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Central Congregational Church Middleborough, Massachusetts 1847 - 1947
Gc 974. 402 M5 84wi 1904574
M. L.
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01114 8993
HISTORY
OF THE
CENTRAL CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH MIDDLEBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS 1847 - 1947
COMPILED BY MERTIE E. WITBECK, CHURCH HISTORIAN ASSISTED BY
ROSE S. PRATT AND LAZELLE S. DRAKE, PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE
1904574
. .. As the days of a tree shall be the days of thy people, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
ISAIAH 65:22
To those thirty-three brave souls who had the faith and the vision to take leave of the parent church and thus lay the enduring foundations of the Central Congregational Church, this book is dedicated.
DORR'S PRINT SHOP Bridgewater, Massachusetts
TABLE OF CONTENTS
HISTORY OF THE CENTRAL CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH 9
THIRTY-THREE ORIGINAL MEMBERS . 11
ORGANIZERS OF THE CENTRAL CONGREGATIONAL SOCIETY 35
FIRST PEW OWNERS
37
PLAN OF PEWS .
40
PASTORS OF THE CENTRAL CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH . 41
BIOGRAPHIES OF PASTORS 42
DEACONS
53
CLERKS
54
TREASURERS
. . 55
HISTORY OF CHURCH ORGANIZATIONS
.
56
ENDOWMENT FUNDS
.
64
HONOR ROLLS :
WORLD WAR I 67
WORLD WAR II
67
CHURCH MEMBERS
.
70
MANUAL . ·
90
FORM OF ADMISSION
.
91
CREED 92 . . ·
BY-LAWS .
93
PROGRAM OF ONE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY, MAY 2-4, 1947 . . 100
CENTENNIAL COMMITTEE OF ONE HUNDRED 101
·
.
.
FULL PAGE PHOTOGRAPH OF CENTRAL CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH BY WILLIAM J. THIBAULT
அமரருமனி
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REV. ISAIAH C. THACHER 1849 - 1852 1856 - 1860
REV. RICHARD G. WOODBRIDGE 1893 - 1901
CHURCH AND CHAPEL 100 Years Ago
REV. SAMUEL M. CATHCART 1902 - 1907
REV. NEWELL C. MAYNARD 1915 - 1917
REV. JOSEPH B. KETTLE 1918 - 1921
REV. JOHN B. LAWRENCE 1889 - 1893
REV. NORMAN MCKINNON 1907 - 1914
REV. JOHN P. GARFIELD 1921 - 1936
REV. DAVID J. JULIUS 1936 - 1945
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CENTRAL CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH Before church was rebuilt in 1892
HISTORY OF THE CENTRAL CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH MIDDLEBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS 1847-1947
In recording the history of the Central Congregational Church of Middleborough, one must look much deeper into the past than the year 1847 when the church was founded. The church traces its lineage back to the Mayflower. The landing of the Pilgrims in Plymouth was an event which cast its shadow two hundred years hence, for the Pilgrim Fathers were in truth the fathers of the Central Congregational Church.
The Pilgrims and their families migrated southward from Plymouth and in 1662, on land purchased from the Indian Sachem Wampatuck, established a meetinghouse which became the First Congregational Church of Middleborough, mother church of the Central Congregational Church which in 1947 is celebrating its one hundredth anniversary.
As years passed, activity centered more and more around the "Four Corners" in the Central Village. Many families had built residences in this section of the town and were finding it difficult to attend worship at a church some three miles distant.
The first movement toward establishing another meetinghouse came in January, 1842, when the following signed an agreement to associate together for the purpose of building a house of worship:
Wilkes Wood
Lemuel G. Peirce
Ebenezer Pickens
Isaac Benson, 2d
Philander Washburn
Jesse Holmes
Aarad Thompson
William H. Vaughan
John Perkins
Dexter Phillips
Branch Harlow
Lothrop Shurtleff
Nathan King
Daniel Atwood
Andrew J. Pickens
Silas Tinkham
George Soule
Mrs. Elizabeth Whitmore
Hercules Thomas
The outcome of this movement was a chapel, built in 1843 on a location where now stands the Middleborough Cooperative Bank. The same chapel, in a different location, is in use today as a parish house of the church. Here in the chapel Sunday and mid-week services were held, usually conducted by the minister from the First Church.
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Almost two hundred people were attending meetings in the chapel. The group was known as the Central Congregational Society and the time had come to form themselves into a legal organization. On Feb- ruary 16, 1847, steps were taken to accomplish this when one hundred and eight persons signed the following statement:
"The undersigned agree to be and become members of a religious society in the town of Middleborough in the County of Plymouth by the name of the Central Congregational Society in Middleborough to worship in the Central Village of that town." .
