USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Millbury > Centennial history of the town of Millbury, Massachusetts, including vital statistics, 1850-1899 > Part 22
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Two years after the dismissal of Mr. Jessup, the Rev. Charles H. Peirce was called to the pastorate of the church and was installed Oct. 22, 1862. During his pastorate the building was thoroughly remodelled. One of the most notable changes was the reversing of the pews so that they faced as they now do-a change that had been advocated for a quarter of a century. He was deeply beloved by the people, but his pastorate was a short one, through his lamented death, Oct. 5, 1865.
Dec. 6, 1866, the Rev. Stacy Fowler was installed to the pastorate of the church. While he was minister, the present comfortable parsonage was erected. He was a man of broad sympathies and under his leadership the church prospered. He was dismissed March 5, 1878.
In the same year, on April 16, the Rev. John L. Ewell was installed as pastor of the church. Many now active in the work of the church and elsewhere were roused to Christian service and directed in the path of a consecrated life under his ministry. In 1884, the building was thoroughly renovated. The organ, which had done service for over forty years, was removed and the present fine instrument was installed. Mr. Ewell was dismissed Jan. 5, 1891, to become dean of Howard University, Washington, D. C.
May 7, of the same year, the Rev. George P. Eastman was installed. His work is still so fresh in mind that it has hardly emerged from the field of current events into
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HISTORY OF MILLBURY
that of history. In 1891, the church was incorporated. In 1893, extensive repairs were made in the church build- ing. Later, free pews and the pledge system of raising money were instituted. A new bell was hung in the belfry -the fourth in the history of the church. Beau- tiful memorial windows were purchased and put in place. An addition to the building was made which afforded greater facilities for social occasions. Sept. 7, 1902, the church celebrated the seventy-fifth anniversary of its organization with appropriate exercises. Peace, pros- perity, and piety marked the life of the church during his even tempered and devoted ministry. Dec. 14, 1903, he was dismissed to accept the pastorate of the Congre- gational Church in Orange, New Jersey.
Dec. 6, 1904, the Rev. Grove F. Ekins was installed as pastor of the church. A vigorous men's organization and a boys' club flourished for a time during this period. March 25, 1909, Mr. Ekins was dismissed and became pastor of the church in Housatonic.
Oct. 19, 1909, the present pastor, the Rev. Robert W. Dunbar, was installed. During this time the church has twice been honored in having among its worshippers the President of the United States, the Hon. William Howard Taft, who visited his aunt, Miss Delia C. Torrey, at the time the senior member of the church.
BAPTIST CHURCH
The town records show that as early as 1814 several persons who belonged to the Baptist Church at Grafton resided in Millbury. In 1817, there was a Baptist Society in this town, and May 10, 1826, a more thorough organization was effected. The Rev. Christopher Hall, the Rev. Otis Converse, of Grafton, and Elder Harrington of Sutton, preached here.
In the year 1835, at the house of Abijah Gleason, in West Millbury, the Millbury Baptist Church was formed with eighteen constituent members. The first public
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THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH
THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH
319
CHURCHES
meeting was held in the old schoolhouse on the site of Union Chapel, West Millbury. Upon the completion of the West Congregational Church, in 1837, the Baptists joined with others in Union services in that edifice for a time. In 1840, however, the Baptist Church moved to the Armory Village where distinctively Baptist services were held in the old Academy Hall. The first regularly settled pastor was the Rev. Hervey Fitts who ministered to the church from 1841-43. Other pastors were the Rev. James Upham, D. D., 1843-45; the Rev. S. J. Bronson, 1846-53; the Rev. Cyrus T. Tucker, 1853-56; Joseph Aldrich, Homer Sears, Joseph Smith, Mr. Chap- man and S. A. Thomas, supplies, 1856-58; the Rev. S. A. Thomas, 1858-62; the Rev. J. E. Brown, 1864-67; the Rev. C. A. Skinner, 1867-68; the Rev. S. J. Bronson, 1870-74; the Rev. George B. Gow, 1874-80; the Rev. D. W. Hoyt, 1880-89; the Rev. A. M. Crane, 1889-91; the Rev. S. D. Ashley, 1891-98; the Rev. Geo. E. Lombard, 1898-1901; the Rev. Charles W. Park, 1901-06; the Rev. H. E. Chapman, 1906 -.
