Author: Dr. Shirley A. Harmon
...Nineteenth Century Records of Lewisville, Middle (St. John’s) and Miltonsburg (St. Peter’s) German Evangelical Protestant Churches. Understanding a little of the history behind the translation of these records from German to English makes getting them to you more exciting. In February of 1977 there was a report in the newspaper, Spirit of Democracy, Woodsfield, Ohio, of the finding of a box of church records in an attic. The finder reported the records to Catherine F. Fedorchak who published the report in her Family Research in Monroe County, Ohio newspaper column. Ernest J. Thode of Marietta, Ohio translated a few of the records in these books which resulted in a 20-page booklet. Mr. Thode also compiled a list of the European origins for some of the individuals mentioned in these church records and Catherine Fedorchak published much of the information in some of her columns in 1978. Dr. Harmon later discovered these records in the Family History Library of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah. The exact history of the record whereabouts between 1977 and 1993 is unknown, however, it is assumed that they were sent to the Evangelical and Reformed Historical Society in Lancaster, Pennsylvania for safekeeping and preservation. The microfilm of 1993 was made in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Realizing the value of these records to genealogists with Monroe County, Ohio ancestry, Shirley transcribed and compiled the records into book form.
The information found in those parish books primarily names families in Monroe County, Ohio. Shirley found mention, though, of people from many locations in southeast Ohio, including Noble, Washington, Belmont, Jefferson and Guernsey Counties, Ohio as well as Wheeling, WV and Pittsburgh, PA. There is also mention of individuals living in other parts of the United States.
These records represent a major source of information on the European origins for these immigrants to Monroe County, Ohio. These immigrants were people from Germany, Switzerland, and France (Alsace). Dates of the records were approximately from 1831-1948, but some birth dates were much earlier than the years when family records were entered. The Miltonsburg parish of St. Peter’s is located today in Malaga Township, Monroe County, OH. Lewisville is also located in Summit Township, Monroe County, OH. The book includes family book records, baptism, confirmation, marriage and death records as well as European places of origin for these Monroe County families. What a find! Index.
1999, 8.5" X 11", Softbound, 255 pages
ISBN 1558563253
Price: $26.00
SKU: CP-225
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