I just noticed that this exchange and a subsequent one intended for the G-P-L list became only a personal exchange, so I am herewith forwarding it to the list. Marvin -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Re: [G-P-L] Lutheran Connectons Date: Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:24:16 -0600 From: Marvin Huggins [1]<[email protected]> Reply-To: [2][email protected] To: Ursula [3]<[email protected]> References: [4]<[email protected]a.mail.c omcast.net> Ursula, I should have identified myself in the previous post. I am the interim director of Concordia Historical Institute. You are correct about the limited records available at CHI. That was my point in responding. We have records of some disbanded congregations and of some existing congregations who have deposited their original records with us or have had their records microfilmed and deposited copies with us. We do not have records of baptisms, marriages and burials from most congregations. We are often contacted by people who need assistance identifying an existing congregation that might have records of their ancestors. That "St James in some far away hamlet" might still be in existence but with a different name or location than an old baptismal certificate or marriage certificate indicates. The place names in those old Lutheran calendars in many instances are not the names by which the place is known today, or the congregation may have merged with another or relocated. In those kinds of situations, we can sometimes be of assistance in identifying the current possibilities for finding records. Sometimes people have a certificate with a pastor's name but without the name of a congregation. Those calendars help us identify where that pastor was serving at the time of the baptism, etc. I want to make clear that we by no means have records of every Missouri Synod Lutheran baptism or marriage, but we have some, and we may be able to assist people in determining other places to contact. People can contact us with the information that they have, and we will do what we can to help. Concordia Historical Institute is the Department of Archives and History of The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod. Our primary function is to preserve the records of the church body itself. Congregational records are the responsibility of the individual congregations. When congregations close, they are encouraged to deposit their records with us, but many churches closed long before the Institute was organized or began to gather these records, so those records have been lost or their existence is unknown. I hope you understand that we want to assist people where we can, but we also don't want to give a false impression that we can answer every possible question. The best approach is for people looking for Lutheran church records, particularly of churches that belong or belonged to the Missouri Synod, to contact us. Please also be aware that our reference staff is limited. A huge influx of queries will undoubtedly mean some delay in getting a reply. Marvin Huggins Ursula wrote: > Marvin, et al > > I know that the Missouri Synod and probably the Iowa Synod too kept track of the pastors in the various states in which they served as I have three Evangeli cal Lutheran Calendars from 1903, 1904, 1905 that lists the pastors that served in any parish in the nation. I would also agree with Marvin that they probably have access to records as they pertain to the state of Missouri. > > What I cannot believe is that the synod was the recipient of duplicate church records from the hundreds if not thousands of different parishes in the US. > > Someone wrote that Concordia would assist you in locating the parish records of your ancestors. Well, that assistance may consist of merely telling you the name of the town/parish where they can be found. Most family researchers know t he name of the church their ancestors attended. > > What I'm getting at is this, if my ancestors attended St James in some far aw ay hamlet, I wouldn't assume that Concordia would be able or willing to look up a birth or marriage certificate for that particular church. > > I think someone needs to research the function and capabilities of the Concor dia Historical Institute and then report back to us so we all are aware of this resource. > > Ursula > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Marvin Huggins" [5]<[email protected]> > To: [6][email protected] > Sent: Thursday, December 31, 2009 5:33:55 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern > Subject: Re: [G-P-L] Lutheran Connectons > > > Concordia Historical Institute has records of some Missouri Synod > congregations and can help pin down the location of other records. Luthera n > congregations keep their records locally in most cases. And records can va ry > greatly from one parish to another with how much detail was entered about > where people