Chronology of Sunday School History
(Unitarian Universalist)
Part I: From the Distant Past to 1840

By Rev. Frank E. Robertson

Introduction

This chronology is designed to be an ongoing project of the Unitarian Universalist Religious Education History Group, who organized themselves in 2001. Because the history of Unitarian and Universalist religious education has roots in early European Christian history and in the history of the old Standing Order of American churches, and evolved from very early ways of teaching, some entries are included before the first American congregations began to identify themselves as Unitarian or Universalist during the second half of the 18th century. Current member churches of the American Unitarian Universalist Association comprise many of the oldest churches in the United States, including the First Parish of Plymouth, whose members separated from the Church of England in 1606 and founded the Plymouth Colony in 1620.

The chronology will also include entries from the history of Sunday schools in England and other lands with whom relationships with American Unitarians and Universalists existed.

While the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of America formally consolidated into the Unitarian Universalist Association in 1961, they actually began to collaborate on religious education projects in the early 1900s, thus becoming increasingly similar. Entries will be made where there was evidence of that collaboration. Also, this chronology will identify entries as either "Unitarian" or "Universalist" in the early period, though placing them in one listing.

Both faith groups have a liberal Christian heritage with varieties of Unitarian and Universalist theologies. Both also have valued Biblical criticism and sources from the world’s religions, science, the humanist tradition, and earth-centered traditions, displaying many examples of these sources in the educational literature of their long history. Some notations will help the reader identify the influence of such traditions in Sunday school events and literature

The identification of archival sources or where a particular book or periodical can be found has been placed at the end of each entry to aid students in their research. Information about additional locations of materials or new entries is most welcome.

Abbreviations:
AH–Archives of the Andover-Harvard Library
H–copy in the Harvard University Library system
L–copy at Library of Congress
ML–copy at Meadville/Lombard Theological School Library
S–copy at Starr King School for the Ministry Library

Chronology

1642: The General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony voted “that all masters of families do, once a week at least, catechize their children and servants in the grounds and principles of religion.” [AH 77/9 (2)]

1680: First Parish of the Plymouth in Plymouth Colony passed a vote that “the deacons be requested to assist the minister in teaching the children during the intermission on the Sabbath.” [AH 77/9 (2)]

1740: The Dunkers (believers of universal salvation) established a Sunday school in Ephrata, PA. [AH 77/9 (3)]

1763: Theophilus Lindsey, founder of the Essex Street Unitarian Chapel in 1774, established a Sunday school in Yorkshire, England.

1781: Theophilus Lindsey publishes The Catechist: Or An Inquiry Into the Doctrine...

1781: Priestley, Joseph (Unitarian minister and founder of Chemistry), A Catechism for Children, and Young Persons, London: Printed for J. Johnson, in two parts, 43 pp. In the Preface, Priestley writes: “...I would propose, that the questions in the catechism serve only to point out the principal things about which it may be proper to talk with a child, and that they be broken into a greater number of other questions and answers, too particular to be printed at large, but such as will naturally suggest themselves in the course of catechizing.” This catechism was included in early editions of the revised Book of Common Prayer of King’s Chapel of Boston, which declared itself Unitarian in 1786, the first of the old congregations among the churches in North America to do so. Priestley’s second catechism is called A Scripture Catechism. (Andover-Harvard Library, No. 1 in a bound vol. of 9 theological works by Priestley)

1782: Murray, Judith Sargent (Stevens) of Gloucester, MA (spouse of the Rev. John Murray who was the founder of organized Universalism in the mid-1770s), A Universalist Catechism. Bonnie Hurd Smith republished this work in the 1990s; 15 Winter St., Salem, MA 01970-3864.

1783:Townsend, Shippie (Universalist lay person of Boston, MA), A Practical Essay, Designed for General Use, In Three Parts…. Parts II and III treat the religious education of children. (H, Hollis #ALI 1797)

1784:Priestley, Joseph (Unitarian minister), Considerations for the Use of Young Men and the Parents of Young Men, 21 pp. and A Serious Address to Masters of Families with Forms of Family-Prayer, 65 pp.

1785: Winchester, Elhanan (Universalist minister), A Serious Address to the Youth of Both Sexes in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA: B. Towne, 7 pp. (H, Hollis#BIY7546)

1787: Townsend, Shippie (Universalist), The Master and Scholar Attending Catechizing... , Boston: B. Edes and Son, 16 pp.(H, Hollis#ALG8952) (H, Lamont, Microfiche W 2571)
Shippie Townsend (b. 1722) was a block-maker in Boston and became a Universalist about 1782. He appears to have been well educated and preached as a layman occasionally in Boston and Gloucester. He gathered up about ten of his writings into one volume, which he had published in 1794, called Gospel News. He may have been the first advocate of the theology of universal salvation in New England via the pen. He was married to Mehitable Whittemore, the granddaughter of Thomas Whittemore. He was a deacon of First Universalist Church of Boston and died of yellow fever in August of 1798. (Richard Eddy’s Universalism in America, Vol. I, 1891, pp. 265-266.)

