Summary Information
First Unitarian Society (Madison, Wis.) Records
1867-1982
- First Unitarian Society (Madison, Wis.)
Mss 297; Micro 210
10.6 c.f. (21 archives boxes, 4 flat boxes, and 1 oversize folder) and 1 reel of microfilm (35mm)
Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)
Records of a Madison, Wisconsin Unitarian congregation known for its social action endeavors and for its sanctuary designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Included are articles of incorporation, meeting minutes, correspondence, newsletters, financial records, texts of radio sermons, records of the Property Committee including plans for the Wright-designed meeting house, membership lists, and programs of Sunday services. Records of the Meeting House Nursery School, of the Social Action Committee, and several other related groups are present as are records on the Wisconsin Conference of Unitarian (and Independent) Societies (1867-1903), the Unitarian Ministers' Association (1960-1961), and other outside groups.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00297 ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
The First Unitarian Society, Madison, was organized in 1879, but there had been Unitarian meetings in the city as early as 1855. Under the leadership of Professor William F. Allen, the Rev. William C. Wright, and Mr. H.H. Giles, and with financial aid from the American Unitarian Association, fourteen persons pledged $509 for the formation of a society on January 5, 1879. By-laws, articles of association, and the Bond of Union were adopted later that year.
At first the Society usually met in the Gates of Heaven Synagogue on West Washington Street, but in 1886 it moved to its own newly constructed church on the corner of Dayton Street and Wisconsin Avenue. In 1912 Dr. Charles H. Vilas gave money to build an adjoining parish house, and later he furnished means of buying a parsonage as well. These buildings served the Society until 1945. The present meeting house on University Bay Drive, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, was first occupied in 1951.
| 1880 |
Founding of the Sunday School
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| 1884 |
Founding of the Ladies' Society (later, the Women's Alliance)
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| 1916 |
Completion of the parish house
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| 1937 |
Reorganization replacing the Board of Trustees with the Executive Board
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| 1952 |
Hiring of the Rev. Max David Gaebler
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| 1955 |
Organization of the North Central Conference
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| 1961 |
National Unitarian-Universalist merger
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| 1964 |
Completion of the meeting house addition
|
See Introducing the First Unitarian Society of Madison, Wisconsin (circa 1948) and Merle Curti's Our Golden Age (1954) for accounts of the Society emphasizing intellectual and architectural history. Copies of both were separated from the records and placed in the Wisconsin Historical Society Library.
Scope and Content Note
The records of the First Unitarian Society have been organized in three parts, corresponding to groups of records gifted to the Historical Society at different times. Part 1 consists of records loaned for microfilming in 1959; Part 2 comprises records presented between 1959 and 1976 and organized in the Archives in 1976; Part 3 contains records presented between 1976 and 1981 and organized in the Archives in 1981.
Records in Part 1, the Original Collection, date 1902-1959 and include a church covenant and records of the christening of children and the confirmation of adults. Records in Part 2, the 1976 Additions, date 1878-1976 and are described in detail below. Those in Part 3, the 1981 Additions, date 1951-1980 and are also described in detail below.
PART 2, the 1976 ADDITIONS
Part 2 of the records of the First Unitarian Society, Madison consists of the first accession of the Society's paper records, which earlier had been processed under the title Madison, Wisconsin - First Unitarian Society (former call number, Wis/Mss/FI), and six additions to the collection made between April 1967 and May 1976. These records date 1878-1976 and have been combined and organized into the following categories: Organization, Administration, Correspondence, Finance, Fund-Raising, Property, Services and Ministerial, Social Action Committee, Meeting House Nursery School, Other Committees and Groups, and Denominational Affairs.
The records of ORGANIZATION supply the names of officers and the governing structure of the Society, mainly for the period 1930 to 1975. Missing information can often be recovered from the minutes classified under ADMINISTRATION. Filed with the lists of organizations and committees is a pamphlet, This is the First Unitarian Society of Madison, Wisconsin, probably printed in the early 1970s, which summarizes their respective functions.
The ADMINISTRATION subseries is the most important segment of the Society records. The minutes of the trustees and the parish summarize their activities and those of many church committees and organizations. Both sets are complete to 1927, and both are interrupted at the same time only for the period 1945 to 1950, when the Society was in transition from Dayton Street to University Bay Drive. Among the related papers filed with the unbound parish minutes are committee reports to the annual meeting.
