Getting started
This collection represents a small portion of the complete records available at St. Matthew's German Lutheran Church during the nineteenth century and early twentieth century. Navigation buttons are at left. Click the "Search surnames" button to begin your search. You can search for first or last names, a range of years or a particular year.
Our hope is that these transcribed records may be helpful to you in your own family research. If you don't see your surname of interest in this online collection and you think your relative may have been a member of the church, you may be able to find your records by contacting the church archives directly.
Our website is not connected with St. Matthew's Church, where record books have been meticulously archived and photocopied by a handful of dedicated volunteers. Because these records are not otherwise available online we hope to share this transcription of surnames and other historical information with those who may have had ancestors in the congregation.
A history of the archives
St. Matthew's German Lutheran Church was founded in 1840 in Charleston, South Carolina. The community included one of the largest German-speaking populations in the 19th-century United States. St. Matthew's was a vital resource for German immigrants who wanted to worship using the old German Lutheran liturgy and language of their homeland.
These St. Matthew's records may contain information unavailable from other local resources. For instance, birthplaces of congregants are often recorded in a much more detailed manner than one would see in the state or federal U.S. census records.
Further research
If you're planning a trip to Charleston and have ancestors who were members of the congregation you may wish to peruse the complete microfilm record at the Carolina Room at the Charleston County Public Library, which maintains one of the best collections of South Carolina research materials. St. Matthew's Church may also permit visitors by appointment to its own archives, where photocopied pages may be studied. Contact St. Matthew's directly for more information.
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