Autograph manuscript in multiple clerk hands, a parish precinct book containing meeting warrants and meeting minutes for the First Precinct, First Parish of Leominster, Massachusetts. Leominster, [Worcester County, Massachusetts], 1765-1788. 126pp, pages of slightly varying sizes but most approx. 6 1/2 x 8 in. String bound, lacking covers. A compilation of manuscript notes from more than two decades of parish meetings documenting a transitional period from Colonial America through the Revolutionary War, during which the First Parish of Leominster was likewise in a transitional phase following the removal of its first pastor. Minutes record church activities as well as the parish roles of significant settlers in the community many of whom played important roles during the Revolutionary War.

Originally part of Lancaster, Massachusetts, Leominster was separately incorporated as a town in 1740. In 1761, the Massachusetts General Court authorized the town to split into two precincts, a division primarily established to manage different religious parishes. Built using tax money, colonial meeting houses served as both places of worship and places to engage in town business. Just as town meetings were held at the local meeting house and meticulously documented by a clerk, so to were church meetings held at the meeting house and documented by a designated clerk. The record book offered here presents the business of the First Parish, First Precinct, led by the Reverend Francis Gardner (1736-1814). Gardner assumed the role as pastor of the First Parish in 1762, following the dismissal of the town's first minister Rev. John Rogers who was deemed too liberal. The First Precinct was the "principal" parish that met at the original meeting house on Leominster common, while the Second Precinct met separately and retained the Rev John Rogers as preacher.

In precincts, parish meetings primarily dealt with the upkeep of the meeting house, setting rates for the parish minister's salary, setting rates for religious taxes, determining where families would sit ("dignify the pews"), and other administrative needs. The record book here records the business of the precinct as it navigated the practicalities of the division into two precincts. Similar to town meeting records, the parish book records warrants for each upcoming meeting followed by the meeting minutes and votes. As pages are missing from the manuscript, the first meeting recorded in full was held 22 May 1765: "First Precinct of Leominster / Wensday May the Twenty Second Day of May 1765 the Inhabitants of Sd Precinct being meet agreeable to a Warrant Granted by the Commte of Said Precinct Lieut. Jonathan Carter Mr. Stephen Johnson & Israel Nichols / First Voted and Chose Capt. Benm Whetcomb Moderator to govern sd meeting / 2ly Voted to Choose a Committee to agree with the Second Pct [Precinct] of Leominster on account of the Persons and Estate that have bin Assessed to boath the Precincts in Leominster /  3ly Voted and Chose Lieut Jonathan Wilson Ensign Oliver Hale Mr. Stephen Johnson as a Committee to agree with the said Precinct Relating to that afair. [Signed] Israel Nichols / Clark [sic]." Subsequent pages contain the warrants and minutes for the annual precinct meetings spanning late1760s-1780s as well as additional meetings throughout the year as needed. 

Most notable in the minutes is business related to the building of a second meeting house, something that though discussed at meeting for years would not come to fruition until 1774. The meeting minutes from 1 March 1773 records the members finally moving forward in a concrete fashion: "2ly Voted to Build a Meeting House," "4ly Voted to place the meeting House upon Rufus Houghton's Land...," ..."Voted to sell the old meeting House...." and "9ly Chose ... a Committee to Sell the meeting House...." In August 1773 the precinct met and held multiple votes related to plans for pews in the new meeting house, deciding to "follow the plan of the Luninburg meeting House as to the Number of Pues with the addition of two Pues" and to sell the pews to "the Highest bidder," and only to "Voters or Free holders...." Discussions and votes associated with the new meeting house continue throughout the following years. Also of note are two entries signed and in the hand of "Francis Gardner," acknowledging receipt of his salary in 1784 and 1785 from the precinct treasurer, and an entry recording "a true cope of a Loose Receipt" documenting £97 received in December 1774 "in part of payment towards Building a new meeting House in Leominster."

Because the precincts and the town government were so closely linked, many of the men serving in roles on the parish committee were also elected to town leadership roles and were active in organized resistance against British policies. Among those identified in these records are the following: Israel Nichols (1721-1802), a prominent civic leader who served at various times as both the town clerk as well as the parish/precinct clerk; Edward Phelps (1729-1776), appears on parish committees, would later serve as a lieutenant during the Siege of Boston and died in the service in 1776; Josiah Carter (1726-1812), a major in the Massachusetts militia who led the Leominster "Minute Men" on their march toward Cambridge following the Lexington Alarm of April 19, 1775; Joseph Beamen (1719-1800), one of the town's founding families frequently appointed to the committee to "supply the pulpit"; and John Joslin, Junior (1735-1810), was a veteran of the Battle of Bennington and a key military leader for the town of Leominster.

An important primary record that highlights the central role a "parish" played in its geographic region.

[Manuscripts, Documents, Letters, Ephemera, Signatures, Autographs] [Revolutionary War, American Revolution, Colonial America] [Religion]

Manuscript may be a disbound portion of a larger book, and is missing pages at both the front and back. Heavy wear to binding, loose pages, chipping and creasing particularly along the edge lines, toning, occasional creases.