Unitarian Church ca., 1867-1894 (Dan Keleher Collection)

Unitarian Church¹

The Unitarian Church has its roots in the Congregational Church established in Canton circa 1717 under Joseph Morse, but in 1828 there was a split over the issue of the holy trinity and the divinity of Jesus Christ, with the Congregationalists forming their own church that developed into the United Church of Christ.  In this climate the current Unitarian Church was built in 1824 under the stewardship of Benjamin Huntoon.  In the late 19^th century Henry Fitch Jenks assumed a prominent role in the affairs of the Church, from 1885 to 1904, by helping to reestablish the celebration of the Lord’s Supper and helped to reach out to the Congregational, Universalist, and Catholic Churches when he, along with the Rev. Mark Taylor, the Rev. John Vannear, and the Rev. Nathan Chamberlain, participated in a pulpit visits/exchanges in 1888 and 1889. Under the leadership of Elbridge Fernald Stoneham, there were experiments to conduct joint services with the Universalist Church, though it was eventually decided to have separate services with the same minister. In 1974, under the leadership of Kenneth Phifer, the Universalist and Unitarian Churches merged. In 1981 the church received its first female leader with the appointment of Anita Farber/Robertson who led the congregation until 1993.  

Ministers of the Unitarian Church (1717-1997)²

Resources^{1 and 2}

Canton Comes of Age, 1797-1997 by Canton Bicentennial Committee, 80-87

First Parish Unitarian Universalist, “Our History,”http://www.fpuucanton.org/our_history.html

“Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary, [DK28-3-A103]. Daniel C. Keleher Collection. Canton Public Library. Canton, Massachusetts.