USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Salisbury > The West Parish Church, Salisbury, Mass. : One hundredth anniversary, June 17, 1885 > Part 1
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1785
WEST PARISH CHURCH
SALISBURY, MASS.
1885
GENEALOGY
GEN
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01214 2896
GENEALOGY 974.402 SA34WE
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Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015
https://archive.org/details/westparishchurch00unse
ROCKY HILL MEETING HOUSE.
The
WEST PARISH HURCH,
SALISBURY, MASS.
NE UNDREDTH NNIVERSARY,
JUNE 17, 1885.
Printed by order of the Committee of the Parish. /
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BOSTON: THE GUNN CURTIS CO., PRINTERS, 31 HAWLEY STREET. 1885.
THE ANNIVERSARY OCCASION.
Two years ago the subject of holding an anniversary service in the church was suggested by a few persons, and the same was noticed by the local press. As the time approached, members of the parish and interested friends sug- gested that a meeting be called for the purpose. Accordingly, on the evening of February 21, 1885, such a meeting was held at the parsonage-house, and was called to order by Dr. A. T. Brown. Robert Drummond was chosen president and Wm. F. Morrill secretary. The following committees were chosen:
Committee to Arrange for Speakers and Historical Address: Wm. E. Morrill and W. H. B. Currier.
Committee to Arrange for Catering : Dr. A. T. Brown and Robert Drummond.
Treasurer : Geo. W. Collins.
Committee to Arrange for Music: Dr. A. T. Brown, Rodney Currier, and W. H. Day.
Several meetings followed.
March 21st, the Committee on Speakers reported that an invitation had been extended to Rev. S. J. Spaulding, D.D., of Newburyport, to deliver the historical address, and he had accepted; and that Hon. R. S. Spofford had accepted an invitation extended to him, to deliver a short address sup- plementary to the reading of a poem, written by Harriet Prescott Spofford; and that Mr. J. W. Nye, of Lynn, would contribute a poem to the occasion.
At a meeting held April 25th, W. H. B. Currier was chosen president of the day for the Anniversary, and submitted the programme of exercises for the occasion, which met the approval of the meeting.
A Committee on Reception of Invited Guests was chosen, comprising the following ladies and gentlemen : Geo. W. Collins, Wm. E. Morrill, W. H. B. Currier, Cyrus W. Rowell, Mrs. Geo. W. Collins, Mrs. C. W. Rowell, and Miss Sarah F. Morrill.
Voted, To fix the date of the celebration the 17th of June.
Voted, That the committee make suitable arrangements; and that all the pastors of the churches of Salisbury, Amesbury, Merrimac, South Hampton,
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THE ONE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY OF
N. H., (regardless of denomination), and pastors of churches in Newbury- port, be invited to participate in the anniversary service. Circulars were accordingly issued, and a favorable response was received from nearly all the clergymen invited.
THE SERVICES.
Upon the morning of the anniversary day, June 17th, the sky was cloudy; but as the hour for the opening service approached-10.30 A.M .- the sun shone forth in splendor, and the day was all that could be desired.
The singing was under the direction of Moses Flanders; and the music was most acceptably rendered by a chorus choir, with some fine selections sung by Mrs. Emma J. Williams of Portsmouth, N. H.
The services throughout the day - commencing at 10.30 A.M., and ending at 4.30 P.M. - were of much interest. In the church, closing at 2 P.M .. after which came the dinner in the tent in rear of the church, followed by speeches from clergymen and others present. An adjournment to the church was made, where the choir again favored the people with selections from tunes " our fathers sang." As the sun began to descend behind the western hills, the large audience -coming from all sections of the country to visit, perhaps for the last time, the old church where they and their fathers and mothers worshiped -departed for their respective homes, with expressive greetings that it was a day and an occasion of pleasant memories, which would tinge the sunset of life with new joy. In all its features it was an inspiring scene - the old family pews filled with long absent friends, greeting those whom they had not seen in such church relations for half a century or more; the gallery front lined with its choir of fifty singers and players upon instruments; the sur- rounding seats filled with happy faces, with here and there a representation of " ye sixth generation; " the ancient elevated pulpit with its high sounding- board; the hour-glass which did service in the parish church nearly two hundred years ago; and the venerable preacher now in the eighty-first year of his age occupying the pulpit, all combined to remind one that the past and the present were happily blended.
ORDER OF EXERCISES.
Voluntary.
Invocation by Rev. O. A. Roberts of Salisbury.
Singing: "Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah."
" 'Tis by Thy strength the mountains stand."
Reading of Scripture by Rev. Clarence Pike, of Salisbury.
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THE WEST PARISH CHURCH, SALISBURY, MASS.
Singing of Centennial Hymn (written for the occasion by Joseph W. Nye, of Lynn):
CENTENNIAL HYMN.
Praise ye the Lord! This temple stands As firmly on this festal day As when it left the builders' hands, And souls first met to praise and pray. It still withstands the storm's fierce shock, For it is " founded on a rock."
With thankful hearts and reverent joy This sacred court today we tread;
Let grateful praise our tongues employ, While we recall the sainted dead, Who in this temple's former days Oft sanctified the place with praise.
Though prouder fanes bestud the land, Embellished by the touch of Art,
With lofty spire and sculpture grand, None may be dearer to the heart; Here none the less may God be found, No less this place is " holy ground!"
The generations yet to come, With jealous care will cherish still Our fathers' early "Sabbath home," The pride and crown of Rocky Hill! They constant sought this loved retreat, And found herein God's mercy-seat.
Our Father, God, whose love and might Unfailing holds eternal sway, Illumine with Thy Spirit's light Our souls upon this joyful day; And when our days on earth are o'er, Take us to praise Thee evermore!
Solo by Mrs. Emma J. Williams.
The president of the day introduced, as one of the oldest clergymen in this State,-for many years acting pastor of the church,- Rev. Albert G. Morton, of Salisbury, now in his eighty-first year, and the sixtieth year of his ministry.
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THE ONE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY OF
ADDRESS OF WELCOME.
Mr. President, Friends, and Fellow-Citizens : In compliance with the wishes of the Committee of Arrangements, I rise to present to you on this occasion their most cordial sentiments of welcome greeting.
As I look over this large assembly before me, I am reminded of the language of the prophet who was instructed to say to the North, give up, and to the South, keep not back, bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth.
The North and South, the East and West, have most generously and pleas- antly responded to the bidding of Providence this day, in the most respectable representation now present.
As I look on the pleasant countenances before me, I am reminded of an incident narrated of Gen. Washington, who was making a brief stop in the town of Newport, R. I. While there, he thought he would afford himself the pleasure of a morning excursion among some of the adjacent districts. Before he had completed his prospecting, he was met by a gentleman who belonged to the Society of Friends, who had seen him elsewhere, and who at once recognized him, and approaching him, with extended hand grasped that of the General, saying as he did so, " Well, George, I am glad to see thee, and thou art welcome to our town." So I would say to all before me, you are welcome to our town; welcome to this community; welcome to " Rocky Hill," to this ancient and venerable church, where doubtless the ancestors of many present used to assemble for the public worship of God; welcome to our homes, our hospitality, and our hearts. Most sincerely do we desire that your visit at this time, and the services of the occasion, may be a source of most pleasant recollections to one and all so long as memory shall perform the duties of its office.
" And when your evening sun Shall reach its distant west, May life's great business well be done, May you in Heaven rest."
Singing: Tune, " Westminster." C. M.
" Thou great and sovereign Lord of all, Whom heavenly hosts obey; Around whose throne dread thunders roll, And vivid lightnings play."
Tune, " New Jerusalem." C. M.
"From the third heaven where God resides, That holy, happy place, The New Jerusalem comes down Adorned with shining grace."
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THE WEST PARISH CHURCH, SALISBURY, MASS.
l'rayer by the Rev. D. T. Fiske, D.D., of Newburyport.
Singing: Tune, " Union."
" Blow ye, the trumpet blow, The glad, the solemn sound, Let all the nations know To earth's remotest bound, The year of Jubilee is come, Return ye ransomed sinners home."
Mrs. Emma J. Williams, of Portsmouth, N. H., sang, with fine effect, " Departed Days."
HISTORICAL ADDRESS.
BY REV. S. J. SPAULDING, D.D., OF NEWBURYPORT.
