Celebration of the Eucharist – also known as the Lord’s Supper, or communion – was a controversial topic in Universalist circles in the 1830’s and 1840’s. Some Universalists believed that the original “Last Supper” was a celebration of Passover, and that Christians were not obligated to continue Jewish traditions. Others believed that it was a … Continue reading The Communion Controversy
General Simon Spalding was a Revolutionary War hero and a pioneer white settler of Sheshequin. He was also the progenitor of many members of the Sheshequin Universalist Society. At least 50 members during the Society’s first hundred years were his descendants or spouses of his descendants. Simon Spalding was born in Plainfield, Connecticut, in 1742. … Continue reading General Simon Spalding – the Great Universalist Progenitor
Julia Kinney Scott, an early member of the Sheshequin Universalist Society, was well-known in Universalist circles as a poet. Her poems first appeared in Universalist newspapers in 1831. At least 100 of her poems and prose writings had been published in these papers by the time of her death in 1842. Near the end of … Continue reading The Julia Scott Memoir Controversy
The Shaws were early settlers of Sheshequin, and several of them played significant roles in the early history of our church. Ebenezer Shaw, known as “The Centenarian” because he lived to be one hundred years old, came to Sheshequin from Rhode Island in 1786, when he was fifteen. As an adult he farmed on property … Continue reading The Shaw Family
I never thought I would be able to use the words “baseball” and “Universalist” in the same sentence until I stumbled across an interesting story while researching our church history. The story involves the Rev. Nelson Doolittle, a Universalist minister who was born and raised in New Milford, Pa., about 50 miles east of here. … Continue reading Baseball and Universalists
One of the things I learned early on when I started researching our congregation’s history is that you can’t trust everything you read. Every reference – websites, on-line family genealogies, books, newspapers, even the U. S. Census – may contain errors. Some of these errors have sent me on wild goose chases or led me … Continue reading Pitfalls of Historical Research
Julia Kinney Scott, granddaughter of one of the Rev. Noah Murray’s first converts, was a member of the Sheshequin Universalist Society in the early 1830’s. She was renowned in Universalist circles for her writing, which soothed the suffering and encouraged the faithful. Her poetry and prose were published in both Universalist and non-denominational periodicals in … Continue reading “The First Snow,” by Julia Kinney Scott
Some of you may have heard the following excerpt from our church records from the year 1878: “Our Partialist friends in the surrounding country, becoming much disturbed and alarmed at the spiritual condition of their ‘awful neighbors’ in the Valley, occasionally send a ‘screaming Moses’ to warn us of the wrath to come.” I had … Continue reading Our Partialist Neighbors
Back in the early 1800’s, the local Universalist Associations, like the North Branch Association, had the power to ordain ministers. The first ordination in Sheshequin, as far as I have found, took place 180 years ago. The new minister was the Rev. Gustavus S. Ames. He served the Sheshequin congregation for six years. I have … Continue reading First Ordination in Sheshequin
Before the Unitarians and Universalists joined together in 1961, many states had Universalist Conventions. Like today’s Unitarian Universalist Association and the affiliated Regional organizations, these conventions existed to support the Universalist churches in their states and to promote the spread of the good news of universal salvation. Some of the Conventions – including Pennsylvania’s and New York’s … Continue reading First Pennsylvania Universalist Convention Meeting
