According to John Hall’s History of the Presbyterian Church Trenton, New Jersey, and the Works Progress Administration survey, early settlers founded four churches in the area of Mercer County, New Jersey, that includes present day Trenton, Ewing, Pennington and Lawrenceville. Maidenhead church (Lawrenceville) was founded around 1698. Presbyterians established the First Presbyterian Church of Hopewell in 1709, (later First Presbyterian Church of Ewing). Pennington First Presbyterian Church was also founded in 1709. When Trenton Township was chartered in 1719-1720, the area that Hopewell church occupied became part of Trenton, and the name changed to First Presbyterian Church of Trenton. Pennington then assumed the name First Presbyterian of Hopewell (MacCarroll). The parent organization constructed a new Presbyterian meeting house in Trenton village in 1726-1727.

The Trenton congregation historically had two churches: the “country/old church” in present day Ewing, and the newer “town church” in the City of Trenton. “Old Ewing” was officially known as First Presbyterian Church of Trenton until 1844 or 1850, when the name changed to First Presbyterian Church of Ewing (Ewing Township was incorporated in 1834). The “town church” retains the name First Presbyterian Church of Trenton. The two churches shared ministers and stated supply with Lawrenceville and Pennington until 1741 (Lanning) and with each other into the nineteenth century. Because of their common origins, some of the early records of the Trenton churches, Lawrenceville and Pennington are interrelated. Records of the Ewing congregation deposited with the society include:

First Presbyterian Church [of Ewing], Ewing NJ  (Location may be listed some places as Trenton, New Jersey):

• Ewing First Presbyterian Church (Trenton, N.J.). Records, 1874-1875. (Accession number: 95 1012).
  • Minutes, Registers.
• First Presbyterian Church of Ewing (Trenton, N.J.). Session Registers, 1826-1959. (Call number: Vault BX 9211.N58628 F52).
  • v.1, Membership, 1826-1916; Baptisms, 1898-1916; Marriages, 1898-1916.
  • v.2, Membership, 1859-1941; Baptisms, 1916-1948. Marriages, 1916-1939.
  • v.3, Membership, 1875-1959; Baptisms, 1952-1959; Marriages, 1952-1959.
• First Presbyterian Church of Ewing, (Trenton, N.J.). Session. (Call number: Vault BX 9211. N58628 F522).
  • Certificates of dismissal and reception, 1939-1954, 1967-1969.
• First Presbyterian Church of Ewing (Trenton, N.J.). Session Minutes and Records, 1823-1952. (Call number: Vault BX 9211. N58628 F51).
  • v.1, Membership, 1800-1898; Baptisms, 1823-1898; Marriages, 1879-1897.
  • v.2, Membership, 1821-1864; Baptisms, 1822-1864 (duplicate of portion of v.1, with some differences).
  • v.3, 1921-1952.

• Ewing First Presbyterian Church (Trenton, N.J.). Records, 1745-1976. (Accession number: 84 0326b).
  • Minutes, Newsletters, Church bulletins, Histories, Property records, Photographs.

Also: Correspondence and legal documents, 1950-1952 (Accession number: 89 0804); Correspondence, reports, histories (Call number: MS T723e); Bibles; Congregation minutes, Trustees minutes; Treasurer’s records; Ladies Aid Society minutes; Pastor’s Aid Society minutes; Women’s Missionary Society minutes; Presbyterian Men minutes; Young Men’s Club minutes; Various pamphlets and discourses. RG 425 files with many pictures of the church, newsletters and clippings.

You may also wish to contact the Ewing Cemetery Association, which is affiliated with the church, to see what information they may be able to provide:

Ewing Cemetery Association
78 Scotch Road
Trenton, NJ 08628
609-882-0279
609-8825765-Fax

Other Records:

First Presbyterian Church [of Trenton] Trenton, NJ  (The 1712 founding date associated with this church applies to the parent organization):

• New Brunswick Presbytery. Hopewell, Maidenhead and Trenton church records, 1730-1799. Includes list of communicants of the three churches. (Call number: V MI45 N27 1730-99).
• List of communicants served by the Rev. Joseph Morgan at Hopewell, Maidenhead and Trenton, NJ, 1733-1737. Typed copy. (Call number: MS1025).

Sources:

Hall, John. History of the Presbyterian Church in Trenton, N.J. [second ed.] Trenton, NJ: MacCrellish & Quigley, 1912. (Call number: BX 9211. N58608 F55 1912).

Lanning, William. Two Hundredth Anniversary of Ewing Presbyterian Church. 1908 [address, typescript of original from 1908]. (Call number: MS L283).

MacCarroll, Joseph. A History of the First Presbyterian Church of Ewing. Trenton, NJ: The Hirsh Press, 1950. (Call number: Pam BX 9211. N58628 F506 1950).

New Jersey Historical Records Survey Project. Inventory of the Church Archives of New Jersey: Presbyterians. Newark, NJ: The Historical Records Survey. Works Progress Administration, 1940. (Call number: Ref CD 3380 .H54 P65).

Smith, George L. History of the First Presbyterian Church of Ewing, New Jersey. Trenton, NJ: MacCrellish & Quigley, 1876. (Call number: Pam BX 9211. N58628 F506 1876).