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Historical Committee |
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The
Historical Committee of South Church has the mission to inform the
members of significant events and themes in our history as a
congregation. Our history together is nearly 300 years long, since the
congregation was "Gathered" in 1711. In addition, we organize,
preserve and protect the historical documents and artifacts.
The committee welcomes anyone who would like to participate. You
can help in just one project, or several. Meetings are scheduled as
needed; there is no regular meeting time.
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For
more information contact:
Char Lyons at
978-474-4489
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DID YOU
KNOW...?
200 years ago, on
June 25, 1810, the proposal for the foreign
missionary movement in America was delivered to the
General Association of Congregational Minister’s
meeting in Bradford by
Adoniram Judson
(think Judson Rd. off Bartlett which leads to
Missionary Rock where we hold our Easter Sunrise
Service) and fellow Andover Theological Seminary
students.
Knowing the opportunity of this meeting being held
within walking distance and with the maturation of
ideas, it seemed the perfect time to present.
They drafted it with the blessing of professors and
the president.
The ‘theologues’ as they were referred to here, put
to paper the idea of an overseeing board to sponsor
the expansion of Christianity in a practical fashion
with financial backing, and eventually, a whole lot
of faith tossed in.
The final version was signed by all in the parlor of
what is now the home of the Phillips Academy
headmaster on Main St.
The proposal was well received and the American
Board of Commissioners of Foreign Missions was
founded.
Congratulations to the First Church of Christ in
Bradford for this truly momentous United Church of
Christ and American anniversary.
Stay tuned for updates on how South Church
contributed to this effort.
And
know you know.
Char Lyons, Historical Com |
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SOUTH
CHURCH HISTORY
DID YOU KNOW...
We probably have
British Prisoners of the Revolutionary War buried in
our cemetery?
Our 2nd
pastor, the Rev. Jonathan French, a compassionate
patriot, allowed a gun powder mill to operate with
labor supplied by British POWs, and they lived in
our neighbors’ homes.
(It was also the first
manufacturing plant in America.)
The families feared
sabotage, but much to their surprise, these men
enjoyed three squares, sleeping indoors, a good job,
and joined their ‘host’ family at church on Sunday. Rev. French won them over with his
passion for fairness, faith in God and care for one
another. He gave a sermon against the exploitation
by the King, which was published.
An original copy is in
the display case outside the office. Our moderator, Col. George Abbot,
stated that our quarrel was with the government, and
forbade poor treatment of any Loyalists in town.
These men blended into the community, married and
had children.
When a POW swap was
proposed, they refused to leave and Rev. French and
Samuel Phillips, Jr. defended them.
Our forefathers and
mothers ‘diffused a powder keg’ with grace and faith.
And now you know...
Char Lyons, Historical Com.
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DID YOU KNOW...?
that many of Andover’s grand old trees have ‘roots’
connected to South Church people?
The
Bentley’s
on Salem St. have a beautiful (and enormous) 100
year old Japanese maple, captured in a 1920 photo as
a lovely decorative tree.
The
Cook’s
on Holt Rd. have a sprawling copper beech on the
land of one of our original members, who else, the
HOLT’s!
Another magnificent copper beech is next door to the
Zerhrings
at the parsonage, and it dates back to when
Pres. George
Washington
breakfasted at
Deacon Isaac
Abbot’s
inn on
Elm
(what else?) in
1791.
In the
Cemetery
we have a catalpa tree and a rare horse chestnut, or
if you are from Ohio, a buckeye.
A huge over 200 year old black walnut is on the
grounds of
Phillips Academy,
(originally the
campus of the
Andover Theological
Seminary)
visible from Salem St.
Our ‘branches’ with those institutions have ‘leafed’
into many others including several boards here at
South Church.
Stay tuned for that info.
Aren’t we fortunate to have connections to our old
roots with really old roots?
If you know of other grand trees and connections,
please share.
And now you know…
Char
Lyons, Historical Com. |
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DID YOU
KNOW...?
That even after the other
cemeteries were established in town, the community
turned to South Church to bury their loved ones when
they couldn’t afford it?
The families working in the mills along the
Shawsheen knew they could come to South Church for
burial where our congregants offered a place in
their large family lots.
Few headstones were erected for these people,
but the generosity to provide a proper and not a
pauper
place is a wonderful way to think of those who
worshipped before us.
By the way, we do not have a pauper’s
section.
We host the graves and
headstones of slaves
Pomp Lovejoy
(as in Pomp’s Pond) and
Rose Coburn
and their families, next to one another, due to the
Chamberlains
and other abolitionists who cared about them.
Rose was the last person born into slavery in
Andover, and it was her broken headstone that
started our preservation project a decade ago.
Other slaves are here as well, but not so
significantly placed.
And
now you know…
Char
Lyons, Historical Com |
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DID YOU KNOW...
With yet another spectacular
performance by the South Church Players inquiring
minds want to know more! Individual plays and
pageants have been performed regarding South Church
history for our 200th, 225th, 250th, 265th, and
275th anniversaries with every theme and time period
imaginable. Today, The South Church Players
make their own history with an intergenerational,
spiritual community which compliments our inclusive
South Church identity, and has benefited many
different local to global organizations. Many
of our youth have become performance art
professionals from their participation, mentored and
encouraged by the individuals who make everyone feel
special.
In 1987,
with a robust music program going, Keith Gould and
Linda Zimmerman tapped into the remarkable talent
'waiting in the wings,' and put on a show, which was
Godspell, with fewer than 20 performers, and only a
Friday night show. For several years, a yearly
show, maybe a musical review, and a few Maunday
Thursday reenactments of the Last Supper (for which
Linda painted the backdrop scene behind the
Sanctuary curtains) graced our pulpit.
