Early Universalism in Milford, MA: 1785
Early Universalism in Milford, MA: 1785
by James J. Buckley
In the summer of 1785, a Universalist congregation was formed in Milford MA, making it one of
the first to do so in the U.S. It is no accident that it was formed there. That community had
struggled for almost 100 years to be freed from the control of Mendon so that it could form its
own independent Congregational Church and be able to govern itself. The length of this struggle
that ended with Milford’s incorporation in April 1780, encouraged dissenters of all kinds to
conclude that eccentric behavior and aberrant religious opinions were tolerated there.
To a certain extent such a conclusion was accurate. The minister of the Milford Congregational
Church Rev Amariah Frost, who served in that capacity for forty-nine years, was a strong-willed
and forceful shepherd of that separatist congregation who readily tolerated the existence of
outspoken dissenters in his town. For example, one of the signers of the Milford Universalists’
incorporation papers was Noah Wiswall. He seldom made any effort to hide his beliefs and
opinions, many of which flew in the face of Congregational orthodoxy. Indeed, according to
Milford and Universalist historian, Adin Ballou, Wiswall was the most zealous of the Milford
Universalists. Yet Rev. Frost agreed to marry him and his bride Susanna, albeit some years
before 1785.
In time, Wiswall played a pivotal part in the creation of what was called in the incorporation
documents, “The Independent Christian Society commonly called Universalist.” It was he who
encouraged Adams Streeter to become the preacher of this embryonic congregation.
Adams Streeter(whose first name was his mother’s maiden name) began to preach his
unorthodox beliefs in Milford in 1781.His career as a preacher was both diverse and colorful. He
became a lay Baptist evangelist around 1760 and preached in that capacity in Charlton MA. His
preaching abilities made him so popular in that region of the Bay Colony that he continued to
fulfill that role for fourteen years. Because of his demonstrable success as a preacher, the
Baptist Society in Douglas MA called him in 1774 to be its minister.
During the years between 1774 and 1781, Streeter’s beliefs began to verge farther and farther
away from the tenets of the Baptists, such as their belief in the Final Judgment and Divine
Retribution. Consequently he soon became the target of scathing criticism from members of his
congregation and more importantly, from the leaders of his denomination. Such criticism
intensified when he began to champion such unorthodox beliefs as universal salvation. When his
Baptist congregation and his superiors could tolerate his behavior no longer and feared that he
was becoming a troublesome and divisive force in the Baptist denomination, he was formally
accused of advocating heretical beliefs. He was ejected from his Baptist congregation and
defrocked as a Baptist minister.
Bereft of his role as a Baptist preacher after having filled that role for over 21 years, he
eventually decided after much soul-searching to preach his dissenting religious opinions to like-
mined residents of the Milford area. His selection of Milford as the place to begin his new ministry
was not capricious. The struggle the citizens of Milford had recently undergone to win control of
their own church and become an independent community made it a likely place in Streeter’s
opinion to share his dissident religious ideas. As a result he became a self-ordained preacher in
the Milford and in the distant community of Oxford MA, preaching at both places at least once a
month.
Apparently he achieved some success in that regard because in November 1781, he was asked
by Wiswall to serve the Milford adherents of Universalism and in particular, Universal Salvation.
He answered that call by moving his wife Dinah and their seven children to Milford.
A primary reason why he did so was because he had found the life of an itinerant preacher- in
contrast to his prior position as Baptist minister- to be harsh and financially unstable. So he
welcomed the opportunity to move to Milford especially because Noah Wiswall had invited
Streeter and his large family to move into the Wiswall household located not too far from the
center of that town. Wiswall has been described as being a generous-hearted, enterprising,
public-spirited and charitable citizen. Certainly his willingness to house a family of nine indefinitely
proves that such a description was justified.
In the years before 1785,Elder Streeter preached in private homes, at first in Noah Wiswall’s
house but later in the homes of the other ten co-signers of the 1785 incorporation papers.
The signers of the Milford Incorporation papers included some men of substantial means who
generously supported the infant congregation. Ebenezer Sumner was the owner of a
considerable parcel of rich farming land and therefore was a prominent member of the Milford
community. John Claflin was the sire of nine children and a large land -owner as were Ebenezer
Wheelock and Samuel Bowker. Thus from the outset, the Milford Universalist Congregation did
not have financial problems and soon became financially solvent. As a result of their prominence
in their community and their favorable financial status, these men were immune to any adverse
reaction from their neighbors about the founding of the denomination.
