Alabama Church Records
Church records and the information they provide vary greatly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation, such as age; dates of baptism, christening or birth; marriage information, such as the bride’s maiden name and the names of both sets of parents; death or burial date; admissions; and removals. Records may include names of other relatives who were witnesses or members of the congregation. The members of some churches were predominately of one nationality or ethnic group. Church records are important for Alabama family research because civil authorities in Alabama did not begin registering vital statistics until after 1908.
Roman Catholic church records for Mobile date from about 1700. In the 1800s, the largest religious groups in Alabama were the Baptist, Methodist, and Presbyterian churches. To find information about churches up to 1870, such as when the churches were founded, names of ministers and early members, and associated cemeteries, see:
Daughters of the American Revolution (Alabama). Some Early Alabama Churches (Established Before 1870). Birmingham, Alabama: Parchment Press, 1973. (FHL book 976.1 K2d; film 1026262 item 8.)
The Family History Library has a few church records for Alabama, but most remain with the local churches. Some denominations have collected their records into central repositories. You can write to the following addresses to learn where records of a particular denomination are located.
Baptist
Special Collection, Samford University Library. See the "Archives and Libraries" section of this outline for the address. The Samford University Library Website has an inventory of their records.
For histories of the Baptist Church, see:
Holcombe, Hosea. A History of the Rise and Progress of the Baptists in Alabama. 1840. Reprint, Bessemer, Alabama: West Jefferson County Historical Society, 1974. (FHL book 976.1 K21h.) This history of the Baptist Church to 1840 is indexed.
Flynt, F. Wayne. Alabama Baptists: Southern Baptists in the Heart of Dixie. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1998.
Episcopal
A list of the Episcopal congregations in Alabama before 1939 is:
Inventory of the Church Archives of Alabama: Protestant Episcopal Church. Birmingham, Alabama: Alabama Historical Records Survey Project, 1939. (FHL book 976.1 K2h; film 897366 item3.) This gives the location of each church with a brief history and describes the types and years of records that existed for each congregation in 1939.
Methodist
Houghton Memorial Library
Huntingdon College
1500 E. Fairview Avenue
Montgomery, AL 36106-2148
Telephone: 334-833-4421
Fax: 334-263-4465
E-mail: edidwell@huntingdon.edu
Internet: www.huntingdon.edu
Charles Andrew Rush Library
Birmingham-Southern College
900 Arkadelphia Road
P.O. Box 549020
Birmingham, AL 35254-9990
Telephone: 205-226-4740
Fax: 205-226-4743
Internet: www.bsc.edu/library
A history of the Methodist Church in Alabama is:
Lazenby, Marion Elias, History of Methodism in Alabama and West Florida. N.p., 1960. (FHL book 976.1 K2L.) This book includes a list of deceased ministers and a name and subject index.
Presbyterian
Presbyterian Historical Society
425 Lombard Street
Philadelphia, PA 19147
Telephone: 215-627-1852
Fax: 215-627-0509
Internet: http://www.history.pcusa.org/
Roman Catholic
Diocese of Mobile—Birmingham
400 Government Street
P.O. Box 966
Mobile, AL 36633
Telephone: 334-434-1585
Fax: 334-434-1588
Internet: http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dbirm.html
Some of the records of this diocese are available on microfilms at the Family History Library.
Alabama church records are listed in the Place Search of the Family History Library Catalog under:
ALABAMA- CHURCH HISTORY
ALABAMA- CHURCH RECORDS
ALABAMA, [COUNTY], [TOWN]- CHURCH HISTORY
ALABAMA, [COUNTY], [TOWN]- CHURCH RECORDS
Web Sites
http://www.genealogy.com/5_grnwd.html