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GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 00084 2036
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Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015
https://archive.org/details/memorialhistoryo00king_0
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MEMORIAL HISTORY 2 419
OF
BRADFORD, MASS.
BY J. D. KINGSBURY.
INCLUDING ADDRESSES DELIVERED AT THE TWO HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FIRST CHURCH OF BRADFORD, DECEMBER 27, 1882.
HAVERHILL, MASS. : C. C. MORSE & SON, BOOK AND JOB PRINTERS.
1833.
CONTENTS.
-
1142259
PAGE
Two Hundredth Anniversary,
V
First Settlement, ·
5
Nineteen Years After,
11
Incorporation of the Town,
14
Public and Private Edifices,
16
Worship, . 21
Organization of the Church,
26
Articles of Faith,
33
Membership,
34
The Expanded Creed, 62
The Half-Way Covenant, 64
65
First Pastorate, 68 .
Second Pastorate, 72
The Service of Song, 74
The Title to Land, 82
Third Pastorate, 90
The First Colony,
94
Fourth Pastorate, 96
Social Life in the Eighteenth Century, 102
The Fifth Pastorate, 106
The New Era in Benevolent Work,
116
Bradford Academy, 119
$ 2.50
Tyson_
Ruling Elders and the Diaconate,
iv
CONTENTS.
4
PAGE.
The First Colleague Pastorate,
. 123
Seventh and Eighth Pastorates,
. 131
The Changed Industry,
. 133
Ninth Pastorate,
. 135
Tenth Pastorate,
141
Memorial Addresses,
145
Rowley and Bradford, by Rev. John Pike, D. D., of Rowley, 147
Groveland, the .Daughter Church, by Rev. A. C. Swain, of Groveland, 152
The Contemporary Church, Centre Church, Haver-
hill, Poem by John Crowell, M. D., of Haverhill, 155
The Church in its Fellowship, by Rev. S. J. Spald- ing, D. D., of Newburyport, 162
The New England Ministry, by Prof. Edwards A.
Park, D. D., of Andover, 165
The Relation of the Church to Early Mission Work, by Rev. E. K. Alden, D. D., Sec. of A. B. C. Foreign Missions, 171
Sabbath School Work, by H. E. Chadwick, A. M., of Bradford, . 175
Reminiscences and Incidents, by
HI. 1. Ordway, A. M., of Boston, 183
Dea. William Day, of Bradford, . 188 .
Hon. Geo. Cogswell, of Bradford, 190
The Business of Bradford, by Warren Ordway, Esq, of Bradford, 191
MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BRADFORD.
TWO HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY.
The First Church of Bradford celebrated its two hun- dredth Anniversary, Dec. 27, 1882, with appropriate Memo- rial Services. The First Parish, The Proprietors, and the Town of Bradford, appointed committees to act with the church in commemorating the event of common interest. The various committees are as follows : -
COMMITTEE OF THE CHURCH. Hon. George Cogswell, Chairman, Dea. S. W. Carleton, Secretary, J. D. Kingsbury, Pastor of the Church, Warren Ordway, Joshua Holt, Dea. Albert L. Kimball.
COMMITTEE OF THE PARISH. IIon. William Cogswell, Albert Kimball, Orestes West.
COMMITTEE OF THE PROPRIETORS. Warren Ordway, John B. Farrar, Charles Tenney, Albert Kimball.
-
MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BRADFORD.
COMMITTEE OF THE TOWN.
Charles B. Emerson, Walter Ordway, Wm. B. Kimball, Frank H. Pearl, Harlan P. Waldo, Harrison E. Chadwick,
Justin E. Bradstreet,
Samuel W. Hopkinson, Benjamin G. Perry, Harrison Williams,
The day was very auspicious, the air was clear and the sun shone brightly, as the large congregation assembled at the appointed hour.
