Title: First Congregational Church (Seymour, Wis.) Records
Inclusive Dates: 1874-1980

Creator:

• First Congregational Church (Seymour, Wis.)

Call Number: Green Bay Mss 131

Quantity: 0.8 c.f. (2 archives boxes)

Repository:

Housed at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Archives and Area Research Center; owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

UW-Green Bay Cofrin Library / Green Bay Area Research Ctr. (Map)

Abstract:

Records of a congregation of the United Church of Christ founded in Seymour, Wisconsin in 1874 and disbanded in 1973. The records consist of constitutions and miscellaneous historical items, minutes of meetings of the congregational and various governing boards, financial and mortgage records, membership records, and some records of the Sunday School and Ladies Auxiliary Society. Also included are papers relating to the sale of the church building in 1973 and the distribution of the proceeds.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-gb0131

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The origins of the First Congregational Church in Seymour date to 1869 when a group organized and built a meeting place on the Knox farm south of Lime Rock. In 1872 land was purchased in Seymour and a Congregational Chapel erected by the Outagamie Home Mission Society. At a meeting on September 8, 1874 the decision was made to form a Congregational Church in Seymour. In 1886 the congregation dedicated a new church building; this church was the congregation's meeting place until 1973.

Membership of the First Congregational Church was always small. Because of frequent financial troubles the congregation often shared pastors with other local churches. In 1963 seven area congregations decided to coordinate their resources and reduce services. By 1973 the Seymour church was no longer a viable institution and the members sold the church building, using the proceeds of that sale to assist other churches and institutions.

The church records, 1874-1980, consist of clerks' minutes of congregational meetings and official boards, financial and mortgage records, and some records of the Sunday School and Ladies Auxiliary Society. Membership information may be found in the clerks' minutes and in a separate register that covers the period 1928 to 1948. The financial records include correspondence about the sale of the church building in 1973 to the Emmanuel Lutheran Church and the distribution of the proceeds to church-related institutions and other Seymour churches. The historical miscellany consists of an undated constitution, a 1948 clipping concerning the early history of the congregation, minutes of the 1963 meeting which eventually led to the dissolution of the congregation, a list of expenses for the construction of the parsonage in 1923, and Xerox copies of photographs of the church building and ministers George R. McKeith and O.P. Clinton. (Original photographs are available in the Name and Place files of the Visual Materials Archive.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Ellen Piehl, 1989. Accession Number: M89-410

Processing Information

Processed by Natalie Tinkham and Carolyn J. Mattern, 1994.

Box   1 Folder   1	Historical miscellany, 1898-1965, undated
	Clerk's records
Box   1 Folder   2	1873-1911 Scope and Content Note: Contains minutes of meetings and membership lists.
Box   1 Folder   3	1914-1927 Scope and Content Note: Contains minutes of congregation and official board meetings and 1914 membership list.
Box   1 Folder   4	1928-1950 Scope and Content Note: Contains minutes of congregation and trustee meetings.
Box   1 Folder   5	1948-1973 Scope and Content Note: Contains minutes of congregation and trustee meetings and registers of pastors, officers, members; marriages and baptisms.
	Financial records
Box   2 Box   1	Treasurer's book, including records of cash, 1948-1953 and of members' weekly pledges, , 1948-1958
Box   2 Box   2	Cash book, 1951-1960; account book, , 1957-1973
Box   2 Box   3	Miscellaneous records
Box   2 Box   4	Mortgage records, 1894-1951
Box   2 Box   5	Sale of church building and disbursement of proceeds, 1973
	Membership records
Box   2 Box   6	Rollbook, 1928-1948, including baptisms, , 1935-1948
Box   2 Box   7	Notes, 1911-1960 (?); miscellaneous handwritten items and clippings
Box   2 Box   8	General correspondence, 1957-1976
Box   2 Box   9	Ladies Auxiliary Society, 1948-1980: financial reports, constitution and by-laws
Box   2 Box   10	Sunday School records, 1950-1963: financial and attendance