The next step was a petition dated February 16, 1847, presented to Zachariah Eddy, one of the justices of the peace, to issue a warrant for a meeting:
"The undersigned, being members of and qualified voters in the religious society called "The Central Congregational So- ciety in Middleborough," being unincorporated and without officers, request you to issue a warrant, directed to one of the undersigned, requiring him to warn the qualified voters of said society to assemble at the chapel in the Central Village at a time and place to be therein mentioned. " Philander Washburn Nathan King Horatio Wood John Perkins Branch Harlow James M. Pickens
The first meeting of the Society was held on March 2, 1847. Ebenezer Pickens presided and Nathan King was chosen Clerk; Horatio G. Wood, Moderator; Branch Harlow, Treasurer; William King, Col- lector. The Prudential Committee consisted of Philander Washburn, Ebenezer Pickens and Joseph Sampson, Jr. Assessors were George Pickens, Jr., Nathan Perkins, Jr., and Lothrop Shurtleff. It was voted "to invite all members of churches in regular standing who are members of this Society to form a church in connection with this Society." Horatio G. Wood, Ebenezer Pickens, John Perkins, Philander Washburn and Joseph Sampson, Jr., were appointed a committee to procure a clergy- man to supply the pulpit and to act with the church at its organization. A committee to select a suitable place for a meetinghouse consisted of Philander Washburn, James M. Pickens, Branch Harlow, Joseph Samp- son, Jr., and Adoniram J. Cushman. The following were chosen to pro-
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1
cure a plan or draught for a meetinghouse: Sidney Eaton, Joseph Samp- son, Jr., and Philander Washburn.
A very definite and courageous step toward organizing the new church was taken when on March 12, 1847 at a meeting at the First Church, specially called to consider the subject of the formation of a new church at the Four Corners Village, the following memorial was presented :
To the Pastor and Members of the First Church of Christ in Middleborough:
Dear Brethren and Sisters:
The undersigned, members of said Church, have, after mature reflection and prayerful consideration, come to the con- clusion that it is their duty to ask a dismission from this Church, with the view of being organized into a distinct Church to be known by the name of the Central Congregational Church in Middleborough, for the purpose of establishing religious worship in connection with the Central Congregational Society recently formed at the Central Village in this town, and the undersigned humbly present their request to the Church, praying that they may be dismissed for the above named object, under the direc- tion and advice of an Ecclesiastical Council to be hereafter called, and when the undersigned shall have been organized into a distinct Church that their particular connection with this Church shall be dissolved.
Cornelius Burgess
Ebenezer Pickens
Mrs. Betsy T. Burgess
Mrs. Mary B. Pickens
Mrs. Melissa Burgess
Mrs. Ruth Reed
Mrs. Zilpha M. Clarke
Consider Robbins
Mrs. Freelove P. Rounseville
Adoniram J. Cushman Mrs. Ann S. Cushman Mrs. Mary Dunham
Mrs. Betsy Thomas
James Warren
Mrs. Almira Goddard
Mrs. Margaret Warren
Mrs. Olivia A. Hitchcock
Mrs. Elizabeth H. Washburn
Miss Sarah Jackson
Mrs. Bathsheba Wilder
James D. Wilder
Nathan King Mrs. Ann S. Perkins
Mrs. Abigail W. Wood
John Perkins
Mrs. Elizabeth Wood
Nathan Perkins, Jr.
Miss Eleanor B. Wood
Mrs. Abigail S. Pickens
Miss Emily T. Wood
Miss Caroline M. Pickens
Horatio G. Wood
Miss Hope Wrightington
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Whereupon the following preamble and vote having been moved and recorded, were unanimously agreed to and passed:
Whereas, after much consideration, conference and prayer, the Church have become satisfied that the cause of Religion would be promoted by the establishment of public worship in the Central Village of the town now called "Four Corners" and that it is expedient that a portion of the Church should colonise and be organized into a separate Church for that purpose, and
Whereas, the above named brethren and sisters, now in regular standing in this Church have by their Memorial applied for letters testimonial and of dismission with a view to such organization, therefore-
Voted, That such letters be given them by the Pastor in the name and behalf of the Church, expressing also our deep sensibility and pain in parting with them, our earnest prayers for their prosperity in the enterprise and our hope of Christian fellowship with them in their new church state .
Rev. I. W. Putnam.
