FootNote
The new kid on the block, FootNote is known for digitizing historical
documents... many of which are genealogical gems. With naturalizations,
city directories, war records, newspapers, town records, etc... this new
kid is quickly being recognized as an alternative to Ancestry.
While we know our northern friends may not feel it, in the South, Spring is
here. So we thought we'd share a few of our gardening sites appropriate
for this time of the year. Along with gardening, there's grilling, and getting
ready to diet so that you can fit back into that bathing suit this summer!
The Baptists (Southern Convention) form the
largest denomination in Alabama. The first Baptist church
was founded 2 October 1808 on Flint River near Huntsville.
The Baptists are the only denomination having some form of
centralized state and congregational historic records. Their
records are housed in the Samford University Library,
Birmingham, Alabama. Included are not only microfilmed
minutes of defunct and active congregations, but also the
personal papers of many churchmen and a run of the
denomination's state newspaper, the Alabama Baptist
(1835-present).
The state's oldest
denomination, Roman Catholic, has records
dating from the coming of Iberville's colony
near Mobile in 1699. Most parish records are
maintained by the local parish.
The first ordained Episcopal minister in the
state was licensed in 1764 to minister to
British settlers. The WPA Historical Records
Survey in 1939 compiled a volume surveying the
records of the Protestant Episcopal church in
Alabama. The inventory contains a brief
history of each parish, a statement on extant
parish records, and an index by location and
by parish names. Parish records are maintained
by the parish. Unfortunately, the survey did
not inventory any other denominational
records. A copy of Alabama Historical Records
Survey, Inventory of the Church Archives of
Alabama, Protestant Episcopal Church
(Birmingham, Ala.: Historical Records Survey
Project, 1939), is at the Birmingham Public
Library.
In 1803 Lorenzo Dow,
who claimed to be a Methodist, did his first
preaching in Alabama. Methodist missionaries
were sent by the South Carolina Conference
into the Tombigbee area in 1809. Today, some
Methodist records for north Alabama churches
are housed at Birmingham Southern College, and
south Alabama church records are housed at
Huntingdon College, Montgomery. Birmingham
Southern College has a run of the state
denominational newspaper, the Christian
Advocate (1880-present).
The first Presbyterian church was organized in
1818 at Huntsville. Historical records for
active Presbyterian churches are usually
maintained by the local congregation. Some
records of defunct churches are held by
Samford University and the Alabama Department
of Archives and History.
