First Universalist Church

Historical Archives

The Church's archives are a comprehensive collection including documents and manuscripts that record the establishment of the Unitarian congregation in 1834 and the Universalist congregation in 1859; the merging of the two congregations; the comings and goings of ministers and members; and the financial, philosophical, and functional developments of the church up to the present.

For as long as the church has existed, these documents have been stored in cardboard boxes, in the parsonage attic, in various closets, and in members' homes. In 2001-2002, the collection was gathered from these various storage places, compiled in the Common Room, organized into broad categories, re-housed in archival boxes, and cataloged in a document called a "Finding Aid".

The Finding Aid is an index of the archives' contents, organized in broad categories. Subcategories are listed within the broad categories, and specific items such as documents and photographs are listed within the subcategories. Archival Finding Aids are ever-changing, ever-developing documents that grow and with more specificity as the archives are cataloged, and so far, the Finding Aid for our archives has been developed on only the broadest category level. We hope that it will continue to be developed further as the archives are cared for.

In 2004, cabinetry was built in the Common Room specifically to store the archives. It was designed with enough shelf space to properly store the documentation in archival folders and boxes, and it includes display space behind glass to showcase themed exhibits.

Maintaining this collection is an ongoing project. Much still needs to be done to catalog the existing records; and as long as this church continues to function, it will produce records that document our evolution, and these records should be integrated into the collection.

The next step is to form a standing Historical Records Committee to function as stewards of the collection into the future. This would involve such responsibilities as the following:

• Developing an overall Mission Statement and Collection Policy,
• Developing criteria for identifying records as historically significant (or not),
• Gathering short-term task forces to

Identify people and events in photos.

Remove materials that damage paper (e.g., staples, paper clips, tape, post-it notes),

Organize, catalog, and re-house the collection at a detailed level,

Photocopy fragile items for preservation and reference purposes,

Plan thematic exhibits,

Create a database catalog of the collection’s inventory,

Write a historical chronology,

• Offering Adult Educational opportunities focused on church history, such as

Training sessions in archival conservation and preservation,

Study groups for researching aspects of the church’s history through referencing the collection,

• Developing the Finding Aid in greater detail.

Share the detailed Finding Aid with the First Parish Congregational Church (the church from which our Universalist members seceded in 1859), the UUA, the Central Men’s Group, and other organizations that have historical ties with the church.

For more information on this project, to become involved in it, or to find something in the archival collection, please contact Lisa Perkins.

Also, you might want to explore the Unitarian Universalist Historial Society's website, which offers resources and advice about maintaining congregational archives.