This collection is arranged in two parts. Part 1 consists of the papers received in the Archives in the 1970s. These materials date 1842-1976. Part 2 consists of additions received in the Archives in 1998. These 1998 additions contain materials dated 1842-1995. The photographs are in Part 2.
The records of PART 1 have been organized in three subseries: Universalist Church of the Good Shepherd; First Unitarian Society of Kenosha; and Unitarian Universalist Church of Racine and Kenosha.
Documents relating to the UNIVERSALIST CHURCH OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD include a record book containing information on church meetings during its first quarter of service, newsletters, correspondence relating to organizations espousing causes in which the church was interested, and financial information. The general correspondence provides insight into day-to-day church operations, and the various political, social, and community interests which engaged the attention of the congregation and its pastors. Although there is some documentation from the church's founding to the merger, the quality and depth of the collection varies at different time periods. In general, these papers provide an adequate, if not totally balanced, picture of the ideals, interests, and operations of the church.
The papers dealing with the FIRST UNITARIAN SOCIETY OF KENOSHA include no documents from the Society's founding through its demise in 1926; all extant records date from the reemergence of the church in 1953 through its merger with the Universalist congregation in 1961. The General Correspondence and Newsletter files are spotty and sparse, although the Minutes of the Society and the Treasurer's Record Book do provide some useful information on the church for the years 1953 through 1961.
Finally, the records of the UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH OF RACINE AND KENOSHA are similar in types to those of the Church of the Good Shepherd. Of particular interest is the Pulpit Committee file which contains evaluations of the various candidates applying for the pastorate of the church in 1967, and the folders relating to the merger of the national Unitarian and Universalist churches.
The records of PART 2 also are organized by creating group. They include transcriptions of early minutes and the constitution of the FIRST UNIVERSALIST SOCIETY OF RACINE; brief additional records of the CHURCH OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD; and more extensive records of the UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH OF RACINE AND KENOSHA (after 1988, the Olympia Brown Unitarian Universalist Church). In addition to minutes and correspondence of the board of trustees, committee files, church correspondence, financial records, membership directories, newsletters, and policy manuals, there are also miscellaneous subject files, sermons given by various ministers of the church, material concerning anniversary celebrations, and other historical material. The candidates packets filed under church history give concise histories of the congregation in addition to providing excellent “snapshots” of the congregation between 1968 and 1974. Five photographs with the collection include interior and exterior views of the church, an exterior view of the fellowship hall, and an image of Miss Gwendolen Willis, daughter of Olympia Brown.