On March 25, 1847 the Ecclesiastical Council requested was held in the chapel at the Four Corners to approve the plans for the new organ- ization. The Council consisted of Reverend Elijah Dexter and Brother William Soule from the church in Plympton, Reverend David Brigham and Brother Levi Leach from the church in Bridgewater and Reverend Edward N. Kirk and Brother Jerome W. Tyler from Mount Vernon Church, Boston. Reverend Dexter was chosen Moderator and Brother Tyler, Scribe. This Council examined the request for dismissal from the First Church, the proposed Article of Faith and Covenant and then pro- ceeded to the service of organizing the Church, the ceremony taking place at one and a half o'clock. The order of service was as follows:
Readings of the doings of the Council by its Scribe Singing - Chorus Scripture and Prayer - Rev. J. K. Bragg Singing
Sermon - Rev. Edward N. Kirk
Singing - Blest be the Tie that Binds
Reading of Confession of Faith and Covenant
Prayer of Consecration - Rev. Elijah Dexter
Right Hand of Fellowship-Rev. Israel W. Putnam Singing
Prayer and Benediction - Rev. David Brigham
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In behalf of the petitioners, the following statement, signed by Horatio G. Wood, Ebenezer Pickens and John Perkins was presented to the Council :
Among the reasons which have led the above named mem- bers of said Church to ask a dismission for the aforementioned purpose, the following are submitted for the consideration of the Council:
1. That the Doctrines of the Holy Scriptures and the influence of evangelical principles will be brought to bear on a greater number of individuals in this vicinity than they now do. Should the proposed enterprise be carried into effect, it is believed that many individuals both adults and children would be induced to attend on the means of Grace who now seldom or never feel the effects of Divine Truth on their minds.
2. That a constant and gradual increase of the population in this section of the Town renders the proposed organization de- sirable and important.
3. That the Central Congregational Society recently organized in this place have expressed a desire that a Church may be formed to cooperate with them in the support of Divine Wor- ship in this vicinity.
4. That the pecuniary sacrifices and subscriptions that have been made to effect the proposed object are among the strongest reasons in favour of the enterprise and are considered an evi- dence that the time has arrived when it is a duty to engage in the proposed measure.
5. That many individuals in this vicinity, professors of religion and others, are under the necessity either of staying away from the House of God, attending worship where they do not as a denomi- nation belong, or of making sacrifices to attend worship where they wish, which are extremely inconvenient and expensive.
6. That the prosperity of the Congregational Order which they profess to love, and which they believe to be the Order of the Gospel and consequently bound to support, demands an effort of the kind proposed.
7. The time and circumstances under which the proposed separ- ation is to take place are highly favourable. The time is a time of peace, though they deplore the spiritual coldness which reigns among them, the separation will not be the result of internal animosity or divisions, but on the contrary, it is a time of tran- quility, confidence and brotherly kindness, and as evidence of this the petitioners beg leave to refer to the doings of the Church touching this matter where it will appear that the Church cor- dially and unanimously came to the conclusion that though the
:
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measure in itself was extremely painful and unpleasant, yet on the whole desirable and proper and voted the dismission accordingly.
8. It is hoped that this enterprise is undertaken with some sense of the importance of the work and duties assumed and with a desire to do something as unworthy instruments in the hands of the great Head of the Church in promoting his Glorious Cause and Kingdom, and should this Council think proper to organize the petitioners into a distinct Church they hope it shall hereafter appear that they were led to the measure by the unerring hand of God and that it was undertaken with feelings of the utmost respect, confidence and kindness towards the beloved Pastor, Brethren and Sisters of the Church with whom we have taken sweet council and walked to the House of God in company. They also desire that they may have a spirit of supplication for, and have the prayers of, the Pastor and Church from whom they separate, and of this respected Council, that both Churches may prosper and be built up in the Faith, Order and Fellowship of the Gospel.
And now the petitioners pray that this Council will after having considered the subject, proceed to organize them into a Church if they shall deem such a measure advisable.
When plans for the new church were being discussed and formulated, letters were sent to persons out of town who might be interested in con- tributing toward the new venture. One interesting letter included in the early records is dated April 9, 1847, and was received from Mrs. Charity Pickens, 42 Bowdoin Street, Boston. It was addressed to Ebenezer Pickens.
Dear Brother: I received your letter a few days since in which you mention that you have formed a new church in Middleboro and requested a little assistance from me. I with much pleasure comply with your suggestion and present the Central Congre- gational Church with a Communion Service and a Christening Basin. I wish them much success in their attempts to raise up the Society and build a Meetinghouse, and hope they will be abundantly blessed by our kind Heavenly Father and have a good faithful Minister and that many may be added to the Church of such as shall be saved.