The present brick building was occupied for the first time, Dec. 26, 1864. The superintendent of the Sunday School is Mr. Harry A. Nugent. The following societies are connected with the church in its various lines of work: a Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor, a Ladies' Aid Society, and a Ladies' Missionary Society.
In 1914, the interior of the church edifice was thoroughly remodelled. The organ was moved to the front of the auditorium, new pews were provided, a new pulpit and baptistry were constructed, the walls were re-decorated, and ornamental stained glass windows were put in place.
METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH
A Methodist class was formed in Millbury in 1825, by the Rev. William Archer, an English preacher, which flourished for a short time. In 1835, another class was formed by the Rev. Erastus Spaulding, well known as
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HISTORY OF MILLBURY
"Father Spaulding." The church was organized in the same year under the circuit plan. The preachers on this circuit at that time were the Rev. M. P. Alderman and the Rev. William Heath. The Rev. Thomas Tucker served as pastor in 1836. He was succeeded by the Rev. W. S. Campbell who preached for a little more than a year. He was followed by the Rev. M. P. Alderman, a former pastor, who remained until 1840. In its early days the church met in the hall of the lower tavern. The present church building was dedicated Nov. 17, 1840, the sermon being delivered by the Rev. Orange Scott. Since the coming of Mr. Tucker, the church has been regularly supplied with ministers. Bishop W. F. Mallalieu, as a boy, attended this church and Millbury people are proud of having had such a devoted man among its early attendants.
The Rev. Homer W. Courtney kindly supplied the following later facts concerning the church:
"During the pastorate of the Rev. William Wignall, 1895-96, the church edifice was thoroughly repaired. New windows were put in, a new roof was put on, the main auditorium was repapered and the building was painted inside and outside. An addition was built at the rear for the organ and a platform was constructed in the main auditorium for the pulpit and choir. The total cost was about $2,000. During the pastorate of the Rev. Walter Healy in 1901-02, a beautiful site was purchased on Prospect Street, opposite Highland Street, on which a parsonage was erected."
The following have served as pastors since 1840:
Rev. William P. White,
1840 to 1841
Rev. L. R. Thayer,
1841 to 1842
Rev. John Roper,
1842 to 1843
Rev. E. W. Jackson,
1843 to 1844
Rev. Phineas Crandell,
1844 to 1845
Rev. John T. Pettee,
1845 to 1847
Rev. George W. Bates,
1847 to 1848
Rev. Charles W. Ainsworth,
1848 to 1850
CHURCHES
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Rev. William A. Braman,
1850 to 1852
Rev. Willard Smith,
1852 to 1854
Rev. John Rickets,
1854 to 1855
Rev. Ichabod Marcy,
1855 to 1857
Rev. B. F. Green,
1857 to 1859
Rev. Joseph Scott,
1859 to 1861
Rev. Solomon Chapin,
1861 to 1862
Rev. Daniel Atkins,
1862 to 1864
Rev. N. H. Martin,
1864 to 1866
Rev. E. S. Snow,
1866 to 1869
Rev. Thomas Treadwell,
1869 to 1870
Rev. Mr. Fuller,
1870 to 1871
Rev. Wm. R. Tisdale,
1871 to 1873
Rev. William Pentecost,
1873 to 1875
Rev. A. D. Hamilton,
1875 to 1877
Rev. William H. Hatch,
1877 to 1878
Rev. Frederic T. George
1878 to 1880
Rev. B. J. Johnston,
1880 to 1883
Rev. R. H. Howard,
1883 to 1886
Rev. Wm. C. Townsend,
1886 to 1889
Rev. Joseph Candlin,
1889 to 1890
Rev. H. G. Buckingham,
1890 to 1893
Rev. William Wignall,
1893 to 1896
Rev. James H. Humphrey,
1896 to 1898
Rev. Irvin A. Mesler,
1898 to 1900
Rev. E. W. Vandermark,
1900 to 1901
Rev. Walter Healy,
1901 to 1904
Rev. George A. Cooke,
1904 to 1905
Rev. Samuel A. Bragg,
1905 to 1907
Rev. Gilbert A. Cox,
1907 to 1909
Rev. Jonathan Cartmill,
1909 to 1910
Rev. H. C. Cooley,
1910 to 1911
Rev. Homer W. Courtney,
1911 to 1913
Rev. Norman H. Flickinger,
1913 to 1915
WEST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH
Upon the removal of the First Congregational Church meetinghouse from the Old Common to Bramanville in 1835, many residents near the old location were not reconciled to the change and they determined to have a church building at West Millbury. The first steps toward the accomplishment of this end are indicated in the preamble of a subscription paper, dated Oct. 18, 1836.
