United Congregational Church, United Church of Christ (Grand Island, Neb.) [RG4076.AM]

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID

RG4076.AM:  United Congregational Church, United Church of Christ (Grand Island, Neb.)

Records:  1887-1970

Grand Island, Hall County, Neb.:  Congregational Church

Size:  21 volumes on 2 reels of microfilm

BACKGROUND NOTE

The First Congregational Church of Grand Island developed from a Sunday School begun in a store building in April of 1887, initiated by the Rev. J. D. Stewart, with 15 members. On June 16, 1887, the congregation was formally organized and the following year a church was constructed at 6th and Kimball Streets. The structure was remodeled in 1916.

In October of 1906 a group of Germans from Russia organized the Free Evangelical Lutheran Pilgrim Congregational Church, located at Vine and Division Streets. Services were continued there until 1956 when a declining membership led to a union with the Park Community Congregational Church. This congregation was organized in a newly developed part of the city in 1956 and met in the Dodge School Auditorium until its own facility was built at Oak and Bismark the following year.

In 1961 the Park Community Congregational Church and the First Congregational Church merged under the name of United Congregational Church of the United Church of Christ. The property of the First Congregational Church was sold and a new sanctuary was dedicated at 504 E. Bismark Street in 1964.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

This collection of the records of the United Congregational Church of the United Church of Christ (Grand Island, Neb.) consists of 21 volumes on 2 reels of microfilm arranged in five subgroups: 1) Records of First Congregational Church (Grand Island, Neb.), 1887-1961; 2) Records of the Free Evangelical Lutheran Pilgrim Congregational Church (Grand Island, Neb.), 1908-1954; 3) Records of the Park Community Congregational Church (Grand Island, Neb.), 1956-1959; 4) Records of the United Congregational Church of the United Church of Christ (Grand Island, Neb.), 1961-1970; and 5) Historical Data.

The first four subgroups contain registers of members, baptisms, marriages and burials as well as minutes of meetings from the three churches and the fourth which was formed from their merger. The records of the First Congregational Church (subgroup 1) also contains minutes and treasurers’ books of the Dorcas Society, a women’s fellowship organization. Subgroup 5 includes photocopies of historical sketches and other material compiled by clerks and historians of the various congregations. This material was loaned for microfilming in January of 1982.

DESCRIPTION

Subgroup 1: Records of First Congregational Church (Grand Island, Neb.), 1887-1961

Series 1 – Record books, 1887-1961

Reel 1

Volume

1. 1. 1887-1925

1. 1. 1937-1952

1. 1. 1954-1958

1. 1. 1959-1961

Series 2 – Minute books, 1899-1923

Reel 1

Volume

1. 1. 1899-1919

1. 1. 1920-1923

Series 3 – Records of the Dorcas Society, 1916-1961

Reel 1

Volume

1. 1. Minutes, 1916-1924

1. 1. Minutes, 1924-1929

1. 1. Minutes, 1929-1935

1. 1. Minutes, 1935-1942

1. 1. Minutes, 1943-1958

Reel 2

Volume

6. 6. Minutes, 1958-1961

6. 6. Treasurer’s Book, 1915-1925

6. 6. Treasurer’s Book, 1926-1931

6. 6. Treasurer’s Book, 1938-1956

6. 6. Treasurer’s Book, 1956-1961

Subgroup 2 – Records of the Free Evangelical Lutheran Pilgrim Congregational Church (Grand Island, Neb.), 1908-1954

Series 1 – Minutes, 1908-1954

Reel 2

Volume

1. 1. 1908-1936

1. 1. 1936-1954

Subgroup 3 – Records of the Park Community Congregational Church (Grand Island, Neb.), 1956-1959

Series 1 – Minutes, 1956-1959

Reel 2

Volume

1. 1. 1956-1957

1. 1. 1956-1959

Subgroup 4 – Records of the United Congregational Church of the United Church of Christ (Grand Island, Neb.), 1961-1970

Series 1 – Records, 1961-1970

Reel 2

Volume

1. 1. 1961-1970

Subgroup 5 – Historical Material

Reel 2

Folder

1. 1. Various historical materials

ADDED ENTRIES:

Congragational Church in Nebraska

Evangelical Church in Nebraska

First Congregational Church (Grand Island, Neb.)

Free Evangelical Lutheran Pilgrim Congregational Church (Grand Island, Neb.)

German Evangelical Lutheran Church in Nebraska

Germans from Russia

Grand Island (Neb.) — Churches

Hall County (Neb.) — Churches

Park Community Congregational Church (Grand Island, Neb.)

United Church of Christ in Nebraska

United Congregational Church of the United Church of Christ (Grand Island, Neb.)

Women in Nebraska

Revised 10-03-2008   TMM