Other signers were not as fortunate. Samuel French was a member of an illustrious, large and
financially comfortable family. His father was a deacon of the Milford Congregational Church.
That meant that words were exchanged between father and son when Samuel expressed his
belief in the Universalists’ tenets. But Samuel’s riff with his father did not deter him; he persisted
in his commitment to the newly created group. Eventually he too became a landowner of
considerable means.
One of the signers, Nahum Clark, reaped the whirlwind of condemnation for having signed the
incorporation papers. He was condemned for having expressed beliefs contrary to those held by
the local Congregational Church. When he maintained that he had committed no sin, he and his
wife were summarily ejected from that congregation.
But the most colorful of the signers was undoubtedly Noah Wiswall. Throughout his lifetime,
Wiswall manifested Christian charity despite the antagonism generated against him. Illustrative of
this point was the reaction of a member of the Congregational Church when Noah brought him a
load of much-needed wood. When the needy recipient met Parson Frost the next day, the man
described Wiswall’s act in the following fashion: “The good Lord yesterday sent me a load of
wood by the hands of the Devil!”
Part of the reason for such a harsh description was the fact that Wiswall had become an
adherent of Universalism. But another reason was the eccentric behavior he manifested
throughout his lifetime.
A commitment is not valid nor sustainable if it has not been tested and has survived the testing.
The commitment of the signers to the incorporation papers to universal fellowship and charity
toward one’s fellow man was sorely tested by the behavior of Wiswall.
Toward the end of his life, Noah Wiswall built a stone tomb on a plot of land where the first
Catholic Church was eventually erected in Milford. Then, in unconscious or perhaps deliberate
imitation of a penitential monastic order, he began to spend each night sleeping in the tomb.
Although he did not announce to anyone what he was doing, it did not take long for his neighbors
and friends to discover where he was spending his nights. Some condemned his actions,
describing them as blasphemous. But even though some of his fellow Universalists were
uncomfortable with his nocturnal habits, they nevertheless supported his eccentric behavior and
thereby demonstrated their commitment to these words in the incorporation papers:
“That we mutually agree to walk together in Christian fellowship, building up each other in our
most holy faith, and rejoicing in the liberty wherewith Christ has set us free and to no more be
entangled by any yoke of bondage.”
Immediately after the religious pioneers of the Milford (MA) Universalist Society decided in late
August 1785 to incorporate what they referred to as
” The Independent Christian Society of Universalists”, they became involved in a whirlwind of
denominational activities. Somehow, despite the absence of most of the means of communication
that we enjoy today, the news of that incorporation reached Rev.John Murray in Gloucester(MA)
in less than a week. Known as a man of strong convictions and decisive action, and undoubtedly
fully aware of the fact that Rev. Adams Streeter was the preacher of the infant congregation,
Rev. Murray immediately accepted the Milford Universalists as bone fide adherents of his beliefs.
In a letter that arrived in Milford in late August,1785, he invited them to attend what was
consistently referred to by him and others as the “First General Convention “ of the
denomination. He indicated that the Convention was scheduled to be held on September 14,1785,
less than a month after the signing of the Milford Incorporation papers.
In addition, the letter from Rev. Murray indicated a “desireing (that) the Society would send a
commity of one or more persons to Oxford (MA) to sit in an Association to act upon Matters that
they shall deem proper.”(Minutes of the Milford Universalist Society:1785-87)
Although some of the Milford Universalists were undoubtedly amazed by the rapidity with which
they had become recognized by Murray and by his unexpected invitation to attend what was one
of the first (if not the first) conventions ever convened by American Universalists, they rose to the
challenge. Many of the members were committed to other tasks on that date but, after much
discussion, three members were selected to represent Milford: Ebenezer Sumner, Samuel French
and Noah Wiswell, the man who had been instrumental in bringing Adams Streeter to Milford.
It was later reported to the Milford congregation that thirteen men had attended this meeting of
what was called “The Second Religious Society”: Elder John Murry, Rev. Elhanan Winchester,
Shipia Townsend of Acton, Abijah Adams, Daniel Fish, Francis Lyscomb, Daniel Nelson,
Jonathan Lasell, the three Milford delegates, Laban Bates of Mendon and Rev.Caleb Rich.(ibid).
Apropos, it has been said the Rich was the first to proclaim that there would be no punishment
after death.
