USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Contributions to the ecclesiastical history of Essex County, Mass., 1865 > Part 8
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 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41
At his death, they voted, unanimously, to be at the expense of his funeral, and placed £200 at the disposal of the Committee of arrange- ments. He had a ministry of nearly 29 years, and was buried at the Cemetery on Sawyer's Hill, the parish buying the ground at that time. The people seemed to have appreciated the excellence of their pastor, and treated him from first to last with the utmost love and veneration.
During his ministry there does not seem to have been any special re- vival of religion. Sixty were added to the church by letter and profes- sion, and four hundred and sixteen children were baptized.
It seems that at the opening of his ministry, the wig which Mr. Hale wore, gave great offence to some of the members of his church.
" May 7, 1752. The members of the Second Church in Newbury met to deal with our brother, Richard Bartlet, for the following reasons :
" First, our said brother refuses communion with the church for no other reason, but because the pastor wears a wig, and because the church justifies him in it; setting up his own opinion in opposition to the church ; contrary to that humility which becomes a Christian.
" Second, and further, in an unchristian manner, he censures and con- demns both pastor and church as anti-christian on the aforesaid account, and he sticks not from time to time to assert, with the greatest assurance, that all who wear wigs, unless they repent of that particular sin before they die, will certainly be damned, which we judge to be a piece of un- charitable and sinful rashness."
63
SKETCHES OF MEMBERS.
MOSES PARSONS.
The following sketch is taken in part from the first volume of Sprague's Annals, p. 448.
Moses Parsons was the youngest son of Eben and Lydia (Haskell) Parsons, and was born at Gloucester, Mass., June 20, 1716. He spent his early years at home. He entered Harvard College in 1732, and was graduated in 1736. After his graduation, he was engaged, for a few years, in teaching school, first at Manchester, Mass., and afterwards at Gloucester ; during a part of which time, he was prosecuting his theolog- ical studies under the direction of the Rev. John White, then Minister of Gloucester. As a teacher, he was eminently successful ; and in Glouces- ter particularly he rendered very important service to his pupils, as a spiritual guide, in a season of unusual attention to religion.
Shortly after he was licensed, he was requested to preach as a candi- date for settlement in the parish of Byfield, Newbury, Mass., then vacant by the death of Rev. Moses Hale. He responded affirmatively to their request, and commenced his labors on the 18th of March, 1744. After supplying the pulpit a few Sabbaths, he received a call to become their pastor, and having signified his acceptance of the call, was ordained on the 20th of June, 1744, - the day that completed his twenty-eighth year. The sermon on the occasion was preached by Rev. Mr. Wigglesworth, of Ipswich Hamlet (now Hamilton), from Gal. 1: 10. Here Mr. Parsons held on the noiseless and even tenor of his way, during a ministry of nearly forty years. Besides a diligent dis- charge of those duties which were strictly professional, he evinced much public spirit in his efforts to promote the varied interests of humanity.
In the establishment of the Academy at Byfield, under the will of Governor. Dummer, he is said to have had a controlling voice; and it was chiefly through his influence that it was established on so desirable a basis, and that the celebrated " Master Moody " was placed at its head.
He was blessed with a fine constitution, and generally with vigorous health ; and his death was the result of an illness of only a few days' continuance. He had attended a funeral at a distance from home, on a very inclement day, and took a violent cold that run into a lung fever, . and after a few days terminated his life. He died on the 14th of Decem- ber, 1783; and his funeral sermon was preached by the Rev. David Tappan of Newbury.
He was married January 11, 1742, to Susanna, daughter of Abraham and Anne (Robinson) Davis of Gloucester. Her mother, Anne Robinson, was said to be the great grand-daughter of the celebrated John Robinson, minister of the Puritan Church that emigrated from Holland to Ply- mouth. She died in Boston, Dec. 18, 1794, aged 75.
64
HISTORY OF ESSEX NORTH ASSOCIATION.
The names of their children were,
1. Moses, b. May 13, 1744, at Gloucester ; H. U. 1765 ; d. 1801.
2. Ebenezer, b. Feb. 27, 1745-6 ; m. Mary Gorham ; d. in Byfield, 1819 ; engaged in commercial pursuits in Boston and Gloucester.
