Church Baptisms Database (over 143,500 records)
Updated April 4, 2024
Our Baptisms Database contains indices from 1836 through 2010, for the following Churches:
Our Lady of Sorrows | St. Leonard's | Zion Evangelical | St. Jacobus | Most Holy Trinity | Good Shepherd Lutheran | St. John's Lutheran | Trinity Reformed | St. Bernard | St. Benedict | St. Pauls German | English Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Ascension | Christ Church Manhasset
Diocese of Brooklyn, Diocesan Archives
The Diocesan Archives contains nearly 8,000 cubic feet of records,
including records of closed schools and parishes.
This database includes
the records of the following churches:
Our Lady of Mercy (1857-1930) Schermerhorn Street, near Bond Street Brooklyn, NY. Baptisms 1858-1920: 10,202 records.
Sacred Heart (1908-1930) Barren Island, Brooklyn. Baptisms 1908-1919: 543 records.
St. Benedict (1853-1973), was located on the south side of Fulton Street west of Ralph Avenue: Baptisms 1853-1920: 6,837 records
St. Bernard (1872-1941), was located at Rapelye Street and Hicks Street, in Red Hook. Baptisms:1872-1920: 2,778 records
St. Francis in Field (1850-1891), was located at Putnam Ave. north of Bedford Ave, in Bedford. Baptisms 1,151 records
St. Joseph Orphanage Flushing, NY. Baptisms 1895-1920:600 records
St. Louis Church (1873-1960s) Ellery Street, near Nostrand Avenue, Brooklyn. The records are in French. 1873-1902: 9,234 records
St Mary Hospital Baptisms 1899-1921: 92 records
St. Monica (1848-1973) located at 160th Street in Jamaica, Queens, built in 1856. Baptisms 1859-1923: 4,315 records.
St. Peter Hospital Baptisms 1883-1919: 470 records
The Diocesan Archives does not charge a fee for sacramental records needed for church use. We do ask for a donation of at least $25 to cover the cost of staff time to research all other requests. Please make your check or money order payable to the ‘R.C. Diocese of Brooklyn’. Send your request using the "Brooklyn Diocese Request Form" on the search results page or on the Diocesan Archives web page to the following mailing address:
R.C. Diocese of Brooklyn
Office of the Archivist
310 Prospect Park West
Brooklyn, NY 11215
Note: If you are not the individual whose record is being requested please provide proof of death if the person is deceased or power of attorney if the person is still living.
Our Lady of Sorrows - Roman Catholic Church
Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY (1890-1942)
Our
Lady of Sorrows was formerly located at Morgan Avenue and Harrison
Place in Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY. This German parish church was founded
in 1889 and the early parishioners were primarily German immigrants.
The early records are perhaps the only place you will find a town of
origin for your ancestors. The last baptism was performed on February 8,
1942 and the last marriage on February 15, 1942.
This database holds 6,006 baptism records from the years 1890 - 1942.
All requests for records of Our Lady of Sorrows RC Church must be in writing. A suitable donation is suggested.Send your request along with a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the following address:
St Joseph Patron of the Universal Church
185 Suydam Street
Brooklyn, NY 11221
When writing, please give as much information as possible along with the book number, page and entry number, which can be found within this database. Keep in mind that there may be more information contained within the church book record that you’ll receive on the certificate. It is suggest that you ask for the entire record when making your request for a certificate. It is also suggested that you include a donation along with your request.
St. Leonard’s of Port Maurice - Roman Catholic Church
Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY (1872-1978)
St.
Leonard’s Church was formerly located at 199 Jefferson Street, which is
at the corner of Wilson Avenue and Jefferson Street, Bushwick,
Brooklyn, NY. This German parish church was founded in 1871 and the
parishioners were primarily German immigrants. These early records are
perhaps the only place you will find the town of origin for your
ancestors. St. Leonard’s closed its doors in 1978 and the church was
demolished in 2001.
This database holds 27,139 baptism records from the years 1872 - 1978.
