LAY LEADERS AND STAFF OF FIRST CHURCH BOSTON
RULING ELDERS
Increase Nowell (1630-2), Thomas Oliver (1632), Thomas Leverett (1633-50),
James Penn 1650-71), William Colbron (1650-62), Jacob Eliot (1650-1), John
Wiswell (1670-87), Thomas Clarke (1672-78), Timothy Prout (1679-1702),
Isaac Addington (1679-1715), Joseph Bridgham (1694-1709), Thomas Jackson
(1694-1710), David Copp (1701-1713).
DEACONS
1630s - William Gager, William Aspinwall, Giles Firmin, William Hutchinson,
Jacob Eliot. 1640s - Valentine Hill, William Colbron [Colbourne].
1650s - Thomas Marshall, James Johnson, Richard Trusdale. 1660s - Edward
Ransford, Jacob Eliot, Henry Bridgham, Robert Saunders, Henry Allen.
1700s - David Copp, John Marion, Jr, Isaiah Tay, Thomas Hubbart. 1720s - Samuel
Marshall, Jonathan Williams. 1730s - Zachariah Thayer, Thomas Wait, Cornelius
Thayer, Jonathan Williams, Jr. 1740s - Daniel Marsh [‘declines being ordained’].
1770s - Jacob Williams, James Thwing. 1780s - David Tilden, James Morrill.
1800s - James Hiller Foster, George Oliver Harris [to 1886].
MODERATORS
1780s - Joseph Webb, Jacob Williams, John Clarke, John Browne, Joseph
Russell, Joseph Barrell. 1790s - Benjamin Austin, Ezekiel Price, Samuel
Bradford, William Little, David Tilden, James Morrell. 1808 - David Tilden
(Deacon). 1946 - Godfrey Cabot. 1970s - George N Marshall, Richard D Pierce.
1990s - Rosemary Kean, Horace Nichols, George S Richardson, Oliver W
Woodruff. 2000s - John Burt, Roger Husbands, Nigel Harvey, Janine Mudge-Mullen, Grace Gregor
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
1880s - Arthur Ellis, Superintendant of the Sunday School.
R E Directors: 1961-78 - Robert W Haney (Harvard College and Harvard
Divinity School). 1980s - Judy Mannheim, Katrina Finley, Lawrence X Peers,
(Boston University; DMin, Hartford Seminary.) 1991-2000 - Yvonne Hanson
Egdahl (Bachelors and Masters, Art History; MEd and MTS, Boston University).
2001-03 - Rev. David Horst. 2003 - Ruth Owen (Cornell, Boston University
[Masters], study at Meadville Lombard), Rebecca Hsieh, Jasmine Baetz, 2016, Lara Proffitt 2017, Liz Coughlan 2018
CLERKS OF THE CORPORATION
1808 - First notice of the appointment of a clerk: Samuel Bradford.
1820s - James H Foster, David Francis, Daniel L Gibbens. 1830s - Charles Cushing
Paine, Benjamin B Appleton, Thomas Sherwin. 1840s - John Prescott Bigelow,
Charles Brooks. 1850s - J H Buckingham, George O Harris. George S Deblois
(1881-9). Arthur B Ellis (1890-5). John F Mons (1896-1901). J G Francis
(1901-08). Delano Wight (1908).
THE STANDING COMMITTEE OF THE
PROPRIETORS OF THE FIRST CHURCH
1790s - N W Appleton, Joseph Barrell, James Morrell, Joseph Russell,
James Thwing, Joseph Webb, Jacob Williams. 1800s - Jonathan L Austin,
John Joy, James Morrill, Daniel D Rogers, William Smith, David Tilden.