3. Theophilus, b. April 8, 1747.
4. Theophilus, b. Feb. 24, 1750; H. U. 1769 ; d. in Boston, Oct. 30, 1813, aged 63; Chief Justice of Massachusetts from 1806 to his death.
5. Theodore, b. July 31, 1751, H. U. 1773. He sailed from Glouces- ter in March, 1779, on board the privateer brig " Bennington." A letter was received from him dated in May following; after which he was never again heard from, till accounts were received from London that the brig was sunk in the English channel in an engagement with a Brit- ish vessel of superior force.
6. Susanna, b. April 28, 1753.
7. William, b. Aug. 6, 1755 ; d. in Boston, March 19, 1837, aged 82 ; merchant in Boston.
8. Judith, b. - , 1757.
9. Mary, b. Sept. 14, 1763.
Of the three sons who graduated at H. U., two became lawyers and one a physician. One of them was the Hon. Theophilus Parsons, many years Chief Justice of Massachusetts, and one of the most eminent Amer- can jurists. After the death of Mr. Parsons, his widow removed to Bos- ton, where she had resided some time previous to her marriage, and remained there till her death, which occurred on the 18th of December, 1794. Her remains were taken to Byfield for burial.
Mr. Parsons published a sermon at the ordination of Joseph Dana at Ipswich, 1765; the Election Sermon, 1772 ; and a sermon at the ordi- nation of Obadiah Parsons at Gloucester, Nov. 11, 1772.
The following is an extract from a letter written by Mr. Parsons' grand-son, Theophilus Parsons, Esq., Professor of Law in Harvard Uni- versity :
" In sentiments and doctrine I have always understood that my grand- father was what was then called, and would now be called, I suppose, Orthodox, but with strong Arminian tendencies. Hence, probably, it happened that all of his children who lived until Unitarianism existed among us as a recognized sect, became Unitarians. They were four in number, including my father.
" I have also understood that he made no pretence to eloquence, and loved his home and his immediate duties without ever seeking, - and indeed rather avoiding, - any thing which might divert him from those duties, or procure him any distinction. I should doubt if he had popular
65
SKETCHES OF MEMBERS.
talents of any kind. But I have reason to believe that by his grave and courteous demeanor, his devotion to duty, and his excellent good sense, he exerted a very important influence in his neighborhood.
" As an instance how times are changed, I may say, that, on a salary of one hundred pounds lawful money, or $333.33, and a good farm attached to the premises, he educated three sons at H. U. without any assistance (and they were all who wished to go), and always lived liber- ally and easily, and entertained a great deal of company."
From the fact that Mr. Parsons became one of the original members of the Association while the "Ministers' Meeting " was still in existence in the valley of the Merrimac, we infer that his preferences were quite decidedly orthodox. His near neighbor and townsman, Dr. Tucker, appropriately called the " Corypheus among the Arminians," was a mem- ber of the other body. So was Rev. William Symmes, D. D., a decided Arminian of North Andover.
His associates in the Association were Jewett of Rowley, Chandler of New Rowley (now Georgetown), Lesslie of Linebrook, and John Cleaveland of Chebacco (now Essex) ; all of whom were men of decided, orthodox views. In the declaration which precedes the original articles of the Association, the members say, " We do this with the greater cheer- fulness, because of our present agreement respecting the doctrines of the Gospel." Mr. Parsons was the first Scribe of the Association, being elected at the organization, Sept. 8, 1761, and held the office until his death, a period of more than twenty-two years.
THOMAS HIBBERT,
Was the son of George and Sarah (Ellsworth) Hibbert, and was born in Rowley -, 1727; graduated at H. U. 1748; was ordained pastor of the church in the East Parish of Amesbury, known also as Sandy Hill, Nov. 6, 1754. He was dismissed from this church about 1781, on account of great dissatisfaction. After his dismission he organized an- other congregation in the same parish, which took the Presbyterian form of church government. They built a sinall house of worship, and, for a few years, maintained the ordinances of religion.
This house was commonly known as the " Still." It is now standing and is used for a barn by Mr. Daniel Huntington, and is an object of at- tention from its " hopper-roof."
At the council called to dismiss Mr. Hibbert, a man named Ruggles Colby was called upon to testify; but was rejected, because he said he would " swear either way for a peck of beans." The intemperate habits
9
66
HISTORY OF ESSEX NORTH ASSOCIATION.
of Mr. Hibbert, which were the cause of dissatisfaction with him in the old church, still clung to him.