All requests for records of St. Leonard’s RC Church must be in writing. A suitable donation is suggested. Send your request along with a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the following address:
St Joseph Patron of the Universal Church
185 Suydam Street
Brooklyn, NY 11221
When
writing, please give as much information as possible along with the
book number, page and entry number, which can be found within this
database. Keep in mind that there may be more information contained
within the church book record that you’ll receive on the certificate. It
is suggested that you ask for the entire record when making your request
for a certificate. It is also suggested that you include a donation
along with your request.
Zion German Evangelical Lutheran Church
Brooklyn Heights, NY (1856-1969)
Zion is located at 125 Henry Street, Brooklyn Heights, NY. The church was founded in 1856 and is still in existence.
This database holds 13,527 records from the years 1856 - 1969.
The Deutsche Evangelisch-Lutherische Zions-Gemeinde had its start on the first Sunday in Advent (December 2nd) of 1855. On that morning, twelve German immigrants met for worship with Pastor Friedrich W. T. Steimle in a small rented hall at the corner of Nassau and Fulton Streets.
Although there were other Protestant churches in the area, some even using the German language, these founders wanted to preserve their identity and their heritage as Lutheran Christians, firmly committed to the Holy Scriptures and the 16th-century Lutheran Confessions. As a way of keeping pure doctrine, they obligated the congregation to always use German for worship and church business.
Many German immigrants soon joined the new congregation, which moved to a larger hall at 189 Washington Street in May 1856, when the name Zion was adopted. By November of that year, Zion had grown enough to be incorporated and the present building was purchased for $14,500. Although it was built in 1839 as a Dutch Reformed church, the building was being used as a concert hall until Zion dedicated it on the first Sunday in Advent (November 30) of 1856. Zion thus occupies the oldest church building still in use in Brooklyn Heights.
When writing, please give as much information as possible along with the
book number, page and entry number, which can be found in the search
results for this database. A form for this purpose can be downloaded by
clicking the “Documents & Forms” button that will appear directly
after your search results.
We
will provide an image of the original hand-written church register. You
must include an e-mail address so we can send a digital image of the
record, which will enable you to enlarge it for viewing.
If you find a record of interest, send a written request with a donation check payable to German Genealogy Group of $3.00 for each record requested to:
German Genealogy Group
ATTN: Record Request
Post Office Box 1004
Kings Park, NY 11754-1004
St. Jacobus Lutheran Church/Evangelical Lutheran Church
72-01 43rd Avenue, Woodside, NY 11377
This database contains an index of names within the records of St, Jacobus, a Lutheran Church. The early records are perhaps the only place you will find a town of origin for your ancestors. The Church is still operating. The databases we have created are not 100% complete and contain only the records that were made available to us. There are additional records that we are attempting to transcribe from old German script.
The records in this database are as follows:
Baptism Records: (4,558) – 1861-2010
All
requests for church records must be in writing. Send your request along
with a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the above address. A suitable donation is suggested.
When writing, please give as much information as possible along with the book number, page and entry number, which can be found within this database. Keep in mind that there may be additional information contained within the church book record that you will receive on the certificate. It is suggested that you ask for the entire record when making your request for a certificate. It is also suggested that you include a donation along with your request.
As part of our Heritage Preservation Program, members of the German Genealogy Group have spent many hours computerizing an index to the various church records on this web site. We are grateful to the Pastor of St. Jacobus for allowing us to make these indexes available to genealogists all over the world.
Most Holy Trinity - Roman Catholic Church
Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY (1842-1939)
Most Holy Trinity Church is located at 138 Montrose Avenue, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York, between Manhattan Avenue and Graham Avenue. This German parish church was founded in 1841 and the parishioners were primarily German immigrants. These early records are perhaps the only place you might find the town of origin for your ancestors.
This database holds 37,093 records from the years 1842 - 1939.
When writing, please give as much information as possible along with the book number, page and entry number, which can be found in the search results for this database. A form for this purpose can be downloaded by clicking the “Documents & Forms” button that will appear directly after your search results.
We will provide an image of the original hand-written church register. You must include an e-mail address so we can send a digital image of the record, which will enable you to enlarge it for viewing.
