Title: A Survey of American Church Records
Author: Kirkham, E. Kay
Publishing Information: The Everton Publishers, Inc., Logan Utah, IV Edition, 1978, 4th edition, 344 pgs
General Statement:
Religious records are important as they often precede civil registration of vital records. They can, however, sometimes be difficult to locate. This book may help you locate records related to your ancestors' religious denomination.
Misc Notes:
 Only lists of church records found in archival publications or public archives. Most records are still in the custody of individual churches.
 Keep in mind this survey was done in the mid-1970s. At that time the author was somewhat selective of information; There was an attempt to secure information about the greatest number of denominations possible, however, there were some very small denominations that were omitted.
Basic Detail Review:
Survey of Denominations:
 Reading details of denominations may include items such as in the Baptist section: “...admissions and dismissals of members contain most helpful information.” “..examine each line of each plate...at times you may find more personal detailed information.”
 Bibliographies at the end of each section include books for further study.
 Some smaller denominations have limited information.
Migration Information as related to denominations:
 This is a fascinating section but deals mostly with The Baptists, the German denominations, and the Presbyterians (Scoth-Irish).
Survey of Denominations by State:
 Some states are very detailed (i.e. New York, etc.), and some states (i.e. Arizona, Washington, etc.), have very little information, or just a short biography of other sources.
Glossary of Religious Words and Terms:
Detailed
Survey Abbreviations:
 The ‘survey detail’ pages by state include abbreviations, this section should be glanced through first before digging into the actual surveys. For example, the “*” abbreviation is located on nearly every page, and without knowing that it refers to the Family History Center you might be confused as to its meaning. The abbreviation details are not listed before the ‘Surveys’.
Appendix:
 Details on records by State/County located at the FamilyHistory library, including kind of record, years included, and Film Call Numbers.
MCGS Librarian