South Dakota Church Records

This entry was originally written by Laura Hall Heuermann and Marsha Hoffman Rising, CG, FUGA, FASG for Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources.

This article is part of the South Dakota Family History Research series.

History of South Dakota

South Dakota Vital Records

Census Records for South Dakota

Background Sources for South Dakota

South Dakota Maps

South Dakota Land Records

South Dakota Probate Records

South Dakota Court Records

South Dakota Tax Records

South Dakota Cemetery Records

South Dakota Church Records

South Dakota Military Records

South Dakota Periodicals, Newspapers, and Manuscript Collections

South Dakota Archives, Libraries, and Societies

South Dakota Naturalizations

Native Americans of South Dakota

South Dakota County Resources

Map of South Dakota

Most church records remain in private hands. Two helpful publications are Guide to the Archives of the Episcopal Church in South Dakota, by Alan Schwartz, archivist, housed at Center for Western Studies, Mikkelsen Library, Augustana College, Sioux Falls, SD 57102; and Early Churches and Towns in South Dakota by Donald D. Parker (Brookings, S.Dak.: the author, ca. 1964). Another publication includes Ralph and Kathleen Tingley, Mission in Sioux Falls: The First Baptist Church, 1875-1975 (Sioux Falls, S.Dak.: First Baptist Church, 1975).

The Sioux Valley Genealogical Society has been microfilming church and funeral home records in many counties as part of several DAR grants. The society has given a copy of these microfilms to the South Dakota State Historical Society. USGenWeb (see page 16) has a number of church records projects for South Dakota.