In 1994, an annual musical tradition was
established.
The
average play now involves around 80 performers, and
a support crew which rivals any community theater
group.
The stage was built by Marty Mason and Peter
Spollett with the expressed purpose of using it
every year. It
is stored in the shed and even under the Pulpit! It
takes the most of a day to assemble and a few hours
to break it down. Trying
to estimate the number of individuals involved over
the years, let alone the number of people treated to
a terrific show, let alone the number of people
aided by the profits, it is best left to say, "only
God knows." And now you know... |
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DID YOU KNOW...
That we share our 300th anniversary date, Oct. 17,
1711, with another significant event? The first
Salem Witch trials */reversal /*of
judgment by the Colony of Massachusetts was
passed, 19 years after the 'afflictions' began and
festered in Essex County. Samuel Wardwell was one of
four from Andover condemned to death by hanging. The
members of South Church took in the family members
when they lost their farm because the children were
too young to run it. Our members apprenticed the
sons in practical trades, and when they came of age,
the Parish assisted the young men in the legal
reacquisition of the family property, which is now
known as Ward's Hill, and part of the Ward
Reservation off Prospect Rd. The date of a Sunday
attributed to a legal judgment is that the Pulpit
was the original public address system, thus many
official announcements came on Sundays. And now you
know. |
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South
Church Historical Flier
A flier created under the leadership of
Bill Schroeder in connection with the Andover Historical
Society 2007 "Gates and Gables tour is now available
on the website.
Click
here to see it.
PDF
version of the flyer |
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WANTED! OLD PICTURES
The historical Committee is
looking for pictures of the church, especially the
sanctuary, before 1970. Long time members and
multi-generation families may have pictures of weddings and
baptisms. We would carefully copy and return your
original. Please contact any member of the committee:
Clark Benson, Char Lyons, Polly Pyle, Polly Robichaud, Karen
VanDoren and Carol-Georgine West
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IT’S A SMALL WORLD!
Visitors here last month from
California and Oregon are direct descendants of original resident
George Abbot (of Central St. and South Church land) and his son,
Benjamin (of the 1685 house on Andover St.) In 1692,
Benjamin accused his neighbor, Martha Carrier, of witchcraft. She
never confessed and was one of three Andoverites hanged in Salem.
It turns out that the visitors' tour
guide, Charlotte Lyons, is related to Martha Carrier! |
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WHO SAYS WE DON'T
HAVE FUN?
The Historical Committee found the
following in the Council Meeting minutes of March, 1976:
"The Music
Committee met to form plans for the string Requiem on April 4th,
and to plan our Toga Party."
This was found in
the 1859 South Church Historical Manual regarding the choir:
"The singers' seats
were at this time filled with many persons who were not considered
suitable members of a choir."
And, in 1835, for
$800, the first organ was installed.
“So many people
were against this 'instrument of the devil,' they withheld their
taxes to share in its cost.” |
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146 YEARS AGO...
On Jan. 2, 1861, our
church building was dedicated. The 4th Meeting House of the
South Parish Church of Andover was designed by the popular
church architect John Stevens. The church was built for
$19,000 on the same site as the first and third meeting
houses. The congregation worshipped in Bartlett Chapel at
the Andover Theological Seminary during the construction in
1860. With the 160 foot tall steeple, the building was
considered one of the tallest north of Boston. The building
was the largest in Andover in size and seating capacity.
Our building continues to stand as a spiritual beacon and
watchtower to the community it serves. |
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300
YEARS AGO -- April 1706
Sixty
years after Andover incorporated, the town voted to “build
a new meeting-house as sufficient and Convenient for the whole
town as may be.” The
population in Andover was growing each new generation and moving
farther south away from the meeting-house which is the present day
North Andover Unitarian Church. Another year of debate over the size of the new building gave
way to another year of irreconcilable differences over its
location. It was not
until January of 1709 did the Great and General Court of Boston
deem that the people of Andover had the resources to be split into
North and South Parishes, building their own meeting-houses and
supporting their own ministers.
Stay
tuned for more … Char
Lyons
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South
Church: Founding History and Abolitionism: An Historical Essay
Charlotte
Lyons, March, 2004
Notes on the historical origin of
South Church and the role of parishoners in the matter of slavery
from the church founding in 1711 through the 1860's |
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1859
Historical Manual of South Church
EVER
WONDER HOW THE TRUSTEES CAME TO BE? or
how music came into our worship? or the Deacons? or
Sabbath School? the first meeting houses? missions?
how about the biographies of the first pastors? You
should read the original "Covenant, Rules and
Discipline!"
The 1859
Historical Manual of South Church
is fascinating history. It's available as a PDF file,
which may be viewed or printed by clicking
HERE. In addition
to containing historical sketches of the parish and
church, it also has the complete list of members from
1711 to 1859, all 2,177 of them. It's a great resource
for those doing genealogy research. |
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CEMETERY INFORMATION AVAILABLE ONLINE
If you want to search for records in the
South Church cemetery visit the new web page that lets you
look up records of people and/or monuments. You can
enter either a first name, last name, or a partial name and
the web site will return all the information. Thanks
to Char Lyons for gathering and entering all the
data. It's fun, try it out at:
http://www.southchurch.com/cemetery/ or just go
the South Church web site and click on "Cemetery Database"
on the menu on the left side. For questions and
inquiries you may send Email to:
cemetery@southchurch.com |
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