Church and Cemetery Records (Genealogical Society of Utah Project): Washington County, Wisconsin [microform], 1761-1983.

ABSTRACT: Collection contains various types of records for numerous Washington County churches. The denominations include Congregational, Episcopal, Evangelical, Lutheran, Methodist, Methodist Episcopal, and United Church of Christ. The microfilm contains baptismal, communion, funeral, interment, marriage, membership, probation, and other records. Some of the records, especially those from the nineteenth century, are in German. The GSU filmed the records in no sequential order, so the records for a single church may be on several microfilms. The records are listed alphabetically by church or cemetery name, then by date.

ACCESS RESTRICTIONS: There are no access restrictions on the materials, and the collection is open to all members of the public in accordance with state law. However, the researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright which may be involved in the use of this collection (Wisconsin Statutes 19.21-19.39).

The copyright on the materials is retained by the custodians of the original records. Copies of the microfilm may be ordered from the Genealogical Society of Utah (GSU) by organizations which have obtained written permission from the custodians of the records.

SCOPE AND CONTENT: The Genealogical Society of Utah (GSU) and the Wisconsin Historical Society have cooperated in a project to borrow and film Wisconsin church and cemetery records of interest to genealogists. The church records typically contain registers of baptisms, confirmations, marriages, funerals, church membership, and occasionally church constitutions, histories, and minutes. Cemetery records list burials and lot owners. A wide range of Christian denominations are included. The records are indexed by church or cemetery name, location, and denomination.

Accuracy of this finding aid is limited by readability of the film, completeness of the records, and staff knowledge of foreign languages and scripts. In depth research into church history was not done. Some records do not supply the name of the church which created them: in those cases the information supplied by the filmer is used and often is the present custodian of the record. Missing information, particularly the "record type: in the reel lists, is due to the occasional necessity of working from camera operators reports or other finding aids rather than from the film itself. Annotations and corrections can be forwarded to the Ask an Archivist for inclusion in future versions of this finding aid.

Included in the finding aid table is detailed information on types of records included and years covered. Also indicated are languages in which the records were written. There are brief descriptions of the record types (birth, baptism, marriage, etc.). This information was compiled from the film itself.

Place Names: A few locations in the index are not now governmental units but apparently were in use at the time. In cases where churches moved or merged, the record is still indexed under only one location. Sometimes a single record contains information crossing county lines, especially in the case of missions or circuits. If exact location is not clear, rather than mislead the user with a possible incorrect place name, the more general location of the county is used. Thus it is important for the user to be imaginative in using the place names.

Church and Cemetery Names: Church names, if in a foreign language, are usually entered in the English form if doing so will bring all records for one church together, both before and after the church adopted English as its language. "Saint" is sometimes spelled out and other times abbreviated to "St.," making it necessary for the user to search both ways.

Denomination is listed as it appeared in the records and no additional research done on denominational changes that have occured in the 150 year scope of this collection. Thus lines are not always exact, for example, Methodist and Methodist Episcopal, Evangelical Lutheran and Lutheran. In some cases, the present denomination is indicated for a church that has changed through the years. For example, United Church of Christ may indicate churches formerly Congregational or Evangelical and Reformed. Therefore some knowledge of church history is useful to the user.

A denomination could not be determined for some records.

ARRANGEMENT: The GSU filmed the records in no sequential order, so the records for a single church may be on several microfilms. The records are listed alphabetically by church or cemetery name, then by date.

COLLECTION CITATION: This collection should be cited as:

Church and Cemetery Records (Genealogical Society of Utah Project): Washington County, Wisconsin [microform], 1761-1983. Milwaukee Micro Collection 65. Wisconsin Historical Society. Milwaukee Area Research Center. Golda Meir Library. University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee.

RELATED COLLECTIONS:

Church and Cemetery Records (Genealogical Society of Utah Project): Milwaukee County, Wisconsin [microform], 1836-1982. (Milwaukee Micro Collection 70)

Church and Cemetery Records (Genealogical Society of Utah Project): Ozaukee County, Wisconsin [microform], 1808-1982. (Milwaukee Micro Collection 66)

Church and Cemetery Records (Genealogical Society of Utah Project): Sheboygan County, Wisconsin [microform], 1839-1987. (Milwaukee Micro Collection 68)

Church and Cemetery Records (Genealogical Society of Utah Project): Waukesha County, Wisconsin [microform], 1805-1975. (Milwaukee Micro Collection 67)

ACQUISITION: The microfilm was produced by the Genealogical Society of Utah (GSU). They were accessioned by the Wisconsin Historical Society in 1984 (accession numbers M84-100, and N84-187).

PROCESSING: The records were borrowed and filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah (GSU). The originals were then returned and are not owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society.

The collection was processed by Ann Hokanson in August 1991.

MARC RECORD SEARCH TERMS: The following terms were used in the online bibliographic MARC record to this collection:

• Congregational Church--Wisconsin.
• David Star Evangelical Lutheran Church (Jackson, Wis.).
• Deutsch Evangelical Saint Johannes Church (Hartford, Wis.).
• Episcopal Church--Wisconsin.
• Evangelical and Reformed Church--Wisconsin.
• Evangelical Church (Hartford, Wis.).
• First Congregational Church (Hartford, Wis.).
• Lutheran Church--Wisconsin.
• Methodist Church--Wisconsin.
• Methodist Episcopal Church (Hartford, Wis.).
• Peace Evangelical Lutheran Church (Hartford, Wis.).
• Peace United Church of Christ (Kewaskum, Wis.).
• Protestantische Evangelische Church (Germantown, Wis.).
• Saint James Episcopal Church (West Bend, Wis.).
• Saint John's Lutheran Church (Kewaskum, Wis.).
• St. John's Evangelical and Reformed Church (Germantown, Wis.).
• St. John's United Church of Christ (Germantown, Wis.).
• Saint Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church (Slinger, Wis.).
• Trinity Evangelical Church (West Bend, Wis.).
• Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church (Hartford, Wis.).
• United Church of Christ--Wisconsin.
• United Methodist Church (Farmington, Wis.).
• United Methodist Church (West Bend, Wis.).
• Washington County (Wis.)--Church history--Sources.
• West Bend Methodist Episcopal Church (Wis.).

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URL: http://www.uwm.edu/Library/arch/findaids/micro65.htm
Last edited on Wednesday, January 2, 2001.
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