welcomed, sometimes not allowed. This was well known, and though on occasions harsh and unjust, it served at times as a wholesome restraint upon cranks and dullards. In arranging these rolls, the chronological order is followed in the main, and they are preceded by a brief historical sketch of the particular church with which the list of ministers is connected. The sources of authority for these rolls, with names and dates, are the memoranda or diaries of the pastors, where these have come into the possession of the churches, and, chiefly and decisively, the records of the clerks and treasurers of the various churches. THE ROLL OF THE PASTORS OF THE FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, FROM 1725 TO 1859. It is not known definitely when this church was founded, or when its first edifice was erected. Tradition indicates the date of the construction of what is now known as the "Old North Vestry" to be 1711, but there is no record to authenticate this date. If the building was put up at this time, it is reasonable to suppose there was some organization that owned and controlled it and worshipped in it. The first authentic record is May 9, 1725, when Mr. Timothy White notes that he began "preaching the Gospel at Nantucket" on that date. In 1728, September 29, the first record of the administration of the ordinance of baptism, by Rev. Joseph Baxter of Medfield, is made, and at that time a Covenant is owned. At the present time, it has not been possible to get beyond these meagre data. This roll, so far as known records indicate, is complete. There is one break of eleven years, from 1750 to 1761, of which period there is no knowledge and no tradition. There have been short periods between the pastorates, when the pulpit was occupied by supplies. The first pastor on these records, Timothy White, was not an ordained minister. He served, under the auspices of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, as superintendent of the religious work among the Nantucket Indians, as teacher of a private school, and as preacher to the congregation of the First Congregational Church. The abbreviations immediately following the names indicate the relation of the pastor to the church and society. P. i. means pastor inducted into his office with this particular church by installation of a Council of Congregational churches; p., pastor inducted into office by the concurrent action of church and society; p. a., acting pastor, holding office by invitation (annually voted) of a joint committee of church and society, known as Supply Committee, without the action of either body. In the column for the term of service, the number of years are given without the fractions of a year, unless the time is a half year. The dates following the name give the full term of service in years and fractions of a year. 1. TIMOTHY WHITE, 2. JOSEPH MAYHEW, 3. BEZALEEL SHAW, 4. JAMES GURNEY, 5. ABNER MORSE, 6. STEPHEN BAILEY, 7. NATHANIEL COBB, 8. STEPHEN MASON, 9. WM. J. BREED, 10. GEO. C. PARTRIDGE, p. a.; May 9, 1725-May 1750. p. a.; 1761-1766. 66 66 3 20 4 2 66 p. i.; Nov. 25, 1767-Feb. 28, 1796. 28 p. i.; 11. JOHN S. C. ABBOT, p. i.; 12. CHARLES RICH, p. i.; 13. GEORGE THACHER, 14. BENJAMIN JUDKINS, 15. J. EMERSON SWALLOW, p. i.; 16. HENRY E. Dwight, 4 THE PREACHERS OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, FROM 1799 To 1859. Methodism was established on the Island in 1799. The first Methodist Episcopal preachers to appear here were Jesse Lee, Joseph Snelling and George Cannon, and the first regularly appointed preacher was William Beauchamp, who came here in 1799. In the beginning of public services, the meetings were held in the Town Hall, but the first church edifice was dedicated January 1, 1800. It stood at the south-west corner of Fair and Lyon streets, and at a later period was known as the "Teazer" meeting-house. The present church building on Center street was dedicated in 1823. In the early part of the last century there was no time limit of preachers, who were assigned by appointment of the General Conference. In practice the term was one year, sometimes less, but rarely longer. This continued till 1804; then the limit was made two years, till 1864; three years, till 1888; and five years, till 1900, when the time limit was entirely removed. The Conference year does not correspond exactly with the civil year, but dates from the session of the Annual Conference, which for the larger portion of the life of this church has been held in April or thereabouts, being assigned to the week before Easter, and has included Palm Sunday. To illustrate, Mr. Beauchamp remained with this church till the end of the Conference year, which was then July, 1801, but according to Conference reckoning his last year was 1800. THE ROLL OF THE MINISTERS IN CHARGE OF THE SECOND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH (UNITARIAN), FROM 1810 to 1862. This church was organized and incorporated in 1810. It was an offshoot from the First Church, started as a protest against the undue strictness and close surveillance exercised over its members by that church in the matter of recreations and amusements, rather