USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > Concise history of the Baldwin Place Baptist Church, also calendar of the present members, 1854 > Part 2
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Churches to be in the practice of. So far as he hath or shall enlighten us into the knowledge of our duty and privilege, and as the Lord shall please to help us, we will frequently assemble ourselves together as a Church of Christ, to attend upon our Lord in the service of his house, especially every first day of the week ; and as we shall be enabled by his Grace and conducted by his Spirit, we will stand up together for the truth and cause of Christ against all opposition raised against it by the world and carnal professors ; and by the same help we will watch over one another in the Lord. And, as we shall be under the conduct of Jehovah the Spirit, we will keep the doors of God's house open always to be- lievers in Christ who are sound in the faith about the salvation of God's Elect, as it is by the Father's Grace through the Son's Redemption. And as our God will help us, we will keep them always shut against unbe- lievers and profligate persons.
" And now, as a testimony of our cordial belief of those former doctrines of faith contained in the printed Declaration aforesaid, and of our holy resolution, in the strength of Grace, to stand and walk together in the fellowship of the Gospel, we not only call heaven and carth to witness, but we also subscribe the same with our hands."
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Attached to this document are the signatures of the seven who first united in church fellowship, and of twenty-six others who soon after were added to their number.
Immediately after the ordination of Mr. Bownd, he commenced baptizing such candidates as the church received. The records thus describe a few cases :-
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" July 1, 1744, being Lord's Day, Thomas Macomber, of Marshfield, was baptized. He stood propounded the usual time, and the Friday evening before his baptism, at a church meeting, held at brother Bownd's house, he gave a full account of his faith, and of the Lord's deal- ings with his soul, to the content of the church.
" August 26, 1744, being Lord's Day, Mary Bosworth, the wife of Ephraim Bosworth, of Hull, was baptized. She stood propounded the usual time, and gave a clear and satisfactory account to the church of the gracious dealings of the Lord with her soul. Memorandum, that the same day Mrs. Bosworth was baptized, Joseph Collins, of Lynn, and Patience, his wife, were propounded to the church, as was also Mr. Bosworth's negro man, Cuffec.
" September 2, 1744, Mr. Ephraim Bosworth's negro man, Cuffee, whose character, as given to the church by his master and mistress, was well approved of, and much to our liking, he, the said Cuffce, being called forth, made a full, clear and satisfactory declaration of the work of grace wrought in his soul, and, by the unani- mous concurrence of the church, was received, baptized and taken into full communion this day. Ps. Ixviii. 31. ' Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hand unto God.'
" November 4, 1744, being Lord's Day, Keziah Blan- chard, a maiden, having stood propounded the usual time, and made a clear and satisfactory declaration of the work of God in her soul, was baptized."
Dr. Stow, in his Centennial Discourse, well observes : " The records of that solemn transaction most clearly indicate that these seven believers had a proper sense of the responsibility which they were assuming, and of their entire dependence upon the Divine blessing for the
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success of their enterprise. They knew not that they should have the sympathy of any human being beyond their own limited circle, and they had reason to expect that the pastor and the church whom they had slowly and reluctantly left, would treat them as disorderly schismaties. No minister was present to cheer them by a word of encouragement; no council was convened to extend the hand of fraternal fellowship. They stood alone in the presence of the Head of the Church, and pledged themselves to him and to each other, that they would maintain unshrinkingly and to the last the stand- ard around which they had rallied-the standard of Evangelical Truth and Holiness.
" Having withdrawn from their brethren for reasons such as have been specified, it is natural to suppose that they would not fail to give special prominence, in their articles of organization, to those cardinal doctrines for the sake of which they were making large sacrifices, and assuming peculiar responsibilities. The Summary Declaration of Faith which they promptly put forth, and which is still the platform of this church, shows - how careful they were to be full and explicit in the exhibition of those principles which they had gathered from the Word of God, and for the defence of which they had taken their new position. Faithful disciples of Jesus ! They laid their foundation deep and broad in the great doctrines of the New Testament, and to this fact may be attributed, under God, the stability of the superstructure. While other churches around them, built partly upon God's truth and partly upon tradition, have declined from Christian rectitude, this church has stood firm on 'the foundation of the apostles and proph- ets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone,'
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and though the superincumbent mass has been greatly increased, and though it has been exposed to all the convulsions of a most exciting century, yet it has never been swayed a single hair's breadth from the true per- pendicular. 'Walk about Zion, and go round about her ; tell the towers thereof; mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces ; that ye may tell it to the genera- tion following.'"