In the later years of his life he retired to his farm. He died Sept. - -, 1793. It is reported to have been a frequent admonition of Mr. Hibbert to his flock, - " Do as I say, and not as I do."
The social habits of the period in which he lived were peculiarly un- fortunate to men of his temperament. And while we are pained at his sad fall, and that of other able and excellent men in the ministry, our wonder is that so few of the clergy were ensnared and degraded. In some respects, certainly, the present time is better than the past.
GEORGE LESSLIE,
The first pastor of the church at Linebrook, Ipswich, was the son of Rev. James Lesslie, who came from Scotland, and settled in Topsfield when George was about two years old. He was born about 1727. George graduated at H. U., 1748 ; joined the church in Topsfield, March 5, 1749, and appears to have studied his profession there with Rev. John Emerson. Having preached at Linebrook one year, he was ordained November 15, 1749 ; his dismission took effect Nov. 30, 1779, by advice of a council which convened on the 4th. He was induced to ask a dis- mission, because the parish declined to make up the loss he sustained by the depreciation of paper money. Mr. Lesslie had a settlement of £700, old tenor, equal to $311.08, and his salary was £100, lawful money, and twelve cords of wood.
July 2, 1778, Mr. Lesslie attended to the gallows Ezra Ross (one of his parishioners), who was executed at Worcester with William Brooks, James Buchannan, and Bathsheba Spooner, for the murder of Joshua Spooner, of Brookfield (Bathsheba was the wife of the murdered man). The day was kept as a season of fasting and prayer in the Linebrook parish, on account of the untimely end of the murderer.
January 31, 1765, Mr. Lesslie preached at the ordination of Mr. Sam- uel Perley, at Northampton, N. H., which sermon was printed.
SKETCHI BY REV. J. F. GRISWOLD. - N. H. Churches, p. 474.
" Mr. Lesslie was installed over the church in Washington, N. H., July 12, 1780. The services were performed in the barn of a Mr. John Saf- ford. One hundred acres of land were appropriated to the first settled minister of the town, and this was an inducement for him to accept the call. His salary was 100 acres of land and £50 sterling. He was a man of correct sentiments, a good scholar, and of studious habits. He
67
SKETCHES OF MEMBERS.
was conscientious, of strict integrity, and had the confidence of the people. Soon after he received his call to settle here, he was invited to accept a professorship in Dartmouth College. He declined the invitation, on ac- count of the encouragement he had given the people in W. to settle with them. He left Linebrook with his family on the 6th of March. At that time there was no public road through this place, and intelligence from abroad was only occasionally received. It was only once in two or three months that news was received from Boston. Mr. Lesslie was nine days on the road in coming from Linebrook to Washington, - a distance of 80 miles.
" His privations, during his first years here, were great. Provisions, in many instances, could not be obtained without going thirty or forty miles for them. The first winter he was here was unusually long. On the 19th of October, snow fell to the depth of two feet, and remained till late in the spring. Twenty-seven head of cattle died that spring from starvation. Mr. Lesslie lost his only cow. A day of fasting and prayer was observed on account of the sad prospects of the people. During one whole winter Mr. Lesslie's family were without salt, and for one bushel in the spring he paid $5."
Mr. Lesslie died Sept. 11, 1800, aged 72.
Mr. Lesslie married, Oct. 26, 1756, Hephzibah Burpee, daughter of Deacon Jonathan Burpee, of his parish in Linebrook.
The names of their children are, -
1. George, b. January 12, 1758.
2. David, b. December 17, 1759.
3. James, b. March 10, 1761.
4. Jonathan, b. June 5, 1763 ; d. Nov. 5, 1771.
5. William, b. August 4, 1766.
6. Hephzibah, b. March 19, 1770.
7. Joseph, b. Feb. 28, 1774.
8. Mehitable, b. September 5, 1778.
Mr. Lesslie fitted many pupils for college, and others for the ministry. He had a strong mind, was a fine scholar, and a pious and useful minister. Tradition has reported his great infirmity to have been that of indolence.
JOHN CLEAVELAND.
The materials of the following sketch are from Sprague's Annals, and Felt's Hist. of Ipswich.
