LOOKING BACK: THE ALL SOULS HISTORICAL SOCIETY

The All Souls Historical Society was founded in 1981 to stimulate research into the history of the church and its members, dating back to the founding of the church in 1819, and to collect and preserve records and artifacts related to that history. These records are housed in two small attic rooms above the roof level of Wiggin House, now properly temperature regulated for archival preservation. Here, Lorraine Allen, who was named official church Archivist two years ago, oversees a small group of volunteers who struggle to keep abreast of the constantly accumulating boxes of material regularly sent to the archives from the church offices.

When the Historical Society first assumed stewardship of All Souls’ historical records, a professional archivist was briefly employed to set up classifications, methods and procedures to file the documents accumulated over 100 years, in ways that would preserve them for the future. This meant removing staples and metal paper clips, using acid-free file folders and special pencils to retard the natural yellowing and aging processes that eventually destroy paper. Newspaper clippings are photocopied and pictures stored in special archival containers. And file folders are labeled under consistent systems and recorded in special record books.

What is stored in the motley array of filing cabinets and archival boxes stored on metal shelves? Some of the material is rather mundane, such as back copies of Bulletins and Weekly Calendars. Financial records are kept for a number of years. Board Minutes are kept in special filing cabinets. There are records from the Church School, the Women’s Alliance, the Annie Eaton Society, the Deacons and an assortment of other groups. Some of those do not exist any more, but their records testify to the fact that there was once a Laymen’s League, a Professional Women’s Group, a Guild for Younger Members and a Player’s Group that had an active role in the life of All Souls.

And then, there are the alphabetically filed folders containing the correspondence, sermons, speeches and other activities of each Senior Minister. Here, the names of very active members of the congregation can be found and folders pertaining to church events that do not fill one of the special file boxes.

Among the treasures from the early years of the church, is a housekeeping book by Mrs. Channing and handwritten correspondence of our early ministers. Architectural drawings for previous church buildings are carefully stored in archival tubes. Also kept is the large metal cross that once graced the space above our altar where the string sculpture now resides. Book cases are filled with books by our ministers and members of the church. A growing collection of audio tapes contains the oral history interviews conducted with members of the congregation or groups of members about specific subjects.

To stimulate the historical interest of the congregation, an annual Bellows Lecture is organized, in recent years during one of the Adult Education time slots, for which a speaker who can illuminate some aspect of life in New York during the long ministry of Henry Whitney Bellows is invited. This year’s speaker will be Prof. Judith Ann Giesberg of Villanova University. She will speak on March 2, 2008 on the role of Unitarian women in the United States Sanitary Commission during the Civil War and their subsequent impact on social reform.