Source Information

Lineages, Inc., comp. Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, 1782-1856: Christ Lutheran Congregation [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2001.
Original data: William J. Hinke. Records of Christ Lutheran Congregation, Hanover Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, 1782-1856. n.p.

About Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, 1782-1856: Christ Lutheran Congregation

Hanover Township lies in the eastern corner of Lehigh County, and the Christ Lutheran Congregation is located in Hanover Township. This database contains records of baptisms, marriages, and burials from the congregation and township, as well as a brief history of the congregation. With more than 4,600 records from 1782 to 1856, the database will be of help to those researching Pennsylvania ancestors.

Church records rank among the very best genealogical records available worldwide, but they are one of the most under-used sources in American genealogy. Until the advent of vital statistics in the United States—a very late development in most states—church records were the primary source of birth, marriage, and death information. The sheer number of denominations and affiliate churches has made identifying and locating each one's records a time-consuming ordeal for most genealogists. Church records also vary a great deal in content and emphasis according to the basic theology of the religious group that created them.

Early immigrants from England, Scotland, and other European countries brought their religious beliefs, institutions, and customs with them, including the keeping of church books in which to record births, baptisms, confirmations, marriages, communion lists, deaths, and burials. Lutheran and Reformed Church records in Pennsylvania rank among the very best church records available.