John Cleaveland was the son of Josiah and Abigail (-) Cleave- land, and was born at Canterbury, Ct., April 11, 1722. He entered
68
HISTORY OF ESSEX NORTH ASSOCIATION.
Yale College in 1741, and remained there till a few weeks before the close of his senior year. While at home, during the preceding vacation, he attended a meeting of Separatists in his native place, for which, on his return to college, he was required to make confession. He justified him- self on the ground that he was a member of the church, and that the meet- ing was attended by a majority of the church members, among whom was his father. He was expelled from college ; though he was subsequently allowed his degree, as graduating with his class in 1745. Mr. Cleaveland commenced preaching almost immediately after leaving college ; and for about two years supplied a society of Separatists in Boston, who sympa- thized with the views and measures of the well-known Rev. James Davenport, who, about that time, visited New England. They invited Mr. Cleaveland to become their pastor ; but he declined. A new church at Chebacco, in Ipswich, - a secession from the Rev. Mr. Pickering's, then recently formed, gave him a call to settle over them, which he accepted; and he was accordingly ordained on the 25th of February, 1747. The formation of the new church seems to have resulted, partly at least, from Mr. Pickering's refusal to invite Whitefield and Davenport into his pulpit, on the ground of their alleged irregularities. Mr. P. exerted himself to the utmost to prevent Mr. C.'s ordination; but to no purpose, as it was favored by several of the leading ministers in the neighborhood.
Shortly after the ordination took place, Mr. P. published a pamphlet, entitled, "A bad omen to the churches in the instance of Mr. John Cleaveland's ordination over a separation in Chebacco Parish."
This was immediately answered by Mr. C. in another pamphlet, entitled " A plain narrative by the new church." While Mr. P. was preparing a rejoinder, he was interrupted by a sudden illness, which ter- minated fatally on the 7th of October, 1747 ; his church, however, after his death, carried out his purpose, and completed what he had begun. In 1748, another pamphlet appeared, supposed to have been written by Mr. Cleaveland, entitled " Chebacco narrative rescued from the charge of falsehood and partiality."
These pamphlets are all written with great spirit, and show that the minds of the several writers were stirred to their inmost depths.
In 1763, Mr. Cleaveland published an "Essay to defend some of the most important principles in the Protestant Reformed System of Chris- tianity, more especially Christ's Sacrifice and Atonement, against the inju- rious aspersions cast on the same by Mr. Mayhew, in a Thanksgiving Sermon." (8vo, pp. 108. Boston, 1763. M. H. S.).
This drew forth from Dr. Mayhew " A Letter of Reproof to John Cleaveland, of Ipswich ; occasioned by a Defamatory Libel " (8vo, pp. 49.
·
69
SKETCHES OF MEMBERS.
Boston, 1764. M. H. S.), which is probably the most scathing piece of invective that ever came from his pen. It seems, however, neither to have silenced or intimidated Mr. Cleaveland, as he replied to the letter without much delay. " Reply to Dr. Mayhew's Letter of Reproof." (8vo, pp. 96. Boston, 1765. M. H. S.)
Mr. C. seems to have maintained somewhat of a controversial attitude, from taste or from circumstances, or from both, during a considerable part of his ministry.
In 1758, Mr. Cleaveland was chaplain to a provincial regiment at Ticonderoga, and was on the battle-ground when Lord Howe was killed. The next year, he served in the same capacity in an expedition against the French, at Louisburg. In 1775, he was chaplain to a regiment at Cambridge ; and in 1776, went on a short campaign to New York. He had an eminently patriotic spirit, and shrunk from no sacrifice that prom- ised to benefit his country. Not only by his professional services as chaplain, but by various contributions to newspapers, he did much to encourage and further the great enterprise which had its issues in our national independence.
Mr. Cleaveland died after a short and painful illness, on the 22d of April, 1799. His funeral sermon was preached by the Rev. Joseph Dana of Ipswich, from 2 Kings 2: 12. The parish voted eighty dollars to defray his funeral expenses.
Mr. Cleaveland was married to Mary, the only daughter of Parker and - Dodge of the Hamlet (IIamilton), July 31, 1747. She died of a cancer, April 11, 1768, in her forty-sixth year. In September -, 1769, he was married to Mary, widow of Capt. John Foster of Manches- ter, Mass. She died at Topsfield, April 19, 1810, in her cightieth year.