Yours truly, C. Pickens.
A grateful acknowledgement from the church was sent Mrs. Pickens by Horatio G. Wood.
It is interesting to note that the first legacy received by the church
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was from one of the thirty-three members dismissed from the First Church, when Hope Wrightington in her will left to the poor of the church all her wearing apparel, to be distributed by the deacon or deacons under the direction of the Church. The church voted that the deacons make the distribution according to their best judgement and discretion.
Some of the members of the newly organized Society formed them- selves into an organization to promote the erection of a meeting house and on March 29th, 1848 drew up the following agreement, signed by twenty-six persons who constituted the first share-holders in the Central Congregational Church:
We the undersigned do hereby agree to take and pay for the number of shares set against our respective names the shares not exceeding one hundred dollars each, for the purpose of erecting a meeting house for the Central Congregational Society in Mid- dleboro in the vicinity of the four corners, the precise place of location and time of erection to be decided by a majority of the shares, provided eighty shares can be obtained and when a meeting of the share holders shall be called pursuant to personal or written notice given by the first subscriber thereto to each of the share holders.
We hereby agree to pay to the treasurer who shall be chosen at such meeting or his successor in office the amount of our respective subscriptions for the purpose aforesaid in such install- ments and at such times as the said meeting or any other meet- ing of share holders called in such manner as shall be deter- mined at such first meeting shall determine.
No. of
No. of
Names
Shares Amount
Names
Shares Amount
Ebenezer Pickens
5 $500.
Joseph Jackson
1 100.
Andrew J. Pickens
5 500.
John G. Vaughan
1 100.
James M. Pickens
10 1000. Lucy Bourne
5 500.
George H. Doane
1 100.
Lucy C. Wood
3 300.
Philander Washburn 10 1000.
John Perkins 3 300.
William A. King
2 200.
Sidney Eaton 2 200.
William S. Peirce
1 100.
Ellen T. King
2 200.
Isaac Lane 1
100.
Horatio G. Wood
2 200.
Jacob G. Sparrow
1 100.
Joseph Sampson, Jr.
5 500.
Silvanus W. Reed
1 100.
Zacheus Eddy
2 200.
James H. Harlow
2 200.
William C. Leonard
1 100.
Lothrop Shurtleff
1
100.
Branch Harlow
10 1000.
Allen Shaw
2 200.
James W. Warren
1 100.
$8000.
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Many were the sacrifices on the part of these founders of the church. It is reported one subscriber gave the first $1000 he ever earned, another drawing $200 out of a capital of only $500 and others with large families struggling to pay $75 per year for the support of their church.
The first meeting of the newly organized Central Congregational Meetinghouse Association was held on March 30, 1848. The first officers were: Ebenezer Pickens, Chairman; Joseph Sampson, Jr., Secretary; Phil- ander Washburn, Treasurer. Committees to work in cooperation with committees from the Society were: Committee to Select a Lot, Andrew J. Pickens, Branch Harlow, James H. Harlow; Committee to Examine Churches and Procure Plans, Sidney Eaton, Andrew J. Pickens, Branch Harlow, Philander Washburn. A month later a Building Committee was appointed comprised of Philander Washburn, Joseph Sampson, Jr. and James M. Pickens.
The Committee whose duty it was to choose a lot found much dif- ficulty in making a selection. Those offered included one belonging to Joseph Jackson "near the school house," another near the house of Ben Burgess and owned by Colonel Peter H. Peirce, and one and one-quarter acres belonging to Thatcher and Waterman, each of which could be pur- chased for $600. Jacob G. Sparrow offered one acre for $300 and Elisha Tucker an acre for $400. Zachariah Eddy would sell a lot near his grove for $500 provided he could procure a lot on which to move his law office. The problem was solved when Philander Washburn offered to give the land for the church.
The Building Committee of the Society and of the Meetinghouse Association reported their contract with Messrs. Peirce and Eaton required that 20% of the contract be paid when the church was raised, 20% when the outside was finished and 10% when plastered, the balance in thirty days after the Meetinghouse was completed. The contractor was given until the twenty-fifth of November, 1848 to complete the task. The con- tract was signed for $6250 and the final cost of the Meetinghouse was $8000.
Various methods were suggested for raising money to defray the expense of the new edifice. The one to receive the most favor was that of appraising the pews, apportioning the cost of the building equally among the seventy-seven pews remaining after two pews were reserved as free seats and Pew Number 80 set aside for the minister and his family. Mem- bers were to bid for the pews, this "choice" money to be used to "warm the house and to finish the underpart of the Meetinghouse."
