Newton, Massachusetts. First Church (Congregational). Records, 1773-1972
History of the Church
In 1664, the Great and General Court of Massachusetts gave permission for forty men and forty women to establish or "gather" the First Church of Cambridge Village. Before its establishment, settlers of Cambridge Village attended services and paid taxes to the city of Cambridge. Twenty-four years later, the Village seceded from the city of Cambridge and became the city of Newtown, later spelled Newton. The First Church remained the only organized church in Newton until 1780, when the First Baptist Church was founded. From its founding, the city of Cambridge and later, the city of Newton, raised taxes for the First Church, and the parish held services and town meetings until the early 1830s. In 1833, the city of Newton severed its ties with the First Church, forcing it to raise funds on its own. The First Church would see the construction of several meetinghouses, the last dedicated in 1904. In the 1940s, the First Church discussed merging its services with the Newton Baptist Church. It dissolved in 1972 after more than three hundred years of service to the Newton community.
List of Ministers
Below is a list of the pastors of the First Church, some who served the community for over thirty years.
John Elliot, Jr. | 1664-1668 | ||
Nehemiah Hobart | 1674-1712 | ||
John Cotton | 1714-1757 | ||
Jonas Merriam | 1758-1780 | ||
Jonathan Homer | 1782-1839 | Pastor Emeritus | 1839-1845 |
William Bushnell | 1842-1846 | ||
Daniel Furber | 1847-1882 | ||
Pastor Emeritus | 1882-1899 | ||
Theodore J. Holmes | 1883-1893 | ||
Edward M. Noyes | 1894-1929 | Pastor Emeritus | 1929-1939 |
Dwight J. Bradley | 1930-1934 | ||
Jay T. Stocking | 1935-1936 | ||
M. Russell Boynton | 1936-1953 | ||
Nathanael M. Guptill | 1953-1958 | ||
Frank M. Weiskel | 1958-1967 | ||
Newell H. Curtis, Jr. | 1967-1972 |
Scope and Content Note
The bulk of the collection of the First Church consists of official records of the church, including clerk's records and annual reports, information on membership and vital statistics of its members, and the administrative and financial records after 1773. Earlier records of the church were destroyed in a fire in 1770. The auxiliary organizations of the First Church are well-represented in this collection. The records of the Sunday School (founded in 1816) and the Women's Benevolent Society give light into the functioning of special programs and services outside the primary role of the church, such as education and missions. The sermons and papers of the Rev. Daniel Furber and Edward M. Noyes comprise the majority of the ministers' papers. Both Rev. Furber and Noyes were elected Pastor Emeriti after more than thirty years of service to the First Church. The newsletters, which document the church's history in the twentieth-century, are complemented with programs, news-clippings, and photographs that the church collected during special dedications and anniversaries.
Series Description
Series I -- Church Records, 1773-1972. This series contains official church records, such as the record books, clerk's records, annual reports, and membership records. The membership records include information on births, baptisms, deaths, marriages, admissions, and dismissions. Also covenants, constitutions, and by-laws can be found within this series. Duplicates of annual reports in the clerk's records between 1931 and 1968 were discarded; however, the clerk's records of 1941 to 1950 contain the annual reports for those years. The clerk's records for 1892 to 1931, the Standing Committee minutes for 1895 to 1931, and a register of the Church are oversized material, and they are shelved separately from the rest. Each set of documents is arranged in chronological order, maintaining, in most cases, the arrangement of the material by the original processor of this collection.
Two volumes in this series have been digitized as part of our New England's Hidden Histories program.
Series II -- Administrative and Financial Records, 1778-1973. The administrative records of the Church contains minutes of the freeholders' meetings, proprietors' meetings, the Prudential Committee minutes, pew deeds, owners, and proprietor information. All these records were kept. The financial records contain account information and benevolences for the First Church beginning in 1708. The First Church kept expense Vouchers and checks from 1780 to 1903, of which a sampling was kept. The accounts books for the years 1914 to 1964 and some ledgers on benevolences that chronicled the monthly expenses of the church were discarded, as the yearly reports sufficiently describe the financial activities. The records on the property of the church were moved into this series, and they contain the Building Committee papers and reports. Within these records are blueprints of the church. Also included with the records of church property are some letters of donation, deposit, and final disposition of material after 1972. This series is also arranged chronologically, by type of record; however, one volume of the Prudential Committee minutes is shelved with the oversized material.
