husband, who possessed large means and had no children or near relations,
that they should erect a house of worship, principally at their own
expense. He heartily engaged on the project, "and in the course of a year
the house was completed, with thirty-four square pews, and three long
seats for the poor on each side the broad aisle nest the pulpit on the
ground floor. There were five narrow long pews [for the colored people,
several of them slaves] in the front gallery against the wall, and long
seats for the singers below."

The Rev. William Gordon, a Scotchman by birth, entered upon his duties as
first pastor, July 6, 1772. A few months later Mr. Pemberton conveyed to
the parish the house which had been removed from Commodore Loring's
estate to the site now occupied by Mrs. Dr. weld's house, next to the
church for a parsonage. It was occupied by Mr. Gordon during the
remainder of his pastorate, and by Dr. Thomas Gray, the second pastor,
for sixty years. In 1851 the old house was moved to South Street, and
later to Keyes Street, where it still stands. On account of a
disagreement with Dr. Gordon, Mr. Pemberton altered his will, in which he
had first bequeathed all of his property to this parish "for the support
of his future pastors," and left it "in trust for the benefit of the poor
of the town of Boston;" and the income of the fund is still used for this
specific purpose. Pemberton Square, once lined with many of the fine
residences in Boston, and now the site of our new court-house, honors his
name.

The first bell on the old church was presented by Governor John Hancock,
in 1783, then a resident here, and bore the inscription, "Thomas Lester,
of London, made me, 1742." We can readily appreciate the happiness of the
people when first called to their house of worship by the voice of this
bell, and can weave threads of joy and of sadness around its echoes, In