If you find a record of interest, send a written request with a donation check payable to German Genealogy Group of $3.00 for each record requested to:
German Genealogy Group
ATTN: Record Request
P.O. Box 1004
Kings Park, NY 11754-1004
The Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd
Francis Lewis Boulevard at 100th Avenue
Bellaire (Queens), NY 11429
The Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Bellaire, Queens, New York was organized April 1, 1925. The cornerstone for their church building was laid on September 20, 1925. Due to changing demographics in Bellaire, the congregation disbanded, holding their last service on September 9, 1973. In 1973 the congregation merged with the Abiding Presence Lutheran Church in Fort Salonga, Long Island, and the organ and stained glass windows were moved there. The Good Shepherd church register is now located at the Abiding Presence Lutheran Church.
The records in this index include: Baptisms 1924 - 1973
The register entries include much additional information such as birth dates and parents & sponsors' names.
All requests for records of the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church must be in writing (a form is available following a successful search). A donation of at least five dollars ($5.00) is requested (payable to Abiding Presence Lutheran Church) for each individual genealogical record for which they are asked to search. You will receive a scanned image of the register entry. Please send your request along with a self-addressed, stamped envelope (or an email address if you would like to receive the results that way) to the following address:
Good Shepherd Record Request
Abiding Presence Lutheran Church
4 Trescott Path
Fort Salonga, NY 11768
St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church
Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York
St.
John's Evangelical Lutheran Church was founded in May of 1844. The
cornerstone for the present church building at 195 Maujer Street in the
Williamsburg section of Brooklyn was laid in 1883. The church opened at
that location on November 4, 1884.
In 1926, with many
church members moving to the Glendale section of Queens, St. John's
started looking for a location in that area. The church was dedicated at
88-24 Myrtle Avenue in 1937. At present, records from both churches are
held in the Glendale location.
The records in this index currently include:
Baptisms 1891-1952
All
requests for records of the St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church must
be in writing (a form is available following a successful search). A fee of ten dollars ($10.00) is required
(payable to St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church) for each individual
genealogical record for which they are asked to search. Please send
your request along with a self-addressed, stamped envelope (or an email
address if you would like to receive the results that way) to the
following address:
Genealogical Record Request
St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church
88-24 Myrtle Avenue
Glendale, NY 11385
Trinity Reformed Church
Ridgewood, Queens, New York
In 1843 an English speaking congregation was formed in New York City on Avenue B and Fifth Street. It was part of the Reformed Church of America. In 1853 a group of German Speaking people in Williamsburg, Brooklyn formed The Deutsche Evangelishe Lutherische St. Petri Kirche (the German Evangelical Church of St. Peters). In 1919 these two groups merged and formed the Trinity Reformed Church of Brooklyn, located at 66-30 60th Place in Ridgewood, Queens, New York. The Evangelical Mission Church on Avenue B, corner of Fifth Street in New York also combined with them. Trinity Church is part of the Reformed Church of America.
The records in this database are as follows:
4,701 Baptism Records: 1855-1881, 1944-1996
When
writing, please give as much information as possible along with the
book number, page and entry number, which can be found within this
database.
We will provide an image of the
original church register which is hand-written.
You must include an
e-mail address so we can send a digital image of the record, which will
enable you to enlarge it for viewing.
If you find a record of interest, send a written request with a donation check payable to German Genealogy Group of $3.00 for each record requested to:
German Genealogy Group
ATTN: Record Request
Post Office Box 1004
Kings Park, NY 11754-1004
St. Paul’s German Presbyterian Church of Fosters Meadow (Elmont)
The records in this index include: Baptisms, 1870 - 1924, 1,499 records
In the mid -1860s, a German Evangelical Lutheran Church was organized in Fosters Meadow and plans were made to build a small church and churchyard. A few years later the congregational decided to change its affiliation to the Presbyterian Church which it remains today.
