Church & Cemetery Records

Sacramental, or church, records sometimes contain information that supplements or parallels information found in civil records, but just as often they contain information that is not available anywhere else. These types of records are of great use to genealogists and family historians. Church records generally include baptismal, marriage, and death records. For some denominations they also include records of first communions and confirmations.

Unfortunately, there is no standardized reporting form for cemetery records—their content, legibility, reliability and other factors vary greatly. Some cemetery records are maintained at the cemetery itself, while records of parish specific cemeteries are usually maintained at the parish office. Records for public cemeteries are usually maintained by the city or county clerk. At a minimum, these records will include the name, date of death and date of internment for everyone buried there. Other information which may be included in these records include: date of birth, church affiliation, and family information for the deceased.

Resources available in our reading room and found online:

Micro 20	Bristol United Methodist Church	Bristol	1840-1926
Micro 20	St. John the Divine (Episcopal)	Burlington	1900-1953
Micro 19	Cross Lutheran Church	Burlington	1884-1923
Micro 20	St. John Evangelical Lutheran	Burlington	1858-1929
SC 4	First Congregational Church	Kenosha	1850-1880
Mss 57	Ebenezer German Methodist Church	Kenosha	1854-1979
Mss 57	Immanuel United Methodist Church	Kenosha	1854-1979
Mss 14	Unitarian Universalist Church	Kenosha, Racine	1842-1995
Micro 19	St. Stephen's Episcopal Church	Racine	1879-1939
Micro 19	Our Savior's Lutheran Church	Racine	1896-1920
Micro 19	Trinity United Methodist Church	Racine	1858-1941
SC 81	Salem Methodist Church	Salem	1879-1950
Mss 67	Somers United Church of Christ (Congregational)	Somers	1842-1985
Mss 67 Box 5	Pike Grove Bible Society	Somers	1842-1966
Micro 20, Mss 67	Somers (Pike Grove) Presbyterian Church	Somers	1839-1921
Micro 20, Mss 67	Somers & Sylvania Methodist Episcopal	Somers	1896-1921
SC 34	Somers Methodist Episcopal Sunday School	Somers	1895-1905
SC 56	Liberty Congregational Church. Ladies Aid Society	Trevor	1910-1913
SC 89	Yorkville United Presbyterian Church	Yorkville,         Dover	1847-1909
Racine Series 98	Veteran deaths and burials	Racine County	1941-1972

History of the First Methodist Episcopal Church, Racine, Wisconsin : with a preliminary chapter devoted to the city of Racine, 1836 to 1912 (1912)
http://books.google.com/books

Additional Resources for Genealogists & Historians

• Archdiocese of Milwaukee Archives
  The Archives of the Archdiocese maintain the records of closed parishes as well as of the Archdiocese itself. Records of active parishes will be maintained at the parish office, but all records from dissolved parishes will be at the Archdiocese’s Archives. Additionally, the Archives also has parish histories and various other materials relating to the Catholic churches in southeastern Wisconsin.
  
  
• Wisconsin Tombstone Photograph Project
  An evolving endeavor of the USGenWeb Project Archives, the tombstone photograph project allows individuals to submit their own photographs of tombstones to the site. Wisconsin is broken down into counties, with both Racine and Kenosha having quite a lot of pictures included from the various cemeteries within both counties.
  
  
• Cemetery Records Online
  A partial listing of records for cemeteries from across Wisconsin. Most entries include a transcription of either official cemetery records or gravestone data compiled by family researchers. Not all counties are represented and not all cemeteries within a particular county are included; in many cases only a partial listing of internments at a particular cemetery are included. Researchers can also link to cemetery listings for other states from this web site.
  
  
• Archdiocese of Milwaukee Catholic Cemeteries
  A searchable database of those buried at any of the eight Catholic cemeteries maintained by the Milwaukee Archdiocese including  All Saints Cemetery & Mausoleum at 3300 Springbrook Road, Pleasant Prairie, Kenosha County.  Other Catholic cemeteries maintained by a parish or other organizations, such as the Catholic Cemetery Association of Racine, are not searchable through this site.
  
  
• Funeral Home Records
  Researchers often find a significant amount of useful information if they are successful in locating an individual's funeral home records. These records often include information brought by and about family members to assist in the composition of an obituary. Researchers are limited to funeral homes that archive their records and are willing to search them.
  
  

If you are unable to visit our facility, we will be happy to provide you with copies of records located in our office: Please contact us with your request. It is helpful if you list your subject's name, location and dates of milestones.