USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Athol > Athol, Massachusetts, past and present > Part 4
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ATHOL, PAST AND PRESENT.
The Currency .- Great difficulty was experienced dur- ing the Revolutionary War with the currency. The paper money had become a legal tender, and it had depreciated to an alarming extent, the prices of everything being high and unstable while hard money was extremely difficult to obtain and grain became a legal tender for the payment of taxes and other debts. The greatest trouble was expe- rienced from 1779 to about 1785, as is evidenced by the various votes passed by Athol during that time. At a town meeting held in 1783 the Constables were impowered to receive rye for town rates, and it was voted that Benjamin Sanders collect twenty bushels of rye to be delivered to Nathaniel Graves, Jr. Also chose Eliphalet Moore and William Bigelow to receive grain and pay whom the town owes, grain. In July 1780 "Voated to raise Fifty Seven Thousand five pounds to pay the town debt." "Voted to give sixty pound for a blanket, and thirty-six pound for a pair of shoes, and thirty pound for a shirt, and twenty pound for a pair of stockings." At a town meeting held in 1779 it was "voated to give as a Bounty to any man in this Town that shall kill a grown wolf thirty pound, and for a young one fifteen pound, said wolves to be killed within ten miles from this meeting house in Athol." The next year this bounty was increased to three hundred dollars.
CHAPTER V.
CHURCHES.
" Great is the Lord our God, And let his praise be great ; He makes his churches His abode, His most delightful seat.
These temples of his grace, How beautiful they stand ! The honors of our native place, And bulwarks of our land."
T IS impossible to fix the exact date of the building of the first Meeting House, owing to the loss of the early records of the Pro- prietors, but from the best information to be obtained, it seems probable that it was not built previous to the year 1741.
An ancient document referred to by Rev. S. F. Clarke in his centennial discourse con- tains a description of "fifty-eight acres of land" lying on both sides of "Mill Brook," surveyed and laid out by Abner Lee, agreeably to a vote of the Proprietors, "Sept. ve 2d, 1741," "and to ye election and choice of Lt. Samuel Kindle," "on the original Right of Jonathan Marble, No. 30, ye eight acres to Lyee in common for a Buring Place and Meeting house place, if ye Proprietors shall think proper to put them too."
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ATHOL, PAST AND PRESENT.
From the reading of this it would be inferred that the lot was not then occupied by a meeting house.
These eight acres referred to lay upon the north bank of Mill Brook, and included what is now known as the Old Indian Burying Ground on the Hapgood road, and the land where the school house recently erected stands; it is believed that the first meeting house was located very near the spot occupied by the school house. Here, in a rough and uncompleted log structure, the fathers of Athol first engaged in public worship. But there are no records to tell by whom religious services were conducted, nor how long they were held in that place. It is reasonable how- ever, to suppose that Dr. Joseph Lord, who was the best educated of the early settlers, officiated as the first preacher. This structure was destroyed by fire in a few years, and there is a tradition that it was burned by the Indians ; but later investigations point to the fact that the fire caught from a fire in the woods.
Another house was soon erected on "East Pequoiag Hill," or street, in close proximity to the Fort.
No record gives any exact date of the erection of this building, or of its size or cost.
It is said to have had but one pew, and that original- ly belonged to Dr. Joseph Lord, the first proprietor's clerk
Here the few inhabitants of old Pequoiag assembled Sunday after Sunday to engage in worship, and while a portion were worshiping God within, others were obliged, arms in hand, to keep guard ontside, lest the worshipers should be surprised by the wily and treacherous Indians.
The first record of any provision made for preaching in the settlement is as follows: "Oct. 18, 1749. Voted
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CHURCHES.
that Mr. Brown be allowed for one day's preaching, five pounds, Old Tenor." It is possible, however, that a regu- lar preacher may have been employed previous to this date as the early records are lost.
Rev. Timothy Brown and Rev. Jolin Mellen are re- ferred to in the records as ministers to whom the Proprie- tors were indebted, and they probably preached for them in the year 1749, or just previous. Rev. John Mellen was pastor of the first church in Sterling and he is said to have been a man of superior ability, who probably stood at the head of the clergy in the county. His pastorate at the Sterling church extended over a period of 34 years, and after a long controversy regarding the veto power of the clergy, which right lie maintained, he was excluded forci- bly from the pulpit. But his friends wiited with him in maintaining separate worship, for about 10 years, either in his own house or in a school house.
