For researchers of Lutheran and German Reformed churche members, this database can be of immense value. Containing marriage and death notices from two east coast newspapers, this collection has nearly 5000 entries, many with four, five, or more names of relatives involved in the burial or marriage. Although the two newspapers were based in Maryland and South Carolina, they may also contain notices from adjoining states.
The Lutheran Observer was a periodical which began publication in Baltimore, Maryland, in August 1831. Marriage and death notices have been extracted from these early issues up through 1861.
The Southern Lutheran was founded in Charleston, South Carolina in 1851. In 1863 it moved to Columbia, South Carolina and is the only Lutheran newspaper published in the Confederate States of America. Entries from this newspaper span up to the end of the Civl War.