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HISTORY OF MILLBURY
"We, the subscribers, believing that the public good and the happiness of ourselves and families requires that there should be a house built for a place of public worship on Grass Hill, so-called, in Millbury, by these presents bind ourselves, each to the other, to build a house and will pay the sums affixed to our several names."
By Oct. 22, 1836, more than the required two thousand dollars had been subscribed and at a meeting of the sub- scribers, held on the twenty-ninth, Mark Lothrop, Simon Tainter, and Abijah Gleason were chosen as a building committee. On the sixth of December they reported that a location had been secured and that the lowest proposal for building the meeting-house was $2,900.
The church building was accordingly erected on the main road in West Millbury, about two hundred yards from its intersection with the road leading from the Old Common (site of the John C. Crane house).
In May, 1837, The Union or, as it was called, The West Congregational Church, was organized with forty- five members, twenty-nine having withdrawn from the First Congregational Church, whose covenant and articles of faith were adopted, with a change in the names.
Among the early ministers over this church were the Rev. Caleb Burbank Elliot, who was educated for the ministry by Gen. Caleb Burbank, and the Rev. A. Phillips. In 1840, the Rev. Sidney Holman was installed as pastor and remained with the church until 1851. Services were afterward held until December, 1857, when the church disbanded.
The church building was re-opened after some years and preachers were sent to the pulpit from the Methodist Conference. During this period the Rev. Jefferson Hascall, presiding elder of the Conference and author of the hymn entitled "The Land of Beulah," occasionally occupied the pulpit. In 1861, the Rev. Joseph J. Woodbury supplied the pulpit and resided in the vicinity.
Occasionally Baptist clergymen and lay preachers have held services in the building.
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ST. BRIDGET'S CATHOLIC CHURCH
CHURCH OF THE ASSUMPTION, CATHOLIC, (1914)
323
CHURCHES
By consent of the Legislature, in 1871, Simeon S. Waters, E. W. Goffe, and Nymphas Longley sold the land and meeting-house in the name of the Union or West Church Society and distributed the proceeds of the sale among its members. The church building, the bell, the stone steps, the land, the stoves, and the furnishings were sold sep- arately and brought altogether seven hundred and sixteen dollars. The communion set used by the church was given to the First Congregational Church of Kellogg, Iowa, of which the Rev. Richard Hassell was pastor.
ST. BRIDGET'S ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
A Roman Catholic mission was established in Millbury in 1850, and the first clergyman to officiate here was the Rev. James Fitton, first pastor of St. John's Roman Catholic Church of Worcester.