1790: The Philadelphia Convention of Universalists, composed of seventeen persons from various states, including the Rev. John Murray from Gloucester, Massachusetts, agreed on the following statement about education:

“The Instruction of Children:–We believe it to be the duty of all parents to instruct their children in the principles of the gospel, as the best means to inspire them with the love of virtue, and to promote in them good manners, and habits of industry and sobriety. As a necessary introduction to the knowledge of the gospel, we recommend the institution of a school, or schools, to be under the direction of every church; in which shall be taught reading, writing, arithmetic, and psalmody. We recommend, further, that provision be made for instructing poor children, in the said schools, gratis. As the fullest discovery of the perfections and will of God, and of the whole duty of man, is contained in the Bible, we wish that divine book to be read by the youth of our churches as early and frequently as possible; and that they should be instructed therein at stated meetings appointed for that purpose.” (Richard Eddy’s Universalism in America: A History, Vol. I, Boston: Universalist Publishing House, 1891, p. 300)

As part of their “Plan of Church Government,” they identified the role of teacher as follows: “‘The terms bishop, elder, minister, pastor, and teacher,’ were held to be the same, ‘intended only to express the different capacities in which the same officer is called to act.’” (Eddy, Vol. I, pp. 298-299)

1790?: The First-Day or Sunday School Society of Philadelphia established as an outreach organization to educate the children of the poor by Benjamin Rush (Universalist), Bishop White (Episcopalian), and Matthew Carey (Roman Catholic). [AH 77/9 (3)]

1791: In March of 1791, the First-Day or Sunday School Society of Philadelphia established a Sunday school for poor children. In April of 1791, Oliver Wellington Lane, a school teacher in West Boston and a deacon at the First Universalist Church, established the first Sunday school in Boston for poor boys and girls. He was graduated from Harvard College in 1772, conducted the Installation Service for John Murray in 1793, and died later that year. (Richard Eddy’s Universalist in America, Vol. II, p. 407; also see Eddy’s article in the Universalist Quarterly, Oct., 1882 on microfilm at AH Library)

It took over two decades for Unitarians and Universalists to start Sunday schools specifically for their own children. Just at what point in history some children of members of various churches began to attend these charity schools is not known. Most members’ children were educated in public schools, in catechism classes at their churches, and by their parents. Poor children worked during the week and sought out Sunday schools, which offered them the basics in education as well as Bible studies.

1791: Townsend, Shippie (Universalist), Scripture Truths and Precepts: A Short Catechism..., Boston: Samuel Hall, 23 pp. In the Appendix is a writing on baptism, concluding with an explanation of communion. (H, Hollis#ALF5455 and Lamont Microfiche W 2571)

1794?: Townsend, Shippie (Universalist), The History of the Mother and Child: A New Primer, Attempting An Easy, Entertaining, and Effectual Method of Teaching Young Children the Alphabet, Boston: S. Hall, 32 pp. At the back of this book is The Young Child’s Catechism. (H. Hollis # ALI 1031; Lamont Microfiche W 2571)

1795: Packard, Hezekiah (Unitarian minister and a founder of the Free Public Library of Chelmsford, MA), A Catechism, Containing the First Principles of our Religious and Social Duties: Adapted to the Capacities of Children, Boston: Printed and sold by Samuel Hall, 53 Cornhill, 84 pp .That catechism was criticized by Universalists for its failure to embrace a theology of universal salvation(see 1797). (H, Lamont Microfiche W 2571)

Along with teaching religion, the work also instructs young people on how to be a good citizen in the newly-formed United States.

1797: Townsend, Shippie (Universalist), Observations on the Religious Education of Children: In A Letter to Mr. Hezekiah Packard, etc., Boston: B. Edes, 7 pp. (H. Hollis #ALI1033, Lamont Microfiche W 2571)

1804?: Packard, Hezekiah (Unitarian minister), Two Discourses on Prayer, Particularly on Family Worship. Preached on Feb. 12, 1804 in Wiscasset, ME, printed by Babson and Rust of Wiscasset, perhaps 1804, 28 pp. (H. Hollis #AVO7770; Lamont Microfiche W4532 no. 6969: Microfiche also at New Canaan, CT)

1810: Hannah Hill and Joanna Price (Unitarians) founded a Sunday school for poor boys in one of their homes in Beverly, MA. When the school outgrew its quarters, it moved first to the vestry of the Congregational Church (Trinitarian) and later to First Parish (Unitarian) when their vestry was built. (See archives of First Parish in Beverly, MA) Some early historians mistakenly suggest that this was the first Sunday school in America.

1810: Sarah Ripley, the daughter of Dr. Ezra Ripley (Unitarian minister), started a Sunday school for poor children in “The Old Manse” in Concord, MA. [AH 77/9(2)]

1810: Ballou, Hosea (Universalist minister), The Child’s Scriptural Catechism, Portsmouth, NH: The Gazette Office, 35 pp.

1811: John Bartlett (Unitarian minister) started two Sunday schools for poor children, one in the North End and the other in the western part of Boston. He was chaplain of the Almshouse on Leverett Street, Boston. Later that year, he was called to serve the Second Congregational Parish (Unitarian) in Marblehead, MA; but, before he left, he arranged with the Rev. Dr. Charles Lowell of the West Church (Unitarian) for the school in the western part of Boston to be taken over by the Gleaning Circle of the West Church. The Gleaning Circle was a women’s literary and humanitarian society. They continued the children’s schooling in the balcony of the church following Sunday services. At the time of its beginnings, the school was composed of all girls, and sewing was taught along with various school subjects. (See H. Archives on Bartlett and The West Church and its Ministers, Boston: Grosby, Nichols, and Co., 1856)

1812: Kneeland, Abner (Universalist minister), The Child’s Scriptural Catechism, For Use of Families and Schools, 36 pp.

1813: Channing, William Ellery and Samuel Cooper Thacher, Elements of Religion and Morality: A Catechism for Children, John Eliot’s press, 16 pp.

1813: Lydia Adams, a leader among the women of the Gleaning Circle of West Church of Boston (Unitarian), visited the Sunday school in Beverly, MA to learn about their programs and bring back ideas to Boston. At that time the West Church’s school was called “The West-Boston Charity School” and several girls who were children of church members joined the initial fifteen girls from the poor community. This is an early example of members’ children attending Sunday school.

