USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Granville > Centennial of the Baptist Church in Granville, Mass. 1790 - 1890 > Part 2
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
In the possession of these elements, this church set on a hill has maintained its life and light, its power and in-
24
fluence, for a hundred years ! What changes, vicissi- tudes, and tender memories cluster around its history through this eventful period !
To-day thought's current backward rolls, Through time's unceasing flow, And finds a band of faithful souls A hundred years ago. They gathered here and formed the church, 'Mid earnest prayers and tears ; Their work sublime outlived their time- It spans a hundred years.
They bore the banner as they might, And clung in faith to God ; True to the truth and strong for right, The church has safely stood. Faint, yet pursuing, sorely tried, Sometimes dark seemed the day, Then came the light with the Spirit's might, And harvests cheered their way.
In humble temples here they reared, And gave unto the Lord, His grace and glory oft appeared- They feasted on the word. So they their generations served, Patient 'mid hopes and fears ; They worked and wept, the true faith kept, And live a hundred years.
What faithful watchmen on these walls Have sped the gospel sound ! And many a soul, the Christ who calls, Has heard and sought and found.
25
With joy these shepherds of the flock Welcomed each ransomed one ; And down the tide they led the bride The way the Lord had gone.
And here, when prayers and toils were o'er, These hundred years gone by, How many saints have reached the shore That holds their home on high ! From sacred scenes, communions sweet, And Zion's songs divine, They soared above to realms of love, And there in glory shine.
What changeful years ! Saints pass away, The church survives all strife ; Her home enlarged we throng to-day, And mark her strength and life. Still may she live and flourish here, With heavenly beauty bloom, And thousands be won to God's dear Son The hundred years to come.
HISTORICAL ADDRESS.
BY THE REV. HARLAN P. SMITH.
ONE hundred years a Baptist church. A century of history written. The very thought of it is soul-inspiring- especially when we contemplate the fact that the century just past has witnessed to some of the greatest revolutions and changes in a world's history ; but more especially to the Christian, when he remembers that the century past has had more to do with the carrying out of the great commission, "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature," than any ten centuries pre- ceding it. Like her Lord, this church was born at a time of peace. A few years prior to her beginning, the coun- try had been startled by the bugle calling men to arms, and this town had given men and money, blood and treasure. Christian believers became Christian soldiers, and won the fight. But the arms had been hung up be- fore 1790, and this church began its career when men were occupied with the peaceful pursuits of peaceful citi- zens. We would we could speak of a century of peace ; but, alas ! we are obliged to chronicle the fact that three times over this fair land has been ploughed with the fur- rows of carnage and these peaceful hills rung with the
,
27
tocsin of war. But it has been a century of mighty ad- vances, notwithstanding this. It has been a century pro- lific in all manner of research, invention, and construction that conduce to the highest civilization. I think we may truthfully say that in it men have climbed higher and dug deeper and roamed farther than ever before. The earth, the air, the sky, the sea have become the servants of man as never before, and thus the word of God fulfilled : " Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of. thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet : O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth."
During these marvelous changes, this church has been permitted to live; and now, on its one-hundredth birth- day, its friends gather for greetings and congratulations.
Happy privilege to greet a church, united and strong, after a century of service, and congratulate her that she has been permitted to live at such a time, and have her hand upon the work of helping to shape the future of this world, and to lay some of the fair colored stones in the temple of God. How natural, too, that when the children are gathered home to celebrate a mother's birthday, that the spirit of reminiscence should ask a place in the circle, or at the feast, and crave the privilege of recounting some of the experiences of the past. How could such an event be made complete except we heard of the early days and early struggles ; the cradle and the cradle song ; the child_
Bedford
28
hood ; the old house, and an hundred things or experien- ces that are worth treasuring among memories' jewels !
How many questions leap to the lips of the children How came you to this place and from whence? What led to your settlement ? Where was the first house and how many rooms ? Who were your neighbors and are any liv- ing yet? How did the country look when you first saw it? Tell us some stories out of your past; read to us from the book of memory.