The CORRESPONDENCE deals mainly with routine business. The construction, maintenance, and financing of buildings constitute the major topic. For the period after 1952, these same subjects are treated in the letters classified under FUND-RAISING and PROPERTY. The gap in correspondence between 1889 and 1907 roughly coincides with the interval between the completion of the original church and the beginning of the parish house. The Society's chronic financial difficulties necessitated frequent appeals to the American Unitarian Association, various Madison lending institutions, individual parishioners, and the Women's Alliance. Among the correspondents are a number of intellectual and political leaders of the University, the city, and the state, including William F. Allen, Reuben G. Thwaites, and William G. Rice. The letters document their work in the Society rather than the reasons for their adherence to liberal religion. There is little ministerial correspondence. The scrapbook has a personal recollection of Unitarian meetings in Madison in 1855 by the Rev. H.F. Bond. The record of opposition to the Rev. Rupert Holloway, in which hints of Socialist-Communist infighting supplemented charges of professional inadequacy, should be read in conjunction with the minutes of the parish meetings. Two letters (1921) of Laura Loyson, a medical charity worker in postwar France whose labors were supported by American Unitarians, describe the social and economic conditions she encountered. One letter (1944, April 4) of Helen Groves, wife of Harold, protests the exclusion of women from a meeting of the Laymen's League and discusses the problem of reconciling the demands of family and community life.
The major records of FINANCE are the monthly and annual treasurer's reports, only a few years of which are missing for the period 1908 to 1976. Some of the gaps can be filled in by referring to the minutes classified under ADMINISTRATION. The ledgers and journals furnish more detailed information for the years 1907 to 1910, 1915 to 1925, and 1935 to 1965. The principal earlier financial records are the cash accounts and subscription lists, beginning in 1895. Similar items for the 1950s and 1960s were returned to the donor.
The interrelated FUND-RAISING and PROPERTY subseries deal mainly with the Frank Lloyd Wright meeting house. The documentation is better for the latter part of the period of construction. A number of letters addressed to the architect discuss plans for the building and show how the Wright Foundation helped finance its completion, but only one brief note bears Wright's signature. He belonged to the Society, which his father helped establish, but it is not evident from these records that he was a leading member. The inquiries about the meeting house reveal immediate and wide-spread interest in Europe as well as the United States. A related item in the subseries on SERVICES AND MINISTERIAL is Fred I. Cairns' “Architecture and Worship.” He resigned from the Madison ministry in 1951, and the sermon presents his view that the Society had concentrated its energies on the construction of an architectural marvel to the detriment of its spiritual life. The records of canvassing show the Society's occasional resort to professional fund-raisers since the completion of the meeting house.
The records of SERVICES AND MINISTERIAL have two major divisions: the programs of Sunday services and the texts of weekly radio talks. The programs contain both the order of worship, which might include dances, readings from secular writings, or other unconventional elements, and the calendar of coming events. The radio talks, delivered by Mr. Gaebler and guest speakers, might be taken to represent the sermons preached in the meeting house itself. The broadcasts began in 1943, under the ministry of Kenneth L. Patton, and his series on humanistic religion were published in 1946 as Beyond Doubt. The requests for copies of the talks show the geographic distribution of the audience, and a few of the letters attack the liberal theological or political content of the broadcasts in terms consonant with the McCarthy era. The play, “Perfectibility,” is a parishioner's dramatization of a discussion among famous nineteenth-century American women about their proper role in society and politics.
The SOCIAL ACTION COMMITTEE series offers a sporadic record of actions in support of various social and political causes. The files of correspondence and related papers include minutes of monthly meetings, copies of outgoing letters, and resolutions submitted to the parish and the American Unitarian or Unitarian Universalist Association. Such items are most abundant for the period 1954 to 1956, when the committee was chaired by Margaret Curti, wife of Merle, and Jackson Tiffany. The United Nations was a major interest in the 1950s. In the following decade the emphasis was on civil rights, both in Madison (in support of Madison Citizens for Fair Housing) and in the South (with sponsorship of Freedom Workers through the Council of Federated Organizations). Mailings and publications of Unitarian and other social action groups furnish additional evidence of the members' range of interests.
The MEETING HOUSE NURSERY SCHOOL subseries has few financial and administrative records and little general correspondence, but the file of newsletters and other mailings to parents constitutes a detailed though interrupted record of school activities between 1952 and 1971. Major episodes in the institution's organizational history are documented in the letters and reports dealing with the dismissal of director Gehrta Amlie in 1954 and the movement toward legal separation from the Society beginning twenty years later. Few of the items relating to the Madison Nursery School Association, Community Co-ordinated Child Care in Dane County, the Week of the Young Child, and Project Head Start either originated with the Society's nursery school or furnish information about it. The name was changed from “Playhouse” to “Meeting House Nursery School” in 1954.
