USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Mendon > Centurial history of the Mendon association of Congregational ministers, with the Centennial address, delivered at Franklin, Mass., Nov. 19, l851, and biographical sketches of the members and licentiates > Part 15
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" Mr. Taft's doctrinal views were evangelical, though some supposed, with little reason, that, towards the close of his ministry, he inclined somewhat to Arminianism. As a preach- er, he was not especially distinguished. His ministrations at last were exceedingly dull. His health became very infirm, and his excessive use of tobacco and opium impaired his usefulness, and induced a premature old age. He became, as a consequence, quite indolent and inefficient in his habits, and finally a paralytic.
"His character resembled that of Eli more than that of Nehemiah.
" It is not known that he ever published anything, other than the confession of faith already mentioned. A manu- script sermon of his, dated 1771, still in being, although in nearly illegible cacography, shows him to have been naturally capable, and, at that date, doctrinally evangelical."*
3. REV. CORNELIUS JONES
Is recorded as a native of Bellingham. He graduated at Harvard University in 1752, and received A. M. He was ordained as first pastor of the church in Sandisfield in 1756, on the same day in which the church was organized. Prest. Edwards, then in Stockbridge, preached the ordination
* Letter of Doct. E. Alden, Randolph.
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REV. NATHANAEL POTTER.
sermon, which, through the lack of a meeting-house, was delivered in a barn.
Mr. Jones was dismissed in 1761. Rev. D. D. Field says,* " He never resettled, but preached occasionally. He resided for a number of years in Rowe; then removed to Skeenesborough, now White Hall, N. Y., where he died at an advanced age." The Harvard Catalogue says in 1783, the name of his wife was Sarah, and he was married while at Sandisfield. Nothing more is known of him. And even at White Hall, the oldest citizen can give no information whatever in relation to him.f
4. REV. NATHANAEL POTTER
Is supposed to have been a native of Elizabethtown, N. J. He graduated at Princeton, N. J., 1753, and A. M. ; also at Harvard, 1758. He was settled in Brookline, 19 Nov., 1755, and dismissed, 17 June, 1759. He is said to have died at sea. At what date, is unknown.
Mr. Potter published, in 1758, “ A Discourse on Jeremiah 8 : 20, preached on the Lord's Day morning, Jan. 1, 1758, at Brookline ; wherein is briefly attempted A Discovery of the Causes of our late National Calamities, Disappoint- ments, and Losses, - that they are owing to our Sins," etc. 8vo. 27 pp.#
5. HON. JOSEPH DORR, JR.
Was born in Mendon, 24 May, 1730. He was the only son of Rev. Joseph Dorr, of Mendon. He graduated at Harvard, 1752, and A. M., and preached occasionally for several years, but was never ordained. He early turned his
* Quarterly Reg., Vol. VII., p. 35.
t Letter of W. G. Wolcott, P. M., White Hall, N. Y.
# Copy in Mass. Hist. Soc. Library, shelf 74, bk. 21.
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attention and energies to the political affairs of the times, and became an earnest, unceasing, and vigorous co-laborer with the earliest patriots of the Revolution. Worcester, in his immediate neighborhood, was the central point of the first movements of the Revolution ; and none were behind Mr. Dorr in hastening it onwards, and directing its course. It is said that three hundred days of each year from 1773 to 1780, were devoted by him to the public service without compen- sation.
Mr. Dorr filled many important civil offices. He was town-clerk, justice of the peace, member of the secret com- mittee, of the committee of safety, and of the committee of correspondence. He was one of the commissioners chosen to wait upon the Mandamus Councillors of the county of Worcester, and to demand the surrender of their charter. He was also member of the Legislature, and, after the Revolution, was appointed Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, and Judge of Probate ; which last offices were held by him till near the close of life. Judge Dorr died 31 Oct., 1808, aged 78. He married Catharine Bucknam, 6 Dec., 1768, and had eight children. Two oldest died young. The others were,
3. Joseph Hawley, born 20 July, 1772, a merchant of Boston. He married Lucy Penniman of New Braintree, and is still living. He is the father of Joseph H. Dorr, M. D., of Philadelphia.
