MS 74 mf - Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church (Willshire, Ohio)

Title	MS 74 mf - Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church (Willshire, Ohio)
Subject	Church
Introduction	The records of the Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, Willshire, Ohio (originally Shumm, Ohio) were transferred to the Center for Archival Collections for microfilming in May of 1992, with the cooperation of Mr. & Mrs. Edgar Dietrich. The collection consists of six items: three Record Books, two Minute Books, and one Financial Register. All six items are written in German. Information written in English appears in two volumes after 1930. No restrictions exist on the research use of this collection and duplication is permitted. The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Monica Manny in May of 1992.
Scope and Content	The records of the Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church include three record books which contain information on church members with log entries for baptisms, confirmations, marriages, pastors, burials and deaths, and communicants covering the period from 1846 to 1989. The first volume also contains some biographical sketches of early church leaders. Minutes of the church's congregational assemblies for the period 1856 to 1873 are included in the second volume. A fifty year history of the church, 1846-1896, is included in the third volume. Information contained in the first and second volumes are entirely written in German. English appears in the third volume for entries made after 1930. The church's constitution and bylaws are recorded in each of the three Record Books. Two volumes of minutes documenting congregational assemblies are evident for the period 1874 to 1941. These Minute Books are also written in German. English appears in the second volume beginning in 1936. Minutes for the period 1856 to 1873 are included within the second Record Book detailing membership. The last item included within the Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church Collection is a Financial Register covering the period from 1861 to 1881. Also written in German, this volume details financial donations received by the church as well as expenditures. Individual gift entries include the names of donors while entries for amounts expended detail to whom a payment was made and for what purpose. Also included are entries for gifts-in-kind. Some entries written in English appear for the period between 1867 and 1869.
Order of Microfilming	Roll 1 Record Book, 1846-1873 Contains constitution, member biographies, baptisms, confirmations, marriages, pastoral register, burials, and communicants--written in German) Record Book, 1846-1873 Contains family membership register, baptisms, confirmations, communicants, burials, constitution, and minutes--written in German) Record Book, 1873-1989 Contains constitution, baptisms, confirmations, marriages, deaths and burials, communicants, pastoral register, transfers, and history--written in German before 1930) Minute Book, July 1874-October 1908 Congregational assemblies (written in German) Minute Book, January 1909-November 1941 Congregational assemblies (written in German prior to 1937) Financial Register, 1861-1881 (written in German)