Wisconsin Church Records

Wisconsin Wiki Topics

Beginning Research

Record Types

Wisconsin Background

Cultural Groups

Local Research Resources

St James Episcopal Church Manitowoc

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

Historical Background

During the 1800s, two major denominations—Catholics and Lutherans—were widely represented in Wisconsin. This was largely because of the tremendous number of German, Polish, and Scandinavian immigrants who settled in the state. Methodists and Baptists were also represented but in much smaller numbers.^[1]

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!

Look for digital copies of church records listed in the FamilySearch Catalog.

Family History Library
Salt Lake City, Utah

The Family History Library (FHL) has a substantial collection of original church records and transcripts on microfilm for churches in the United States.
Online church records can be listed in the FamilySearch Catalog under the state, county, or town.
If you find a record that has not yet been digitized, see How do I request that a microfilm be digitized?
Some records might have viewing restrictions, and can only be viewed at a Family History Center near you, and/or by members of supporting organizations.
To find records:

a. Click on the records of United States, STATE.

b. Click on Places within United States, STATE and a list of counties will appear.

c. Click on your county if it appears.

d. Click on the "Church records" topic. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.

e. Click on Places within United States, STATE [COUNTY] and a list of towns will appear.

f. Click on your town if it appears, or the location which you believe was the parish which served your town or village.

g. Click on the "Church records" topic. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.

h. Some combination of these icons will appear at the far right of the listing for the record.

. The magnifying glass indicates that the record is indexed. Clicking on the magnifying glass will take you to the index. Clicking on the camera will take you to an online digital copy of the records.

Consult available finding aids.

These aids generally provide lists of records that are known to exist and information on their location.

Wisconsin churches.png

Correspond with or visit the actual churches.

Some records are still held in the local churches. Contact the current minister to find out what records are still available.

Make an appointment to look at the records. Or ask the minister of the church to make a copy of the record for you.
To find church staff available, you might have to visit on Sunday.
Ask for small searches at a time, such as one birth record or a specific marriage. Never ask for "everything on a family or surname".
A donation ($25-$40) for their time and effort to help you would be appropriate.
If the church has a website, you may be able to e-mail a message.
See the Letter Writing Guide for Genealogy for help with composing letters.
Each denomination page offers an online address directory of local churches for that denomination.

Check the church records collections in archives and libraries.

Some church records have been deposited for preservation in government archives or in libraries. Watch for links to digitized, online records offered by the archives. Some archives provide research services for a fee. For others, if you cannot visit in person, you might hire a researcher.

Here you will find archive information unique to the state. Many more archives are kept by denomination. For denominational archives, go to Searching for Church Records by Denomination.

Wisconsin Historical Society

Lutheran

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Wartburg Theological Seminary
333 Wartburg Place
Dubuque, IA 52001
Phone: (563) 589-0200 Fax: (563) 589-0333

The Wartburg Theological Seminary has Lutheran records from Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, and upper Michigan. The WTS Archives also contain the documents of the German Lutheran Synod of Iowa, 1854-1930 and the records of antecedent bodies of the ELCA Region 5. Many of the records in this repository can be borrowed for a small fee. For a list of some of the records, see:

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

Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod
Department of Archives and History
2929 North Mayfair Road
Milwaukee WI 53222
Phone: (414) 256-3888

The following yearbook contains the names of congregations of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod and includes name, telephone number, and address of the minister:

Yearbook of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Northwestern Publishing House, 1989–. (Family History Library book 977.5 K24w 1990.)

Concordia Historical Institute
801 DeMun Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63105
Phone: (314) 505-7900

They have some records of existing Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod congregations and records of some that have closed.

Methodist

Wisconsin Conference United Methodist Church
750 Windsor Street
Sun Prairie, WI 53590
Phone: (608) 837-7328

For a history of the Methodist church in Wisconsin, see Pansey S. F. Bennett, History of Methodism in Wisconsin (Cincinnati, Ohio: Cranston & Stowe, 1980; Family History Library book 977.5 K2b; film 1036198 item 6.)

Protestant

Minert, Roger P., Jennifer A. Anderson; et al. German Immigrants in American Church Records. v. 2, Wisconsin Northwest Protestant. Rockland, ME: Picton Press, 2007.
Minert, Roger P., Jennifer A. Anderson; et al. German Immigrants in American Church Records. v. 3, Wisconsin Northeast Protestant. Rockland, ME: Picton Press, 2007.
Minert, Roger P., Jennifer A. Anderson; et al. German Immigrants in American Church Records. v. 4, Wisconsin Southwest Protestant. Rockland, ME: Picton Press, 2007.
Minert, Roger P., Jennifer A. Anderson; et al. German Immigrants in American Church Records. v. 5, Wisconsin Southeast Protestant. Rockland, ME: Picton Press, 2007.