Records started to be kept in 1870 with the arrival of the first resident pastor. In the latter part of the 20th Century, it was believed that the original records were lost in a fire in the original church building. While the building did burn in 1905, it was in the process of being moved off-site to make way for a new church and was empty of contents. In 2017, George Bauer, a descendant of founding members of the church, discovered that the original records had been sent to the Presbyterian Archives in Philadelphia for safe-keeping and had recently been digitized by Ancestry.com. To access these records, you must have an Ancestry.com account or use your local public library or Family History Library account. Follow the blue link below to the fostersmeadow.com site which explains the records and has a link to them on Ancestry.com.
https://fostersmeadow.jimdo.com/houses-of-worship/st-paul-s/st-paul-s-german-presbyterian/
The English Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Ascension
Boro Park, Brooklyn, New
York
The church was located at Thirteenth Ave and Fifty First Street, in Boro Park, Brooklyn, New York. This database holds the following records:
Baptism of Children 1906 - 1957, 172 records
Baptism of Adults 1910 - 1947, 14 records
When writing, please give as much information as possible along with the
book number, page and entry number, which can be found in the search
results for this database. A form for this purpose can be downloaded by
clicking the “Documents & Forms” button that will appear directly
after your search results.
We will provide an image of
the original hand-written church register. You must include an e-mail
address so we can send a digital image of the record, which will enable
you to enlarge it for viewing.
If you find a record of interest, send a written request with a donation check payable to German Genealogy Group of $3.00 for each record requested to:
German Genealogy Group
ATTN: Record Request
P.O. Box 1004
Kings Park, NY 11754-1004
Christ Church, Episcopal
Manhasset, New York
Christ Church was founded in Queens County long before Nassau County was created. Local residents formerly traveled all the way to St. George’s Episcopal Church in Hempstead. The trustees paid $195.47 for the land in 1802. This church is active and hosts annual tours of its cemetery with costumed re-enactors telling the history of the noteworthy deceased.
Records in this index currently include
Baptisms 1824 - 1920; 1.294 Records
Record requests have a suggested donation of $10 per record, and must be in writing; see the Record Request Form after your search.
As part of our Heritage Preservation Program, members of the German Genealogy Group have spent many hours computerizing indices to the various church records on this web site. We are grateful to the Pastors of the Churches for allowing us to make these indexes available to genealogists all over the world.
If you would like to contribute time to other current
Heritage Preservation projects, please contact us by clicking here.
Records Search: Baptisms
Please note that the Surname (e.g. Last Name) is a required entry field. But since exact spellings are not always known, to aid your search we offer three different ways to specify Surnames...
- Exact Match ("is exactly") - This is the default surname search method.
- Soundex ("sounds like") - This option enables you to specify a surname spelling it out as best you can, and it will return results that "sound" similar to what you spelled out.
- Wild Card - With this option you can replace part of the surname with a * to match any number of letters, or _ to match a single letter. So for example, Sch* will return all names starting with Sch. Similarly, Schl_tz might return results such as Schlitz or Schlotz.
NOTE: The wild card option applies ONLY to the surname. You can just enter the first few letters of a First Name; the search automatically adds a wild card to the end of the First Name.
For whichever of the above surname search options you would like to use, simply select the appropriate radio button option below the input field on the form. Although the additional form fields are optional, providing as much information as you can helps narrow your search. The more specific your search, the less time you need spend scrolling through search results!
Check the Database "About" tab to see how to obtain copies of the records.
The German Genealogy Group wishes to thank all the following Volunteers for their help and participation....
Our Lady of Sorrows Church project:
Robert Boeckle * Lucille Blum * Robert Blum * Ruth Cipko * Lynn DeTrano * Bob Dockweiler * Don Eckerle * Dave Graff * Richard Haberstroh * Antoinette Jackson * Herb Lessman * Elizabeth Lovaglio * Audrey McKay * Joan Koster Morales * Kathryne Natale * Kathy Nolan * Dale Realander * Tom Risinger * Jean Schmidt * Dottie Schilling * Bob Tallman * Mark Waldron * Joe Walter * Bob Weingarten
Special thanks to Ms. Elizabeth Acker Lovaglio who was the coordinator for this project.