Listen children and you shall hear : One hundred and four years before this church came into being, the two towns of Granville and Tolland were owned by an Indian chief by the name of Toto. This tract was fifteen miles long and six miles wide on an average, and contained 41,200 acres. Some idea of the value of real estate may be gained when you consider that Toto sold this land for a flint-lock gun and sixteen brass buttons. The property changed hands two or three times, until in 1736 the pioneer settlers came in and built their first rude houses. At this time, and up to 1754 when Granville was incorporated as a district, the place was known as Bradford. The pioneer settler was Samuel Bancroft. The first house built was in the southwest, or what is now Tolland, and such were the apprehensions of trouble from the Indians that this first house had the capacity of a fort. But history says "no one ever perished by the tomahawk among these hills."
Among the names of the founders and builders of the town are Cooley, Rose, Gillett, Spellman, Root, Marvin,
29
Bates, Granger, Harvey, Hatch, Phelps, Gibbons, and many others whom we might name. Men of the puritan type. Men of steel. Men who when the call came for troops to contend against foreign invasion and domination, fired by the spirit of liberty, were ready to answer the call. And yet we are informed it was not because they loved to war. A spirit of peace pervaded these valleys, and these men petitioned Congress to do all in its power to avert the calamities of war. But such was their spirit of independ- ence that when there was some talk of an alliance with France they sent a remonstrance to Congress.
Some very amusing stories are related of some of those early men. Of one Josiah Hatch it is told that driving to church one day in winter the road was so icy that the horse was unable to make much headway up the hill, when the old gentleman exclaimed, " Well, if this is the way to heaven, I'm not going," turned his horse and drove home. We venture the remark, he is not the only one who has turned back for the hardness of the way.
Granville has been the birthplace of many men who have stood high in the world of letters, law, art, science and religion. We are chiefly interested to-day with religion.
Among these early men in the Congregational body, were Rev. Gurdon Hall, who died on the India mission field, born here six years before this church was constituted. Gama- liel S. Olds, an eminent scholar and divine, was born here in 1777, and during the early history of this church this town and many another was thrilled by the eloquence of
30
the great colored preacher, Lemuel Haynes. Brought up by Deacon David Rose and getting his education by the light of pine knots, he proved the possibilities that are be- fore the poorest in this land. It is said that every Satur- day the deacon made him read a sermon at worship. One evening the colored young man slipped in one of his own. 'The deacon, greatly delighted and edified, enquired, " Lemuel, whose work is that? Is it Davies', or Watts', or Whitefield's?" He thought it was Whitefield's. The young man blushed, hesitated, but confessed, It is Lemuel's. We might say of the Congregational church, to which these men belonged, that it was the state church at this time, though the separation of church and state was about com- plete. The doctrine of "Liberty of Conscience " was being sown broadcast. In 1790 we had but forty Baptist churches in the state. In this association but one- the church at Wales, organized in 1736. The church at Agawam was organized about two weeks later than this. The old church on Zion's Hill, in Suffield, was the nearest, and this light had been burning for twenty-one years. In 1786, four years prior to the birth of this church, and just one hundred years from the sale of the land by Toto, the Indian, Granville became a town. It was named in honor of John Carteret, Earle of Granville, though it has been held by some that it took its name from the grand valley that divides the east and west portions of the town. Tol- land was not set off until 1810.
The few years prior to 1790 were years marked by some
3I
agitation amongst the churches of this state, for false doc- trine was rife, and many Christians were turned away from the truth The Rev. Solomon Stoddard, minister at Northampton years before, had taught that baptism was a converting ordinance, and that all baptised persons might come lawfully to the Lord's table, though destitute of true religion. This doctrine found supporters in the Congre- gational churches; it also met with much opposition. About 1770 the doctrine was discussed in open town meet- ing in this place, and a council was called to settle matters. There was but ofte church here at that time, the First Congregationalist, having as pastor the Rev. Jeddediah Smith, who was a supporter of the Stoddardean doctrine.