Among the many friends and invited guests from abroad were the following : -
Rev. Prof. Edwards A. Park, D. D., of Andover,
Rov. E. K. Alden, D. D , Sec. A. B. C. F.M.,
Rev. HI. M. Dexter, Editor of the Congregationalist,
Rev. W. F Slocum, Salisbury,
Rev. R. II. Seeley, D. D., Haverhill,
Rev. J N. Lowell and wife, Haverhill,
Rev. John Bragdon and wife, Haverhill,
Rev. S. J. Spalding, D. D., Newburyport,
Rev. Levi Rodgers, Georgetown,
Rev. D. D. Marsh and wife, Georgetown, Rev. Joseph Kimball, Andover,
Rev. Geo. L Gleason and wife, Byfield,
Rev. Win. Alcott and wife, Boxford,
Rev. C. L. Hubbard, West Boxford,
Rov C. E. Park, West Boxford,
Rev. A. C. Swain and wife, Groveland, Mies Parker, M. D, and wife, Groveland,
Rev John Pike, D. D., and wife, Rowley, Rev. George A Perkins, Salem, N. H., Jabu Crowell, M. D., and wife, Haverhill,
Rev. C. D. Herbert and wife, West Newbury,
Rev. M. A. Dougherty, West Newbury,
vii
MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BRADFORD.
H. I. Ordway and wife, Boston, Gen. Wm. Cogswell, Salem, H. E. Holt, Mus. Doc., Boston,
George W. A. Williams and wife, Boston,
Prof. S. M. Downs, Mus. Doc .: Andover,
Mrs. S. M. Downs, Andover,
W. F. Draper, A. M, Andover,
Rev. Joseph Kyte and wife, Haverhill,
George T. Brown and wife, Melrose,
Rev. Alfred Emerson, Dorchester,
John Perkins, A. M., Principal of Dummer Academy.
Hon. William Cogswell, Chairman of the day, presided gracefully over the assembly.
ORDER OF EXERCISES In the Church at 10 o'clock.
Voluntary on Organ, John Batchelder
Anthem, Chorus Choir, H. M. Walton, Director Reading of Scriptures, Rev. S. J. Spalding, D.D., Newburyport Prayer, - Rev. R. H. Seeley, D. D., Haverhill Singing, Hymn by Rev. Jonathan Allen, Pastor of First Church, Bradford, from 1781 to 1827.
Great is the Lord, the heavenly king, To him your grateful incense bring, And praise his glorious name ; Rejoice in him who reigns on high, In worlds of light above the sky, 'And speak his endless fame.
Ye listening spheres attention lend, Ye orbs of light your voices blend, In one exalted theme ; Angels shall strike their golden lyre, Their vocal songs all heaven inspire, To praise their king supreme.
viii
MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BRADFORD.
Thou bending canopy give way, And vibrate to the realms of day, Such tunes as mortals raise ; Then let creation join the song, And anthems trill on every tongue, And sing his endless praise.
Glory to Him who reigns above, All glory to the source of love, And to his sacred name ; Glory to God all nature pays, Let heaven and earth repeat his praise, And bow before the Lamb.
Address, Rev. John Pike, D. D., of Rowley " Rowley and Bradford ; their former relations."
Singing, Psalm as sung 200 years ago.
PSALM CXXII.
6
1. I dil In heart me faire To hear the people's voice, In of - fer-Ing so will-ing-ly; 2. TI Trileswith ene ne- carl, The Tribesof God the Lord, Are thither bent their way to take. J. To pray let us not cease For Je - ru - sa-lem's peace; Thy friends God prosper mightily.
Ist ns np, mr they, And In the Lord's house pray ; Thus spake the folke full lovingly. Gal beforedel tell That thew lis Is - ma - el TheirXprayers should together make l'eale bo Uty walls a - bout And pros-per thee throughont Thy Pal-la-ces con-tin-nal-ly.
af fortthat wandere ! wile, Shall In The gates a - blde, Oh thon JJe-ru - sa-lem, full fifire; Teater- ret And that for the respect To set forth justice or-der - ly. I wish Uy pros, reus state, For my poore brethren's sake That comfort have by means of these
af san Ir art Much like rt -the neste. The like whereof is not elsewhere.
ttonamliin. 10 Fast I's hon . pertaine. Has folke to judge according-ly. ( (he's a -la The wealth for to procure So muchas always hesin me.
ix
MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BRADFORD.
