The most recent update to this page was May 26, 2007.

             The goal of this site is to make available online the records of the 
             churches of St. Lawrence county, N.Y.  This will not be just an index
             but entire records, to appear as much as possible in the same format
	     as the original paper records from the churches.  Depending on how you
	     arrived at this site, you may want to go to www.usgenweb.org, click on
	     'New York', then 'choose a county' then select St. Lawrence county from
	     the map of counties or by name lower on the page.

             These church records are a small part of the many records at the usgenweb
             site.  For example, you may find many marriages listed there that are not
             among these church records if you view the 'births, deaths, marriages from
             the Gouverneur Herald'.  There are aproximately 13,000 entries in that index
             from roughly 1864 - 1904 with the great majority from the 1880's.  Also see
             links to census, cemetery, voter records and more.

	     On this site of church records, as you click on a church name, and then
	     a letter of the alphabet, a screen of indexed names will appear.  You will
	     then see clickable names or names with multiple entries beside them. If
	     you click on the name or the entry ex. 'mbr' for membership, 'probate' for
	     probationary membership, 'marr' for marriage, 'bapt' for baptism) you will
             then see a sheet of records in the same general format as the original 
             church record. Note that some names may appear more than once on the same
	     page.  For example, a couple just married may then be witnesses to another
	     marriage.  Once you click on a name and the page of records displays, you
	     can press ctrl/f (press and hold down the ctrl key then press the 'f' letter
	     key) which displays a 'find' box.  Key in the name of interest (first or last
	     name) and click on find up or find down whichever is appropriate.  The find
             utility will find the name up or down the page multiple times so you are
 	     sure to find all instances of a name on any page. 
	                  
	     Each page is not an exact duplicate of a church page of records.  I kept
	     the number of names per webpage to about 50 so people will not have to
 	     scroll far to find a name.  The order of the names within any web page
 	     is the same order as in the church pages.  Membership records are usually
	     somewhat alphabetical, similar to land records grouped alphabetically by
	     surname over a period of many years.  Marriage records typically are in 
	     order by date.

             As of May 2005, the majority of records at this site are from the
             Gouverneur United Methodist Church.  A limited set of Baptist records
             are complete and on line.  Most Gouverneur Baptist records were destroyed 
             in a 1970's fire.  Records of the Morristown Congregational are complete
	     and on line as of Feb. 2, 2003.  Records of the Canton Methodist church
	     and Norfolk Episcopal are complete.  In progress as of March 2006 are
	     Gouverneur Methodist and Norfolk Methodist.  The range of dates listed
             for records (ex. 1860 - 1890) is just a rough guideline based on headings
	     on the paper records.  Within a set of records there may be a much older
	     birthdate mentioned (ex. from the 1700's).  To be sure you have not missed
	     anything you would need to check each church index.  At some point in the
 	     future I will probably combine the indexes into one master index.  

	     For any church that is incomplete at this time, you may want to check
             back once a month or so for new additions.  Even if you have found a
             name of interest, you may want to revisit the site as many names have 
	     multiple mentions in different years.  If you find a name, do not assume it
	     is the final mention of the name.  The Gouverneur Methodist set of records
	     is very large and may not be complete until sometime in 2006.

             You may see 'mbr1', 'mbr2', etc. (membership) for one person.  Be sure to
             click on each as each will likely have different information which might  
             include exact street address, places moved to and from and dates of death
             or marriage.  Note that a common name (ex. Mary Jones) may have many
	     mentions which will not all be for the same Mary Jones.  You will have to
	     check each name in the context of the page displayed to determine whether
	     the name represents someone you are interested in.  When I have a record for
	     a 'Mary Jones' it is simply added to that name in the index. 

             In addition to actual records, I am creating a survey of records for 
             all churches of the county.  Those are currently found under the links
             'By Town' and 'By Denomination'.  I am adding churches with websites and
             email contacts first.  Some have sent me brief descriptions of what records
             they have.  This should help people determine whether a church has records
	     that might be useful.

	     Any volunteer assistance is appreciated.  If you can personally visit a church
	     and view the records, let me know the range of dates and types of records
	     available and I will add that information to the site.  If you are interested 
	     learning about creation of web pages of records, I can teach you the basics of 
	     html so that you can create pages of records that will be part of these
	     church records.  There is a bit of a learning curve, but once you are over that
	     it's a matter of data entry and attention to detail.  Also, if you are
	     reading this and you live in the county or if you know someone in the 
             county who attends a church (or synagogue), I invite you to pass along to
	     me a contact name (email if possible) associated with the church who can send me
             a description of the records at the church.

             Russ Sprague
	     Kensington, MD
             May 2007
	     russxsprague@hotmail.com