Collection inventory

Overview of the Collection
Creator:	Congregational Church (Bridgewater, N.Y.)
Title:	Congregational Church (Bridgewater, N.Y.) Records
Inclusive Dates:	1798-1940
Quantity:	1 microfilm reel, 35mm
Abstract:	Church records including minutes of church as corporate body, records of admissions, dismissals, and membership roll with vital records, trustees minutes and member list (1798-1937).
Language:	English
Repository:	Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries 222 Waverly Avenue Syracuse, NY 13244-2010 https://library.syracuse.edu/special-collections-research-center

Biographical History

At a meeting in Bridgewater, New York, on March 9, 1798, called by the Reverend Eliphalet Steele, thirteen persons signed the covenant establishing the Bridgewater Congregational Church. They were: Isaac Kellogg, Thomas Converse, Peter Blackman, David Converse, Eben Judson, Jacob Willson, Elias Hopkins, Mary Blackman, Rachel Converse, Martha Kellogg, Molly Willson, Sabrina Converse, and Abigail Hopkins. The church's first minister, installed in September 1802, was Reverend James Southworth.

In 1818, the church asked for permission from the Oneida County Association (Congregational) to separate from them and unite with the Oneida Presbytery "as a Congregational Church." During the tenure of the Reverend Alpha Miller, the church's second minister, a sabbath school and a church library were established, as well as the United Benevolent Society whose purpose was to aid "in various ways the diffusion of Christianity." Plans for a new meetinghouse were discussed and implemented in the early 1830s, and the building was completed in 1834. In January and February of 1835, however, 70 members separated to form a church in nearby Cassville; at this time the Bridgewater church left the Presbytery and rejoined the Oneida Association.

During 1839 and into 1840 the trial of John Southworth, son of the church's first minister, on several charges brought the church to the brink of another serious split. The trial went on for so long that parishioners, tired of attendance at its sessions, were admonished that they would be subject to public censure if the absented themselves from the proceedings. The charges against Southworth were ultimately sustained.

By the end of the 1860s the church was admitting Baptists, Methodists, Episcopalians, and representatives of other denominations as members, becoming more a community and less a denominational church. In 1874 it sent a delegate to the New York State Association of the Tabernacle Church, though it was careful to retain its Congregational affiliation. A Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor was organized in July 1883, as the result of the efforst of Reverend Jonathan S. Upton. Despite this activity, between 1880 and 1884, the church was forced to request assistance from the Home Missionary Society to meet its financial obligations.

Following is a list of recorded ministers and their dates of service:

	Sep 1802 - May 1818	James Southworth
	Oct 1819 - Jun 1828	Alpha Miller
	Mar 1831 - Jan 1832	H. H. Kellogg
	Aug 1832 - Sep? 1833	R. Montgomery Davis
	1834	Alfred Hough
	Oct 1835 - Aug 1837	Edward Allen
	Jan 1838 - Sep 1839	Seth P. M. Hastings
	Oct? 1840 - Jun 1841	Samuel Wells
	Jun 1841 - May 1843	Charles Machin
	Jan 1844 - May 1846	Edward Allensecond tenure
	Feb 1847 - Oct 1848	S. W. Brace
	Feb 1849 - Mar 1852	Henry Boynton
	Jun 1852 - Nov 1852	Dr. Gamage
	Jun 1853?	John W. Whitfield
	Jul 1855 - Feb 1856	Moses Thatcher
	Oct 1857 - Nov 1858	William B. Tompkins
	May 1864 - Apr 1866	C. H. Beebe
	May 1870 - May? 1872	F. Bradnack
	May 1872 - Mar 1880	L. W. Church
	May 1880 - Aug 1885	Jonathan S. Upton
	Dec 1885 - ??	John Marsland
	Sep 1888 - Oct 1890	Charles W. Drake
	Dec 1890 - Jan 1894	Samuel Manning
	Jul 1895 - Jul 1899	Nathan S. Aller
	Jan 1900 - Jul 1901	Charles A. Frasure
	Aug 1901 - Jun 1903	Aurelian A. Post
	Jun 1903 - Oct 1910	Nathan S. Allersecond tenure
	Dec 1910 - Oct 1918	Edward C. Wiley
	May 1919 - Aug 1920	J. P. Garcia
	Nov 1920 - Sep 1921	W. A. Griffith
	Apr 1922 - Nov 1927	Cecil H. Plummer
	Jan 1928 - Mar 1929	T. W. Bond
	May 1929 - ? 1930	S. W. Cummings
	Mar 1931 - Aug 1935	Howard D. Pender
	Nov 1935 - Jul 1937	Howard E. Mather, D.D.
	Jul 1937 -	Carl H. Yettru