Historical Address,
Rev. J. D. Kingsbury
Anthem,
- Chorus Choir
Benediction.
Dinner at 12.30 P. M.
After dinner Services, held in the Chapel.
The Daughter Church, Groveland, Rev. A. C. Swain
The Cotemporary Church, Centre Church, Haverhill,
John Crowell, M. D.
The Relation of the Church to the Conference, Rev. S. J. Spaulding, D. D.
The New England Ministry, Prof. Edwards A. Park, D. D.
The Relation of the Church Rev E. K. Alden, D. D.
to carly Mission Work, S Sec. A. B. C. F. M.
The History of the Sunday School, H. E. Chadwick
Incidents connected with the early History of the Church and Town,
Dea. William Day, Hon George Cogswell, Warren Ordway, Gen. William Cogswell, Herbert I. Ordway, W. B. Kimball and others.
In the evening, the church and chapel were open for a social gathering, which was largely attended by the people of the town, and many old residents of Bradford, and friends from abroad, who had come to join in the Memorial Services. The graceful account which was given in the Congregationalist of the following week was prepared by one of the editors, who was present : -
" The church in Bradford, Mass., celebrated the two- hundredth anniversary of its organization on Wednesday, Dec. 27. It is peculiarly rich in historic associations, and we regret that it is impossible for us to give more
x
MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BRADFORD.
than a brief sketch of such an occasion in its career. The exercises consisted of a memorial service in the church in the forenoon and a collation in the chapel at noon, followed by after-dinner speeches, with a social gathering in the evening. The weather was most favor- able, and the attendance was large.
At the forenoon service the devotional exercises were conducted by Rev. Drs. S. J. Spalding and R. H. Seeley. Some of the music was ancient in style, one hymn was copied from the manuscript of Rev. Jonathan Allen, one of the early pastors of the church, and another hymn, sung by the congregation, led by an excellent chorus choir was set to a tune in one part, taken from the old Bay Psalm Book. Rev. Dr. John Pike of Rowley made a spirited address upon Rowley and Bradford, Their Former Relations, Bradford originally having been in- cluded in Rowley, and the Rowley church, of which Dr. Pike was so long the pastor, being the mother of that in Bradford.
The event of the occasion was the elaborate and emi- nently entertaining historical address by Rev. J. D. Kingsbury, the pastor. It ought to be, and, we pre- sume, will be published in full, especially as large por- tions of it necessarily had to be omitted in the delivery. Sketching first the settlement of Rowley by farmers from Yorkshire, England, it described successively and very graphically their life in this then new country, the growth of the town, the gradual overflow of families up the Merrimac until what is now Bradford was settled, the setting off of the latter from the former, the controlling power of the church in every such community, the for- mation of this church, the style of its successive meet- ing-houses and their locations, the order of worship, the ten pastors who one after another have ministered to it before Mr. Kingsbury, the precious revivals in its his- tory, its close connection in good words and works with the famous Bradford Academy, its intimate and influen-
xi
MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BRADFORD.
tial relation to the great and holy work of foreign mis- sions, its delightful associations with the neighboring churches, and a number of other particulars of similar consequence. It was listened to with the closest atten- tion to end.
The speeches in the afternoon, after the ample and most excellent collation had been disposed of, also were of an unusually high order. Rev. Dr. S. J. Spalding, who had been compelled to leave early, had made cor- dial reference, in a few words before departing, to the regard for the church entertained by the sister churches of the Conference. Rev. A. C. Swain narrated pleas- antly the history of the church in Groveland, itself a daughter of the Bradford church. Dr. John Crowell, representing the Centre Church in Haverhill, after a few remarks, read a graceful, witty and appropriate poem, which was received with much evident gratifi- cation.
