ABOUT THE COLLECTION
This collection includes minute books, financial records, membership records, court records, histories and other manuscript materials from several churches in and around Southwestern Ohio.
The bulk of the Church Records Collection comes from local area Presbyterian churches, most notably the
Presbyterian Church of Oxford and Hopewell Church in Preble County. The Presbyterian Church of Oxford was founded in 1818 and has a slightly convoluted history. In 1833 the church changed its name to the First Presbyterian Church of Oxford, and then in 1841 a small faction split from the church and became the Second Presbyterian Church of Oxford. In 1869 the two churches reunited and once again became simply, the First Presbyterian Church of Oxford. Then in 1926 the church officially changed its name to the Memorial Presbyterian Church of Oxford. The collection includes records from each variant of the church. Hopewell Church in Preble County, which produced four daughter churches (three of which are represented in the collection, Fairhaven Church, United Presbyterian Church in Oxford, Ohio and United Presbyterian Church in Morning Sun, Ohio) has the most extensive selection of records available in the collection.
FINDING AID
Church Records Collection Finding Aid (pdf)
DIGITAL COLLECTION
Indian Creek Baptist Church Records
This collection began with an electronic copy of the minutes of the Indian Creek Baptist Church meetings, 1810-1850, which was digitized and transcribed by Samantha Harris as part of a W.E. Smith Family Charitable Trust grant. The transcription was done in conjunction with the Ohio Historic Marker dedication for the Indian Creek Church and Burial Ground. A book containing a selection of minutes was created for the dedication. The transcription of these minutes, along with the publication were made possible through the work Anne Jantzen and The Indian Creek Church and Pioneer Burial Ground Restoration Committee, and the W.E. Smith Charitable Trust Fund.
Since then, the collection has expanded to include meeting minutes, treasury books, and other church records.