Imbued with the spirit and political beliefs of the new nation’s founding fathers that only in unity is
there strength, it was recommended and so adopted that “its few infant societys organize and
affiliate.”(ibid).It was also recommended and approved that their congregations form themselves
in a way that is “most happifying and secure in the matters of Religion and morality.” .(ibid)
Rather than appear to dominate the convention, Rev. Murray stepped aside and suggested that
others assumed leadership of this embryonic group. As a result, Rev.Elhanan Winchester, a
minister so imbued with the spirit of independence that he had by then composed sixteen
Revolutionary War hymns, was selected to be moderator and Dr.Daniel Fish became its Clerk. It
was also decided that “the several societies adopt the name of Independent Christian Societys
commonly called Universalists.”(ibid)
Furthermore, it was voted that each of the Committees recommend to their several societies that
together with the name they adopted,”…they will also consider themselves as one semented
body consequently bound by the ties of love and friendship to assist each other at any and all
times when occations shall require.”(ibid)
In order to make certain that it became “one semented body” in deed as well as word, it was
voted that the several societies represented at the convention appoint committees of
correspondence that would share with its congregations the proceedings of the convention and
which would foster and bind the ties of love and friendship and mutual assistance through regular
correspondence with each other and through periodic meetings. When thee agreements
appeared in printed form, they were referred to as “
The Charter of Compact.”
It soon became apparent that while Rev. Murray acted decisively and quickly, the Milford
denomination was unaccustomed to doing so. At a meeting held on December 5,1785, almost
three months after the convention, the articles adopted at the Convention were laid before the
members for their individual and collective perusal .After acknowledging the presentation of the
articles, the Milford congregation decided not to take any action. It was not until February
21,1786 that the convention articles were adopted by the Milford Universalists. It was also
somewhat belatedly decided at that meeting that given the fact the congregation had become
part of a larger body and had accepted articles that now governed them, they should formally
renew their agreement with Elder Adams Streeter. They therefore invited him “to preach with us”
once a month and agreed to pay him by contribution. He agreed to conduct monthly meetings to
be held at each of the members’ houses on a rotating basis. Considering the fact that Elder
Streeter had been ministering to their religious needs for at least four years, this agreement was
somewhat overdue.
Alas, according to the minutes of the Milford Universalist Society, Elder Streeter died exactly
seven months later, “to the great lementation of all his hearers.”(ibid).
Rev. Streeter’s death gave the Milford congregation an opportunity to demonstrate the love and
friendship that they had committed themselves to in the Charter of Compact they had agreed to
the year before. Rev. Streeter had sired seven children and now they and their mother were
without any means of support. In those days, no governmental aid was available to widows who
found themselves in such a situation. And few if any employers felt obligated to be of any
assistance. But Milford’s enlightened Universalist congregation thought otherwise. Without
prompting, it was decided to pay Rev. Streeter’s widow his salary for the remained of 1786 and
beyond, if necessary. This gave his widow ample time to decide where she and her children
would make a permanent home. By December 1786, she and her family left Milford and moved in
with some of her relatives.
As a consequence of Elder Streeter’s death, this new congregation lost their mainstay and was
left to prematurely fend for itself. Fortunately they were able to engage Rev. Zephaniah Lathe
shortly thereafter to preach to them once a month, but this time, they specified the amount of his
salary; he was to receive twenty dollars that year. Apparently this man did well during his one
year of preaching; the next year he received twenty-five dollars.
As before, many of the monthly meetings were held in the home of Noah Wiswall who received
ten dollars a year to defray any expenses he may have incurred for doing so.
In the years and decades to come, this congregation was shepherded by some illustrious
ministers. These included Thomas Whittemore who was a prolific writer, editor and hymnologist
and who was an energetic advocate of abolition and an ardent foe of the Fugitive Slave Law,
Ebenenzer Fisher who left the Milford congregation to become the first president of what became
the St. Lawrence University and Theological Seminary, and of course Adin Ballou who, after
serving the congregation for six years, established a religious commune in the Hopedale section
of Milford called “The Hopedale Community” that was to become a model for similar religious
organizations.
Although it has undergone several permutations during the subsequent decades and centuries
and has been confronted with type of the problems many other congregations have had to cope
with and triumph over, the Unitarian-Universalist congregation in Milford still exists to this day.
It was thus that the Milford Universalist congregation became involved in the very beginning of
Universalism in our newly formed nation.
