mums011 Enfield Congregational Church Records, 1800-1939 Finding Aid Finding aid prepared by Kenneth Fones-Wolf. Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Special Collections and University Archives, W.E.B. Du Bois Library, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Amherst, MA
2002

University of Massachusetts Amherst. All rights reserved.

 Finding aid encoded using Perl scripts and edited in XMetal 2.0. Encoded by Eric S. Cartier. 2002-04-22 Finding aid written in English. 2005-09-23 mu111 converted from EAD 1.0 to 2002 by v1to02-5c.xsl (sy2003-10-15). Special Collections and University ArchivesW.E.B. Du Bois LibraryUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst Enfield Congregational Church Records, 1800-1939 Finding Aid Manuscript Number 11 Compiled by Kenneth Fones-Wolf November 1984 Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

2003 University of Massachusetts Amherst. All rights reserved.

 Collection Overview Enfield Congregational Church (Enfield, Mass.) Enfield Congregational Church Records 1800-1939 MS 11 2 boxes (0.75 linear ft.) Special Collections and University Archives, W.E.B. Du Bois Library, University of Massachusetts Amherst Church that served as the social and cultural center of the town of Enfield, Massachusetts. Records include deeds, charters and other legal documents, along with the church's articles of faith and covenant, a detailed record of parish meetings, the treasurer's account book, the parish Trustee's account book, the church manual, a manuscript sermon of Reverend S.G. Hitchcock, the sermons of Reverend Colton, an historical sermon celebrating the town's centennial, and church bulletins. English. Historical Note

Within fifteen years of the incorporation of the town of Enfield in 1816, members of the Greenwich Congregational Church South Parish (established in 1786) reorganized to establish the Enfield Congregational Church. They applied to Enfield Constable Orum Hanks in 1831 to post a warrant for a meeting of the Enfield parish and acquired the services of Josiah Curtis and Samuel Clapp as minister and assistant minister. The land upon which the Enfield Congregational Church was built was donated by Captain Joseph Hooker, grandfather of the prominent Civil War general.

Throughout its history, the membership of the Congregational Church approached 300, about one quarter of the town's population. The Church also served as the social and cultural center of the town and sponsored a Women's Missionary Society. The Church went out of existence in 1939 when the town was taken for the Quabbin Reservoir. The chapel bell from the Church was installed in the New Salem Central Congregational Church in 1938.

Enfield was among the Western Massachusetts towns abolished in 1938 to allow the Swift River Valley to be flooded, thereby creating the Quabbin Reservoir to provide Boston with water.

 Scope and Contents of the Collection

Deeds, charters, and other legal documents concerning church property and accounts (1800-1939); detailed minutes of parish meetings (1831-1887), the parish treasurer's record book (1871-1916), and the parish trustees' account book (1885-1938), including the administration of the will of Henry Fobes; articles of faith and covenant (n.d.), the church manual (1927), a manuscript sermon of Reverend S. G. Hitchcock (1848), the sermons of Rev. Colton (1873-1879), an historical sermon (1916) commemorating the celebration of Enfield's Centennial by Reverend F.B. Richards, and church bulletins (1874-1883).

The collection is open for research.

 Preferred Citation

Cite as: Enfield Congregational Church Records (MS 11). Special Collections and University Archives, W.E.B. Du Bois Library, University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Acquired from Donald Howe, 1960.

Processed by Ken Fones-Wolf, November 1984.

 Search Terms Enfield Congregational Church (Enfield, Mass.)--Archives. Congregational churches--Massachusetts--Enfield--History--Sources. Congregationalists--Massachusetts--Enfield--History--Sources. Church archives--Massachusetts--Enfield. Sermons, American--Massachusetts--Enfield. Congregational churches--Sermons. Enfield (Mass.)--Church history--Sources. Enfield (Mass.)--Religious life and customs--Sources. Enfield (Mass.)--Centennial celebrations, etc. Account books. Charters. Deeds. Sermons. Church records. Church bulletins. Hitchcock, S. G. Richards, Frederick B. 1 Parish minutes and records (volume) 1831-1887 1 Parish Treasurers book of records (volume) 1871-1916 1 Trustees book (volume) 1885-1938 1 Deeds, Charter, and Legal Documents 1800-1939 2 Articles of Faith and Covenant n.d. 2 Manual 1927 2 Sermons--Rev. S.G. Hitchcock 1848 2 Sermons--Rev. Colton 1873-1879 2 Sermons--Rev. F.B. Richards 1916 2 Church Record 1874-1883 2 Young People's Society for Christian Endeavor n.d.