The records of OTHER ORGANIZATIONS AND GROUPS are generally fragmentary, but most such bodies in the Society's history are represented. The minutes of the Contemporary Club, the Channing Club, the poetry readings, the Laymen's League, and the Unity Club illustrate Society members' intellectual interests before the Second World War. The Town Meeting program was a series of discussions co-ordinated, in season, with the national broadcast, America's Town Meeting of the Air. The correspondence of the Pulpit Committee, detailing the preliminaries to the selection of Max Gaebler, should be read in conjunction with the minutes of contemporary parish meetings. Committee X, established in 1952 to help pay for the new meeting house, originated the Dance Fellowship, the Meeting House Square Dancers, and such short-lived projects as the Art Fellowship and the Film Series. The minutes and correspondence of the Membership Committee reveal extensive neighborhood organization.
The major items in the DENOMINATIONAL AFFAIRS subseries are the bound volumes of records of the Wisconsin Conference of Unitarian (and Independent) Societies, 1867-1903. The correspondence of the Unitarian Ministers' Association, 1960-1961, relates more to routine business than to the issues of Unitarian-Universalist merger.
PART 3, the 1981 ADDITIONS
These additions, 1951-1980, supplement those records donated earlier. They bring the files of newsletters and WIBA radio talk transcriptions up to date and add executive, financial, and committee reports as well as documentation of special events and national and regional organizational activity to existing files. A noteworthy addition are the plans of the First Unitarian Meeting House, designed in 1948 by Frank Lloyd Wright; also interesting are papers regarding the formation of the Central Midwest District of Unitarian churches.
Information on organization and administration can be found in the “Denominational Affairs” files in responses to questionnaires sent out by the Unitarian Universalist and American Unitarian Associations as well as in the ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION subseries.
The CORRESPONDENCE file consists of newsletters and attachments. (Attachments relevant to other files, such as fundraising, treasurer's and committee reports, parish election nominations, etc, have been separated to those files.) Attachments generally announce upcoming events or solicit member opinions and are filed ahead of their accompanying newsletter. Newsletters were sent out irregularly during the summer months.
The PROPERTY file consists of the Frank Lloyd Wright plans for the Meeting House, built 1949-1951, and two reports of the Prairie Site Committee. Documentation about the construction of the Meeting House may be found in box 7 folders 6-7. The Prairie Site committee reports concern property bought in the late 1960s with the idea of constructing another church; the records of the Friends of the Meeting House, who are concerned with its history and upkeep, are in the file entitled “Other Committees and Groups.”
In the SERVICES AND MINISTERIAL file are transcriptions of radio talks given on WIBA radio, beginning in 1976. Some dates are missing and occasionally transcripts are misdated. The “Special Events” section of the file includes copies of addresses given by John Hayward and Rabbi Manfred Swarzensky. See also “Denominational Affairs” for literature relating to conferences held in Madison.
Both the MEETING HOUSE NURSERY SCHOOL and OTHER COMMITTEES AND GROUPS files include a small amount of material describing the relationship between the philosophy of the Society and its activities, such as the educational philosophy expressed in “Learning Through Play” and the description of the Social Concerns Committee.
The DENOMINATIONAL AFFAIRS material is one of the larger groups of additions. Most of its contents date in the 1960s and include minutes and resolutions of various regional and national organizations. They concern not only internal affairs but occasionally document responses to social questions. As mentioned above, the formation of the Central Midwest District in 1963-64 is documented in a series of correspondence, minutes, and suggested and approved by-laws; and questionnaires sent to the Society by the Unitarian Universalist and American Unitarian Associations provide yearly statistics and other information about the Society. Included in the files are brochures of conferences, such as those of the Western Unitarian Conference and Midwest Universalist Conference, which became the Midwest Unitarian Universalist Conference when these organizations merged in 1961.
Related Material
The Harold Groves Papers include two folders of building records, 1939 to 1951.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Loaned and presented by the First Unitarian Society through courtesy of the Rev. Max Gaebler, 1959-1981. Accession Number: Wis/Mss/FI; M59-81, M67-114, M69-303, M75-30, M76-94, M76-99, M76-155, M76-232, M76-316, M77-513, M78-626, M78-656, M79-574, M81-24
Processed by Susan Grigg (Intern) and Joanne Hohler, 1976; and by Sarah Bates and Joanne Hohler, 1981.
