Newton, Massachusetts. First Church (Congregational). Records, 1773-1972.
Records, 1773 - 1972
RG 0132
22 linear feet
Originally processed by Sandra A. Sudak, 1990.
Re - processed by Albertina M. Rua, 2003.
Copyright: Requests for permission to publish material from this collection should be discussed with the archivist or librarian.
- Introduction
- History of the Church/a>
- List of Ministers
- Scope and Content
- Series Description
- Folder List
Introduction
The First Church records were deposited at the Congregational Library in 1972 after its dissolution. The collection was processed originally by Sandra A. Sudak in 1990. It was re - processed in 2003 by Albertina M. Rua under the supervision of the archivist, Jessica Steytler.
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.
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. Noyes1894 - 1929
Pastor Emeritus 1929 - 1939
Dwight J. Bradley 1930 - 1934
Jay T. Stocking 1935 - 1936
M. Russell Boynton1936 - 1953
Nathanael M. Guptill 1953 - 1958
Frank M. Weiskel1958 - 1967
Newell H. Curtis, Jr. 1967 - 1972
Top of pageScope 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.
Top of pageSeries 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.
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.
Top of pageFolder List
Box 1
Series I—Church Records, 1773 - 1972
Record Books 1773 - 1873
Church Minutes, Covenant, Confession of Faith 1827 - 1832; 1835
By - laws 1895; 1956; n.d.
Clerk's Records 1873 - 1891; 1932 - 1935
Box 2 and 3
Clerk's Records 1936 - 1955 (gaps)
Box 3
Clerk's Records 1956 - 1968 (gaps)
Box 4
Standing Committee Minutes 1884 - 1895
Annual Report s 1898 - 1970
Diaconate Board Minutes 1961 - 1969
Possible Merger with Newton Baptist Church 1945 - 1946
Dissolution of Church1972
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.
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
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 Dismissions1869 - 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
Box 17
Administrative and Financial Records, 1778 - 1973
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 Horses1839/1844/n.d.
Box 20
Mortgage/Deed/Insurance 1869/1876/1870's - 1880's
New Meeting House/Deeds 1804/1816 - 1817
Mortgage and Deeds1890 - 1930
Bonds of Parish Collector 1784 - 1811 (gaps)
Expense Vouchers (samples)
Expense Vouchers (samples)
Treasurer's Account Book 1795 - 1846
Account Book 1708 - 1778; 1779 - 1795;1796 - 1817;1804 - 1808
Pew Accounts Expenses 1862 - 1895
Expense Book 1888 - 1895
Cash Journal 1895 - 1897
Pledges 1895 - 1904
Receipts and Expenses 1896 - 1904
Box 21
Receipts and Expenses 1896 - 1909
Subscribers1935 - 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, Pledges1901 - 1911
Benevolence Committee Minutes and Correspondence1953 - 1954
Box 22
Report on Church Property and Correspondence 1896 - 1956
Dispositions of Church Property1972 - 1974
Building Committee Papers 1785 - 1805; 1846 - 1847; 1869;
1884; 1912, 1914
Building Committee Reports, Minutes, Correspondence 1804 - 1806; 1869
1891 - 1906
Reports and Corresp. on Various Additions to Church1912 - 1953
Box 23
Series III—Church Auxiliary Organizations, 1783 - 1974
Servicemen and women in WWII (1941 - 9945)
Lists, Citations, and Correspondence1944 - 1948
Servicemen and women in WWII
Correspondence (sampling)1942 - 1945
Christian Endeavor Constitution, Minutes, Members 1887 - 1891
Christian Endeavor Minutes, Annual Reports, and
Members 1896 - 1904
Box 24
Christian Endeavor Constitutions/Minutes/Attendance1896; 1908/1905 - 1912/1910 - 1916
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
Sunday School Minutes 1854 - 1866
Sunday School Superintendent's Record Book 1867 - 1874
Box 25
SS 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
Men's Club Correspondence and Scrapbook 1939 - 1940
Andover - Newton Theological School Students 1962 - 1965
Laity Sunday Sermons1943 - 1963 (gaps)
Conscientious Objector David Pierce 1964
Missions, Missionaries, and Refugees Correspondence1900 - 1; 1920s; 1937 - 1941; 1950s - 1960s
Box 26
Kelsey Circle Minutes and Members 1938? - 1967
Maria B. Furber Missionary Society Minutes and
Constitution 1883 - 1919
Box 27
Furber Minutes 1959 - 1967
Furber Missionary Society Treasurer's Book 1883 - 1918
Ladies Foreign Missionary Society Minutes 1887 - 1918
Women's Benevolent and Church Aid Society.
Foreign Missionary Department Minutes 1918 - 1924
Ladies (or Women's) Benevolent and Church Aid Society
Home Missionary Department Minutes1899 - 1931
LBS Minutes and Members 1861 - 1926
Box 28
WBS Minutes 1926 - 1972
WBS Annual Reports 1956 - 1959; 1962 - 1968
WBS Bequests 1930's - 1970's
WBS Histories 1909; 1919; 1939?; 1974
WBS Constitutions and By - Lawsn.d.; 1914, 1946, 1958,ca. 1967 - 1968
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 Fund1910 - 1920
WBCAS Treasurer's Report 1920 - 1974
Finance Committee Minutes and Reports 1959 - 1971
Disposition of Assets1971 - 1974
WBS Yearbooks 1916 - 1918; 1924 - 1971
Correspondence 1783 - 1869 (gaps)
Box 30
Series IV—Church Publications and Histories, 1841 - 1967
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 Bulletin1870; 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
275th Anniversary Preaching Mission and Correspondence 1939 - 1940
275th Anniversary Programs, News - clips, and Photos 1939
275th Anniversary Banquet Ticket List and Fund 1939
300th Anniversary Committee Minutes and
Correspondence 1962 - 1964
300th Anniversary Addresses 1964
300th Anniversary 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
Box 33
Series V—Ministers' Papers, 1741 - 1962
John Cotton (1714 - 1757). Election Sermon1753
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. Woodard1846
Daniel Furber. Sermons 1847 - 1860
Box 34
Sermons 1861 - 1899
Box 35
Addresses and Letters1830's; 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 Furber1883
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 Photos1936 - 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
Box 40
Series VI—Photos and Memorabilia, 1899 - 1965
Drawing of Old Meetinghouse (by Sarah F. Clarke) 1889
5th Meeting House Interior 1891 - 1892; 1896; 1908; n.d.
5th Meetinghouse Exterior n.d.; 1899; 1902
5th Meetinghouse Tearing Down1902 - 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