Barb is right, all three churches were/are the Erie city Catholic churches of predominantly German congregation. St Mary's and St Joseph's were the earliest, 1833, 1853 respectively. St. Mary's contact is Helen Zimmerman. The church records are very old and in German, they do not allow anyone to research the records themselves, but if you write her a request she is very helpful! The address of the church (attn to Helen) is: 315 E 9th Erie, PA St Joseph's has yet to have a volunteer to do look-up requests, and they will not allow 'outsiders' in to research (I have asked to volunteer myself, but they will only allow a parishioner). Their phone number is 814-452-2982 if you would like to try your luck <g> St John's, founded in 1869, was created out of the parishioners from both St Joseph's and St Mary's. They are very helpful in look-ups and allow you to come in and do it yourself. I have transcribed the baptism records of this church. Some of which are on the Erie RootsWeb-site. However.... I have YET to get the rest of it proof-read and haven't been able to submit the rest to Bill yet, but if you have a request, I can look it up for you. Hopefully some of this helped ~ good luck in your searches! Marian Matha-Fromknecht aka RaveledRoots@post.com Erie, Pennsylvania, USA > -----Original Message----- > From: CharlesBarbjo@aol.com [SMTP:CharlesBarbjo@aol.com] > > Offhand the German Catholic Churches in Erie were St. Joseph's, St. John's > > and I think St. Mary's. All are still in existence. > Barb >