The meetings of the church were continued in the house of Mr. James Bownd until June, 1745, when they were removed to Mr. Procter's school-house, which was not far from Baldwin Place. About this time the society commenced building their first house of worship. It was erected on land given by Deacon Bosworth; the same spot where the meeting-house now stands. The house was forty-five by thirty-three feet, containing twenty-six pews on the lower floor, and six in the east gallery, in front of the women's gallery. The seats in the west gallery were free, and were occupied chiefly by sea-faring men, as they were, from time to time, in port. The house was first opened for Divine service on Lord's Day, March 15, 1746. The best pew in the house, estimated worth eighty-five pounds, "old tenor," was owned by Mr. Procter. The second best was set apart "to be forever the ministerial pew." Near the pulpit was a baptistery, which was used for more than forty years.
Mr. Bownd, the first pastor of this church, was re- garded as a very evangelical and interesting preacher. For several years, under his care, the church enjoyed much peace and harmony. Members were added to it from towns for twenty miles around Boston. Among those who early united with this body was a Mr. Phillip
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Freeman, subsequently appointed a deacon. He first made a profession of religion in London. He was ever a firm friend and supporter of the great principles which he found embraced in the church's declaration of faith, etc. On sending an account of the origin and doctrines of the church to the Rev. Dr. Gill, of London, which Mr. Freeman did, the former expressed his approval by a donation of a complete communion service, seven suits of " baptismal garments," and a valuable collection of books. Other individuals also sent acceptable presents, as tokens of their sympathy with the infant church in its efforts to know the truth and the institutions of Christ.
Mr. Bownd continued to minister to this church for about twenty-two years. During the first five years of his ministry, such was his success that the church had increased to one hundred and twenty, and for ten years no act of discipline was necessary. Some time before his death he was afflicted with paralysis, which greatly interfered with his work. In 1764 an invitation was sent to the Rev. Samuel Stillman, afterwards Dr. Still- man, then of Bordentown, N. J., to come and assist him for one year, which he accepted. At the close of this year's service, there being a vacancy in the pastoral office of the First Church, Mr. Stillman was invited to fill it, and consented; but such was the attachment of many of the members of this church and congregation to him, that they went with him, some with letters of dismission and some without. This occasioned a state of very sore feeling between the two churches, which it took years to heal.
Mr. Bownd died the next year, June 18, 1765.
It was five years before the church obtained another pastor, and these were years of severe trial. Many had
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followed Mr. Stillman,-the tide had turned in favor of that church, and the faith of this was severely tested.
In 1760, Mr. John Davis, a graduate of Pennsylvania University, son of the Rev. David Davis, of Welch Tract, Delaware, was requested to take the oversight of the church. He commenced his labors on probation, in the 'spring, and on the 9th of September following, was or- dained to the pastoral office. The following ministers took part in this service : Rev. Morgan Edwards, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Philadelphia, and Rev. James Manning, President of Rhode Island College. The prospects of the church soon assumed an encour- aging aspect. Some who had gone off returned, and the church began to look for days of prosperity; but alas ! these pleasing anticipations were quickly blasted. In less than two years from the time of Mr. Davis's ordi- nation his health began to decline, so that he found it necessary to ask for a dismission, which was reluctantly granted, July 19, 1772.
The next year, as Mr. Davis was journeying for his health, he was suddenly called to yield up his spirit to God. His mortal remains were interred by his com- panion in travel, on the banks of the Ohio, but no monu- ment marks the spot where they rest. He died December 13, 1773. His last words were : " In a little time I expect to be with Christ, to see him as he is known, and as he is not known. My faith in my Saviour is unshaken." During Mr. Davis's ministry, Watts' Psalms and Hymns were first used by this church, those of Sternhold and Hopkins, Tate and Brady, having been used previously.
