USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Andover > Historical manual of the West Church and Parish in Andover, Massachusetts, with the complete roll of the members of the church, 1826-1926 > Part 1
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6
Historical Manual of the West Church and Parish in Andover, Massachusetts
WITH THE COMPLETE ROLL OF THE MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH
eraPc
DECEMBER FIFTH 1826-1926
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2013
http://archive.org/details/historicalmanual00west
fnd. C .
Wes
CONTENTS
EARLY AGITATION FOR A NEW PARISH
THE NEED IN 1826
THE FIRST PROPOSAL
"THE WESTERLY MEETING-HOUSE COMPANY
THE BUILDING OF THE MEETING HOUSE .
THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CHURCH
THE SETTING OFF OF THE WEST PARISH
THE SERVICES OF WORSHIP
IMPORTANT EVENTS IN THE HISTORY OF THE CHURCH
OFFICIALS OF THE CHURCH.
Ministers
Deacons
Clerks
Treasurers
AUXILIARY ORGANIZATIONS
The Andover West Parish Singing Society
The Sunday School
The Ladies' Foreign Missionary Society
Andover West Parish Temperance Society
The Juvenile Missionary Society
The Ladies' Seamen's Friend Society
The Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor
The Ladies' Aid Society
PARISH AFFAIRS
Division of Income from the Ministerial Fund
Salary of the Minister Method of Raising Funds
Vestry
Parsonage Improvements on the Meeting-House
Horse Sheds
Acquiring Title to the Pews Funds
THE WEST PARISH CEMETERY.
OFFICIALS OF THE PARISH Moderators Clerks
Treasurers Assessors THE ROLL OF MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH
.
face C49 €
64/6/8
HISTORICAL MANUAL OF THE WEST CHURCH AND PARISH IN ANDOVER
EARLY AGITATION FOR A NEW PARISH
IFTY-FIVE years before the West Parish in Andover was set off from the South Parish, agitation to this end began among the people living in this part of the town. The primary cause of the agitation was the distance of many of the people from the meeting-house. On June 5, 1771, the ties with the venerable Reverend Samuel Phillips, the minister of the South Church, were broken by his death, at the age of eighty-one years, after a ministry with the church of sixty years. Moreover, in September of that year, the parish began to discuss the building of a new meeting- house. To many persons living in the West part of the town, who naturally were unwilling to be taxed for a new place of worship located inconveniently to them, it seemed a favorable time for securing a division of the parish. Their proposals, however, did not meet with favor, though, to preserve harmony, it was agreed to postpone for the space of ten years the erection of the new house. The Revolu- tionary War ensued, which was a trying period for the churches. After twelve years had passed, the question of a new house of worship came up again in 1784. Then for three years the matter was under discussion. Finally, in December, 1787, the plan of building near the old site was decisively settled. This incited the people of the West part of the town to action. The following year, Mr. Isaac Osgood and others took the matter to the General Court, petitioning that body for the division they desired. Through the strong influence of Judge Samuel Phillips, who with others was chosen by the parish to oppose the granting of the petition, the petition- ers were obliged to withdraw their petition and both the House and the Senate gave consent for them to do so. In order to satisfy the disaffected and preserve both harmony and unity, the parish afterward voted to discharge them from all obliga- tions and taxes for the building of the new meeting-house, and yet to allow them the privilege of seats, provided they shall "surcease all opposition to the measures for building the meeting-house, and shall continue their union and harmony with the parish as it subsisted before the measures taken by them for building a meeting- house." This arrangement put to rest for many years all discussion of a division. The question apparently did not come up again until in 1826, in one of the closing years of the pastorate of Justin Edwards.
THE NEED IN 1826
For three years after the death of Jonathan French, in 1809, the South Church was without a settled minister, being divided by the theological controversy of that time. Then, at length, the church united on Justin Edwards, who began his
7
Historical Manual
pastorate in 1812. Under his energetic ministry the church grew in numbers to such an extent that the meeting-house by 1826 was not large enough to accommodate all the people who wished to attend. Fortunately, a full statement of the situation by Dr. Jackson, the first minister of the West Church, writing early in 1828, has been preserved: "The South Parish before its division was too large for the labours of one minister. Indeed, it was an utter impossibility for one to officiate statedly in the pulpit, and also to perform all the parochial services which the people expect and which their good requires. It was equally an impossibility for all of the people that might and would attend on the sanctuary to be accommodated in their usual place of worship. It had become too strait for them. This raised the value of seats, so that many could not, and others would not be at the expense of procuring them. And some who had seats were liable to have them occupied by those who must appropriate them, or not to have a place in the sanctuary. The consequence was, that some were actually obliged to forego the privileges of public worship, while many found too good an excuse, and too easily satisfied their consciences, for neglect- ing it altogether. In addition to this, the meeting-house was located six miles from many families, who were tempted by its distance, as well as its straitness, to neglect its ministrations. In this state of things, another house of worship was obviously and imperiously demanded." (Appendix C, A Sermon Delivered in the West Parish of Andover, December 30, 1827.) Under these circumstances something needed to be done. Subsequent proof of the need of another house of worship was given in the fact, as noted by Dr. Jackson, that " after its erection it was on pleasant Sundays filled, and, ordinarily, better filled than the majority of meeting-houses in New England; and this, too," he adds, "while the old meeting-house continues full. The congregation worshipping there has not been sensibly diminished."
