Society, 1842-1919
Scope and Contents
The first series is the records of the Prudential Committee, the property holding body, and the treasurer's records to 1919. The second series is the pew records. The Mount Vernon Society owned two different buildings in the years of its existence. The first was on what is now Ashburton Place on Beacon Hill, an austere Greek temple that has long since disappeared. As part of the fiftieth anniversary celebration of the parish, in 1892, it moved into a new home at the corner of Beacon Street and Massachusetts Avenue in the Back Bay, this was the building which burned in 1977. The pew records are from both buildings. Their sale financed regular church operations and paid for the building. The third series of Society records are the records of the Building Committee, a joint committee of Society and Church responsible for planning the Beacon Street Church. Information on this building effort is also to be found in Box 6, Folder 32: Henry Woods. Woods bought the land and held it until the parish was ready to move.
Dates
- 1842-1919
Restrictions on Access
Access to this collection is unrestricted and open to the public.
Extent
15 Folders
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Mount Vernon Society vs. Church
For the first seventy years of its existence, from 1842 to 1919, the Mount Vernon Church operated under the "Dual System" of Society and Church. The Society is a reflection of the original seventeenth century New England system whereby only the adult males of the property - holding elite had the right to vote. The Mount Vernon Church was founded after churches in Massachusetts had been dis - established, and were no longer supported by tax money, but it followed the older pattern, because not until 1887 was it possible for Massachusetts females to be members of a corporation with property - holding rights. Not until 1919 did the members of the Mount Vernon Society vote to dissolve it, and to incorporate as Mount Vernon Congregational Church, Inc.
Creator
- From the Collection: Mt. Vernon Congregational Church (Boston, Mass.) (Organization)
- From the Collection: Holmes, Pauline (Person)
- From the Collection: Moody, Dwight Lyman, 1837-1899 (Person)
- From the Collection: Herrick, Samuel E. (Samuel Edward), 1841-1904 (Person)
- From the Collection: Kirk, Edward Norris, 1802-1874 (Person)
- From the Collection: Old South Church (Boston, Mass.) (Organization)
- From the Collection: Chambers Street Church (Boston, Mass.) (Organization)
Repository Details
Part of the Congregational Library & Archives Repository