After Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species was published in 1859 — the same year our church was formed — it didn’t take long for the theory to trickle across the Atlantic, since it was an overnight best-seller. It captured the attention of naturalist Ralph Waldo Emerson. His interest, in turn, inspired fellow New Englander Herman Bisbee, who brought it with him to the pioneering Universalist settlement in St. Anthony, across the river from our own congregation.
The subsequent heresy trial of Bisbee is considered a black mark on Universalism, embroiling as a major player our own Rev. James Tuttle. It is a well-known story in national Universalist lore, told well in the UU documentary “Heritage of Heresy: Bisbee & Tuttle,” which featured Pamela Vincent and local historian Penny Petersen. But for those who aren’t familiar with the tale yet, the short version is this.
