Warner Congregational Church (Warner, N.H.)

The town of Warner, New Hampshire, located in Merrimack County, was incorporated in 1774. Its Congregational Church was organized February 5, 1772, with Rev. William Kelley as its pastor. For 13 years after Kelley's resignation, the church had no settled minister; this changed on June 22, 1814, when Rev. John Woods (1785-1861) of Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire, was ordained. An 1809 graduate of Williams College, Woods was a fiery speaker and dedicated Calvinist. He oversaw a revival of the church, including the erection of a new building in 1819 and the addition of many new members. In 1823, Woods was dismissed at his own request, and became pastor of the church at Newport, New Hampshire, for 27 years.

From the guide to the Warner, New Hampshire, Congregational conversion narratives, 1817-1823, (William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan)