New Hampshire Church Records

Church records, and the information they provide, vary greatly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation such as age, date of baptism, christening or birth, marriage information and maiden name, death date and burial, and admissions and removals. Since your ancestors may have changed their religious affiliations during the years, several denomination records may have to be searched.

Before 1900 the largest religious denominations in New Hampshire were the Baptist, Congregational, Episcopal, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Roman Catholic churches. In early New Hampshire the Congregational church predominated.

Lawrence, Robert F. The New Hampshire Churches. N.p.: Claremont Manufacturing, 1856. (FHL book 974.2 K2L; fiche 6046841.) This source comprises histories of the Congregational and Presbyterian churches in the state, with notices of other denominations. Included are names of ministers and dates of service. It also contains many interesting incidents connected with the first settlement of towns. The records are arranged by county and then towns within a county.

Carter, Nathan Franklin. The Native Ministry of New Hampshire. Concord, N.H.: Rumford Printing, 1906. (FHL book 974.2 D3c.) This book contains biographies of native-born clergy of the Protestant denominations. It often mentions the minister’s name as well as the names of his parents and spouse. It is well indexed.

Copeley, William. “Church Records at the New Hampshire Historical Society,” Historical New Hampshire 39 (Fall/Winter 1984): 151–59. (FHL book 974.2 H25h.) This periodical contains articles of historical interest as well as articles about the families.

Over 160 individual congregations of Congregational, Baptist, Freewill Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Universalist, and other churches have sent their church records, 1700s through the 1900s, to the New Hampshire Historical Society.

You may also contact the following repositories to locate church records:

Baptist
American Baptist Churches of Vermont and New Hampshire P.O. Box 1206 Lebanon, NH 03766 Telephone: 603-643-4201 Fax: 603-228-6129 Internet: www.abcvnh@abcvnh.org

They have a quarterly newsletter of the Baptist churches in New Hampshire.

American Baptist Historical Society 1106 South Goodman Street Rochester, NY 14620 Telephone: 716-473-1740 Fax: 716-743-1740 Internet: www.crds.edu/abhs/default.htm

This society has some Baptist church records from New Hampshire.

For a history of the Baptist Church, see:

Hurlin, William. The Baptists of New Hampshire. Manchester, N.H.: New Hampshire Baptist Convention, 1902. (FHL film 1697589 item 8.)

Congregational
United Church of Christ, New Hampshire Conference 314 S. Main St. Concord, NH 03301 Telephone: 603-225-6647 Internet: www.14beacon.org

Many older Congregational church records of congregations no longer active are at the New Hampshire Historical Society.

Episcopal
The Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire 63 Green St. Concord, NH 03301 Telephone: 603-224-1914 Internet: www.nhepiscopal.org

The diocesan archives at the above address has records of churches that have closed. It also contains bishops’ official acts, such as confirmation records. The New Hampshire Historical Society has the church records of several New Hampshire Episcopalian congregations, which are held in the archives.

Methodist
United Methodist Church, Conference Office 62 Government Street Kittery, ME 03904-1563 Telephone: 207-439-9686 Email: [mailto:stmarks.me@compuserve.com stmarks.me@compuserve.com] Internet: www.gbgm-umc.org/stmarksme/

Some of the records of the older Methodist congregations have been deposited at:

School of Theology Library 745 Commonwealth Ave. Boston, MA 02215 Telephone: 617-353-3034 Fax: 617-353-3061 Internet: http://www.bu.edu/bulletins/sth/item12.html

Presbyterian
Presbyterian Historical Society 425 Lombard St. Philadelphia, PA 19147 Telephone: 215-627-1852 Internet: www.pcusa.org

The New Hampshire Historical Society has Presbyterian records for Antrim, Bedford, Chester, Derry, Hampton, Londonderry, Pembroke, and Seabrook.

Roman Catholic
Chancery Office Diocese of Manchester 153 Ash Street P.O. Box 310 Manchester, NH 03105 Telephone: 603-669-3100 Fax: 603-669-0377 Internet: http://www.rcab.org/Archives/overview.html

Many Catholic marriage and baptismal records have been published, particularly for larger parishes. The New Hampshire Historical Society and the American-Canadian Genealogical Society have the best collections.

For help in locating records of the Roman Catholic church that existed in 1938, see:

Historical Records Survey. Inventory of the Roman Catholic Church Records in New Hampshire. Manchester, New Hampshire: Diocese of Manchester, 1938. (FHL book 974.2 K2hs.)

Society of Friends (Quakers)
Rhode Island Historical Society Library 121 Hope St. Providence, RI 02906 Telephone: 401-331-8575 Internet: www.rihs.org