The St. Leonard’s Church project:
Robert Boeckle * Lucille Blum * Robert Blum * Ruth Cipko * Lynn DeTrano * Bob Dockweiler * Don Eckerle * Dave Graff * Richard Haberstroh * Antoinette Jackson * Herb Lessman * Elizabeth Lovaglio * Audrey McKay * Joan Koster Morales * Kathryne Natale * Kathy Nolan * Dale Realander * Tom Risinger * Jean Schmidt * Dottie Schilling * Bob Tallman * Mark Waldron * Joe Walter * Bob Weingarten
Special thanks to Ms. Elizabeth Acker Lovaglio who was the coordinator for this project.
The Zion Church project:
Gloria Anderson * Lucille Blum * Don Eckerle * Elizabeth Lovaglio * Kathryne Natale * Tom Risinger * Dottie Schilling * Bob Weingarten
Special thanks to Lucille Blum, without whose experience and dedication this project would not have been completed.
Most Holy Trinity Church project:
Gerry Achtem * Liz Bailey * Bob Boeckle * Jan Broschart * Ruth Cipko * Margaret DeAcetis * Lynn DeTrano * Don Eckerle * Andrea Ewerling * Jim Fuchs * Madeline Galbraith Richard Haberstroh * Linda Heelan * Dolores Hirx * Dorothy Kramer * Janice LaScala * Arleen Mackey * JoAnn O’Connell * Carol O’Hea * Erin O’Hea * Maureen O’Shea * Marie Potts * Jerry Rottkamp * Joan Schmitt * Doris Spehar * Bob Sullivan * Jeannie Viviani * Bob Vornlocker * Ed Wesnofske
Special thanks to Paul Hoffman who was the coordinator for this project.
Saint Jacobus Lutheran Church/ Saint Jacobus Evangelical Lutheran Church project:
Robert Boeckle * Dr. Warren L. Bosch * Barbara D’Oliveira * Fred Eberle * Don Eckerle * Diana Erickson * Robert P. Fruh * Noelle Giesse * Jean Haines * Joan Hydo * Carol Kennedy * Fred Kunz * Carol A. Maguire * Kathleen O’Farrell * Carol Proven * Paul E. Root * Jo Ann Schmidt * Nancy J. Sara Spencer * Stephen Stengel * Bob Sullivan * Holly Timm
Special thanks to Carol A. Theisen Maguire who was the coordinator for this project.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd project:
Mark Waldron * Don Eckerle
St. John's Evangelical Evangelical Lutheran Church project:
Joan Koster-Morales * Steve Nathan * Jo Ann Schmidt
Special thanks to Richard Winter who was the coordinator for this project.
Trinity Reformed Church project:
Don Eckerle * Bob Boeckle * Jo Ann Schmidt
Special thanks to Richard Winter who was the coordinator for this project.
St. Francis in the Fields Church project:
Warren Bosch * Belinda Dapice * Michelle DeAmelio * Paul Hoffman * Ken Kennedy
Special thanks to Jean King who was the coordinator for this project.
Out Lady of Mercy Church project:
Ann Borden * Barbara Liebeck * Barbara Pusler * Barbara Tyler * Bob Sullivan * Brigid Cahalan * Catherine Cowell * Dale Jacobi * Dave Ryan * Donna Guinaw * Doris Sephar * Eliza Volz Cheung * Ginny Olsen * Jean King * Jeanne DiNicola * Jill McGirr * John Driscoll * Judith Lantz * Judy Travers * Kathleen O'Farrell * Kathleen Winter * Kelly Vogel-Cooper * Lynda Lucas * Marilyn Baierlipp * Mary Ellen Fosso * Nick Kaufman * Pamela Whitaker * Patti Hacht * Paul Martino * Rich O'Boyle * Sandi Gill * Steve Ferriss * Susan Hennefield * Susan Seepers * Winnie Derfus
Special thanks to Jean King who was the coordinator for this project; and to Barbara Metzger who photographed the records to enable indexing.
