Guide to Church and Cemetery Records: Buffalo County,​ WI,​ 1860-​1983

Summary Information

Title: Church and Cemetery Records (Genealogical Society of Utah Project): Buffalo County, Wisconsin

Inclusive Dates: 1860-1983

Call Number: Eau Claire Micro 28

Quantity: 7 reels of microfilm (35mm)

Repository: Housed at the Area Research Center, William D. McIntyre Library, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire; owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society, Library-Archives Division

Archival Locations: UW-Eau Claire McIntyre Library / Eau Claire Area Research Ctr.

Abstract: Copies of records of numerous churches and cemeteries in Buffalo County, Wis., microfilmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah in cooperation with the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. Representing various denominations, the records usually consist of membership and sacramental record books.

Note: This collection is available only on microfilm. This microfilm was produced in 1981 and 1984 by the Genealogical Society of Utah which holds the master negative.

Language: English, German, Norwegian

Search Terms/Subject Terms

• Evangelical and Reformed Church—Wisconsin
• Lutheran Church—Wisconsin
• Church Records and Registers—Wisconsin—Buffalo County
• Buffalo County (Wis.)—Church history—Sources
• Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Genealogical Dept.

Scope and Content Note

The Genealogical Society of Utah (GSU) and the Wisconsin Historical Society cooperated in a project to borrow and film Wisconsin church and cemetery records of interest to genealogists. The project produced 311 reels of microfilm containing records from 32 Wisconsin counties, dating from the 1830s to the 1980s. Positive copies of the microfilm are available at the Wisconsin Historical Society and the Area Research Centers; each location houses different portions of the collection.

The microfilm has been grouped according to county where the church or cemeteries are located and each county group has been assigned a unique call number. Due to the filming process, there is occasionally a record of a church or cemetery from a different county located on a reel of film predominantly of another county, but generally a reel of microfilm almost always contains only records of churches and cemeteries from one county. Each call number therefore represents records primarily of one county (call number “Milwaukee Micro 70” for Milwaukee county records for example). An exception is “Stout Micro 25” which contains records from both Dunn and Barron counties.

Accuracy of this finding aid is limited by readability of the film, completeness of the record, and staff knowledge of foreign languages and scripts. In-depth research into church history was not done by Archives staff. Some records do not name the church which created them; in those cases the information recorded by the filmer is used and often is the present custodian of the record. Missing information, particularly the “record type” in the reel lists, is due to the occasional necessity of working from camera operators' reports or other finding aids rather than from the film itself. Annotations and corrections can be forwarded to the Wisconsin Historical Society for inclusion in future versions of this finding aid.

A separate reel list finding aid is provided for each call number. The reel lists contain detailed information on types of records included and years covered. The reel lists also indicate the languages in which the records were written and the GSU film number, in the event that a duplicate needs to be ordered. The reel lists include brief descriptions of the record types (birth, baptism, marriage, etc.); this information was compiled from the film itself. Occasionally sections, especially languages and record types, were left blank when incomplete information was available.

Place Names

A few locations are not now governmental units but apparently were in use at the time the records were created. In cases where churches moved or merged, the record is still listed under only one location. Sometimes a single record contains information crossing county lines, especially in the case of missions or circuits. If exact location is not clear, rather than misled the user with a possibly incorrect place name, the more general location of just the county is used. Thus it is important for the user to be imaginative in searching for place names.

Church and Cemetery Names

Church names, if in a foreign language, are usually entered in the English form if doing so will bring all records for one church -- both before and after the church adopted English as its language. “Saint” is sometimes spelled out and sometimes abbreviated to “St.” making it necessary for the user to search both ways.

Denomination is listed as it appeared in the records with no additional research done on denominational changed that have occurred in the 150-year scope of this collection. Thus lines are not always exact between, for example, Methodist and Methodist Episcopal or Evangelical Lutheran and Lutheran. In some cases the present denomination is indicated for a church that has changed through the years. For example, United Church of Christ may indicate churches which were formerly Congregational or Evangelical and Reformed. Some knowledge of church history is useful to the user. A denomination could not be determined for some records.

Administrative/Restriction Information

Use Restrictions: Copies may be purchased by libraries or other research organizations, with the written consent of the custodial congregation, from the Genealogical Society of Utah.

Acquisition Information:The original records were loaned for copying by their custodians and were returned when copying was completed. Accession Number: M81-003, M84-044

Processing Information: Processed by Ann Hokanson and Natalie Tinkham.

Content List