Charles A. Nelson , A. M., Waltham, past, present and its industries, with an historical sketch of Watertown from its settlement in 1630 to the incorporation of Waltham, January 15, 1739.

1 [55] of which the town, in 1697, exempted them from ministerial rates. January 1, 1712-13, the Western, or Farmers' Precinct, was incorporated as the town of Weston. After the incorporation of Weston the old Middle Precinct (Waltham) became the Western Precinct. May 13, 1715, twenty years after the erection of Mr. Angier's church, the town voted to ‘build a meeting-house for the accommodation of the inhabitants of the most westerly part of the town.’ September 6th of the same year the Eastern Congregation petitioned to be a separate town, but the petition was not granted, nor was a church then built in the Western Precinct.

November 19, 1720, nearly two years after the death of Mr. Angier, the General Court appointed a committee to divide the two precincts, to consider the expediency of removing one or both meeting houses, and to fix the proper places for them. The Court adopted the report of the committee December 7th, that the new, or west meeting-house, should be removed to a rising ground within twenty rods of Nathaniel Livermore's dwelling-house [the present Lyman Place], or a new one be erected there within two years; that the old, or east meeting-house, should be removed to School-house hill, or a new one be built there within ten years. The town voted compliance with this report. The West Precinct, at their first meeting, in 1720, adopted measures to support preaching, and applied for the new meeting-house, in order to remove it, but owing to some difficulties in regard to moving the building, they decided to purchase of Newton their old meeting-house for £ 80, removed and erected it on the designated spot, north of the entrance gate on Lyman Street, and some two rods east of the wall. This was the first church edifice erected in Waltham, about seventeen years before the incorporation of the town.

Rev. Samuel Angier officiated in his meeting house nearly twentytwo years. He died January 21, 1718-19, and was buried in the old Waltham burying ground, just below Beaver Brook, on Main Street, which was established in 1703 for the use of his parish His meeting-house and residence were both east of the Waltham line, and when Waltham was incorporated a portion of his parish