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HISTORICAL MANUAL 1
OF THE
SOUTH CHURCH IN ANDOVER, MASS.
AUGUST, 1859.
George Mooar.
1300
BRARY O- 1876. IN.
S
WASHINGT
ANDOVER: PRINTED BY WARREN F. DRAPER. 1859.
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1A86
PREFATORY NOTE.
THE first printed Manual of the South Church in Andover bears the date of December, 1812. It contained the Form of Admission, and the names of 268 members. A second Manual was issued May 12, 1834. It contained the names of 528 members, two pages of Historical Items, some account of the Church Order, the Answer of Rev. S. Phillips to the question, " What shall we do that we may keep in mind our Covenant ?" and the Questions for Self-Examination. The Manual published in 1848 inelnded nearly the same matter ; its Catalogue numbered 447 names.
The present enlarged Manual has been prepared after pro- tracted labor. The records of the church, and parish, and town have been painfully searched. Free use has been made of the memories of old and young inhabitants, and of former residents. Abbott's History of Andover, and the Genealogi- cal Register of the Abbott Family, have been of constant
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PREFATORY NOTE.
service. For the notices of the first three pastors, The An- nals of the American Pulpit, Alden's Epitaphs, Hallock's Life of Dr. Edwards, Taylor's Memoir of Judge Phillips, and the Memorial of the Semi-Centennial Celebration of the Found- ing of the Theological Seminary, have furnished largely both facts and language. The Deacons of the church have, from the beginning, been often consulted, and have fully cooper- ated, as far as possible, in the work.
The compiler, not presuming that there are no mistakes, suspicions of numberless ways in which mistakes may creep in, does yet put the work to press in the belief that some useful facts have been rescued from oblivion, and in the hope also that some new interest may be excited in the not unim- portant matter of order in the Lord's House.
ANDOVER, AUGUST 1, 1859.
G. M.
FORM OF ADMISSION.
ADDRESS.
Beloved Friends, -
You have presented yourselves before God, and his people, and the world, to make a solemn profession of your religions faith, and to take upon you the bonds of the everlasting Cove- nant. We trust you have well considered the nature of this transaction - the most solemn and momentous in which a mortal can ever engage, and that you are prepared, by divine grace, to give yourselves away, as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
You will now attend to the
CONFESSION OF FAITH.
1. You believe in one only living and true God- the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; and that it is the duty of all intelligent creatures to love and obey Him.
2. You believe that the Bible is the Word of God ; that it was given by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost; and is the sufficient and only rule of faith and practice.
3. You believe that God created man upright ; you believe the fall of man, the depravity of human nature, and that men, unless they are born again, can never see the kingdom of God.
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FORM OF ADMISSION.
4. You believe in the incarnation, obedience, suffering, and death of Christ; his resurrection and ascension; that he alone, by his suffering and death, hath made atonement for sin; and that he ever liveth to make intercession for us.
5. You believe that Christ hath appointed two special ordi- nances - Baptism and the Lord's Supper.
6. You believe in the future existence of the soul ; that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked - a day of final judgment ; that all will receive according to their works ; that the wicked will go away into everlasting punish- ment, and the righteous into life eternal.
Thus, you profess to believe.
[Those who have not been baptized, here receive the ordinance of Baptism. ]
You will now enter into solemn Covenant with God and with this Church.
COVENANT.
You now, humbly and penitently asking the forgiveness of all your sins, through the blood of the great Redeemer, give up yourselves to God, in an everlasting Covenant, in our Lord Jesus Christ ; and as in the presence of God, angels, and men, you solemnly promise, that by the assistance of the Holy Spirit, you will forsake the vanities of this present evil world, and approve yourselves true disciples of Jesus Christ, in all good carriage toward God, and toward man.
And you likewise promise, so long as God shall continue yon among us, to walk in communion with the Church of Christ in this place ; to watch over other professing Christians among us ; to submit to the power and discipline of Christ in his Church, and duly to attend the seals and the eensures, or whatever ordinance Christ has commanded to be observed by his people, so far as the Lord, by his Word and Spirit, has revealed, or shall reveal
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FORM OF ADMISSION.
to you to be your duty ; adorning the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things, and avoiding the appearance of evil ; and by daily prayer to Almighty God, in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, you will seek for grace to keep this Covenant.
