Collection number: MC 171
Size: 5 boxes
(1.66 cu.ft.)
About the First Unitarian Church of Manchester
The first Unitarian preaching in Manchester, New Hampshire was given by the Reverend S. Osgood of Nashua in March 1841. In July 19, 1842 an assembly met at City Hall for the purpose of organizing a Unitarian church in the city. The first pastor, Rev. Oliver H. Wellington, was ordained the same day. Initial services were held at City Hall.
In 1841 the society moved to a small wooden chapel on the corner of Hanover and Chestnut Streets which had been built by the Second Methodist Episcopal society. In 1843, when the Methodists built their brick church on Elm Street, they leased this chapel to the Unitarians. Rev. Wellington first preached in it July 2, 1843. That same month, however, the society purchased and moved it to the corner of Merrimack and Pine Streets, the gift of the Amoskeag Company, enlarging it in the process.
In 1852, the Hon. Richard H. Ayer bequeathed the society a house on the corner of Chestnut and Central Streets, which was used as a parsonage and then sold in 1864. In 1859 the society exchanged its house for the one built by the First Freewill Baptist society on the corner of Chestnut and Merrimack Streets. This they sold in 1871 and in 1872 they dedicated a new house of worship on the corner of Beech and Concord Streets.
About the First Unitarian Church of Manchester Papers
The First Unitarian Church of Manchester, N.H. papers include record book ledgers and treasurers account books documenting the formation of the church, its membership and finances; a manuscript book on the formation of the Unity Club in 1872 with signatures of 150 of its members; a cash book of the Unity Club's transactions in the 1890s, various other records, publications and programs, 34 photographs related to the church Sunday school's activities, and 12 printing blocks.
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
This collection is open.
Copyright Notice
Contents of this collection are governed by U.S. copyright law. For questions about publication or reproduction rights, contact Special Collections staff.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], [Folder number], [Box number], First Unitarian Church of Manchester Papers, 1842-1964, MC 171, Milne Special Collections and Archives, University of New Hampshire Library, Durham, NH, USA.
Acquisitions Information
Purchased: Charles Apfelbaum, Feb. 16, 2000 (Accession number: 2000.05)
Collection Contents
Series 1: Records, 1842-1947
| Box 1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Box 1, Folder 1 | Record Book Ledger, 1842-1896
(Approximately 400 pages)
Documents the formation of the church in 1842, its constitution, annual meeting minutes, other business, and treasurer's accounts. | |
| Box 1, Folder 2 | Record Book Ledger, 1842/1874
(Approximately 100 pages)
Documents the history of the church up until 1874 - its formation in 1842, its business, various orders of services, pew rentals, and a contract for a new building in 1871. Includes a list of church members, births, deaths, marriages (1842-1861) and baptisms in back. | |
| Box 1, Folder 3 | Treasurer's Account Book Ledger, 1902-1939. Tipped in, printed financial reports for the years ending Oct. 1877, 1879, 1893 and 1915 (400 pages) | |
| Box 2 | ||
| Box 2, Folder 1 | Church membership list ledger with, tipped in, a typed list of members, 1842-1942, 1842-1947 | |
| Box 2, Folder 2 | Record Book Ledger, Unity Club, 1892-1896
(55 pages)
Documents the formation of the Unity Club in Sept. 1892, lists its members, and records its business. Includes two publications tipped in, Unity Clubs: or Mutual Improvement Societies in Town and Church by Emma Endicott Marean (Chicago: Charles H. Kerr and Co., 1886) and Tract 4 of the National Bureau of Unity Clubs, Suggested Plans of Study and Work For Unity Clubs and Study Classes (Boston: Geo. H. Ellis, 1891). | |
| Box 2, Folder 3 | Treasurer’s account book ledger for the Unity Club, 1892-1896 (33 pages) | |
| Box 2, Folder 4 | Treasurer’s account book ledger for the Women’s Alliance formed
in 1906, 1906-1926
(132 pages)
Includes a program for the 1914-1915 season of meetings of the Women’s Alliance of the First Unitarian Society of Manchester and two flyers advertising a chicken pie supper and an afternoon tea, all tipped in. | |
| Box 2, Folder 5 | By-Laws of the Unitarian Society, 1894-1897 | |
| Box 2, Folder 6 | Mortgage deed for a sum of $2500 needed for repair of the church steeple. The First Unitarian Society mortgaged land to the American Unitarian Association in Boston. Nov. 27, 1929 | |
| Box 2, Folder 7 | Programs for various installations of ministers, 1905-1937 | |
| Box 2, Folder 8 | Receipts and notes, 1860-1883 | |
| Box 2, Folder 9 | Miscellaneous correspondence, 1861-1942 (8 letters) | |
| Box 2, Folder 10 | Miscellaneous manuscripts, including an address by Ella Hope before the Alliance in 1932, reporting on Alliance Week at the Isles of Shoals; an historical address by Lauretta B. Sawtelle, Parish Historian, at the centennial meeting at Grace Church, Dec 2, 1941; notes on early religious education in the First Unitarian Society, n.d. (but ca. 1930); and various notes toward a history of the church, including a list of members on the original church roll, 1932-1941 | |
| Box 2, Folder 11 | Miscellaneous printed items, including:
Program for the dedication of the “new church edifice of the First Unitarian Church of Manchester, N.H.”, May 1, 1872; program for the fiftieth anniversary of the church, April 27, 1892; program of the “exercises in commemoration of the seventy-fifth anniversary,” Sept. 20-22, 1908; booklet containing services conducted for the fiftieth anniversary of the church building in 1922, historical addresses, constitution and by-laws, list of origin members, and other historical information; various programs of services; a typed report for the annual parish meeting, Jan. 12, 1933, and a program for the “Festival of the Arts,” Nov. 13-15, 1941, 1872-1941 | |
| Box 2, Folder 12 | Various printed items concerning the exposition of the faith of
Unitarians, undated:
Including cards and one-page sheets of the Creed, the scriptural belief, and cornerstones of the faith, probably for use in the Sunday school; Unitarian Catechism by M.J. Savage, 1890; a completed questionnaire from 1881; and a folio sized double-fold picturing the three hundred delegates to the convention that formed the Unitarian Layman’s League, April 11-12, 1919, with a list of names, 1881-1919 | |
| Box 2, Folder 13 | Pen and ink drawing of the First Unitarian Church, Manchester by Margarete Gravas, undatedView this item | |
Series 2: Publications 1848-1964
| Box 3 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Box 3, Folder 1 | Unitarian publications:
| |
| Box 3, Folder 2 | Sermons:
| |
| Box 3, Folder 3 | Miscellaneous:
| |
| Box 3, Folder 4 | Newsclippings, 1850-1942 | |
| Box 3, Folder 5 | New Hampshire Book Fair publicity flyers and posters (held at the First Unitarian Church), 1939-1942 | |
| Box 3, Folder 6 | Programs for the Branch Alliance, First Unitarian Society, 1916/17-1921/22 | |
| Box 3, Folder 7 | Programs for the Branch Alliance, First Unitarian Society, , 1923/24-1932/33 | |
| Box 3, Folder 8 | Programs for the Branch Alliance, First Unitarian Society, 1934/35-1938/39 | |
| Box 3, Folder 9 | Programs for the Branch Alliance, First Unitarian Society, 1939/40-1954/55 | |
| Box 3, Folder 10 | Programs for the Branch Alliance, First Unitarian Society, 1955/56-1963/64 | |
Series 3: Photographs, 1942
| Box 4 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Box 4, Folder 1 | Altar at Christmas, undated | |
| Box 4, Folder 2 | Church organ decorated for Harvest Festival, undated | |
| Box 4, Folder 3 | Interior view of church showing aisle, altar, church organ and arches, undated | |
| Box 4, Folder 4 | Interior shot of church, undated | |
| Box 4, Folder 5 | Church door in winter, undated | |
| Box 4, Folder 6 | Interior view of church showing aisle, altar and church organ (close-up), undated | |
| Box 4, Folder 7 | New Hampshire Book Fair display in the vestry of the church. The dining room at the back was called “The Christmas Tea Shoppe” in which The Women’s Allaince served tea and a light supper, undated | |
| Box 4, Folder 8 | Children who attended one of the children’s sessions at the New Hampshire Book Fairs, undated | |
| Box 4, Folder 9 | Reverend George E. Hathaway, undated | |
| Box 4, Folder 10 | Chapel, Star Island, Isles of Shoals (glued on board); closer view (3×5), both undated | |
| Box 4, Folder 11 | Group of boys outside church, undated | |
| Box 4, Folder 12 | Group pictured outside church door in winter, undated | |
| Box 4, Folder 13 | Older woman pictured on church steps, undated | |
| Box 4, Folder 14 | Unidentified trio inside church, undated | |
| Box 4, Folder 15 | Mrs. Copadis, a Greek lady who spoke to the church school about her native land, undated | |
| Box 4, Folder 16 | Pageant: The Spirit of Truth, six of the virtues and three of the pages who participated in the Easter Pageant, “The Consecration of Sir Galahad”, undated | |
| Box 4, Folder 17 | Pageant: Three photos: The Spirit of Truth, “Love,” and Love and Sir Galahad, undated | |
| Box 4, Folder 18 | Pageant: The Spirit of Truth, four boys, undated | |
| Box 4, Folder 19 | Pageant: The Spirit of Truth, girls and young women, undated | |
| Box 4, Folder 20 | Pageant: Knights at “The Consecration of Sir Galahad”, undated | |
| Box 4, Folder 21 | Pageant: “The Consecration of Sir Galahad” (played by Lloyd Kendall), undated | |
| Box 4, Folder 22 | Pageant group photo outside church, undated | |
| Box 4, Folder 23 | Pageant group photo inside church, undated | |
| Box 4, Folder 24 | Five children with perfect attendance at Sunday school: Willard Huntress, Phyllis Daniels, Wendel Walton, Jr., Barbara Daniels, and Romola Huntress, undated | |
| Box 4, Folder 25 | Group of older women, undated | |
| Box 4, Folder 26 | Women and children eating at picnic table, undated | |
| Box 4, Folder 27 | Children at lakeside picnic table, undated | |
| Box 4, Folder 28 | Women and children posing at picnic table, undated | |
| Box 4, Folder 29 | Group photo at picnic, undated | |
| Box 4, Folder 30 | Five boys in Miss Ayer’s Sunday school class standing next to a Temple of Goodwill, undated | |
| Box 4, Folder 31 | Children with Santa Claus in front of Christmas tree, undated | |
| Box 4, Folder 32 | Children seated on sofa, undated | |
| Box 4, Folder 33 | Schoolchildren with their guest, Miss Rachel Hefterman, young daughter of the local Rabbi, who had just given a talk on her trip to Palestine, undated | |
| Box 4, Folder 34 | Women’s Alliance at home of Grace and Margaret Wallace, Nubble Light, York Beach, Maine, summer 1942 1942 (b and w, 3×5) | |
Series 4: Printing Blocks
| Box 4 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Printing block, 6×7" | ||
| Box 5 | ||
| Printing blocks: four 5×7", one 6×6", six smaller blocks | ||
(Box 2 f.13)
