Andover Association Records

Collection

Call Number: RG 307

Scope and Contents

This collection was originally held at Andover Newton Theological School and came to the Yale Divinity Library when Andover Newton became affiliated with YDS in 2017. Early records in bound volumes, meeting records, reports, and correspondence document the history and operations of the Andover Association and its predecessors. Reports from local churches that were part of the Association provide detailed information about Congregational churches in Massachusetts in the early 19th century. This collection is notable for its detailed and thorough documentation.

Dates

1719 - 1913

Creator

Andover Association

Conditions Governing Access

The material is open for research.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Transferred to the Yale Divinity Library from Andover Newton Theological School in 2017.

Arrangement

The collection is organized in seven series:

I. Bound Volumes

II. Meeting Minutes and Records

III. Church Reports

IV. Administrative Records

V. Event Programs

VI. Correspondence

VII. History of the Association

Extent

1.5 Linear Feet (3 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Catalog Record

A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog

Persistent URL

https://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/divinity.307

Additional Description

Overview

Minutes, reports, correspondence and other documents trace the history of the Andover Association, an association of Congregationalist churches in Massachusetts, from 1719 to 1913.

Biographical / Historical

In 1719, a few dozen Congregational ministers from the Merrimac Valley region of Massachusetts formed a "Ministers' Meeting" for mutual support, holding monthly meetings with rotating lecturers and lasting until 1793. The popularity of George Whitefield in the mid-18th century sparked an internal theological controversy, however, leading to the formation in 1763 of a new association called the Wilmington Association, founded by several of the more theologically Arminian ministers. In 1797, the group changed its name to the Andover Association, after the approximate geographical center of its constituency. At first, their covenant required unanimous approval for the admission of new members, though they lessened this stringency with their new constitution in 1823. Throughout the 19th century, the Andover Association examined hundreds of candidates for ministry including many overseas missionaries. In 1913 the Association celebrated its 150th anniversary. For the occasion, leading member Rev. C.C. Carpenter wrote a historical sketch of the group covering the period from 1763 to 1913. The documents in this collection include records from the Ministers' Meeting period, the Wilmington Association, and the Andover Association.