James Buckley holds an Ed.D. from Harvard and has written over 1300 published articles in the
field of History.
by James J. Buckley
In the summer of 1785, a Universalist congregation was formed in Milford MA, making it one of
the first to do so in the U.S. It is no accident that it was formed there. That community had
struggled for almost 100 years to be freed from the control of Mendon so that it could form its
own independent Congregational Church and be able to govern itself. The length of this struggle
that ended with Milford’s incorporation in April 1780, encouraged dissenters of all kinds to
conclude that eccentric behavior and aberrant religious opinions were tolerated there.
To a certain extent such a conclusion was accurate. The minister of the Milford Congregational
Church Rev Amariah Frost, who served in that capacity for forty-nine years, was a strong-willed
and forceful shepherd of that separatist congregation who readily tolerated the existence of
outspoken dissenters in his town. For example, one of the signers of the Milford Universalists’
incorporation papers was Noah Wiswall. He seldom made any effort to hide his beliefs and
opinions, many of which flew in the face of Congregational orthodoxy. Indeed, according to
Milford and Universalist historian, Adin Ballou, Wiswall was the most zealous of the Milford
Universalists. Yet Rev. Frost agreed to marry him and his bride Susanna, albeit some years
before 1785.
In time, Wiswall played a pivotal part in the creation of what was called in the incorporation
documents, “The Independent Christian Society commonly called Universalist.” It was he who
encouraged Adams Streeter to become the preacher of this embryonic congregation.
Adams Streeter(whose first name was his mother’s maiden name) began to preach his
unorthodox beliefs in Milford in 1781.His career as a preacher was both diverse and colorful. He
became a lay Baptist evangelist around 1760 and preached in that capacity in Charlton MA. His
preaching abilities made him so popular in that region of the Bay Colony that he continued to
fulfill that role for fourteen years. Because of his demonstrable success as a preacher, the
Baptist Society in Douglas MA called him in 1774 to be its minister.
During the years between 1774 and 1781, Streeter’s beliefs began to verge farther and farther
away from the tenets of the Baptists, such as their belief in the Final Judgment and Divine
Retribution. Consequently he soon became the target of scathing criticism from members of his
congregation and more importantly, from the leaders of his denomination. Such criticism
intensified when he began to champion such unorthodox beliefs as universal salvation. When his
Baptist congregation and his superiors could tolerate his behavior no longer and feared that he
was becoming a troublesome and divisive force in the Baptist denomination, he was formally
accused of advocating heretical beliefs. He was ejected from his Baptist congregation and
defrocked as a Baptist minister.
Bereft of his role as a Baptist preacher after having filled that role for over 21 years, he
eventually decided after much soul-searching to preach his dissenting religious opinions to like-
mined residents of the Milford area. His selection of Milford as the place to begin his new ministry
was not capricious. The struggle the citizens of Milford had recently undergone to win control of
their own church and become an independent community made it a likely place in Streeter’s
opinion to share his dissident religious ideas. As a result he became a self-ordained preacher in
the Milford and in the distant community of Oxford MA, preaching at both places at least once a
month.
Apparently he achieved some success in that regard because in November 1781, he was asked
by Wiswall to serve the Milford adherents of Universalism and in particular, Universal Salvation.
He answered that call by moving his wife Dinah and their seven children to Milford.
A primary reason why he did so was because he had found the life of an itinerant preacher- in
contrast to his prior position as Baptist minister- to be harsh and financially unstable. So he
welcomed the opportunity to move to Milford especially because Noah Wiswall had invited
Streeter and his large family to move into the Wiswall household located not too far from the
center of that town. Wiswall has been described as being a generous-hearted, enterprising,
public-spirited and charitable citizen. Certainly his willingness to house a family of nine indefinitely
proves that such a description was justified.
In the years before 1785,Elder Streeter preached in private homes, at first in Noah Wiswall’s
house but later in the homes of the other ten co-signers of the 1785 incorporation papers.
The signers of the Milford Incorporation papers included some men of substantial means who
generously supported the infant congregation. Ebenezer Sumner was the owner of a
considerable parcel of rich farming land and therefore was a prominent member of the Milford
community. John Claflin was the sire of nine children and a large land -owner as were Ebenezer
Wheelock and Samuel Bowker. Thus from the outset, the Milford Universalist Congregation did
not have financial problems and soon became financially solvent. As a result of their prominence
in their community and their favorable financial status, these men were immune to any adverse
reaction from their neighbors about the founding of the denomination.