4. Samuel, born 23 June, 1774. President of "New England Bank," and Representative and Senator for Boston, where he died Dec., 1844. He married, 1st, Lucy, daughter of Joseph Fox, Esq., of Fitchburg, and 2d, a Miss Brown, and had seven children. Among them is James A. Dorr, Esq., H. U., 1813, lawyer in New York.
5. Sarah, b. 10 Aug., 1776, and married to Jonas Newell, of New Braintree.
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REV. ASAPH RICE.
6. Thomas Shepherd, born 11 Nov., 1778; died October, 1816.
7. Mary, born 7 January, 1784, and married to Oliver Fox, Esq., of Fitchburg.
8. Edward, born 10 Oct., 1786, and settled in Nova Iberia, La. He owned Dorr's Island at the mouth of Trinity River, Texas, and became celebrated for his droves of horses and cattle. He died in April, 1847 .*
6. REV. ASAPH RICE
Was born in Hardwick, in 1733, and graduated at Harvard, 1752, and A. M.
The early Indian wars awakened an interest in the spiritual condition of the Western Aborigines. After the close of the second war, Rev. Eli Fobes, afterwards Dr. Fobes, of North- field, who had served as chaplain to the colonial troops of 1758, visited the Six Nations as a missionary ; Mr. Rice accompa- nied him on his return to them, in 1762. They were to be supported by a society in Scotland, and were to labor among the Oneidas. Rev. Dr. Chauncey, in his ordination sermon of Mr. Bowman, as the third missionary, at Boston, 31 Aug., 1762, calls Mr. Rice, " a promising young man, who went out to spend his life in the service."
On the arrival of Rev. Messrs. Fobes and Rice at Ohono- quagie, they assembled the chief men of the tribe, who gave thanks for their arrival, and only waited for the return of three sachems, then absent, to accept formally the services of the missionaries. A Rev. Mr. Hawley had spent some time with them previous to the war, and prepared them to favor the introduction of the Gospel. Mr. Fobes writes : ' we have set up a school here. Have had a dozen a day for twenty days.' Two white boys were members.
* Hist. and Geneal. Register, Vol. III., p. 312.
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Mr. Fobes returned 29 Oct., 1762, leaving Mr. Rice, who was now, or soon after, joined by Mr. Bowman. An Indian church was gathered by them at Ohonoquagie, on the banks of the Susquehanna. It embraced at first ten members, five males, and five females ; to which three were added before Mr. Rice returned. This church and school were the first amongst the Six Nations, and furnished some of the earliest Indian pupils of Dr. Wheelock, afterwards President of Dartmouth College .*
Mr. Rice returned in 1765, and was ordained pastor of the church in Westminster, 16 Oct., 1765, where he continued until his death, 20 March, 1816, at the age of 83.
He married Mary, daughter of Rev. Ebenezer Morse, of Shrewsbury. She was born 24 Dec., 1747, and died on the birth of her first child. Her father, afterwards of Boylston, was also a physician, and had, besides, many private pupils; among whom was Dr. T. Harris, of Dorchester. Of Mr. R's family history, no further account has been obtained.
Little of Mr. Rice's further history is known. No records of the church during his fifty years' ministry, exist. The church numbered ninety members at his decease.
" Mr. Rice is said to have been a man of great dignity, and very commanding in his personal appearance. He had many excellent qualities. The children and youth both respected him, and also stood in great awe of him, by reason of his dignified person. He was a man of some talent, and consid- erable influence in his region. He was reputed to have been an Arminian in his doctrinal affinities."¡
7. REV. BENJAMIN CARYL
Was the son of Benjamin, and grandson of Benjamin and Mary " Carril," and was born in Hopkinton, 1732. He grad-
* Sce Indian Documents, Miss'y Rooms, Boston.
t Letters of Rev. O. A. White, Westminster.
