Your g-g-grandparents lived in what was called "Kleindeutschland" or "Little Germany". It is now referred to as Manhattan's Lower East Side ("LES"). The previous poster had a good answer, but you can cut to the chase with a copy of the book "The German Churches of Metropolitan New York" by Richard Haberstroh. The short description of this book is a compliation of all the German churches of the city, denominations, dates and locations of operation and where to find the records, if extant.

The addresses you gave are within 6 blocks of each other - you can google-map them...the addresses still exist and NYC didn't do any massive renumbering of the streets over the years. (By the way, the previous poster's advice about getting a map was sound. While Mapquest or Google Maps can give you a pretty good idea of the general area, it is alway wise to verify it with a period map. Most directories had one at the front or back, along with the cross-street listings.)

According to the Haberstroh book, the closest German Lutheran church to 6 Clinton Street was the German Reformed Protestant E. 68th St. Church which, from 1822 -1861, was at Forsyth n. Canal (a bit of a walk from 6 Clinton). However, in 1861 it moved to Norfolk n. Stanton...about 2 blocks from 6 Clinton. The FHL has copies of its records.

Another contender for the Clinton address is the German Evangelical Mission at Houston and Forsythe (8 blks) from 1838-1869. After that it moved to Second n. 1st Ave (same distance, slightly different direction). Currently Church of the Master, 2785 Lafayette Ave, Bronx NY 10465; records also available through the FHL.

For either address is the German Evangelical Reformed church at Suffolk n. Delancey (1852-1900). Some of its records have been transcribed at http://www.germangenealogygroup.com/GERCHURCH.STM. Ignore the part about the origninals being at the NY Genealogical and Biographical Society - that has since closed and transferred its holdings to the NY Public Library on 42nd St. Since the book also lists the NYGBS as the (only) record holder, you should check the online card catalogue for the NYPL to see if the records are accessible.

Also in that general neighborhood was the First German Presbyterian German Evangelical church, which moved around quite a bit during its 20yr history. It started in 1852 at Rivington and Ludlow and closed in 1872 at St. Mark's Place & 1st Ave. Records are through the FHL.

Geographically speaking, those are your closest options. However, there is still a wealth of other German churches:

St. Matthew: 1822 - 1868 Walker and Courtland Alley; 1868 - 1906 Broome & Elizabeth. Currently St. Matthew Lutheran Churh, 202 Sherman Ave, NY NY 10034; also at FHL

St. James: 1846 - 1856 Mulberry n. Grand; 1856-1890 E. 15th n. 2nd. Currently Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 3 W. 65th St., NY NY 10023

Trinity: 1850-1863 Ave C. & 9th; 1863 Ave B & 9th. Currenty Trinity Lower East Side, 602 E, 9th St. NY NY 10009; FHL available.

St. Mark: 1848-1946 6th n. 1st Ave. Currently Zion- ST. Mark Lutheran Church, 339 E. 84th ST, NY NY 10028

Second German Evangelical Reformed / Madison St. Presbyterian / German Presbyterian / German Old School: a long shot because each time it changed denominations it moved. Its first location was Grand & E. Broadway in 1848; 1852 it switched to Madison St. Presbyterian at Grand n. Willet. FHL records available.

Third German Mission: moved around a lot in the Kleindeutchand neighborhood; started in 1852 at Forsythe. Merged in in 1867 with German Ref. Prot; records at FHL.

This should be enough to get you started. The book lists other denominations (Episcopal, Catholic, etc.) and I should mention that even though the name of the church might not include "Lutheran" everything above came from the section entitled the "Lutheran, Reformed and Evangelical Churches". Without getting into a theological history lesson, these are all what we would now classify as "Lutheran". At the time however, these *titles* indicated specific theological/political differences.

If you come up empty, you have several options - get a hold of a copy of the book and search out the other denominations and/or expand your search outside of Kleinsdeutchland. For the time being, I would concentrate in Kleindeutschland - for the time period you reference, this neighborhood had the highest concentration of Germans in the city...the name indicates as much. It was such an immigration "phenomena" that its inhabitants recreated Germany down to its socioeconomics - books have been written about it..

Good Luck!

Lynn