The result was that the doors of the church were thrown open, and persons with no pretence to piety sat at the Lord's table, and half-way covenanters flocked to the bowl with their children for sprinkling. Now came a split in the church. A company of pious people calling themselves separates began meeting in a barn. The church called them covenant-breakers, and tried in vain to win them back. This split broke the power of the church and brought her into disrepute, and when in' 1777 she came back to the old covenant, the seperates had been excluded on the one hand, and now the Stoddardeans were on the other, and as Dr. Cooley, her pastor for many years, said in an historical address, " She was like a cottage in a vine- yard, or a besieged city."
Meantime the doctrines of the Baptists had been gain-
32
ing ground. The seed truth scattered by Roger Williams had already made Rhode Island white with harvest, and Massachusetts was to be. The stir about doctrine led to an examination of God's word, and people who would not otherwise have been, were turned to the Baptist church and a strict conformity to the word of God, by the spread of false doctrine. Examination of God's word gave liberty to many.
In 1789 a call was issued by a few in the place asking the Baptist churches in the vicinity to come by delegates and set them apart as an independent Baptist church.
Accordingly on January 15th, 1790, the First church in Suffield and the First and Second in Westfield met by their delegates in a private house in this place and were duly organized as a council. Rev. John Hastings was chosen Moderator and Rev. Adam Hamilton Clerk. After hearing the report and statements of the brethren here, it was unanimously voted by the ten brethren of the council, " That they believed God in His providence had called these brethren to unite in erecting the standard of the truth and form themselves into a church, and that the council give to them the right hand of fellowship in the gospel and bid them God speed." And the records of a meeting, held February 17th, read that "After prayer pro- ceeded to adopt as the rule of faith and practice the plat- form of the Westfield church." Then they stood up and solemnly attempted to take the covenant.
This band thus organized into a church counted twenty- five. Their names may be found on page 3.
33
And thus was launched on the billows of time this little church, which was to bear its part in saving men who were going down in sin.
These brethren and sisters first celebrated the Lord's Supper the following June. The records covering much of the early history of the church are lost, and so we are obliged to pick up what we can from different sources, and out of it try to get as near to the facts as possible.
There was only occasional preaching at the first, and this in private houses. This was the sect everywhere spoken against, and no special popularity was to be gained by being a Baptist minister. It took courage in those days to step out from the standing order and join these little bands. Their cause was unpopular. They were branded as fanatics. They had no houses of wor- ship; and against these in Granville an edict of excom- munication had been passed by the old church. But the truth made them free and courageous.
Illustrative of the decision of character needful in those days to come out, Father Felton, so long a pastor here, speaks in an historical sketch of a man who used to stand midway between the Congregational church and the house where the Baptists met, looking first one way, then the other, undecided as to which meeting he should attend.
In the year 1798, Rev. Christopher Miner was settled as minister here, and, according to a letter written by one who professed to know, he served the church as regular minister until 1808. He is spoken of as a pious and de-
-
1
34
voted man of God, who by his faithfulness was a means of great good here. During his pastorate the church grew. In one year thirty were baptized, and in 1810 the church had increased to eighty-two members.
Rev. Jonathan Sheldon was ordained on October 21, 1807, and served the church for a time.
In 1811, Rev. Thomas Steadman was licensed to preach the gospel.
From Elder Miner's pastorate to the year 1817, as near as I can learn, the church was served by these brethren spoken of, and others who came as an occasional supply. I find no record of a regularly-settled pastor during this time.
It was at this period that the church was in the midst of deep waters. A very trying case of discipline was be- gun, at this time, which was a cause of sorrow for years. It must be remembered that the church was spread all over the town, many residing eight and nine miles distant, in what is now Tolland. In 1816, the brethren in Tol- land were dismissed, to form a church there. That church has long since become extinct, its members having re- moved to Ohio.
This division weakened the church here, but still she moved forward. In 1817, a council was called to set apart Brother Silas Root to the work of the ministry. Brother Root was a resident of the town. He was or- dained the first Wednesday in June-several churches sending delegates. So great had been the change of feel-
1817
35
ing on the part of the Congregationalist brethren in twenty-five years, that they offered their church for the ordination services to these whom they had excommuni- cated, and their offer was accepted with gratitude.
