Fourth Universalist Society in the City of New York

When researching a congregation,  historical narratives are helpful in multiple ways.  The library collects histories of local Unitarian Universalist congregations and you can find them in HOLLIS, our catalog.  Below are the types of congregational histories in our collection and ways to use them.

Contemporary histories cover more recent events, such as the Unitarian, the Universalist, and the merged congregations in a specific town.  For example, Arlington's First Parish: A History 1733-1990 [Print Only].

Earlier histories are usually based on original records held by the congregation. For example, A Historical Sketch of the Independent Congregational Church, Meadville, Pennsylvania, 1825-1900.

The earliest published histories are found in sermons or addresses given at a minister's anniversary or retirement or for a church anniversary. For example, A Discourse Preached at Barre, January 11, 1854, at the End of a Ministry of Fifty Years in that Town and an address found in the Centennial Anniversary of the Planting of Universalism in Portsmouth, N.H., Nov. 16 & 17, 1873.

Regional histories include information about individual churches. For example, A Century of Universalism in Philadelphia and New York, with Sketches of Its History in Reading, Hightstown, Brooklyn, and Elsewhere  and  Unitarianism on the Pacific Coast: The First Sixty Years [Print Only].

General local histories include information on the history of the various congregations within a given town. For example, History of the Town of Shirley, Massachusetts, from Its Early settlement to A.D. 1882.

The library also collects unpublished histories, such as 'The Unitarian Church of Lawrence, Kansas, 1855-1930. An Interpretative Story of a Church Career' [Print Only]

In addition to history narratives, 

• Yearbooks locate membership, financial and leadership data over time.   Yearbooks are also helpful for tracing the career of a minister.
•  Annual reports identify the trends and events that affected congregations, and to see congregational involvement at the national level. 
• Journals are another great place to research congregations.

Researching your Unitarian Universalist congregation's ties to slavery before and after abolition?  Other questions about congregational history?    Contact a research librarian.   

If you know of histories that the library should purchase, please submit a Purchase Request.

To donate historical material about a Unitarian Universalist congregation to the library, see Donate Materials.