1814: A Sunday school was founded by Unitarians of Cambridge, MA. [AH. 77/9 (2)]

1815: Dean, Paul (Universalist minister of Boston), Elements of the Christian Religion, Contained in the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, in a catechism designed for the instruction of the children of the First Universalian [sic.] Church and Society of Boston, 28 pp.

1816: The first Universalist Sunday school for the children of the congregation of the Lombard Street Church in Philadelphia, and others from the community who would attend, was established in October, 1816, after the close of the three interfaith charity Sunday schools of the First-day Society. Although some individual church families of Unitarians and Universalists elsewhere were sending their children to the various outreach Sunday schools they founded, this is an early example of a Sunday school for all children. (Richard Eddy, Universalism In America, Vol. II, p. 408)

1816: A Sunday school was founded by Unitarians in Wilton, NH. [AH. 77/9 (2)]

1817: The Sunday school for the First Universalist Society of Boston was founded by the Rev. Paul Dean.(see note for Eddy, 1816)

1818: Rees, Thomas, The Racovian Catechism: with Notes and Illustrations, Translated from the Latin; to which is Prefixed a Sketch of the History of Unitarianism in Poland and the Adjacent Countries, London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown, 404 pp. The Racovian Catechism had been in use among Unitarians in eastern Europe for about 200 years.

1818: Unitarians in Portsmouth, NH founded a Sunday school. [AH 77/9 (2)]

1818: Rayner, Menzies (Universalist), A Catechism of the Bible: in which all the most important events, characters, and circumstances recorded in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are noticed and illustrated by way of question and answer, New Haven: Flagg & Gray, 211 pp. (AH Library BT1031.R3 and H Lamont Microfiche W 4532 and New Canaan, CT Microfiche 45475)

1819: Deacons John Lowe and Daniel Sewell of the First Parish (Unitarian), Kennebunk, ME, started the Sunday school of that parish. (Sermon delivered in April of 1992 by the Rev. Peter Richardson)

1820: A Unitarian Sunday school was started in Dedham, MA. (The Annual Reports of the Boston Sunday School Society, 1829) Also, the Sunday school for the Independent Christian Church of Gloucester, MA (Universalist) was started (See note above for Eddy, 1816).

1821: Three Universalist writings on religious education that year:
King, Thomas Starr (Universalist minister who also served Unitarian churches later), Scripture Catechism for Sabbath Schools.
Pickering, David, A Calm Address to the Believers and Advocates of Endless Misery, designed for the Benefit of the Youth, Hudson, 16 pp.
Whittemore, Thomas (Universalist minister), An Epitome of Scripture Doctrine, Comprised in aCatechism for the Use of Children, Boston, 22 pp.

1822: Unitarians founded a Sunday school in Hingham, MA. (See The Annual Reports of the Boston Sunday School Society, 1830, p. 35)

1823: Bartlett, Robert (Universalist), A Serious and Candid Examination of the Present Government of Sunday Schools, Together with a Reply to a Certain Writer Under the Signature Benevolus, Winston, VT. 22 pp.

1823: Peabody, William Bourn Oliver (Unitarian minister), A Catechism for the Use of Children. The text was written to be sung, and was the first of several editions. (H, 1849 ed.)

1823: Unitarian Sunday schools were founded in Atkinson, ME; Northboro, MA; and Dublin, MA. (See The Annual Reports of the Boston Sunday School Society, 1830, pp. 35 and 36)

1823: Unitarians founded the Hancock Sabbath School of Boston, first meeting in the Hancock School on Hanover Street. The first superintendent was Moses Grant. (Newsletter of the Bulfinch Place Chapel, Boston, Dec. 1926)

1823: By 1823, the Association for Religious Improvement had been formed to organize a concerted outreach to the poor of Boston by the Unitarian churches. The Rev. Henry Ware, Jr., then pastor of the Second Church of Boston (Unitarian), is generally credited with starting the Association. Among other projects, the Association helped to start the Hancock Sabbath School.

1824–1832: Universalists published the following books for Sunday school use:
Thompson, John Samuel (minister), A Course of Critical Lectures, or Systematical Theology, in Four Parts, Viz: Theology, Demonology, Christology, and Anthropology, 240 pp. and probably used for adult classes, 1824. (H)

Smith, Stephen R.(minister), The Teachings of Christ: Addressed to the Youth, 1827, 12 pp.
Whittemore, Thomas (minister), A Dialogue Between A Parent and Child Concerning John V. 28, 29, For the Instruction of Children and Youth. 1827, 24 pp.

Balch, William Stevens (minister), A Brief Sketch of the Life of Christ...Designed for the Use of Small Children in Sabbath Schools and Private Families, 1830, 56pp. (H, 1839 ed.)

Reese, W. I., The Catechumen’s Guide, Or Scripture Questions and Answers for the Use of the Children in Sabbath Schools and in the Domestic Circle, 1830.

Smith, Stephen Rensselaer (minister), The Scripture Doctrine, Comprised in a Series of Questions, with Answers Extracted from the Sacred Text..., 1830, 58 pp. (H, 1839 ed.)

Murray, John (1741-1815), The Life of Rev. John Murray/ Written by Himself; To Which is Added a Brief Continuation to the Closing Scene (by Judith Sargeant Murray), 270 pp. This book had many editions and has been a major source of stories, dramatizations, and lessons for Universalists’ Sunday schools. (H)

Hudson, Charles (minister), Primary Questions on Select Portions of Scripture, Designed for Sabbath Schools, 1832.

