presbyterian Historical Society Archives.

Roman Catholic[edit | edit source]

Diocese of Grand Island
P.O. Box 153
2708 Old Fair Road
Grand Isle, NE 68802
Phone: (800) 652-0004

There are no records at the above site.

The diocese includes the counties of: Arthur, Banner, Blaine, Box Butte, Brown, Buffalo, Cherry, Cheyenne, Custer, Dawes, Dawson, Deuel, Garden, Garfield Grant, Greeley, Hall, Hooker, Howard, Keith, Keya Paha, Kimball, Lincoln, Logan, Loup, McPherson , Morrill, Rock, Scotts Bluff, Sheridan, Sherman, Sioux, Thomas, Valley and Wheeler.^[2]

Diocese of Lincoln
P.O. Box 80328
Lincoln, NE 68501-0328
Phone: (402) 488-0921

The diocese includes the counties of: Adams, Butler, Cass, Chase, Clay, Dawson, Dundy, Fillmore, Franklin, Frontier, Furnas, Hamilton, Harlan, Hayes, Hitchcock, Jefferson, Johnson, Kearney, Keith, Lancaster, Lincoln, Nemaha, Nuckolls, Otoe, Pawnee, Perkins, Phelps, Polk, Red Willow, Saline, Richardson, Saunders, Seward, Thayer, Webster and York.^[2]

Chancery Office
Archdiocese of Omaha
100 North 62 Street
Omaha, NE 68132-2795
Phone: (402) 558-3100
Fax: (402) 558-3026

For a helpful history see Henry Weber Casper, History of the Catholic Church in Nebraska, Three Volumes (Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Catholic Life Pub., 1960-66); FHL Collection book 978.2 K2c. A brief History of the Archidiocese of Omaha is available as part of the Catholic Encyclopedia.

The Archdiocese includes the counties of: Antelope, Boone, Boyd, Burt, Cedar, Colfax, Cuming, Dakota, Dixon, Dodge, Douglas, Holt, Knox, Madison, Merrick, Nance, Pierce, Platte, Sarpy, Stanton, Thurston, Washington and Wayne.^[2]

References[edit | edit source]

↑ Sydney E. Ahlstrom, A Religious History of the American People (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1972). FHL Book 973 K2ah.
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 Map of the Roman Catholic Dioceses in the United States of America, Office of Catholic Schools Diocese of Columbus, accessed 3 Nov 2010.

[1] Sydney E. Ahlstrom, A Religious History of the American People (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1972). FHL Book 973 K2ah.

[rome-2] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 Map of the Roman Catholic Dioceses in the United States of America, Office of Catholic Schools Diocese of Columbus, accessed 3 Nov 2010.

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 | link5=[[Nebraska Church Records|Church Records]]
 }}
+<div style="float:right; margin:30px">
+{|
+|-
+|style="border:1px solid DarkBlue; margin:70px; background:GhostWhite; width 15%; padding-right:15px; padding-left:15px; height:50px "|
+<center>'''For greater success, use all the Wiki Articles in this series:'''</center>
+*[[What Can I Find in U.S. Church Records?|'''What Can I Find in U.S. Church Records?''']]
+*[[Determining the Church Your Ancestor Attended|'''Determining the Church Your Ancestor Attended''']]
+*[[How to Find Church Records in the United States|'''How to Find Church Records in the United States''']]
+*[[United States Church Records#Searching for Church Records by Denomination|'''Searching for Church Records by Denomination''' ]]
+*[[United States Church Records#Searching for Church Records by U.S. State|'''Searching for Church Records by U.S. State''']]
+|}
+</div>
+------
+==Historical Background==
+Before 1900 the largest religious groups in [[Nebraska Genealogy|Nebraska]] were the [[Roman Catholic Church in the United States|'''Roman Catholic,''']] [[Methodist Church in the United States|'''Methodist Episcopal,''']] [[Lutheran Church in the United States|'''Lutheran,'''] and [[Presbyterian Church in the United States|'''Presbyterian'''] churches.<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>
+==Information Found in the Records==
+To effectively use church records, become familiar with their content. Click on these links to learn about a specific record type:
+{|
+|-
+|style="vertical-align:top; padding-right:30px"|
+*[[What Can I Find in U.S. Church Records?#Baptisms or Christenings|Baptisms or Christenings]]
+*[[What Can I Find in U.S. Church Records?#Marriages|Marriages]]
+|style="vertical-align:top; padding-right:30px"|
+*[[What Can I Find in U.S. Church Records?#Funerals or Burials|Funerals or Burials]]
+*[[What Can I Find in U.S. Church Records?#Membership Lists|Membership Lists]]
+|style="vertical-align:top; padding-right:30px"|
+*[[What Can I Find in U.S. Church Records?#Minutes or Historical Narrative|Minutes or Historical Narrative]]
+|}
-===Online Resources===
+==Finding the Records==
+===Look for online records.===
+'''Ancestry.com, FindMyPast.com, and MyHeritage.com can be searched free of charge at your local [https://familysearch.org/locations/ family history center] or the [https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/Family_History_Library Family History Library] in Salt Lake City, Utah.
+<br>
+{|
+|-
+|
+[[File:Caution sign.png|70px]]
+|
+Online databases are <span style="color:Red">'''incomplete'''</span>. This can lead to two common errors:
+#'''Near matches:''' Researchers might <span style="color:Red">'''mistakenly accept an entry very similar to their ancestor'''</span>, thinking it is the only one available. Only use information that matches your ancestor in date, place, relationships, and other details.
+#'''Stopping research''': Researchers might <span style="color:Red">'''assume the database proves church records do not exist'''</span>.  Actually the record is still out there, just not in this <span style="color:Red">'''incomplete'''</span> collection of records.  Keep searching!
+|}
 *[http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=6027 Nebraska Monthly Meeting: Quaker Records], ($), index
 *'''1875-1899''' - {{RecordSearch|2790263|Nebraska, Church Records, 1875-1899}} at [https://familysearch.org/search FamilySearch] — index
-Before 1900 the largest religious groups in [[Nebraska Genealogy|Nebraska]] were the Roman Catholic, Methodist Episcopal, Lutheran, and Presbyterian churches.<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>
 The [http://www.nebraskahistory.org/ Nebraska State Historical Library] has an extensive collection of Protestant church records. These are listed in the reference leaflet [http://www.nebraskahistory.org/lib-arch/research/manuscripts/church/index.htm Nebraska Church Records at the Nebraska State Historical Society].&nbsp; Library research services are [http://www.nebraskahistory.org/lib-arch/services/refrence/fees_duplication_access.pdf fee-based].&nbsp; Some materials are available for loan via Interlibrary Loan through your local public library.&nbsp;