According to our resources, the First Presbyterian Church, Rochester, NY, was organized in 1815 and was merged into the Downtown United Presbyterian Church, Rochester, in 1974.

Records of the First Church have been deposited with us. They include the following:

First Presbyterian Church (Rochester, N.Y.)

• Session minutes, 1815-1958, 14 vols. (Call number: Vault MI46 R5894s)
  • v.1 1815-1839.
  • v.2 1839-1865.
  • v.3 1865-1883.
  • v.4 1883-1909.
  • v.5 1909-1918 (w/ register information, 1909-1938)
  • v.6 1918-1923
  • v.7 1923-1928
  • v.8 1928-1933
  • v.9 1933-1936
  • v.10 1936-1939
  • v.11 1939-1942
  • v.12 1942-1947
  • v.13 1948-1951
  • v.14 1952-1958
• Session Registers, 1866-1903, 3 vols. (Call number: Vault MI46 R5894r)
  • v.1 1863-1866, Alphabetical index.
  • v.2 Membership: 1839-1865; Baptisms: 1866-1903; Marriages: 1866-1867.
  • v.3 Membership: 1889-1903; Baptisms: 1900-1903.
• Register of Members, 1864; 1866; 1884-1907, 3 vols. (Call number: Vault MI46 R5894rm)
   
• Letters of Admission and Dismission, to 1856, 1 box, (Call number: Vault MI46 R5894le)

Other records include: Deacons minutes, 1951-1968; Trustee minutes, 1844-1959; financial records, 1854-1941; Sabbath school records, 1818-1826; Sunday school records, 1824-1925; Girls’ club records, 1883-1923; and records of various women’s groups, 1850-1965. There are also three editions of a published catalog (manual) of the members of the church, 1829, 1838, 1850.

The following records have been microfilmed:

First Presbyterian Church (Rochester, NY)

• Session Minutes, 1815-1958, 14 volumes, MFPOS 334, 2 reels.
  • Reel 1: Session Minutes, 1815–1918, (vols. 1-5).
  • Reel 2: Session Minutes, 1918–1958, (vols. 6-14).

First Presbyterian Church (Rochester, NY)

• Session Records, 1815-1953, 10 volumes,  MFPOS 220, 1 reel.
  • Includes: Membership records, 1864-1907, 3 vols.; Registers, 1866-1903; 3 vols.; catalog of members, 1829, 1824, 1840, 3 vols.; reception and dismission certificates, 1945-1953.

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.