Browse the Church of Christ records in Groton, Connecticut

The First Church of Christ in Groton, Connecticut was organized in 1705 when the town of Groton separated from New London. The community had already constructed a meetinghouse in 1703 and ordained their first minister, Rev. Ephraim Woodbridge, in 1704. Woodbridge served as minister until his death in 1725. The second settled minister in Groton was Rev. John Owen, who was ordained in 1727 and continued as minister until his death in 1753. Owen was followed by Rev. Daniel Kirkland, who served for less than a year, and then Rev. Jonathan Barber, who was minister from 1758 until 1768. Rev. Aaron Kinne was ordained at Groton in 1769 and was dismissed in 1798. Kinne was the minister during the Revolutionary War and many members of his congregation were killed when Fort Griswald was attacked in September 1781. Later ministers in the nineteenth century included Revs. Timothy Tuttle, Jared Avery, George Woodward, and Samuel Brown. 

A new meeting house to replace the 1703 structure was completed in 1760. A third meetinghouse was built in 1833, and the present church building was completed in 1902. The Groton Congregational Church is active today and is a member of the United Church of Christ (UCC). 

This collection contains two volumes of church records and two volumes of society records, which include admissions, baptisms, marriages, deaths, disciplinary records, and meeting notes.  

Materials in this collection have been digitized in partnership with the Connecticut State Library and have been made available through our New England's Hidden Histories project.