19th Century Southbridge, Massachusetts, Subscribers to Aid Sister MacReading, possibly Wife or Widow of Rev. Charles S. Macreading, Sr. or his son Rev. Charles S. Macreading, Jr.

19th century list of subscribers and the amount of their pledges to aid Sister Macreading, possibly the wife or widow of Rev. Charles Sinclair Macreading, Sr., or his son Rev. Charles Sinclair Macreading, Jr., of New England.

Sister Macreading might have been:

•  Betsey (Jenkins) Macreading, wife of Charles Sinclair Macreading, Sr., or
• Lydia A. (Post) Macreading, wife of Rev. Charles Sinclair Macreading, Jr.
• Another person

The subscribers appear to be residents of Southbridge, Massachusetts, possibly from a church with a connection, or past connection, to either Rev. Macreading, or both.

The document measures approximately 9-3/4" by 7-3/4"; the reverse is blank.  The names the left side of the document, which correspond to those on the right, were written in pencil and are very faint.   The pledges total $13.00.

Events that could have precipitated the raising of this aid:

• A fire that Rev. Charles Sinclair Macreading and his family suffered in 1850, as noted in another document found online.  This presumably referred to a family headed by Rev. Charles Sinclair Macreading, Sr., as Rev. Charles Sinclair Macreading, Jr., would have been only 17 years old at the time
• Death of Rev. Charles Sinclair Macreading, Sr., in 1866
• Death of Rev. Charles Sinclair Macreading, Jr., in 1875

The Mrs. Amity Angel I identified on the subscriber list below, assuming I have the correct person, died in 1868, so that would rule out the death of Rev. Charles Sinclair Macreading, Jr., but could have reflected an earlier illness or loss suffered by himself or his family.

Transcript of the paragraph at top:

We the undersigned subscribers promise to pay the sum set against our names to N. M. Smith to be forwarded to Sister Macreading as a token of our love and respect.

Names and Pledges

• Sophia S. Baylies, $2.00.  Presumably Sophia S. Baylies born about 1823, daughter of Edward and Hannah (Searle) Baylies; sister of subscriber Hannah E. (Baylies) Smith
• Hannah E. B. Smith, $1.00  Hannah E. (Baylies) Smith, sister of Sophia S. Baylies and wife or widow of Nathaniel M. Smith
• Lucy A. Smith, $1.00  Lucy Ann Smith, daughter of Nathaniel Smith and his first wife Lucy (Knapp) Smith; stepdaughter of subscriber Hannah E. (Baylies) Smith
• Mrs. Alvin Streeter, $1.00.  On the left side of the page, she is named as Mrs. Lucinda Streeter.  She was Lucinda (Estabrooks) Streeter
• Mrs. Silas Gould, $1.50.  On the left side of the page, she is named as Almira Gould.  Presumably Almira (Goodell) Gould (1805-1883)
• Rebecca B. Chase, $1.00
• Patience C. Braiton, $1.00.  Presumably Patience Carr Brayton (1829-1909)
• Hannah S. Cunningham, $.25
• Nancy Baylies, $2.00
• Florilla Baylies, $1.00.  Presumably Florilla (Freeman) Bailies, wife or widow of Bradford Baylies
• Sarah P. Chase, $1.00
• Mrs. Amity Angel, $.25  Presumably Amity (Brown) Angel (1804-1868), wife or widow of Jesse Angel

If you have corrections and/or additions to the information above, please leave a comment or contact me directly.