York County, Pennsylvania, 1733-1800: Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church

The ministers of Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church, located in the city of York, began keeping records in 1733. The late F. J. C. Hertzog translated the original entries from German to English in 1919. The records in this database span the years 1733-1800 and include the names of 17,565 individuals who lived in York County. For researchers of German immigrant ancestors who settled in Pennsylvania and their descendants, this database can provide valuable vital statistics not available in other records.

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 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 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.