Browse the First Congregational Church records in East Haddam, Connecticut

The First Church of East Haddam was organized in 1704. The first settled minister in the church was Rev. Stephen Hosmer, who was ordained in 1704 and served until his death in 1749. The second minister in East Haddam was Rev. Joseph Fowler, who was ordained in 1743 as assistant to Rev. Hosmer and served until his death in 1771. He was followed by Rev. Elijah Parsons, who served as minister from 1772 until his death in 1827. Later nineteenth-century ministers in East Haddam included Revs. Isaac Parsons, Silas Robbins, Salmon McCall, and John Kilbon. 

The current meetinghouse was built in 1794 in the Federal style. The First Church cemetery includes the graves of Venture Smith, his wife, Margaret Smith, and their son Solomon Smith (although they do not appear in this collection of church records). Venture Smith was a formerly enslaved African who owned land in Haddam Neck and published an autobiography in 1798 about his experiences as an enslaved person who emancipated himself and purchased his family’s freedom. First Church of East Haddam is active today and is a member of the United Church of Christ (UCC). 

This collection contains one volume of church records which includes admissions, baptisms, marriages, disciplinary records, confessions, 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.