Maryland Church Record Surveys

According to A Historical Sketch of the Lower West Nottingham Presbyterian Church by Samuel Gayley, the earliest mention of West Nottingham Presbyterian Church was as “Mouth of the Octorara” (or Lower Octorara) in the records of the New Castle Presbytery in 1724. The congregation was referred to in the Minutes as “Nottingham Presbyterian Church” in 1730. It divided into Upper and Lower Nottingham churches in 1741, during the Old Side-New Side controversy, but reunited in 1792. In 1800, the congregation moved to a new stone meetinghouse and became West Nottingham Presbyterian Church, Colora, Maryland. According to Gayley, there are no existing early session records. Records of the congregation deposited with the society include:

West Nottingham Presbyterian Church, Colora, MD

• Session minutes, 1838–1957, 5 vols. (Call number: Vault MI46 C718.6s).
  • Vols. 1 & 2 include registers of members, baptisms, and marriages, 1838–1840.
• Registers, 1894–1949, 2 vols. (Call number: Vault MI46 C718.6r).
  • v.1. Membership, 1894–1912; baptisms 1895–1912; marriages, 1894–1912; deaths, 1894–1912.
  • v.2. Membership, 1912–1948; baptisms, 1912–1948; marriages, 1912–1949.
• Dismissal and marriage records, 1934–1935 (Call number: MS C7125c).
• Pew rent records, 1917–1922, 1 vol. (Call number: Vault MI46 C718.6p).
• Diagram of Pewholders, 1792 (Call number: MS C7125p).

The records also include a map, charter, financial records, trustee minutes, missionary society minutes, notes on a history of the church (described in the card catalog), and a published history of the church, circa 1860.