Freeman James, the first pastor of a Unitarian church in New England, was born in Charlestown, April 22,1759, and graduated at Harvard in 1777. His theological studies were carried on with difficulty during the war. In 1782 he was invited to officiate as reader in King's Chapel for six months, and in 1783 he was chosen pastor of the church, stipulating, however, for permission to omit the Athanasian Creed from the service. He soon began to feel doubts as to the doctrine of the Trinity, and finally preached a series of sermons to his people renouncing the doctrine. The church resolved (in 1785) to alter their liturgy and retain their pastor. Thus the first Episcopal church in New England became the first Unitarian church in America. Application was made to Bishop Provost in 1787 to ordain Mr. Freeman; but the bishop, of course, refused, and the pastor was ordained by his own people. He was a man of fine social qualities, and of excellent intellectual powers, and was very successful as pastor and preacher. He died November 14, 1835. Besides contributions to periodical literature and to the Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, he published Sermons and Addresses (Boston, 1832). — Ware, Unitarian Biography, 1:143, sq.; Sprague, Annals, 8:162.
The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature was edited by John McClintock and James Strong. It contains nearly 50,000 articles pertaining to Biblical and other religious literature, people, creeds, etc. It is a fantastic research tool for broad Christian study.
John McClintock was born October 27, 1814 in Philadelphia to Irish immigrants, John and Martha McClintock. He began as a clerk in his father's store, and then became a bookkeeper in the Methodist Book Concern in New York. Here he converted to Methodism and considered joining the ministry. McClintock entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1832 and graduated with high honors three years later. Subsequently, he was awarded a doctorate of divinity degree from the same institution in 1848.WikipediaRead More