The Puritan Church of 1847

How many of you are sharp-eyed enough to have noticed the sign on the front right side of Beth’s Bakery & Café? It reads, “Puritan Church 1847.” The correct full name was the Puritan Congregational Church.

Although the break from the then-Calvinist Congregational Church was short lived, dissolving in 1856, the history and reason for its rise in the first place reflects a less conservative view of religion on the part of many Sandwich residents.

Some of you may recall reading about the schism of 1811, whereby the unpopular clergyman Jonathan Burr--yes, related to you-know-who, Aaron Burr, who killed Alexander Hamilton--tried to bring a more conservative form of Calvinism to Sandwich.

Many residents protested with their feet and left to join other more liberal churches. (To give some credit to Burr, who lived at 23 Water Street, and who probably planted the famous linden trees, he did start the first Sandwich Academy in 1804, on the land now vacant in front of the Smith Hoxie House.)

Of course, the Council of Congregational Churches did not approve of the breakaway of this so-called Puritan Church. They had to recognize their right to exist, but they did not have to approve of their belief system. Any form of liberalizing Calvinism was considered without merit. The Council referred to this new church as "disorderly," but when the Sandwich Observer asked for some evidence of this so called "disorder" they never received a reply. 

Although Boston and Plymouth were deeply Puritan/Calvinist places, the further you went out from Boston the more liberal the religions were, for the most part.

Despite the fact that its population was not large, Sandwich supported various churches in town, and of course the Quakers dominated East Sandwich. The Unitarian Church, built in 1833, was a reflection of a more liberal form of worship. And by 1847, in addition to the Puritan Church, a Methodist Church was built on the corner of Main and Liberty Streets, now a Masonic Lodge.

This Greek Revival style building was once the Puritan Congregational Church.

Still, many people clung to the more conservative religious forms. One reason was the influence of the temperance movement that was sweeping the country. Intoxicating drinks were found to be “inconsistent with a Christian Profession.” Although the idea of abstaining from all alcohol would have left the early Sandwich settlers rolling in their graves!

By 1848, the well-regarded Reverend Giles Pease was installed as pastor of the new Puritan Church. Strangely, Rev. Pease was often the keynote speaker at the semi-annual Congregational Council meeting. 

Unlike some ministers in Sandwich, Rev. Pease did not discourage discussions surrounding slavery. He delivered anti-slavery addresses in many places, including Centerville’s Liberty Hall as part of the July 4th celebration of 1847, and at the Barnstable Church Council in 1853.

By 1854, the Puritan Church had two ministers, Giles Pease and E. Hallett, both of whom attended a Church Council Conference in Edgartown on June 13, 1854. Also in attendance were Rev. P Headley and Watson F. Tobey of Sandwich's Calvinist Church.

Rev. Pease provided a vital role at this conference on the subject of slavery. As a whole, the conference attendees came out against the hated 1850 Fugitive Slave, which had passed with the support of Daniel Webster, of whom it was said he'd sold his soul to the devil when he endorsed it. He claimed he did it to save the Union, but at what cost?

In 1854, The Barnstable Patriot reported on the charitable donations of churches. The Puritan Church was able to contribute $220.75, whereas the Calvinist Congregational Church was only able to contribute $173. And also that year, Pease was again the speaker at the 1854 Council of Churches gathering.

So what brought about the demise of this break-off church in 1856? I have not been able to find out exactly what happened, except that Rev. Pease requested a more remunerative posting.

We should discuss the movement of the building. It seems it was first located at 10 Jarves Street, where the Belfry Inn is now. Later that space became the George Drew home, and still later the rectory of the Catholic priests after the Catholic church moved to Jarves Street. The building's current location, now Beth’s Bakery & Café, is 16 Jarves Street.

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Kaethe Maguire is a member of the Friends of the Sandwich Town Archives, a dedicated, all-volunteer, 501(c)(3) nonprofit committed to supporting and promoting the archives’ collections and the rich, diverse history of the town of Sandwich.