Teresa and I are so excited to be offering our German Phase 1 course as part of the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy's (SLIG) fall lineup.
We will be spending the next five weeks supporting our students on their quest to find their German immigrant's hometown.
From German Girls Genealogy (Teresa Steinkamp McMillin & Debra A. Hoffman):
In the last few posts, we’ve talked about the importance of church records in the US for finding a German town of origin. In today’s post, I’ll give you some tips on how to find those church records.
Identify their Affiliation
The first step is to identify, if possible, their religious affiliation. You might already know that based on oral tradition. A clue might come from a civil marriage record, if available. If they were married by a minister, determine with what church he was affiliated. County histories are a great way to find that information. Histories of churches in the area where they lived are another resource to consider. Clues about their affiliation might also be gleaned from an obituary or from the cemetery in which they are buried.
Identify Possible Churches
The next step is the church. If a large city, use city directories. If a rural area, use county or regional histories. Each of these publications typically has a section for churches. Identify the churches that were in operation during the time in question.
When a family lived in a more remote area, their children might have been baptized at a church unrelated to their affiliation. When in a city where many churches were available, they likely attended a church not only aligned with their affiliation, but with their country of origin. For example, if they were Germans and Lutheran, they would have attended a German Lutheran church, not a Swedish Lutheran church. Use clues from census records and city directories to determine which churches might have been closest to them.
Find the Records
At this point, you might have a few churches that are possible or you might have only one. Now you need to find the records for those churches. Determine if the church is still open. If so, start by contacting them.
If not, I always start with FamilySearch. Look in their catalog by place name (the county and/or town where the church was located). If you don’t find them, there are many more options.
Check other major websites such as Findmypast or Ancestry. They have a few significant holdings, though church records are not necessarily their strength.
Many church records are not online. That doesn’t mean they’re not accessible. Check the archives of that denomination. You might have to do a little digging to find this information. Check the FamilySearch Wiki for the denomination in question. Many religious denominations have split, merged, and otherwise changed over time. See “Family Trees for American Religions” for more information.
Check the holdings of local libraries, historical and genealogical societies. Check local and state
archives. Consult genealogical research guides for the area. Check Worldcat for published records.
With a little perseverance, you have a good chance of finding the records you need. The rewards can be great!
