Daily AncestorPastor
A pastor is the minister who leads a local congregation, the usual title in Lutheran, Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist and many other Protestant churches.
The word means shepherd. In Lutheran, Reformed, Presbyterian, Baptist and Methodist congregations the pastor led worship and usually performed baptisms, marriages and burials.
Church histories often list pastors with their dates. These help you date undated entries and work out which church a minister was serving when he signed a record.
As seen in a recordLutheran or Reformed church register, 1800s
Married by me, J. F. Hahn, pastor, Oct. 2, 1859
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Daily Ancestor. "Pastor." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/church/pastor. Last checked 2026-10-03.