Contents List
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Micro 210
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Series: Part 1, the Original Collection, 1902-1959
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Reel
1
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Church covenant and records of christening of children and confirmation of adults
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Mss 297
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Series: Part 2, the 1976 Additions, 1878-1976
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Subseries: Organization
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Box
1
Folder
1
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Articles of Association, 1879, February 19
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Box
1
Folder
2
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Articles of Incorporation, 1970
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Box
1
Folder
3
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Standing Rules and Policies, 1937-1975
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Box
1
Folder
4
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Operations Manual, draft (1974?)
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Box
1
Folder
5
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Questionnaires for denominational organizations, 1883-1884, 1941
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Box
1
Folder
6
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Lists of trustees, terms expiring 1929-1940
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Box
1
Folder
7
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Executive Board and committee rosters, 1937-1941, 1943-1944, 1951, 1954-1957, 1959-1962, 1965-1967, undated
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Box
1
Folder
8
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Lists of organizations and committees, 1959-1961, 1965, 1967, undated
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Subseries: Administration
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Trustees and parish, minutes of meetings
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Box
1
Folder
9-11
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1879-1918
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Box
2
Folder
1
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1918-1927
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Box
2
Folder
2
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Parish meetings, summaries of minutes, 1892-1927
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Box
2
Folder
3
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Parish meetings, minutes, 1906-1921
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Box
2
Folder
4-8
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Parish meetings, minutes and related reports and papers, 1929, 1937-1945, 1950, 1952-1955, 1958-1965, 1968, 1976
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Box
3
Folder
1-5
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Executive Board, minutes and related reports and papers, 1937-1944; 1951, June-1971, August; 1974, May-1976, February
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Subseries: Correspondence
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Box
23
Folder
3
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Scrapbook, letters and clippings, 1878-1886
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General correspondence
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Box
3
Folder
6-8
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1882, March 9-1889, June 4; 1907, October 10-1919, November 4
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Box
4
Folder
1
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1920, January 15-1929, December 18
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Box
4
Folder
2
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1930, February 3-1939, December
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Box
4
Folder
2
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Madison Committee to Aid Spanish Democracy, 1938, April 1
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Box
4
Folder
3
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1940, January 10-1944, November 30; 1946, January 7-25; 1946, November 20-1948, June 19; 1952, February 20-March 17; undated
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Box
4
Folder
4
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Dismissal and replacement of the Rev. Rupert Holloway, 1937, June 17-1938, February 17; 1940, February 26-1942, January 7
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Box
4
Folder
5
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Mailings and newsletters, 1938, April 21; 1940, January 10-1945, September; 1948, November; 1951, October-1953, February 11; 1956, January 21-December 19; 1966, September 14
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Subseries: Finance
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Cash accounts and subscription lists
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Box
4
Folder
6-7
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1895-1904
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Box
5
Folder
1
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1905-1906
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Box
20
Folder
1
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Ledger, 1907
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Box
20
Folder
2
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Journal, 1908-1910
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Box
5
Folder
2-3
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Cash accounts, 1911-1930
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Ledger
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Box
20
Folder
3
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1915-1925
