North Carolina 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; date of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage information and maiden names; and death date. Records may include names of other relatives who were witnesses or members of the congregation. The members of some churches were predominantly of one nationality or ethnic group.

Major religious denominations were established in North Carolina in the following years: Society of Friends (Quakers) (1672), Anglican (1700), Baptist (1727), Presbyterian (1730), Lutheran (1740), Moravian (1753), and Methodist (1772). The Baptist church was dominant by 1860 and remains so today.

The Family History Library has some church records for the Baptists, Society of Friends, and other groups. The library also has histories of the Baptist, Christian, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Society of Friends, Methodist, Moravian, and Protestant Episcopal denominations.

The Moravians, Lutherans, and Society of Friends kept detailed records, and some of these have been published. Many denominations have collected their records into central repositories. You can write to the following addresses to learn where their records are located:

Baptist

Baptist Historical Collection
Z. Smith Reynolds Library
Wake Forest University
P.O. Box 7777
Winston-Salem, NC 27109-7777 Telephone: 336-758-5089
Fax: 336-758-5605
Website: http://zsr.wfu.edu/collections/special/church-records

Free Will Baptist Historical Collection
Moye Library
Mount Olive College
634 Henderson St.
Mount Olive, NC 28365-1699 Telephone: 919-658-7827
Toll Free: 1-800-653-0854
Fax: 919-658-8934 Website: www.moc.edu/fwbhc

The Primitive Baptist Library
4023 North Highway 87
Elon College, NC 27244 Telephone: 336-278-2000
Website: www.elon.edu/e-web/library/findhome
(An appointment should be made before visiting.)

For a history of the Baptist churches, see: Paschal, George Washington. History of the North Carolina Baptists. 2 vols. Raleigh, North Carolina: North Carolina Baptist State Convention, 1930-55. (Family History Library book 975.6 K2p; fiche 6049246-247.) There are useful chapters in these volumes concerning the various Baptist associations and groups from the 1600s to about 1860. Mention is made of the various ministers. There are several inventories that describe the churches and records of Southern Baptist associations, such as: *Alleghany Association (Family History Library book 975.6 K2ha; film 1320847 item 11.) *Brunswick Association (Family History Library film 1036844 item 28.) *Central Association (Family History Library book 975.6 K2hc; film 1320847 item 4.) *Flat River Association (Family History Library book 975.6 K2hf; film 1320847 item 1.) *Raleigh Association (Family History Library book 975.6 K2hr; film 1320847 item 5.) *Stanly Association; *Yancey Association (Family History Library book 975.6 K2hy; film 1320847 item 3.) A two-volume collection of biographies is: Hamby, Robert P. Brief Baptist Biographies, 1707-1982. 2 vols. Greenville, South Carolina: A Press, 1982. (Family History Library book 975.6 K2h.) The Family History Library has volume 2 only.

Disciples of Christ

Discipliana Collections
Barton College
Wilson, NC 27893

Telephone: 252-399-6352
Toll Free: 1-800-345-4973
(Call for an appointment.)
Website: www.barton.edu

Episcopal

Diocese of North Carolina
200 West Morgan Street
Suite 300
Raleigh, NC 27619

Telephone: 919-834-7474
or 1-800-448-8775
Fax: 919-834-7546
Website: www.episdionc.org

Diocese of Western North Carolina
900-B Central Park Drive
Asheville, NC 28805

Telephone: 828-225-6656
Fax 828-225-6657
E-mail: bishop@diocesewnc.org
Website: www.diocesewnc.org

Diocese of East Carolina
705 Doctors Drive
P. O. Box 1336
Kingston, NC 28503

Telephone: 252-522-0885
Fax 252-532-5272
E-mail: diocese@diocese-eastcarolina.org
Website: www.diocese-eastcarolina.org

Lutheran

Archives, North Carolina Synod
Lutheran Church in America
1988 Lutheran Synod Dr.
Salisbury, NC 28144-5700

Telephone: 704-633-4861
Fax: 704-638-0508
Website: www.nclutheran.org

For historical background information, see:

Bernheim, Gotthardt Dellmann, and George H. Cox. The History of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod and Ministerium of North Carolina: In Commemoration of the Completion of the First Century of Its Existence. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.: Published for the Synod by the Lutheran Publication Society, 1902. (Family History Library book 975.6 K2b.) The history of the various congregations is discussed. The ministers to about 1900 are listed with the dates when they served.

