The Cambridge of eighteen hundred and ninety-six: a picture of the city and its industries fifty years after its incorporation
Arthur Gilman, Ed.

[239] Albro had a very useful ministry from April, 1835, to April, 1865. In that formative period he was eminent in wisdom and discretion. The present pastor, Rev. Alexander McKenzie, was installed January 24, 1867. The house which is now the home of the First Church was dedicated in 1872. The Shepard Congregational Society, which took the place of the old parish organization, was formed in 1829. The first parish and the church belonging to it remained in the old meeting-house until 1833, when they removed to the meeting-house in Harvard Square. Rev. William Newell became the minister in 1830, and continued in his office until 1868. During this long pastorate, and after his retirement, he was held in high esteem for his learning and his piety, and his fidelity in the duties of his sacred calling. Rev. Francis G. Peabody was the next minister, and was followed by Rev. Edward H. Hall, both of whom most worthily served the church and the community, and are held in warm regard. Rev. Samuel M. Crothers became the minister in June, 1894, and in his care the church is enjoying an ample prosperity. Whoever inquires concerning the present churches of Cambridge will find these, which honor a common ancestry, and are striving to perfect the work which they have inherited.

But he will find much more than this. The town has advanced with the years, and there are many churches where, for nearly one half of our civil life, there was but one. Of necessity the narrative from this point, embracing many churches in the place of one, must be much briefer and more general. The Protestant Episcopal Church was the second of the churches here. Several worthy gentlemen, members of the Church of England, petitioned the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, to appoint a missionary who should perform divine service and administer religious ordinances according to the belief and usage of the English Church. Rev. East Apthorp, a Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge, England, was proposed, and was appointed in 1759. In 1761 Christ Church was opened for service. In the time of the Revolution service in the church was interrupted, and the house was used for military purposes, though an occasional service was held. In 1790 the house was restored, and it has since been enlarged and adorned. The longest ministry was that of Rev. Nicholas Hoppin, from 1839 to 1874. He stands worthily in this long