History Of Cambridge from its Settlement in 1631 To 1776
In the year 1761, at the instance of several wealthy gentlemen, an Episcopal church was established in Cambridge, under the charge of the Rev. East Apthorp. He was received in no friendly spirit by the Congregational ministers, and in a few years sought a more agreeable field of labor in England. The breaking out of the war drove his successor, the Rev. Winwood Sergeant, and his congregation of wealthy loyalists, from the town, and the church was closed. In the agitations preceding the Revolution, Cambridge, in spite of these same numerous and influential loyalists, ardently espoused the popular cause. The people ." discovered a glorious spirit, like men determined to be free." In 1765, October 14th, they adopted patriotic resolutions against the Stamp Act. In 1770, they tolled their bells on the burial day of the Boston rioters killed by the troops. November 26, 1773, they passed energetic resolutions against the tax on tea, expressing their willingness to join with Boston and other towns, on the shortest notice, to deliver themselves and their posterity from slavery.