came from in Germany. > The CHI web site is at [1][7]http://www.lutheranhistory.org/. Send email t o the > reference department at [[8]2][email protected] and they will let > you know whether there are records that might relate to your family or > suggest possible congregations to contact. > Marvin Huggins > St. Louis, MO > Jeanne Fizell wrote: > > Is that where you find both American Lutheran and Missouri Synod records > please? > ----- Original Message ----- > From: [3][9]<[email protected]> > To: [4][10]<[email protected]> > Sent: Thursday, December 31, 2009 12:59 PM > Subject: Re: [G-P-L] Lutheran Connectons > > > > > The address is :: > [[11]5][email protected] > > I aam a member as long as my dues are up to date. > Phil Kuehn > > > ------- Original Message ------- > >From : M Hurney[[6][12]mailto:[email protected]] > Sent : 12/31/2009 11:33:22 AM > To : [[13]7][email protected] > Cc : > Subject : RE: [G-P-L] Lutheran Connectons > > Contact Concordia Historical Society in St. Louis. They have German > Lutheran Church records. You can find their address if you Google them. > I > contacted them a few years ago for my great grandparent's marriage > information. I sent them a $25.00 donation and they were very > accomodating > researching for the information I wanted. On the Lutheran marriage > information it ways where the bride and groom were born. This was the > door > that opened for me to find many ancestors - Eldena, Mecklenburg and Gross > Wanzer, Prussia - now in Sachen Anhalt. Well worth the $25.00. Marlene > in > Sioux Falls, SD. > > For all the latest News, please visit our Homepage: > [8][14]http://www.germanyroots.com > > Please visit and participate in our new forum > [9][15]http://www.germanyroots.com/phpBB3/ > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [[16]10][email protected] with the word 'unsubscri be' > without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > > For all the latest News, please visit our Homepage: > [11][17]http://www.germanyroots.com > > Please visit and participate in our new forum > [12][18]http://www.germanyroots.com/phpBB3/ > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [[19]13][email protected] with the word 'unsubscri be' > without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > > For all the latest News, please visit our Homepage: [14][20]http://www.german yroots > .com > > Please visit and participate in our new forum > [15][21]http://www.germanyroots.com/phpBB3/ > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [16]GERMANY-PASSENGER-L IS > [22][email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the s > ubject and the body of the message > > References > > 1. [23]http://www.lutheranhistory.org/ > 2. [24]mailto:[email protected] > 3. [25]mailto:[email protected] > 4. [26]mailto:[email protected] > 5. [27]mailto:[email protected] > 6. [28]mailto:[email protected] > 7. [29]mailto:[email protected] > 8. [30]http://www.germanyroots.com/ > 9. [31]http://www.germanyroots.com/phpBB3/ > 10. [32]mailto:[email protected] > 11. [33]http://www.germanyroots.com/ > 12. [34]http://www.germanyroots.com/phpBB3/ > 13. [35]mailto:[email protected] > 14. [36]http://www.germanyroots.com/ > 15. [37]http://www.germanyroots.com/phpBB3/ > 16. [38]mailto:[email protected] > > For all the latest News, please visit our Homepage: [39]http://www.germanyroo ts.com > > Please visit and participate in our new forum > [40]http://www.germanyroots.com/phpBB3/ > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [41]GERMANY-PASSENGER-L [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > References 1. mailto:[email protected] 2. mailto:[email protected] 3. mailto:[email protected] 4. mailto:[email protected]a.mail.comcast.net 5. mailto:[email protected] 6. mailto:[email protected] 7. http://www.lutheranhistory.org/ 8. mailto:2][email protected] 9. mailto:[email protected] 10. mailto:[email protected] 11. mailto:5][email protected] 12. mailto:[email protected] 13. mailto:7][email protected] 14. http://www.germanyroots.com/ 15. http://www.germanyroots.com/phpBB3/ 16. mailto:10][email protected] 17. http://www.germanyroots.com/ 18. http://www.germanyroots.com/phpBB3/ 19. mailto:13][email protected] 20. http://www.germanyroots/ 21. http://www.germanyroots.com/phpBB3/ 22. mailto:[email protected] 23. http://www.lutheranhistory.org/ 24. mailto:[email protected] 25. mailto:[email protected]om 26. mailto:[email protected] 27. mailto:[email protected] 28. mailto:[email protected] 29. mailto:[email protected] 30. http://www.germanyroots.com/ 31. http://www.germanyroots.com/phpBB3/ 32. mailto:[email protected] 33. http://www.germanyroots.com/ 34. http://www.germanyroots.com/phpBB3/ 35. mailto:[email protected] 36. http://www.germanyroots.com/ 37. http://www.germanyroots.com/phpBB3/ 38. mailto:[email protected] 39. http://www.germanyroots.com/ 40. http://www.germanyroots.com/phpBB3/ 41. mailto:[email protected]