In 1772, the feelings of the church had become so far modified towards Mr. Stillman, that a vote was passed that he be allowed to preach in "our " meeting-house.
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"In September, 1772, this church was admitted into the Warren Association, which met, that year, with the church in Middleborough, and continued a member of that body until the year 1811, when it was dismissed with other churches to constitute the Boston Associa- tion."
The next pastor was Mr. Isaac Skillman, afterwards Dr. Skillman, a native of New Jersey, and a graduate of Nassau Hall College at Princeton. He commenced his labors, without a regular installation, in September, 1773, and continued pastor until October 7, 1787, a period of fourteen years, when, at his own request, he was dis- missed. There is still living one member of this church who was baptized by Mr. Skillman, Mrs. Elizabeth Butts.
Although Mr. Skillman was regarded as a man of more than ordinary talent, yet the church did not prosper under his ministry. When he settled, the number of members was forty, when he retired from his connection with the church it was sixty-six.
The fourth pastor was the Rev. Thomas Gair, a native. of Boston. He was converted at the age of sixteen, un- der the ministry of Dr. Stillman. In 1777, he received his degree of A. M. at Rhode Island College. He was, soon after, settled pastor of the church in Medfield, where he labored ten years. Having closed his labors there, he was invited by this church to supply them on probation, after which he accepted their unanimous invi- tation to become their pastor. He was installed April 23, 1788, in the Rev. Dr. Elliott's meeting-house, on which occasion the pastor of the First Church was one of the officiating ministers, and from this event may be
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dated the commencement of a better feeling between the two churches.
Such was the success of Mr. Gair's ministry that it was found necessary to enlarge the meeting-house for the accommodation of the increasing congregation. Twenty feet were added to the south side, making it fifty-three by forty-five feet.
These fair prospects were soon beclouded, for in the spring of 1790, their beloved pastor, in the midst of his usefulness, was suddenly attacked by a malignant fever, the progress of which no earthly skill could arrest. His death, which was deeply lamented, took place April 27, 1790, only two years and four days after his installation, and in the thirty-sixth year of his age. Immediately after the funeral of Mr. Gair, on an intimation from Mr. Oliver Holden that Mr. Thomas Baldwin, of Canaan, N. H., would be a suitable person to supply them, a letter was addressed to him, but, by some means, it did not reach him, and had it not been that a brother wrote him on his own responsibility, and sent his letter in a different direction from the official one, he probably never would have been the pastor of this church, as he was then on his way to visit another church that was desirous of his services. He replied to this brother that " God willing, he would be in Boston the first of July." He arrived, and commenced his labors on the fourth of July, 1790. His first sermon was founded on Acts x. 29, the words of Peter to Cornelius : "Therefore came I unto you, without gainsaying, as soon as I was sent for ; I ask, therefore, to what intent ye have sent for me." After preaching a short time on probation, the church and society held a special meeting and extended to him a unanimous call to become their pastor.
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The letter from the committee informing him of this act, dated August 22, 1790, runs as follows :-
"Rev. Sir : The Second Baptist Church in this town, having been, by the providence of God, deprived of their beloved pastor, and having had an opportunity of hear- ing your improvement, they, by an unanimous vote of the church and society, have thought proper to invite you to come and take the pastoral charge of this church and congregation ; and did, on the day above-mentioned, make choice of us as a joint committee, to wait upon you, and inform you of their proposals," etc. This letter was signed by Jacob Holland, John Martin, Richard Smith, William Brown, Josiah Bacon, and Joseph Shed. Some of these proposals follow. " They have," say the committee, " also thought it their duty to engage you six dollars per week for the first six months, and then to increase it as they shall find themselves able ; and also to find you all that part of the dwelling-house now occu- pied by the widow Gair, (excepting the front chamber,) together with the improvement of the garden, below the - gate; and also to allow you fifteen cords of wood, de- livered at the house."
Agrecably to this engagement, at the end of six months, they raised the salary to cight dollars, and not long after to ten, and then to twelve, to fifteen, to eighteen, and then to twenty; this was paid weekly, with punctuality.
