USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > North Adams > Addresses and papers presented at the Diamond Jubilee, 1827-1902, May 11-14 (First Congregational Church of North Adams) > Part 5
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One hundred and eleven members were received into the church during the pastorate of Mr. Yeomans, a remark- able record when we consider the constant financial strug- gle which the pastor and people were compelled to undergo. The time came, however, when Mr. Yeomans on account of his growing family found it impossible longer to con- tinue his labors. In his letter of resignation he gives as his one reason the impossibility of supporting his family and at the same time performing the duties of a faithful
1832-DEACON WILLARD GOULD-1843
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pastor in this place. A council dismissed him on the 16th of February, 1832, and he accepted the call which had been given him by the strong First church of Pittsfield. Mr. Yeomans had two sons born in North Adams, both of whom grew up to be ministers of influential standing in the Presbyterian church, and have both passed away. A third son, born shortly after leaving North Adams, was a physician in Philadelphia, and died a few years ago. The oldest of his sons is a minister of the Presbyterian church, now settled in Washingtonville, Orange county, N. Y. Of Dr. Yeomans' two daughters only one survives, Mrs. Louisa Veomans Boyd of Harrisburg, Pa., and we count it an honor that we are granted the favor of her presence, and that of her son, John Yeomans Boyd, who bears the name of our founder and first pastor, and was baptized by his grandfather at the last communion service at which he officiated. Mr. Yeomans remained three years in Pittsfield and then accepted a call to the First Presbyterian church at Trenton, N. J. In 1841 he was called to the presidency of Lafayette college, Pa., but returned in 1845 to the pas- torate, taking charge of the Wahoming Presbyterian church, Danville, Pa., where he passed away June 22, 1863. The determination and faith which he showed dur- ing the discouraging days of his first pastorate were indeed prophetic of his subsequent distinguished and useful career. Of those who united with the church during the first pas- torate, so far as we know, only one is living, Miss Martha Streeter of Charlemont, who was received into membership in 1831.
During the few months in which the church was without a pastor, a call was extended to the Rev. Mr. White of Ashfield to settle on "an annuity of $500, house
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rent and firewood provided in addition," but as at the same time we find a special effort made to raise money for the church materialized in but $27.60 as the result of the con- tributions of twenty-three persons, only two of whom, J. Q. Robinson and Dr. Hawkes, were able to give $3, we judge that Mr. White had doubt as to the certainty of any part of his salary but the firewood, which he undoubtedly could cut for himself.
On the eleventh of June, 1832, Deacons Bailey, Gould, and Dr. Hawkes were appointed a committee to confer with the Rev. Caleb Branch Tracy and make out a call. With two members of the Florida branch of the church, the com- mittee agreed to give Mr. Tracy a salary of $500, he prom- ising to return $50 the first year on the debt, and after that "as much as he judges he can spare out of his salary." A number of the earlier members of the church will remember the genial presence of Mr. Tracy at the fiftieth anniversary of the church in 1877. It is quite probable that Mr. Tracy was brought to the attention of the church by his class- mate, Prof. Albert Hopkins, who rendered this church in its early days the same moral and spiritual uplift which in later days has made his name blessed in the White Oaks valley. Mr. Tracy was one of the pioneers whose names are never widely known but who render many times a more fundamental service in the building up of the Kingdom than do their brethren who occupy a more conspicuous position. He was a native of New Marlboro, in this county, was born July 11, 1799. He graduated from the old academy at Stockbridge and from Williams college in 1826, and Andover theological seminary in 1829. He was or- dained at Colebrook, Ct., March 10, 1830. Before coming to North Adams he was acting pastor in Canaan, N. Y .;
ELIHU S. HAWKES, M. D.
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Troy, N. Y .; and Glens Falls from 1830 to July 10, 1832. At the time of his coming to North Adams then he was a Presbyterian minister and retained his membership in the Troy presbytery during his pastorate here. In this connec- tion, as so many of the church, from alinost the earliest years, have come to it from the Presbyterian church we notice with interest that of our twelve installed ministers, seven have either come from or gone to Presbyterian churches.