Then Professor Park was called out to speak about The New England Ministry. He was in his well-known mood of mingled fun and seriousness, and his speech, which was essentially unreportable and which, we re- gret to say, had not been written, amused his hearers excessively while impressing forcibly the usefulness and the immense and imperishable influence of the New Eng- land ministry. Secretary Alden of the American Board, who followed, was in an enthusiastic frame of mind, and having a rare stimulus in the fact of the former connec- tion of Mrs. Judson, Harriet Newell, and other sainted and historic missionary pioneers with this church, made a glowing speech on the theme which lies so near to his heart. Other speakers followed upon the Sun- day school, incidents in the history of the church and town, etc.
Three interesting relics were in the pulpit of the church, and attracted much attention. One was an old Bible, brought by William Stickney to the Rowley Colony
xii
MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BRADFORD.
in 1638, another was the original pulpit chair of the Bradford church, and the third was the copy of the Declaration of Independence which was sent to Brad- ford to be read, and which was read, in the church at the formation of the Union.
Such anniversaries are full of helpful significance, and the Bradford church and its pastor and all whose efforts contributed to the value and pleasure of the occasion are to be congratulated upon their notable success."
MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BRADFORD,
BY
J. D. KINGSBURY.
MEMORIAL HISTORY
OF
BRADFORD, MASS.
FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD TO THE CLOSE OF 1882.
BY J. D. KINGSBURY.
HAVERHILL, MASS. : C. C. MORSE & SON, BOOK AND JOB PRINTERS. 1883.
MEMORIAL HISTORY.
FIRST SETTLEMENT.
A little company of Yorkshire farmers appear in the untrodden wilderness of Agawam. The unbroken forest reaches from the Merrimack to the Naumkeag. There is only a little settlement at Ipswich and at Rowley. Across the river there is a little church under the hill, at the lower edge of Pentucket Cemetery. It is stock- aded with clean and smooth poles sixteen fect high. Around that house of God are gathered the houses of the first settlers of Haverhill.
It is 1649-significant year-Charles I. is bcheaded in front of Whitehall Palace. The free commonwealth of England rises to the full of its power. The colonies are inspirited by the news which came over the sea that the principles of civil rights and religious liberty arc gaining the ascendancy. These Yorkshire farmers came over from the native land but a little time ago. They are now a part of the Massachusetts colony. Their leader also dies this year-the wise, charitable, scholar- ly, devout and intrepid Winthrop. His life, a strange contrast to the life of his dead sovereign, stands as the emblem of that imperial freedom which henceforth is to be the birthright of man. There has been a growth in ideas. We read it in the history of the House of Tudor and the House of Stuart. That longing and aspiration after freedom, that regnant power of conscience, that reverence for God which had become a holy passion, that intelligent, determined, invincible purpose, mingling with the principle of loyalty to the Divine law, assert- ing itself in the heart of the English nation is the Puri- tan element in history. It was the sublimest manhood
(5)
6
MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BRADFORD.
in its contest with imperial power. It was the grandest heroism the world has ever seen in its exile and strug- gle on the rugged shores of the new world.
We celebrate to-day the growth of the Puritan idea. We go back to the year 1649 when the first settlers came. Twelve years before, a company of Yorkshire smiths and carpenters and farmers and weavers turn their thoughts toward the new world. They land at Salem, they settle at Rowley, sixty families. There is a pleas- ant little village down near the sea, where the great elms have cast a century's shade. The weavers have erected a mill, and have woven the first cotton in the colonies.
There walks among those colonists a man of devout spirit, great dignity of character and an indomitable will. It is Rev. Ezekiel Rogers, leader of the colony, pastor of the flock, a non-conformist, a man of wordly substance, of education and personal influence, type of the New Eng- land hero. He gathered the sixty families. He settles with his flock. They call it Rogers's plantation. It cov- ers the territory now occupied by Rowley and Georgetown and Groveland and Boxford and Bradford. After the first season they change the name to Rowley, from their love to the old Rowley of York. They name one of their streets Bradford because that was the early home of some of them.