It is the advice of an old rhetorician that at the very commencement of his· address a speaker should put himself on good terms with his audience. But in violation of this sound counsel, I must beg leave here to suggest an implied censure of the good people of Salisbury, that they have allowed nearly two hundred and fifty years to pass and yet have made no provision for an adequate town history. There are few settlements in the commonwealth of Massachusetts which have more interesting or more ample materials for such a work than this same old town of Salisbury. The character of its founders, their struggles and their achievements, their sectional jealousies and political and religious partisanship, all constitute a course of town-life, so varied and so suggestive, that they deserve to be recorded in a careful, accurate, and dis- criminating history : and this day, this spot, this occasion, should give a strong impulse toward the accomplishment of this desirable object.
It is noticeable in all the early New England settlements that there was an irrepressible disposition to go outside of allotted boundaries. There was a fringe of hunters, fisherman, adventurers, fortune seekers, around every plan- tation granted by the General Court. This was the fact respecting Ipswich and Newbury, and also with regard to Salisbury. A certain venturesome John Bayly crossed the Merrimack, and in 1637 built his log cabin in Salisbury.
In answer to a petition presented to the General Court, September 6, 1638, by Simon Bradstreet and others, leave was granted for a plantation at Merri- mack, on the north side of the river. This was the first legal and permanent occupancy of this town. The upland, with the exception of a few cleared spots occupied by the Indians for planting corn, was an unbroken forest. The marshes and meadows were covered with rank grasses. As it was late in the year when leave was granted for the plantation, it is not probable that any set-
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THE ONE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY OF
tlement was made upon it until the opening of the next year, 1639. The inducement which led to the settlement of Salisbury was doubtless the same which led to the settlement of all the prominent points on the coast, from Massachusetts Bay to Mason and Gorge's line, - namely, a fear of the French, who had already turned Cape Sable and were coming down with their settle- ments upon the coasts of Maine, bringing a foreign language and religion.
The original boundary of Salisbury included the present towns, Amesbury, Merrimack, and in New Hampshire, South Hampton, a portion of Kingston, Plaistow, Newton, Seabrook, and Hampstead. In 1639 allotments of land were made to settlers and liberal grants were given to the minister, Rev. Mr. Worcester.
For you will note that no place could have the sanction and the protection of the General Court of Massachusetts Bay, unless it was able to build a church and maintain both a minister and a schoolmaster.
The foundation of our New England education and civilization was laid in religion. And worship was esteemed indispensable to a sound morality and a vigorous state. September 4th, 1639, the General Court gave the plantation at Merrimack the name of Colchester. But the reason for which this name was chosen is not known to me. That it was not acceptable to the majority of the people appears from the fact that October 7, 1640, it was changed by the General Court from Colchester to Salisbury. Mr. Merrill, in his history of Amesbury, conjectures that the name of Salisbury was taken out of considera- tion to Mr. Christopher Batt, who came from Salisbury, England, in 1638, and was an influential member of the first company. The settlers, many of whom were among the colonists of Newbury, just across the river, were of the best and sturdiest blood of Old England. They were men of moral worth and worldly substance. Ten of the sixty grantees were honored with the title of Mr., which shows their social standing and influence. A log meeting-house was among the first buildings erected, and their minister, Rev. Mr. Worcester, was among those who first received grants of land; and at thie very outset, that much abused and much defamed New England institution, the town-meeting, came into prominence, and was, in fact, the educator, and, next to the church, the controlling force in our New England civilization. And among all the associations connected with this old building there are none more distinctly in your minds today than those of the town-meetings of old Salisbury, held year after year within its walls. These meetings were the primary schools of our state and national legislators, and in the early days of New England these meetings were regarded as the great fountains of social, political and moral power. Something can be learned of their aims and scope by a citation of some of their votes. They were self-respecting, and so they ordered " that . every freeman when speaking in meeting shall take off his liat and rise when speaking and put it on when done." Voted: "Tliat no one shall be allowed
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THE WEST PARISH CHURCH, SALISBURY, MASS.
to fell anie tree on anie highway or street in or near about ye towne or on the Green, under a penalty of 20s." They took the matter of the calendar in hand, and ordered "yat ye year shall be accompted thus -from ye first of November to ye last of ye 1 month (March) shall be winter months, and ye seven other summer months, and all laborers for ye winter months, shall have no more but 16d per day, and for ye summer months 20d per day; and all carpenters shall have 2d per day more yan laborers, that is 18d per day in win- ter and 22d per day in summer."
