Morristown, First and South Street Presbyterian Churches | Presbyterian Historical Society

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Morristown, First and South Street Presbyterian Churches

According to Hall’s Index of American Presbyterian Congregations, the First Presbyterian Church, Morristown, New Jersey, was organized prior to 1838. From 1838 to 1870, the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. divided into New School and Old School factions. The First Presbyterian Church was an Old School congregation. In 1840, the congregation divided and some members established the South Street Presbyterian Church. In 1926, the First Presbyterian Church and the South Street Presbyterian Church reunited and formed the Morristown Presbyterian Church. In 1971, the Morristown Presbyterian Church changed its name to the Church on the Green Presbyterian Church.

The society holds on deposit records of the First Presbyterian Church and the South Street Presbyterian Church, Morristown, New Jersey, which may be useful for family history research.

First Presbyterian Church, Morristown, New Jersey

The society holds published copies of the early Session Minutes and Registers:

  • Rufus Green, ed., The Record of the First Presbyterian Church of Morristown, N. J.: v. 1-5, Jan. 1880-Dec. 1885 (Morristown, N.J.: [s.n.], 1885-91). (Call number: BX 9211 .N5796 F503r).
     
  • History of the First Presbyterian Church, Morristown, N.J. (Morristown, N.J.: "Banner" Steam Print, 1885). Includes, pt. 1. Records of trustees and session, from 1742-1882; pt. 2. The combined registers, from 1742 to 1885. (Call number: BX 9211 .N5796 F506 1885).

Official records deposited at the society:

  • Session minutes and Registers, 1791-1951. 9 vols. (Call number: V MI46 M829se):
    • Session minutes, 1795-1807; and Register, 1791-1809, including baptisms, 1791-1809, and marriages, 1795-1808.
    • Session minutes, 1807-1825; and Register, including baptisms, 1809-1824.
    • Session minutes, 1825-1864; and Register, including baptisms, 1825-1845, and marriages, 1825-1851
    • Session minutes, 1864-1879; and Register, 1877-1881, including baptisms, marriages and deaths.
    • Session minutes, 1879-1889.
    • Session minutes, 1889-1907.
    • Session minutes, 1908-1923.
    • Session minutes, 1924-1925.
    • Session minutes, 1945-1951.
  • Parish and trustees minutes, 1758-1939. 3 vols. (Call number: V MI46 M829pa)
  • Congregational records, 1742-1855. 1 vol. (Call number: V MI46 M829cr)
  • Day book, 1791-1800. 1 vol. (Call number: V MI46 M829d)
  • Sexton's records, 1831-1864. 3 vols. (Call number: V MI46 M829ser)
  • Sunday School directory, 1885-1886. 1 vol. (Call number: V MI46 M829ssi)
  • Registers, 1731-1768; 1786-1925; including deaths, 1731-1768; 1812-1882; marriages, 1798-1876; communicants, 1786-1876; and baptisms, 1846-1876. 3 vols. (Call number: V MI46 M829re)
  • Register of Civil War soldiers who were members of the church, 1861-1865. 1 vol. (Call number: V MI46 M829rec)
  • Register of deaths, 1768-1812. 1 vol. (Call number: V MI46 M829red)
  • Guest register, 1943-1948. 1 vol. (Call number: V MI46 M829g)
  • Epitaphs of the tombstones in the burial ground of the church, copied by Alfred Vail, 1851. 1 vol. (Call number: V MI46 M829et)
  • Records of deeds to burial lots in the church cemetery, 1874-1877. 1 vol. (Call number: V MI46 M829rb)
  • Pastoral register of Timothy Johnes, 1743-1793. 1 vol. ; includes lists of communicants, baptisms, and marriages (Call number: ARCHIVES 09 0403e SPP 76)

Additional materials of interest to genealogists:

  • Certificates and letters of dismission and reception, 1900-1911. (Call number: MS M8351cl)
     
  • William Cherry, Bill of Mortality: Being a Register of all the Deaths which have Occurred in the Presbyterian and Baptist Congregations of Morristown, N.J., for Thirty-Eight Years Past (Morristown, N.J.: Jacob Mann, 1806). (Call number: ML57.1 M834b)

Also deposited at the society are trustee minutes, Sunday school and missionary society records, historical committee records, documents relating to division within the congregation, and financial records. There are also published materials, including church histories, sermons preached in the church, catalogs of books in the church’s Sunday school and missionary libraries, a year book, a missionary society hand book, and a church manual (CALVIN). Additional materials include architectural drawings, photographs, correspondence, reports, and financial records (card catalog).

The Genealogical Society of Utah (GSU) has microfilmed records of the First Presbyterian Church, Morristown, New Jersey, and they are available through the Family History Centers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. To use the microfilm, you may visit their website, www.familysearch.org, and search for a center near you.

South Street Presbyterian Church, Morristown, New Jersey

Official records deposited at the society:

  • Session minutes, 1841-1925; vols. 1-2 with register, including communicants, 1841-1893; marriages, 1840-1869; and baptisms, 1841-1869. 5 vols. (Call number: V MI46 M831s)
     
  • Register, 1858-1925; including pastors, 1841-1920; elders, 1906-1925; communicants, 1858-1925; baptisms, 1923-1925; and marriages, 1925. 1 vol. (Call number: V MI46 M831r)
     
  • Pew rent records, 1875-1922. 9 vols. (Call number: V MI46 M831pr)

Additional materials of interest to genealogists:

  • Deeds to pews, agreements with choir masters, and other papers, 1841-1910. (Call number: MS M8352sd)
     
  • List of names on the reserve roll, 1915. (Call number: MS M8532l)

Also deposited at the society are statistics, building committee records, financial records, mission band records, Sunday school minutes, and women’s missionary society records. There are also published materials, including sermons preached in the church and a directory (CALVIN). Additional materials include financial and missionary society reports, papers relating to the merger with First Church, and pictures (card catalog).

The Genealogical Society of Utah (GSU) has microfilmed records of the South Street Presbyterian Church, Morristown, New Jersey, and they are available through the Family History Centers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. To use the microfilm, you may visit their website, www.familysearch.org, and search for a center near you.

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