There’s a lot more to church attendance for some individuals besides being baptized, getting married, and having a funeral. Details in those other church records may provide the additional clues about your ancestor for which you are looking.
Some churches kept records of individuals who were confirmed, were able to receive their first communion, took communion in general (especially in those churches where frequent communion was not common), made donations, served in some church organization, etc. A church may have kept a family register that provided ecclesiastical information on members of the family, including where they were born or baptized, where they were confirmed, married, etc. Churches may have kept records of when individuals were received into membership.
They may also have kept records of those who were asked to leave the church or those who were point-blank told to leave. Sometimes those are the most interesting records of all.
Make certain you’ve searched all the records of that church–not just the records directly related to vital events in your relative’s life.
2 Responses
Recently I did a search on my uncle who had been killed during WWII and a link to a newsletter by a church popped up in which my cousin had donated flowers in his memory. I sent a letter to the church requesting, if they thought it was a good idea, to either mail the letter enclosed with their letter to my cousin. Several weeks later I received an email from my cousin. I was so surprised and pleased.
Your suggestion is such a good one. If my experience is any example, others will hopefully have successful experiences as well.
And if they were members of the Friends then there is all kinds of records for them!