Hudson, Charles (minister), Questions on Select Portions of Scripture, Designed for the Higher Classes in Sabbath Schools, 170 pp., 1832. (H 1840 ed.)

King, Thomas F., Universalist Sabbath School Book, Embracing Simple Lessons, Adapted to the Younger Classes, 1832. (Also an 1834 ed.)

Whittemore, Thomas (minister), Notes and Illustrations of the Parables of the New Testament, Arranged According to the Time in Which They Were Spoken, 1832, 381 pp.
This book was published in Boston at the ”Universalist Publishing House,” and represents an early mention of a press run by Universalists. (H)

The books in the list above were included in Richard Eddy’s extensive bibliography at the back of Volume II of Universalism in America, 1894.

1824: Unitarians founded Sunday schools in Newburyport, MA and Portland, ME. (The Annual Reports of the Boston Sunday School Society, 1830, p. 35)

1825: Unitarians founded Sunday schools in Waltham, MA; Springfield, MA; and Hallowell, ME. (The Annual Reports of the Boston Sunday School Society, 1830, pp. 35 and 36)

1826: Unitarians founded Sunday schools in Chelmsford, MA; Belfast, ME; and Kennebunk, ME. (The Annual Reports of the Boston Sunday School Society, 1830, pp 35 and 36)

1826: The Franklin Sabbath School (Unitarian) of Boston was established in October with 44 children and nine teachers. (See The Annual Reports of the Boston Sunday School Society For the Year 1829, “The Directors; Annual Report of the Several Schools in this City,” p. 15.)

1826: The Rev. Dr. Joseph Tuckerman resigned his ministry at the Chelsea, MA, Unitarian Church and became the first full time Minister-at-Large in Boston, hired by the Association for Religious Improvement and the American Unitarian Association. Religious education was a central focus of his ministry.

1826: On the evening of Dec.10, the first meeting of the Howard Sunday School of Boston took place in an upper room of Smith’s Circular Building on Portland and Merrimac Streets. Seven Unitarian teachers, recruited by the Rev. Dr. Joseph Tuckerman, met with three pupils. The school was named after John Howard, the English philanthropist and prison reformer. The main level of Smith’s Circular Building was a paint store. (Newsletter of the Bulfinch Place Chapel, Boston, Dec. 1926)

1826: At a teachers’ meeting of the Franklin Sabbath School on Dec. 16, 1826, Dr. Josiah Foster Flagg was asked to call together representatives from the various Unitarian Sabbath schools in Boston and the vicinity for the purpose of forming an association. Josiah Flagg (1722-1798) was graduated from Harvard in 1815 with an MD degree. He was a pioneer in dental surgery and was a member of the Federal Street Church (Unitarian). (AH 77/1 and archives of the Countway Library at Harvard)

1827: The first meeting of seven representatives from various Unitarian Sunday schools and Sabbath schools of Boston took place in Dr. Flagg’s home in January. Present were Dr. J. F. Flagg of the Franklin Sabbath School, Frederick Tarrall Gray of the Hancock Sunday School, Thomas Hardy of the West Church’s Sunday School, L. G. Pray of the 12th Congregational Church’s Sunday School, Dr. Davis of the Howard Sunday School, Dr. J. P. Spooner from the Brattle Square Church, and G. F. Thayer from the Federal Street Church. Dr. Flagg and F. T. Gray were asked to organize a meeting of the teachers of “the above named schools and all other friends of the cause whom the Teachers might invite.” That next meeting took place in the vestry of the Federal St. Church (Berry Street) on Feb. 21, 1827. Deacon Moses Grant presided and Joseph Tuckerman led the opening prayer. Among the purposes for forming the association were the need to prepare teachers to teach in the Sabbath schools, the need for books other than the Trinitarian books being published by the American Sunday School Union, and the need to develop more Sunday schools in Unitarian churches. The group resolved to form an association and set up a committee to prepare a constitution.

At a meeting on April 18, 1827, the proposed constitution was adopted and the name “Boston Sunday School Society” was chosen for the association. In November, Joseph Tuckerman was elected President; Moses Grant, V. P.; J. F. Flagg, Corresponding Secretary; and Frederick T. Gray, Recording Secretary. (AH 77/1)

Dr. Flagg began to correspond with (and sometimes visit) various Unitarian churches, promoting the establishment of Sunday schools. (AH 77/1)

The minutes of the 1827 and 1828 meetings of the Society reveal interest in establishing graded classes, questioning the value of giving rewards and punishment in the old ways to control children’s behavior, and a general agreement that religious education not be limited to catechisms or Bible stories. (AH, 77/1, pp. 21-51)

1827 and 1828: The American Unitarian Association built the Friend Street Chapel as an outreach center to the poor of Boston. The chapel included a Sabbath school program. Joseph Tuckerman was its Minister-at-Large throughout its existence until 1836, when it closed and a larger chapel was built on Pitts Street. Among its educational programs was a sewing class for African American girls. (The Boston Religion, Unitarianism in its Capital City, by the Rev. Peter Tufts Richardson, 2003, p.79)

1827: The Sunday school of the Twelfth Congregational Church (Unitarian) of Boston was founded. The Rev. Dr. Samuel Barrett was the superintendent and held that position for over 25 years. He was assisted by Lewis G. Pray and Benjamin Seaver. Some members of the church refrained from sending their children to the Sunday school at first. It was established as a charity school but welcomed members' children as well. In a few years the entire congregation embraced the school.

