Genealogy

We receive many requests from individuals in the United States and Europe for information on their family members who may have been members of First Baptist.  Several years ago, we donated all our oldest records to the Chicago History Museum.  As of the writing of this notice, they have processed this material which includes wedding and baptism lists, newspaper articles, pictures, history books, church minutes and newsletters.  Please visit the Chicago History Museum Research Center at 1601 North Clark, Chicago, Illinois to access this information.  You may also contact the American Baptist Historical Society at Mercer University in Atlanta, Georgia. This is the largest source for Baptist records in America.
 
We do have some membership card files available from the 1930's-1960's detailing the mode of admission to the church, baptism dates and sometimes offices held in the church. We also have a couple of histories of the church from the late 19th Century, which cannot be found in any library. All inquiries should be sent to fbc.chicago@sbcglobal.net.  We charge $5.00 for mailing and $.20 per page for photocopying this information. 
 
A history of First Baptist is online and it includes a complete list of the members of the church from the latter part of the 19th century.
 
We only have seven copies of our new history of the First Baptist Church of Chicago from 1833-2008.  The cost is $25.00 each.  Please make your check payable to the First Baptist Church of Chicago, 935 East 50th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60615.