Lowell, Mass. Eliot Union Church records, 1830-1969.

Collection

Identifier: RG0113

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This collection contains the records of the Eliot Union Church, in Lowell, Massachusetts, as well as the records of the two churches that merged to form the Eliot Union Church: the Eliot Church and the Kirk Street Church. The collection contains church administrative records, such as financial records and meeting minutes, membership records, including baptismal records and marriage records, auxiliary group records, and scrapbooks that document the weekly activities of the church.

Dates

1830-1969

Creator

Appleton Street Church (Lowell, Mass.) (Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

Access to this collection is unrestricted and open to the public.

Conditions Governing Use

Items in this collection are subject to U.S. Copyright Law. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine the copyright status of collection items and to secure any permissions necessary for their reproduction and publication. Requests for permission to publish material must be discussed with the archivist or librarian.

Historical Note

The Appleton Congregational Church in Lowell, Massachusetts, also known as the Second Congregational Church, was organized in 1830. The church’s meeting house was located along Appleton Street. In 1873 the church building was sold to the First Presbyterian Church and a new church building was constructed at the corner of Eliot and Summer Streets. At this point, the church changed its name to Eliot Church.

The Kirk Street Church, also known as the Fourth Congregational Church, was organized in 1845. The church was initially poor with a fairly young membership. The church building was given to the town of Lowell to make way for a high school in 1916.

The Eliot Church and Kirk Street Church merged in 1919 to form the Eliot Union Church. This church continued to worship at the Eliot Street location. In 1955 the Eliot Union Church merged with the First Presbyterian Church to form the Eliot Presbyterian Church. The old Appleton Street Church was given to the Salvation Army after the merger of First Presbyterian and Eliot Union Church.

Extent

5.94 Cubic Feet (8 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The Appleton Congregational Church in Lowell, Massachusetts, was organized in 1830. In 1873, the church building was sold to the First Presbyterian Church and the church moved to a new building along Eliot Street to become the Eliot Street Church. The Kirk Street Church was organized in 1845. In 1919, the Eliot and Kirk Street Churches merged to form the Eliot Union Church. In 1955, the Eliot Union Church merged with the First Presbyterian Church to form the Eliot Presbyterian Church. The collection contains church administrative records, membership records, auxiliary group records, and scrapbooks.

Arrangement

This series has been arranged into the three series listed below. The Kirk Street Church records series has been further divided into three subseries. The collection has generally been arranged into chronological order. Some closely related materials, and materials which begin where a previous item ended, have been topically grouped together within the chronological order to assist discoverability.

Series 1: Eliot Church records, 1830-1918

Series 2: Kirk Street Church records, 1845-1919

Subseries 1: Administrative records, 1845-1919

Subseries 2: Membership and auxiliary group records, 1845-1919

Subseries 3: Scrapbooks, 1879-1917

Series 3: Eliot Union Church records, 1857-1969

Acquisition Information

Some Kirk Street Church materials were deposited at an undetermined date before 1981. The majority of the collection was donated to the Congregational Library & Archive by the Eliot Presbyterian Church in November, 1991; no accession number.

Processing Information

This collection was initially processed circa 1995. The collection was reprocessed by Zachary Bodnar, February 2024, according to Describing Archives: A Content Standard.