and county farm; to a law establishing in the state penitentiary a library at the expense of the state; and other important work.
In 1879 the new Unitarian church edifice next to the chapel was completed and dedicated, and the name. "Church of Our Father," bestowed upon it by Dr. Eliot. For seven years previously the Ladies' Sewing Society had been devoting its energies towards swelling the sum required for the building, and were able to give two thousand of the twenty thousand dollars that it cost. Mr. and Mrs. S. G. Reed gave twelve hundred dollars towards the expense of the fine organ; this being just half the sum it cost.
And now, in 1892, as the name "Ladies' Sewing Society" no longer indicated the real trend of its activities, it was changed to that of the "Women's Auxiliary." becoming soon after a branch of the Women's Unitarian Conference of the Pacific Coast. Again in 1902, and this time at the instance of Mrs. Cressey, wife of the present pastor of the church, the Rev. George Croswell Cressey, it changed its cognomen to one which will probably be its final one, calling itself the "Woman's Alliance," and also joining the National Alliance of Unitarian and Other Liberal Christian Women.
Another important society of the Church of Our Father, started in 1886, is the Post Office Mission, whose work is the distribution of liberal religious literature through the mails and in other ways. The Frazar Loan Library and the Free Reading Room, both established by the late Mrs. Rosa F. Burrell in memory of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Frazar, are managed by the Mission.
Among the pioneer women in this society who lent an unfailing hand in all good work we would name Mrs. Lurena A. Spalding, Mrs. Betty Farmer and Mrs. Charles W. Burrage.
It may not be out of place to mention here (although a little to one side of the denominational work of Unitarian women) three large bequests, the influence of which will be felt in the religious, educational and philanthropic work of the Northwest for many years to come: $200,000 by Miss Ella Smith, one-half of which went to the Portland Library: $50,000 by Mrs. Rosa F. Burrell, placed in Dr. Eliot's custody; $2,000,000 by Mrs. S. G. Reed, the greater part of this latter sum to be used to erect an institution of learning known as the Reed Institute. These women were members of the Church of Our Father, and from the tenor of their wills one cannot but see what a deep impression the life and character of their beloved pastor had made upon them.
It is now thirty-nine years since the Ladies' Sewing Society came into being, and of the seven women who formed it but one is living, Mrs. C. W. Burrage, of Canyon City, Colorado. It has held weekly meetings every Wednesday. Many thousands of dollars have been earned by its faithful members, and it has ever been an incentive and comfort to the pastor and the general society of the church.
Dr. Eliot, who received the degree of Doctor of Divinity in 1889 from Harvard University in recognition of his faithful and efficient services in so many directions in the Northwest, after a service of twenty-five years, in 1892 resigned his pastorate to younger men. He is still, however, actively interested