THE FIRST PROPOSAL
It was, at first, proposed that the South Parish itself should build a new meeting-house to accommodate the people on the West side of the Shawsheen River. Such was the vote of the parish on Monday, February 6, 1826. On that same date it was also voted "to choose a committee of location; to choose a commit- tee to draft a plan for a meeting-house, and lay it before the parish with an estimate of the probable expense." On February 20, the parish "voted to accept the report of the committee of location; to accept the model of the new meeting-house pre- sented; to choose a building committee; to authorize the treasurer to hire money in such sums as may be needed to defray the expense of building; to direct the com- mittee to proceed in building the meeting-house with all convenient despatch." Then, for some reason not recorded, a sudden and complete change of mind took place. In less than a month these votes were reconsidered and the whole matter was given into the hands of the people on the West side of the River. On March 16, the parish "voted so far to reconsider all former votes on the subject of building a new meeting-house, as to postpone indefinitely further measures relative to building. Voted, that should the people on the West side of the Shawsheen River erect a meeting-house at their own expense, they have the cordial approbation of the parish."
8
The West Church
"THE WESTERLY MEETING-HOUSE COMPANY"
This entire change of mind on the part of the South Parish incited the men of the West district to immediate action in their own behalf. The next day, March 17, they met at the schoolhouse in the Chandler district. (This schoolhouse stood near the site of the present West Centre school. The next year, 1827, the Chandler district was divided into the Centre and Frye districts.) This meeting expressed the judgment that it was "highly expedient to build a meeting-house on the westerly side of the Shawsheen River" and took steps to carry out its judgment.
A committee appointed to ascertain the mind of the inhabitants of the four school districts on the West side of the River reported a week later that one hundred and twenty-four persons were in favor of locating the house on land belonging to Capt. Solomon Holt - the present site - while forty-eight were in favor of having it at the crossroads a mile west of the present site, a point nearer the territorial centre of the present Parish. In 1876 Hon. George O. Shattuck said it was "the hope of drawing considerable numbers from the manufacturing villages along the Shawsheen" that led the majority to choose the present site. A deed of this land was given by its owner. It was estimated that the cost of the building would be about $4000, and this sum was divided into forty shares. Thirty-seven men sub- scribed for these shares. Eleven of them took a half share; twenty-one a full share apiece; to Joseph Faulkner went one and one-half shares; Isaac Mooar assumed two shares; while Capt. Holt and Capt. Stanyan headed the list by shouldering three shares each. There were five Abbots, four Fryes, three Baileys, two Shattucks, two Phelpses, and two Chandlers among the number. In commemoration of the men who made themselves legally responsible for these shares and who thus "erected the building at their own risk," to use the words of Dr. Jackson, their names are given along with certain information regarding each of them:
No.
Name
Shares
Site of Home in 1826
Date of Death and Age
(Capt.) Solomon Holt
3
Reservation Rd. (Mrs. G. L. Averill's)
2|(Capt.) John Stanyan
3
Lowell St. (W. N. Pike's)
3 (Capt.) John Chase
I Argilla Rd.
4|(Capt.) Daniel Trow
I
Cor. Lowell St. and Chandler Rd.
5 (Capt.) Joshua Chandler
I
Chandler Rd.
6 (Capt.) Jonathan Abbott, Jr. ]
I River Rd. (Newton S. Abbott's)
7|Nathan Abbott, 3d
Chandler Rd. (Hudson E. Wilcox's)
8 Henry Phelps
I
Cor. High Plain Rd. and Beacon St.
9|Joshua Phelps
1
Foot of Bald Hill
Io Ezra Ingalls
I Frye Village
Herman Abbott
I Lowell St. (G. K. Cutler's)
12 Timothy Frye
I
Lowell St. near Greenwood Rd.
13 (Capt.) Caleb Wheeler
I
Greenwood Rd.
