The Federal Street Church (established 1729) was a congregational Unitarian church in Boston , Massachusetts . Organized in 1727, the originally Presbyterian congregation changed in 1786 to " Congregationalism ", then adopted the liberal theology of its fifth Senior Minister, William Ellery Channing , (1780–1842). For most of the 18th century the church was known as the Long Lane Meeting-House . In 1788, state leaders met in the relatively spacious building to determine Massachusetts' ratification of the United States Constitution. Thereafter the church renamed itself the Federal Street Church in honor of the event. In 1803, it called Channing as its minister who defined "Unitarian Christianity" and launched the Unitarian movement, making the Federal Street Church one of the first to define itself as Unitarian.
15-541: The congregation began as a group of Scots-Irish Calvinists gathered in a converted barn on Long Lane in Boston on November 15, 1729. The inhospitable residents of Boston dubbed them derogatorily as “The Church of the Presbyterian Strangers,” and the name stuck. "Their first house of worship was a barn, which sufficed until they were able, in 1744, to build a neat wooden edifice. Governor Hancock presented
30-737: Is a street in the Financial District of Boston , Massachusetts . Prior to 1788, it was known as Long Lane . The street was renamed after state leaders met there in 1788 to determine Massachusetts' ratification of the United States Constitution. In 1727 the Long Lane Meeting House was established; it changed its name to the Federal Street Church in 1788. Henry Knox was born on Long Lane in 1750. The Federal Street Theatre
45-556: The Hancock Mansion at 30 Beacon Street in Boston for about 10 years. After that, she lived at 4 Federal Street in Boston. Dorothy was a well-known hostess, and a great deal was written about her. Many chroniclers of the time note that she was beautiful, well-spoken, and intelligent. She witnessed the Battle of Lexington while staying with her future husband's aunt, Lydia Hancock, at the home of Rev. Jonas Clark, now known as
60-804: The Hancock-Clarke House . When Hancock told her after the battle that she could not go back to her father in Boston, she retorted, "Recollect Mr. Hancock, that I am not under your control yet. I shall go to my father tomorrow." During the American Revolution, the Hancocks hosted the Marquis de Lafayette, and in October 1781, he came to their house with the news that the British had surrendered at Yorktown. In 1824, Lafayette toured
75-778: The Federal Street site. At the time, Bulfinch's design received mixed reviews. "The lightest and most graceful steeple in Boston is in Federal Street, of the Gothic order. We believe the Federal Street Church is the first attempt at this style of architecture in Massachusetts, and one of the first in the United States. It has great faults, and, indeed, few merits except the steeple." On May 5, 1819, Channing delivered “The Baltimore Sermon,” which defined
90-617: The bell and vane which had belonged to the Old Brattle Street Meeting-house ." "The Presbyterian was exchanged for the Congregational form of government, by a unanimous vote, August 6, 1786. "It was the Federal St. Church where the Massachusetts convention congregated, when debating and deciding on the confederating constitution of the United States in 1788; and from that time, the name of the street
105-541: The early 19th-century. Auctioneer J.L. Cunningham worked from Corinthian Hall, 1826-1843. J. H. Bufford 's Sons ran a lithography printing business in the 1870s. In 1928 arose Boston's "first art deco skyscraper," the United Shoe Machinery Building . In 1929, the "art deco jewel" at 75 Federal Street was built. The Blue Cross/Blue Shield building, designed by Paul Rudolph was built 1957-1960. 150 Federal Street, designed by Hugh Stubbins Jr.
120-474: The moral thought of his day, none more important than his clearly reasoned though highly delayed statement against slavery, which became a national best seller, even as it alienated some of his wealthy parishioners who opposed abolition . In 1903, on the 100th anniversary of his installation as minister, a statue of Channing was placed in the Boston Public Garden . By mid-century overcrowding in
135-659: The neighborhood "necessitated a change of location, and in 1859 the church sold their property and built the elegant brown stone building on the corner of Arlington and Boylston Streets, which was dedicated in December, 1861. The congregation continues today as the Arlington Street Church in Back Bay . 42°21′20″N 71°03′23″W / 42.35556°N 71.05639°W / 42.35556; -71.05639 Federal Street (Boston) Federal Street
150-619: The new Unitarian theology for the burgeoning "Unitarian" movement. Although Channing originally resisted formation of a new denomination, under the direction of his associate and later successor, Ezra Stiles Gannett , the move toward separation from the Congregationalists began. The American Unitarian Association was formed in the vestry of the Federal Street Church on May 25, 1825, with Channing offering well wishes and Gannett serving as Secretary. Through brilliant preaching, writing, and publishing, Channing made many contributions to
165-738: Was born in 1776 and died ten months later. In 1778, their son, John George Washington Hancock, was born and died in 1787 while ice skating on a pond in Milton, Massachusetts when he fell through the ice and drowned. In 1796, after Hancock's death in 1793, Quincy married Captain James Scott (1742–1809), who had been employed by Hancock as a captain in his trading ventures with England. They lived in Portsmouth, New Hampshire , and had no children together. When Captain Scott died, Dorothy moved back into
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#1732772881896180-582: Was built in 1793, designed by Charles Bulfinch ; it remained until 1852. By 1806, residents included engraver Joseph Callender; printer Nathaniel Coverly; merchant Stephen Higginson ; comedian Snelling Powell; dancing master William Turner. In 1823, residents included the Federal Street Coffee House; hairdresser William Lenox; Esther Newell and her "female intelligence office;" grocer Henry Sweetser; seamstress Martha Vincent. Dorothy Quincy and John Mackay also lived on Federal St. in
195-464: Was built in 1988. 42°21′23.45″N 71°3′24.1″W / 42.3565139°N 71.056694°W / 42.3565139; -71.056694 Dorothy Quincy Dorothy Quincy Hancock Scott ( / ˈ k w ɪ n z i / ; May 21 (May 10 O.S. ) 1747 – February 3, 1830) was an American hostess, daughter of Justice Edmund Quincy of Braintree and Boston, and the wife of Founding Father John Hancock . Her aunt, also named Dorothy Quincy,
210-407: Was changed from Long Lane to Federal Street." William Ellery Channing, (1780–1842), often known as "The Father of American Unitarianism", served as Senior Minister at the Federal Street Church from 1803 to 1842. Under his leadership the congregation prospered. To accommodate the crowds that Channing drew, the third meeting house, designed by the noted architect Charles Bulfinch , was built in 1809 on
225-673: Was the subject of Oliver Wendell Holmes ' poem Dorothy Q. Dorothy Quincy was raised at the Quincy Homestead in what is now Quincy, Massachusetts . The house in which she lived has been designated a National Historic Landmark and is known as the Dorothy Quincy House. She married John Hancock, who presided at the formation of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and was a two-time Governor of Massachusetts, in 1775. Their first child, Lydia Henchman Hancock
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