Market Street United Methodist Church Records

238 WFCHS/THL

Inventory created by Archives Staff 06/1984. Last revised 04/2018.

ACCESS RESTRICTIONS: Collection is open to all researchers.

USE RESTRICTIONS: Restrictions may apply concerning the use, photoduplication, or publication of items in this collection. Consult a member of the archives staff for information concerning these restrictions. The user assumes all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of copyright.

EXTENT: 1.08 linear feet

CREATOR: Market Street United Methodist Church (Winchester, Va.)

DATE: 1842 -1979

ALTERNATIVE FORM AVAILABLE: The Genealogical Society of Utah digitized selected materials from this collection in 2007. These copies are available on DVDs GSU 014-01 and GSU 014-02 in the Archives Room.

SCOPE AND CONTENT: The Market Street United Methodist Church Records contain record books kept by the church to record marriages, baptisms, probationers, members, and pastors. It also contains minutes of the Ladies’ Aid Society meetings and several other miscellaneous items.

BIOGRAPHICAL/HISTORICAL: There was a Methodist presence in Winchester from the 1770s. Market St. United Methodist Church dates its beginnings to 1789. From 1792 to the present, there have been three church buildings of the Market Street Methodist Church. As a result of increasing membership in the church, the second church was built in 1818. The third and present church was started on Sept. 21, 1853, and completed and dedicated on May 20, 1855. Shortly after its completion, a schism in the membership erupted over the seating of girls who were students at the Valley Female Institute. As a result some thirty members of the church withdrew and established another Methodist church known as the Braddock Street Methodist Church. These records contain information about members from both the black and white communities. During the Civil War the church structure suffered at the hands of the occupying Union troops who used the building as a military hospital. It also experienced financial problems during the post-Civil War period. The Church gradually recovered and remains an active Church in the City of Winchester.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Kern, Mary Katharine. A History of the Market Street United Methodist Church. Stephens City, VA: self-published, 1985. 

CITE AS: Market Street Methodist Church Records, Stewart Bell Jr. Archives, Handley Regional Library, Winchester, VA, USA.

ACQUISITION INFORMATION:  Acquired as a gift.

ORGANIZATION:

BOX 1 

Church treasurer's record book, April 2, 1918-March 30, 1919, manuscript

Church treasurer's record book, April 1, 1919-March 31, 1920, manuscript

Church record book, 1858-1875 – record of pastors, classes, members, probationers, manuscript

Record of members and subscription to pastor, no date, manuscript

The Winchester Journal (newspapers), 1866 and 1867, printed

Box 2 

“Ante Bellum Methodism in Winchester, Virginia and the Great Schism” by Jon R. Greenstone, from the desk of Pastor Jon, 203, 8 leaves, typescript (photocopy)

Church record book, 1857-1916 – record of pastors, members (African-American, white), minutes of meetings, manuscript

Records, manuscript, and includes the following:
Baptisms, 1857, 1865
Marriages, 1855
Probationers, October 1851-November 1859
Alphabetical list of members, 1856-April 1875
Classes, March 1852-September 1857

Church record book, 1877-1910 - record of pastors, members, probationers, marriages, baptisms, manuscript

Box 3 

“The Mother Church of Winchester United Methodism”-1979, 1 item, 12 pages, printed

Church Program – December 14, 1975, Winchester Community Chorus Concert, 1 leaf, printed

Church Program – February 14, 1943, 2 pages, printed

Church record book, April 1909-August 1920 - record of pastors, members, probationers, marriages, baptisms, manuscript

Church record book, March 9, 1876-February 2, 1893 – record of pastors, members, probationers, marriages, baptisms, manuscript

Ebert Memorial Organ and Chimes Dedicatory Services, May 10, 1935, 1 item printed

Minutes – Ladies' Aid Society, April 1, 1902-February 2, 1909, manuscript\

Minutes – Ladies' Aid Society, February 1890-January 1898, manuscript

Miscellaneous, no date, 1 leaf, printed

Oldest church records, July 1, 1842-January 10, 1870 - record of members, quarterly conference minutes, manuscript

Our History and Memories – Market Street United Methodist Church 150^th Anniversary Celebration, Nov. 2, 2003, 1 item, 36 pages, typescript (photocopy)

Receipts pertaining to construction of church building, 1853-1857, 105 leaves, manuscript

PHOTOGRAPHS 

Photographs and other images belonging to this collection may be accessed online through http://handley.pastperfectonline.com