The price of labor and of all commodities were regulated by the town- meeting. The meeting-house was not regarded as too sacred for such assem- blies, and the presence of freeman engaged in the discharge of duties to the commonwealth and the community, left no stain of desecration on the place where God was worshiped. Indeed, in the minds of our fathers the church and the state in their higher functions were one and the same. So that in their esteem no place was so appropriate for the town-meetings as the meeting- house, and no duty was more sacred and peremptory than the duty of the free- man to the state. Thus the state was hallowed by religion, while religion took a practical aspect and influence from the state.
But to turn from these fascinating glimpses of early town-life in New England to church affairs in Salisbury. The first meeting-house was probably constructed of logs, and occupied a lot on the open green, by the easterly corner formerly owned by Mrs. Buswell. There is no known record extant which fixes the year in which it was built. But, from the universal custom of the people to arrange for a place of worship at the very beginning of a settle- ment, it is probable that this roughly-constructed log meeting-house was built in 1639, - certainly not later than 1640. A bell, brought from England by order of Rev. William Worcester, was hung upon it in 1642.
The first intiniation of any desire for a second church appears in a petition sent to the General Court in 1646 by some of the Salisbury people, for a new church organization. This petition was referred to a committee consisting of Mr. Richard Dummer, Mr. Edward Rawson, and Mr. Carleton. They were instructed "to search and examine things at Salisbury, and make return of their thoughts thereabouts, and return their thoughts." This petition un- doubtedly arose in this parish, as the west side of the Powow river, now Amesbury, was very sparsely settled, and the people there were in no condi- tion to maintain a minister. But in the west part of Salisbury the population had increased in consequence of the mills erected at the falls of the Powow. This was undoubtedly the initiatory movement for the Second or West Church in Salisbury.
In 1652 the first meeting-house built on the Green at East Salisbury was repaired and enlarged by a frame addition of sixteen feet. From the fact that
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THE ONE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY OF
the addition was mentioned as " a new frame," it is inferred that the meeting- house itself was built of logs. As early as 1654, it appears, from articles of agreement made and concluded the fourteenth day of the first month, that a separation of the territory of old Salisbury was contemplated in the near future. The Powow river was to be the dividing line between the old and new town. Among these articles is the following:
" It is further agreed and concluded by each party that the said inhabitants of the new towne shall contribute to the mayntenance of the ministry of the old towne untill such tyme as the said inhabitants of the new towne do call one to exercise among them in the work of the ministry, and allow him mayntenance from which time the said inhabitants shall be freed from contributing any longer towards the mayntenance of the ministry of the old towne as aforesaid."
This was the germ of the township of Amesbury, - which was legally incorporated in 1666, and named Amesbury in 1667. In 1665 the first meeting- house in Amesbury, and the second in the territory of Salisbury, was built. The erection of that meeting-house undoubtedly delayed for more than fifty years a movement for the erection of one in what is now the territory of West Salisbury.
For a long time the Second Church in Salisbury had been in contemplation, and the distance from the meeting-house in the lower part of the town had become an intolerable grievance to the people of the upper or west end. "The distance," they say, "was so far that aged persons and younger ones cannot in reason travel to it."
In some cases new parishes came into being on account of personal animosities or sectional divisions. But in this case, as in a majority of our New England towns, we find that growth of population and remoteness from the old meeting-house were the predominant causes of the movement for a new parish. It was so in Newbury, in Amesbury, and in Salisbury. This move- ment almost invariably met with opposition from those living near the old church. It is difficult to say at what precise time the desire for a church in the upper or west part of the town took shape in definite action. But, as early as 1712, we find that the building of a church had been determined upon and a committee chosen for the prosecution of the work; and on December 24, 1712, further time was given them for the accomplishment of the work assigned them.
Salisbury was an exception to the general course of action in constituting a new church. It was unwilling to be divided into two parts in its taxation for the maintenance of religious worship, and so for nearly a hundred years it built and repaired its meeting-houses and its parsonages and supported its. ministers from the common town-treasury. But it is very evident that there was a fear on the part of the residents of East Salisbury that if a new house
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THE WEST PARISH CHURCH, SALISBURY, MASS.
of worship was erected in the western portion of the town they might not fare as well. Hence the stipulation made July 28, 1714:
"For as much as there hath bin sum diffrence concerning the place where ye new meeting house should sett, for the apeasing whereof and yt Love & Unity may be continewed amongst us and conveniency as may be attended by each part of ye town.