Previously, services had been held in the Town Hall, in the "Arcade" building and at the home of James Campbell, who then resided opposite the upper end of Brierly Pond on the West Millbury Road. The land for St. Bridget's Church was given by Mr. and Mrs. Michael Coogan. The Rev. Mathew Gibson succeeded Father Fitton at Worcester and also in the mission work here. The succeeding pastors at the mission were the Rev. A. L'Eveque, the Rev. E. J. Sheridan of Uxbridge, and the Rev. J. J. Power, of Worcester, during whose pastorate the building was enlarged. In 1869, the church became a regular parish, with the Rev. M. J. Doherty as resident priest. After the death of Father Doherty, the Rev. William H. Goggin, then at the cathedral in Springfield, was appointed over St. Bridget's parish, Sept. 1, 1886. Within a year, the edifice was thoroughly remodeled. He terminated his relation with the church in 1898 after twelve years service and went to St. Paul's church in Worcester. Father Goggin was succeeded by the Rev. Charles J. Boylan who, because of ill health, labored
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HISTORY OF MILLBURY
here but a few months. In October, 1898, the Rev. P. L. Quaile, then at Turners Falls, was appointed to this parish and continued as its priest for four years. He was suc- ceeded by the Rev. John F. Conlin, who served the church for two and a half years. The present priest, the Rev. John F. Griffin, M. A., was appointed to the church, Nov. 7, 1905.
Father Griffin is a man of strong personality whose genial and courteous manner makes him popular through- out the community. Under his direction several improve- ments have been made in the church buildings and grounds.
The church property is free from any incumbrance of debt. Connected with the church are a boys' and a girls' sodality; two choirs, a senior and a junior, under the direction of Mr. Thomas J. Moran. The Hibernian society is under the spiritual direction of the priest of this church. A Holy Name society was organized in 1914.
PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL MISSION
Previous to 1880, Protestant Episcopal services, con- ducted by the various rectors of St. John's Church of Wilkinsonville, were held in the upper room of the high school (the old Academy) building and later in the Methodist Church, where the worshippers met Sunday afternoons.
In 1880, upon the completion of the present (then new) Town Hall, the south-west room on the second floor was equipped for regular services and was called "The Mission Room." May 8, of that year, a regular organization was perfected in which the officers were,-Edward Ander- son, warden; John Hopkins, Esq., treasurer; and Samuel C. Nield, clerk. Services were continued regularly until April 25, 1888. During this time the rectors in charge of the mission were the Rev. James T. Ellis, until 1882, and the Rev. John Gregson for the remainder of the time.
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CHURCHES
In 1894, the Mission was re-organized and services were held for some weeks in the Second Congregational Church after which the mission was conducted in the Unitarian Church. These services continued regularly until Aug. 16, 1898. During this period the rectors in charge of the mission were the Rev. Mr. Trussell and the Rev. Mr. Hodgkiss, who were successively appointed over the St. John's Protestant Episcopal Church at Wilkinsonville.
FIRST UNITARIAN CHURCH
In 1879, at different homes meetings were held, presided over by various Unitarian clergymen among whom were the Rev. Edward Hall and the Rev. Austin S. Garver, both of Worcester. March 4, 1884, the First Unitarian Church of Millbury was instituted and on the sixteenth of the same month, largely through the efforts of Mrs. Elizabeth Livermore and Mrs. Francis Walker, a mem- orable service was held in Blanchard Hall, at which the Rev. Mr. Garver officiated. Following this meeting, services were continued until June 22 of the same year, when a covenant was adopted and an organization perfected, with the following officers: Clerk, Mrs. N. H. Sears; parish committee, Mrs. B. T. Rice, John Rhodes, Silas Dunton, Mrs. Simon Farnsworth, and Mrs. A. G. Livermore; treasurer and collector, Thomas A. Winter; Sunday School Superintendent, Thomas A. Winter; music committee, Anson G. Livermore, John C. Waters, and Mrs. Carrie Marble.
Silas Dunton, Thomas A. Winter, John Rhodes, Benjamin T. Rice, and Nathan H. Sears, as petitioners, were granted the right of incorporation as a religious society and, March 19, 1885, "The First Unitarian Society of Millbury" was accordingly incorporated.
In 1885, preliminary steps were taken for the erection of a house of worship and, Aug. 4, 1887, the following building committee was chosen: Calvin Barker, John B.
