Greetings, Ezra Stiles indicated that JONATHAN DOWNHAM was the first preacher in early Falmouth--at least the transcription for print spelled the surname that way. Early Falmouth records show a JONATHAN DUNHAM having land in the community [apparently in conjunction with land set aside for a minister] when the community was still known as Sucknessett, before it became Falmouth in 1686. That helped a lot, as I have found information on Jonathan Dunham in Frederick Lewis Weis' 1936, "The Colonial Clergy and the Colonial Churches of New England." It is stated there that Dunham was a lay preacher in Falmouth, ME from 1679-1684, and that he was ordained in Edgartown in 1694, where he died in 1717. I believe the above is likely incorrect, that it was Falmouth in MA instead of in ME. Also, it appears to me that Weis' book was not familiar with Ezra Stile's comments about religion in early Falmouth--including the date when the Congregational church was actually "gathered," which, according to Stiles, was October 28, 1708. Weis says, October 10, 1708. But, that was the date the parishioners living in Falmouth were dismissed from their Barnstable church so they could then "gather" the Falmouth church as its own independent congregation. Prior to that time, the congregation worshipping in Falmouth was essentially a "branch church" of the Barnstable congregation. Such arrangements were common back then, apparently, and they were not in a hurry to have the "branch church" split off, until it could operate well on its own and the original church could afford to lose those parishioners forming the new church. If anyone has any more information on JONATHAN DUNHAM, I'm glad to receive it. Thanks. Best wishes, Rev. Dr. Doug Showalter