Series III -- Church Auxiliary Organizations, 1783-1974. This series contains the records, mostly minutes, from the Christian Endeavor, the Sunday School, the Men's Club, the Kelsey Circle, the Maria B. Furber Missionary Society, the Ladies Foreign Missionary Society, and the Woman's (or Ladies) Benevolent and Church Aid Society. The majority are from the Woman's Benevolent Society, which lasted until the dissolution of the church. This series is also arranged chronologically by each organization and then, in some cases, by department or type of record.
Series IV -- Church Publications and Histories, 1841-1967. Samplings of church calendars and all newsletters of the First Church provide a glimpse of current events and announcements between 1894 and 1968. This series also includes programs and news-clippings of special celebrations, such as dedications, inaugurations, and anniversaries. Each set of records is arranged chronologically.
Series V -- Ministers' Papers, 1741-1962. The minister papers of the First Church contain some of the personal papers, some published copies of sermons, and the copy of the programs for the installation of several ministers. Researchers will find news-clippings of material related to the church and to the minister, similarly to Series IV. As stated in the scope and content note, the majority of this collection contains the sermons of Rev. Daniel Furber and Edward M. Noyes. Their papers have been arranged chronologically.
Series VI -- Photos and Memorabilia, 1899-1965. This series contains mostly an assortment of photos of the First Church, of some anniversaries, of certain church properties, and certain events and celebrations of the church. Photos relating to the meetinghouses have been arranged chronologically. Miscellaneous photographs, albums, scrapbooks, and objects have been maintained in the original arrangement of this series.
Box List
Series I -- Church Records, 1773-1972 |
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Box 1 | |||
Record Books | 1773-1873 Online interface |
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Church Minutes, Covenant, Confession of Faith | 1827-1832; 1835 | ||
By-laws | 1895; 1956; n. d. | ||
Clerk's Records | 1873-1891; 1932-1935 | ||
Box 2 | |||
Samuel Beck correspondences | 1964-1966 | ||
Clerk's Records | 1936-1955 (gaps) | ||
Box 3 | |||
Clerk's Records | 1956-1968 (gaps) | ||
Box 4 | |||
Standing Committee Minutes | 1884-1895 | ||
Annual Reports | 1898-1970 | ||
Diaconate Board Minutes | 1961-1969 | ||
Possible Merger with Newton Baptist Church | 1945-1946 | ||
Dissolution of Church | 1972 | ||
Box 5 | |||
Candidates | 1893-1894 | ||
Committee on Pastorate | 1893-1894 | ||
Pastoral Committee Minutes | 1929; 1953-1954 | ||
Pastoral Committee Minutes and Correspondence | 1859-1966 (gaps) | ||
Box 6 | |||
Alphabetical Index to Register | early 1900s | ||
Alphabetical Index to Chronological List | n.d. | ||
Membership Lists | 1895-1896; 1899-1903; 1905; 1909; 1921; 1923; n.d. |
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Box 7 | |||
Member List (Deaths and Baptisms) | 1835-1838 | ||
Confessions of Faith, Signers of Covenant | 1859; 1876; 1882-1895 | ||
Member List | 1876; 1891 | ||
Membership Correspondence | 1886-1891 | ||
Annual Roll Call | 1890-1891 | ||
Signatures of Members | 1895-1971 | ||
Box 8 | |||
Register | 1957-1973 | ||
Absentee Lists | 1930s-1940s | ||
Marriages (marriage certificates and Correspondence) | 1938-1953 (gaps) | ||
Baptisms | 1904; 1905; 1910-1934; 1940-1954 |
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Letters of Dismission | 1952-1971 | ||
Box 9 | |||
Active Members | 1960s | ||