On the third Wednesday of May, 1750, the Proprie- tors "Voted that we choose an Orthodox minister to settle in this Place," and also voted that Mr. James Humfries, our present Preacher, be the Orthodox Minister in this Place." Mr. Humphrey, it appears by the records, had been supplying the pulpit at Pequoiag from the 10th of December, 1749, to the 16th of May, 1750.
The terms of settlement which were to be offered Mr. Humphrey were: "Voted that we give Mr. James Hum- fries, our present Preacher, the sum of Fifty Pounds law- ful money of this Province of the Massachusetts Bay, per Annum. while he continues in the work of the Gospel Ministry, in this Place, and farther, add to that right, a whole share of Land in the Township of Pequoiag laid
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ATHOL, PAST AND PRESENT.
out by the General Court for the first Minister of sd. Pe- quoiag, of which the House Lott on East Pequoiag Hill, on the west side of the High Way, Number Eight in Part, the sum of Sixty-six Pounds, thirteen shillings and four Pence lawful money of the Province of the Massachusetts Bay, to be paid, one-half within one Year after the Pay- ment of the first half, if he accepts of the work of the Gospel Ministry in this Place."
Mr. Humphrey's answer to the committee chosen to see if he would accept the call reads as follows :
"To the Proprietors of the New Township, called Pe- quoiag, at their Meeting continued by Adjournment from May 16th to August 8th, ensuing" .-
" Gentlen .: "
" I received by the Hand of Lieut. Richard Morton a Copy of your Votes passed at your Meeting, on the 16th of May last, respecting my settling among you in the Capacity of a Gospel Minister. And in Answer thereto,-In the first Place, I do heartily thank you for the good will you have expressed to me in your Invitation. After mature Deliberation upon the important affair, I now signify my acceptance of the Salary and Encouragement you have given me to Settle in the Work of the Ministry among you in this Place, in Case the Propriety will make me an addi- tion of Forty Shillings lawful money to your former Eu- couragement for my Annual Support,-and if it please God in his aldisposing Providence regularly to introduce me into the Pastoral Office over you, I hope by his grace and Spirit I shall be enabled in some good measure to fulfil my ministry. So I remain with hearty regards your Servant in Christ Jesus."
JAMES HUMFREY.
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CHURCHES.
"Pequoiag, August 8, 1750."
The terms of Mr. Humphrey were accepted, and a committee was chosen to make arrangements for the ordi- nation, also "to send to a Neighboring Minister or Minis- ters to assist them in a Fast and in Gathering a Church in this Place."
The church was formed August 29th 1750, when the pastor elect. and Richard Morton, Nathaniel Graves. Abra- ham Nutt, Robert Marble, Samuel Morton, Nathan Wait. Eleazer Graves, Ephraim Smith and Aaron Smith affixed their signatures to the solemn church covenant.
The ordination took place Nov. 7th, 1750, and from that time for nearly 25 years Rev. Mr. Humphrey minis- tered in peace and happiness to his people, until an inno vation in the custom of singing brought on a controversy, which finally, after nearly seven years of exciting town and church meetings, led to the severing of the pastoral rela- tion, and the dismissal of Mr. Humphrey Feb. 13, 1782, and nearly resulted in the dismemberment of the town. In- deed, there is but little doubt that the setting off of a por- tion of Athol to form the town of Orange was effected in consequence of this quarrel and the dismission of Mr. Humphrey. During his ministry there were 121 mem- bers added to the church. Mr. Humphrey continued to reside in town from the time of his dismissal to that of his death, which occurred May 8, 1796, in the seventy-fifth year of his age.
The town and church were without a settled minister for more than five years, during which time various attempts were made by both church and town to unite upon a preacher, but all was in vain, until July 25, 1787, when
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ATHOL, PAST AND PRESENT.
the right man seems to have been found. The church then voted "unanimously to invite Mr. Joseph Estabrook to take the pastoral care of them in the Lord," and on the 8th of August the town concurred with the church in extend- ing an invitation to Mr. Estabrook.
He was publicly ordained on the 21st of November, 1787, the terms of his settlement being as follows:
The town voted to give him two hundred pounds for his " encouragement to settle with them, and also the use of a pew in the meeting house so long as he should remain the minister of the town." For his "support" or salary they obligated themselves to give him "Seventy-five pounds" in cash, and twenty cords of good fire-wood an- nually. He soon succeeded in bringing harmony and peace out of discord, and for nearly forty-three years ministered to a united parish and happy people until his death, April 18, 1830.
Through his careful oversight and good judgment the religious controversies of the day that agitated other communities had not crept into his parish, but on his death the question of exchanges between the minister that should be called and ministers of other churches came up, and a division of the church resulted.
After several exciting Town Meetings had been held regarding the hiring of a minister it was finally, at a Town Meeting held Nov. 6, 1830, " Voted unanimously that we give the Rev. Josiah Moore a call to settle as Minister over the First Congregational Church and Society in the Town of Athol, upon the following terms :-
1st. He shall exchange Ministerial labours with all the Congre- gational Clergymen in the neighborhood, who are of regular standing and who will exchange with him :
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CHURCHES.
2d. Whenever two-thirds of the voters of said society shall have given Mr. Moore three months notice that they wish the connexion between him and the Society dissolved, it shall be dissolved; and when- ever Mr. Moore shall have given the Society three months notice that he wishes the connexion dissolved, it shall be dissolved accordingly :
3d. We will pay Mr. Moore as a salary, at the rate of Five Hun- dred Dollars for each year, which sum shall be paid at the expiration of each year, and if the said connexion be dissolved before the completion of any full year. the salary which shall then remain unpaid, shall be paid at the dissolution of said connexion."
The ordination of Mr. Moore took place Dec. 8, 1830, and he served the church as pastor until August, 1833. He was followed by Rev. Linus H. Shaw, who was ordained Nov. 12, 1834 and dismissed Aug. 29, 1836.
Following Mr. Shaw's dismission there was no settled minister for nearly 12 years. Among those who supplied the pulpit during this time were Stephen A. Barnard, Rev. Crawford Nightingale and Rev. E. J. Gerry. Of these Rev. Crawford Nightingale became the best known to the people of the town through his marriage into a prominent Athol family. Mr. Nightingale was born in Providence, R. I., Nov. 3, 1816. He was educated in the public schools of that city, and at Brown University, graduating from that institution in 1834. After leaving college he entered the Divinity School at Cambridge, from which he graduated in 1838. He was at Charlemont and Shelburne as pastor for two years, and came to Athol in 1841 and was pastor of the church here for two years and at Chicopee for six or seven years. In 1846 he married Mary Hoyt Williams, daughter of Dr. William H. Williams, a physician and prominent citizen of Athol. Mr. Nightingale was pastor of the church in Athol a second time for a year or more, and was then pastor at Groton for 13 years and at Ayer for 10 years, leaving the
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ATHOL, PAST AND PRESENT.
former place on account of his anti-slavery sentiments. He had no settled pastorate after leaving Ayer, and resided in Ashmont, a suburb of Boston, from 1876 until his death, which occurred Aug. 20, 1892, in Providence, where he was crusned to death by a cable grip car on College Hill. During his pastorate in Athol his public spirited and genial ways made him popular, and he was always a welcome visitor in town.
Rev. Samuel F. Clarke was ordained as pastor April 19, 1848, and continued until 1856, having had, next to the pastorates of Rev. Messrs. Humphrey and Estabrook, the longest term of service in the history of the church. He was stirring and active, not only in his church, but in social and town affairs, being for several years a member of the School Committee, and was the first historian of the town, his Centennial Discourse delivered at the cele- bration of the One Hundredth Anniversary of the First Church and Society in Athol, Sept. 9. 1850, being the first attempt to rescue the early history of the town from the oblivion to which it was fast hastening, and preserve it in such a permanent form as to make the people ac- quainted with it. This discourse has been the basis of all subsequent historical sketches of the early church and town history.
Mr. Clarke was followed by Rev. D. C. ()'Daniels, . who served 1857-59. Rev. George Bradburn became pastor in 1859.
Of all the ministers who have occupied the pulpits of Athol churches, the one who was the best known to the world at large, and the most distinguished was Rev George Bradburn, who occupied the pulpit of the Unitarian Church for one year, during 1859. and was also a resident .
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CHURCHES.
of the town for two years longer, and who for the last twenty years of his life spent a portion of each summer here with his old friends and co-laborers, the Hoyts, He was born in Attleboro, Mass., March 4, 1806, his father James Bradburn, being one of the earliest manufacturers of woolen cloth in New England. He was educated a practical machinist and at the early age of nineteen stood at the head of a large number of employees, but his love of study and desire of usefulness to his race impelled him to leave this business ; and after pursuing his studies at Exeter Academy and the Divinity School at Cambridge, he became a Unitarian minister, his first settlement being over a church in Nantucket. While at Nantucket he was elected to the Legislature by the Whigs in 1839. was a Representative from that place for three years, and was considered one of the most remarkable men in the House of Representatives.
