Cambridge, Mass. Pilgrim Congregational Church of Cambridgeport records, 1863-1992.
Scope and Contents
The Pilgrim Congregational Church records document the history and life of the church, beginning with its predecessor church (Stearns Chapel, 1865-1871) and continuing through its closure in 1992. The collection includes church records, financial records, ministers’ records, membership records, auxiliary group records (particularly the Women’s Guild), historical information, orders of service and programs, and photographs and lantern slides. Records are more comprehensive for the early years of the church (through the early 1930) and the later decades (late 1960s to 1992) than for the middle of the twentieth century (a notable exception is the 75th Anniversary Celebration in 1940, which is well-documented). Researchers should be sure to look at the historical sketches included with the anniversary celebration materials in Series 7.
Dates
- 1863-1992
Creator
Restrictions on Access
Access to this collection is unrestricted and open to the public.
Restrictions on 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
Stearns Chapel was erected in 1863 and was located on Harvard Street, near Windsor; it was designed primarily as a Mission Sabbath School (established by Prospect Congregational and neighborhood churches in Cambridgeport in 1852) and operated for a number of years by the First and Second Congregational, Baptist and Methodist churches. In 1865 Mr. Edward Abbott began to hold regular services; by fall the church was formally organized and Abbott installed as minister. The Second Congregational, Baptist and Methodist churches withdrew ca. 1866; in 1871 the First Church also withdrew. The church grew rapidly and a new meetinghouse was completed in 1871 at the corner of Magazine and Cottage Street; the name was changed to Pilgrim Congregational Church of Cambridgeport in the same year. The church closed in 1992.
Extent
7.76 Cubic Feet (10 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Stearns Chapel was erected in 1863 and was located on Harvard Street, near Windsor; it was designed primarily as a Mission Sabbath School and operated for a number of years by the First and Second Congregational, Baptist and Methodist churches. The name was changed to Pilgrim Congregational Church of Cambridgeport in 1871. The collection includes church records, financial records, ministers’ records, membership records, auxiliary group records, historical information, orders of service and programs, and photographs and lantern slides.
Arrangement
The Pilgrim Congregational Church records have been arranged into the five series listed below. Series 1 has been further subdivided into five subseries. Within each series materials have been primarily arranged in chronological order by start date. When appropriate, similar and continuous materials have been grouped together.
Series 1: Church administrative records, 1863-1992
Subseries 1: Stearns Chapel records, 1863-1972
Subseries 2: Membership and vital records, 1865-1938
Subseries 3: Committee records, 1871-1991
Subseries 4: Church records, 1871-1992
Subseries 5: Church programming, 1871-1992
Series 2: Financial and building records, 1864-1992
Series 3: Church groups and societies, 1870-1990
Series 4: Ministerial records, 1889-1990
Series 5: Visual materials, 1898-1990
Acquisition Information
Materials gathered by Rev. Norman Bendroth and donated to the Congregational Library & Archives, September 1992, by Warren L. Milley (Chairman, Board of Trustees) for Pilgrim Congregational Church.
Assigned Accession number: 1992-0
Processing Information
Processed by Helen Schubert, April 2011. Reprocessed by William McCarthy, March 2017, using DACS Second Edition.
- Two Books of Church Committee records covering 1894-1902, An additional box of membership letters and a copy of “A Brief History of Pilgrim Church” by Rev. George Leavitt (1889).
- Cambridge (Mass.) -- Church history.
- Church correspondence.
- Church finance.
- Church membership.
- Church property.
- Church records and registers.
- Church societies.
- Clergy -- Correspondence.
- Installation (clergy).
- Necrologies.
- Pilgrim Congregational Church of Cambridgeport (Cambridge, Mass.)
- Stearns Chapel (Cambridge, Mass.)
- Sunday schools.
- Wills.
- Women -- Societies and clubs.
- Worship programs.
Creator
- Pilgrim Congregational Church of Cambridgeport (Cambridge, Mass.) (Organization)
- Stearns Chapel (Cambridge, Mass.) (Organization)
- Title
- Cambridge, Mass. Pilgrim Congregational Church of Cambridgeport records, 1863-1992.
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- William McCarthy
- Date
- 2017-03-20
- Description rules
- 3
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the Congregational Library & Archives Repository