Browse the First Congregational Church records in Salem, New Hampshire

The First Congregational Church of Salem, New Hampshire was organized in 1740, ten years before the town of Salem was established. Prior to 1750, this area was part of Methuen, Massachusetts and known as the North Parish. The first meetinghouse was built in 1738. The first settled minister, Rev. Abner Bayley, served from 1740 until 1796. The second minister ordained at Salem was Rev. John Smith. He was ordained in 1797 and dismissed in 1816. He was followed by Rev. William Balch, who served as minister from 1819 to 1835. Later ministers at Salem in the nineteenth century included Revs. Jonas Fisk, William Hayward, Daniel Babcock, John Lawrence, and William Page. 

A new church building was constructed in 1840 and is still in use today; the original eighteenth-century meetinghouse is also extant but owned by the town. The First Congregational Church of Salem is active today and has been a member of the United Church of Christ (UCC) since 1957. 

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