These advances were made by the society, without the slightest hint from the pastor. They also furnished him with a good house, and with all the wood necessary.
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On Tuesday, November 11, 1790, Mr. Baldwin was pub- licly installed, at the Rev. Dr. Elliott's meeting-house, which was kindly offered for the occasion. The services were conducted as follows: The Rev. Dr. Stillman preached the sermon from 2 Cor. iv. 7: " For we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." The Rev. (since Dr.) Smith, of Haverhill, delivered the charge. Rev. Thomas Green, of Cambridge, gave the right hand of fellowship, and the Rev. Joseph Grafton, of Newton, offered the concluding prayer. The services were ex- ceedingly interesting, and well attended. From this time we may date the beginning of prosperity which continued, with but little interruption, for years. In a very short time the congregation had so increased that the house became too small to accommodate the hearers, and it was deemed necessary again to enlarge it, which was done by dividing it and adding eighteen feet in the middle. This work was commenced September 18, 1797, and finished November 30th following-Thanks- giving day. The house was embellished by a beautiful clock, the donation of Mr. John Hoffman ; by an elegant cut glass chandelier, imported from England, and the communion service was so enlarged, by purchase and donations, as to be worth $551.44.
In 1803, this and the First Church were blessed with a most precious revival of religion, which continued for more than two years, during which time two hundred and twelve persons were added, by baptism, to this church, and one hundred and thirty-five to the First Church. The influence of this work upon evangelical religion has, unquestionably, been very great. It proba- bly would not be asserting too much to say that ortho-
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doxy owes its ascendency, instrumentally, to this revival in these two Baptist churches. At the commencement of this work many persons were seen to linger in the meeting-house after the evening services, which the pastor observing, took occasion to converse with them, and exhort them; this, resulting in the conversion of some, the practice of remaining after evening service was continued, until it has become a habit.
In the spring of 1810, the congregation had become so large that fears were entertained of their safety, on account of the supposed weakness of some parts of the old meeting-house, and steps were therefore taken towards the erection of a new one. This work was undertaken the same year. The old house was taken down and removed. The corner stone of the new one was laid, by the pastor's own hand, Monday morning, May 28, 1810, at ten o'clock. The walls were laid in solid clay, of the depth of from ten to twenty feet below the brick work ; the house was eighty-five feet by seventy- five, exclusive of the porch, which was thirty-eight by eighteen. The tower was sixty-four feet high. It was -
originally intended to have a handsome cupola. On the lower floor were one hundred and forty-two pews, and forty-four in the galleries ; in the whole, one hundred and eighty-six. The whole expense, exclusive of the land, was about twenty-four thousand dollars. This house, with the exception of the alterations since made, is the same in which the church now worships. The house was dedicated by solemn and somewhat imposing services on January 1, 1811. It is supposed that more than three thousand persons were present at the dedi- cation.
The sermon was preached by Dr. Baldwin, from
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Hag. ii. 9; on the following Sabbath, January 6, his texts were, in the morning, Psalms xxvii. 4; afternoon, Psalms lv. 14.
The year 1816 may be considered an era in the history of Sabbath Schools in Boston. And here we would award to the esteemed widow of the late venerated pastor of the Charles Street Church, the honor of introducing this important institution into the Baptist churches in this city. In the month of June, 1816, the Female Sab- bath School was commenced at Charles Street, and on the following month, July, one was commenced at the Second, now the Baldwin Place Baptist Church. A large number of ladies of the church and congregation, with the approval of the venerable and beloved pastor and the brethren, organized themselves into a society, agree- ing cach to pay one cent a week for the support of this school.
At that period there were no Primary Schools in Boston. The Sabbath Schools were established exclusively for the. children of the poor. Clothing, suitable for their attend- ance on public worship, had to be provided for them. This was taken charge of, during the week, by a lady appointed by the society as keeper of the wardrobe. It was the duty of the teacher to instruct the scholars, if necessary, from the alphabet; also to teach them to read and spell, as well as to require them to commit to mem- ory and recite portions of Scripture, Baldwin's Catechism, Hymns, etc. The hours for opening the school in the summer were 8 A. M., and 1 P. M.