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REV. BENJAMIN CARYL.
uated at Harvard, 1761, and A. M .; and was settled in Do- ver, 10 Nov., 1762, - the first minister of that church, - where he died 14 Nov., 1811, after a ministry of fifty years, and in the 80th year of his age.
Mr. Caryl married, 9 Dec., 1762, Mrs. Sarah Colick, widow of Dr. Colick, of Wrentham. She was a daughter of Rev. Henry Messinger, of Wrentham. She had had one son, Cornelius Colick, by her former husband, and had two sons by Mr. Caryl, viz. :
1. Benjamin, b. 6 Dec., 1764, and died 12 Sept., 1775, aged 11 years.
2. George, b. 1 Apl., 1767, grad. Harvard, 1788, m. Miss Pamela Martin, and settled in Dover as physician. Was very successful, and highly esteemed. He died 9 Aug., 1829, leaving a son and two daughters, who, with his widow, still live.
No obituary of Mr. Caryl was ever published. But his report is of a goodly savor. " He was greatly beloved by all, and his memory is cherished with affection and respect. All are uniform in testifying that he was a good man and thoroughly orthodox. He was remarkably gifted in prayer. When he delivered his message, the tears were often seen to roll down his cheeks. He kept himself very much at home, seldom at- tending public meetings abroad. He drew as little from books as any man of his time. A lawyer of some eminence remarked of his library, that " it consisted of a Bible, a con- cordance, and an old jacknife." His sermons are written in a very legible hand, and the style is quite perspicuous. But one of them - a Thanksgiving Sermon - was. published. His funeral sermon was preached by Rev. Mr. Palmer of Needham.
His epitaph is as follows : -
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IN MEMORY OF REV. BENJAMIN CARYL,
WHO DIED NOV. 14, 1811, Æ. 80 YEARS, AND IN THE 50TH YEAR OF HIS MINISTRY. " The fathers, where are they ? And the prophets, do they live forever ?"
ERECTED BY THE REQUEST AND AT THE EXPENSE OF HIS SOCIETY .*
8. REV. EBENEZER CHAPLIN. [See Sketches of Members, No. 9.]
9. REV. EZEKIEL EMERSON
Was the son of John and Mary Emerson, of Uxbridge. He was born in Uxbridge, 14 Feb., 1735. He graduated at the college of New Jersey, 1763, and during the following summer of 1764, commenced preaching in Phipsburg, for- merly part of Georgetown, Lincoln Co., Me.
Here was one of the earliest colonies in this province, and the Gospel had been statedly enjoyed in the town from 1738, but no church was organized until two days before the ordi- nation of Mr. Emerson, which ordination took place, 3 July, 1765.
" He remained, happily and peaceably, with the people for about fourteen years. At that period, the Revolution- ary war rendered his situation unpleasant. The settlements on the coast, and especially at the mouth of large rivers, were considered unsafe, the expenses of the war lay heavy on the people, and the depreciation of the paper currency of the country made Mr. Emerson's nominal salary to be of lit- tle value. All these circumstances induced him to remove for a season. He accordingly suspended his ministrations at Georgetown, and, taking his family, removed up the river to Norridgewock, where he remained until 1 May, 1783.
* Letter of Rev. J. Haskell, Dover.
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REV. SILAS BIGLOW.
The country was then at peace ; and, taking the advice of a Council, he returned, resumed his ministerial labors in Georgetown, (now Phipsburg,) and continued to discharge them steadily and faithfully until 1810. At this time, his mental powers became impaired to a considerable degree, and he found it necessary to retire from the ministry. He died 9 Nov., 1815, at the age of 80 years. He is spoken of with marked respect, as an "excellent man." *
Mr. Emerson married Catharine Dorr, second daughter of Rev. Joseph Dorr, of Mendon, 27 March, 1760. He had nine children, and all but one reached maturity and became heads of families. The two eldest, Phebe and Ezekiel, were born in Mendon, and settled in Norridgewock. The third, Hawley, settled in Georgetown. Calvin settled in Fairfield.
