 On September 24 , 1838 , William <unk> and his wife , <unk> , <unk> a tract of land to a group of trustees , charged with constructing " a church or house for public worship for the use and convenience of Ministers and others of the Christians [ sic ] <unk> <unk> " . While the deed mentioned an existing meeting house on the site , there is no extant evidence of a prior structure . According to architectural historian Sandra Scaffidi , no particular Christian denomination received sole ownership of the edifice , which suggests that the church was intended to serve as a <unk> " union church " . The church 's earliest resident minister was reportedly Nicholas <unk> , whose wife , Elizabeth High , was the daughter of George High , one of the church 's original trustees . 
