THE REVEREND MR. HOLMES

Portrait of Abiel Holmes, D.D., from the First Church Archives. From the Archives of the First Parish. Click for Text Holmes' 1829 letter of protest

Abiel Holmes (1763-1837), a native of Connecticut and a Yale graduate, was installed as minister of the Cambridge church and parish in 1792. A moderate Calvinist, his relationships with the liberal ministers of the Boston area were cordial until late in life when, under pressure from his evangelical colleagues, he adopted a policy of refusing to exchange pulpits with the liberal Christians. Holmes was a historian of some consequence, the author of Annals of America (1805) and a Corresponding Secretary of the Massachusetts Historical Society. His first wife was the daughter of Earl Stiles, President of Yale. His second wife was the daughter of Judge Oliver Wendell; Oliver Wendell Holmes was their son. The Holmes house, pictured at right, was given to Mrs. Holmes by her father, Judge Wendell, as a wedding present. It was located on the site where Littauer now stands. The Holmes Residence in 1807

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