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Box
21
Folder
1
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1955-1960
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Journal
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Box
21
Folder
2-3
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1935, March-1951, August
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Box
22
Folder
1-4
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1951, September-1963, January
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Box
23
Folder
1
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1963, February-1965, October
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Treasurer's reports
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Box
5
Folder
4-8
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1908-1921, 1927-1945, 1947-1961
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Box
6
Folder
1
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1961, September-1968, February; 1971, August; 1974, May-1976, February
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Box
6
Folder
2
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Budget proposals, 1958-1968
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Subseries: Fund-Raising
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Box
6
Folder
3
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Correspondence and related reports and papers, 1952, October 19-1968, January 15; 1974-1975
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Box
6
Folder
4
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Canvass mailings and pledge forms, 1909-1911; 1937, December 1; 1952, April 25-1968, October 3; undated
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Box
6
Folder
5
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Canvassers' instructions, 1959, October 13-1967, October 22; undated
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Box
6
Folder
6
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Development Fund campaign, 1956-1957
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Building Fund campaign
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Box
6
Folder
7
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Correspondence and lists of potential donors, 1962, March 26-May 5
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Box
6
Folder
8
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Manuals
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Box
7
Folder
1
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Status of pledges, 1963, April 1-1964, April 1
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Box
7
Folder
2
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Delinquencies, 1962, July 1-1964, March
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Box
7
Folder
3
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Legacy of Emma Mercer, 1914, January 31-September 26; 1919, January 8-April 23
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Box
7
Folder
4
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Contributions in memory of Benjamin Bull, 1964, April 10-May 2
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Subseries: Property
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Box
7
Folder
5
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Organ purchase, 1945; 1955, April 10; 1964, October 12-1965, June 3; 1968, January 15-1971, April 4
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Box
7
Folder
6
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Construction and financing of meeting house, 1949, January 6-1953, July 15
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Box
7
Folder
7
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Inquiries about meeting house, 1951, February 23-1969, April 1; undated
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Box
7
Folder
8
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Olson house legacy, 1951, March 27-1953, September 2
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Box
7
Folder
9-10
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Buildings and Grounds Committee, “Summary Report,” 1965, September 11; building expansion, , 1961-1968
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Box
7
Folder
11
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Records of real estate transactions, 1951, July 27-1964, September 16
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Box
7
Folder
12
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Relocation and taxation of parsonage, correspondence, 1963, May-1969, July 7
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Subseries: Services and Ministerial
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Programs of Sunday (11:00 A.M.) services
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Box
7
Folder
13
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1882-1886, 1918, 1936-1938; 1941, March-1942, February; 1945-1949; 1951, September-1952, December 28
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Box
8
Folder
1-4
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1953, January 4-1960, April 24
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Box
9
Folder
1-4
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1960, May 1-1966, September 24
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Box
10
Folder
1
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1966, October 2-1968, August 25
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Religion for Today, WIBA radio talks
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Box
10
Folder
2-7
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1951, November 18-1963, December 29
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Box
11
Folder
1-6
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1964, January 5-1972, December 31
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Box
12
Folder
1-3
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1973, February 11-1976, February 25
