Washington Church Records

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Beginning Research

Record Types

Washington Background

Cultural Groups

Local Research Resources

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Historical Background

Before 1900 the largest religious groups in Washington were the Baptist, Roman Catholic, Methodist Episcopal, and Presbyterian churches.^[1]
Catholic and Protestant faiths were in Washington State from its earliest days. Other American traditions such as Mormonism and the Seventh-day Adventist churches soon followed. The Methodist Episcopal Church] was the first Protestant group to organize a local church east of the Cascades. Methodism arrived in Vancouver in 1848 and in Olympia and Seattle in 1853. The Roman Catholic Church in the United States|Roman Catholic Church is one of the oldest denominations in the state and remains today one of its largest. The [[Presbyterian Church in the United States|Presbyterian] faith arrived in Oregon Territory in 1838. Missionaries from the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were sent to the Pacific Northwest as early as 1850, although missionary efforts did not begin seriously until the 1880s and 1890s. The church has emerged today as one of the largest denominations in the state. Also, missionaries from the Missouri-based Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Community of Christ) arrived in Washington State in the nineteenth century. Seventh-day Adventists arrived in Washington Territory in the 1860s, with a strong presence in the state today. The Episcopal/Anglican faith arrived in Washington in 1851 at Cathlamet as a mission outreach from Portland. The Lutheran faith arrived in Washington as the result of migration by Scandinavians to the Puget Sound area.^[2]

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:

Minutes or Historical Narrative

Finding the Records

Look for online records.

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!

Washington Deaths and Burials, 1810-1960, index and images.

Baptist

American Baptist - Samuel Colgate Historical Library
1106 South Goodman Street
Rochester, NY 14620-2532
Phone: (716) 473-1740
Fax: (716) 473-1740

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

Lutheran

ELCA Region 1 Archives
Archives and Special Collections
Mortvedt Library
Pacific Lutheran University
Tacoma, WA 98447

(253) 535-7586
E-mail: archives@plu.edu

Archives hold records for closed churches. For open churches write directly to the local church.

Methodist

United Methodist Church
Collins Memorial Library
University of Puget Sound
1500 North Warner
Tacoma, WA 98416
Phone: (253) 756-3669
Fax: (253) 756-3670
This library has records of ministers but not of church members.

For a history of the Methodists in Washington see Howell, Erle. Methodisim in the Northwest. Nashville, Tenn.: Pacific Northwest Conference Historical Society, 1966. FHL Collection 979 K2h

Presbyterian

Presbyterian Historical Society
Presbyterian Church U.S.A.
425 Lombard Street
Philadelphia, PA 19147-1516
Phone: (215) 627-1852
Fax: (215) 627-0509

For a history of the Presbyterians in Washington, see Boyd, Robert. History of the Synod of Washington of The Presbyterian Church in the United States of America 1835-1909. Seattle, Wash.: The Synod, [1910?]. FHL Collection 979.7 K2p; film 1321456 item 4; digital versions at Ancestry ($); Internet Archive.

Roman Catholic

Archdiocese of Seattle
Chancery Office
910 Marion Street
Seattle, WA 98104
Phone: (206) 382-4560
Fax: (206) 382-4840

The archdiocese includes the counties of: Clallam, Clark, Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Island, Jefferson, King, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, Pierce, San Juan, Skagit, Skamania, Snohomish, Thurston, Wahkiakum and Whatcom.^[3]

Diocese of Spokane
P.O. Box 1453
1023 W. Riverside Ave.
Spokane, WA 99210-1453
Phone: (509) 358-7300

The diocese includes the counties of: Adams, Asotin, Columbia, Ferry, Franklin, Garfield, Lincoln, Okanogan, Pend Oreille, Stevens, Spokane, Walla Walla and Whitman.^[3]

Diocese of Yakima
5301-A Tieton Drive
Yakima, WA 98908-3493
Phone: (509) 965-7117

The diocese includes the counties of: Benton, Chelan, Douglas, Grant, Kittitas, Klickitat and Yakima.^[3]

Historical Missions

St. Francis Regis Mission - Jesuit 1845-1945
St. Ignatius Mission- Jesuit 1845-1855
St. Mary's Mission - Jesuit 1886-1960
Tsimshian Mission 1838
St. Paul's Mission - Jesuit 1845-1865
Whitman Mission (near Walla Walla)

References

↑ Sydney E. Ahlstrom, A Religious History of the American People (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1972). FHL Book 973 K2ah.
↑ Dwight A. Radford for Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources.
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 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.

[2] Dwight A. Radford for Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources.

[rome-3] 3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 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]

[3]