Luther, b. 26 Sept., 1772, grad. Dartmouth, 1799. Law- yer in Sedgwick, and then in Ohio. The remaining children were, Eusebius, Susannah, Mary, and Elizabeth. Eliza- beth died in early childhood ; the others left families in Nor- ridgewock and Fairfield, Me.
10. REV. SILAS BIGLOW
Was the son of Samuel and Jedidah (Hathorn) Biglow, Jr., of Westboro', whose father and wife were of Marlboro'. He was born in Shrewsbury, 10 Oct., 1739, and graduated at Harvard, 1765, and A. M. He was ordained at Paxton, 21 Oct., 1767, and died shortly after, 16 Nov., 1769, at the age of 30 years.
Mr. B. was engaged to Sarah, daughter of Rev. Dr. Hall, of Sutton ; but his sudden death prevented the union. She afterwards married Gen. Chase, of Cornish, N. H.
" Mr. Biglow was very highly esteemed for his intellectual
* Greenleaf's Eccl. History of Maine, and Williamson's History of Maine, as quoted in Hist. and Geneal. Register, Vol. III, p. 312.
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and moral worth, and his ministry was very satisfactory to the people of his charge."*
11. REV. ALEXANDER THAYER
Was the son of William and Abigail (Sumner) Thayer,f and was born in Mendon, 25 Jan., 1744. He graduated at the college of New Jersey, 1765. He was ordained at Paxton,- the successor of Rev. Mr. Biglow above - 28 Nov., 1770. His political affinities did not at all harmonize with those of the staunch freedom-loving people of Paxton.
He was dismissed on account of his strong Loyalist opin- ions, 14 Aug., 1782. After his dismission, he removed to Holliston, and there spent his days as a private citizen. He died 25 Sept., 1807, aged 64 years. The stone marking the place of his sepulture, has the following : -
Beneath this stone his body lies, And mingles with its native earth ; The immortal spirit to the skies Is gone to God who gave it birth.
Mr. Thayer married Miss Abigail Goulding, and had seven children : Patty, Nabby, Polly, Ursula, Sarah, John, and Alexander.
12. MR. JOSIAH READ
Was the son of John and Lucy Read, of Uxbridge, in which town he was born, 23 July, 1753. He graduated at Brown
* Letter of Rev. W. Phipps, Paxton.
Rev. Mr. Thayer's ancestral line is as follows : Alexander, the son of William and Abigail (Sumner) Thayer, who was the son of Thomas and Mary Thayer, of Mendon, who was the son of Ferdinando and Huldah (Hayward) Thayer, of Braintree, who was the son of Thomas and Margary Thayer, who came to New England with three children : Thomas, Ferdinando, and Shadrach, and was admitted freeman, 1647, and died 1665.
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REV. ELISHA FISH , JR.
University, 1775, and A. M. He also received the honorary degree of A. M. from Yale, 1781, and from Harvard, 1785. He did not enter the ministry. But what became of him, and what was his history, has not been ascertained.
13. REV. ELISHA FISH, JR.
Was born in Upton, 31 March, 1756. He was the son of Rev. Elisha Fish of the same place, and grandson of Moses Fish, a respectable and enterprising farmer in Groton, Ct. His mother was Hannah, daughter of Dea. Fobes, of West- borough. He was brother to Rev. Holloway Fish, (Licentiate No. 24).
He graduated at Harvard, 1779, and A. M., studied theol- ogy with his father, and was settled in Windsor, 16 June, 1785. He was dismissed 5 July, 1792, and settled in Gilsum, N. H., 29 May, 1794, as the first pastor of the church, and where he continued until his death, 28 March, 1807, in his 51st year.
Mr. Fish married Abigail Snell, daughter of Ebenezer and Sarah (Packard) Snell, of Cummington, formerly of North Bridgewater. She was sister of Rev. Thomas Snell, D. D., of North Brookfield, and of Mrs. Doct. Peter Bryant, mother of William Cullen Bryant, the Poet. They had six children. five of whom, two sons and three daughters, still reside in Gilsum, unwavering friends of the Gospel and the distin- guishing doctrines which their father taught. Mrs. Fish, af- ter living a widow 42 years, died in Gilsum, 1 Nov., 1841, at the age of 85.
