Washington Avenue Baptist Church records
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Abstract
The Washington Avenue Baptist Church was founded in 1851. The church building, completed in 1852, was located at 484 Washington Avenue in what is now the Clinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y. he Washington Avenue Baptist Church records span 1851 until its dissolution in 1929. The collection consists of church minutes, baptismal records, membership lists, correspondence, letters of dismissal, annual reports, Ladies Aid Society reports, Board of Deacons reports and minutes, a church manual (1886), a church yearbook (1891), a pew plan, church bulletins and programs, and news clippings.
Historical note
The Washington Avenue Baptist Church was founded in 1851. The church building, completed in 1852, was located at 484 Washington Avenue in what is now the Clinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y. In 1872, as church membership began to grow, the Trustees of the church purchased the Central Congregational Church building in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. At first, the new building was used as a Sunday school for the Washington Avenue Baptist Church. Within a few months, church services were held at the new location, and by 1873, the Marcy Avenue Baptist Church was formed. In 1881, an additional 180 members broke from the Washington Avenue Baptist Church and formed the Emmanuel Baptist Church, also in Clinton Hill.
Reverend Robert McDonald became pastor of Washington Avenue Baptist Church on January 1, 1898 and served as pastor until 1915, when he resigned. McDonald created controversy within the church by advocating the "modernist" approach of accepting new members into the church without baptisms. Following McDonald, Reverend Allyn K. Foster became pastor and served in this position until 1918, when he resigned to serve oversees in the Young Men's Christian Association for the duration of World War I.
Reverend Robert McCaul served as pastor of the church from 1918 to 1929, when the church was dissolved. During his tenure, McCall attempted to reinstate the "fundamentalist" approach, thus splitting the congregation further. Membership in the Washington Avenue Baptist Church declined through the 1920s. Following the dissolution of the church in 1929, the building was sold to the Seventh Day Adventists. As of 2010, the building serves as the home to the congregation of Brown Memorial Baptist Church.
Sources:
- Emmanuel Baptist Church. Our Story: Emmanuel's Beginnings. http://www.ebc-ny.org/ourstory (accessed November 3, 2010).
Scope and Contents note
The Washington Avenue Baptist Church records span 1851, when the church was formed, until its dissolution in 1929. The collection consists of church minutes, baptismal records, membership lists, correspondence, letters of dismissal, annual reports, Ladies Aid Society reports, Board of Deacons reports and minutes, a church manual (1886), a church yearbook (1891), a pew plan, church bulletins and programs, and news clippings.
The membership lists are a particular strength in the collection as they record the church's membership, from its founding in 1851 through 1925. Member information includes name, date of baptism, letter from former church and date, letter to new church and date, date the church dropped a member, date of death of a member, exclusion date of a member, and additional remarks. Also of interest are the membership lists for Chinese members of the church, as the church made a particular effort to record their information.
The church records, 1870 to 1925, are another strength in the collection as they document the service of the church's final three pastors, Rev. Robert MacDonald, Rev. Allyn K. Foster, and Rev. Robert McCaul. Included in the church records are detailed minutes of church matters including baptisms, new members, church controversies, and letters of acceptance and resignation from the pastors. Also included are clippings from local newspapers pertaining to the church.
Box 1 contains correspondence, letters of dismissal, annual reports, Board of Deacons records, Ladies Aid Society reports, and church records and minutes.
Box 2 contains church records and minutes, membership rolls, and miscellaneous materials including a pew plan, bulletins and programs, and news clippings.
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Conditions Governing Access
Open to researchers without restriction.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date (if known); Washington Avenue Baptist Church records, 1985.064, Box and Folder number; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Adeline Walling, 1985.
About this Guide
Processing Information note
Minimally processed to the collection level.
