Church Collections by County

Church records may include baptisms, marriages, first communions, confirmations, deaths, interments, membership lists, and other records. Records for auxiliary and social organizations may also be included. However, not all collections include the same information. Researchers are encouraged to consult the finding aids for specific information.

Early records from congregations of German origin may be in German. Early records from Roman Catholic churches may be in Latin. Through an agreement with the diocese of Toledo, there is a seventy 70 year restriction on access to baptism and marriage records. For more information, see below.

The Center for Archival Collections has been authorized by the Diocese of Toledo to microfilm parish records. In keeping with the guidelines established by the Diocese, baptismal and marriage records will be closed to researchers for a period of seventy (70) years from their creation.

Occasionally, baptismal and marriage records older than seventy years appear on restricted rolls because some of the other records in the volume were still restricted at the time of microfilming. The CAC staff will search for and copy such records for researchers.

For baptismal records less than seventy years old (and thus restricted), the CAC staff can access records for the purpose of identifying individuals without divulging the contents of the records. To obtain copies of such records, researchers must present written authorization from the parish priest, the Bishop of the Toledo Diocese, or his appointee. In any case, researchers may not use restricted rolls.

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