While at Windsor, Mr. Fish received an injury in his right ancle, which resulted in the loss of the limb, the embarrass- ment of his energies, and probably the impairing of his health, and the shortening of his life. The church was small, but sound in doctrine, and united in their pastor. But Antinom-
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ianism prevailed in the parish to such an extent as before long rendered his support so precarious, his situation so unpleasant and his prospect of continued usefulness so dubious, that he asked and received a dismission. His labors, however, were not in vain. Besides witnessing a season of unusual ingath- ering into the church, he prepared the way for a successor of like sentiments - Rev. Gordon Dorrance, - who remarked that he could never have been sustained there, had not Mr. Fish by his previous labors, broken up the hard and difficult field.
His interest in the spiritual welfare of his people at Gil- sum, N. H., was great, as both his labors and prayers testified. But he was apparently less successful in the ministry here, than many of his brethren. Still God did not leave him wholly without witness, even in Gilsum, but granted him what might be termed "a season of revival."
"In disposition Mr. Fish was friendly and affectionate ; in manners easy ; in conversation frank and sincere, yet win- ning and conciliatory. He was styled a Hopkinsian, of which appellation he was not ashamed. Nor did he hesitate to ac- knowledge and defend on all suitable occasions, what he es- teemed to be the peculiar doctrines of the Gospel. In his ministry, he urged them with exemplary fidelity, whether men would hear or forbear. The duties too, which flow from these doctrines, he fearlessly expressed and conscientiously exemplified."
An illustrative anecdote may be given. About the time of his settlement in Gilsum, he was called to a council in a neighboring town, to ordain a candidate of that class, whose creed, as one of the number remarked, 'rather consisted in not believing.' Only one other Evangelical minister was invited on the council, and he found it necessary or conven- ient to be absent on a journey. Thus Mr. Fish was without a single sympathizing clerical friend. When he found the
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REV. MOSES WARREN.
council disposed to proceed without examination or inquiry, he insisted upon a confession of faith from the candidate. The answer of the candidate, that 'the Bible was his confes- sion of faith,' was received by the council with applause. But Mr. Fish was not so easily satisfied, nor would he be silenced ; but continued his interrogatories, till the candidate stood con- fessed before the council as an Arian, and a favorer, if not an advocate of Universalism. He now felt that the path of duty was plain, and after a manly defence of the truth in face of violent opposition, he entered his protest, in which five lay- members united, against a man who entertained views so subversive of the Gospel. For this he met with severe re- buke from some of the members of the council. But his conscience approved his course; and one of his most violent assailants on that council, subsequently became a friend to the same system of truth, and advocated the very faith he before had endeavored so vigorously to destroy .*
14. REV. MOSES WARREN
Was the son of Dea. Jonas and Lydia Warren, was born in Upton, 31 Oct., 1758. He graduated at Harvard college, 1784, A. M., 1788, and was ordained over the church in South Wilbraham, 3 Sept., 1788. Rev. E. Fish, Jr., of Wind- sor, preached the sermon from Mal. 2: 7. He continued in the pastorate here forty years, until his death, 19 Feb., 1829, in his 71st year.
Mr. Warren married the daughter of Hon. John Bliss, Esq., of his own parish, - a man of great worth, of ardent piety, and who was one of the Judges of the court in the county of Hampshire, for many years. He had four chil- dren, who lived to adult age, -three sons and a daughter.
* Letter of Rev. E. Adams, Gilsum, N. H.
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I of fked Mr.
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Two of the sons received a classical education at Williams College ; one of whom entered the ministry and spent his days principally at the South; and was highly esteemed, as a sound orthodox divine and an interesting preacher. He has been dead for some years, as are both the other sons. The youngest died May, 1851, in South Wilbraham, having occu- pied the same house as his father during his forty years' ministry. The daughter of Rev. Mr. Warren was married to Rev. Levi Smith, and is still living with him at East Windsor Hill, Ct.