Other signers were not as fortunate. Samuel French was a member of an illustrious, large and
financially comfortable family. His father was a deacon of the Milford Congregational Church.
That meant that words were exchanged between father and son when Samuel expressed his
belief in the Universalists’ tenets. But Samuel’s riff with his father did not deter him; he persisted
in his commitment to the newly created group. Eventually he too became a landowner of
considerable means.
One of the signers, Nahum Clark, reaped the whirlwind of condemnation for having signed the
incorporation papers. He was condemned for having expressed beliefs contrary to those held by
the local Congregational Church. When he maintained that he had committed no sin, he and his
wife were summarily ejected from that congregation.
But the most colorful of the signers was undoubtedly Noah Wiswall. Throughout his lifetime,
Wiswall manifested Christian charity despite the antagonism generated against him. Illustrative of
this point was the reaction of a member of the Congregational Church when Noah brought him a
load of much-needed wood. When the needy recipient met Parson Frost the next day, the man
described Wiswall’s act in the following fashion: “The good Lord yesterday sent me a load of
wood by the hands of the Devil!”
Part of the reason for such a harsh description was the fact that Wiswall had become an
adherent of Universalism. But another reason was the eccentric behavior he manifested
throughout his lifetime.
A commitment is not valid nor sustainable if it has not been tested and has survived the testing.
The commitment of the signers to the incorporation papers to universal fellowship and charity
toward one’s fellow man was sorely tested by the behavior of Wiswall.
Toward the end of his life, Noah Wiswall built a stone tomb on a plot of land where the first
Catholic Church was eventually erected in Milford. Then, in unconscious or perhaps deliberate
imitation of a penitential monastic order, he began to spend each night sleeping in the tomb.
Although he did not announce to anyone what he was doing, it did not take long for his neighbors
and friends to discover where he was spending his nights. Some condemned his actions,
describing them as blasphemous. But even though some of his fellow Universalists were
uncomfortable with his nocturnal habits, they nevertheless supported his eccentric behavior and
thereby demonstrated their commitment to these words in the incorporation papers:
“That we mutually agree to walk together in Christian fellowship, building up each other in our
most holy faith, and rejoicing in the liberty wherewith Christ has set us free and to no more be
entangled by any yoke of bondage.”
Immediately after the religious pioneers of the Milford (MA) Universalist Society decided in late
August 1785 to incorporate what they referred to as
” The Independent Christian Society of Universalists”, they became involved in a whirlwind of
denominational activities. Somehow, despite the absence of most of the means of communication
that we enjoy today, the news of that incorporation reached Rev.John Murray in Gloucester(MA)
in less than a week. Known as a man of strong convictions and decisive action, and undoubtedly
fully aware of the fact that Rev. Adams Streeter was the preacher of the infant congregation,
Rev. Murray immediately accepted the Milford Universalists as bone fide adherents of his beliefs.
In a letter that arrived in Milford in late August,1785, he invited them to attend what was
consistently referred to by him and others as the “First General Convention “ of the
denomination. He indicated that the Convention was scheduled to be held on September 14,1785,
less than a month after the signing of the Milford Incorporation papers.
In addition, the letter from Rev. Murray indicated a “desireing (that) the Society would send a
commity of one or more persons to Oxford (MA) to sit in an Association to act upon Matters that
they shall deem proper.”(Minutes of the Milford Universalist Society:1785-87)
Although some of the Milford Universalists were undoubtedly amazed by the rapidity with which
they had become recognized by Murray and by his unexpected invitation to attend what was one
of the first (if not the first) conventions ever convened by American Universalists, they rose to the
challenge. Many of the members were committed to other tasks on that date but, after much
discussion, three members were selected to represent Milford: Ebenezer Sumner, Samuel French
and Noah Wiswell, the man who had been instrumental in bringing Adams Streeter to Milford.
It was later reported to the Milford congregation that thirteen men had attended this meeting of
what was called “The Second Religious Society”: Elder John Murry, Rev. Elhanan Winchester,
Shipia Townsend of Acton, Abijah Adams, Daniel Fish, Francis Lyscomb, Daniel Nelson,
Jonathan Lasell, the three Milford delegates, Laban Bates of Mendon and Rev.Caleb Rich.(ibid).
Apropos, it has been said the Rich was the first to proclaim that there would be no punishment
after death.