STANDING COMMITTEE CHAIRS
D Waldo Salisbury (1882-6), Jacob C Rogers (1887-91), George O Shattuck
(1891-3), George S Hale (1894-5), Walter Hunnewell (1896-1909), Dr. James
Jackson (1967), Lawrence Holcomb (1968-9), Webster Williams (1970-3),
Oliver Woodruff (1974-5), Edith (Mrs. David) Howie (1976), David Zoller
(1977), Dr. George Spencer (1978), Richard Brown (1979-80), Webster
Williams (1981), Sheldon Bennett (1982-3), Alyson Woodworth (1984),
Dr. Robert McKay (1985-6), Kenneth Orton (1987), Graham Sterling (1988),
Leslie Peterson, Carol Gilbert (1989), Robert Winkley (1990), Spencer Blakeslee
(1991), Robert Dancy (1992-3), Roger Husbands (1994), Westin Boer (1995),
Yvette Carter (1996), Nigel Harvey (1997), Gordon Sterling (1998), Jack Sullivan
(1999-2000), Carol Thomas (2001), Nancy Sullivan (2002), Geoffrey Bok (2003),
Ira Dobrow (2004), Alexandra Rogers-Pittman (2005), Paul Wendelgass (2006),
John Benson (2007-8), Grace Gregor (2009), Lynne Benson (2010-11),
Joyve Gnecco (2012-13), Cathryn Mattson (2014-15),
Katie McQuage-Loukas (2016-18),
David Razor (2018), Michael Sullivan (2019-21), Fern B. Beck (2021-)
TREASURERS: Henry Anderson, James Kimball, Robert Winkley, Mark
Nielsen, Westin Boer, Jack Sullivan, Bill Jeffery.
BUDGET COMMITTEE CHAIRS: Graham Sterling, Jack Sullivan, Bill Gregor
CANVASS COMMITTEE CHAIRS: Rebekah Richardson, Lora Nielsen,
Richard Noble, Michael Sullivan, Alex Rogers Pittman, Mark Jensen, Ernie and Jane Carroll,
Corey Spaley and Lisa Garcia-Sampson
PROPRIETORS AND TRUSTEES (1922-2005)
The original five trustees were Henry H Edes, Eliot N Jones, Frederick Lawton,
William Stanley Parker and Philip L Spalding. Later trustees were David H
Howie, Charles B Rugg, Warren R Sisson, L Whitney Standish and Conrad
Wesselhoeft. They were followed by Oliver Ames, Edith Howie, James H Jackson,
Valeria Knapp, Leslie Peterson, Richard D Pierce, George S Richardson, David Sheets, Robert Dancy,
Judith Sterling, and Eleanor Williams. Howard Fuguet, Chairman,
Jack Sullivan, Grace Gregor, Mark Nielsen, Bob Schmalz, Robert Hughes, Janine Mudge-Mullen,
Johna Benson, Paul Wendelgass
CHURCH SECRETARY, ADMINISTRATORS: Helen W Stearns (1919-
64), Susan Twist (1968-2001), Cindy Hagerty, Ellen Meyers, Joan Whalen,
Catherine Bradfield, 2010-15, Zach Dunn, Daisy St. Juste, administrative assistant.
Jennifer Dignazio, Julie Sheaves, controller, Kim Ramsey-Winkler, accounting assistant,
Marc Lousteau,
Luciana Jean-Mary 2017-19, Julianna Dunn 2020-
BROADCAST ANNOUNCERS: Kenneth Orton Studio: Kenneth Orton,
‘Voice of the First Church in Boston’ (1980-93); Peter Ross (1994—).
MINISTERIAL SEARCH COMMITTEE, 2000
John Burt, Andrew Forbes, Carol Hettinga, Susan Jackson, Rosemary Kean,
Helen Savage, Gordon Sterling, Chair.
CHAIR OF THE 375th ANNIVERSARY COMMITTEE: Joyce Gnecco.
SEXTONS: Bill Rabbitt, Ken Hudson, Allen Basinger, Alex Silva, Howard Cain , Javier Velasquez, Peter Banos,
Luis Morales, Chris McCall, Jesus Suncar,