Source Information
About Chanceford Township, York County, Pennsylvania Church Records
The collection of baptisms and marriages performed at the Guinston (Muddy Creek) Presbyterian Church in York County, Pennsylvania spans the years 1772-99 and includes the names of 2,673 individuals. Stehli's Union Church served the Reformed and Lutheran congregations beginning in 1772. Its records in this database span the years 1772-1800 and include the names of 1,534 individuals.
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 Statesa 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.