On a delightful holy morning, July 27, 1816, says onc who witnessed the scene, the school was commenced with thirty-seven children, attired in neat habiliments, pro-
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vided and made up by the industry of the society. It met on the floor of the meeting-house, there being at that time no vestry, it having been taken down to make room for the erection of the new meeting-house. The pastor being at that time in rather feeble health, Dea. J. C. Rainsford, at the request of the leading officers of the society, implored, in carnest prayer, the divine blessing on the institution, and on all connected with its manage- ment and support. This occurred just seventy-three years from the foundation of the church.
The first class of colored children ever brought under Sabbath School instruction in Boston, was taught in this school. The youngest pupil of the class, was, after a few years, made, as their is good reason to believe, a subject of saving grace, was subsequently baptized and added to the church. Some twelve years since she departed this life in the triumphs of faith.
OFFICERS OF THE SCHOOL AND SOCIETY.
MISS MARY WEBB, First Directress.
MRS. MARY L. O'BRIEN, Second Directress.
Miss M. VALLETTE, Assistant.
MRS. II. D. BOWERS, Secretary and Treasurer of the Society. MRS. S. HART, Keeper of the Wardrobe.
MANAGERS.
Mrs. Rev. ELISHA WILLIAMS.
Mrs. GEORGE HOMER. Mrs. LYDIA T. Cook. Mrs. ROBERT FENNELLY, (now Gurney). Mrs. JOHN LAMBERT. Mrs. J. F. Low.
The male school was commenced by a society of gen- tlemen the following spring, 1817, in the gallery of the
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meeting-house. The girls' school, notwithstanding, re- mained exclusively under female supervision for twelve or thirteen years. However, previous to the expiration of that time, the plan of Sabbath School instruction was so modified as to admit the children of the rich as well as the poor.
The ministry of Dr. Baldwin was continued until Au- gust 29, 1825, at which time it was terminated by his death. He had gone to attend the commencement exer -. cises of Waterville College, Me., when he was taken ill and died. "He was," says Dr. Stow, in his Centennial Discourse, " a man of rare excellence, and the memory of his virtues will be cherished with affectionate rever- ence as long as truth and holiness shall have a friend or an advocate. Upon this church and people he has left an impression which the father transmits to the son, and the mother to the daughter, and seems likely to descend hereditarily through succeeding generations. From the day of his death till the present hour, his gentle, affec- tionate spirit has seemed to preside here, exerting a more than magic power over hundreds who never saw his shape or heard his voice, but who have felt the soft, sub- duing majesty of his presence, bland, soothing, healing, and ever like his apostolic prototype, whispering in our ears, ' Little children, love one another.' Members who have been dismissed by us, and entered into the compo- sition of other churches, have carried this influence with them, and there is scarcely a church of our faith, within thirty miles, that has not been modified in its spirit and character, by some emanation from the extraordinary qualities of this eminent servant of God. Far distant be the day, when the name of Baldwin shall be redolent
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of no pleasant memories, or when the spirit of love and peace, of which he was such an illustrious exemplar, shall be supplanted by any spirit less amiable, less Christ-like.
" The attachment of this church and society to Dr. Baldwin was peculiarly strong, and most deeply did they mourn his departure. The general feeling among them- selves, and the common sentiment of the community was, that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to find a successor in whom they could unite, and to whom they could cordially transfer the affections that had so long and tenaciously clung to their aged . favorite. But the blessed Redeemer, who is not only ' Head of the Church,' but ' Head over all things to the Church,' foresaw, and provided for their necessity.
" Mr. James D. Knowles, then a tutor in the Colum- bian College, District of Columbia, was present when Dr. Baldwin preached his last sermon in this house, the Sab- bath previous to his departure for Waterville. On that day he preached his first discourse to this people, little apprehending that it was his introduction to the field of his future labors. I was myself here at the same time, a delighted listener to those discourses, and an admirer of the men who delivered them. To the scenes of that eventful day, may be traced a series of occurrences which have given shape to my own history, as well as to that of my esteemed predecessor. On that day, the venerable pastor uttered expressions which, by their accordance with subsequent facts, have since been regarded as almost prophetic.
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