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Necrologies - Frequently Asked Questions
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I'd like to know...
What do the Publication abbreviations mean?
I know the person I'm looking for was a Congregationalist. Why isn't s/he listed?
Now that have a citation, how can I see the actual necrology?
How can I find more information about Congregational ministers?
What exactly is a necrology?
It's an obituary, but in this context we use the term to indicate that the information is specifically about a person's religious service. The most basic necrologies include dates and places of birth, ordination, and death, as well as a list of places where the deceased served (i.e. churches, missions, organizational boards, etc.). Depending upon the publication and the prominence of the person in question, there may be a fuller obituary article that includes more biographical information.
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What do the Publication abbreviations mean?
| Abbreviation | Publication |
| ACU YB |
Yearbook of the American Congregational Union / American Congregational Year Book |
| CC YB | Yearbook of the Congregational (and) Christian Churches |
| Cong'l Q | Congregational Quarterly |
| Cong'l YB | Congregational Year-Book |
| Light & Life |
Light and Life for Woman / Life and Light for Heathen Women |
| Missionary Herald | Missionary Herald at Home and Abroad |
| MH Newsletter | Missionary Herald Newsletter |
| NACCC YB | National Association of Congregational Christian Churches Yearbook |
| UCC YB | United Church of Christ Yearbook |
| Vinton |
John Vinton's biographies of ABCFM missionaries (often referred to as "The Vinton books") |
| Welsh |
Memorial volume of Welsh Congregationalists in Pennsylvania, 1797-1931 by David Jones |
| Whole Earth | Whole Earth Newsletter |
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I know the person I'm looking for was a Congregationalist. Why isn't s/he listed?
There are several possible reasons:
- It was fairly common, particularly during the 19th century, for ministers to change denominations over the course of their careers. Even if s/he was ordained as a Congregationalist, a minister who was not a Congregationalist when s/he died would probably not have a necrology submitted to these yearbooks. Clergy leaving the denomination often became Presbyterian, Unitarian, Evangelical, Methodist, or Baptist. See our page of Useful Links for links to other archives and historical societies.
- The Conservative Congregational Christian Conference does not include necrologies in its yearbook. If the minister in question was not associated with any other group, s/he will not have a necrology to be listed here.
- The person in question may fall outside the current scope of our database. It includes obituaries for missionaries from 1810 to 1999, and clergy from 1854 to 2009. (There are also a number of Welsh clergy from Pennsylvania from 1797 to 1931.) If you are looking for someone who may have died earlier than the publication of our sources, please contact us. We may be able to find the information in another part of our collection.
- The National Association of Congregational Christian Churches includes laypeople who are not clergy or missionaries in its necrology lists. Because they are do not fall into either category, they are not currently included in our index.
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Now that I have a citation, how can I see the actual necrology?
You have several options:
- There are scanned copies of the Vinton books available online through the Internet Archive. Direct links to each volume can be found on the Vinton portal page.
- There is a scanned copy of the Memorial volume of Welsh Congregationalists available online through the Internet Archive.
- There are scanned copies of the 19th and early 20th century Congregational yearbooks available online through the Internet Archive. Direct links to individual years can be found on our yearbook index page.
- There are scanned copies of most of the CCCC yearbooks for 1960-2007 on the Internet Archive. Direct links to individual years can be found on the CCCC index page.
- There are scanned copies of the NACCC yearbooks for 1963-2005 on the Internet Archive. Direct links to individual years can be found on the NACCC index page.
- The NACCC provides digital copies of their most recent yearbooks through the denomination's website under the Churches menu tab.
- We can usually provide copies (photocopy by mail or scan by e-mail) of these materials upon request.
- Due to copyright issues, we can only provide excerpts from periodicals and more recent yearbooks on an individual basis. Please contact us to request those materials, or for help finding copies of the publications in your area.
- If you are in the Boston area, come by and take a look in person.
- See if there is a copy of the publication in your area by searching WorldCat.
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How can I find more information about Congregational ministers?
There is a wealth of information in our collection, including memorials, ordination sermons, church histories and anniversary materials, and records of disbanded churches. Take a look at our online catalog. It is a work in progress containing more than 80,000 items with more added every day.
We have an archival collection for the Congregational Board of Pastoral Supply that contains files for many East Coast ministers from 1893 to 1975. Browse the finding guide for this collection, or simply type the name of the person you're looking for into the search box at the top of the page.