The Noble & Cooley Center for Historic Preservation (NCCHP) is featured on the October 14 Tri-Town History Trail. Musem tours will be held on the 14th between 10 AM and 4 PM, at 42 Water Street, Granville, MA.

Also of note, the cover photo for the brochure features West Granville center, showing the church and the Phelps house.]]>
Thomas Osborne Rice was the pastor of the West Granville Congregational Church from 1885 until his death on August 15, 1888.

In 1879 he was pastor in Chiltonville, a small village in Plymouth, MA., where it appears he originally delivered the two sermons shown here. In 1888 he delivered the sermons at the West Granville Congregational Church, the first on January 8, the second on February 25. 

The author of these sermons was unknown until September 2023 when David Spellman researched the mystery and detemined they were written and preached by Rev. Thomas Osborne Rice. 

The first two pages of each sermon is shown; the complete original documents are in the possession of the West Granville Congregational Church. The full text will be added later.

David Spellman also provided:
  • Thomas Rice's obituary from the Obituary Record of Graduates of Amherst College, for the Academic Year Ending July 3, 1889.
  • Two pages from Manual of Westfield Congregational Church, Danielson, Connecticut 1715-1905, Rice was also pastor there and the biographical sketch gives a little more detail about his appearance, personality, etc.
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Theoria to practica and Congregational Independency: From John Singleton Copley's portraiture of ‘Liberty,’ Rev. Jonathan Mayhew identified, to Rev. Lemuel Haynes's Liberty Further Extended, c. 1776]]> Theoria to Practica . . . by Corey Phelon Geske commemorates Juneteenth 2023 and the 270th anniversaries of the July 18, 1753 birth of Rev. Lemuel Haynes and the incorporation of the district of Granville, Massachusetts, January 25, 1754.

Also recognizing ‘America250,’ the Nation’s Semiquincentennial, July 4, 2026, this work is published by the Granville History Digital Collection, sponsored by the Mabel Root Henry Historical Museum at the Granville Public Library and the Noble & Cooley Center for Historic Preservation, Granville, MA.

For the content in this document most relevant to Rev. Lemuel Haynes please refer to pp. i, ii, v, 2, (Section: "Theoria to Practica: Rev. Lemuel Haynes extends ‘Liberty’ to abolition of enslavement") 38-49, 63.]]>

Haynes' subsequent education, fostered his unprecedented life story becoming the first Black man ordained a minister in the United States -- in the Congregational church, bespeaking that Faith’s 'independency' breaking out of the colonial paradigm as did a new Nation.

For the first time in publication, John Singleton Copley's portrait (1767) of Congregational Boston minister Rev. Jonathan Mayhew, is herein identified. Having preached, “Britons will not be slaves . . . Let us all learn to be free," Mayhew was respected by John Adams as one of the men most responsible for setting the groundwork of the American Revolution. His emphasis upon ‘Liberty,’ is found in Haynes's unpublished essay Liberty Further Extended . . . the first to apply the precepts of the Declaration of Independence to the abolition of enslavement, bringing to the forefront the hypocrisy of any who supported ‘Liberty’ without extending it to “mankind” in bondage. Copley’s portraiture bears evidence of his effort to do so and his iconology of 'Liberty' extending to the abolition of Black enslavement, is examined and interpreted here.

‘Congregational Independency’ in Massachusetts provided the theoria of ‘Liberty’ that guided the iconology of Copley, an Anglican, who put theory to practice, compassing his portraiture with subliminal messaging of ’Liberty.’
From Mayhew to Haynes, the theoria of ‘Liberty’ evolved from considering the rights of white American colonists to the Black enslaved population, all “mankind,” as Thomas Hollis V had inscribed upon Mayhew’s etching by Cipriani after Copley.

This extension of theory to practice and ‘Liberty’ to the abolition of enslavement, as proposed by Haynes, whose lifetime paralleled that of the young nation, was rooted in the Independency of the Congregational church.]]>
See the Daniel Rose, Lt. Jacob Baldwin, Rev. Joel Baker . . . Phelon House for additional information: CLICK HERE for Daniel Rose . . .  Phelon House Part One. Part One includes links to Parts 2-5 and Addenda.
For mention of Thomas Holllis V, CLICK HERE for Addendum 1, "Baker Quilt: West Granville Needlework at the F.G. (Rev. Joel) Baker House inspires the historic Deerfield Arts and Crafts Movement."]]>

First photo shows the people who built the float:

Marty and Deborah Boulanger
Susan Adams Joyal
Judy Adams
Tim and Jayne Phair
Tony and Karen Novak
Matt and Susan Brown
Tom and Sally Wheeler
John Beckman

The Colonial children in the photos are:

Robbie Boulanger
Kathryn Phair
Liam Phair
Paula Novak
Jimmy Novak
Aidan Brown
Andy Brown

School Matron (on the float): Deborah Boulanger]]>

The John Phelps house, Congregational Church and West Granville Store are visible on the left.

The Noah Cooley house is on the right.]]>

Map pinpoint represents approximate point of view.]]>
MACRIS disclaimer.
Copyright Paul Jensen: Photo of West Granville marker, taken 10 Dec 2000.]]>

For more recent photos of the church and events please CLICK HERE.]]>
and
West Granville Congregational Church]]>