Hi Everyone: A while back I wrote to the list asking where church records would be located for an Evangelical Lutheran Church in Cleveland that was no longer in existence. Helpful members of the list suggested that I might try the Missouri Synod Headquarters on Columbia Road. I made contact with them and learned the following which I'm sharing with the list to help others who are looking for old Lutheran Church records, pictures of churches, information on pastors, etc. All records for Lutheran Churches in the area that are closed are now located at the Concordia Historical Institute. The archive number is 314-505-7921 and the Reference and Research number is 314-505-7935. In order to obtain records, you want to call the second number. The records used to be housed at the Missouri Synod Headquarters on Columbia Road, but when they renovated the building, all church records were sent to Concordia Historical Institute. The website is: chi.lcms.org (do not use www.) The email address is: [email protected] http://chi.lcms.org/collections/search.asp (search on Cleveland) http://chi.lcms.org/reference.asp How to request info email: [email protected] If you are unable to visit St. Louis to do your own research, you may have research done by CHI's reference staff by mail. Fees apply with discounts to Institute members. All inquiries are to be submitted in writing. Initial contact may be made by mail, fax or email. Once you contact them, they will let you know if they have the records you are requesting, how much the cost would be, and they will ask how you would like to pay - by check or credit card. Postage and handling may be extra for large projects and will be billed if necessary. In order for them to do research for you, you must know the name of a congregation or the pastor's name and an approximate timeframe for the record you are looking for. There is not sufficient staff to do extensive research, however, the staff will attempt to find answers to specific questions such as the date of a marriage or baptism or death. If you wish to visit there personally, their hours are 8:30 - Noon and 1:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. A $10.00 access fee is charged for entrance. Here are some records that they have: Synodical annuals and records from the Missouri Synod and other Lutheran synods, dating back to the 18th Century Biographical records on Lutheran pastors and teachers Church records of official acts (baptisms, marriages, etc.) Microfilm collection Personal collections of prominent American Lutherans Historical, theological and collected works Lutheran periodicals, past and present—bound and on microfilm Individual church histories and regional data Of special interest to genealogists in CHI's Reference Room: Genealogical reference works Indexes and dictionaries Rare atlases Microfilm and microfiche readers/copier Concordia Historical Institute Quarterly Der Lutheraner and Lutheran Witness, plus Lehre und Wehre Complete Missouri Synod convention proceedings, Statistical Yearbooks and Lutheran Annuals 19th-21st century Lutheran yearbooks and annuals listing congregations and pastors COSTS: The first hour of research is free for members and $10.00 for nonmembers. Additional research per hour is $20 for members and $30 for nonmembers. Biographical sketch of pastor or teacher: $10 Copy of specific church record for genealogical purposes: $10/record and $2.50 for additional records from same church book. If you do not require a copy of the record, they will type up what it says and email it to you (for no additional charge other than the $10 research fee for the first hour, if they can find it in an hour) Photocopies: Members: 1-149 copies are 15 cents each and copies over 150 are 30 cents each. Nonmember: 1-149 copies are 20 cents each and copies over 150 are 30 cents each. Photo-reproduction (black and white): 5x7 $10.00 and 8x10 $20.00 Photo-reproduction (color): 5x7 $15.00 and 8x10 $25.00 Digital image scanned and sent to you by email: $5.00 Microfilm loan: Members $20 from CHI, Nonmember $20 through ILL (Note: Not all records are on microfilm) SAMPLE OF MY REQUEST: I emailed and asked if they had a picture of the church I was interested in, which is no longer standing, and also requested 4 records that I was interested in. I received a reply in a day in which they included an attachment with their rates and services. They told me that their research fee is $10.00 per hour. For the four records that I requested and the picture, they charged me $15.00. That was $10 to look up the records (done in one hour) and they emailed me typewritten notes from the various records, and $5 to send the scanned picture as an email attachment. If I wanted actual paper copies of the records emailed to me, it would have been $10.00 for the first copy and $2.50 for each additional copy from the same church book. I chose not to get paper copies, but if I had, it would have been a total of $25.00 for just one record - $10.00 one/hour research fee, $10.00 copy charge for the first copy, and $5.00 for the email picture. Each additional copy of a record would have been another $2.50. I had exact dates for the records I wanted, so that's why it only took one hour. If you don't have exact dates, then it might get more expensive because it would take them longer to find the records. But, they are so nice and helpful. I was very pleased with the service that I received. They will give you a quote as to how long they think it will take and what the charges will be before you finalize your request. Also, you can pay by credit card, just emailing them back with your credit card number if you wish. Or, you can send a check. They'll tell you how to do it. Their service was just great and I can't recommend them enough. If you are looking for old Lutheran church records I suggest you give it a try. Laura Hine