Church records are some of the best sources for genealogists. I love when I find online church records because traveling to all of the locations my ancestors lived in is unrealistic. I have contacted churches by mail or email, but when I find records online it saves me time and money.
The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society was present at the recent FGS conference in Fort Wayne, Indiana. One of the freebies offered at their table was a copy of their Summer 2013 publication, The New York Researcher.
Jim Paprocki authored an article on page 34, Rochester Churches Indexing Project Online. This article talked about the free searchable database at www.rcip.info for Rochester Churches, Monroe County, New York. I have a few ancestors with ties to Rochester so I put this on my to do list to check out.
The Indexing Project was started by volunteers with the Rochester Genealogical Society. They even have a facebook page, Rochester Churches. The project has almost 30,000 marriages and 14,000 baptisms in its' database.
Searching the database is simple. One can search by surname or by a specific church, or by the bride or groom's name. Other features include the ability to leave messages or make corrections to the index. A variety of information useful to genealogists is found on this website.
Currently, a list of 33 churches is listed on the website. The churches included in the database as well as the dates covered can be found here.
Although the database is not a primary source, it is a valuable resource that will start you in the right direction and lead you to the original documents. If you have Rochester, New York ancestors this may be a great resource for you.
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