1921 – Antoinette Louisa Brown Blackwell died at the age of 96. Born in Henrietta, New York, she was called to the Congregational church in South Butler, New York, becoming the first woman pastor in the country, although her gender prevented her ordination in that church. She became a Unitarian in 1854, helped found All … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History November 5

1804 – A group of Unitarian ministers in Worcester and Middlesex counties organized the Evangelical Missionary Society to counter Jedidiah Morse’s diatribe against their growing liberalism. Its constitution said, “The great object of this society is to furnish the means of Christian knowledge and moral improvement to those inhabitants of our own country who are destitute … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History November 4

1794 – William Cullen Bryant, one of America’s literary greats, was born in Cummington, Massachusetts. He is remembered chiefly for his poetry, especially “Thanatopsis.” He never graduated from college but read the law in several offices and was admitted to the bar in 1815. For nearly 50 years, Bryant edited the New York Evening Post. … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History November 3

1786 – Samuel Hoar died at the age of 78. He was a Unitarian religious educator and a vehement abolitionist. He graduated from Harvard College in 1802 and then studied law. Sternly opposed to any travel on Sunday, it was said that he would stop a tornado if it were going through town on Sunday. … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History November 2

1912 – Robert Collyer, an English mill worker turned Unitarian minister, died at 89 in New York City. As a child, he worked from six in the morning until eight at night every day. Collyer came to Philadelphia in 1850 and worked as a blacksmith. Inspired by Lucretia Mott, he became an abolitionist and switched … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History November 1

1867 – Sylvanus Cobb died at age 68. Born in Maine, he was an influential Universalist, working as a minister, theological journalist, legislator, and social reformer in the Boston area. He served Universalist churches in Winthrop and Waterville, Maine and in Malden, Waltham, and East Boston, Massachusetts. Read more about Sylvanus Cobb at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History October 31

1867 – John Albion Andrew, a Unitarian prison reformer, abolitionist, and governor of Massachusetts, died at age 49. Born in Maine, he was reared orthodox but became Unitarian in Boston during the ministry of James Freeman Clarke. A lawyer, Andrew visited prisons, took on many cases pro bono, and became an advocate of prison reform. … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History October 30

1929 – Ernest William Kuebler was born. Educated at Boston University and Yale University, he served the American Unitarian Association and the Unitarian Universalist Association in many capacities, especially in religious education. With Frederick May Eliot and Sophia Lyon Fahs, Kuebler was instrumental in overhauling Unitarian religious education. He served as executive vice president of … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History October 29

1818 – Abigail Smith Adams, the wife of U.S. president John Adams, died at age 73. She was the chief figure in the social life of her husband’s administration and one of the most distinguished and influential first ladies in American history. A lively, intelligent woman, her letters are a vivid source of social history, … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History October 28

1553 – Michael Servetus was burned at the stake at Champel, near Geneva, Switzerland. At the instigation of John Calvin, he had been sentenced the day before to death for challenging the doctrine of the Trinity and publishing On the Errors of the Trinity. Servetus went to his death with his books chained to his … Continue reading This Day in Unitarian Universalist History October 27