Series I: Church Records
This series contains collections of church records documenting early Puritan, Congregational, and Christian (denomination) history in New England. These collections describe the founding and operating of these churches, their concerns, difficulties, and triumphs. They speak to the lives of their ministers, the events and concerns of their communities, the civil affairs of the town, and the lives of the people who sat in the pews.
In this series you will find records of: church meetings and votes; births, deaths, baptisms, and marriages; church discipline, including admonitions, confessions, censures, and excommunications; ecclesiastical council minutes. Of particular note are the personal conversion narratives, called “relations,” found in several of the collections. These documents, prepared by any individual seeking church membership, offer insight into many under-documented populations including women, children, Native Americans, slaves, and indentured servants.
Click on the name of the collection to go to its description page.
The Collections
Abington, Mass. First Congregational Church (1714-1749)
Barnstable, Mass. East Parish Church (1717-1816)
Barnstable, Mass. West Parish Church (1639-1853)
Boston, Mass. Old South Church (1669-1882)
Bradford, Mass. First Church of Christ (1682-1915)
Braintree, Mass. First Church (1697-1825)
Brunswick, Maine. First Parish (1735-1829)
Byfield, Mass. Byfield Parish Church (1709-1845)
Cambridge, Mass. Second Church (1739)
later First Congregational Church of Arlington
Danvers, Mass. First Church (1689-1845)
Dorchester, Mass. First Church (1727-1784)
Falmouth, Mass. First Congregational Church (1731-1790)
Franklin, Mass. First Congregational Church (1737-1887)
founded as Second Church in Wrentham
Georgetown, Mass. First Congregational Church (1736-1886)
founded as Second/West Parish in Rowley
Grafton, Mass. Congregational Church (1731-1828)
originated as Hassanimisco Plantation
Granville, Mass. First Congregational Church (1757-1848)
Hanover, Mass. First Congregational Church (1728-1800)
Haverhill, Mass. First Congregational Church (1719-1756)
Haverhill, Mass. West Parish Congregational Church (1734-1900)
Ipswich, Mass. First Parish (1724-1830) NEW!
Ipswich, Mass. South Parish (1747-1850) NEW!
Litchfield, Conn. South Farms Church (1781)
Marblehead, Mass. First Church (1684-1886)
Marblehead, Mass. Third Church (1858-1877)
Mattapoisett, Mass. Congregational Church (1736-1886)
founded as Second Precinct in Rochester
Medway, Mass. First Church of Christ (1730-1876)
Middleboro, Mass. First Congregational Church (1707-1865)
Natick, Mass. First Congregational Church (1721-1794)
Newbury, Mass. First Church (1669-1670)
Newton, Mass. First Church (1773-1827) NEW!
Northampton, Mass. First Church of Christ (1661-1846)
Northbridge, Mass. Centre Congregational Church (1782-1836)
founded as the Congregational Church of Christ
Oxford, Mass. First Congregational Church (1721-1850)
Reading, Mass. Second Church of Christ (1720-1806)
later First Church of North Reading
Rehoboth, Mass. First Church of Christ (1785)
later Newman Congregational Church in East Providence, Rhode Island
Rowley, Mass. First Congregational Church (1664-1835)
Salem, Mass. South Church (1774-1805)
Salem, Mass. Tabernacle Church (1743-1850)
Salisbury, Mass. First Church (1746)
Sanford, Maine. North Parish Congregational Church (1786-1823)
founded when Maine was part of Massachusetts
Sheffield, Mass. First Congregational Church (1743)
later First Congregational Church of Great Barrington
Somerset, Mass. Congregational Christian Church (1840-1912)
Sturbridge, Mass. Congregational Church (1736-1831)
Sturbridge, Mass. Separatist Church (1749-1762)
Watertown, Mass. West Church (1709)
Wenham, Mass. First Congregational Church (1643-1847)
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