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Joshua Eddy and Oliver Eaton were appointed a committee to ap- praise the pews. The price as set by them ranged from $15 to $203. The auction was held at four o'clock on the day of the dedication of the church, and as a result the church was dedicated free from debt.
Reverend John Storrs, who had been preaching in the chapel, was the first minister to receive a call to the new church. The first baptism recorded to have taken place after the Central Congregational Society was organized is that of Hellen Maria Storrs, who was baptized by her father, Reverend Storrs, on July 23, 1848. It was voted to extend a call to Mr. Storrs provided $700 could be obtained for the support of worship. The Committee entered into lengthy negotiations with Mr. Storrs, but no satisfactory agreement could be reached. Reverend Isaiah C. Thacher was next recommended. Mr. Thacher was then preaching in Mattapoisett. An unanimous call was given him and on August 16, 1849 occurred the memorable occasion of a joint ceremony, the installation of the first Pastor and dedication of the new Meetinghouse.
The new branch of the church grew and prospered under the guid- ance of Reverend Thacher. To Mr. Thacher it was "a wonderfully inter- esting period, with all the enthusiasm and hope of youth, both in the church and its minister." Mr. Thacher was first and last an evangelist, and his evangelistic preaching resulted in a remarkable increase in church membership. The Central Congregational Church was indeed fortunate in its first minister. He molded the church in its beginning, stamped it with his personality, and the rich results are evident even to this day.
On November 23, 1852 Mr. Thacher ended his affiliation with the church. Reverend William C. Dickinson was his successor and was in- stalled as pastor on April 12, 1854, remaining until February 4, 1856. Upon his resignation, an unanimous invitation was extended to Reverend Thacher to return to "settle with us in the gospel ministry and take pastoral charge of this church and Society."
Mr. Thacher, then preaching at South Dennis, did not accept at once. He considered $700 an inadequate salary. By valiant efforts the Committee obtained enough pledges to assure Mr. Thacher an annual salary of $1000. Some of these pledges came from the ladies of the parish who expressed a desire to contribute to the cause.
The payment of pledges was slow and in some cases not at all, so that it was necessary to remind members that "all members who subscribed voluntarily for the support of the gospel should be bound to pay the amounts subscribed as they would pay any other just demands against
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them." The financial problem did not lessen and it was suggested funds be augmented by an assessment on the pews, each assessment to be based upon the valuation of the pew-owner's property as it appeared on the tax bills of the town.
The church was experiencing one of the most difficult periods of its entire history. The Civil War was pending and business was prostrated. To those in charge of church affairs, it seemed the church was often the last to be considered financially.
Reverend Thacher ended his second pastorate on April 2, 1860. A call was extended to Reverend Harvey M. Stone of Maine. Mr. Stone had filled the pulpit for a year and then was invited to become the per- manent pastor. The call was not unanimous, and learning of it, Mr. Stone sent a letter stating that while he held pleasant remembrances of Middleborough and a high esteem for those with whom he became ac- quainted, he was not so influenced on the whole as to leave him without hesitation as to what might be his duty. He wrote, "I do not fancy running into opposition much; it generally comes soon enough and fast enough unsought."
His fears were set at rest, he accepted the call and was installed on April 18, 1861. Mr. Stone must often have doubted the wisdom of his decision, because financial matters of the church went from bad to worse. Mr. Stone's salary was $1000 per year, but when he had been with the church only six months, subscriptions were so dilatory that it was neces- sary to ask him to accept a reduction in salary. Mr. Stone rose hand- somely to the occasion. In a letter to the Committee he reminded them that he had been under very heavy expense in moving and setting up housekeeping and that the cost of living in Massachusetts so exceeded that in Maine that $1000 here was scarcely better than $800 in Maine. He wrote, "We can yet retrench some more in food and raiment, and do without a 'man servant and maid servant' and other conveniences. And by so doing I propose to subscribe the amount of one hundred dollars."
This splendid response from Mr. Stone spurred the Finance Com- mittee to prompt and energetic action. They issued a statement, "whether money was to be raised by assessing pews or taxing members, nothing would be more disastrous than for matters to remain as they are, profess- ing to be a religious society engaged in carrying forward the work of the moral and religious training of the community, yet failing to fulfil the first principles of moral duty in neglecting to pay out voluntarily as- sumed obligations."
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The Treasurer informed the committee members not a dollar could be raised upon the credit of the church. The Committee urged that at least they pay up their present indebtedness, give a reasonable notice to Reverend Stone of inability to pay his salary and "close up the doors of the sanctuary until such times as we shall consider it a duty and a privilege to honestly support the public worship of God."
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