1827: Unitarians founded Sunday schools in Concord, MA; Cambridgeport, MA; Northampton, MA; Dover, MA; Plymouth, MA; Dorchester, MA; and Walpole, MA. (The Annual Reports of the Boston Sunday School Society, 1830, pp. 35 and 36)

1827/28: The periodical called The Olive Branch was published by the New York Universalist Book Society. It contains a catechism and stories from the Hindu, Confucian, and Zoroastrian heritages. (Andover-Harvard Library microfilm #4141)

1828: At the February 25, 1828 quarterly meeting of the Boston Sunday School Society (Unitarian), the topic of “establishing new schools in every part of our city, where teachers can be found to undertake it” was discussed. (AH 77/1, p.28) At the April 29 meeting of the Directors, a committee was formed to establish a library for the use of teachers from various Sunday schools. (p. 30). At the Oct. 7 meeting the Society united with the American Unitarian Association for the purpose of publishing Sunday school books. (p. 37). In 1831, they would sever their formal connection with the AUA by mutual agreement, dropping the word “Unitarian” from the front of their books so that the books would appeal to a wider audience(p.66).

1828: Unitarians founded Sunday schools in Andover, MA (N. Parish); Hardwich, MA; Baltimore, MD; Amesbury, MA; E. Cambridge, MA; Roxbury, MA; Kingston, MA; Sterling, MA; Cambridge, MA (2nd School); New York, N.Y. (2nd Parish); Brewster, MA; New Bedford, MA; Brighton, MA; Dennis, MA; Charlestown, MA; Sandwich, MA; Littleton, MA; Stoughton, MA; Bridgewater, MA (North); and Concord, N.H. (The Annual Reports of the Boston Sunday School Society, 1830, pp. 35 and 36)

1828: The Unitarian periodical called The Christian Teachers’ Manual was published monthly, edited by Eliza Lee Follen. Articles include: "What are the requisites in a Sunday School Teacher?”; “On the Properties of Seeds”; "Children’s Prayers"; "What Should be Taught in a Sunday School?"; "Origin of Sunday Schools"; “Hospitality"; "How Shall We Give Right Views on Death to Children?", and "What is Religion?"

1828–1832: During this period, Unitarians had published the following books for Sunday school use:
Fisk, Harvey, A New Series of Questions on the Selected Scripture Lessons for Sabbath Schools by a Superintendent of a Sabbath-school in New Jersey. (H)
Allen, Joseph, Questions on Select Portions of the Four Evangelists. (H)
Hymns for Sunday Schools, published by the Boston Sunday School Society, 1831.
Gannett, Ezra S., The Scriptural Interpreter. The introduction claims to help the Sunday school teacher or the head of a family gain a better background in Bible studies than the Christian’s Manual which was discontinued. (H)

1829: Unitarians founded Sunday schools in Providence, R.I.; Lexington, MA; Danvers, MA; Worcester, MA; Bridgewater, MA (East); Eastport, ME; Charlton, ME; Dover, N.H.; West Cambridge (older school took new form); Augusta, ME; and Rochester, NY. Also, by that year, Sunday schools had been founded in the five district schools of Brooklyn, CN; Ashby, MA; Barnstable, MA; and Warwick, MA. The dates of the founding of those latter schools are not available. They were listed in the report with blank spaces after their names. (The Annual Reports of the Boston Sunday School Society, 1830, pp. 35 and 36)

A Catechism in Three Parts..., published by the Unitarian Ministers’ Association of Worcester, MA, 1831. (Republished by the UU Christian Fellowship, Inc., in 1980, ed. by Richard E. Myers)

Sullivan, William, The Moral Class Book, or, The Law of Morals: Derived from the Created Universe, and from Revealed Religion: Intended for Schools. (H)

Barnes, Albert, Questions on the Historical Books of the New Testament, 1831. (H)
Gerando, Joseph-Marie, baron de, The Visitor of the Poor; translated from the French of the Baron Degerando, by a Lady of Boston; With an Introduction by Joseph Tuckerman, 1832. (H)
Abbott, Jacob, The Young Christian, or, A Familiar Illustration of the Principles of Christian Duty, 1832. (H)
Gallaudet, Thomas Hopkins, Child’s Book on the Soul, 1832.

1830-1835: Unitarians in Boston founded the Purchase Street Sabbath School out of the Franklin St. Sabbath School, the Chauncy Sunday School, which was not attached to a parish, and a Sunday School at the New North Church with some pupils from the Hancock Sunday School. Sunday schools were also in operation at the Brattle Square Church, the South Congregational Society, Church Green, and the Hollis St. Church. (AH. 77/1. Although specific founding dates are not yet available, representatives from these Sunday schools were recorded as attending meetings of the Sunday School Society.

1831: On Sept. 14, 1831, the Sunday School Society (Unitarian) celebrated what they called “the 50th Anniversary” of the founding of Sunday schools by Robert Raikes of England. The event was held at the Federal Street Church of Boston and other denominations were invited. The address was delivered by the Rev. Mr. Gannett and original hymns were composed by Dr. Thomas Gray, Jr. and the Rev. Mr. Pierpont for the occasion. (AH 77/1, p. 71)

1832: In April of 1832 the Sunday School Society (Unitarian) revised its constitution, dropping the word “Boston” before its name and expanding its list of Vice Presidents to include leaders in Sunday school work from other states. At the Annual Meeting, Joseph Tuckerman continued as President but eight Vice Presidents were elected, including William P. Rice, Esq. from Cincinnati, the Rev. Samuel Gilman from Charleston, S.C., and the Rev. S. G. Bulfinch from Augusta, Georgia. Dr. J. F. Flagg continued as Corresponding Sec., Thomas Gray was Recording Sec., and George A. Sampson was Treas. (AH 77/1, p. 77)

Later that year, teacher-training courses were sponsored by the Society, including a class on Sacred Music. There was also formal discussion of “the influence of Sunday Schools on Domestic religion.”