Father Root, as he was familiarly called, was the pastor of this church for eighteen years. Of him it has been said that he bore the burden and heat of the day. The records of the church during this pastorate are missing, but some who lived then still remain to witness to the fidelity and faith of this good man. During this pastorate, the number of the church was small. From eighty-two in 1810 they had fallen off to nineteen in 1827, and reached low-water mark in 1834, when they reported only eighteen members. But, we must remember, a large company had left-some to form the Tolland church, others to distant parts of the country. The words of praise spoken years afterward by another pastor, at an associational meeting, were not too strong, I am sure; that, "If the results of his labors could be chronicled, it would be apparent that he constituted the mainspring which has kept the machinery of this church in motion. This good man lived upon his own farm and wrought to support him- self, and preached to the people. His salary ranged from twenty to fifty dollars per year. I had in hand one subscription-list, amounting to sixteen dollars and forty-six cents for the year. One man's subscription was seventeen cents; another's, twenty-five cents, to be paid in work ; another's, fifty cents, to be paid in goods.
36
This man, under God, pulled the church through trying times ; supported a family of seven children ; sent one boy to college, at an expense of six hundred dollars; in 1824, saw the first house of worship built and helped to build it, and, when he died, left sons (one of them the present deacon), who still remain to do glorious work in the church their father loved, and give more in a single year for mis- sions than their father ever received as a salary for preaching. You cannot measure a man's work by the time he lives. But, just before he closed his labors-in 1835-he was permitted to witness a revival. Rev. Messrs. Griffin, Archibald of Middlefield, Bridges of Southwick, and Child and Wright of Westfield, helped in this work, which resulted in the addition of eighteen- thus making the number thirty-six-and also added sev- eral to the Congregational church.
Father Root was followed by Rev. Richard Griffin, who was ordained July 8th, 1835, and continued with the church one year and two months.
The next pastor was Rev. John Higbee, who came from New Milford, and was ordained November 23d, 1837. He continued until April, 1841, or about three and a half years.
Rev. Richard Griffin returned to the church again, and labored for nearly six months, or until May, 1842.
Rev. Luther Stone labored with the church from Janu- ary, 1843, to September, same year.
At a meeting held March 23d, 1844, it was voted to ex- tend a call to Rev. George I. Felton, of Chatham, to be-
37
come pastor. The call was accepted, and Brother Felton began his labors April Ist. This was the beginning of the longest pastorate in the history of the church, for Brother Felton labored here for twenty-one years, or until January, 1865. There had been a slow but steady increase in membership for eight years, until, at the time of his beginning, the membership stood fifty-two. Of the years of faithful service rendered by this man of God, and the many changes occurring, I cannot speak in this paper in detail. During his pastorate the progress of the church was onward. The later years were marked by the great- est civil contest that ever swept a nation, and this church, with others, gave its sons and sent its cry to heaven for the God of Sabaoth to give success to the cause of the Union. This church took a decided stand against slavery, and, in 1850, took up a collection to help Rev. Edmund Kelly, colored pastor in New Bedford, purchase his wife and four children out of bondage.
During Brother Felton's pastorate seventy-five were re- ceived into the church. He lived to see all but ten of those who were members when he came pass away, and four churches become extinct. At the time of his resigna- tion, he had been for several years the oldest or longest settled pastor in the association, and with one exception oldest pastor in Massachusetts. Through his efforts, ably seconded by the brethren of the church, this present house was erected, and dedicated December 19, 1849, the sermon being preached by Rev. John Alden. The church
38
was helped in this work by brethren from without. One lady in Worcester gave fifty-five dollars, on this wise : She had promised five dollars, and the pastor called upon her to collect the pledge. She passed him a ten-dollar bill, and he did not discover it until he had reached home, whereupon he wrote an apology and returned five dollars. She immediately sent him a check for fifty dollars more. Two gentlemen, Mr. Bacon of St. Louis and Mr. Joseph West of New York, gave each fifty dollars toward the bell which was placed in the tower in 1863. January 15, 1864, this long and faithful pastorate ended. Brother Felton closed by preaching a sermon from Josh. xxiii : II- " Take good heed therefore unto yourselves that ye love the Lord your God." It was a tender and earnest sermon, recounting past experience and commending the flock to God. In the manuscript of this sermon I found a little slip bearing the following memoranda :
Deaths, 400 ; Marriages, 70 ; Professors, 300 ; Sermons, 2,100 ; Prayer Meetings, 3,150.
