The Congregational Library & Archives is pleased to announce the launch of its digital archive which contains over 100,000 images across more than 4,000 extraordinary historical records that illuminate New England history. Records from over 100 New England churches in 90 communities, with most records dating between 1634 and 1850, are freely available for those interested in learning more about the history of their state, community, or family.

Congregational church records in CLA’s collection offer a rich and remarkable view of life in colonial and early-American New England. Well before the writing of the Constitution, each member in the early Puritan churches had an equal vote, with the power to govern themselves and to choose their own ministers. The records of these congregations document births, deaths, and marriages, but also open a window onto the lives of ordinary people deliberating on matters both sacred and secular. For much of the colonial period, church business was town business, and so beyond the usual information on births, deaths, and marriages, church records show ordinary people making decisions about property, taxation, and their representation in the larger affairs of the colony or state.

You can read more at: https://bit.ly/3LxQyiL.