For more information contact: Char Lyons at 978-474-4489

WHAT IS THAT WEIRD, WOODEN CENTERPIECE?

The piece of wood in question looks like a fancy two-foot long fish hook and has graced Fellowship Hall and has been on display in various locations, but what is it?
It came from the steeple! When the steeple was repaired, many decorative trim pieces were replaced. The ‘fish hook’ was carved out of new trim and this unique piece was saved and found its way into storage. It came out of retirement as Cal came across it while preparing for his.  You can see where the piece came from on the woodwork of the lower corners of the clock tier on the steeple.
                     Char Lyons, Historical Committee

P.S. It may also be seen as another comma reminding us that God is still speaking!

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

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

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!

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.”

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.

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

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

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.

Latest Historical Data from Char Lyons

Char has compiled a timeline of Andover and South Church events covering a period of 1620 - 1932 when we were renamed South Church in Andover.

A separate listing of Cemetery statistics is also available

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