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Bromfield Street, Tremont Street, and People's Temple Methodist Church Records (Boston, Mass)

A description of the collection at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: PRB
Date: Nov 2007

Biographical History

The Bromfield Street church (1806-1913) began in 1806 as a branch of the Methodist Alley (First) church. It became independent in 1831, at which time it was listed as Boston South, and became Bromfield Street Church in 1835. Black congregants were given their own local pastor, Samuel Snowdon, in 1818 and their own church on May Street in 1823, under the sponsorship of Bromfield. Bromfield took the corporate name of Methodist Religious Society in Boston in 1870, and in 1911 or 1913 its congregation merged with Tremont Street to form Bromfield-Tremont.

Tremont Street church (1862-1913) began as Suffolk Street Methodist Episcopal Church, became Hedding Chapel in 1852, and Tremont Street in 1862. Tremont Street became a major congregation; the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society was founded there in 1869, and memorial windows for this organization are found throughout the church.

The People's Temple (1879-1922) was founded by Bishop John W. Hamilton as a continuation of the Church Street M.E. Church, and moved in 1884 to the corner of Columbus Avenue and Berkeley Street. Forty years later, in 1922, the congregation merged with Bromfield-Tremont to form The United Church, which continued to meet at the Tremont location.

[Sources: New England Conference of the United Methodist Church Commission on Archives and History.]

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Bromfield Street, Tremont Street, and People's Temple Methodist Church Records (Boston, Mass) contain partial records for three related Boston-area Methodist Episcopal churches. The Bromfield Street material consists of a memorial register of probationers and offerings, and records of trustee cash accounts. The Tremont Street material includes treasurer's reports, lists of members and pew deeds, Sunday school records, and two items from the Secretary of the Women's Foreign Missionary Society. The People's Temple material consists entirely of items relating to the Women's Foreign Missionary Society.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Related Material

Special Collections Research Center has collections relating to a number of churches and the papers of several clergymen and ministers, particularly Unitarian Universalist. Please refer to the the SCRC Subject Index for a complete listing.

Subject Headings

Corporate Bodies

Bromfield Street Methodist Episcopal Church.
Bromfield-Tremont Street Methodist Episcopal Church.
Methodist Episcopal Church -- History.
Methodist Episcopal Church. -- Woman's Foreign Missionary Society.
People's Temple Methodist Episcopal Church.
Tremont Street Methodist Episcopal Church.

Subjects

Churches -- Massachusetts -- Boston.

Genres and Forms

Account books.
Church records.
Registers.
Reports.

Occupations

Church secretaries.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Tremont Street, People's Temple, and Bromfield Street Methodist Church Records (Boston, Mass),
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Donated along with the First Methodist Church Syracuse Records. Removed to form separate collection, Nov 2007.

Table of Contents

Tremont Street

Bromfield Street

People's Temple

Inventory