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Box
12
Folder
4-5
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Requests for copies of radio talks, 1952, February 10-1956, June 24
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Box
12
Folder
6
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Clippings on early meetings, 1880-1886
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Box
12
Folder
7
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Sermons by Max Gaebler, 1957, November 12-1971, January 24; undated
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Special events
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Box
12
Folder
8
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Fiftieth Anniversary Celebration, program, 1929, February 15-17
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Box
12
Folder
8
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“Just Foolin',” program of Sunday School skit, 1939, April
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Box
12
Folder
8
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Installation of Kenneth Patton, program, 1942, February 1
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Box
12
Folder
8
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“The Life Cycle,” sermon by Fred I. Cairns, 1946, December 29
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Box
12
Folder
8
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“Perfectibility,” play by Peggy Ramsperger, incomplete text, performed 1954, April 3
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Box
12
Folder
8
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Memorial tribute to Frank Lloyd Wright, 1959, April 12
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Box
12
Folder
8
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Unitarian Fellowship of Beloit, program, 1962, May 13
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Box
12
Folder
8
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“The Communion of the Free,” sermon by John F. Hayward, 1965, November 21
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Box
12
Folder
8
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Memorial tribute to Rosamond Eliot Rice, 1970, April 19
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Box
12
Folder
8
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Memorial tribute to Betty Holt Doremus, 1970, June 1
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Box
12
Folder
8
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United Holy Church of American (Negro), program for Eleventh Annual Convocation
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Box
12
Folder
8
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“Architecture and Worship,” sermon by Fred I. Cairns, First Unitarian Church, Hamilton, Ontario
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Box
12
Folder
9
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Summer services, correspondence and schedules, 1952, June 8-1972
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Box
12
Folder
10
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“Memorandum on the Preparation of Religious Services,” by Max Gaebler
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Subseries: Social Action Committee
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Correspondence and related papers
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Box
12
Folder
11
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1951, December-1958, January 24; 1959, November 28-1962, December 8
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Box
12
Folder
11
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“Does Democracy Work in Wisconsin?” paper by Margaret Curti, 1954
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Box
13
Folder
1-2
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1963, January 6-1970, August 8; undated
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Box
13
Folder
3
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Madison Area Council of Churches, Social Concerns Committee, incoming correspondence, 1964, December 16-1965, June 10
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Box
13
Folder
4
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Council of Federated Organizations (COFO), correspondence, 1965, January 23-1966, March 11
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Box
13
Folder
5
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Notebook of Frances Bicknell, 1963
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Unitarian Universalist Association, mailings
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Box
13
Folder
6
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Commission on Religion and Race, 1963, August-1965, December; undated
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Box
13
Folder
7
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Committee on Aging
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Box
13
Folder
8
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Department of Social Responsibility, 1964, December-1966, May 3; undated
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Box
13
Folder
9
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Fellowship for Social Justice, 1960, July-1966, May; undated
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Box
13
Folder
10
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Freedom Fund
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Box
13
Folder
11
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International Cooperation Year, United Nations, 1965
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Box
13
Folder
12
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Miscellany, 1962, May 26-1966, May; undated
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Box
13
Folder
13
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Other Unitarian churches, mailings and publications, 1962, May 26-1966, May; undated