Imbued with the spirit and political beliefs of the new nation’s founding fathers that only in unity is
there strength, it was recommended and so adopted that “its few infant societys organize and
affiliate.”(ibid).It was also recommended and approved that their congregations form themselves
in a way that is “most happifying and secure in the matters of Religion and morality.” .(ibid)
Rather than appear to dominate the convention, Rev. Murray stepped aside and suggested that
others assumed leadership of this embryonic group. As a result, Rev.Elhanan Winchester, a
minister so imbued with the spirit of independence that he had by then composed sixteen
Revolutionary War hymns, was selected to be moderator and Dr.Daniel Fish became its Clerk. It
was also decided that “the several societies adopt the name of Independent Christian Societys
commonly called Universalists.”(ibid)
Furthermore, it was voted that each of the Committees recommend to their several societies that
together with the name they adopted,”…they will also consider themselves as one semented
body consequently bound by the ties of love and friendship to assist each other at any and all
times when occations shall require.”(ibid)
In order to make certain that it became “one semented body” in deed as well as word, it was
voted that the several societies represented at the convention appoint committees of
correspondence that would share with its congregations the proceedings of the convention and
which would foster and bind the ties of love and friendship and mutual assistance through regular
correspondence with each other and through periodic meetings. When thee agreements
appeared in printed form, they were referred to as “
The Charter of Compact.”
It soon became apparent that while Rev. Murray acted decisively and quickly, the Milford
denomination was unaccustomed to doing so. At a meeting held on December 5,1785, almost
three months after the convention, the articles adopted at the Convention were laid before the
members for their individual and collective perusal .After acknowledging the presentation of the
articles, the Milford congregation decided not to take any action. It was not until February
21,1786 that the convention articles were adopted by the Milford Universalists. It was also
somewhat belatedly decided at that meeting that given the fact the congregation had become
part of a larger body and had accepted articles that now governed them, they should formally
renew their agreement with Elder Adams Streeter. They therefore invited him “to preach with us”
once a month and agreed to pay him by contribution. He agreed to conduct monthly meetings to
be held at each of the members’ houses on a rotating basis. Considering the fact that Elder
Streeter had been ministering to their religious needs for at least four years, this agreement was
somewhat overdue.
Alas, according to the minutes of the Milford Universalist Society, Elder Streeter died exactly
seven months later, “to the great lementation of all his hearers.”(ibid).
Rev. Streeter’s death gave the Milford congregation an opportunity to demonstrate the love and
friendship that they had committed themselves to in the Charter of Compact they had agreed to
the year before. Rev. Streeter had sired seven children and now they and their mother were
without any means of support. In those days, no governmental aid was available to widows who
found themselves in such a situation. And few if any employers felt obligated to be of any
assistance. But Milford’s enlightened Universalist congregation thought otherwise. Without
prompting, it was decided to pay Rev. Streeter’s widow his salary for the remained of 1786 and
beyond, if necessary. This gave his widow ample time to decide where she and her children
would make a permanent home. By December 1786, she and her family left Milford and moved in
with some of her relatives.
As a consequence of Elder Streeter’s death, this new congregation lost their mainstay and was
left to prematurely fend for itself. Fortunately they were able to engage Rev. Zephaniah Lathe
shortly thereafter to preach to them once a month, but this time, they specified the amount of his
salary; he was to receive twenty dollars that year. Apparently this man did well during his one
year of preaching; the next year he received twenty-five dollars.
As before, many of the monthly meetings were held in the home of Noah Wiswall who received
ten dollars a year to defray any expenses he may have incurred for doing so.
In the years and decades to come, this congregation was shepherded by some illustrious
ministers. These included Thomas Whittemore who was a prolific writer, editor and hymnologist
and who was an energetic advocate of abolition and an ardent foe of the Fugitive Slave Law,
Ebenenzer Fisher who left the Milford congregation to become the first president of what became
the St. Lawrence University and Theological Seminary, and of course Adin Ballou who, after
serving the congregation for six years, established a religious commune in the Hopedale section
of Milford called “The Hopedale Community” that was to become a model for similar religious
organizations.
Although it has undergone several permutations during the subsequent decades and centuries
and has been confronted with type of the problems many other congregations have had to cope
with and triumph over, the Unitarian-Universalist congregation in Milford still exists to this day.
It was thus that the Milford Universalist congregation became involved in the very beginning of
Universalism in our newly formed nation.
James Buckley holds an Ed.D. from Harvard and has written over 1300 published articles in the
field of History.
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