"1st. It is concluded and agreed upon the new meeting house in ye upper part of ye town shall from time to time and at all times be kept in good repayr, and a new one also sett up at ye lower eand of ye town when it is thuoght needful by ye lower part of ye town, and that an ortho- dox minister always provided to tech in ye sd meeting house from time to time and at all times as at present.
"It is secondly for the conveniency and ease of ye middle and upper part of ye town. It is also agreed when that ye new ineeting house now Ready to be Raysed shall be sett at or nere the Loge house so called nere the upper Schul house in the most conveniantest place ther and that ther be an otoughdox minister called and Settled to prech the word of God in the said meeting house from time to time as sone as may be.
" Thirdly, that the charges arising for repairing and building both meeting houses, Person- age houses and the Saliries of the ministers shall from time to time and at all times hereafter, be defrayed and payd by the whole town according to each Persons ability.
" Above said was voated in ye affirmative by ye town every Paregraft of it according to ye mening and intent of it."
The meeting-house was so far completed, that on May 24, 1716, it was voted to assign places for the pews and the persons were to build them " at thayr own cost and charge and they were to be finished by the last day of the next May." "November 15, 1716, it was voted that Mr. Cushing, then minister of the church in East Salisbury, should be desired to preach every other sab- bath day at the new meeting-house except weather prevents him." It was also voted at the same meeting that the town will " begin the building of a parsonage-house this winter near to the new meeting-house."
This new meeting-house had evidently become a disturbing element in the town; and June 10, 1717, it was voted that Rev. Mr. Cushing should occupy the new meeting-house, and, in effect, abandon the one at East Salisbury. It is probable that this vote was never carried into effect, for we find that by vote of the town six months later, December 16, 1717, Rev. Joseph Parsons was called to preach at the new church. His salary was to be eighty pounds,- one half in money and one half in provision at " mony's price." It was also voted that he should have the use of the parsonage at Rocky Hill, near the new meeting-house, and that it should be fenced, also three tracts of land. But the parsonage was not yet built, and so it was ordered that the same should be done forthwith. You will notice, in looking over the records, that there was extreme jealousy between the two parts of the town, and a constant effort to hold an even balance in all matters pertaining to the ministers and the meet- ing-houses. So, two days after this action, December 18, 1717, the salary of Mr. Cushing was made eighty pounds, the same as that offered to Mr.
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THE ONE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY OF
Parsons. The salary of Mr. Parsons was again up for discussion and fixed at seventy-five pounds, and Mr. Parsons came into town-meeting and declared his acceptance of the terms of the settlement. November 19, 1718, the church was formed, and subscription made to the following covenant by twelve persons :
" We do this day in a grateful sense of the call of Christ unto us avouch the Lord Jehovah to be our God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, and giving up ourselves to God in Christ and one an- other, we do by the grace of Christ assisting us, cheerfully submit ourselves to his government and to all his ordinances and institutions, taking and acknowledging him to be our prophet, priest and king, farther promising by the grace of Christ to shun and avoid all errors with all unrighteousness and ungodliness. We do also with ourselves give up our seed to be the Lord's, submitting them also to the discipline and government of Christ in his church, promising more- over that we will endeavor to uphold and promote the worship of God in public or in private; and finally that we will walk together as a church of Christ in all mutual love and watchfullness, to the building up of each other in faith and love, humbly craving help at the hands of God for the performance hereof."
This covenant was signed by Benj. Easman, Amos Page, Onesiphorus Page, Jeremiah Stevens, Abraham Morrill, James Thorne, Joseph Parsons, John Webster, Thomas Clough, Joseph Chandler, William True, Isaac Morrill.
November 28, 1718, Rev. Joseph Parsons was installed pastor.
You will notice that in the covenant subscribed by these persons there is no distinct creed. This was in accordance with the custom of our early New England churches, and it was not until nearly a century later that " Articles of Faith " containing a creed were adopted.
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