At the council which installed Mr. Tracy, David Dudley Field was the moderator, and the sermon was preached by a brother of the pastor. The peculiar difficul- ties of the work can be seen as we discover that of the 22 charter members who united with the church April 19, 1827, only 12 were connected with the church at the begin- ning of the pastorate of Mr. Tracy. Of the III members who came into the church during the pastorate of Mr. Yeomans only 68 were actively connected with the church when Mr. Tracy undertook his labors. The old debt was a constant menace, for Mr. Tracy could not be expected to do a great deal in the way of lightening it by the payment of $50 the first year and what he could afford subsequently, so long as his own salary was paid so haltingly.
The church however continued to make progress along the lines of its early development. December 8, 1833, it was voted unanimously to alter the Covenant so that it should read "You desire and by the aid of Divine grace you promise to walk in all the statutes and ordinances of the Lord, etc .- to abstain entirely from the use of ardent spirits except as a medicine, and to honor your high calling," etc. This temperance pledge in the Covenant was retained until
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the revision of the Creed and Covenant during the pastorate of Mr. Gladden. It is an honorable fact also in the history of the church that in this time when the abolition move- ment was in its very infancy, colored members were re- ceived into the church, for we find in the year 1835 that three negroes are entered upon the church roll, and that they were not neglected was made evident from the fact that on the subsequent year a committee was appointed to confer with "certain rum drinking brethren" and secure from them a promise of amendment, and among these rum- drinking brethren were two of the colored members.
One member of the church is still with us who united under the pastorate of Mr. Tracy, Mrs. Caroline Arnold Lillie, who united March 3, 1833, over sixty-nine years ago. It has given the pastor great happiness to conduct a cottage prayer meeting at the home of Mrs. Lillie within the last year. By a record of meeting of the church held February 6, 1834, we judge that one reason for the short term of most of Mr. Tracy's pastorates was an undue sensitiveness on his part, for we find him as church clerk making the record that, "after some harsh remarks made in regard to the diffi- culties of the church, the pastor requested to be dismissed.' The record of the council held for the dismission of Mr. Tracy, February 26, 1834, expressed regret that "Mr. Tracy misjudged as to the nature and extent of the opposition in the church against him, thus hastening his removal from a congregation to which his ministry had been acceptable and useful." I have already spoken of Mr. Tracy's presence at the fiftieth anniversary of the church in 1877. After his pastorate in North Adams, he was settled in a number of places in New Hampshire and Vermont, and at the time of our anniversary was living in Wilmot, N. H. He short-
1835-REV. ALVAH DAY-1836
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ly after moved to Andover, N. H., where he passed away January, 1881, in the eighty-second year of his age. He left no descendants, and it has been impossible as yet to procure a picture of him to show in connection with the anniversary.
The continuation of the unsettled condition, which meant so much in a small community, is evidenced as we notice that at the beginning of the next pastorate only ten of the charter members remained, only 59 of the III who united under Mr. Yeomans and 54 of the 75 who had first come into the church under Mr. Tracy. The pastorate of Alvah Day was but brief. March 20, 1835, he accepted the call extended to him on behalf of the committee, and was installed May 26, 1835. Thirty-two members united with the church during the year of service, but Mr. Day's wife was English, and, tradition says, was hardly able to enjoy life among her New England sisters, and at the end of a year, after an unsuccessful attempt to raise a debt of $1,000 due from the church to several individuals, Mr. Day re- signed, giving as his principal reason the suggestive state- ment, "I think I might find a field in the vineyard of our Lord more favorable to my health and usefulness." No man who gave even a year of honest service to this church in its early days deserves to be forgotten, and for that reason the present pastor has made strenuous efforts to ascertain some facts in regard to the previous and subse- quent history of Mr. Day. No members of our church are now living who united during his pastorate, and for some reason Mr. Day seemed to drop out of the knowledge of the North Adams church and of the Congregational minis- ters in New England. At the time of our fiftieth anni- versary it was reported that he was dead. Through the
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aid of others I have at last ascertained some particulars, which I communicate to you in order that he may be to you something more than a bare name. He was born in Granville, N. Y., January 1, 1798. He graduated from Middlebury college in 1823, studied theology with the father of the late Dr. George Leon Walker of Rutland, preached in Hebron, N. Y., seven years before coming here, and was afterwards, until 1870, pastor of Presbyterian churches in different places in New York, and subsequently in Illinois and Iowa. In 1870 he settled in Manchester, Iowa, and died there April 21, 1882. The pastor of the Congregational church in Manchester, Iowa, Rev. J. W. Tuttle, writes to me, "He was highly regarded in this city for his sincere piety." He had two sons who rose to dis- tinction in the war, one as colonel of the gist Illinois vol- unteers, brevetted brigadier-general, and the other lieuten- ant-colonel in the same regiment. He himself also en- listed and was chaplain of the regiment of which his two sons were in command. A granddaughter is still living in Manchester, Iowa, and from her we have received a picture of our third pastor, which is loaned us for this anniversary occasion.
