FAQs

"What kinds of church records are available at the Congregational Library?"

Because Congregational churches are not ruled by an overseeing body, each local church is responsible for the maintenance of their own records, year in year out. It is likely, therefore, that old baptismal certificates, marriage records, and similar information are still located on site with the church itself. If a church closes, they may choose to send their records to our repository. We organize what we are given, but more often than not, because of the ravages of time, there are gaps in the collection. Records from extinct churches may also be found in a local historical society, public library, or town clerk's office.

"What kind of genealogical information is available?"

Church records can sometimes provide information about baptisms, marriages, and deaths of Congregational laypeople, though these documents may be difficult to track down and are frequently incomplete. The library can, however, provide basic obituary information about Congregational clergy, that is, men or women who were ordained Congregationalist at the time of their death, and recorded in the denominational yearbook. Keep in mind that people can and did change denominations over a lifetime—not all of the people who served in Congregational churches ended up there!

We do not have burial records. Again, there is no master list of burial sites and more often than not, churches do not keep the records of graveyards. Some churches will indicate when someone has left their Congregation either to move to another church, or because they have died.

"What do you need to know in order to help me find my ancestor?"

• The person's first and last name
• The name of the church in which the person was baptized. This is very important. There are many Congregational churches and none of them have a master index of statistical information.
• The year the person was baptized. If you do not have the year, please give an approximate date. Depending on the church, there can be hundreds of hand-written entries each year.

"What is the copying policy at the Library?"

We do have the means to photocopy here at the library (25 cents per exposure), but due to a small staff and the fragility of many items, we may have to limit the amount of photocopying available.