The following is from Matthew Deighton at Ancestry.com:
Archives.com is thrilled to announce the release of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) birth, marriage and death record collections! These three collections total nearly 4.6 million records. Archives.com, in partnership with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Archives, digitized and indexed approximately one thousand rolls of microfilmed records from churches now affiliated with the ELCA. These records have never before been online.
The records in these collections date from the mid-1800s through 1940 and include births, baptisms, confirmations, marriages, deaths, and burials. Details vary from church to church, but often include parents’ names, dates and places of the event, and other biographical details.
Many of the churches were founded by immigrants from Norway, Sweden, and Germany and had immigrant families as their members. These records could hold the key to finding your origins in the Old World.
Researching in church records can be challenging, as you often don’t know exactly which church your ancestors attended. With the ELCA collections, you don’t need to know the specific church your ancestors belonged to. These collections brings together all of the pre-1940 records for churches affiliated with the ELCA.
The ELCA collections add to the 2.5 billion records that are currently available to Archives.com members. Not a member? Sign up today for a seven day free trial! Archives.com makes family history simple and affordable.
I understand that the collection includes:
· 778,837 images
· 4,599,836 records
· Contains birth, baptism, confirmation, marriage, death and burial records
· Approximate dates: 1793-1940
· These records came from approximately 1,000 rolls of microfilm