Rev. Alvah Day had hardly completed his work with the church before the church became acquainted with Rev. Ezekiel Russell, who had just graduated from Andover theological seminary. Mr. Russell was a native of South Wilbraham and a graduate from Amherst college in the class of 1829. For a year after graduation he was principal of Hopkins academy in Hadley and tutor in Amherst col- lege, where among his pupils was one student whose after life completely discredited the poor idea which Tutor Rus- sell formed of him as a student. This pupil was Henry
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Ward Beecher. Mr. Russell was a man of accurate schol- arship, of firm nature, who was willing to go to the stake if need be for his conceptions of what was true and right. The church had such a high idea of him that they offered him a larger salary than had ever been paid before, the sum of $800 per year. This fact would indicate that for the time the prospects of the community were more hope- ful. In accepting the call Mr. Russell agreed to the sug- gestion made by the committee which called him and promised $100 from his first year's salary for the church debt. He had a decided mind of his own, however, and this he manifested when he specified that the $100 was only to be given the first year. We now for the first time hear the subject of a minister's vacation mentioned, and Mr. Russell specified that he was to be granted a four or five weeks' vacation during the year. He also told the church that the labors of preparing sermons for the Sabbath serv- ices would be such that he could not agree to preach fun- eral sermons. The committee accepted all of his conditions except the one as to a vacation, and told him that they hoped that he would not leave them "without the means of grace " so many Sabbaths in the year.
The brighter prospect at the beginning of Mr. Rus- sell's pastorate was apparently soon over-clouded. The growth of the church was much slower than it had been and the rate of removal did not decrease. Mr. Russell was a believer in law-the law was not alone to be preached, but to be enforced. Accordingly we find more cases of dis- cipline recorded during the three brief years of his pastor- ate than find a place in our records during the other seven- ty-two. Undoubtedly his sense of duty led him to be loyal to the church standards, in accordance with which
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every dereliction of duty on the part of a member must be investigated. It may be questioned, however, whether the effect upon the church and the community was beneficial. And while many of Mr. Russell's successors may have seemed to partially disregard the discipline of the church, they have undoubtedly been animated by their endeavor to apprehend the spirit of the Savior when He said, " He that is without sin, let him cast the first stone," and they have permitted the parable of the wheat and the tares, which are to grow together until the judgment, to influence them somewhat in their enforcement of discipline.
Mr. Russell, as he said, "accepted the call hesitating- ly," and in less than two years endeavored to resign. His people resisted his effort, however ; but on the 28th of March, 1839, he peremptorily resigned to accept a call which had been given him from the Second church of Springfield. Mr. Russell in later years was asked to preach the sermon at the dedication of our present house of worship. At the time when he left the church the thought of such enlarge- ment as was represented by the new church was furthest from his mind. It may be questioned whether he expected the church to survive his departure. He said in his letter: "In consequence of recent removals from your church, and those that are about to occur, there is no certainty that I can remain longer than the close of the current year were I disposed. There is no certainty that my salary can under any circumstances be raised for another year. The salary originally stipulated has never been and probably never will be paid. You have paid all that I think you are able to pay for my support, and all that I can feel that it is right to exact in your circumstances, were I to remain with you." He added that while he would not enumerate all the reasons
1836-REV. EZEKIEL RUSSELL-1839
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which led to his decision, he would state some of them, "such as the shifting of your population, the condition of your common schools, the want of interest in the great masses of the inhabitants in anything that contributes to a permanent and prospective improvement in your intellec- tual, moral and religious condition,-the tenure by which much of the property in the village is held, the low sectarian- ism which exists, and the principles upon which religious in- stitutions are based and sustained by many a contributor." As one of his reasons of accepting the call which came to him from Springfield, he gave the following: "Should I settle over that church there will be within four miles of me some six or seven clergymen ; the difference in this re- spect between my circumstances here and what they would be there is obvious. For the year past you are aware that I have not for once exchanged a Sabbath with a neighbor- ing clergyman. With the single exception of Williams- town it is impossible for me to do so unless I ride, or com- pel some one else to ride, at least twenty miles."