What a record for one pastorate in a country church !
Father Felton spent six years as pastor in Colebrook, Conn., and two years in Bloomfield. While in Bloomfield he was sricken with paralysis, and never fully recovered. He came back here, and finished his career in the midst of old friends.
He fell on sleep here January 31, 1885, leaving a wife who had stood faithfully by his side through all the years of toil, and who sits with us to-day; a son, Dr. George H.
39
Felton, who is a professor in our Leland University at New Orleans, and whose presence and service each summer are a great blessing to the church, and a daughter, the wife of the present Deacon William H. Spellman.
Rev. Alexander McLean came to the pastorate in June, 1865, and continued as pastor for four years. Just prior to his coming in the spring, Father Fitz came upon the ground and stirred the people by his plainness, and as a re- sult seventeen were baptized into the church, bringing the number up to eighty-three. Brother McLean did a good work in his four years, holding the church steady to its work.
He was succeeded by Rev. Edward Humphrey, who be- gan January, 1870, and closed his labors December 1, 1871. The following September, in 1872, Rev. S. C. Chandler be- came pastor, continuing until August 1, 1874. September 13th, the church voted unanimously to call Rev. D. A. Dear- born to the pastorate. This was not the first time he had been called to this people. But this call he accepted, and began November 8, 1874, laboring earnestly and preaching faithfully for six and a half years, or until 1881. The church increased in numbers and influence during this pastorate. Mr. Dearborn preached six hundred sermons and attended eight hundred prayer meetings, closing up his labors with a baptism. He still lives among us in the association, and his presence is always welcome, for he is looked up to as one of the fathers. His best years have been spent here, and we all joy at his presence to-day as the master of ceremonies. Rev. C. Lewis Thomson preached here in 1881 for several
40
months, and his short pastorate marks a pleasant spot in this history. He was permitted to baptise several, among them the wife of Father Felton, who up to this time had not been a member of the Baptist church. In the spring of 1882, Rev. H. M. Heywood became pastor, and continued until March, 1884. It is very unfortunate that we have no record of the doings of the church from 1875 to 1884.
Rev. Robert Bennet came to the pastorate in May, 1884, and was with the church until April, 1886. Testimonies come from many to the faithfulness of these men. From this time unto December, 1887, the church was supplied for the most part by Rev. A. S. Brown, at which time he was unanimously called to the pastorate. So desirous was the church that he should assume the work that they waited on him until May 3, 1888, when his acceptance was read. Brother Brown's work is so recent that I hardly need refer to it, and yet I ought to say that under this pastorate the church have assumed new work and been brought to a condition of harmony and prosperity that is cheering.
This pastor was permitted to see twenty-two gathered into the church, and the church lifted up, both spiritually and materially. The new and pleasant chapel to be dedicated this evening will remain, we hope, as a witness to the work of this brother in his first pastorate. It is fitting that he should be present to preach the dedicatory sermon this evening. The prayers of the church are with him in his new field of labor. He closed his labors as pastor October I, 1889, to accept a call to Norwich, Conn.
4I
Since then the church have called one brother from Connecticut, but he declined, and at present she is without a pastor. It is fitting we should unite in our prayers that God may send a man to bear forward a work so long and faithfully prosecuted by such a succession of godly men as are counted in this history of a century of pastorates.
During these hundred years the church has been served by a faithful and godly set of men as deacons. One of its first being Elijah Spellman. And it is significant that the grand- son of this man is one of the present deacons of the church.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.