Browse the First Congregational Church records in North Hampton, New Hampshire

The First Congregational Church in North Hampton, New Hampshire was formed in 1738 when the parish of North Hill was set off from the town of Hampton and hired their own minister. Rev. Nathaniel Gookin was the son of the minister in Hampton (also named Nathaniel Gookin) and ordained in 1739. Gookin served as minister until his death in 1766. He was followed by Rev. Joseph Hastings, who served as minister from 1767 until 1774. Rev. David McClure was ordained in 1776 and served until 1785. He was succeeded by Rev. Benjamin Thurston, who was the minister in North Hampton from 1785 until 1800. For the next fifty years, from 1801 until 1851, Rev. Jonathan French was the minister.  

A meetinghouse was built in 1761 to replace an earlier structure from the 1730s. The North Hampton Congregational Society was formed in 1835. The church built a new meetinghouse in 1838 to replace the old meetinghouse which was owned by the town of North Hampton, who had declined to sell the property to the Congregational Society. The church is active today in North Hampton as the North Hill Parish and is a member of the United Church of Christ (UCC). 

This collection contains two volumes of church records which include 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.