Box 10 | |||
Inactive and Severed Members | 1960s | ||
Box 11 | |||
Deaths | 1930-1953; 1958-1967 | ||
Box 12 | |||
Admissions and Dismissions | ca. 1870-1910 | ||
Certificates of Admissions and Dismissions | 1869-1891; 1890s-1902 | ||
Box 13 | |||
Members List and manuals | 1827-1953 | ||
Articles of Faith (Covenant and Memorandum Book) | 1859; 1914 | ||
Veterans Lists (War of 1812 and Spanish - American War (1898)) | 1918 | ||
Box 14 | |||
Membership Applications | 1908-1916; 1927-1929 | ||
Box 15 | |||
Admissions and Dismissions Certificates | 1920s-1950s | ||
Box 16 | |||
Dismissions | 1953-1967 | ||
Series II -- Administrative and Financial Records, 1778-1973 |
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Box 17 | |||
Warrants for Parish Meetings | 1778-1855 (gaps) | ||
Freeholders' Meeting Minutes, Pew Proprietors | 1778-1805 | ||
Freeholders' Meeting Minutes | 1806-1846 | ||
Parish Meeting Minutes | 1860 | ||
Pewholders and Stockholders Meeting Minutes | 1846-1855 | ||
Proprietors of the Meetinghouse Minutes | 1855-1895 | ||
Prudential Committee Minutes | 1941-1968 | ||
Parish Assessments | 1779-1884 | ||
Members Released from Parish Tax | ca. 1824-1833 | ||
Box 19 | |||
Assessment Statements | 1790-1813 | ||
Pews - Correspondence | 1805-1886 | ||
Pew Deeds | 1847-1852 | ||
Pews - Bills of Sale | 1806; 1823 | ||
Pew Deed | 1847 | ||
Pews - Bills of Sale | ca. 1870-1902 | ||
Pew Plans and Valuations | 1847-1888 | ||
Pew Owners | 1863-1902 | ||
Pew Proprietors | 1868-1896 | ||
Horse Shed Rentals | 1857-1894 (gaps) | ||
Assessment / Subscriptions / Pews and Horses | 1839 / 1844 / n. d. | ||
Box 20 | |||
Mortgage / Deed / Insurance | 1869 / 1876 / 1870s-1880s | ||
New Meeting House / Deeds | 1804 / 1816-1817 | ||
Mortgage and Deeds | 1890-1930 | ||
Bonds of Parish Collector | 1784-1811 (gaps) | ||
Expense Vouchers (samples) | |||
Treasurer's Account Book | 1795-1846 | ||
Account Book | 1708-1778; 1779-1795; 1796-1817; 1804-1808 |
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Pew Accounts Expenses | 1862-1895 | ||
Expense Book | 1888-1895 | ||
Cash Journal | 1895-1897 | ||
Pledges | 1895-1904 | ||
Receipts and Expenses | 1780-1904 | ||
Box 21 | |||
Receipts and Expenses | 1896-1909 | ||
Subscribers | 1935-1943 | ||
Finance Committee Budgets | 1924-1954 (gaps) | ||
Canvass Materials (samples) | 1938-1959 | ||
Endowments and Bequests | 1912-1935 (gaps) | ||
Receipts of Edmund Trowbridge [executor] | 1786-1804 | ||
Memorial Window Fund Account Book | 1912-1914 | ||
Communion Collections | 1883-1888 | ||
Benevolence Receipts and Expenses | 1870-1888 | ||
Benevolence Expenses, Pledges | 1901-1911 | ||
Benevolence Committee Minutes and Correspondence | 1953-1954 | ||
Box 22 | |||
Report on Church Property and Correspondence | 1896-1956 | ||
Dispositions of Church Property | 1972-1974 | ||
Building Committee Papers | 1785-1805; 1846-1847; 1869; 1884; 1912; 1914 |
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Building Committee Reports, Minutes, Correspondence | 1804-1806; 1869; 1891-1906 |
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Reports and Corresp. on Various Additions to Church | 1912-1953 | ||
Series III -- Church Auxiliary Organizations, 1783-1974 |
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Box 23 | |||
Servicemen and women in WWII (1941-1945) | |||
Lists, Citations, and Correspondence | 1944-1948 | ||
Servicemen and women in WWII | |||
Correspondence (sampling) | 1942-1945 | ||
Christian Endeavor | |||
Constitution, Minutes, Members | 1887-1891 | ||
Minutes, Annual Reports, and Members | 1896-1904 | ||
Box 24 | |||
Constitutions / Minutes / Attendance | 1896; 1908 / 1905-1912 / 1910-1916 |
