The baptismal records are quite detailed and generally include:
St. Luke’s was originally founded as a Dutch reformed parish in 1850, but reorganized as Lutheran in 1853, just three years later. The congregation moved several times but eventually found it’s home at West 46th Street; the cornerstone was laid in October 1922 and the building stands today. It is now listed on the US National Register of Historic Places
The original materials were donated to the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society (NYG&B) in 2003 and some are in quite fragile condition. Findmypast and NYG&B are proud to partner together to provide digital copies of these vastly important records. The original materials are found in bound registers and are accessible by appointment only.
The registers tend to span across two pages, thus a thorough examination of the original images will be not just helpful, but essential, to capture all of the information provided.
Many of the entries are in German, until about the year 1920, when they transition to English. The baptismal records are particularly valuable in this instance, as they almost always include the birth location of both parents, as well as a full birth date and baptismal date of the child. The birth locations of the parents are likely to be either in New York or Europe, offering a direct connection the origin country if the parent is the first-generation immigrant.
Findmypast recommends the following as an initial citation structure: St. Luke’s Evangelical Lutheran Church Records, New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, New York, New York, accessed via Findmypast DD MMM YYYY.