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HISTORY OF MILLBURY
Barton, Silas Dunton, George Burnett, and T. A. M. Bennett. The church building, which is situated on Elm street opposite Waters, was dedicated Sept. 20, 1888, and the first communion service was celebrated on the Sunday following when a communion set was used that had been presented by Mrs. John W. Ware in memory of her husband.
The following have served the church as pastors: the Rev. Julius Blass, from 1885 until 1889;
the Rev. Mary T. Whitney, through whose efforts a Young People's Society was organized, 1889-92;
the Rev. Nathaniel Seaver, 1892-96;
the Rev. Henry Mitchel, 1896-98;
the Rev. Clifton M. Gray, 1898-1901;
the Rev. Alson H. Robinson, 1901-04;
the Rev. Charles H. Dalrymple, 1905-07;
the Rev. Albert Walkley, 1907-10;
the Rev. William T. Hutchins, 1910-13.
CHURCH OF THE ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN Roman Catholic (French)
Because of the considerable French speaking popula- tion settled in Millbury and its vicinity a Roman Catholic Church, having a French-speaking pastor, was organized in . April, 1882. From that time, however, the French population of the vicinage has grown from one hundred and seventy-five families until it numbers over three hundred and fifty families with a population of about seventeen hundred.
A church edifice was begun in April, 1884, and was dedicated Nov. 14, 1886, with appropriate ceremonies. The structure was burned in 1914 and the parish wor- shipped in St. Bridget's church while waiting for its own place of worship to be rebuilt.
The first priest in charge of the parish, the Rev. J. A. Charland, was highly esteemed by his people and con-
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D
THE UNITARIAN CHURCH
UNION CHAPEL
327
CHURCHES
tinued with them until his death, although in his later years, because of poor health, he was assisted by other priests.
Jan. 23, 1907, the Rev. Louis E. Barry was appointed to the church and continued in charge until 1915. It was his desire to establish a parochial school and for this , purpose land near the church building was purchased in 1912.
Jan. 15, 1915, the Rev. Joseph Octave Comtois, who came from West Springfield, was appointed over the parish.
The societies immediately connected with the church are "Ladies of St. Anne's" and "Children of Mary." Na- tional societies represented in the parish are "St. Jean Baptiste Society," "The Artisans Society," and "The Foresters' Franco-American Society."
In 1915, the present structure was erected.
UNION CHAPEL, WEST MILLBURY
For several years after the dissolution of the church at West Millbury, in 1871, religious services, conducted principally by pastors of the churches in the town, were occasionally held in the school-house. In 1887, in response to a general desire for more adequate rooms for religious and social purposes a Ladies Union Entertain- ment Society was formed for the purpose of furnishing entertainments which would stimulate interest in the vicinity and at the same time raise money for erecting a new chapel. The society also sought to raise money by subscriptions and appointed the following solicitors: Miss Leora Balcom, Mrs. John S. Blanchard, Miss Florence E. Crane, Mrs. John C. Crane, Mrs. Henry W. Davidson, Miss Florence Freeman, Mrs. Emily C. Goulding, and Miss Lizzie Wheeler. The following gentlemen were also selected to supervise the erection of the building: Thomas Windle, H. W. Bentley, Ira Glazier,
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HISTORY OF MILLBURY
Freeman Van Orman, and Henry W. Davidson. As a result of the efforts put forth the present Union Chapel, situated on the main road in West Millbury near the cor- ner of the road leading to Oxford, was erected at a cost of twenty-two hundred dollars.
May 29, 1888, the building was dedicated with appro- priate exercises at which a historical address was given by John C. Crane, a statement of the building committee was given by Thomas Windle, a sermon was delivered by the Rev. George A. Putnam, and a letter was read from Charles D. Morse expressing a hope that the enterprise be "as enduring as the hill upon which it stands."
This property is held in the care of three trustees who are chosen annually in December and the choice is made, if possible, among the people of West Millbury, who are members of evangelical churches in town. The first board consisted of Ira Glazier, Edwin Hoyle, and Theo- dore B. Sherwood.
