Information for Referrals to the United Church of Christ Archives

By
Steven E. Beam
August, 1993
Revised and Edited
July 1998
By
Elwood W. Christ
Archivist
ELCA Region 8 Archives--Gettysburg

Individuals doing German genealogical research, often assume that their ancestors were of the Lutheran persuasion. While most eastern European Lutherans were of German descent, some Germans belonged to other Protestant or Catholic denominations. In some situations, it is necessary for the Lutheran Archives network to refer individuals to repositories of other churches.

The predominance of non-Lutheran genealogical requests involve records of the United Church of Christ (UCC) and its predecessor bodies.

History
People of the German Reformed faith began emigrating to the mid-Atlantic colonies in America early in the eighteenth century, the heaviest concentration settling in Pennsylvania. Eventually the German Reformed people in America became independent of European supervision, formally organizing the German Reformed Church in 1793. Later the organization became the Reformed Church in the United States.

Back in Europe, Prussia issued a royal proclamation in 1817 merging Lutheran and Reformed people into one body, the United Evangelical Church. Members of this new body migrated to the United States about the time the earlier German immigrants (Lutheran and German Reformed) were moving west. Early Evangelical settlements were concentrated in Missouri and Illinois. Eventually they formed the German Evangelical Society in the West. Union and other Evangelical church associations (Evangelical Synod of the West, Evangelical United Synod of the East, and the United Evangelical Synod of the Northwest) formed and further expanded the movement's membership. In 1877 these synods formed the German Evangelical Synod in North America, and fifty-seven years later, on 25 June 1934, that organization merged with the Reformed Church in the United States to form the Evangelical and Reformed Church.

On 25 June 1957, the Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches merged to form the UCC. The UCC is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio.

Most genealogical research request seek pre-1934 information.

Where Do I Write?
First, one should consult a current UCC yearbook, if available, and verify that a congregation is no longer in existence (Defunct). If this is the case, there are several alternatives.

Referrals relating to the German Reformed Church should be made to the Evangelical and Reformed Archives located in Lancaster, PA. This repository has custody of records from only Defunct Pennsylvania German Reformed congregations.
Requests should be sent to:

United Church of Christ Archives
Lancaster Theological Seminary
555 West James Street
Lancaster, PA 17603
717-393-0654

Many records from congregations affiliated with the German Evangelical Synod of North America have been deposited in Missouri. Inquiries should be sent to:

Dr. Lowell Zuck
Eden Seminary Archives
475 East Lockwood Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63119-3192
314-961-3627

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