Browse the First Congregational Church records in Orford, New Hampshire

The First Congregational Church in Orford, New Hampshire was originally founded with twenty members as a Presbyterian church in 1770. Rev. Obidiah Noble was ordained as the minister in 1771 and dismissed in 1777. The congregation was without another settled minister until 1787, when Rev. John Sawyer was ordained. During Sawyer’s ministry, the church switched its affiliation to Congregationalism. In 1789, the church voted to adopt articles of faith in line with Congregational tradition. Sawyer was dismissed in 1795 and followed by Rev. Stephen Williams and Rev. William Forsyth, both of whom had brief tenures. Rev. Sylvester Dana was ordained in Orford in 1801 and continued as the minister until 1822, when a second Congregational church was founded in the western part of town and Dana became the minister there.  

In 1820, the Orford Union Congregational Society was created. The current church building was constructed in 1855 and is in the Gothic Revival style. Today, the church is known as the United Congregational Church of Orford 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, disciplinary records, 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.