Third Congregational Society (Cambridge, Mass.). Records, 1827-1965
Overview
Records of meetings of Society, 1827-1936, 1962; Standing Committee records, 1827-1885, 1909-1940, 1962; Society records, including records of deaths, marriages, baptisms, and members, 1808-1926 (a record of births, marriages, and deaths during Thomas Brattle Gannett's ministry is in the Massachusetts Historical Society); Sunday School treasurer's books, 1921- 1938; Social Service Committee records, 1921-1929; Young People's Club minutes, 1892-1895; Women's Branch Alliance records, 1885-1936; Women's Branch Alliance Executive Board meetings records, 1895-1907, 1924-1935; Women's Branch Alliance treasurer's books, 1905-1936; scrapbook of Society, 1911-1935; treasurer's records, 1878-1938; Austin Street Sewing Society records, 1889-1892, 1895-1899; general files, including short histories of Society, legal papers, reports of the minister (Frank O. Holmes), parish letters, papers re new building (1911), etc.
Dates
- Creation: 1827-1965
Conditions Governing Access
There are no restrictions on access to this collection.
Extent
2.9 cubic feet (11 boxes)This collection consists of records of meetings of the Society, 1827-1936, 1962; Standing Committee records, 1827-1885, 1909-1940, 1962; Society records, including records of deaths, marriages, baptisms, and members, 1808-1926; Sunday School treasurer's books, 1921-1938; Social Service Committee records, 1921-1929; Young People's Club minutes, 1892-1895; Women's Branch Alliance records, 1885-1936; Women's Branch Alliance Executive Board meetings records, 1895-1907, 1924-1935; Women's Branch Alliance treasurer's books, 1905-1936; a scrapbook of the Society, 1911-1935; treasurer's records, 1878-1938; Austin Street Sewing Society records, 1889-1892, 1895-1899; general files, including short histories of the Society, legal papers, reports of the minister (Frank O. Holmes), parish letters, and papers related to the new building (1911).
Biographical / Historical
The Third Congregational Society was incorporated June 16, 1827, and erected a brick meeting house on the corner of Thorndike and Third Streets in East Cambridge. The church was organized March 3, 1828, and was sometimes called the East Cambridge Church. It merged with the Cambridgeport Parish in 1885 , whose meeting house was located on Austin Street. After the merger, the Cambridgeport Parish took on the name and endowment of the Third Congregational Society. The Cambridgeport Parish/Third Congregational Society was also known as the Harvard Street Church after it moved to a new building on Harvard Street in 1911. It merged with the First Parish in 1939.
- 1828-1829 Warren Burton
- 1830-1840 James Diman Green
- 1841-1846 Henry Lambert
- 1847-1849 George Goldthwait Ingersoll
- 1851-1859 Frederick West Holland
- 1860-1861 Frederick Newman Knapp
- 1861-1862 William Travis Clark
- 1862-1863 Henry Clay Badger
- 1864 Rufus Phineas Stebbins, stated supply
- 1865-1869 Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch
- 1869-1874 Samuel Walton McDaniel
Ministers after the merger with the Cambridgeport Parish
- -1895 George Ware Briggs
- 1889-1892 John Tunis
- 1897-1902 Augustus Phineas Reccord
- 1903-1914 Henry Hallam Saunderson
- 1915-1920 Albert Levitt
- 1921-1927 Frank Orville Holmes
- 1927-1931 Wesley Goodson Nicholson
- 1931-1934 William Bashford Richards
- 1934-1936 Harry Lutz
Ministers after the merger with the Cambridgeport Parish
- -1895
- George Ware Briggs
- 1889-1892
- John Tunis
- 1897-1902
- Augustus Phineas Reccord
- 1903-1914
- Henry Hallam Saunderson
- 1915-1920
- Albert Levitt
- 1921-1927
- Frank Orville Holmes
- 1927-1931
- Wesley Goodson Nicholson
- 1931-1934
- William Bashford Richards
- 1934-1936
- Harry Lutz
Arrangement
Organized into the following series:
- Series I. Parish records
- Series II. Standing Committee records
- Series III. Church records
- Series IV. Sunday School records
- Series V. Social Service Committee
- Series VI. Young People's Club
- Series VII. Women's Branch Alliance
- Series VIII. Scrapbook
- Series IX. Treasurer's records
- Series X. Sewing Society records
- Series XI. General files
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of First Parish in Cambridge and secured by Dr. Conrad Wright, 1974.
Processed by:
Alan Seaburg, 1981.
- Title
- Third Congregational Society (Cambridge, Mass.) Records (bMS 456): A Finding Aid
- Author
- Andover-Harvard Theological Library
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- div00456
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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