Roman Catholic

The early Roman Catholic records (1695–1821) for the mission of St. Ignace of Michilimackinac contain information about many of the early traders in what is now Wisconsin and are published in:

Draper, Lyman Copeland, ed. Collections of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. Madison, Wisconsin: State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1855–. (Family History Library book 977.5 B4wc; on film beginning with 924580.) This series has the register of baptisms of the parish of St. Ignace de Michilimakinak, 1695–1821 (vol. 19), marriages 1725–1821 (vol. 18), and burials 1743–1806 (vol. 19). Online at:Wisconsin Historical Society

Archdiocese of Milwaukee
2000 West Wisconsin Avenue
Milwaukee, WI 53403
Phone: (414) 769-3300
The church records of the parishes in the above diocese have been microfilmed to about 1920 and are available through the Family History Library. These records include parishes in about eleven counties in southeastern Wisconsin. The records are cataloged by the town where the parish is located.

The Archdiocese consists of the following counties: Dodge, Fond du Lac, Kenosha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Sheboygan, Walworth, Washington and Waukesha^[2]

Diocese of Green Bay
1910 South Webster Avenue
P.O. Box 66
Green Bay, WI 54301
Phone: (414) 435-4406

The diocese consists of the following counties: Brown, Calumet, Door, Florence, Forest, Kewaunee, Langlade, Manitowoc, Marinette, Menominee, Oconto, Outagamie, Shawano, Waupaca, Waushara, and Winnebago^[2]

Diocese of La Crosse
421 Main Street
P.O. Box 982
La Crosse, WI 54601
Phone: (608) 788-7700
The diocese consists of the following counties: Adams, Buffalo, Chippewa, Clark, Crawford, Dunn, Eau Claire, Jackson, Juneau, La Crosse, Marathon, Monroe, Pepin, Pierce, Portage, Richland, Trempealeau, Vernon, Wood^[2]

Diocese of Madison
15 East Wilson Street, Box 111
Madison, WI 53701
Phone: (608) 256-2677

The diocese consists of the following counties: Columbia, Dane, Grant, Green, Green Lake, Iowa, Jefferson, Lafayette, Marquette, Rock, and Sauk^[2]

Diocese of Superior
1201 Hughitt Avenue, Box 969
Superior, WI 54880
Phone: (715) 392-2937

The diocese consists of the following counties: Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Iron, Lincoln, Oneida, Polk, Price, Rusk, Sawyer, St. Croix, Taylor, Vilas and Washburn.^[2]

There is a current directory of congregations:

The Official Catholic Directory. New Providence, New Jersey: P. J. Kenedy & Sons, in association with R. R. Bowker, annual. (Family History Library book 282.025 Of2.) This nationwide directory is available at many public libraries and has addresses and telephone numbers of Roman Catholic churches. The 1936 edition is on Family History Library fiche 6104166.

Early U.S. French Catholic Church Records, 1695-1954 (Drouin Collection): This database contains the French Catholic parish records from the United States for the following states: Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The types of records include baptisms, marriages, and burials as well as confirmations, dispensations, censuses, statements of readmission to the church, and so on. They are written mainly in French, as well as English, Latin, and Italian.

Correspond with genealogical or historical societies.

Some church records have been given to historical societies. Also, historical societies may be able to tell you where the records are being held. To find a society near you, consult these lists:

Society Hill List of STATE Societies

Next, go to the Wiki article for your ancestors' denomination.

There are frequently additional, nationwide or regional archives and online collections for each denomination. Find the article for your ancestors' denomination and follow the instructions there to access these sources.

Major U.S. Religious Denominations
Adventist Amish Anabaptist Anglican Apostolic Christian Armenian Catholic Armenian Evangelical Armenian Orthodox Assemblies of God Baháʼí Baptist Buddhist Catholic Apostolic Church of the Brethren Community of Christ Confucianism Congregational	Coptic Orthodox Disciples of Christ Dutch Reformed Episcopal German Reformed Greek Orthodox Hinduism Huguenot Hutterites Jehovah's Witnesses Jewish The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) Lutheran Maronite Catholic Church Melkite Greek Catholic Methodist	Mennonite Moravian Muslim Orthodox Church in America (OCA) Pentecostal Presbyterian Roman Catholic Russian Orthodox Schwenkfelders Serbian Orthodox Sihkism Society of Friends (Quakers) Syriac Orthodox Church Ukrainian Orthodox United Church of Christ United Brethren in Christ Unitarian/Universalist

Carefully compare any record you find to known facts about the ancestor

You will possibly find many different people with the same name as your ancestor, especially when a family stayed in a locality for several generations, and several children were named after the grandparents or aunts and uncles. Be prepared to find the correct church records by organizing in advance as many of these exact details about the ancestor as possible:

name, including middle name and maiden name
names of all spouses, including middle and maiden name
exact or closely estimated dates of birth, marriage, and death
names and approximate birthdates of children
all known places of residence
occupations
military service details

Carefully evaluate the church records you find to make sure you have really found records for your ancestor and not just a "near match". If one or more of the details do not line up, be careful about accepting the entry as your ancestor. There are guiding principles for deciding how to resolve discrepancies between records that are seemingly close. For more instruction in evaluating evidence, read the Wiki article, Evaluate the Evidence.

References

↑ 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 ^2.3 ^2.4 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.

[rc-2] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 ^2.4 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]