Table of Contents

Historical Note

Scope and Content Note

Information for Researchers

Separations List

Administrative Information

Description

Subject Headings

Inventory of the First Unitarian Church Records

In the New Bedford Whaling Museum Research Library

Historical Note

The First Unitarian Church of New Bedford, Massachusetts, was initially established in 1708 as a congregational church in what was then Dartmouth, Mass. In 1795, a new meeting house for the church was erected at the corner of Purchase and William Streets, and in 1824 the name of this organization was legally changed to the First Congregational Society of New Bedford. A new church for the Society, designed by Alexander Jackson Davis, was completed in 1838 by the Ingalls brothers, with Russell Warren acting as building supervisor. Both the facilities and the congregation of the church continued to grow over the following century. In 1868, a chapel was attached to the church building to house a Sunday School and to provide a meeting place for the many church-related clubs and societies which were formed between ca. 1866-1923. A center for church and social work, which became known as Unity Home, was established in the north end of the city in the 1890s. This became known as the North Unitarian Church and continued to maintain ties to the main church until 1951 when it became independent. It later rejoined the First Unitarian Church due to financial problems and eventually dissolved in the early 1970s. In about 1956, the First Congregational Society adopted new by-laws which reorganized the church and changed its name to the First Unitarian Church of New Bedford.

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Scope and Content Note

Represented by materials in this collection are the First Unitarian Church of New Bedford as well as three organizations associated with this church: the North Unitarian Church of New Bedford, the First Congregational Society in Acushnet, Mass., and the First Universalist Society of New Bedford. Most of these records concern the First Unitarian Church from 1730-1977. These documents have been organized in Sub-group 1 and arranged into thirteen Series: Administrative Records, 1730-1975 (Series A); Financial Records, 1808-1968 (Series B); Membership Records, 1731-1962 (Series C); Pew Records, 1813-1923 (Series D); Standing Committee Records, 1811-ca. 1950 (Series E); Clubs' Records, 1866-1966 (Series F); Building Records, 1833-1967 (Series G); Pastors' Records, 1730-1977 (Series H); General Correspondence, ca. 1740-1937 (Series I); Anniversary Records, 1895-1958 (Series J); Church Histories, ca. 1860, ca. 1910-1965 (Series K); Programs, 1862-1966 (Series L); and Guestbooks, Scrapbooks, Clippings and Miscellany, 1920-1972 (Series M).

Of particular importance are administrative records, 1730-1975, which include minutes of meetings, annual reports, by-laws, lists of officers and committee members, warrants, ballots and similar documents. These items are complemented by records of the church treasurers and assessors, subscriptions for fund raising, and bills and receipts which relate to general financial affairs of the church from 1808-1968.

One of the most significant series of records in this collection in terms of their research value are those concerning the construction, renovations and furnishings of the First Unitarian Church building constructed at New Bedford in the 1830s. These materials consist of minutes of meetings; financial records; correspondence; specifications; articles of agreement; and architectural blueprints and sketches dating from 1833-1967. Included among these materials are correspondence from Peabody & Stearns, Boston architects, and one letter apiece from architect Russell Warren and an artist, Edward Simmons, as well as plans and related documents prepared by Charles Brigham, George Hunt Ingraham and Nathaniel C. Smith.

The most extensive range of records in this collection concern the activities of church-related committees and clubs from 1811-1966. Most notable among these documents are administrative, financial and membership records of the numerous charitable, religious, and social clubs -- chiefly composed of women members -- which the church has supported since the 1860s. Included in these materials are records of the New Bedford Branch of the Women's Alliance; a missionary society active from 1895-1950, and those of a sewing circle, 1866-1966, which distributed clothing to New Bedford's poor and made surgical dressing for local hospitals.