14 (Capt.) Joseph Shattuck
I
Webster St. near River Rd.
I
Shawsheen Rd. (near Peter D. Smith's)
17 Isaac Mooar
2 Frye Village
18 Palfrey Downing
I Frye Village
19 Jeremiah Rogers
1/2 High Plain Rd. (Geo. M. Carter's)
20 Bodwell Lovejoy
River Rd.
21 Peter Shattuck
I Lowell St. at head of Argilla Rd.
April 27, 1877, 85 yrs. Dec. 2, 1832, 50 yrs. Dec. 9, 1855, 83 yrs.
9
April 15, 1830, 61 yrs. Aug. 15, 1836, 45 yrs. Feb. 24, 1843, 58 yrs. June 10, 1849, 72 yrs. May 15, 1833, 44 yrs. April 8, 1869, 73 yrs. April 26, 1872, 73 yrs. Jan. 31, 1865, 82 yrs. May 23, 1873, 76 yrs. March 6, 1828, 55 yrs. Feb. 2, 1858, 86 yrs. March, 1854, 92 yrs. April 10, 1836, 53 yrs. July 8, 1847, 90 yrs. Dec. 24, 1854, 73 yrs. May 15, 1852, 65 yrs. Jan. 12, 1832, 73 yrs. Sept. 28, 1835, 74 yrs.
River Rd
15 (Capt.) James Stevens
16 Elijah Lawrence Herrick
Historical Manual
No.
Name
Shares
Site of Home in 1826
Date of Death and Age
22 Joseph Faulkner
1 1/2
Frye Village
Aug. 5, 1831, 48 yrs.
23 John Mooar Bailey
1/2
River Rd.
April 3, 1836, 51 yrs. Feb. 4, 1845, 61 yrs.
24 Joseph Chandler
I
Chandler Rd. (Durant place)
25 Enoch Frye
I
Poor St., Frye Village
Sept. 8, 1864, 88 yrs.
26 Paul Hunt
1/2 Lowell St. (Mrs. Wagstaff's)
Nov. 28, 1831, 78 yrs.
27 James Abbott
I
Andover St. (Mary Alice Abbott's)
28 John Tuck
1/2
Greenwood Rd.
29|(Capt.) Reuben Frye
I
Frye Village
30 Theodore Poor
I Head of Beacon St., Lawrence
31 (Dea.) Mark Newman
I
Central St. (Mrs. Joseph W. Smith's)
Jan. 8, 1875, 88 yrs.
33 Theophilus Frye
I Poor St., Frye Village
April 2, 1830, 76 yrs.
34 John Brown
I
East District of South Parish
July 29, 1839, 44 yrs.
35 Cyrus Brown
East District of South Parish
Sept. 7, 1866, 66 yrs.
36 David Abbott
1/2 [River Rd. (John W. Henderson's)
July 23, 1882, 90 yrs.
37 Nathan Bailey
1/2 Off River Rd. (late Moses B. Abbott Jan. 11, 1862, 85 yrs. place)
These "proprietors" organized themselves into The Westerly Meeting- House Company with Capt. Solomon Holt as President; Capt. John Stanyan as Secretary (on October 16, Capt. Joseph Shattuck, Jr., was chosen to fill the place of Capt. Stanyan); Elijah L. Herrick as Treasurer; Capt. James Stevens, James Abbott and Enoch Frye as Directors; and Timothy Frye as Vice-President. Nine articles were drawn up for the better regulation of their affairs. The secretary's book, fortunately, has been preserved. The treasurer's book has not been handed down.
THE BUILDING OF THE MEETING-HOUSE
On June 15, 1826, the corner stone of the new house of worship was laid ac- cording to the Masonic ritual by the recently organized St. Matthew's Lodge. A copy of the program for the occasion has recently come to light and has been pre- sented to the church. It consisted of an ode by Jonathan Griffin, prayer, the singing of a hymn (Isaac Watts's rendering of the Ninety-Sixth Psalm), the act of consecra- tion, an address by Justin Edwards, a selection of sacred music, and the benediction. The address by Dr. Edwards was so acceptable to the Company that it was ordered to be printed. Two copies have recently come into the possession of the church.
After determining the location of the house, the next thing that was settled was that its walls should be built of stone from the granite ledges of the vicinity, of which the Academy Chapel and Brechin Hall were at a later time built. Six teamsters hauled this stone at so much a cord for the total sum of one hundred and twenty- four dollars. In some of its exterior features the "proprietors" followed the plan of a Baptist Church in Salem, while for the interior arrangements they followed the plan of the church in Dunstable. A tower surmounted the structure. There were galleries on three sides. The pews were the straight-backed box pews common in that day. There were two aisles. The pulpit, built high against the wall, was
IO
------------
Oct. 4, 1858, 77 yrs. Feb. 16, 1875, 77 yrs. March 13, 1845, 56 yrs. May 11, 1854, 88 yrs. June 15, 1859, 87 yrs.
