Unitarian Church, Burlington, Vermont, circa 1835*
Sunday Aug 22 We went with Mrs Stetson to the
Unitarian church & heard Mr Rich in the morning
dined at Mrs Mills and all went to the
Episcopal church this afternoon This is a
beautiful church but I did not think much
of the preaching or singing. Returned
to Mrs Stetsons to tea and had a quiet evening
Naturally, Evelina attended church on Sunday, just as she would have done had she been at home. In this case, she went to Burlington’s Unitarian Church with her hostess, Mrs. Stetson,and “heard Mr Rich” preach. But for the afternoon service, she went to an Episcopalian church with a group of women with whom she had dined.
She liked the looks of the Episcopal Church but, as she often did when attending any church but her own, she didn’t approve of the service, sniffing at the poor “preaching and singing.” Evelina invariably preferred her own church in Easton – and her own preacher. No one could ever equal Mr. Whitwell.
The family (still minus Sarah Lothrop Ames and her two children, who had stopped at a town further south) kept a pretty low profile in the evening. Keeping quiet, after all, was the point of this vacation for Oakes Angier Ames. It was hoped that his staying in Vermont would improve his health.
*Courtesy of the First Unitarian Universalist Church, Burlington, http://www.uusociety.org