Another sizeable quantity of records in this collection relate to the members and ministers of the First Unitarian Church throughout most of its existence. Membership-related records encompass deeds, bills, receipts, lists, and plans concerning the purchase, rental, sale and taxation of church pews from 1813-1923, as well as records of baptisms, marriages, and deaths of church members between 1731-1962. Pastors' records consist of reports, correspondence, sermons, installation programs, and clippings relating to church ministers active between 1730-1977, including William J. Potter, Paul Revere Frothingham, William Bernard Geoghegan, and Edwin Stanton Hodgins. The collection also includes general correspondence dating from about 1740-1937; reports, correspondence, programs and clippings relating to various church anniversary celebrations held between 1908-1958; and a variety of sketches, programs, registers, clippings and similiar materials concerning the history and activities of the First Unitarian Church, ca. 1838-1966.

In addition, this collection contains records of three other churches or religious organizations which were at one time connected to or associated with New Bedford's First Unitarian Church. Records for the North Unitarian Church in Sub-group 2, encompass administrative records, 1909-1937 -- including minutes of meetings and committee and ministers' reports; financial records, 1898-1923; membership records, 1924; correspondence, 1905-1937; clubs' and Sunday school records, 1916-1937; building records, 1898-1916 and programs and clippings, 1922, 1944. Records of the First Congregational Society "at the head of Acushnet River" in Sub-group 3 consist of vital records of members, 1830-1833; transcripts of administrative records of 1829-1887, completed in about 1930; and an ordination program, 1879. First Universalist Society records in Sub-group 4 include an agreement, 1840-1842, and minutes of meetings from 1920-1930.

Researchers should note that the First Unitarian Church in New Bedford has retained ownership of numerous records relating to that organization, particularly documents created after 1936. Printed sources which may serve as guides to the history of the church are available in Series K of this collection.

Arrangement of Collection

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Information for Researchers

Access to the Collection

Unrestricted. Consult librarian for an appointment.

Preferred Citation

New Bedford Whaling Museum Research Library Mss 42 [sub-group, series, sub-series, folder/volume as appropriate], [item]

Copyright Notice

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted materials. The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 United States Code 552a) governs the use of materials that document private individuals, groups, and corporations.

Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a reproduction if the document does not infringe the privacy rights of an individual, group, or corporation. These specified conditions of authorized use include:

If the researcher later uses a copy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," the researcher is personally liable for copyright. privacy, or publicity infringement and agrees to indemnify the New Bedford Whaling Museum from any legal action as a result of the error. Permission to obtain a photographic, xerographic, digital, or other copy of a document does not indicate permission to publish, exhibit, perform, reproduce, sell, distribute, or prepare derivative works from the document without permission from the copyright holder and from any private individual, group, or corporation shown or otherwise recorded.

Permission to publish, exhibit, perform, reproduce, prepare derivative works from, sell, or otherwise distribute the item must be obtained separately in writing from the holder of the original copyright (or if the creator is dead, from his/her heirs) as well as from any individual(s), groups, or corporations whose name, image, recorded words, or private information (e.g. employment information) may be reproduced in the source material. The holder of the original copyright is not necessarily the New Bedford Whaling Museum. The New Bedford Whaling Museum is not legally liable for copyright, privacy, or publicity infringement when materials are wrongfully used after being provided to researchers for "fair use."

This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if fulfillment of the order is judged in violation of copyright or federal or state privacy law. This institution also places restrictions on the use of cameras, photocopiers, and scanners in the research room.

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Separations List

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Administrative Information

Provenance

The major portion of this collection was donated to the Old Dartmouth Historical Society by the First Unitarian Church on 5 February 1982. Several volumes in the collection were originally received as loans from the church on 3 January 1980 and 20 July 1981. An additional volume which is now part of this collection was given to the Society by Alice Bushnell on 1 February 1934.

Processing Information

Processed by: Judith Downey, with assistance from Henry Sherman, ca. 1982

Encoded by: Kermit Dewey, 25 November 2011

Funds for processing this collection were provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

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Description

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Subject Headings

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