Thus, you covenant and promise.
We, therefore, the members of this Church (all the members of the Church here rise ), affectionately receive you to our com- munion and fellowship ; and on our part, engage to watch over your spiritual interests, and walk with you, in all the ordinances of the gospel as becometh saints. And may God of his infinite mercy give us grace to be faithful to him, and faithful to each other, while we live ; that we may be admitted, at last, through the merits of Christ, to the everlasting fellowship of saints and angels, in the presence of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
PRINCIPLES AND RULES OF CHURCH ORDER.
1. A Christian Church is an association of professed followers of Christ, organized for the purposes of mutual watchifulness, the observance of the Christian Sacraments, the maintenance of Christian worship and instruction, and the extension of the king- dom of Christ in the world : such a body under Christ is fully competent to choose its officers, admit its members, administer discipline, and do all other acts necessary to the attainment of these purposes.
2. A Church, though thus independent of external authority, is bound in relations of mutual care and communion with other churches : and this Churchi will, in all ordinary cases, conform to the usages of fellowship as established among the Congregational Churches.
3. The permanent officers of a Church are a Pastor or Pas- tors, and Deacons. This Church also appoints a Church Com- mittee, to examine candidates for admission and to secure a faithful attention to discipline.
4. The Church Committee consists of the Pastor, the Dea- cons, and four other brethren. The last are chosen for four years, and their terms of office are so fixed that one vacancy occurs every year. No one of these is to be elected two imme- diately successive terms. The Committee choose annually, from their own number, the Clerk and Treasurer of the Church.
5. Persons applying for membership are approved by the Church Committee, and having been propounded for at least two Sabbaths, are admitted by vote taken on the afternoon of
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PRINCIPLES AND RULES OF CHURCH ORDER.
the Preparatory Lecture : and become members on publicly con- senting to the confession of faith and covenant.
6. Those who bring letters of recommendation from other churches, submit their letters to the Church Committee: if approved, they are propounded two weeks and received to fellow- ship by vote taken on the afternoon of the Preparatory Lecture.
7. All members of this Church, removed to other towns or attendant at other places of worship in this town, are expected to ask for a recommendation and dismission to the church with which they are worshipping, within one year after their removal, unless excused by the Church Committee.
8. Members of other churches, wishing to commune with this . Church for more than one year, are desired to request a dismis- sion and recommendation to this Church, unless there be special reasons for delay.
9. The occasions of discipline are of two kinds - Private, as wrong done to an individual; Public, as wrong done to the Church by immoral conduct, and cherished disbelief of the fun- damental doctrines of the Bible.
10. The rules of Christ, as enjoined Matt. 18 : 15-17, are to be literally followed by members of this Church in all cases of private offence; and the spirit of these rules is to govern all disci- plinary processes in relation to members guilty of other offences.
11. This Church has had and still has occasion to specify and condemn long-continued absence from its communion and worship, failure to share the support of its religious institu- tions, neglect of family prayer, the sale or use of ardent spirits, except for mechanical, medicinal and sacramental purposes, the holding of men in slavery, and the defence of the system of American slavery.
12. The censures of the Church are admonition and excom- munication : Admonition may be administered privately or pub- licly, according to the circumstances of the case. Excommuni- cation is simply the withdrawal of fellowship, and should be as severe as the particular instance may demand.
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13. The Annual Meeting of the Church is on the second Mon- day of January.
14. The weekly prayer meeting of the Church is on Wednes- day evening.
15. The Lord's Supper is administered in the afternoon of the first Sabbath in January, March, May, July, September and November.
16. The Preparatory Lecture is on the Friday afternoon next preceding each communion Sabbath.
17. The Church, whenever they come to the table of the Lord, cordially invite those who are in regular standing as members of other churches, of whatever name or denomination, to unite with them in celebrating his love.
18. Baptism is administered to adults at the time of their profession of faith, and to the children of the Church on the afternoon of communion, and at such other times as parents find more convenient for presenting them.
