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) TRANSCRIPTION AVAILABLE
Barnstable, Mass. West Parish Church (1639-1853) TRANSCRIPTION AVAILABLE
Boston, Mass. Old South Church (1669-1882)
Boxford, Mass. First Church (1703-1823) NEW!
Bradford, Mass. First Church of Christ (1682-1915)
Braintree, Mass. First Church (1697-1825) TRANSCRIPTION AVAILABLE
Brockton, Mass. First Parish Congregational Church (1738-1852)
founded as Fourth Church in Bridgewater
Brunswick, Maine. First Parish (1735-1829) TRANSCRIPTION AVAILABLE
Byfield, Mass. Byfield Parish Church (1709-1845) TRANSCRIPTION AVAILABLE
Cambridge, Mass. Second Church (1739)
later First Congregational Church of Arlington
Danvers, Mass. First Church (1689-1845)
Dorchester, Mass. First Church (1727-1784)
Essex, Mass. First Congregational Church (1681-1879)
founded as Second "Chabacco" Church in Ipswich
Falmouth, Mass. First Congregational Church (1731-1790) TRANSCRIPTION AVAILABLE
Franklin, Mass. First Congregational Church (1737-1887) TRANSCRIPTION AVAILABLE
founded as Second Church in Wrentham
Georgetown, Mass. First Congregational Church (1736-1886) TRANSCRIPTION AVAILABLE
founded as Second/West Parish in Rowley
Grafton, Mass. Congregational Church (1731-1828) TRANSCRIPTION AVAILABLE
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)
Hopkinton, Mass. First Congregational Church (1708-1880)
later Faith Community Church
Ipswich, Mass. First Parish (1724-1830) TRANSCRIPTION AVAILABLE
Ipswich, Mass. South Parish (1747-1868)
Litchfield, Conn. South Farms Church (1781)
Marblehead, Mass. First Church (1684-1886) TRANSCRIPTION AVAILABLE
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) TRANSCRIPTION AVAILABLE
Natick, Mass. First Congregational Church (1721-1794) TRANSCRIPTION AVAILABLE
Newbury, Mass. First Church (1634-1828)
Newbury, Mass. Second Church (1696-1857) NEW!
Newton, Mass. First Church (1773-1827)
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) TRANSCRIPTION AVAILABLE
Pembroke, Mass. First Parish (1711-1887)
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) TRANSCRIPTION COMING SOON
Salem, Mass. First Church (1629-1843) NEW!
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) TRANSCRIPTION AVAILABLE
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)
Stoneham, Mass. First Congregational Church (1728-1889) TRANSCRIPTION AVAILABLE
Sturbridge, Mass. Congregational Church (1736-1831)
Sturbridge, Mass. Separatist Church (1749-1762)
Topsfield, Mass. Congregational Church (1684-1869) NEW!
Watertown, Mass. West Church (1709)
Wenham, Mass. First Congregational Church (1643-1847)
Westborough, Mass. Church of Christ (1724-1787)
