Pastor Amon Johnson was the founding pastor of First Lutheran Church (1865-1876)

First Lutheran has old Norwegian church records available for genealogy research

Because First Lutheran Church was founded in 1865 and quickly became a primary gathering place for worship, ministry, and social activities for thousands of Norwegian immigrants, the records of the congregation contain important information for those doing genealogy research.

Many of our records are very old and fragile, therefore, we restrict access to them.  However, all of the early records of First Lutheran Church are on microfilm through the Vesterheim Genealogical Center and Naeseth Library in Madison, Wisconsin (held at the Wisconsin State Historical Society in Madison).  The microfilm was purchased by Vesterheim from the Evangelical Lutheran Church Archives, 8765 West Higgins Road, Chicago, Illinois 60631-4198.

You are encouraged to work through the Vesterheim Genealogical Center, not First Lutheran Church, to access and research records of the congregation.

The specific records of First Lutheran in the Vesterheim collection include the following:

ALC 65

1. First Lutheran Church, Eau Claire, Eau Claire Co., WI
   Congregational Minutes book, 1865-1878
2. First Lutheran Church, Eau Claire, Eau Claire Co., WI
   Ministerial record book, 1865-1875
3. First Lutheran Church, Eau Claire, Eau Claire Co., WI
   Marriage registration, 1873-1892
4. First Lutheran Church, Eau Claire, Eau Claire Co., WI
   Ministerial record book, 1874-1879
5. First Lutheran Church, Eau Claire, Eau Claire Co., WI
   Ministerial record book, 1880-1883
6. First Lutheran Church, Eau Claire, Eau Claire Co., WI
   Ministerial record book, 1884-1887
7. First Lutheran Church, Eau Claire, Eau Claire Co., WI
   Ministerial record book, 1887-1898
8. First Lutheran Church, Eau Claire, Eau Claire Co., WI
   Ministerial record book, 1899-1910 (part)

ALC 66

1. First Lutheran Church, Eau Claire, Eau Claire Co., WI
   Ministerial record book, 1899-1910 (begins 1899 deaths)
   [continued from previous reel]
2. First Lutheran Church, Eau Claire, Eau Claire Co., WI
   Ministerial record book, 1911-1919
3. First Lutheran Church, Eau Claire, Eau Claire Co., WI
   Congregational minutes book, 1878-1912
4. First Lutheran Church, Eau Claire, Eau Claire Co., WI
   Congregational minutes book, 1912-1920
5. First Lutheran Church, Eau Claire, Eau Claire Co., WI
   Pastor's and deacon's reports (Pastor G. Hoyme), 1877-1893

ALC 872

First Lutheran Church, Eau Claire, WI
1865-1893

Other Records

Constitution, 1865
Minutes, 1865-1876
Memberships, 1873-1875
Confirmations, 1873-1875
Minutes, 1876-1878
Baptisms, 1865-1875
Marriages, 1865-1873
Funerals, 1871-1873
Baptisms, 1875-1879
Confirmations 1875-1880
Funerals, 1875-1881
Communions, 1875-1879
Memberships, 1865-1893
Pastor's Journal, 1876-1879