Browse the Congregational Church in Stratham, New Hampshire, records

The Congregational church in Stratham was organized in 1718, two years after the town was incorporated. The first minister ordained in the Stratham church was Rev. Henry Rust, who served from 1718 until his death in 1749. The second minister, Rev. Joseph Adams, was ordained in 1747 and for two years, Rev. Adams preached separately from Rev. Rust. Adams served as minister until his death in 1785. In 1786, the church ordained Rev. James Miltimore. He was dismissed in 1807 and the church was without a settled minister until 1824. Later nineteenth-century ministers at Stratham included Revs. Jacob Cummings, William Newman, and John Steele. 

The first meetinghouse was built in 1718 and replaced with a larger building in 1768. Another church was constructed in 1838. In the 1960s, the church purchased the Baptist Society’s church building after they dissolved, and moved it next to the Congregational meetinghouse. In 1998, they joined the two buildings. This church is active today as the Stratham Community Church and is a member of the United Church of Christ (UCC). 

This collection contains one volume of church records which includes admissions, dismissions, baptisms, marriages, deaths, and meeting notes.  

Materials in this collection have been digitized in partnership with the New Hampshire Historical Society and have been made available through our New England's Hidden Histories project.