The Sunday services at the chapel have been conducted by pastors from the Congregational, Methodist, and Baptist churches and by John C. Crane, a lay preacher of the Baptist Church.
Connected with the Chapel is a Social Union which stimulates an interest in the work at the chapel and raises funds for its support.
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SCHOOLS
CHAPTER XXIV
SCHOOLS
Every township, "after the Lord hath increased them to the number of 50 householders," was obliged by law to appoint one within the town to teach "all such children as shall resort to him to write and read; whose wages shall be paid either by the parents or masters of such children, or by the inhabitants in general, by way of supply, as the major part of those that order the prudentials of the town shall appoint; provided, those that send their chil- dren be not oppressed by paying much more than they can have them taught for in other towns; and it is further ordered, that where any town shall increase to the number of 100 families or householders, they shall set up a gram- mar school, the master thereof being able to instruct youth as far as they may be fitted for the university, provided, that if any town neglect the performance hereof above one year, that every such town shall pay £5 to the next school till they shall perform this order."
From the town records, we learn that there were two committees having charge of school matters; one of these was composed of representatives from the several districts; the other, called the Prudential committee, supervised the actions of the former.
In 1813, the county-bridge schoolhouse stood below the old cemetery, on the south side of and a little back from the street on the main road to Wilkinsonville. In the same vicinity, at the junction formed by the road crossing the county-bridge and the road from the Centre, a brick building is standing, which was early used for school purposes. Until 1862, a little one-story square schoolhouse, having a four-sided pointed roof, stood
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HISTORY OF MILLBURY
on the Old Common nearly on the site of the present one. An early school building also stood at the junction of the road from the Whittemore place on the Grafton road, not far from the home of Samuel Goodell. Later on, a schoolhouse stood on the Worcester road not far from Martin street. Eighty years ago there was a schoolhouse on Park Hill, not far from the home of Calvin R. Brackett. In the Haywood district, which included the territory on the eastern road to Worcester, a schoolhouse stood near Dorothy Pond.
The earliest Bramanville schoolhouse was located within a few feet of the present watering trough and a later building, built of brick, was situated nearby.
At West Millbury, the original schoolhouse which was built of brick stood on the site now occupied by Union Chapel. It was destroyed by fire supposed to have been started by "some miscreant not having the fear of the law before him." The building was replaced by a hip- roofed wooden structure with but one room which was used both for school purposes and for holding religious meetings.
The former residence of General Burbank, purchased by the town and remodeled for school purposes, still stands on Burbank Hill, overlooking the valley of the Blackstone. It is a reminder of the general who did so much for the town in its early days. Its present owner, William E. Horne, has converted it into a tene- ment house.
These schoolhouses which served in the early days of Millbury, like those erected elsewhere in New England, were small and, usually, only one story high. Although these old structures have been replaced by more modern buildings, yet among the older citizens fond memories cling about the sites where many learned the rudiments of knowledge.
On March 21, 1814, the following report was made at the town meeting:
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"The committee to whom was submitted the question of mak- ing some new arrangements and alterations in the school-districts in the town of Millbury have attended to the business and ask leave to report the following statement of the relative state and circumstances of the several districts in town, together with their opinion respecting the same. The relative state of the districts stands as follows :- Grass Hill district has 35 families and draws $87.50; Center (Old Common) district has 28 families and draws $70.00; Paper-mill district (Bramanville) has 21 families and draws $52.00; County-bridge district has 41 families and draws $102.50; Northeast district has 12 families and draws $30.00; Southeast district has 9 families and draws $22.50. From the above statement your committee are of opinion that by far too great a disproportion exists in said districts. With regard to the three first mentioned districts, your committee do not conceive it necessary to make essential alteration. But with respect to the three last, it is the unanimous opinion of your committee that an alteration ought to be made, in order that an equal distribution of this highly important priviledge of schooling may be realized in that part of the town. All which is humbly submitted.
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