32 Timothy Bailey, 2d
1/2
Chandler Rd.
The West Church
reached by a flight of stairs on each side and was enclosed with doors. The pulpit desk was of circular shape, covered by a cushion adorned with deep fringe. The main dimensions were carefully determined to be fifty-two feet wide and sixty-four feet long, four separate votes being taken before deciding to have the height twenty- four feet and six inches. The lime, shingles, nails and glass were brought from Salem over twelve miles of rocky road. Three teamsters hauled the necessary fifty casks of lime for a total cost of twenty-four dollars and ten cents. Thirty-six thousand shingles were contracted for and two men hauled them for the sum of nine dollars and seventy-two cents.
By September 6, the mason work of Capt. Reuben Frye had been completed and was accepted by the "proprietors." So satisfactorily had the work been done that Capt. Frye was awarded an extra one dollar for each of the forty shares. In the keystone above the entrance he had carved the initials of his name as well as the year 1826. Two brothers, John and Cyrus Brown, living in the East District, but soon after moving to Bangor, Me., did the carpenter work for sixteen hundred dollars, with something extra for the East gable and the interior cornice. The work was pushed forward expeditiously and was completed more than two months in advance of the date which had been set.
Dedication services were held on Tuesday, December 26. Dr. Edwards again assisted by preaching the sermon. The building cost in all over fifty-five hun- dred dollars. It contained ninety-eight pews and could seat more than six hundred people. Certain pews were reserved as free pews: one on each side of the pulpit; two by the stove near the doors; also six in the galleries near the doors. One pew was later cut to make room for the bass viol. Arrangements were made for the sale of the remaining pews. Writing early in 1828, Dr. Jackson said: "Already the pews are nearly sold, and at a rate which indemnifies the original proprietors." The Bible and carpet were contributed by John Kneeland, Esq.
THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CHURCH
When the building of the new meeting-house had begun, it became assured that a new church would in due time be formed and a new parish created. On November 28, when the new house was nearing completion, fifty-three members of the South Church, who were living on the West side of the River, requested of the church that they be dismissed in order to form a separate church. Four other persons made similar request on December 3. These requests were granted and the church chose Captain Solomon Holt, Deacon Zebediah Abbott and Ebenezer Lovejoy as a com- mittee for calling an ecclesiastical council to effect the new organization. On Tues- day, December 5, 1826, a council of neighboring churches, convening at the vestry of the South Church, organized these fifty-seven persons from this church and one from the Old South Church of Boston into a separate church, called the West Church in Andover, and received it into the fellowship of the churches. Of this council, the Reverend Freegrace Reynolds of Wilmington was the moderator and Dr. Edwards the scribe. The public services consisted of prayer by the Reverend Jared Reed of Reading, a sermon by the Reverend Samuel Stearns of Bedford,
Historical Manual
reading of the confession of faith and convenant by the Reverend Jacob Coggin of Tewksbury, right hand of fellowship by Dr. Edwards, and concluding prayer by Mr. Reynolds. Referring to this event Dr. Jackson wrote: "It was an occasion of deep and solemn interest, and many wept as they bid adieu to the temple and the altars, where they and their fathers had worshipped."
The Confession of Faith and the Covenant, on the basis of which the West Church had been formed, being the same as in use in the South Church at that time, were as follows:
I. 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.
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 ordinances, viz., Bap- tism and the Lord's Supper; that baptism is to be administered to unbaptized adults, who profess their faith in Christ, and to the infant children of members of the church.
6. You believe in the future existence of the soul; that there will be a resur- rection 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 punishment, and the righteous into life eternal.
Dr. Jackson said: "The church was founded upon a faith strictly evangelical, believing it to be the faith once delivered to the saints."
The Covenant: You now humbly and penitently asking the forgiveness of all your sins, through the blood of the great Redeemer, give up yourself 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 yourself a true disciple of Jesus Christ, in all good carriage toward God, and toward man.
And you likewise promise, so long as God shall continue you 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 censures, 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, 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.
