Browse the Union Congregational Church of New Rye records in Epsom, New Hampshire

The Epsom, New Hampshire Congregational Church was organized in 1761. The first minister was Rev. John Tucke, ordained in 1761. He was the son of Rev. John Tucke, the minister at Gosport (Star Island), New Hampshire. Tucke was dismissed from the church in 1774, became an army chaplain and died in 1777. The second minister in Epsom was Rev. Ebenezer Hazeltine, a Dartmouth graduate who served as minister from 1784 until his death in 1813. Rev. Jonathan Curtis was ordained in 1815 and dismissed in 1825. The church had 50 members during the time of Rev. Curtis. Later ministers in the nineteenth century included Revs. John Putnam, Winthrop Fifield, and Rufus Putnam.

The first meetinghouse was constructed by the town in 1764, a few years after Rev. Tucke was settled. The Congregational Society of Epsom was organized in 1815, and they built a new meetinghouse in 1845. Due to declining membership, in 1886, the church joined with the Christian Church in New Rye and formed the Union Congregational Church of New Rye. The church is active today and known as the New Rye Union Congregational Church, and is a member of the United Church of Christ (UCC). 

This collection contains four volumes, two of which are church records and include admissions, baptisms, marriages, deaths, and meeting notes. The other two volumes are the records of the Congregational Society, which include meeting notes and records of the sale of the meetinghouse.  

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.