A gloomy year apparently was the twelfth year of the life of this church. We find that only 32 of the 133 who were included in the church during the pastorate of Mr. Yeomans remained at the close of Dr. Russell's pastor- ate. Only 26 of the 75 who united under Mr. Tracy five years before remained. Only 12 of the 33 who united under Mr. Day three years before remained, and only 28 of the 39 who had united under Dr. Russell. We can hardly blame the good man for despairing. Our beloved Mrs. Potter, who united with the church dur- ing his pastorate, bears witness to his faithful and un- tiring labors as a pastor. The friendship then formed be- tween Dr. Russell and the members of the church was
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never interrupted, for we find it recorded that sixteen years later, when the church had passed through its days of early uncertainty as to whether it was to be or not to be, he was called again to the pastorate.
Dr. Russell's third and last pastorate of over twenty years was in Holbrook, where the present pastor succeeded him and had the pleasure of knowing him and revering in him one who was a perfect example of the old time scholar- ly, authoritative minister. He died in Lynn, Mass., Feb- ruary 26, 1896, in his ninety-first year. He received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Amherst college in 1858. Of him his daughter records that he read for mere pleasure, up to the time of his last illness, his Latin and Greek daily. He is survived by one daughter, Mrs. Carrie Russell Coffin, of New York city, who proposes to honor the memory of her father by presenting his picture to the church.
In 1840 commenced the longest pastorate of the church, that of Rev. Robert Crawford. Mr. Crawford's life story will be told by his son in connection with other exercises of this anniversary, and the record of his work in North Adams, based upon the daily diary which he kept, will then be read.
In this review of our history then, it is only fitting that we should briefly consider certain of the important facts in our church history which reveal our lasting in- debtedness to Mr. Crawford.
Coming into the church at a time in which his pre- decessor had become completely discouraged, Mr. Crawford did not for a moment falter in his faith that God called him to co-operate with the church in a work which could not fail. He set a noble example of self-sacrifice to his people and they were infected with the contagion. For
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1846-DEACON DAVID C. ROGERS-1849
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years he paid $50 of his salary of $600 into the church treasury for the sake of reducing the debt, which had been such an incubus from the very beginning. Before his coming, when the church was without a pastor, James Hunter and his wife were received into membership, and the Hunter family from that day to this has been a source of strength and wisdom to the church:
Upon several occasions Mr. Crawford felt that the time for his further usefulness had ceased, but the way in which his people showed him their affection and their evident desire that he should remain with them, led him to renew his work with new courage. In the year 1843, after having cherished such a thought, the church was gladdened by the evident outpouring of God's spirit. A larger number were received into membership than had been received during any previous year. The year 1850, however, well deserves to be regarded as one of the brightest years in the history of the church. Of the nature of this work it is our privilege to hear from those who were blessed through it; and I will first of all read to you words of reminiscence dictated by Edwin Rogers, who entered into the membership of the church in this eventful year.