The settlement was made at first precisely where the present village of Rowley stands. Village lots were laid out according to the heads of the families and their abil- ity to pay. The whole of the townships outside was held in "commons,"* which extended " five miles every way and not to be laid out to any person." This com- pact social life was a necessity. The country was infested with wolves and bears, and the lurking Indian was al- ways ready to attack the defenceless.
. Every 1 1-2 acre house lot shall have 1 1-2 gates or cow rights.
2
.. 4 1.2 .
3
13 1-2
1
22
..
6
15
In 1673-4 the "commons" were divided .- Gage. p. 138.
7
MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BRADFORD.
The settlement on the Merrimack was an expansion of the little colony. The Hasseltines came over with Rogers. They were probably hardy, vigorous men with little education. John could not write his name. They were the pioneers in the movement for the larger growth on the western side. It was the pride of hope and ex- pectation that the plantation might flourish from the river to the sea. These pioneers who have come into the valley of the river are looking for a home. There is a sunny spot, on the easterly slope of the pleasant grove which stands now, as then, near the site of the old town house and pound, where the soil is mellow, and the first flowers open and the early birds chant the first welcome to spring. Near that place they built the first house.
John and Robert Hasseltine and William Wilde. They are herdsmen. Rowley plantation has sent its herds into the forests, and these men, with flint-lock musket and ten foot pikes, guard them from the wolf and bear and the Indians who prowl in the wilderness. A little later they build houses at Indian Hill, the place where they afterwards built the minister's house and the church, and laid out the burial place. In a few years houses appear on the Merrimack.
It was a lonely region when those herdsmen came. They opened a little place among the oaks and pines. The rest was all wilderness. The herds are turned into the forest, a fence of poles and brush is raised round the extreme boundary. By degrees the clearings in the forest grow wider. The increasing herds gain better pasture. The English grasses appear on the uplands with richer green, and the fields of corn and wheat and barley give cheerful look to the new settlement. It is primitive life; none of the modern furniture in the house ; no stoves, but the open fireplace and the Dutch oven and the iron spit, and the precious iron kettle; and never-to- be-forgotten pewter platter. The flax is growing in the
.
8
MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BRADFORD.
field close by. There is a loom in the corner of the cabin, a spinning wheel and a quill wheel, a warping frame and scairns, a reel and swifts. After a while, Ann Hasseltine, the first bride of Rowley, will spread out her linen on the grass to whiten in rain and sun; and the thick warm flannel from the loom will be folded and laid away for winter use, for Robert will need it when the winter days come, and he must guard those herds in winter's cold as well as summer's heat.
Those three settlers were granted special privileges by the town of Rowley. The agreement was made with them, in accordance with the vote of the town, by Matthew Boyes, Francis Parrott, with the selectmen, Richard Swan, William Stickney, William Hobson, Sam- uel Broeklebank and William Tenney, names which af- terwards appear frequently in the annals of Bradford. The agreement was at first made imperfectly. The above men were empowered to renew the covenant in 1652. It was as follows :
"Imprimis, That the Town of Rowley hath granted to the said Robert Haseltine,* John Haseltine and William Wilde, each of them 40 acres of upland, to be laid out to them as convenient as may be without the great prejudice of the town."
" 2d. The said town of Rowley hath granted to the aforesaid parties, each of them, to have commons for 20 head of cattle, which said commons they shall have liberty to fence in, wholly or in part, as they see cause. Provided, that the town of Rowley doth deelare that they did restrain them from liberty to erect any more than three tenements upon any part of the aforesaid upland or commons."
" 3d. The town hath granted to each of them 20 acres of meadow and which meadow and upland shall be laid out to them when they claim it, unless some Providence of God shall hinder."
" 4th. They have liberty to get, each of them, a thousand of Pipestaves yearly, for the space of seven years, which years began in 1649."
"5th. They have liberty on the commons to cut firewood for their fainilies as also timber for building, and for fencing in of their ground, pro- vided, that they are not to fall any fencing stuff within a quarter of a mile of the pasture fence."