1832: Charles Francis Barnard (Unitarian ministerial student at Harvard at the time) joined Joseph Tuckerman in the Ministry-at-Large in Boston. Later that year, Frederic T. Gray joined them; and, still later, Robert C. Waterston was added to their ranks. The four divided up the city and visited the poor, providing aid and urging people to take advantage of the services and Sunday schools of nearby Unitarian churches and outreach chapels. Barnard began a Sabbath school for poor children in the parlor of Dorothea Dix’s home that year.

Dorothea Dix (Unitarian) had already become known as an educator in Boston. She had opened a school for girls in the city in 1821. Two decades later she began her campaign to reform the treatment of the mentally ill which made her famous. (See the 1989 edition of The New Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. 4, p. 135).

1833-1840: Books published for the use of Unitarian Sunday schools:
The Sunday Library for Young Persons, edited by Henry Ware, Jr. (Unitarian Minister)
Vol. I: The Life of the Savior by Henry Ware, Jr., 1833. (H)
Vol. II: John Howard by Mrs. John Farrar, 1833. (H)
Vol. III: The Holy Land and Its Inhabitants, by Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch, 1834. (H)
Vol. IV: A Sketch of the Reformation by Thomas Bayley Fox, 1836. (H)
Tuckerman, Joseph, Scenes and Characters Illustrating Christian Truth, Boston: J. Munroe & Co., 1834, 108 pp, ed. by Henry Ware, Jr. (H)
The Boston Sunday School Hymnal by a Superintendent, Boston: Boston Sunday School Society, 1834.
Allen, Joseph, Questions on the Acts of the Apostles; Designed for the Higher Classes in Sunday Schools, Boston: Walker, Wise, and Co., 1834, 155 pp.
Mrs. More, The Family Story Book, compiled by the editors of the Popular Library of Boston: J. Allen & Co., 1835. Other books in the series were The Week Day Book and The Sabbath-Day Book For Boys and Girls.
Author unknown, Sacred Memoirs; or, Family Instruction..., Boston: Marsh Capen and Lyon, 1835. (H)
Greenwood, Francis William Pitt, Social Services for Families and Sunday Schools with a Collection of Hymns for Social and Private Use, Boston: B. H. Green, 1835, 95 pp. (H)
Author unknown, The Sunday School Teacher’s Funeral, Boston: B. H. Greene 1835.
Child, Lydia Maria, Anti-Slavery Catechism, Newburyport: Charles Whipple, 1836, 36 pp. (H) This important work was written on an adult level but probably influenced the teaching of older children in various Sunday schools.
Winslow, Hubbard, The Young Man’s Aid to Knowledge, Virtue, and Happiness, Boston: D. K. Hitchcock, 1837, 408 pp. (H)
Fox, Thomas Bayley, The Ministry of Jesus Christ: Compiled and Arranged from the Four Gospels for Families and Sunday Schools...Vol. I, Boston: Weeks, Jordan and Co., 1837, 70 pp. (H)
Peabody, Andrew Preston, Portsmouth Sunday School Hymn Book, 1840.
Allen, Joseph, Questions on Select Portions of the Old Testament, Boston: Benjamin H. Greene, 1838, 54 pp. (H)
Fox, Thomas Bayley, Hints to Sunday School Teachers, in a Series of Familiar Lectures, Boston: Munroe, 1840, 100 pp. (H) These lectures appeared in the periodical The Sunday School Teacher. The work urged the use of Biblical criticism of the period and advocated for women’s equal intellectual abilities to men.
Eliot, Samuel Atkins, The Aims and Methods of Our Church Schools, Boston: American Unitarian Association, 1840(?), 10 pp. (H)