He allied himself to the Anti-slavery cause and en- dowed with rare gifts as a popular speaker, a face and figure of rare dignity and beauty, and a courage that feared no antagonism, he stood among the strong men of the Anti-slavery cause. and became at one time more widely known throughout the Northern States than almost any of the orators of that cause.
He was an intimate associate of Garrison, and had the confidence and friendship of Whittier, Chief Justice Chase, Gerritt Smith, Governor Andrew, and other prominent leaders in that great conflict. He was a dele- gate to the World's Anti-slavery Convention, held in London in 1840, and took a prominent part in its pro- ceedings.
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ATHOL, PAST AND PRESENT.
From 1846 to 1849 he edited the "Pioneer and Herald of Freedom " at Lynn, in 1850 was associated with Elizur Wright on " The Boston Chronotype," and in 1851 removed to Cleveland, Ohio, to become one of the editors of " The True Democrat," a daily paper, afterwards the " The Leader." He resigned this position at the end of two years and entered the lecture field throughout the Western States. He worked through the Fremont political campaign, speaking twenty-six evenings con- secutively.
His health failing him, an entire change of climate was ordered by his physician, and he soon came to Athol, where he remained until 1861, when his friend, Salmon P. Chase, offered him his choice of consulship abroad, or an honorable position in the Boston Custom House. He accepted the latter, which position he re- tained for 14 years, making his home in Melrose. He died July 26, 1880.
Rev. Ira Bailey served from 1861 to 1866, Rev. W. S. Burton 1868-73, Rev. S. R. Priest 1874-76, Rev. E. P. Gibbs 1877 ----- The pastors since then have been Rev. W. C. Litchfield, Rev. D. H. Rogan. Rev. Caroline R. James supplied the pulpit in 1888 and A. L. Ferry in 1889.
Rev. Herbert Whitney, the last pastor, was born in Hancock, Vt., Nov. 6, 1850. He studied theology at St. Lawrence University, and also took a course in philosophy at Harvard. He has been pastor of churches at Waterloo, Canada ; Webster, N. Y .; Ludlow. Vt .; Storm Lake, Iowa and Sherburne, N. Y. He came to Athol in July, 1890, and closed his labors Jan. 29.
.
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CHURCHES.
1893. Rev. Charles Conklin supplied the pulpit in 1893.
The second meeting house, which was located on the "Street," was used for public worship until 1773.
When it became necessary to build a new meeting house, the town was agitated from centre to circum- ference regarding the location, and for a year or two Town Meetings were held every few months to determine the spot ; votes would be passed and then annulled and made void at the next meeting, until fi- nally. as the best way out of the trouble, it was decided to choose a committee from other towns in the County, and at a meeting held Jan. 16, 1772, " A Committee consisting of Capt. Oliver Witt of Paxton, C'apt. Stephen Maynard of Westboro and Col. John Whitcomb of Bolton were chosen to fix a spot for the inhabitants of Athol to sit a meeting house to accommodate the whole town."
The Common was finally decided upon as the place, and here the third meeting house was erected and opened for public worship, on the first Sunday of July, 1773. This was occupied until its destruction by fire, probably by an incendiary, on the night of July 2, 1827.
The present church edifice was built in 1828, at an expense of between five and six thousand dollars, on land donated for the purpose by Mr. Samuel Sweetzer. This building was remodelled and repaired in the fall of 1847 ; the upper part was finished into a hall and disposed of to the Town, being the present Town Hall. The church below was rededicated, Dec. 8, 1847.
THE EVANGELICAL CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
As a result of the controversy on the theological doc- trines which rent the old First Church after the death of
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ATHOL, PAST AND PRESENT.
Rev. Mr. Estabrook, all but eight of the church member- ship, with two of its deacons, withdrew in October, 1830, and formed the "Evangelical Society of Athol, " articles of faith being adopted by the new church, March 25, 1831.
The first meetings were held in the Town House, which stood where now is the yard in front of James M. Lee's stable, on the corner of Common St.
The newly organized church worshipped here until a meeting-house was built in the summer of 1833, which is the present house of worship. The church was ded- icated in June of that. year, the sermon being preached by Rev. Mr. Winslow of Boston. The land on which the church was built was given by Mr. Frederick Jones of Boston, and the timber was contributed and many days work were put in by individuals. When the building was completed the pews were sold at auction and the money received was used in paying the cost of building. In 1859 the church was enlarged and repaired at a cost of about $6000, at which time the present tall and stately steeple took the place of the old black belfry that had formerly surmounted the structure. In 1868 a fine pipe organ was put into the singers gallery, taking the place of the violins, bass-viols, trombone, flute and seraphine, that had for many years pealed forth their music for the singers ; later the organ was removed to the left of the pulpit in front of the audience, and other changes and improvements have been made about the building.
