Jersey City, N.J. First Congregational Church records, 1859-1972.

Collection

Identifier: RG0723

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This collection contains records related to the administration and history of the First Congregational Church in Jersey City, New Jersey, as well as records related to the members of the church. The collection includes record book and records of meetings, important vital records for members of the church, financial records, records related to the church building, legal and governance documents, and records related to the ministers of the church.

Dates

1859-1972

Creator

First Congregational Church (Jersey City, N.J.) (Organization)

Restrictions on Access

Access to this collection is unrestricted and open to the public.

Restrictions on Use

Items in this collection are subject to U.S. Copyright Law. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine the copyright status of collection items and to secure any permissions necessary for their reproduction and publication. Requests for permission to publish material must be discussed with the archivist or librarian.

Historical Note

The First Congregational Church in Jersey City, New Jersey, was first gathered in 1841 by a group of people originally from New England. However, due to the church’s support of abolition, the church did not flourish and and may have temporarily dissolved in the convening years. A new effort to gather a church was begun in 1857 and the First Congregational Church was formally organized on April 14, 1858. Services were variously held at rented locations throughout Jersey City including Lyceum Hall, Park Hall, Metropolitan Hall, Franklin Hall, Hedding Methodist Episcopal Church, and a former Unitarian church building. The church’s first church building was constructed in 1963 and was called the Tabernacle Church.

In 1896, following growth in church membership, the church purchased the South Bergen Reformed Church and the land it was on. On this site, a new church building was constructed in 1904. Land was also purchased across the road from the site in 1900 and on that land the People’s Palace, a community center, was built.

By the 1960s the church’s membership was waning and in 1970 the church officially dissolved.

Extent

2.39 Cubic Feet (5 boxes, 1 folder)

Language of Materials

English

Metadata Rights Declarations

License: This record is made available under an Universal 1.0 Public Domain Dedication Creative Commons license.

Additional Description

Abstract

The First Congregational Church in Jersey City, New Jersey, was first gathered in 1841 though it was not until 1858 that the church was formally organized. The first church building, called the Tabernacle Church, was constructed in 1863. A new church building was purchased in 1896 and a new church was constructed in 1904. Due to declining membership, the church was dissolved in 1970. This collection contains records related to the administration, history, and membership of the First Congregational Church. The records include meeting minutes, correspondence, legal documents, vital records, and ministerial records.

Arrangement

This collection has been arranged into the three series listed below. Within each series, materials have been organized first by chronological order and then by topic so that closely related materials are listed in sequence.

Series 1: Administrative records, 1859-1972

Series 2: Membership records, 1898-1972

Series 3: Ministerial records, 1910-1970

Technical Requirements

A cassette reader is required in order to access cassette materials.

Acquisition Information

No acquisition information is available for this collection.

Processing Information

This collection was partially processed circa 1996; no finding aid was ever produced. The collection was fully processed by Zachary Bodnar, August 2023, using Describing Archives: A Content Standard.