Georgia Church Records

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U.S. Church Records

Georgia

Church Records

For greater success, use all the Wiki Articles in this series: What Can I Find in U.S. Church Records? Determining the Church Your Ancestor Attended How to Find Church Records in the United States Searching for Church Records by Denomination Searching for Church Records by U.S. State

Historical Background

In the colonial period, the Church of England, Presbyterian, Lutheran, and Moravian churches were the largest religous groups in Georgia. After 1900 the largest religious groups were the Baptists and Methodists.

The composition of religious affiliation in Georgia is 70% Protestant, 9% Catholic, 1% Mormon, 1% Jewish, 0.5% Muslim, 0.5% Buddhist, and 0.5% Hindu. The largest Christian denominations by number of adherents in 2010 were the Southern Baptist Convention with 1,759,317; the United Methodist Church with 619,394; and the Roman Catholic Church with 596,384.

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:

Baptisms or Christenings Marriages

Funerals or Burials Membership Lists

Minutes or Historical Narrative

Online Resources

Look for online records.

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!

FamilySearch

• 1754-1960 Georgia, births and christenings, 1754-1960, index, incomplete — How to Use this Collection

• 1828-1991 Georgia, church vital records, 1828-1991, index, incomplete — How to Use this Collection
• 1808-1967 Georgia, marriages, 1808-1967, index, incomplete — How to Use this Collection

Ancestry.com

• Georgia, Select Births and Christenings, 1754-1960, index, incomplete ($)

Dutch Reformed

• 1856-1970 U.S., Selected States Dutch Reformed Church Membership Records, 1701-1995 at Ancestry - index & images, incomplete.($)
• 1856-1970 U.S., Dutch Christian Reformed Church Vital Records, 1856-1970 at Ancestry - index & images, incomplete.($)

Presbyterian

• 1701-1970 U.S., Presbyterian Church Records, 1701-1970 at Ancestry - index & images, incomplete.($)
• 1822-1916 Lexington Presbyterian Church (Lexington, Ga.) Records, 1822-1916 at Digital Library of Georgia — index & images ($)
• 1842-1900 Henry Newton Papers, 1842-1900 (Presbyterian Preacher at Digital Library of Georgia — index & images ($)

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

FamilySearch Library
Salt Lake City, Utah

• The FamilySearch Library (FS Library) 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 FamilySearch Center near you, and/or by members of supporting organizations.
• To find records:

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

b. Click on Places within United States, Georgia 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, Georgia [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.

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Consult available finding aids.

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

Baptist

• 1750-1899 U.S., Southern Baptist Church Records, 1750-1899 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• Inventory of the church archives of Georgia : Atlanta association of Baptist churches, affiliated with Georgia Baptist convention, prepared by the Georgia Historical records survey, Division of community service programs, works projects administration, e-book. Also at Ancestry.com. ($)

Presbyterian

• Inventory of the church archives of Georgia Presbyterian Churches : 1969 arrangement with indexes, e-book

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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.

Georgia State Archives

The largest collection of Georgia church records can be found at the Georgia State Archives. The archives borrowed pre-1940 church records from many local congregations and preserved them on microfilm.

Georgia State Archives
5800 Jonesboro Road
Morrow, GA 30260

Telephone: 678-364-3710
Fax: 678-364-3860

• Georgia's Virtual Vault Church Records Microfilm Collection
  

Baptist

Georgia Baptist Historical Collection
Eugene W. Stetson Memorial Library
Mercer University
Macon, Ga 31207

Books

• Georgia Baptists: Historical and Biographical. Campbell, Jesse H. Richmond: H.K. Ellyson, 1847.
• History of the Baptist Denomination in Georgia. Atlanta, Ga.: J.P. Harrison & Company, 1881.

Church of England (Anglican, Protestant Episcopal)

Records are maintained in the local parish.
If your ancestor was a minister in Colonial Georgia, see:

• Frederick Lewis Weis's The Colonial Clergy of Maryland, Delaware, and Georgia, is an alphabetical listing of the clergy in Delaware from 1638-1776, and includes names, dates, and places. A copy of the book is located in the FS Catalog Collection. For a copy nearest you, check WorldCat.