" They are to be freed from all towne charges for the lands, houses, four
. This name is variously spelled in the records. The earliest spelling is Heseltine.
9
MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BRADFORD.
oxen, and six cows and four calves, each of them such a quantity, during the space of seven years, begun in 1649 ; also they have liberty to keep swine."
" For and in consideration of all the aforesaid privileges, granted by the town of Rowley, to the aforesaid Robert, John, and William, and their heirs and assigns, they have covenanted with the said towne, for them- selves, their heirs and assigns, sufficiently to look to the herd of cattle, that the towne of Rowley shall put into the pasture during the time of seven years. Provided the cattle be two years old and upward. Provided, also, the town shall give them 2s. by the day, for so much time as they shall spend about looking to said pasture."
" 2d. The said Robert, John, and William doth covenant with the towne to provide convenient diet and lodging, at indifferent times, to any that the towne shall send to keep any herd there."
The boundaries enlarge ; other families settle near ; they push on to the river, farms are laid out, the fear of the Indians grows less. Rogers took great pains to se- cure the highlands above us which we call Head's Hill. By some mistake, that was not included in the original grant. Rogers had travelled through all this wilderness. He marked that beautiful swell of upland which catches the first rays of the morning sun. He had looked out through the oak trees from the highest point upon some of the finest river scenery in New England. He had fixed on that western slope as his boundary. It was laid out to Andover. When he discovered the mistake he went before the General Court and demanded it. But he was refused. He asserted his right, but to no purpose, and he left the court in passion, declaring he would lay the case before the elders. Afterwards he apologized for his hot temper but still maintained his right, and when the court understood that he would not relinquish, they gave him his desire. The incident shows the man. A stranger passing through Rowley asked him in the style of Puritan speech, "Are you the man that serves here ?" "Serves !" said he, "I am the man that rules here." That man was not to be thwarted when he set his heart upon making the noble height his boundary toward the setting sun.
The laying out of lands in farms began after the first
IO
MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BRADFORD.
settlers had occupied the ground about ten years. John Haseltine takes up the lot which includes the west half of the village. His lower corner is where the road turns by Jacob Kimball's .* Robert, his brother, and Wilde are in partnership with him. Their meadow land is well known to this day as the Haseltine meadow. In 1658 Joseph Jewett has laid out to him the whole of " Brad- ford Neck," reaching to Corchitawick (now. North An- dover). One Glover settles near the "cove" by Lafay- ette Day's.
In 1671 the following lots were laid out below the farm of Glover :
35 acres 11 1-2 rods wide at the river.
John Simmonds,
in right of Widow Cooper,
42
12
Abraham Foster,
John Burbank,
37
12
John Simmonds,
Thomas Palmer,
36
14
John Simmonds, = Win. Wilde and anoth.66
27
John Simmonds,
Hugh Smith, 38
12
Jonathan Hopkinson,
Michael Hopkinson, 32
14
Samuel Boswell,
Wm.and J'n Boynton, 53
=
24 1-2
23
Deacon Jewett,
John Spoforth, 95
31 1-2
Mrs. Kimball, Boston,
J John Remington ¿ and Geo. Kilborn,
102 66 30
§ James Canada and
James Barker, and William Stickney, III 33 1-2
John Boynton,
=
William Scales, and Richard Wicom,
93
26
66
These lots covered the land between Head's Hill and the Haseltine farm and the persons to whom these lands were laid out were the first settlers of the town above the village. Below the village four lots were laid out the same year :
To John Watson, in right of Thomas Abbot, 50 acres 11 rods wide at the river. Widow A. Mighill,
Thomas Kimball, (number of acres not known). Widow Ann Hobson, 260 " 44
215 " 72
66
Thomas Kimball was the man who was killed by the Indians. Dr. Perry says his house was on the road to Boxford, by which he means a road leading from what is now South Groveland to Boxford. The Indians were
· Wilde after a few years sold out and went to Ipswich where he died in 1662. He sold part of his land to the Haseltines and the rest to George lindley.
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