than a withdrawal on account of any wide divergence on the question of doctrinal belief. The first minister was the Rev. Seth F. Swift, and his pastorate, in length of service, ranks him as the fourth on the roll of Island pastorates that exceed the average-White and Shaw, of the North or First Church, standing ahead of Swift, with pastorates of twenty-five and twenty-eight years, respectively, and the Rev. James E. Crawford, colored, pastor of the Pleasant street colored Baptist Church, who leads the Island pastorates with a term of forty-one years, 1847 to 1888. The ecclesiastical year of the Unitarian church dates from April first, or thereabouts. As a rule the pastoral term of service conforms to that date, or begins and ends with that date. PASTORS OF THE COLORED BAPTIST CHURCH, FROM 1835 TO 1888. As near as can be ascertained from the meagre records in existence and from personal recollections, the African or Colored Baptist Church was established in a building on York street that was used both for a colored school and for religious services, about 1831. The pulpit supplies in the early years were temporary preachers, generally white, sent from Cape Cod for one or more Sundays. There is a letter extant which indicates that the Rev. Jeremiah Kelley, a white preacher, became pastor of this church in 1835, but there is no record to show how long he remained. He is remembered by some of the oldest colored citizens. In Dec., 1846, and January, 1847, steps were taken to re-organize and incorporate the church and society. What is known as the Pleasant street Baptist church building was erected at the corner of Pleasant and York streets. Rev. James E. Crawford, colored, became the pastor, and continued in office till his death, Oct. 20, 1888. This makes the longest Island pastorate, forty-one years, or from 1847 to 1888. Services are no longer held in the Pleasant street meeting-house, except upon special occasions, and very few of its congregation are left to tell the story. 1. JEREMIAH Kelley. 2. JAMES E. CRAWFORD. Jan. 19, 1835. 41 years. THE RECTORS OF TRINITY AND ST. PAUL PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCHES, FROM 1838 TO 1859. The Protestant Episcopal Church in Nantucket owes its origin to the efforts of the Rev. Moses Marcus of New York, a diocesan missionary, who first visited this Island late in 1837. In a few brief Memoribilia" now in the possession of St. Paul's church authorities, the following is Mr. Marcus's record: "1837, Dec. 30. I, this day, ee made my first visit to the Island of Nantucket. Dc. 31. Preached in the Methodist Chapel, in the morning: in the Second Congregational, in the afternoon in the First Congregational, in the evening. I am the first clergyman who ever officiated on the Island." Nantucket was taken up as one of its mission fields by the Council of the Domestic Missionary Society, and shortly after his first visit, Rev. Mr. Marcus was appointed to this field. He entered upon his duties March 31, 1838. Efforts were immediately entered upon to organize a church and to erect a house of worship. The church organized was known as the Trinity Episcopal Church, and the house of worship, located on Broad street, was consecrated September 18, 1839. On the 11th of July, 1841, Mr. Marcus resigned his charge, and was succeeded by the Rev. F. W. Pollard. Trinity Church lost its edifice in the great fire of 1846. There was a heavy debt upon the property destroyed by the fire. It was decided to give up to the creditors all that was left, and begin anew. This was done, and Trinity church organization was dissolved and abandoned, September 21, 1846, and a new organization was entered upon. The new enterprire was organized September 28, 1846, and, by a vote of seven for St. Paul to six for St. John, was named St. Paul's Protestant Episcopal Church. Between the time of Mr. Pollard's resignation, in 1844, and its dissolution, Trinity was under the charge of various clergymen as ministers in charge, as Messrs. Salter, Robinson and Allen. Shortly before the fire of July, 1846, and continuously till the organization was abandoned, Rev. Ethan Allen was in charge, and he became the first rector of the reorganized church. In making out the following roll, Trinity and St. Paul are one, St. Paul being to all intents and purposes a reorganization, for financial and prudential reasons, of Trinity. In this roll no account is taken of transient supplies, and in some cases it has been difficult to determine whether the clergyman in charge had been regularly inducted into his office, or was a minister in charge. MOSES MARCUS. 1. March 31, 1838-July 11, 1841. 3 years. 3 66 9 66 66 2 66 THE PASTORS OF THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, FROM 1839 TO 1861. The First Baptist Church, whose house of worship is situated on Summer street, was organized in 1839. The late Rev. Daniel Round, Jr., was very actively and prominently interested in this movement, and he became the first pastor. He had two pastorates over this church, with an aggregate term of nearly eight years. In the course of pulpit service for this church, there has been an unusual |