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Subseries: Meeting House Nursery School
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Box
14
Folder
1
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Prospectus, 1950, August 15
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Box
14
Folder
2
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Dismissal of Gehrta Amlie (Mrs. Thomas, director), 1953, September 4-1954, May 5
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Box
14
Folder
3
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Correspondence, 1954, June 23-1956, December 4; undated
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Box
14
Folder
4
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Committee minutes and reports, 1962, September; 1965, August 9-September 13; 1972, February 15
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Box
14
Folder
5
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Reorganization, 1974, February-1976, January 28
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Box
14
Folder
6
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Proposal for a co-operative
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Box
14
Folder
7
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Budget, 1954-1956, 1965-1969, 1972-1974, undated
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Box
23
Folder
2
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Journal, 1951, September-1953, August
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Box
14
Folder
8
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Treasurer's reports, 1950-1951, 1953-1954
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Box
14
Folder
9
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Tuition: Charges in Madison nursery schools, 1975-1976
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Box
14
Folder
10
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Newsletters and mailings, 1952, Dec. 15-1971, December; 1974, March; undated
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Box
14
Folder
11
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Brochures
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Box
14
Folder
12
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Staff job descriptions, 1969, September-1970, September; undated
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Box
14
Folder
13
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Madison Nursery School Association, newsletters
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Box
14
Folder
14
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Community Coordinated Child Care in Dane County, 1971, January
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|
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Box
14
Folder
15
|
Week of the Young Child, 1971, March 18-May 3; undated
|
|
|
Box
14
Folder
16
|
Project Head Start, leaflets
|
|
|
Subseries: Other Committees and Groups
|
|
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Box
14
Folder
17
|
Art Fellowship, 1954, July 1
|
|
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Box
14
Folder
18
|
Channing Club, minutes and program, 1886, October 26-1894, April 22
|
|
|
Box
14
Folder
19
|
Channing Murray Club, correspondence, 1958, August 2-1959, March 9
|
|
|
Box
14
Folder
20
|
Committee X, correspondence and financial records, 1952, September 13-1954, August 14; undated
|
|
|
Contemporary Club
|
|
|
Box
14
Folder
21
|
Minutes and brochure, 1880-1886
|
|
|
Box
14
Folder
22
|
Minutes and clipping, 1895-1904, undated
|
|
|
Box
15
Folder
1
|
Dance Fellowship, 1952, October-1954, January; 1972-1973; undated
|
|
|
Box
15
Folder
2
|
Film Series, 1953
|
|
|
Box
15
Folder
3
|
Friends of the Meeting House, 1975, December 15-1976, January 18
|
|
|
Box
15
Folder
4
|
Holiday Fair, 1961-1963, 1965-1966
|
|
|
Box
15
Folder
5
|
“Land of Our Fathers,” statement of the purpose of the program
|
|
|
Laymen's League
|
|
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Box
15
Folder
6
|
Minutes, 1926, September 24-1932, March
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|
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Box
15
Folder
7
|
Correspondence and lists of members, 1928, October 13-1930, May 5; 1958-1960; undated
|
|
|
Box
15
Folder
8
|
Lend-a-Hand Club, constitution, minutes, financial records, 1908, Jan. 12-1911, April 18
|
|
|
Box
15
Folder
9
|
Madison Unitarian Youth, 1952, November 16-1967, September; undated
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|
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Box
15
Folder
10
|
Meeting House Square Dancers, 1956-1958
|
|
|
Membership Committee
|
|
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Box
15
Folder
11
|
Minutes and correspondence, 1952, March 26-1968, October 17; undated
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|
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Box
15
Folder
12
|
Lists of members, subscribers, and affiliates, 1928, 1931-1941, 1952-1954, 1958, 1961, 1971
|
|
|
Box
15
Folder
13
|
Nominating Committee, correspondence and lists of nominees, 1930-1931, 1942-1943, 1956-1970
|
|
|
Box
15
Folder
14
|
Personnel Committee, survey of terms of employment in Madison area churches
|
|
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Box
15
Folder
15
|
Poetry readings, prospectus and minutes, 1900-1905
|
|
|
Box
16
Folder
1
|
Publicity Committee, correspondence and flyers, 1952, January 10-1958, February 12
|
|
|
Box
16
Folder
2
|
Pulpit Committee, correspondence, 1951, December 20-1952, April 20; undated
|
|
|
Box
16
Folder
3
|
Religious Services Committee, 1952, January 20-1967, September 9; undated
|
|
|
Box
16
Folder
4
|
Scandinavian Spring Festival, 1953, April 10
|
|
|
Service Committee
|
|
|
Box
16
Folder
5
|
Correspondence and lists of donors, 1955-1966
|
|
|
Box
16
Folder
6
|
Mailings to potential donors, 1956, January 19-1966, March 5
|
|
|
Box
16
Folder
7
|