Rev. George J. Tillotson, who had preached for six weeks in the old First Church, before the call was ex- tended to Rev. Mr. Moore, and before the division, continued to minister to the new church for three months,
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CHURCHES.
when he was invited to become its settled pastor but de clined. During his short ministry there was a revival of religion, when about forty were converted. Mr. Tillotson is remembered as a wise, strong and earnest Christian minister. Soon after leaving Athol he was ordained as pastor of the Congregational church of Brooklyn, Conn., which position he held for twenty-seven years. He served other churches in Connecticut, his native state, for eighteen years, when he retired from active service, after a ministry of forty-five years. In 1860, he married for his second wife Mary Wood, a well-known teacher and descendant of the Sweetzer family of Athol.
The first settled minister was Rev. B. B. Beckwith, who was ordained June 8, 1831, and dismissed Nov. 11, 1834. A notable event in his pastorate was a great re- vival under the labors of Evangelist Foote, which resulted in the conversion of nearly sixty people, and awakened such opposition that it is said a cannon was fired near the church during services, while a stone was thrown through the window in the direction of the pulpit ; another event of importance to the society was the erection of the church.
Mr. Beckwith was born. in Lyme, Conn., was a gradu- ate of Williams College, and a student of Yale Theological Seminary. His last pastorate was with the First Presby- terian church at Gouverneur, N. Y., where he died July 4. 1870. He was succeeded by Rev. James F. Warner, who served from March 4, 1835, until Dec. 18, 1837.
Mr. Warner is said to have been a man of a quick and excitable temperament, and evidently had mistaken his calling, for after leaving Athol he did not again engage
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ATHOL, PAST AND PRESENT.
in the ministry, but went to New York City where he. be came a teacher of music, and died March 6, 1864.
The next pastor was Rev. R. M. Chipman, whose ministry began Aug- 15, 1839, and ended Dec. 23, 1851, lasting a little over 12 years, and is succeeded in length by only one pastorate in the history of the church. This pas- torate was made exciting by the Temperance Reform and Anti-Slavery agitations as well as the Millerite excitement which at this time was sweeping over the country, and in these agitations this church put itself on record on the side of Temperance and human freedom. Mr. Chipman was a native of Salem, Mass., and a graduate of Dartmouth College, his theological studies being pursued at Princeton, N. J., and at the University of New York. He was an energetic pastor and is remembered with esteem by many ; he was for seven or eight years a member of the School Committee. After his removal from Athol he served churches in Connecticut and Massachusetts, and was also engaged in historical and genealogical work.
The fourth settled pastor was Rev. John F. Norton, who was installed March 17, 1852, and served for 15 years, his pastorate terminating March 11, 1867, and being the longest of any pastorate of any church in town with the exception of the two first ministers of the old First Church. No minister of Athol during the last half century has probably made a deeper impression upon the people of the town than Mr. Norton, and under his leadership the church enjoyed a season of uninterrupted prosperity with several revival seasons and large ingatherings to the church. He was also held in high regard and esteem by the towns people, irrespective of church membership, and was given
REV. E. F. MARTIN.
REV. C P. LOMBARD.
REV. C. J. SHRIMPTON.
REV. J. F. NORTON.
REV. J. H. HUMPHREY.
REV. H. F. BROWN.
REV. E. S. GOULD.
ے
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CHURCHES.
responsible and honorary positions. He was for many years a member of the School Committee, and served as chairman much of the time. On the breaking out of the Rebellion. he was made chairman of a committee appoint- ed by the town to keep a record of all the town did in support of the government. This resulted at the close of the war in the publication of " Athol in Suppressing the Rebellion." the large part of the work on which was the labor of Mr. Norton.
He was born in Goshen, Conn., Sept. 8, 1809, and and was educated at Yale College and East Windsor Theo'ogical Seminary. After teaching school for a num- ber of years. he was ordained to the ministry at Milton, Conn .. Oct. 23. 1844. He remained there for five years in home missionary work, and previous to coming to Athol was installed as the first pastor of the Porter Evan- · gelical Church of North Bridgewater, Mass. After leaving Athol Mr. Norton served churches at Fitzwilliam, N. H .. West Yarmouth. Mass., and Hubbardston. He resided for several years in Natick, Mass., where he died Nov. 3. 1892. He left a widow and one son, Lewis M., a professor in the Institute of Technology, at Boston. His remains were brought to Athol and buried at the Highlands.
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