"Altogether the greatest revival of my knowledge came to this town in the winter of 1850, remarkable in a number of aspects, for its wonderful quiet, for the fact that most of the principal business men of North Adams were counted as its trophies. On farm and in factory and in the store and at home not much else was talked about but of this remarka- ble pouring out of the spirit, so called. A remarkable thing in connection with this revival was, that so far as the majority of the church knew, nothing had been done. But you ask our sainted sister, Mrs. Dr. Babbitt, why just
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at this particular time such a work should appear, and she would tell you that for weeks at her home and in other homes prayer meetings had been held almost daily, till is seemed as if the blessing must come, and it did. And at the meetings progressed, strong men in the state of mind called then being 'under conviction,' would go to see their minister and say, 'What shall I do to be saved ?' until the interest all through this North Village was very deep. Every evening the Congregationalists took a step which they had never taken before in my life-had an anxious seat." It will help us to appreciate the remarkable nature of this movement as we let Mr. Rogers tell of his own per- sonal relationship to it. He says :
"I found one day that a number of my friends had been meeting each night in prayer for me. This touched my heart deeply. I thought if my friends can be concerned for me, I should certainly be concerned for myself, and this led me to take this important step of my life. I re- member, as I went about in those days following my deci- sion, how beautiful the whole world seemed to me ; the sun shone brighter than ever before and everything was fairer. My thoughts went quickly back to the old home at Con- way, while I listened at my mother's door and heard her pray so earnestly for every boy and girl she had, calling them by name, that they might become Christians in youth. So I seemed hedged in and took the step which I have never regretted."
The other account of the revival of fifty-two years ago is from a former member of this church, Mrs. Maria L. Holbrook, now living in DeLand, Fla. She says :
"In our own church the first indication of unusual in- terest had shown itself when the wealthiest, mnost fashion-
1850-DEACON HENRY CHICKERING-1856
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able and most influential woman in the congregation had signified her intention of uniting with the church. Of course it called forth words of surprise that 'Mrs. Marshall is going to unite with the church.' Upon inquiry it was learned that she had for weeks been under deep conviction of sin, and having decided this question she now wished to connect herself with the church.
"It was also learned that three or four devout Chris- tians had been in the habit of meeting together at stated hours and praying for this dear woman's conversion, and for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the church. Two other ladies with Mrs. Marshall, Mrs. Frank Robinson and Mrs. Robert Robinson, united with the church at the same date, and at the next communion Mr. James E. Marshall and Mr. Robert Robinson were admitted. From this time until the following spring there was a continuous series of conversions and additions to the church. We cannot fail to note the wonderful sermons preached by the Rev. Chris- topher Cushing and Rev. John Chickering, D. D., who as- sisted the pastor in this work.
"I remember a communion during that period when a large number had presented themselves for admission to the church-among them a woman wasting with con- sumption, too feeble to stand, was brought into the church in an invalid's chair and with her husband received the sacrament of baptism and the communion. The sight of this almost dying woman produced a deep impression upon the audience, and when the services were about to con- clude, the Rev. John Chickering rose in the pulpit and made the closing remarks. He told them how much he had been impressed with the solemn services. He had noted the large crowd in the galleries, the attentive inter-
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est shown by them. He begged of them to come to Christ, and to commence a life of holy living with these who today have consecrated themselves to this work. This thought, he said, had passed through his mind while sit- ting there : 'There will be no galleries in Heaven pre- pared for spectators.'"
As an illustration of Dr. Crawford's hold upon the community, I will let Mr. Rogers tell the story of a dona- tion party during this period :
" We seldom failed to give him a donation, and what donations they were! It had been a hard winter for busi- ness. Mr. Crawford had become discouraged and thought the people didn't want him any longer. I was living where the priests live now, on the corner of Union and Eagle streets. Mrs. James E. Marshall (a wonderful worker in our church) came to our house in muddy March -said she wanted to see me and my wife-wanted a dona- tion for Mr. Crawford. I said, 'Mrs. Marshall, the Baptists have just closed one; the Methodists have closed one; I have just delivered the proceeds of one for the poor of this town of $200, and I am afraid another one will be a failure.' 'No,' she said, 'not for that good man.' She had been to the Methodists and they had told her they would be glad to give her the use of their chapel and would help her in every possible way. It got noised about that week and Mrs. Marshall and myself started to solicit food and to name a date. We did not think best to stop at the houses of the other congregations, but they came out and stopped us, saying, 'Don't go by us for that man, come here.' The evening came. A great crowd filled the church above and below. We said, 'We will seat all outsiders first from other churches.' We could seat sixty at a table. All the
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