" Mr. Warren sustained a respectable standing in his class as a classical scholar. He was uncommonly amiable in his disposition and circumspect in his deportment, so that he was highly esteemed by his instructors and beloved by his acquaintance.
" As a preacher of the Gospel, Mr. Warren was consider- ably above mediocrity. His sermons were written in a simple but chaste style, were remarkable for the appropriate introduction of Scripture language, which ever rendered them edifying to pious hearers. They were delivered with a solemnity which indicated the responsibility which he felt to the Master whom he served, and the anxious desire he had to be useful to his hearers.
" His demeanor was marked by a diffidence which pre- vented his intellectual worth from being readily appreciated by strangers, or by those who were slightly acquainted with him. But his remarks on the performances of others, at the Associational meetings, on Councils, and at other times, were always discriminating and instructive. And they were ever given with a spirit which made them highly respected.
"Mr. Warren was always tender of the feelings of those who differed from him, and carefully avoided all severe re- flection, while he defended his own views with firmness. He never made an enemy. He was greatly beloved by his parishioners, and lived in peace with Christians of other de-
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REV. JACOB CRAM.
nominations in his own town, and was highly esteemed by them.
" He was a man of prayer. It was his uniform practice, when he visited any of his ministerial brethren, or was vis- ited by any one of them, to propose uniting in a short season of devotion before they separated. This practice arose from the overflowings of a pious heart; for no man could suspect him of having a wish for self-exaltation.
"Mr. Warren lived in quietness and harmony with the peo- ple over whom he was first ordained. And although individ- uals, from time to time, left his ministry to join other denomi- nations, it was not from disaffection to him ; for all esteemed him as " a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith." His salary was always small, but he was contented with it. His people cheerfully paid it, and never manifested any de- sire of a change in their relations.
" The Hampden Association, to which Mr. Warren be- longed, assembled at his house two or three days before his death. He had looked forward to this meeting, as he told them, with much interest, for he always enjoyed the society of his brethren. But he was too unwell to attend to the exer- cises. No one, however, supposed that he was sick unto death ; and when they took leave of him, on his bed, they did not sorrow because they expected " to see his face no more." All were surprised, when they were so soon called to follow their revered and beloved brother to the house ap- pointed for all living." *
15. REV. JACOB CRAM
Was the son of Col. Jonathan Cram, of Hampton Falls, N. H., and a descendant of John Cram, one of the first set-
* Letter of Rev. S. Osgood, D. D., Springfield.
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tlers of Exeter, N. H., 1639 .* He was born 12 Oct., 1762, fitted for college at Dummer Academy, Byfield, and gradu- ated at Dartmouth Coll., 1782, and A. M. in course. He studied Theology with N. Emmons, D. D. His college class embraced four members, one of whom was Caleb Bingham, known as compiler of the " American Preceptor."
In 1788, June 2, he received an invitation to settle over the church in Hampstead, N. H .; but, on the strength of an invitation from Hopkinton, N. H., he left, without returning any formal answer to the call from the former place, and on the 25th Feb., 1789, was ordained at Hopkinton. He was dismissed, 5 Jan., 1792, apparently on account of difficulties connected with his pecuniary transactions amongst his people. He next labored as a missionary amongst the Stockbridge Indians in Western New York. He, together with Rev. David Avery, were the first missionaries appointed by the Massachusetts Home Missionary Society. Mr. Cram's com- mission is dated 3 July, 1800, and specifies as a field " the region between Whitestown and Genesee river, Western New York."t
After laboring a while, he left that region, 15 May, 1801, and came to Exeter, N. H., where he spent the rest of his days. His ruling feature of character, parsimony, which had from the beginning obstructed his usefulness, rapidly settled into a species of monomania, and prevented his em- ployment almost entirely as a preacher, during the rest of his life. He died at Exeter, 21 December, 1833, aged 71 years.
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