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Y.P.S.C.E. Bulletin | 1894-1895 | ||
Y.P.S.C.E. Missionary Committee Reports | 1907; 1912-1913 | ||
Christian Endeavor Auxiliaries | 1897-1901 | ||
Sunday School | |||
Attendance Books | 1873-1876; 1916-1923 | ||
Minutes | 1854-1866 | ||
Superintendent's Record Book | 1867-1874 | ||
Box 25 | |||
Superintendent's Record Book | 1875-1885 | ||
Origin of Sunday School (copy) / Gifts and Letters to Sunday School | 1863; ca. 1860-1890 | ||
Men's Club | |||
Correspondence and Annual Meeting Reports | 1939-1953 | ||
Correspondence and Scrapbook | 1939-1940 | ||
Andover-Newton Theological School Students | 1962 - 1965 | ||
Laity Sunday Sermons | 1943-1963 (gaps) | ||
Conscientious Objector David Pierce | 1964 | ||
Missions, Missionaries, and Refugees Correspondence | 1900-1; 1920s; 1937-1941; 1950s-1960s |
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Box 26 | |||
Kelsey Circle Minutes and Members | 1938(?)-1967 | ||
Maria B. Furber Missionary Society | |||
Minutes and Constitution | 1883-1919 | ||
Box 27 | |||
Minutes | 1959-1967 | ||
Treasurer's Book | 1883-1918 | ||
Ladies Foreign Missionary Society Minutes | 1887-1918 | ||
Ladies (later Women's) Benevolent and Church Aid Society | |||
Foreign Missionary Department Minutes | 1918-1924 | ||
Home Missionary Department Minutes | 1899-1931 | ||
Minutes and Members | 1861-1926 | ||
Choice recipes from members and friends of the Women's Benevolent Society | 1939 | ||
Box 28 | |||
Minutes | 1926-1972 | ||
Annual Reports | 1956-1959; 1962-1968 | ||
Bequests | 1930s-1970s | ||
Histories | 1909; 1919; 1939(?); 1974 | ||
Constitutions and By-Laws | n. d.; 1914; 1946; 1958; ca. 1967-1968 |
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Directory and Pamphlets | ca. 1916-1928; 1955-1972 | ||
Little Women's Mission Minutes and Members | 1876-1881 | ||
Ladies Furnishing Committee Minutes | 1903-1906 | ||
Sewing Committee - Expenses | 1939-1942 | ||
Sewing Committee - Reports | 1943-1947 | ||
Friendly Service Sewing Committee Reports | 1947-1972 | ||
Reading Committee Minutes and Members | 1946-1960 | ||
Box 29 | |||
LBCAS General Treasurer's Account | 1899-1930 | ||
WBS Dues and Contributions | 1928-1937 | ||
WEB Dues and Members | ca. 1930 | ||
LBCAS Account Book | 1894-1920 | ||
Home Missionary Department Account Book | 1905-1920 | ||
LBCAS General Expense Fund | 1910-1920 | ||
WBCAS Treasurer's Report | 1920-1974 | ||
Finance Committee Minutes and Reports | 1959-1971 | ||
Disposition of Assets | 1971-1974 | ||
WBS Yearbooks | 1916-1918; 1924-1971 | ||
Correspondence | 1783-1869 (gaps) | ||
Series IV -- Church Publications and Histories, 1841-1967 |
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Box 30 | |||
Church Calendars (sampling) | 1894-1919 | ||
"The Welcome" | 1921-1935 (gaps) | ||
Church Calendars (sampling) | 1936-1968 | ||
Box 31 | |||
"Church News" | 1939 -1967 | ||
Meeting House Dedication / 225th Anniversary Bulletin | 1870; 1889 | ||
Miscellaneous Fliers | 1841; 1876 | ||
The Commemorative Services . . . 275th Anniversary (book) | 1890 | ||
240th Anniversary Dedication of New Building | 1903-1904 | ||
Box 32 | |||
250th Anniversary Programs and News-clips | 1914 | ||
Committee of the 250th Anniversary Record Book | 1912-1914 | ||
275th Anniversary | |||
Historical Addresses and Correspondence | 1939 | ||
Preaching Mission and Correspondence | 1939-1940 | ||
Programs, News-clips, and Photos | 1939 | ||
Banquet Ticket List and Fund | 1939 | ||
300th Anniversary | |||
Committee Minutes and Correspondence | 1962-1964 | ||
Addresses | 1964 | ||
Programs, News-clips, and Photos | 1964 | ||
