Browse the First Parish Congregational Church records in Derry, New Hampshire

The town of Londonderry, New Hampshire was formed by Scots-Irish immigrants in 1719. They built the first Presbyterian church in New England. As the town grew, some residents petitioned the state government for permission to form a separate parish within the town for Congregationalists. Londonderry was previously divided into two parishes, East and West, and both were Presbyterian. Congregational residents objected to paying taxes to support and attend a Presbyterian church. The Congregational petitioners felt that they could not “conscientiously join and associate with them in worship.” The state of New Hampshire approved the creation of a third parish which would be the new Congregational poll parish as well as the establishment of the Congregational Society of Londonderry in 1797. This was the beginning of the Third Parish Church, or the First Congregational Church of Londonderry. 

The First (East) Parish Church (Presbyterian) and the Third Parish Church (Congregational) united in 1810 with an agreement on articles of faith. The first minister ordained in the First Parish Church after uniting with the Congregationalists was Rev. Edward Parker in 1810, and he served as the minister until his death in 1850. The former East Parish of Londonderry became part of the town of Derry in 1827, and the First Parish Church of Londonderry became the First Church of Derry. Today, this church is the First Parish Congregational Church of Derry, and is a member of the United Church of Christ (UCC). The church descended from the West Parish of Londonderry, the Londonderry Presbyterian Church, is the oldest continuing Presbyterian church in New England. 

This collection contains three volumes of records which include the records for the Congregational Society of Londonderry, the First Congregational Church in Londonderry, and the Presbyterian and Congregational Society of Derry. 

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.