1833-1840: Universalists published the following books for use of Sunday schools:
Thomas, Abel Charles, 213 Questions Without Answers, Philadelphia, 1833, 12 pp. This work was republished many times. An 1898 edition is at Harvard, Universalist Publishing House.
Dallett, Elijah, Jr., Address to the Young Men’s Universalist Institute, Philadelphia, 1834, 4 pp.
King, Thomas F., Universalist Sabbath School Book, Embracing Simple Lessons Adapted to the Younger Classes in Three Numbers, Philadelphia, 1834.
Pickering, David, Hymn Book Designed for the Use of Universalists’ and Restorationists’ Sabbath Schools, Providence, 1834, 64 pp. 3rd ed.Bacon, Henry, An Address Delivered Before the Boston Young Men’s Universalist Institute, Boston: A. Tompkins, 1835, 12 pp. (H)
Smith, Daniel D., The Child’s Universalist Companion: Consisting of Stories, Hymns, etc., Designed to Illustrate the Nature and Tendency of the Doctrine of Universal Salvation, Boston: Daniel D. Smithe and Abel Tomkins, 32 Cornhill, 1835, 224 pp. Like most other Sunday school books, this book is small, measuring 3 ½ “ x 5". Some of the story titles are as follows: "The Legend of the Natural Bridge of Virginia"; "Byron’s Monument to His Dog"; "Crucifixion of the Savior"; "The Hermit and the Little Boatman"; "The Orphan Boy and His Dog"; "Uncle Joshua’s Kindness"; "There is a God"; "The Little Milkmaid", and "Poor Mother’s Under Ground" (H).
Barnes, Lucy, Serious and Important Questions, Answered from the Scriptures, New York, 1835, 12 pp.
Whittemore, Benjamin, Advice to Young Men: A Sermon Delivered in Roxbury, May 10, 1835 and Published by Request of the Roxbury Young Men’s Universalist Institute, Boston: G. W. Bazin, 16 pp. (H)
Bacon, Henry, A Plea for Charity, A Discourse Delivered Before the Universalist Female Charitable Institute of Boston, 1836, 16 pp.
Ballou, Adin, New Manual for Sabbath Schools, 1836, 18 pp.
Harris, Dunbar B., An Address Delivered Before the Boston Universalist Young Men’s Institute at Their First Anniversary, Jan. 1836, Boston: G. P. Oaks, 15 pp. This work helps to date the founding of that institute in 1835. (H)
Hudson, Charles, The Child’s Guide: Or Introduction To Primary Questions Designed for the Youngest Classes in Sabbath Schools, Boston, 1836, 48 pp.
Smith, M. H., A Compendium of Jewish History, Exhibited in the Form of A Catechism, Designed for the Use of Sabbath Schools, Boston, 1836, 48 pp.
Author unknown, Universalist Circulating Family Library, 1836, Baltimore.
Ballou, Hosea, 2nd, A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for the Use of Universalist Societies and Families, Boston, 1837, 540 pp. Reprinted many times.
Author unknown, Boston Universalist Young Men’s Institute, Constitution of the, With a List of the Members and a Catalogue of the Library, 1837.
LeFerve, C. F., The Sunday School Hymn Book, Designed for Universalist Sunday Schools Throughout the United States, 1837, 64 pp. Reprinted 1838, 1839.
Skinner, Otis Ainsworth, Easy Lessons: Designed for the Use of Small Children in Sabbath Schools, Boston: Tompkins, 1837, 18 pp. (H)
Hatfield, Edwin Francis, What Teachers Ought To Be: A Sermon Addressed to the General Association of Sunday School Teachers, In the City of New York, November 13, 1836, New York: Printed by John Gray, 1837, 14 pp. (H)
Stone, E. M., Collection of Hymns for Sabbath Schools, 1837.
Bacon, Henry, An Address Delivered Before The Young Men’s Universalist Institute of Haverhill at Their First Anniversary, May 6, 1838, 15 pp.
Author unknown, Catalogue of Library Books, Recommended by the Committee Appointed at the Late Session of the Universalist Sabbath School Association, Boston: Abel Thompson, 32 Cornhill, 1838, 8 pp.
Paige, Lucius Robinson, Questions on Select Portions of the Gospels: Designed for the Use of Sabbath Schools and Bible Classes, Boston: Whittemore, 1838, 162 pp. (H) Each lesson has a theme, a Bible passage, and a few pages of questions. An 1863 edition mentions the Standing Committee of the Universalist Sabbath School Association composed of Sylvanus Cobb, Otis A. Skinner, and Henry Bacon.
Adams, John Greenleaf, History of the Apostles: A Catechism for the Use of Sabbath Schools, Boston: N. E. Universalist Pub. House, 1839, 52 pp. (H)
Rayner, Menzies, The Universalist Manual: Or Book of Prayers and Other Religious Exercises: Adapted to the use of Both Public and Private Devotion in Churches, Sunday Schools, and Families, New York: P. Price, 1839, 95 pp. (H) Also published in Boston by A. Tompkins.
Skinner, Otis A., The Child’s Catechism, Boston, 1839, 36 pp.
Thomas, Abel Charles, Hymns of Zion: With Appropriate Music Designed as an Aid to Devotion in Families, Social Circles, and Meetings for Public Worship, By An Evangelist, Philadelphia: Thomas Cowperthwait & Co., 1839, 216 pp.
Balch, William Stevens, A Manual for Sunday Schools: to which is Added a Collection of Hymns, Boston: A. Tompkins, 1840, 144 pp. (H)
Bacon, Henry, Hymns Prepared for the Scholars of the Marblehead Universalist Sabbath School, 1840, 12 pp.
Chapin, E. H., Duties of Young Men, Exhibited in Six Lectures, With An Anniversary Address Delivered Before the Richmond Lyceum, Boston, 1840, 212 pp. Reprinted in 1846.
Author unknown, Constitution of the Cambridge Universalist Institute, Instituted Sept. 27, 1835, Cambridge, 1840, 8 pp.
Hudson, Charles, Questions on Select Portions of Scripture: Designed for the Higher Classes in Sabbath Schools, With Alterations and Additions by Otis A. Skinner, Boston: B. B. Mussey and A. Tompkins, 1840, 178 pp. (H)
Sadler, L. L., An Easy and Familiar Catechism on the Gospel of St. Matthew, Prepared and Arranged for the Use of Sabbath Schools and Bible Classes, Portland, 1840,
120 pp.
Thayer, Thomas Baldwin, Bible Class Assistant: Or Scriptural Guide for Sunday Schools, Boston: T. Whittemore, 1840, 180 pp. (H) Several editions.

1834: The Benevolent Fraternity of Unitarian Churches of Boston was formed out of the Association for Religious Improvement. The reorganization created organized support for the Ministry-at-Large with line items in the budgets of about ten churches, elected representatives to a governing board, established periodic visits to outreach chapels, and coordinated of women’s sewing groups who made clothing for the poor and raised funds for the ministers to use for emergency aid.

During this period, Unitarians tended to call their church schools “Sunday” schools and their charity schools “Sabbath” schools. The various Sunday schools of Boston and the area helped to support the Sabbath schools by raising money, sending books for chapel libraries, and taking turns organizing holiday parties and outings. The Sabbath schools taught sewing and carpentry to young people, developing their employable skills; and, among other things, provided choirs for special gatherings sponsored by the Sunday School Society. Benevolent Fraternity leaders also served as leaders of the Sunday School Society, which had dropped the word “Boston” from its name in 1831. [See the Annual Reports of the Benevolent Fraternity and the minutes of the (Unitarian) Sunday School Society, AH].

