Photograph by the Boston Herald newspaper on November 25, 1928 for a story on the upcoming dedication ceremony on December 12. At the time, the congregation was already the oldest in Boston at 86 years old. The still-undeveloped land on Kent St., part of a large estate, can be glimpsed on the left. Beacon St. is in the foreground.

Freeman St. , built 1912

Corner Marion St. and Harvard St.

Second Roman Catholic church to open (1897) in Brookline. Boylston St. west of Chestnut Hill Ave.

774 Boylston St. Just west of Chestnut Hill Ave.

Before the creation of Chapel St. and Longwood Station. David Sears house (now divided into townhouses) at the corner of Hawes & Colchester visible to the right

Newly constructed Longwood train station with Chapel St. behind it.

Carlton to the left, Monmouth going west to the right

In 1806, this church was erected on the present-day site of the First Parish Unitarian Church. It replaced the original church which was located across Walnut St. opposite the Pierce Hall building.
[Source: Digital Commonwealth]

This image shows an unidentified gathering of women most likely in Pierce Hall which was a common site for similar gatherings. A list of nineteen names, therefore incomplete, attends the photo which shows about nineteen women seated and four younger girls serving. All the participants who have been tentatively identified lived in the immediate area of the First Parish Church and Pierce Hall. There are several clusters of extended family members. The list of participants loosely follows the naming convention of the time based on the person’s age. An overview of the list shows:

• Seven young unmarried girls as evidenced by the naming convention that lists their full names. There are four visible in the photo and they are serving food to the seated women.
• Two young unmarried women as evidenced by the naming convention that lists names as “Miss” plus their last name.
• One older unmarried woman as evidenced by the naming convention that lists her as “Miss” plus their full name.
• Nine married women as evidenced by the naming convention that lists names as “Mrs.” plus their last name.

A speculative analysis of the names shows:

Noyes Family (Walnut St.)

• Mrs. Noyes (1840 – 1915), wife of George Dana Noyes
• Elizabeth (“Bessie”) C. Noyes (1873 – 1955), daughter. An existing tintype of Elizabeth bears a resemblance to the older girl standing at the rear left of the table
• Emma Noyes (1876-1950), daughter. The roster actually names a “Eunice Noyes” but no records are evident for a “Eunice Noyes” in Brookline at this time, we are speculating that the name “Emma” was intended. An existing tintype of Emma bears a significant resemblance to the young girl approaching the table on the left side

Extended family of Rev. Howard Nicolson Brown, Pastor of the First Parish Church

• Sarah (“Sadie”) Brown (1878 - 1955), daughter
• Mary Louise Brown (1873 – 1947), daughter
• Mary F. Wicks (1828-1904), mother of Inez Wicks, wife of Howard Brown

Extended Stearns Family

• Mrs. Stearns (1824- 1904), nee Anna Maria Mellen
• Mrs. Mellen (1803-1899), the mother of Mrs. Stearns
• Annie Stearns (1864-1901). She married Alexander Stoddard Jenney in 1886. He, in turn, married her sister after Annie’s death.
• Mrs. Jenney (1836-1912). Nee Mary Hannah Howes; wife of Noah Stoddard Jenney; future Mother-in-Law of Annie Stearns; lived on Walnut

Others

• Mrs. Cobb (1830-1911), wife of Albert A. Cobb, nee Mary Russell Candler. Lived on Walnut Terrace
• Miss Adriana Brown (1805-1893), never married. Lived on Cypress St. near Walnut St. No apparent relation to the other Browns.
• Mrs. Poor (1820 – 1912), Wife of Henry Varnum Poor, nee Mary Wild Pierce. Daughter of Lucy Tappan and Rev. John Pierce, former pastor of the church. Lived across Walnut St. from the church.
• Frances (“Fanny”) G. Train, widow of Samuel F. Train. Lived on nearby Chestnut Pl.
• Mrs. Stodder (1830 – 1921) , wife of Henry Franklin Stodder, nee Isabella Binney. Lived on Walnut St.

Unidentified

• Miss Howard
• Suey A. Brown
• Susie Hayes
• Mrs. Clark

[Source: Digital Commonwealth]

Looking West, Pierce Hall is on the left, still standing. It was the first town hall and later the high school. Center is the First Parish Church which was torn down in 1891 and replaced by the current First Parish Unitarian Church.

On the right is the house of Henry Varnum Poor, still standing (although highly modified). Poor was a New York attorney who married Mary Pierce, daughter of the Rev. John Pierce, minister at the First Parish Church across the street. At the time he bought this house, Poor was best known as the editor of the American Railroad Journal. One of the first people to systematically collect, compile, and disseminate reliable business information, he went on to found the Standard and Poor Corporation, publishers of widely read compendiums of business information. The next owner of the house was Olive Higgins Prouty (1882-1974), a novelist most active in the period between the First and Second World Wars.
[Source: Brookline Preservation Department]

Replaced in 1891 by the current First Parish Unitarian Church.
[Source: Brookline Preservation Department]

Looking west on Walnut St. just past the Pierce Hall.Torn down in 1891. Replaced by the current First Parish Unitarian Church

[Source: Olmsted]