This collection contains meeting minutes for several religious societies associated with the Congregational Church of Chichester, New Hampshire, between 1792 and 1903. Volume 1 contains "Records of the Congregational Church in Chichester," compiled between March 21, 1792, and December 25, 1840. These contain meeting minutes, about the church's admission requirements, deacons, procedures for discipline, and administrative affairs. The volume also holds "Articles of Faith, Form of Covenant, Principles of Discipline, and Rules of Practice; also Standing Rules & Regulations, adopted by The Church of Christ in Chichester (N.H.) October 5, 1832," signed by members of the church on January 1, 1833. It also includes a running list of members admitted to the church, maintained until September 1, 1839.
Volume 2, entitled "Records of Union Congregational Society in Chichester," covers the group's meeting minutes, kept between its founding meeting, held between December 1826 and January 1827, and a meeting held on October 13, 1888. The notes originate from both annual and special meetings. The volume also records the names of those who resigned their membership. The society's constitution occupies seven pages of the volume.
Volume 3 contains "Records of the Sunday School and Bible Class Society," covering the period between November 4, 1833, and April 26, 1846. These reflect the appointments of officers and teachers, and frequently include reports from the society's librarian and treasurer, as well as from various committees.
In Volume 4 are the "Constitution of the Chichester Congregational Sabbath School Society" (adopted January 16, 1882), and meeting minutes kept regularly until December 28, 1903. The society, formed to promote Bible study, held annual meetings and also wrote brief memorials for deceased members. Minutes reflect administrative affairs, such as the appointment of officers and the group's activities, the adoption of different curricula, and the organization's total receipts and expenditures for each year.
Chichester, New Hampshire, received its first land grant from King George I on May 20, 1727, but an initial town meeting was not held until 1773. In 1791, Congregationalist minister Josiah Carpenter arrived from Vermont, and a Congregational Church was established on March 21, 1792. Carpenter served as the church's first minister, and remained in Chichester until 1826, when he severed his contract with the town, which had paid his salary out of public tax revenue. Following his departure, several prominent members of the town formed the Union Congregational Society of Chichester, which oversaw the administrative affairs of the local Congregational Church. This church, called the Church of Christ, adopted a new set of formal guidelines on October 5, 1832. Its pastors included Rufus A. Putman (1832-1843), Charles Willey (1845-1850), Silas Blanchard (1853-1858), Joshua Gay (1858-[1863]), Mark Gould (1865-1872), George A. Foss (1873-1877), John F. Aiken (1879-1880), and H. W. L. Thurston (1882-1884). Chichester residents also formed a Sunday School and Bible Class Society in 1833 and the Chichester Congregational Sabbath School Society in 1882.