The above Principles and Rules were adopted at the Annual Meeting, Jan. 17, 1859.
a. The Church also elect annually a Sabbath School Commit- tee, who provide for the superintendence of the School, and attend to all its other interests, which may be presented to them. A Sabbath School Librarian is annually elected by the Church.
b. The Church likewise, each year, pass a vote specifying the chief objects of benevolence for which collections shall be taken, and the times of taking them. Collectors are appointed by the Pastor, in different sections of the Parish.
c. A small fund, the donation of Rev. SAMUEL PHILLIPS, and SAMUEL ABBOTT, Esq., is held in trust, by the Pastor and Dea- cons of the Church, the avails of which, together with such a number of the collections taken up after the celebration of the Lord's Supper as the Church direct, are distributed among the poor, especially the poor of the Church, according to their ne- cessities.
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ANSWER
OF THE
FIRST PASTOR OF THE CHURCH, REV. SAMUEL PHILLIPS,
TO THE QUESTION,
WHAT SHALL WE DO, THAT WE MAY KEEP IN MIND OUR COVENANT ?
1. Very diligently and devoutly attend to the Covenant, when- soever it is publicly propounded to any person ; and yield your assent and consent to every article and tittle of it.
2. Not only wait upon Christ, at his table, on all opportuni- ties ; but always eye the Lord's Supper as the SEAL of the Cov- enant. And every time you partake, realize that you have bound yourselves afresh to keep covenant with God; for, to take the sacrament, is to take the oath of obedience and loyalty.
3. Look upon the holy Scriptures, in your daily reading of them, as the book of the Covenant ; for so it is, inasmuch as it exhibiteth our duty towards God and man ; and also, what we may hope and expect to receive from the hand of God, if we keep his statutes. Exod. 24 :7.
4. Labor to have it impressed and fixed upon your minds. that heaven and earth are witnesses of your covenanting with the great God ; and that God, angels, and men, will certainly appear as such, either for or against you, in the day of reck- oning.
5. Discourse frequently together of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God; and particularly of the Covenant, viz. :
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REV. MR. PHILLIPS'S ANSWER.
the precepts, prohibitions, promises and threatenings; of the vows, which you have made, and the comfortable experience, which you and others have had of God's gracious presence, etc. This practice will be of eminent service to help the memory, as also to quicken unto obedience.
6. Frequently renew your covenant with the Lord in secret, as becomes those who resolve to stand to what they have said ; --- this is not only the duty, but, I should think, will be also very much the delight, of a sincere soul; and a choice help it is, to re- vive our remembrance of the Covenant, and to excite our affec- tions ; and to quicken us to mend our pace.
7. Keep your Covenant by you, as a memorial of the solemn transactions which have passed between God and you, and fre- quently review the same.
8. And lastly, prayer, must always be one direction. And this duty must be attended and performed, not only in public, and in and with the families, which you respectively belong unto, but also in secret ; - Thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father, which is in secret. Matt. 6 : 6. This duty of secret prayer I hope you do not dare to neglect ; you cannot, I think, ordinarily omit it, if you have a living, holy principle within you. Well; and you must pray especially for spiritual blessings ; and in particular, that the Lord would please to put his law in your inward parts, ' and write it in your hearts ; "that he would make it ready and familiar to you, at hand when you have occasion to use it, as that which is written in the heart ; - that He would work in you a strong disposition to obedience, and an exact conformity of thought and affection to the rules of the divine law, as that of the copy to the original." You have a disposition this way already - pray that it may abide and grow, and plead that pre- cious promise in Jer. 31 : 33; and, the more you are disposed this way, the less danger will there be of your forgetting the Covenant of the Lord your God.
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REV. MR. PHILLIPS'S ANSWER.
USE. - From what has been said, let professors be exhorted. to put one another in mind of their Covenant duties and obliga- tions. It is true, we may not watch over others, and neglect ourselves, as some, to their great reproach, are said to do ; neither may our charity end at home; for the law of God obliges us to love our neighbor as ourselves. And again it is written, Exhort one another daily. - And it is remarked con- cerning those that fear the Lord, that they spake often one to another ; Mal. 3 : 16. - And have we not expressly bound our- selves, by Covenant, to watch over one another? Yes, verily : How then shall we dare neglect it ; especially considering that a great deal of sin and sorrow might, probably, be prevented, if professors would in this way be kind and faithful to one another ? Thus, for instance : when a neighbor or brother is observed to be going into temptation, or in present danger of falling into some transgression, it is not improbable that these words, spoken, in a suitable manner, in his hearing, Remember your Covenant, would prevent his fall ; or, if he has already fallen, it may be those words would be the means of recovering him out of the snare of the devil; and of bringing him unto unfeigned repentance. - And so - if you see a brother, backward to any good work, respecting either God or man - perhaps this memento would shame and quicken. Now, we are undoubtedly obliged to do this, and much more, to prevent each other's hurt, and to promote each other's good ; O ! let us not be negligent.
