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The Westmoreland Sunday School Association

On Saturday, February 24, 1883, Lowell resident Sarah Ann (Valentine) Burr Ackley made a short diary entry: "A cold East wind I attended Sunday School Association at Hampton left Ada at Gerties Lowell well represented rec,d a letter from Gusta George Bates Died this morning." [1]

At first glance, Sarah's day seems to have been routine. She dropped her five-year-old daughter off at a relative's house, attended a Sunday school meeting, received a letter from a friend, and learned that a neighbor had died. But there's often a significant story behind brief diary mentions, and that's true here. Sarah failed to note that the meeting she attended was the first meeting of the Westmoreland Sunday School Association! And how do we know that? Because a volume of minutes, covering 1883-1897, was recently donated to the Westmoreland Historical Society.

The Westmoreland Sunday School Association held its inaugural meeting at the First Congregational Church in what would have been known as "Hampton" at the time. The goal, as explained in the Association’s constitution, was to bring together “pastors, officers, and teachers” from the various town congregations to “improve the character and efficiency of the Sunday-school work.”

During the morning session Sarah would have heard music, a devotional, and talks titled “Object of the Sunday School” and “Is the Sunday School Fulfilling Its Mission?"—both of which were followed by discussion. During the afternoon session she would have witnessed administrative tasks such as calling roll, reading the Association’s constitution, sharing superintendent reports, and taking a collection to defray expenses. Subsequent meetings were hosted by participating congregations on a rotating basis and followed a similar format.

Historically speaking, the minutes book provides a glimpse into religious education in Westmoreland in the late nineteenth-century. Reports, like the 1887 example on p. 61 (linked from thumbnail), name congregations and summarize their Sunday school statistics. Meeting summaries mention hymns and scripture readings and record presentation titles such as “Adult Attendance in the S.S.," “Memorizing Scripture,” and "Jeremiah and His Time" which hint at the educational and religious topics of interest.

Genealogically speaking, the minutes include the names of participants and note the ways in which they contributed to Association meetings. For example, the 1894 entry found on p. 153 (linked from thumbnail) tells us Mrs. F. J. Brill sang “with a voice charming in its sweetness.” “Miss Jessie Hakes gave a select reading which was … very instructive as well as amusing.” Miss Minnie Hunt gave a talk on “The Duty of the Church to the Children” which was “full of valuable suggestions and [was] highly appreciated by the convention.” And Rev. F. B. Stanford reminded attendees of “the power the S.S. wields … with its possibilities and mission” in a talk titled “The Field as it is To Day.”

The minutes end in November of 1897, but newspaper articles continue to record Association activities into the early twentieth century. For example, in 1916, the Sunday School Association voted to join the New York State Sunday School Association as “District No. 7.” [2] And in 1925 District No. 7 sponsored a speaking contest for Westmoreland Sunday school attendees twelve and up. The event took place in an “almost full auditorium” and “great enthusiasm was manifest.” By that time both Sarah and her daughter Ada were deceased, but they would have been pleased to know that their grandson/son took home a second prize.[3]

If you have questions about the Sunday School Association minutes book or if you’d like us to check the index-in-progress for your family names, send us a message using the website contact form. If you’d like to view the minutes book, you are welcome to stop by the Historical Society during open hours or use the contact form to arrange for a visit. However, a significant portion of the information contained in the minutes was published in the Rome Sentinel and those articles are available online at Old Fulton New York Post Cards (https://fultonhistory.com).

To pull up articles about the Westmoreland Sunday School Association, try typing this query in the search box:
..........westmoreland sunday school and (filename contains (rome))

To find articles about specific church Sunday schools, try typing something like this:
..........bartlett sunday school and (filename contains (rome))

And to find articles about specific people, try typing the query below in the search box, replacing SURNAME with a surname of interest:
..........SURNAME w/20 sunday school association and (filename contains (rome))

References:

[1] Sarah Ann (Valentine) Ackley Burr, 1883 diary, photocopy in possession of a descendant.

[2] “Westmoreland: Sunday School Association Meets,” Rome Daily Sentinel, 28 November 1916, p. 8, col. 3; digital image, Old Fulton New York Post Cards (https://fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html), search for "Rome NY Daily Sentinel 1916 - 3042.pdf" (no quotes).

[3] “Westmoreland,” Rome Daily Sentinel, 14 December 1925, p. 9, col. 3; digital image, Old Fulton New York Post Cards (https://fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html), search for "Rome NY Daily Sentinel 1925 Sep-Dec - 1088.pdf" (no quotes).

Posted 6 September 2025

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