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Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Congregational Church (Bridgewater, N.Y.) Records consist of church records, trustees' records, records of the Womens' Missionary Society, and records of the Bridgewater Branch, Utica Chapter, American Red Cross. The collection consists entirely of microfilm copies of seven volumes and one folder of miscellaneous material. The microfilming was done in January of 1969 from originals owned by the Bridgewater Congregational Church and lent through the courtesy of the Reverend Walter Hillis.

Church records extend from its founding in 1798 to 1937, and include minutes of the church acting as a corporate body, admissions, dismissals, and a list of members with their vital records.

Trustees' records, 1799-1940, record their deliberations and actions on matters of church business, including subscriptions for building the meetinghouse and for pews. A list of members of the Board of Trustees is also included.

Exactly when the Women's Missionary Society was organized is not apparent from available records. Those in the collection date from 1910 to 1924 and set down the organization's deliberations, projects, and membership during that period. The presence in the collection of the records of the Bridgewater Branch, Utica Chapter, American Red Cross, 1917-1919, suggests that this activity was based at the church.

A small amount of Miscellaneous material completes the collection.

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Arrangement of the Collection

Material is in alphabetical order by volume title. Foldered material is in alphabetical order by topic or title.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

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Subject Headings

Corporate Bodies

Subjects

Places

Genres and Forms

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Congregational Church (Bridgewater, N.Y.) Records
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Finding Aid Information

Created by: GBS
Date: Dec 1968
Revision history: 19 Mar 2008 - converted to EAD (MRC)

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Inventory

	Church records
Volume 1		Record Book 1798-1853
			Church covenant, 1798 Records of admission, dismissal, and vital records, 1798-1853
Volume 2		Record Book 1798-1844
			Church minutes, 1819-1844 Records of admission, dismissal, and vital records, 1798-1844 Financial records, 1844
Volume 3		Record Book 1802-1937
			Church minutes, Jan 1840-Apr 1937 Roll of church members, 1802-1885 Confession of faith

	Trustees records
Volume 4		Minute Book 1799-1833
			Covenant and subscribers, 1799-1833 Minutes of trustees, Feb 1800-Nov 1819
Volume 5		Minute Book 1820-1940
			Minutes of trustees, Oct 1820-Dec 1940 List of trustees

	Women's Missionary Society records
Volume 6		Record Book 1910-1924
			Minutes, Oct 1910-Dec 1924 Attendance rolls, 1910-1924

	Bridgewater Branch, Utica Chapter, American Red Cross
Volume 7		Record Book 1917-1919
			List of members, 1918-1919 Financial records, 1917-1919 Comfort kit, 1917-1918 Financial records, Utica Chapter, 1917-1919 Financial records, Knitting Auxiliary, 1917-1919 Minutes, 1917-1919 Financial records, War Fund, 1918

	Miscellaneous papers
		History by William H. Brown 1898 23 pp.
		History of the Latest Fifty Years, 1898-1948, by Willard B. Marsh 1948 10 pp.
		Two clippings regarding the 150th anniversary of the church 1948
		Church bulletin for the 100th anniversary of the church 1898
		Photograph of the church building and parsonage

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