12
. -
1
The West Church
THE SETTING OFF OF THE PARISH
After the organization of the church and the completion of the house of worship, the next step, for that time, was to petition the General Court of the Commonwealth to be set off from the South Parish. This was done. The bill, dividing the South Parish, passed both the House and the Senate on March 1, 1827, and was approved by Governor Levi Lincoln on March 3. Edward Buck, in his "Massachusetts Ec- clesiastical Law," page 19, says: "The West Parish in Andover was probably the very last purely ecclesiastical parish in the Commonwealth." With the enactment of the "Bill of Rights" in the year 1833, full liberty was given for any group of people to organize and to build meeting-houses upon their own land anywhere in the state.
The boundaries of the new parish, as defined in the bill of division, were as follows: "Beginning at a stake and stones at the line which divides Tewksbury and Andover near Aaron Frost's; thence northwardly to the hop kiln near Lieutenant Peter French's; thence northeastwardly to a white oak tree standing on land of David Baker, near the road leading from Holt's Bridge, so called, to Capt. Solomon Holt's; thence northeastwardly to the corner of the road leading from E. L. Her- rick's to the paper mill; thence by said road to the bridge crossing the Shawsheen River at the paper mill; thence down Shawsheen River to the line which divides the North and South Parishes of Andover; thence northwesterly by the North Parish line to the Merrimac River; thence up Merrimac River to Tewksbury line; thence southerly by Tewksbury line to the first mentioned bound." Dr. Jackson said: "The Parish line was determined with satisfaction to both Parishes, and to those families more immediately concerned in the division."
The first meeting of the new parish, called under a warrant issued by Deacon Mark Newman, Justice of the Peace, was held on Monday afternoon, March 19, 1827. This meeting chose Capt. Solomon Holt as moderator, Elijah L. Herrick as clerk, and Capt. Joseph Shattuck, Capt. Reuben Frye, and Capt. John Chase as assessors.
The population of the Parish on the thirtieth of December, 1827, was estimated to be 870 persons and 158 families, 544 adults and 326 children, of whom 245 were attending the five schools within the Parish during that winter. Of this population, 135 were in the Bailey District, 133 in the Osgood District, 202 in the Abbott Dis- trict, 206 in the Centre District, 154 in the Frye District, and 40 in the Poor District.
The original territory of the Parish was, on April 17, 1847, considerably re- duced, when the City of Lawrence by act of the General Court was incorporated, the whole of South Lawrence being taken from the Parish, a total of 2097 acres.
THE SERVICES OF THE CHURCH
On Sunday, December 31, 1826, - the Sunday succeeding Tuesday, the 26th, when the dedication of the meeting-house took place - services of public worship were instituted. For more than fifty years, three services were held on Sunday,
13
-
Historical Manual
morning and afternoon in the meeting-house, while the evening service was held, until the Vestry was built in 1857, in the schoolhouse nearby. The mornng service began at 10.30 as at present. This was followed by the Sunday School. (A sketch of the Sunday School appears in another place.) After Sunday School there was a brief intermission when lunch was eaten. At half past one, earlier in winter, the bell called all to the afternoon service. The evening service was different in character. There was no sermon. The first in the month was the "Concert of Prayer for Missions;" the second was a Sunday School concert; the third, an anti-slavery concert; the fourth was a prayer meeting.
In the early years there was no organ. Organs had not yet been generally introduced into the churches. Later, a melodeon was secured. There was a choir, however, led by two flutes, two violins, a violoncello, and a bass viol. When a hymn was sung, the congregation stood up and turned about to face the choir in the gallery. It is probable that Watts's Psalms and Hymns was used as the hymn book, as this was the book to which the congregation had been accustomed at the South Church.
There was also a prayer meeting on Wednesday evening in the schoolhouse. Prayer meetings during this period were becoming established among the churches. Even before the organization of the West Church, prayer and conference meetings were being held in the Centre District, and occasionally elsewhere, on Sunday evening by students from the Andover Theological Seminary. For many years after the organization of the church, the students assisted much in these Wednesday evening services. By degrees they attended less frequently. Early in the history of the church, Deacon Peter Smith, aided by others at different periods, established prayer meetings in the Poor, North, and Frye Districts, which continued for suc- cessive years. Fifty years ago, besides the regular Sunday and Wednesday evening meetings at the Centre, there were similar services each Sunday evening in the Osgood and Abbott Districts, and one on Thursday evening in the Osgood District. Deacons E. Francis Holt, Nathan G. Abbott, and Samuel H. Boutwell were active in maintaining these meetings in the Osgood and Abbott Districts. From time to time young people's and other meetings of a devotional character, some for women only, have been kept up for a series of years in the Centre and other districts. Honorable George O. Shattuck, in his fiftieth anniversary address, is the chief authority for the foregoing statements. He said: "One of the most marked features and greatest blessings of the West Church has been its prayer meetings."
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.