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QUESTIONS
FOR
SELF-EXAMINATION.
1. What opinions do I adopt, and habitually defend and incul- cate ? Are they in accordance with the Scriptures, and with my profession of faith ?
2. What is the prevailing tenor of my conversation ? Is it spiritual, or worldly - serious, or trifling ?
3. With whom do I associate, as my intimate friends ? What are the prospects for another world, of those, in whose company I most delight ?
4. What influence has my example, upon my friends and ac- quaintances ? Is it holy, or unholy ? Will it save, or destroy ?
5. How far am I governed by a regard to the opinions, the customs, and the fashions of the world? Had I rather be re- garded as polite and fashionable, than as meek and holy ?
6. Do I esteem it a privilege to deny myself for Christ's sake? And is it a pleasure, rather than a grief, to be asked to contribute to advanec his kingdom ?
7. Do I study the Bible ? Do I understand and prize, above all price, its glorious doctrines ? Do its precepts regulate my ntercourse with men, and my communion with God ?
8. Do I perform the duty of secret prayer ? How often, and
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QUESTIONS FOR SELF-EXAMINATION.
with what spirit ? Is my enjoyment in these seasons so great, that I can truly say, My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God - when shall I come and appear before God ?
9. How do I spend the Sabbath ? Is it, to me, a day holy to the Lord, and honorable ? How much of its time do I waste in indolence - how much devote to business - how much to dress - how much to my soul ?
10. Do I strive, at all times, to aet from a fixed regard to the glory of God -to resist and overcome sin ? And am I willing, when I pray for knowledge, zeal, self-denial and holiness, that my prayers should be answered? And do I prove that I am thus willing, by a diligent use of means for the attainment of these blessings ?
11. What are the feelings that I cherish towards the Church ? How do I speak of its officers, its members, its proceedings, its plans of doing good, and its covenant obligations ? Had I rather suffer, if need be, than be the occasion of injuring its influence and of bringing it into reproach ?
12. Do I, in my dependence on the Holy Spirit, govern my temper, subdue my passions, and quell a spirit of complaining of those around me, and of fault finding with my brethren ? Am I of a meek, a forgiving, and forbearing temper? And is there, in my tongue, the law of kindness ?
13. If a parent, are my children baptized - instructed in the truth - commended to God in prayer, and educated for eter- nity ?
14. What proportion of my worldly property do I sanetify to the Lord ? In what do I deny myself, for the purpose of doing good ?
15. What poor child of God have I ever made comfortable and happy? To how many widows and orphans - to how many perishing heathen, will the Saviour point, in the last day, and say unto me, Inasmuch as ye did that deed of charity unto one of the least of these, ye did it unto me ?
16. Do I love the souls of sinners ? Do I feel for them, as did
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QUESTIONS FOR SELF-EXAMINATION.
the Man of Sorrows, when he looked upon the city abandoned of its God ? Is there one to whom I am faithful, and for whose conversion I feel intense anxiety ?
17. Am I interested in the weekly Prayer Meetings - the Monthly Concert - the Sabbath School ? And do I sustain them, by my presence, my influence, and my heavenly minded- ness ?
18. Is my zeal periodical, or constant? Is it for self, or for Christ ? Do I realize my infinite ill desert as a rebel against God, and humble myself at the foot of the cross ; pleading, what- ever be my petition, Do thou it, for THY NAME's sake ?
19. Do I realize that I am to lire but once ? That the char- acter I form here, whether holy or sinful, will be mine forever ? that the influence I am exerting will be felt when I am dead?
20. Do I live as though I was bought with blood; and had giren myself to Jesus Christ ? Is it my prayer, in sickness or health, joy or sorrow, life or death, Thy will, O God, be done ?
HISTORICAL SKETCHES
OF THE
.
PARISH AND CHURCHI.
I.
