Bradford, Haverhill, Mass. First Church of Christ records, 1682-1915.
Scope and Contents
This collection contains records pertaining to both the church and the parish. Included are records of vital statistics, membership, covenants, financial reports, ministerial salaries, church meeting minutes, ecclesiastical councils, and pew subscriptions. Also included are records pertaining to the dissolution of the Parish and the shifting of administrative control to Church officers in 1915.
Dates
- 1682-1915
Creator
- First Church of Christ (Bradford, Haverhill, Mass.) (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.
Digital Reproductions are protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use the Digital Reproductions in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. In addition, no permission is required from the Congregational Library & Archives for educational uses. For other uses, you need to obtain permission from the Congregational Library & Archives. For additional information regarding copyright, please consult the Congregational Library & Archives' Digital Collections Copyright & Use policy.
Historical Note
The village of Bradford was originally a part of Rowley and often was called “Rowley on the Merrimack” for its location along the Merrimack River. The name changed to Bradford when the town was incorporated on January 7, 1672. The first meeting house was erected two years prior to this in 1670, but because no church was officially established residents had to cross the river to Haverhill in order to receive communion. The first minister was Zechariah Symmes Jr. who had moved to the village for health reasons; he preached in the town for the 14 years prior to the establishment of the first church. The First Church of Christ was established in 1682 and Symmes was immediately ordained as the first pastor. The first meeting house was replaced in 1706. In 1751 a third church building was constructed on the Bradford Common.
The First Church of Christ in Bradford became the host for the 1810 General Association meeting. During this meeting clergy and students from the Andover Theological Seminary set forth a proposal which would shortly lead to the founding of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM). Two young women of the congregation, Ann Judson and Harriet Newell, were among the first missionaries sent out by the ABCFM. The third meeting house, having fallen into a state of disrepair and being too small for the congregation, was torn down and replaced by a fourth building in 1834. This church was replaced with the fifth, and final, meeting house in 1849. In 1850 the eastern portion of Bradford separated and was incorporated as the town of Groveland. In 1896, the towns of Haverhill and Bradford voted in favor of the annexation of Bradford into Haverhill, a process which was completed on January 1, 1897.
The church organization was incorporated in 1901, and along with the adoption of a new covenant, the parish and proprietors organizations were dissolved. In 1915, the corporation was dissolved and administrative control was handed to the officers of the church. The First Church of Christ in Bradford continues to serve the community today.
Extent
0.72 Cubic Feet (2 boxes, 3 reels)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The First Church of Christ was established in 1682 with Rev. Zechariah Symmes Jr. as its minister. Meeting houses were constructed in 1670, 1706, 1751, 1834, and 1849. In 1810 the church hosted the meeting of the General Association and the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions came from that meeting. This collection includes records of vital statistics, financial reports, church meeting minutes, and ecclesiastical council reports.
Arrangement
This collection has been arranged in chronological order by start date.
Technical Requirements
Microfilm reels require the use of a microfilm reader to access.
To access digital user’s copies via online-interface, a java-enabled web browser is required. Internet Explorer 8.x and later, Firefox 5.x and later, Opera 12 and later, Safari 5.x and later, or any version of Google Chrome are recommended.
Acquisition Information
This collection was permanently loaned to the Congregational Library & Archives, 2008, by the First Church of Christ in Bradford.
Accruals
Additional accruals are expected for this collection in the form of full-text transcription. There is no anticipated date for this accrual.
Bibliography
Processing Information
Redescribed by Sari Mauro, September 2013, using DACS Second Edition. Additional description by Robin Duckworth. Reprocessed by Zachary Bodnar, August 2018, using DACS Second Edition.
Creator
- First Church of Christ (Bradford, Haverhill, Mass.) (Organization)
- Title
- Bradford, Haverhill, Mass. First Church of Christ records, 1682-1915.
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Zachary Bodnar, Sari Mauro
- Date
- 2018-08-28
- Description rules
- Dacs2 2013
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the Congregational Library & Archives Repository