Methodist

United Methodist Museum
P.O. Box 24081
St. Simons Island, GA 31522
Phone: (912) 638-4050
Fax: (912) 638-9050
Email Address: methmuse@bellsouth.net

For a history of the Methodist Church, see:

• Harold Lawrence, Methodist Preachers in Georgia 1783-1900 (Tignall, Georgia: Boyd Pub., 1984). At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 975.8 K2L
• James Lloyd Knox, Methodist Preachers in Georgia 1783-1900, a supplement. (Milledgeville, Georgia : Boyd Pub. Co., c1995). At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 974.743 K2a

Lutheran

James R. Crumley Jr. Archives
4201 Main St.
Columbia, SC 29203

Phone: 803-461-3234
Email: crumleyarchivist@gmail.com

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

Moravian

• The Southern Province Moravian Archives
  

457 S. Church Street

Winston-Salem, N.C. 27101

Phone: (336) 722-1742

Email: moravianarchives@mcsp.org

• Website
• Our Memoir Collection
• The Genealogy Bookshelves List of family surnames in the collection.
• Moravian Churches Historical List
• 1932 Catalog Overview of older holdings
• Researcher Application Schedule an appointment.

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Roman Catholic

Archdiocese of Atlanta
Office of Archives & Records
2401 Lake Park Drive SE
Smyrna, GA 30080-8862

Main Office Phone Number: 404-920-7690
Fax Number: 404-920-7691

Sacramental records of Baptisms, Marriages, Confirmations, and Deaths are created and maintained at the individual parishes of the Archdiocese of Atlanta. If you are searching for a copy of your sacramental record and the sacrament occurred after 1930, then you will need to contact the parish in which the sacrament was performed. The Office of Archives and Records does not issue certificates.

• 1840-1980 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta Sacramental Records, 1840-1980 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
• Sacramental Research
• Genealogical Research:
  

Genealogical Research Request Form

Research on general family lines cannot be conducted by Archives staff. However, research for specific individuals can be done by the staff if the records are housed in the Office of Archives and Records.

The requester will be provided with a copy of the information contained in a specific record entry whenever possible. In the event that the Office of Archives and Records cannot provide the researcher with a copy of the record entry, staff will contact the individual who submitted the request.

Please complete the Genealogical Research Request Form supplied at the bottom of the page and submit it along with appropriate payment to the following address:

Archdiocese of Atlanta
Office of Archives & Records
2401 Lake Park Drive SE
Smyrna, GA 30080-8862

The fee for genealogical research requests is $25.00. Payment can be made by check or money order (U.S. currency) made payable to the Archdiocese of Atlanta. Please note that the fee is not refundable in the event that no research results are obtained. The Office of Archives and Records can only conduct research up to one hour per genealogical research request.

Please allow approximately four weeks for request(s) to be answered.

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Diocese of Savannah Archives and Records
Office of the Chancellor
CATHOLIC PASTORAL CENTER
2170 EAST VICTORY DRIVE
SAVANNAH, GA 31404-3918

PHONE: 912-201-4100
Toll-Free (in GA): 888-295-7144
FAX: 912-201-4101

Genealogy and Research

Original Sacramental Registers from closed parishes are kept with care in the Diocesan Archives & Records Management Office. Information from sacraments celebrated and recorded more than eighty-five (85) years ago is available upon request without discrimination. A register falling within this time frame is accessible to the public if it is digitized, microfilmed, or a preservation copy. We currently have a selection of sacramental registers that have been digitized and are fully available to the public to view from our Reading Room. A full list of these registers will be available soon. Original Sacramental Registers are not open for public examination in order to protect the original books from wear and ensure the privacy of records that are less than eighty-five (85) years old. Research in original books must be conducted by authorized Diocesan personnel.

A Sacramental Information Request Form must be completed for sacramental record searches conducted by the Diocese of Savannah Archives & Records Management Office. Because staff is limited, no sacramental information will be accepted over the phone or via e-mail and requests will take a minimum of 4-6 weeks. All requests must be accompanied with valid proof of identity (a photo id with a signature) from the person requesting those records. A $25 administrative fee will be required for each sacrament that is requested. The office accepts cash, a cashier’s check, or money orders made payable to the Catholic Diocese of Savannah. Personal checks are discouraged. This is a non-refundable administrative fee and will still be charged in the event that no results are obtained. Fees may be waived at the discretion of the Director of Archives & Records or Chancellor.

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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.

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.