1834: The Sabbath School started by Charles Barnard moved to the Hollis Street Church (Unitarian) and Barnard joined the staff of the church. Within several months, the program was serving over 150 children and the school was relocated over an engine house on Common Street in Boston. Barnard approached the Benevolent Fraternity for funds for building a chapel for children. They urged him to focus on the adult poor as well as the children and were unable to fund a new chapel.

1835: Charles Barnard set out on his own to raise funds to build the Warren Street Chapel (also called “The Children’s Chapel”), which in time would house the largest Unitarian religious education program of the 19th century. It was considered part the Unitarian Ministry-at-Large but independent in its organizational structure and funding. One might suggest that Barnard was the first professional Minister of Religious Education because his ministry focused primarily on religious education. He is credited with several innovations: always holding an object or work of art to illustrate his lesson, keeping a natural history display case at the Chapel, instituting a kindergarten so that mothers with young children could hold jobs, developing a horticulture program for children, establishing floral processions through the streets of Boston on the Fourth of July, placing flowers on the altar for chapel services, teaching folk and social dancing as part of the Sabbath school program, establishing an ambulance service for the poor, founding the Boston Public Gardens, and instituting a clothes-making industry for the employment of young women. He trained dozens of volunteers to work at the Chapel, most of whom were members of nearby Unitarian churches. His name was among those recorded in the early minutes of the Sunday School Society as having spoken on various issues brought up for discussion. He appears to have been a voice for progressive education but never became an officer of the Society. (AH 7/1, H: Charles Francis Barnard: A Sketch of His Life and Work, by Francis Tiffany, 1895)

1835: Contact was made with Unitarian Sunday schools in England by the Sunday School Society (Unitarian) and an “earnest desire for an annual interchange of reports” was voted at the June 5 Directors’ meeting. The Directors of the Sunday School Society voted thanks be sent to friends in London, Bristol, and Manchester for sending information about their Sunday schools. (AH 77/1, p. 110)

1836: At the public Annual Meeting on May 25, 1836, of the Sunday School Society (Unitarian), the Juvenile Choir of the Warren St. Chapel sang an anthem. Addresses were presented by Amos B. Abott of Boston and Horace Mann.

1836: The Pitts Street Chapel of Boston was built by the Benevolent Fraternity of Unitarian Churches of Boston and Joseph Tuckerman served there as the Minister-at-Large until his death in 1840. By 1850 it housed the second largest Unitarian Sunday school with more than 300 students and about 50 teachers. The Warren St. Chapel was the largest. Other ministers who served with Tuckerman were Frederick Tarrall Gray (1836-1839) and Robert Cassie Waterston (1839-1845). Andrew Bigelow served them from 1845 to 1846 and Samuel Hobart Winkley served them from 1846 until the chapel closed in 1869. (The Boston Religion by the Rev. Peter T. Richardson, 2003, pp. 82-84)

1837: The Massachusetts Universalist Sunday-School Association was formed. (Eddy, Vol II, p. 382.)

1837: On Jan. 17, 1837, the Sunday School Society (Unitarian) met at the Federal St. Church of Boston “to listen to a Discourse on the subject of Sabbath Schools which Dr. Wm. E. Channing had consented to preach before it.” (AH 77/1, p. 119). That sermon would become one of Channing’s most famous and included the passage beginning with “The great end in religious instruction is not to stamp our minds upon the young, but to stir up their own….,” currently used as a Responsive Reading in Singing the Living Tradition, 1993, #652. The sermon had a profound impact on those who attended. Two days after its presentation a committee was formed by the Society to request a copy of it for publication.

1837: The Northampton Street Chapel in Boston’s South End was founded by the Rev. John Turner Sargent as a Sunday school six teachers serving 23 children from the poor community. It first met in an upper room in a primary school but outgrew its quarters by 1839, moving to the Suffolk Street Chapel when it was built that year by the Benevolent Fraternity. Sargent became the Minister-at-Large of the Suffolk Street Chapel and served that Unitarian outreach congregation until 1844. The Unitarian ministers who followed him were Joseph Harrington (1844-1846) and Samuel Breck Crufts (1846 until it closed in 1860). (The Boston Religion, by the Rev. Peter T. Richardson, 2008, pp. 85-88)

1838: The Hancock Sabbath School began to be called a “Sunday” school and was reorganized as a “Parish School” of the Second Church of Boston. The Howard School took over the outreach activities of the Hancock School. (AH 77/1, p. 130)

1840: The Rev. Frederick T. Gray was elected the first paid Agent of the Sunday School Society (Unitarian) on April 15, 1840. Contributions of 50 cents from teachers and 10 cents from students were asked of the churches. Among Mr. Gray’s duties were visiting the Sunday schools of various churches to give them support and teacher training and making periodic reports to the Society. (AH 77/1 p. 152)

1840: The Directors of the Sunday School Society (Unitarian) received word that Dr. Henry Bowdich had resigned from the Warren Street Chapel staff and would no longer represent them at Society meetings (AH 77/1 p. 157). This resignation may have been due to Dr. Bowdich’s disagreement with the Rev. Charles Barnard over Barnard’s refusal to let Bowdich teach anti-slavery to the children. Other records suggest that he resigned in 1844. Bowdich had been with the Chapel since 1836 and emphasized the teaching of “Natural Religion.” One finds Bowdich returning to active service at the Chapel about two decades later. (Charles Francis Barnard: A Sketch of His Life and Work by Francis Tiffany, 1895. H)