Northampton, Massachusetts. First Church of Christ. Records, 1661-1846.
Description
Historical Note
The church was gathered June 18, 1661. The Congregation was established with representatives from the Churches of Christ from Dorchester, Roxbury, Springfield, and Hadley. The founding members of the church were Eleazear Mather, WIlliam Clarke, Henry Cunliffe, and Henry Woodard, all originally members from the Dorchester church.
Their first minister was Elezear Mather, followed by Solomon Stoddard. Stoddard's grandson, Jonathan Edwards, became their third minister, who served from 1727-1750. Edwards' departure centered around his refusal to accept the Half-Way Covenant.
In 1833, the congregation had grown enough to warrant a new church forming, Edwards Church. This group was made up primarily of younger members of First Church. The congregation joined the United Church of Christ after the denomination's start in 1957. The current congregation blended with Northampton's Baptist First Church in 1988. The name following that merger is First Churches of Northampton.
Scope of Collection
The collection consists of digital surrogates of one volume of church records including articles of faith; covenant; meeting minutes; admissions and dismissions; membership lists; vital statistics index for members by name; baptisms; deaths; and marriages. Jonathan Edwards, third minister of the church, served from 1727-1750. His activities and work will be noted in this collection.
Further Searches
Subject Headings
New England's Hidden Histories
Church records and registers -- Massachusetts -- Northampton
Marriage records -- Massachusetts.
Congregational churches -- Massachusetts -- Membership.
Covenant (Church polity) -- Congregational churches.
Local government -- Massachusetts.
Registers of births, etc. -- Massachusetts – Northampton
Related Materials
Jonathan Edwards correspondence to Esther Burr, 1757. (MS0676)
Arrangement
Items in this collection are contained in one bound volume. Collection pages have been scanned in order. Where there are more than two blank pages in a row, only the first and last have been digitized.
Contents
| Date | Location | |
| Record book | 1661-1846 | Online interface |
