Phillis Wheatley (c.1753 – 1784) born in Africa, kidnapped and brought to
America on a slave ship at the age of 7. She was purchased by the Wheatley
family, who recognized her exceptional intelligence and educated her. She
worshipped at the Old South Meeting House and it became her spiritual home. In
1773, she became the first African American to publish a book,
Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral.
Benjamin Franklin (1706 – 1790) born in Boston and baptized at the Old South
Meeting House, where his family worshipped. Printer, publisher, author,
inventor, scientist and diplomat was one of the most influential people in the
18th century.
Samuel Adams (1722 – 1803) a leader of the Sons of Liberty, who helped start the
American Revolution. He gave the secret signal “This meeting can do nothing
more to save our country!” at the meeting that would become known as The Boston
Tea Party. Later a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
Built in 1729 as a Puritan meeting house, Old South has been an
important gathering place for nearly three centuries. The Old South
congregation built their first wooden meeting house in 1669, but
overcrowding became a problem and the congregation tore it down to build
a new, more spacious brick meeting house in 1729. Members of Old South’s
congregation have included African-American slave and poet Phillis
Wheatley, patriot leader Samuel Adams and
Benjamin Franklin.
The Old South Meeting House was Colonial Boston’s largest building.
In New England, meeting houses were often used for public gatherings as
well as for worship. In Boston, meetings too large for Boston’s town
hall, Faneuil Hall, were often held at the Old South Meeting House
because of its great size and central location. The steeple of Old South
Meeting House also served a community purpose, housing an enormous
clock, installed by the town in 1770, which is still in place today.
The congregation that built the Old South Meeting House in 1729 was
descended from the Puritans who founded Massachusetts Bay
Colony in the early 17th century. The Puritans left England in search of
new lands and greater religious freedom. They believed in a direct
relationship between the individual and God, and felt that the rituals
used by the Church of England (or Anglican Church) interfered with this
direct relationship. Instead of the rituals, music and elaborate
architecture of the Church of England, the Puritans emphasized
Bible-reading, sermons, prayers and the unaccompanied singing of psalms
in their services.
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