Category: People of Old North
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The People in the Pews: The Crankey Family
The Crankey family’s story offers a glimpse into three generations of Old North congregation members. Alderman Crankey, a free Black man, was a mariner. His trade was inherently dangerous and, mindful of that, he prepared his Last Will and Testament on March 5, 1741. This document suggests Alderman Crankey’s values and priorities at that moment…
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The People in the Pews: Rev. Stephen Lewis
What happened to the Anglican community during the American Revolutionary War? The story of Old North’s third rector, the Rev. Stephen Lewis, sheds some light on this period of great change. In the summer of 1776, Rev. Lewis set sail from England with General Burgoyne’s 16th Regiment of Light Dragoons (mounted infantry). Lewis was the…
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The People in the Pews: The Humphries Family
John and Elizabeth Humphries were a free Black couple who first appear in the Old North records in March 1748 with the baptism of their daughter, Deborah. Over the next four years, they would baptize seven more children at Old North: Robert, Richard, James, Catherine, Elizabeth, Thomas, and Ruth. Five children were baptized on the…
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The People in the Pews: Captain Thomas Gruchy
Thomas Gruchy remains an elusive figure in Old North’s long history. Gruchy owned pew #25. Appearing in Boston by 1741 and disappearing in 1759, Gruchy made a small fortune from the sea and purchased a grand mansion within a block of Old North. Church marriage records reveal that Gruchy enslaved a woman named Tamuse, who…
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The People in the Pews: Rev. Mather Byles, Jr.
Reverend Mather Byles, Jr. served as the second rector of Old North Church from 1768 until April 18, 1775. He occupied pew #6. Like his predecessor Rev. Timothy Cutler, Byles left the Congregational ministry to be ordained as an Anglican priest. Also like Cutler, Byles was an enslaver. Church records document the baptism of Byle’s…
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The People in the Pews: Alexander Chamberlain
For the many worshipers at Old North involved in the maritime trade, being a congregation member was also a way to establish business connections. This would have been just as true for Alexander Chamberlain, who sat in pew #9. However, while other prominent members were mostly merchants, sea captains and ship owners, Chamberlain was a…
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The People in the Pews: General Thomas Gage
Following the Boston Tea Party in December 1773, the British Parliament deployed over 4,000 troops to occupy Boston. Their mission: enforce the Coercive Acts, designed to punish colonists for the Boston Tea Party and suppress insurgency within the colony. General Thomas Gage (1719- 1787) commanded these forces and, according to tradition, worshiped from pew 62…
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The Women of Old North, Part II: The House by the Side of the Road
The story of the Women’s Guild founding and function demonstrates the ways in which the organization benefited the institution of the church itself. However, in order to grasp the positive impact that the guild had on the Boston community, one must turn to the story of the House by the Side of the Road, a…
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The Women of Old North: The Women’s Guild
Despite their support of the church throughout the first half of the twentieth century, the Women’s Guild of Old North remains relatively unknown in the modern historical narrative. From behind-the-scenes, the guild maintained the church and accompanying Parish House as a welcoming and homey place, as well as fundraised through various events, having demanded no…
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The People in the Pews: Capt. Samuel Nicholson
During his lifetime, when he was not out at sea, Capt. Samuel Nicholson attended Old North Church and owned Pew #11. After he died, he was buried in the Old North Church crypt. Visitors may now visit the crypt on Behind-the-Scenes Tours or view the plaque given to the church by the US Navy in…