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The amount and quality of historical records available for the study of the Laurel Presbyterian Church depends upon the period studied. For the period 1860 to 1879 the record consists almost entirely of the minutes of the presbyteries to which the church belonged. While useful, those minutes give little insight into the daily life of the church. The original minutes of the Session for this period have disappeared. In 1904, George Earle, Clerk of Session, attempted to locate those minutes, and his inquiries showed that the minutes prior to 1879 had long been missing even then. The records of the various presbyteries do indicate that those minutes did exist and were now and again presented for approval by the presbyteries.

For the period 1879 to 1900, the minutes of the Session provide the primary record of the church's history supplemented by presbytery records. The minutes of Session are inadequate partly because Session met infrequently in this era and partly because they focus quite narrowly on the administrative affairs of the church. The period 1900 to 1917, particularly before 1910, has the richest documentation for any period down to the near present, thanks almost entirely to the efforts of Elder George Earle, who displayed a continuing concern to keep clear and full records of the history of the church. He created two new sets of records in addition to the minutes of Session, namely the minutes of the Board of Trustees and the minutes of the Congregation.

For the period 1911 to 1953, the minutes of Session are for long periods sketchy and provide little insight into the life of the church. At the same time, the minutes of Potomac Presbytery tended over the years to provide less and less direct information on the life of particular local churches. The effective living memory of older members does reach back to the early 1920s in a few instances, but those memories only become useful in the 1930s as these members became active in the church as adults. Oral history interviews do begin to uncover significant amounts of information when they reach the late 1940s and early 1950s. For the period 1953 to the present, as is to be expected, more records of various sorts exist than for any other period. The minutes of the Session tend to be more full. The files of the church contain many more records of other types going back into the 1960s. Oral sources are broad and richly informative.

Minutes of the Session (From 1879)

Minutes of the Congregation (1900-1914)-includes minutes for Nominating and Building Committees

Minutes of the Board of Trustees (1900-1921)

Minutes of the Board of Deacons (1968-1970)

Minutes of Circle Three, Women of the Church (1967-1982)

Membership Rolls and Registers (Irregular from 1869)

The Presbyter' (1960-62, 1965-1986)

Judicatory Records
Minutes of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (1860-1869)

Minutes of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States (1869)

Minutes of the Presbytery of the District of Columbia . 1842-1846. (Presbyterian Church U.S.A. [New School]).

Minutes of the Presbytery of Baltimore . 1860-1869. (Presbyterian Church U.S.A. [Old School]).

Minutes of the Presbytery of Chesapeake including a summary of the Minutes of the Presbytery of Patapsco. 1868-1877. (Presbyterian Church U.S. )

Minutes of the Presbytery of Maryland . 1877-1912. (Presbyterian Church U.S. ) Minutes of the Presbytery of Potomac . 1912-1911. (Presbyterian Church U.S. )

Ahlstrom, Sydney E. A Religious History of the American People . New Haven : Yale, 1972.

Boyd, Lois A. and R. Douglas Brackenridge. Presbyterian Women in America : Two Centuries of a Quest for Status . Westport , Conn. : Greenwood Press, 1983.

Capron, Horace. 'Memoirs of Horace Capron.' Vol. I, 'Autobiography.' N.p., n.d. Photocopy at the National Agricultural Library.

Carter, John P. Historical Sketch of the Synod of Baltimore . Baltimore : William J. Carter, 1889.

Coleman, Jean. CHAPTER 29. N.p. 1979; distributed by Logos International, Plainfield , N.J.

Cook, William G. Montpelier & the Snowden Family . Edited by Carol-Jean Webster. N.p. 1916.

Davis, Robert Pickens. Maryland Presbyterian History . Doctoral dissertation. Richmond : Union Theological Seminary, 1958.

Evitts, William J. A Matter of Allegiances: Maryland From 1850 to 1861 . Baltimore : Johns Hopkins , 1974.

Hienton, Louise Joyner. Prince George's Heritage . Baltimore : Maryland Historical Society, 1972.

"A History of First United Methodist Church . Laurel , Maryland . 1840 to 1975." Laurel , Maryland : First United Methodist Church , 1975.

Lewis, Thomas Hamilton. comp. Historical Record of the Maryland Annual Conference of the Methodist Protestant Church . Baltimore : Methodist Protestant Book Concern, 1903.

Loetscher, Lefferts A. A Brief History of the Presbyterians . 3rd ed. Philadelphia : Westminster , 1978.

Marty, Martin. Righteous Empire: The Protestant Experience in America . New York : Dial, 1970.

Parker, Harold M., Jr. "Much Wealth and Intelligence: The Presbytery of Patapsco." Maryland Historical Magazine 60 (1965): 160-114.

Planter's Advocate & Southern Maryland Advertiser (1850s-1860s)

Presbyterian Observer 13 (October 28, 1886): Supplement.

Rothman, Sheila N. Woman's Proper Place : A History of Changing Ideals and Practices, 1870 to the Present . New York : Basic Books, 1978.

Ryan, Mary P. Womanhood in America : From Colonial Times to the Present . New York : New Viewpoints, 1975.

Slosser, Gaius Jackson. ed. They Seek A Country: The American Presbyterians . New York : Macmillan, 1955.

Smith, Joseph T. Eighty Years . Philadelphia : Westminster , 1899.

"St. Philip's Church. Laurel , Md. " Laurel , Maryland : St. Philip's Episcopal Church, 1973.

Thompson, Ernest Trice. Presbyterians In The South . vol. 2. Richmond : John Knox Press, 1973.

Vander Velde, Lewis G. The Presbyterian Churches And The Federal Union 1861-1869 . Cambridge : Harvard University Press, 1932.

Vaughn, Gerald F. and Patricia A. "The Life and Ministry of William Murray Stone, D.D., Bishop of Maryland , 1830-1838." Historical Magazine Of The Protestant Episcopal Church 35 (December 1966): 313-342.

Warner, Paul F. "The Maryland Annual Conference of the Methodist Protestant Church , 1865-1939." Those Incredible Methodists . Edited by Gordon Pratt Baker. Baltimore : Commission on Archives and History, Baltimore Conference, 1912: 230-244.

Wilfong, James C., Jr. " Laurel ." In Laurel , Maryland Souvenir Historical Booklet: Centennial 1870-1970 , Edited by Gertrude L. Poe. Laurel : N.p. 1970.