ORGANIZATION OF THE SOUTH PARISH.
THE town of Andover, embracing the present towns of Andover and North Andover, and the south portion of the city of Law- rence, was settled as early as 1643. " The Church of Andover " was organized Oct. 24, 1645. The first meeting-house was built near the old burying ground in North Andover, and stood till 1711. The larger portion of the inhabitants, for several years after the settlement, resided in that part of the town. When, however, in 1707, it was thought necessary to build a new meet- ing-house, the votes of the town show that the bulk of population was in the southerly part. For, " Sept. 9, 1707, voted to set the meeting-house on the spot of ground near the wood called Holt's wood, where the cross-paths meet at the south-west corner of George Abbot's ground." Forty-five residents and proprietors immediately petitioned to the General Court against this vote, al- leging that the spot was not central, that the consent of the pro- prietors had not been obtained, and that such a distance would
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HISTORICAL SKETCHES.
greatly incommode the Rev. Mr. Barnard, who lived near the old meeting-house. Dec. 29, 1707, the town appointed a com- mittee "to attend the gentlemen of the General Court's Com- mittee, to view the places, and reply to allegations of the peti- tioners." Feb. 27, 1708, commissioners were chosen to take the valuation of the state of the town, in obedience to an act of the General Court. On taking a vote, the same day, to see if the town would set the meeting-house differently, the same spot was chosen as before. Another attempt was made to reverse the decision Oct. 12, 1708, but it was "voted to build in the same place : 88 votes, casting vote was number 24." After another hearing before the General Court, that body ordered, Nov. 2. 1708, that the town be "forthwith divided into two distinct pre- cinets, and that Col. [Francis] Wainwright, Maj. [Stephen] Sewall, Maj. [Henry] Somersby, and Nehemiah Jewett, Esq., be a committee to perform that division and make it equal for north and south precincts, within the space of two months, next coming, unless in the interim the town agree thereon and make it themselves, and that thereupon the north division take the present meeting-house and repair and add to it as they please.
" That there be forthwith laid out for the minister of the south precinct fourteen acres of land for a house lot, and forty acres at a further distance, part of it lowland, to make meadow, of the common land in said precinct, which will make them equal to the other division, to be for the use of the ministry forever.
" That the inhabitants and proprietors of the south division build a convenient meeting-house for their own use, and a minis- try house.
" Upon all which Mr. Barnard, the present minister, shall declare his choice of which congregation he will officiate in. and that precinet, north or south, shall fully and wholly perform the past contract of the town with him, and the other precinet or division of the town shall call and settle another minister for themselves.
" And the inhabitants of the respective precinets and divisions
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ORGANIZATION OF THE SOUTH PARISH.
are hereby impowered to make choice of some discreet persons among themselves, as committees, to manage and govern their affairs with respect to building a meeting-house and ministry honse, the making assessments to defray the charge thereof, and for the support of the ministry, and to appoint collectors to gather the same ; - and are advised and directed to proceed in these several articles with that peace and friendship, one towards another, that they may honor religion and the government, and themselves."
The committee thus appointed ran the following boundary line, as reported to the General Court, April 12, 1709 : " Begin- ning at a great pitch pine tree, near Merrimack River, marked with stones about it, and the west corner of Richard Barker's land, and is said to be the bounds between his land and John Gut- terson's land, so called, from said pine tree on a straight line to a stake and heap of stones about it at the corner bounds between Walter Wright and Hooker Osgood, and from thenee on a straight line to a white oak tree marked A and R, being a bound tree be- tween said town of Andover and Reading, with stones about it, standing on a hill known as Osgood's Hill."
A protracted controversy ensued with regard to six or seven persons whose dwelling-houses were near this line. The points in contention were settled by mutual agreement Nov. 7, 1711. The line was renewed by a mutual committee of the parishes, Oct. 7, 1754.
The town delaying, if not refusing, to lay out the land and lot ordered by the General Court, that body, on petition of the south precinet, appointed, Feb. 16, 1710, the committee above mentioned to do it. Nov. 7, 1710, the south preeinet petitioned also that Mr. Barnard might be directed to choose his precinet, and the General Court desired him " to do so before the eleventh of December, or that then the south precinct provide for them- selves." Mr. Barnard remained in the north precinet.
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