Mailings from the national committee, 1945, 1955-1960, undated
|
|
|
Box
16
Folder
8
|
Requests for local volunteers
|
|
|
Sunday School
|
|
|
Box
16
Folder
9
|
Committee on the Sunday School, record book, 1906-1908
|
|
|
Box
16
Folder
10
|
Religious Education Committee, reports, 1956-1972,undated
|
|
|
Box
16
Folder
11
|
Town Meeting, programs and mailings, 1940, May 9-1941, May 29
|
|
|
Box
16
Folder
12
|
Unity Club, minutes, 1931, September 27-1933, January 8
|
|
|
Women's Alliance
|
|
|
Box
16
Folder
13
|
Correspondence and financial records, 1911-1939
|
|
|
Box
16
Folder
14-15
|
Minutes, 1884-1902
|
|
|
Box
17
Folder
1-4
|
Minutes, 1902-1938
|
|
|
Box
17
Folder
5
|
Treasurer's accounts, 1925-1936
|
|
|
Box
17
Folder
6
|
Young People's Guild, programs, 1912-1913, 1940, May-1941, October
|
|
|
Subseries: Denominational Affairs
|
|
|
Wisconsin Conference of Unitarian (and Independent) Societies
|
|
|
Box
17
Folder
7
|
Records, 1867-1892
|
|
|
Box
18
Folder
1-2
|
Records, 1874-1903
|
|
|
Box
18
Folder
3
|
Minutes, resolution, programs, and clippings, 1881-1886, 1895, 1900, 1903, undated
|
|
|
Box
18
Folder
4
|
Western Unitarian Conference, programs, 1883, 1941
|
|
|
Box
18
Folder
5
|
Western Unitarian Sunday School Society, letter and questionnaire, 1886, April 1
|
|
|
Box
18
Folder
6
|
North Central Conference, clippings and list of members, 1955, October 18; 1958-1959
|
|
|
American Unitarian Association, mailings
|
|
|
Box
18
Folder
7
|
Election of president, 1958, March 27-April 28
|
|
|
Box
18
Folder
8
|
Merger with Universalists, 1959, March 10-1960, May
|
|
|
Unitarian Ministers' Association (UMA), presidency of Max Gaebler
|
|
|
Box
18
Folder
9
|
Correspondence, 1954, May 7; 1960, May 9-1961, April 28
|
|
|
Box
19
Folder
1
|
Minutes and related papers, 1960, May 19-December 29; undated
|
|
|
Box
19
Folder
2
|
Series of readings
|
|
|
Box
19
Folder
3
|
UMA Papers: “Funerals and Memorials”
|
|
|
Box
19
Folder
4
|
Newsletter, 1960, May; 1960, October 1-1961, March 1
|
|
|
Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), chairmanship of North Central Conference
|
|
|
Box
19
Folder
5
|
Correspondence, 1961, November 13-December 21; 1962, September 26
|
|
|
Box
19
Folder
6
|
Brochures, manuals, and printed forms
|
|
|
Box
19
Folder
7
|
UUA, Department of Overseas and Interfaith Relations, Max Gaebler, chairman, clippings, 1963-1964
|
|
|
Box
19
Folder
8
|
UUA, Central Midwest District, newsletter and program, 1966, May; 1975, November
|
|
|
Series: Part 3, the 1981 Additions, 1951-1980
|
|
|
Subseries: Organization
|
|
|
Box
24
Folder
1
|
Directory, Members and Affiliates, with supplements, 1977, 1978
|
|
|
Subseries: Administration
|
|
|
Box
24
Folder
1
|
Executive Board , minutes, resolutions and “Reports to the Parish,” 1976-1976
|
|
|
Box
24
Folder
1
|
Parish Council, minutes and “Reports to the Parish,” nominations for election, 1976-1979
|
|
|
Subseries: Correspondence
|
|
|
Box
24
Folder
2-5
|
Newsletters and attachments, 1976, March 31-1979, December 26
|
|
|
Subseries: Finance
|
|
|
Box
24
Folder
6
|
Budget Reports, 1974-1977, 1975-1976
|
|
|
Box
24
Folder
6
|
Treasurer's Reports, yearly and monthly, 1975, Nov.-1976, April; 1975, Nov.-1976, Oct.; 1976, March; 1976, Oct.; 1977, Nov
|
|
|
Subseries: Fundraising
|
|
|
Box
24
Folder
6
|
“Budget Canvas” Director's Report, 1976-1978
|
|
|
Box
24
Folder
6
|
Unitarian Society Foundation, reports, brochure and letters, 1979
|
|
|
Subseries: Property
|
|
|
Oversize Folder
1
|
Plans, “Country Church for the First Unitarian Society, Madison, Wisconsin,” Frank Lloyd Wright, 1948
: Eleven sheets, numbered 1-9 and lA and 5A. For index, see “list of sheets,” on sheet 1.
|
|
|
Box
24
Folder
6
|
Prairie Site Committee, reports, 1967?, 1978
|
|
|
Subseries: Services and Ministerial
|
|
|
Radio talks, transcripts of Religion for Today, Sunday morning broadcasts by Max Gaebler, minister, or Gertrude Lindener, assistant minister
|
|
|
Box
24
Folder
7-9
|
1976, January 9-1978, December 17
|
|
|
Box
24
Folder
10
|
1979, January 9-December 16
|
|
|
“Special Events”
|
|
|
Box
24
Folder
11
|
“The Communion of the Free,” sermon by John Hayward at Central Midwest District Conference, 1965, November 21
|
|
|
Box
24
Folder
11
|
“Martin Buber: the Life of Dialogue,” address by Rabbi Manfred Swarzensky, 1978, February 19
|
|
|
Box
24
Folder
11
|
“Twenty-five years of Impact,” magazine article, and invitation, commemorating Max Gaebler's 25th year as Society minister, 1978, February
|
|
|
Box
24
Folder
11
|
“The Arts and the Art of Worship,” conference brochure, 1979, October 11-14
|
|
|
Box
24
Folder
11
|
Biography and clipping re Ellsworth Smith, speaker at Society, undated
|
|
|
Subseries: Meeting House Nursery School
|
|
|
Box
24
Folder
12
|
“Learning Through Play,” letter to Society, 1976
|
|
|
Subseries: Other Committees and Groups
|
|
|
Box
24
Folder
12
|
Friends of the Meeting House, mailings, 1976, undated
|
|
|
Box
24
Folder
12
|
Social Concerns Committee, description, 1977, January
|
|
|
Box
24
Folder
12
|
Sunday School, yearly programs, 1976-1980
|
|
|
Box
24
Folder
12
|
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, description, 1977, January
|
|
|
Subseries: Denominational Affairs
|
|
|
Box
25
Folder
1
|
American Universalist Association, correspondence, resolutions, directory, questionnaires, 1952-1961
|
|
|
Box
25
Folder
2
|
Unitarian Universalist Association, newsletters, correspondence, questionnaires, conference brochures, resolutions and committee reports, 1961-1969
|
|
|
Box
25
Folder
3
|
Western Unitarian Conference, by-laws, reports and conference brochures, 1952-1969
|
|
|
Box
25
Folder
3
|
Midwest Unitarian Universalist Conference, conference brochures, 1963-1964
|
|
|
Box
25
Folder
4
|
Central Midwest District, correspondence, cash and committee reports, conference brochures and minutes, founding documents, including suggested and approved by-laws, 1963-1969
|
|
|
Box
25
Folder
5
|
North Central Council, by-laws, correspondence, conference brochures and minutes, member listings, 1951-1969
|
|
|
