Hanover, Mass. First Congregational Church records, 1728-1818.
Scope and Contents
This collection contains the earliest records of the First Congregational Church of Hanover. Included within the records are church meeting minutes, financial records, and important vital records such as membership lists, records of births, marriage records, and records of deaths.
Dates
- 1728-1818
Creator
- First Congregational Church (Hanover, Mass.) (Organization)
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.
Digital Reproductions are protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use the Digital Reproductions in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. In addition, no permission is required from the Congregational Library & Archives for educational uses. For other uses, you need to obtain permission from the Congregational Library & Archives. For additional information regarding copyright, please consult the Congregational Library & Archives' Digital Collections Copyright & Use policy.
Historical Note
First settled in 1649, the westernmost portion of Scituate was incorporated as the town of Hanover, Massachusetts, in 1727. By the end of the year a location for the first meeting house was chosen. Construction began in late 1727 and ended the following year. Benjamin Bass, a 1715 graduate of Harvard, was called to become the first minister of the First Congregational Church in Hanover. The church was formally gathered on December 5, 1728, with ten members subscribed to the covenant, and Bass was ordained a few days later on December 11.
During Rev. Bass’s pastorate, he oversaw the transition to a "new way" of singing in in 1742 and opened the first lending library in Hanover, though it was limited to members of the church. Rev. Bass served as the minister until his death in 1756. He was followed by Rev. Samuel Baldwin. By 1764 it was decided that the first meeting house could no longer comfortably accommodate the growing parish; construction on the second meeting house was completed in 1765. In 1784 the church spire was replaced with a belfry to accommodate a gift of a bell from Thomas Josselyn, an original member and deacon of the church.
In 1824, Rev. Seth Chapin resigned, and was subsequently dismissed by an ecclesiastical council, over the church’s inability to meet his salary requirements. Shortly after his resignation, the Female Helping Society was formed with the purpose of raising funds to support the minister’s salary. In 1826 construction on the third meeting house was begun and the building’s dedication service was the following year. On March 10, 1854, 32 members were dismissed to organize a Trinitarian Church; this became the Second Congregational Church and was also known as the Four Corners Church. On January 18, 1863 the third meeting house, and also the town hall, was destroyed by a fire. The fourth, and final, meeting house was dedicated on April 27, 1864. In 1868 the church voted to allow women to attend parish meetings.
In 1920 the church and society were incorporated under a single legal entity: The First Congregational Church of Hanover, Massachusetts. During the twentieth-century, the church greatly expanded its Christian Education program. In 1961 the church joined the United Church of Christ. The First Congregational Church of Hanover continues to serve the local community today.
Ministers
- Benjamin Bass
- 1728-1756
- Samuel Baldwin
- 1756-1780
- John Mellen
- 1784-1805
- Calvin Chaddock
- 1806-1818
- Seth Chapin
- 1819-1824
- Ethan Smith
- 1827-1832
- Abel G. Duncan
- 1833-1854
- Joseph Freeman
- 1855-1869
- Cyrus William Allen
- 1871-1879
- William H. Dowden
- 1880-1882
- Samuel Evans
- 1882-1887
- William H. Dowden
- 1888-1890
- David Kilburn
- 1890-1891
- James W. Van Kirk
- 1891-1892
- George W. Wright
- 1892-1895
- Edward D. Disbrow
- 1895-1902
- Milledge R. Anderson
- 1903-1906
- Oscar M. Chamberlain
- 1906-1907
- Cloyd G. Hersey
- 1907
- Edwin H. Gibson
- 1908-1922
- Harry F. Titus
- 1923-1925
- Myron R. Bunnell
- 1925-1928
- Dow Strang Clute
- 1928-1930
- Robert W. Putsch
- 1930-1931
- Charles A. Reeves
- 1931-1934
- Vernon A. Loeseher
- 1935-1940
- Roger W. Sawyer
- 1941-1942
- Elton W. Brown
- 1942-1944
- William George Sewell
- 1944-1953
- John G. Gaskill
- 1954-1958
- William B. Parsons
- 1959-1964
- W. Roscoe Riley
- 1964-1993
- Ann Suzedell (Interim)
- 1993-1994
- Donald Remick
- 1994-2009
- Milton Brasher-Cunningham (Associate)
- 2002-2006
- Margaret Clapp (Associate)
- 2008-2013
- Deborah Carter (Interim)
- 2009-2011
- Eric D. Stroshine
- 2011-
Extent
0.24 Cubic Feet (1 box, 3 reels)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The First Congregation Church of Hanover, Massachusetts, was gathered on December 5, 1728, and the Rev. Benjamin Bass was ordained as the first minister on December 11. The first meeting house was completed in 1728. Construction on the second meeting house was completed in 1765. The third meeting house was constructed in 1826 and was destroyed by fire in 1863. The fourth and final meeting house was constructed in 1864. In 1961 the church joined with the United Church of Christ. The church continues to serve the local community today. This collection contains the earliest church records and includes church meeting minutes, membership records, and vital records.
Arrangement
Materials have been arranged in chronological order by start date.
Technical Requirements
A microfilm reader is required in order to access microform materials. One microfilm reader is available to the public upon request.
To access digital user’s copies via online-interface, a java-enabled web browser is required. Internet Explorer 8.x and later, Firefox 5.x and later, Opera 12 and later, Safari 5.x and later, or any version of Google Chrome are recommended.
Custodial History
Materials in the collection were sent to the Northeast Document Conservation Center in 2009 to be microfilmed. Three microfilm copies were made from the original records.
Acquisition Information
Materials were loaned to the Congregational Library & Archives, August 2008, by the First Congregational Church of Hanover; no accession number.
Accruals
Additional accruals are expected for this collection in the form of full-text transcription. There is no anticipated date for this accrual.
Bibliography
Processing Information
Originally processed by Sari Mauro, September 2013, using DACS Second Edition. Additional description by Robin Duckworth. Reprocessed and redescribed by Zachary Bodnar, June 2019, using DACS Second Edition.
Creator
- First Congregational Church (Hanover, Mass.) (Organization)
- Title
- Hanover, Mass. First Congregational Church records, 1728-1818.
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Zachary Bodnar, Sari Mauro
- Date
- 2019-06-28
- Description rules
- Dacs2 2013
- 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