Newark, Second Presbyterian Church

According to the Inventory of the Church Archives of New Jersey: Presbyterians by the Works Projects Administration, the Second Presbyterian Church, Newark, New Jersey, began when members from the First Presbyterian Church in Newark wanted a congregation in the northern end of the city. The Second Presbyterian was incorporated in 1811.

From 1838 to 1870, the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. divided into New School and Old School factions. According to Hall’s Index of American Presbyterian Congregations, the Second Presbyterian Church was a New School congregation.

A second church building was erected in 1886 and a third building erected in 1932. The congregation dissolved in 1995.

Official records of the Second Presbyterian Church deposited with the society relevant to genealogists include:

• Session and Trustee Records, Including Pew Rent Records, 1838–1855 (Call number: 04 0910).

Please note that many of the records of the Second Presbyterian Church, Newark, New Jersey, suffered from severe water damage, mold and mildew growth and heavy insect infestation. The society has microfilm copies of the original records available for genealogical research. Records on microfilm available to genealogists include:

• Session minutes, 1810–1928 (Call number: MFPOS. 1185, reel 1)
• Session and Congregational Minutes, 1928–1962 (Call number: MFPOS. 1185, reel 2)
• Session and Congregational Minutes, 1962–1984 (Call number: MFPOS. 1185, reel 3)
• Session and Trustee Minutes, 1984–1990 (Call number: MFPOS. 1185, reel 4)
• Membership Rolls, 1811–1890 (Call number: MFPOS. 1185, reel 4)
• Marriages and Baptisms, 1811–1890 (Call number: MFPOS. 1185, reel 4)
• Pastoral Records, 1842–1888 (Call number: MFPOS. 1185, reel 4)
• Registers, 1889–1993 (Call number: MFPOS. 1185, reel 5)

If you are interested in borrowing the microfilm, please have the interlibrary loan (ILL) librarian at your local public or academic library contact us directly to submit the request on your behalf. We accept ILL requests by letter, email and fax. We loan a maximum of three reels per request for a four-week loan period. We charge a fee of $20.00 per reel, plus $5.00 for shipping. This material will be held on reserve for you and may only be used within the borrowing library. Please provide your ILL librarian with the catalog information provided above when making your request. Please tell the ILL librarian that requests cannot come from OCLC (Online Computer Library Center, Inc.) because we are not listed as a borrowing institution.

It is the policy of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to restrict access to all official records on deposit at the Presbyterian Historical Society that are less than 50 years old. This restriction applies at the national, mid council, and congregation level. We administer this restriction in order to protect the rights and privacy of the records’ creators/owners and the privacy rights of the individuals mentioned in the records. If researchers want to access official records less than 50 years old, we require that they secure written permission from the records’ owners. Please note that reels 4 and 5 of the microfilm mentioned above contain restricted records.

When the Second Presbyterian Church was dissolved in 1995, its records became the property of the Presbytery of Newark. The Presbytery of Newark is now part of the Presbytery of Northeast New Jersey. It will be necessary for you to obtain permission from the Stated Clerk:

Presbytery of Northeast New Jersey 
147 Broad Street Bloomfield, NJ 07003 
(201) 599-1111
https://pnenj.org/

Please request that the signed letter be sent to the attention of Public Services at the Presbyterian Historical Society. Please ask that a copy be sent to you, so that you will know when permission is granted. After you receive the letter, you may then visit the society and use the requested materials or submit an interlibrary loan.

The society also holds the following records of the Second Presbyterian Church which do not necessarily contain genealogical information:

• Postcards of the church interior and exterior
• Sermons
• Session and trustees proceedings in connection with Jay Street Memorial Church, 1889
• Sunday School Association minutes, 1885–1908
• Trustees Minutes, 1889–1912
• Young People’s Union minutes, 1889–1905
• Pulpit Committee minutes, 1950
• Church secretary files, 1953–1956
• Photographs, 1886–1950 and undated
• Correspondence, published sermons and anniversary bulletins, 1886–1907