St. Luke’s Church was started in 1850 by Rev. William Drees and a small group of his Dutch Reformed congregation.
The first services were held at West 35th Street and Ninth Avenue. St. Luke’s was transformed into a Lutheran church in 1853 upon joining the New York Ministerium, and took the name the German Evangelical Lutheran Congregation of St. Luke’s in 1859.
The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society is the repository of the Church's records which consist of 13 (thirteen) register books. Most registers are in German until about 1920, after which they are in English. Church services were in German until 1937.
The registers consist of baptisms 1850 to 1976, confirmations 1851 to 1871, marriages 1850 to 1976 (missing 1866 to 1871), deaths/funerals 1853 to 1940, and church minutes 1856 to 1900. Some records are in exceptionally fragile condition, and have therefore not yet been digitized.
Read the full finding aid to St. Luke's Church records below. Access to the original records is by appointment only.