New York County Religious Records

This collection contains digitized genealogy records from churches in New York County, New York.

Some volumes are searchable, others can only be browsed by image.

Read below for a complete list of all churches included in this collection. Click the waypoint links to view images from that church.

Watch a free Collection Close-Ups webinar recording for this collection, in which the NYG&B team explains what you can find and how you can search it.

Collection Category: Religious Records|Collection Type: Text & Images|Location: New York County

Quick Links

 

Broadway Tabernacle Church Cards

These digitized index cards contain notes on the members of the Broadway Tabernacle Church in Manhattan. Organized in 1840, the Broadway Tabernacle Church was set to be the “first Congregational church on Manhattan Island.” The member notes that are available are mostly from the 1800s. 

These images can be browsed, but cannot currently be searched. Original records available at the New York Historical Society; see the NYHS's catalog record for additional details.

The establishment of the Broadway Tabernacle Church in 1840 succeeded a Presbyterian Church of the same name. Church staff created and preserved documents about its members when the church was formed, which has allowed us to have this collection available today. This is helpful for researchers looking for those Congregationalist ancestors from New England, for some of the notes include churches that members attended prior to joining the Broadway Tabernacle Church. 

These cards may help researchers who are having issues finding Congregationalist ancestors that migrated from New England to New York after the American Revolution. Two Congregational churches were formed in New York City in 1789 and 1803. Unfortunately, these churches did not exist for long, and with it no known records were left behind. This means that many families from New England are present in religious records of other denominations throughout the city. The formation of the Broadway Tabernacle Church and the records its produced could help looking for those Congregationalist ancestors from New England because some member information includes the churches a member may have attended prior to joining the Broadway Tabernacle Church. 

The information in each note card typically consists of the date a member joined; the year a member was married; the date a member died; where a member was educated; what kind of missionary work they engaged in; and much more. 

Names are arranged alphabetically by surname. Letters Q, Y, X and Z are not available because there are no surnames that start with those letters. It should be noted that if readers are searching for a name that starts with "Mc," there is a section below that separates the "Mc" surnames from the "M" surnames.  

Sections include: 

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | Mc | N | O | P | R | S | T | U | V | W 

Back to Quick Links

 

Canal Street Presbyterian Church 

This volume contains transcribed records of the Canal Street Presbyterian Church in New York County, New York. 

This volume is text searchable – searches entered in the fields on this page will query this volume. The images can also be browsed by clicking the links below, which will take you to the beginning of the section you are interested in reading. 

Included are:  

This volume was completed by Robert McCartee Reevs in 1919. 

Back to Quick Links

 

Christ Protestant Episcopal Church, vol. 1

This volume contains transcribed records of the Christ Protestant Episcopal Church in the City of New York.

This volume is text searchable – searches entered will query this volume. The images can also be browsed by clicking the links below, which will take you to the beginning of the section you are interested in reading.

See below for vol. 2.

Included are:

This volume was completed by Royden Woodward Vosburgh in 1919.

Back to Quick Links

 

Christ Protestant Episcopal Church, vol. 2

This volume contains transcribed records of the Christ Protestant Episcopal Church in the City of New York.

This volume is text searchable – searches entered will query this volume. The images can also be browsed by clicking the links below, which will take you to the beginning of the section you are interested in reading.

See above for vol. 1.

Included are:

This volume was completed in 1919 by Royden Woodward Vosburgh.

Back to Quick Links

 

German Lutheran Baptisms of Reverend Franz Joseph Schneider

Rev. Mr. Francis Joseph (Franz Joseph) Schneider immigrated to New York City from Germany around 1869. An independent Lutheran minister not affiliated with any formally established church, he married couples and performed baptisms out of his home on Allen Street, and later at Second Avenue near Sixth Street in the German neighborhood of New York City (Manhattan) then known as "Kleindeutschland."

The registers are in German and Latin and mostly conform to the following format:

  • Child’s given name
  • Birthdate
  • Father’s name and birthplace
  • Mother’s name and birthplace
  • Baptism sponsors
  • Baptism date and location

The digitized images from this volume can be browsed, but cannot currently be searched. The images can also be browsed by clicking the links below, which will take you to the beginning of the section you are interested in reading.

Please note that these are handwritten records.

Included are:

These volumes were created by Reverend Franz Joseph Schneider between 1869 – 1906.

Back to Quick Links

 

Lutheran Church of New York

This volume contains transcribed records of the Lutheran Church of New York in the City of New York.

The digitized images from this volume can be browsed, but cannot currently be searched. The images can also be browsed.

Click here to view these records.

Back to Quick Links

 

Madison Avenue Reformed Church, vol. 1

This volume contains transcribed records of the Madison Avenue Reformed Church in the City of New York.

This volume is text searchable – searches entered in the fields on this page will query this volume. The images can also be browsed by clicking the links below, which will take you to the beginning of the section you are interested in reading.

See below for vol. 2.

Included are:

Along with names and dates, a description of the church’s records is provided for readers.

This volume was completed by Royden Woodward Vosburgh in 1921.

Back to Quick Links

 

Madison Avenue Reformed Church, vol. 2

This volume contains transcribed records of the Madison Avenue Reformed Church in the City of New York.

This volume is text searchable – searches entered in the fields on this page will query this volume. The images can also be browsed by clicking the links below, which will take you to the beginning of the section you are interested in reading.

See above for vol. 1.

Included are:

This volume was completed by Royden Woodward Vosburgh in 1921.

Back to Quick Links

 

Reformed Dutch Church

This volume contains transcribed records of the Reformed Dutch Church in the City of New York.

This volume is text searchable – searches entered in the fields on this page will query this volume. The images can also be browsed by clicking the links below, which will take you to the beginning of the section you are interested in reading.

Included are:

Along with names and dates, useful information about the church’s history is provided for readers.

This volume was completed by Thomas Grier Evans in 1890 and 1901.

Back to Quick Links

 

South Reformed Dutch Church

This volume contains transcribed records of the South Reformed Dutch Church in the City of New York.

This volume is text searchable – searches entered in the fields on this page will query this volume. The images can also be browsed by clicking the links below, which will take you to the beginning of the section you are interested in reading.

Included are:

This volume was completed in by Royden Woodward Vosburgh in 1921.

Back to Quick Links

 

St. Luke's Evangelical Lutheran Church

This collection consists of eleven original record books from St. Luke's Evangelical Lutheran Church created between 1850 and 1940. Most registers are in German until around 1920, after which they are in English. The registers consist of baptisms, confirmations, marriages, deaths and funerals. The latter volumes contain protocol and liturgical books in German, as well as a book published by the congregation of St. Luke's Church in 1940 that reflects the previous 90 years of its history. 

Included are:

These records were donated to the NYG&B in 2003 by St. Luke's Lutheran Church, 308 West 46th Street, N.Y.

Back to Quick Links

 

Trinity Church

These volumes are transcribed records related to churches and chapels identified as Trinity Parish. The original records were created by church rectors and clergy from 1746 to 1885. Researchers should note that within each volume, records are not in exact chronological order. 

Included are:

These records were transcribed from the original records for the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society in 1933 by Mrs. Hope (Cox) Lefferts, under the direction of John Cox Jr. 

Back to Quick Links

 

Suggested citation for this collection:

New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, “New York County Religious Records” digital images, New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, (www.newyorkfamilyhistory.org), 2020.