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Henry Ward Beecher was first pastor.

The name of Plymouth Church has been for many years a household word in countless communities at home and abroad, and yet little was known of its definite history. To be sure, everybody knew that Henry Ward Beecher preached from its pulpit, but, prior to the late Silver Wedding, few people could have answered correctly as to the number of years of his ministry in Brooklyn. Mr. Harvey S. Weld supplied the writer with the facts and data which have been the foundation of this work. The Manuals -- embracing the religious and historic annals of Plymouth Church -- and various other works relevant to the subject, have been carefully explored and annotated, and their documents and treasures have been profusely spread before our readers in the following pages. Many things are hereafter spoken of which, perhaps, relate more properly to the life of the pastor than to the history of the church, for, although the effort has been made to speak only of that which related properly to the church, the life of the one and the history of the other are so closely interwoven, that it has been impossible to untwine the cord that binds them together. - Preface.