Category: The People in the Pews
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Queen Elizabeth II at Old North Church
During the bicentennial of the United States, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II attended services at Old North Church with her husband, Prince Philip. After the church service, the Queen and her husband went to the Old State House to address a crowd. While acknowledging that Patriot leaders like Samuel Adams and Paul Revere might have…
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The People in the Pews: Capt. John Pulling Jr.
Lantern Holder Though not as well-known as Paul Revere, Capt. John Pulling Jr. played a pivotal role in the events of April 18, 1775. A friend of Revere’s and a member of the Sons of Liberty, Pulling lived in the North End and earned a living as a sea captain transporting goods between Georgia and…
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The People in the Pews: Rt. Rev. John Burgess
A Bishop Who Made History In 1970, John Melville Burgess was elected the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts. As such, he also became the rector of Old North Church. Burgess had been the first Black suffragan bishop elected over a predominantly white diocese in the Episcopal church, and his election to diocesan bishop…
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The People in the Pews: Rev. William Levington
First Black Minister to Preach at Old North In a July 1833 issue of the abolitionist newspaper The Liberator, a notice announced that Rev. William Levington would speak at Old North later that month. Levington was the rector of the St. James’ First African Protestant Episcopal Church, a church he founded in 1824 as one…
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The People in the Pews: Mary Kent Davey Babcock
The Church Historian Whenever a question arises about the early history of Old North Church, Mary Kent Davey Babcock’s many works are among the first resources checked. Born in Maine and raised in Boston, Babcock began her writing career while living in Paris and writing for literary magazines. She joined Old North in 1913. When…
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The People in the Pews: Jerusha Will
An “Indian of Barnstable” Little is known about Jerusha Will, an Indigenous woman who appears in the baptismal and burial records of Old North in 1743. What records do reveal, however, paints a poignant picture. On May 9, 1743, Jerusha Will, from Barnstable, Massachusetts, received the sacrament of baptism. It is unclear whether her baptism…
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The People in the Pews: The Rev. Dr. Timothy Cutler
Year: 1723-1765 Pew # 27 The appointment of the Rev. Dr. Timothy Cutler as the first rector of Christ Church (Old North) was a bold statement by the embryonic congregation. Born in Charlestown, MA in 1684, Cutler attended Harvard College and served as a Congregational minister at his home church until 1709 when he was…
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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…