First Congregational Church and Society in Brighton (Brighton, Boston, Mass.) Records, 1721-1966.
Overview
Records of the First Congregational Church and Society in Brighton (Brighton, Boston, Mass.); includes treasurer's records, records of the Standing Committee, Parish Committee, First Parish Unity Club, and other church groups; financial records; preaching receipts; parish bills; parish announcements; Sunday school papers; pew deeds and accounts; parish church tax books; meeting minutes, and marriage records.
Dates
- Creation: 1721-1966.
Extent
10 boxesThis collection consists of the records of the First Congregational Church and Society in Brighton, Massachusetts. It includes treasurer's records and records of the Standing Committee, Parish Committee, First Parish Unity Club, and other church groups. The collection also includes financial records, preaching receipts, parish bills and announcements, Sunday school papers, pew deeds and accounts, parish church tax books, marriage records, and meeting minutes of the “inhabitants on the south side of the Charles River.”
Biographical / Historical
From 1636 to 1737, the people of Brighton, called Little Cambridge, worshipped with the Cambridge Society. The Society in Brighton was organized in 1737, and in 1744, it built its first meeting house. In 1779, the General Court granted a “legal” existence to the Society as the “South” or Third Parish of Cambridge. On February 26, 1783, the “First Parish in Brighton” was organized as a Parish independent of Cambridge. On November 1, 1784, Rev. John Foster was ordained as the first pastor of the Church. In 1809 the second meeting house was dedicated. Both these meeting houses were on the corner of Washington and Market Streets. On July 1, 1894 the cornerstone of the new Church on Chestnut Hill Avenue was laid by the minister, Rev. Albert Walkley. On March 31, 1895 the new Church was dedicated. (From The First Parish by Rev. Albert Walkley, minister).
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of the Unitarian Universalist Association. Material in box 8, folder 8 was donated by Mrs. Clarence Blake.
Digitization Funding
Collections and items have been digitized with the generous support of The Polonsky Foundation.
- Title
- First Congregational Church and Society in Brighton (Brighton, Boston, Mass.) Records, 1721-1966: A Finding Aid
- Author
- Andover-Harvard Theological Library
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- div00011
Repository Details
Part of the Harvard Divinity School Library, Harvard University Repository
Special Collections at Harvard Divinity School Library preserves and makes accessible primary source materials documenting the history of religion and theology, with particular historical emphasis on American liberal religious traditions. Though the historical strengths of the collections have been in the field of Christianity, other religious traditions are increasingly reflected, in step with Harvard Divinity School's evolving focus on global religious studies. Known as Andover-Harvard Theological Library since 1911, it was renamed the Harvard Divinity School Library in 2021.
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