50th Anniversary of David Ralph Maclean (organist) | 1963 | ||
Programs for Special Occasions and Dedications | 1905; 1943; 1951; 1962; 1971 |
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Series V -- Ministers' Papers, 1741-1962 |
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Box 33 | |||
John Cotton (1714-1757) -- Election Sermon | 1753 | ||
Sermon Preached at Newton, by Nathanael Appleton | 1741 | ||
Jonathan Homer (1782-1839) | |||
Letter of Agreement | 1839 | ||
Sermons | 1785-1791; 1816; 1828 | ||
Diary | 1809-1817; 1824 | ||
William Bushnell -- Funeral Sermon for E. F. Woodard | 1846 | ||
Daniel Furber | |||
Sermons | 1847-1860 | ||
Box 34 | |||
Sermons | 1861-1899 | ||
Box 35 | |||
Addresses and Letters | 1830s; 1859; n. d. | ||
Memorial and Funeral Services | 1897; 1899 | ||
Jubilee of the Pastorate of Daniel Little Furber | 1897 | ||
The Addresses Delivered at the Funeral Service of Rev. Daniel Little Furber | 1900 | ||
A Sermon in Memory of Mrs. Maria Brigham Furber | 1883 | ||
Account Book | 1850-1898 | ||
Travel Diary | 1869 | ||
Diary and Letters from Abroad | 1869-1870 | ||
Published Addresses and Sermons | 1863-1898 (gaps) | ||
Albumin Prints (cabinet cards) | 1847-1891(?) | ||
Daguerreotypes | n. d. | ||
Box 36 | |||
Theodore J. Holmes | |||
Sermons and Biographical Sketch | 1893; n. d.; 1938 | ||
Sermons (sampling) | 1883-1893 | ||
Edward M. Noyes | |||
Sermons | 1889-1900 | ||
Sermons | 1890s-1910 (gaps) | ||
Box 37 | |||
Sermons | 1908 - 1921 (gaps) | ||
Box 38 | |||
Sermons | 1910-1918 | ||
Record of the Congregation | 1894-1895 | ||
Correspondence | 1938-1939 | ||
Noyes Memorial Window | 1941 | ||
Memorabilia | 1894-1939 | ||
Dwight J. Bradley -- Installation and Published Sermons | 1928-1933 | ||
Jay T. Stocking | |||
Installation, Sermons, and Funeral Service | 1923-1936 | ||
Scrapbook | 1936 | ||
"Dr. Stocking: A Memorial" Scrapbook | 1936 | ||
Russell M. Boynton | |||
Installation, Sermons, Memorial Service, and Photos | 1936-1953 | ||
Sermons for 275th Anniversary | 1939 | ||
Box 39 | |||
Beach Lectures - Bangor Theological Seminary | 1946 | ||
Nathanael M. Guptill -- Installation, Biography, and Photo | 1953-1958 | ||
Frank Weiskel | |||
Installation and Photos | 1958-1967 | ||
Sermons | 1961-1962 | ||
Series VI -- Photos and Memorabilia, 1899-1965 |
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Box 40 | |||
Drawing of Old Meetinghouse (by Sarah F. Clarke) | 1889 | ||
5th Meeting House Interior | 1891-1892; 1896; 1908; n. d. |
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5th Meetinghouse Exterior | n. d.; 1899; 1902 | ||
5th Meetinghouse Tearing Down | 1902-1903 | ||
6th Meetinghouse Cornerstone and Construction | 1901; 1903-1904; 1909 | ||
Groundbreaking for Chapel (?) | 1949 | ||
6th Meetinghouse Interior, Exterior | 1960s(?); 1967(?) | ||
300th Anniversary Photos | 1964 | ||
Photos of Communion Silver and Memorials | 1949; 1961 | ||
Canvass Pictures | 1958 | ||
Various Photos and Drawings of Members and Ministers | 1900 - 1950 | ||
Photographs of Rev. Furber and Boynton | 1847-1890s; 1954 | ||
Choir | 1941(?) | ||
Church Sunday School (300th Anniversary) | 1964 | ||
Choir | 1954 | ||
Membership Class | 1959-1965 | ||
Scrapbook | 1942-1946 | ||
Ward / Paul / Kingsbury Albums | 1870s | ||
5th Meetinghouse Metal Block Cut | n. d. | ||
Musical Score Metal Block Cut | n. d. | ||
6th Meetinghouse Glass Plates | n. d. | ||
Oversized Material | |||
Clerk's Records | 1892-1910; 1910-1931 | ||
Standing Committee Minutes | 1895-1929; 1929-1931 | ||
Register (Members, Baptisms, and Dismissals / Deaths) | 1664-1968 | ||
Prudential Committtee Minutes | 1895-1931 |