Methodist

United Methodist Church Archives
P.O. Box 127 Drew University
36 Madison Ave.
Madison, NJ 07940-3189

Telephone: 973-408-3189
Fax: 973-408-3909
E-mail: research@gcah.org
Website: www.gcah.org

Records of the Methodist Episcopal Church are at this archive. Searches are limited to obituaries of ordained clergy and can be conducted for a non-refundable fee.

Western N.C. Conference Archives
3400 Shamrock Drive
P. O. Box 18005
Charlotte, NC 28218

Telephone: 704-535-2260, ext. 44

Eastern North Carolina Conference Archives
Methodist Building
1307 Glenwood Ave.
P.O. Box 10955
Raleigh, NC 27605

Telephone: 919-832-9560
E-mail: archives_history@ncc.org

Southern North Carolina Conference Archives Heritage Center
710 N. Lakeshore Dr.
Lake Junaluska, NC 28745

Telephone: 828-452-2881
Website: http://www.sejumc.org/ministries_agencies.aspx?id=31&terms=Archives

Mailing address:
Southern North Carolina Conference Archives
P. O. Box 1165
Lake Junaluska, NC 28745

Moravian

Moravian Archives
457 South Church Street
Winston-Salem, NC 27101

Telephone: 336-722-1742
E-mail: moravianarchives@mcsp.org
Website: www.moravianarchives.org

An extensive set of books about the Moravians in North Carolina is:

Records of the Moravians in North Carolina, 1752-1879. 11 vols. Raleigh, North Carolina: Edwards & Broughton, 1922-1969. (Family History Library book 975.6 F2m; films 1321198 and 1321210-11.) Each volume is indexed.

Presbyterian

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Presbyterian Historical Society
425 Lombard Street
Philadelphia, PA 19147-1516
Telephone: 215-627-1852
Fax: 215-627-0509
Website: http://www.history.pcusa.org
Send queries to: refdesk@history.pcusa.org

Roman Catholic

Archives of the Diocese of Raleigh
The Catholic Center
715 Nazareth Street
Raleigh, NC 27603

Telephone: 919-821-9700
Fax: 919-821-9705
(call in advance for an appointment)
Website: www.dioceseofraleigh.org

Archives of the Diocese of Charlotte
1524 East Morehead St.
P.O. Box 36776
Charlotte, NC 28236

Telephone: 704-377-6871
Fax: 704-358-1208
(An appointment is required.)
Website: www.charlottediocese.org

Society of Friends (Quakers)

Friends Historical Collection
Hege Library
5800 West Friendly Ave.
Greensboro, NC 27410-4175

Telephone: 336-316-2000
Fax: 336-316-2950
E-mail: mchijiok@guilford.edu
Website: www.guilford.edu/about_guilford/services_and_administration/library/

A useful history of the Society of Friends is:

Anscombe, Francis Charles. I Have Called You Friends: The Story of Quakerism in North Carolina. Boston, Massachusetts: Christopher Publishing House, 1959. (Family History Library book 975.6 K2a.)

The records of the 33 oldest monthly meetings that belonged to the North Carolina yearly meeting of Friends (dating from the 1680s to as late as 1914 in some cases) are published in volume 1 of:

Hinshaw, William Wade. Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy. 7 vols. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing, 1969. (Family History Library book 973 D2he 1969; fiche 6051277 [set of 118].)

Another source is:

Bjorkman, Gwen Boyer. Quaker Marriage Certificates: Pasquotank, Perquimans, Piney Woods, and Suttons Creek Monthly Meetings, North Carolina, 1677-1800. Bowie, Maryland.: Heritage, 1988. (Family History Library book 975.6 K2bg.)

Church records can be found in the Family History Library Catalog by using a Place Search under:

NORTH CAROLINA, [COUNTY]- CHURCH RECORDS

NORTH CAROLINA, [COUNTY], [TOWN]- CHURCH RECORDS