{"id":4234,"date":"2019-01-27T23:35:36","date_gmt":"2019-01-27T23:35:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thefhguide.com\/blog\/?p=4234"},"modified":"2019-02-05T22:21:45","modified_gmt":"2019-02-05T22:21:45","slug":"the-value-of-church-records-in-family-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thefhguide.com\/blog\/the-value-of-church-records-in-family-history\/","title":{"rendered":"The Value of Church Records in Family History"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\" One of the most rewarding things about\u00a0doing family history\u00a0research is the things you can actually\u00a0discover from all kinds of records.\u00a0 The facts recorded in birth, marriage, and death records on one family can really paint a picture\u00a0of what\u00a0life was like for those\u00a0who\u00a0have gone before.\u00a0 Some\u00a0call it “putting the flesh on the bones” when we can acquire information that goes beyond\u00a0names, dates,\u00a0and places.\u00a0 It is then when we begin to know and care for our ancestors and learn from them.<\/p>\n

Since we always begin\u00a0with what\u00a0we know when researching, if you live in the United States you need to know that vital records in most of the states did not begin until the\u00a0early 1900s.\u00a0 The exception to that is some of the New England states. In most countries in the world, church records began long before\u00a0any civil\u00a0records were required.\u00a0 In many of those\u00a0countries, state churches were required to keep track of the population and each little church reported they vital events to\u00a0a central church authority\u00a0 There were a few state\u00a0churches in the United States early in our history, but in 1787 the Constitution\u00a0separated the powers of church and state.\u00a0 Since then each church has created and kept their own variety of records.\u00a0 Some\u00a0are very willing to share them with you.<\/p>\n

One time\u00a0my husband\u00a0and I took a\u00a0trip to Sacramento California where I was born.\u00a0 We visited Trinity Lutheran\u00a0Church where I was baptized as an infant.\u00a0 The minister was there and he was very willing to look in the baptismal records and find the date for me.\u00a0 It took only a few minutes to find the information on my baptismal record which included the date, my full name and those of my parents\u00a0and my Godparents who were my aunt and uncle.\u00a0 Church records hold a great deal of pertinent\u00a0information when we are seeking information about\u00a0a person or a family.\u00a0 The Family History Guide <\/a>links you to information about church records for many places\u00a0throughout the world.\u00a0 The Countries dropdown menu\u00a0on the Homepage will\u00a0guide you to the specific information\u00a0you will need to find these records in various\u00a0localities. See United States Project 9 <\/a>for specific help and historical\u00a0information\u00a0about\u00a0the US church\u00a0records.<\/p>\n

When seeking church records it is important to determine locality, the denomination or the church your ancestors attended.\u00a0 The Family History Guide\u00a0will lead you to that information\u00a0by looking at the Individual\u00a0Countries Pages<\/a>.\u00a0 Along with church records, you can often also find cemetery records. As I have\u00a0been studying\u00a0the church records for various localities where my ancestors lived in the Family History Guide, I have been so impressed with everything that is included in these pages.\u00a0 We went to\u00a0Wales<\/a> in 2015 and I would have\u00a0been so happy to have\u00a0all the information\u00a0I found in the Family History\u00a0Guide before we went. That trip was one year\u00a0before The Family History Guide was launched. Take a look at the Wales\u00a0page in the link above.\u00a0 There you will be able to see the formatting and see the value of these country pages. See the QUIKLinks\u00a0for Wales, near the top of the page, that connect you to Family Search<\/a>, Ancestry,<\/a> My Heritage<\/a>, Find My Past<\/a>, the Family Search WIki <\/a>and more.\u00a0 \u00a0One of the things I like about the FS Wiki is that it tells you what record collections are online with a big, hard to miss, blue button. Talk about a time saver!\u00a0 Keep in mind though that records are being added by more than a million per day on FS alone.\u00a0 So check back on the Wiki Online Records button for updates on new collections from time to time.<\/p>\n

Goal 4 Choices A&B<\/a> will tell you just about all you need to know about churches and cemeteries in Wales to get started with these records.\u00a0Notice at the bottom of this Goal 4 page,\u00a0there are links to all the counties in Wales, with great information on each one.\u00a0 It would\u00a0have\u00a0saved me countless hours of research and given me so much more than I found on my own.\u00a0 There are\u00a0so many hot links to all kinds of information. If you click on the beautiful banner photo at the top of each country page, you will discover you are taken to\u00a0Wikipedia\u00a0<\/a>for that country.\u00a0 If this doesn’t make family history easier, more efficient and so much more enjoyable, I don’t know what does.<\/p>\n

\"\"I have found that church records in The United States, Wales, England, Sweden,\u00a0and Italy have produced some of the most poignant, important, satisfying, and\u00a0rewarding experiences I have had in doing my family history.\u00a0 As beginners, sometimes we shy away from the records that seem more difficult to find. Going beyond the census records is important. With The Family History Guide, all kinds of adventures are opened up for us and there are great treasures to be found about our ancestors in them.<\/p>\n

We talk about\u00a0the three Es of the Family History Guide’s mission statement.\u00a0 \u00a0I think another E could be added.\u00a0 Not only does The Family History Guide make family history Easier, more Efficient and more Enjoyable, but also more Exciting.\u00a0 Here are a few more E words that I like to associate with The Family History Guide.\u00a0 You have to Explore and Experiment by doing something.\u00a0 Essentially, you have to open The Family History Guide and put your hands on it.\u00a0 Reading or hearing is not enough. Let working in the Family History Guide bring you the Encouragement you’ll need to start and keep going on this wonderful, life-long journey!<\/p>\n