Mr. Cleaveland had seven children, four sons and three daughters.
Besides the pamphlets already referred to, Mr. Cleaveland published a justification of his Church from the Strictures of the Rev. S. Wiggles- - worth of the Hamlet, and the Rev. Richard Jaques of Gloucester, 1765 ; - A Short and Plain Narrative of the late Work of God's Spirit at Che- bacco, in Ipswich, in 1763 and 1764 (8vo, pp. 89. Boston, 1767. M. H. S. and A. A. S.) ; - An Attempt to nip in the bud the unscriptural Doctrine of Universal Salvation, 1776; Infant Baptism " From Heaven," and Immersion as the only mode of Baptism, and a Term of Christian Communion "of men :" or, a Short Dissertation on Baptists, in Two Parts (8vo, Salem, Mass., 1784. A. A. S.); - The Rev. Dr. N. Whit- aker's Neighbor is come, and searcheth him : or, a Brief Defence of a late Council's Result, against the Doctor's charges (8vo. Salem, 1784. A. A. S.) ;- Sermon at Stoneham, Mass., Oct. 19, 1785, at the Ordination of his son, John Cleaveland, jun. (8vo. Newburyport. A. A. S.).
I find in the Diary of the Rev. Dr. Cogswell, who was, for many years,
70
HISTORY OF ESSEX NORTH ASSOCIATION.
minister of the parish in which Mr. Cleaveland spent his early life, the following entry, under date of October 26, 1766: "Mr. John Cleave- land preached for me to good acceptance in general. Some admired him. He was very loud and earnest, and preached without notes. His doctrines were good. The greater part of Separates went to hear him."
From Rev. Daniel Dana, D. D. " NEWBURYPORT, March 28, 1856.
" MY DEAR SIR, - So many years have elapsed since Mr. Cleave- land's decease, that you will scarcely expect me to furnish you a very minute account of him ; and yet such recollections and impressions as I have concerning him, I am most happy to communicate to you.
" Mr. Cleaveland was nearly six feet in height, was very erect, of great muscular strength, with a florid complexion and blue eyes. He was by no means a graceful preacher. His manner sometimes bordered on the rough, and even the boisterous. Yet, as he uttered the encouraging, as well as alarming truths of God's word, and as all evidently proceeded from a heart deeply imbued with love to Christ, to his truth, and to the souls of men, his preaching was generally acceptable. In those good days elegance in preaching was less in demand, and its absence less a topic of complaint than in our fastidious times.
" One circumstance pertaining to his preaching was peculiar. During most of his life, he took with him to the desk very brief and imperfect notes. In consequence of this, his preaching was often more earnest and declamatory than instructive. But in later years, becoming more dis- trustful of his own powers, he wrote his sermons in full, and in reading confined himself to his notes. This change was, in view of his judicious hearers, quite an improvement ; while others thought that the good man had lost a portion of his animation and zeal.
" His prayers were congenial with his sermons. Without a careful and orderly arrangement of topics, they were the effusions of a heart in close communion with God, and carried with them the affections of his hearers, especially the most serious portion of them.
"Mr. Cleaveland's character was uniformly exemplary. With him love to the Saviour, and to the souls for which He died, was the absorbing sentiment. This was habitually manifest in methods altogether unosten- tatious, yet impossible to be misunderstood. He thus seeured the consci- entious approbation of the community generally, and the warm love of the pious. Though his life was spent, for the most part, in comparative seclusion, his good influence was felt much beyond the immediate sphere of his labors.
" Believe me, as ever, most affectionately yours, " DANIEL DANA."
71
SKETCHES OF MEMBERS.
OLIVER NOBLE,
Was the son of Daniel and Abigail (Loomis) Noble, and was born in Hebron, Conn., March 3, 1734. He graduated at Y. C. in 1757 ; was ordained pastor of the First Church in Coventry, Conn., January 10, 1759 ; dismissed June 10, 1761.
Rev. John Ballentine of Westfield, Mass., makes the following entry in his diary, under date of Nov. 11, 1761, -" Oliver Noble here, late minister of Coventry, Ct. There was no great opposition, yet some un- guarded expressions about a black velvet cape on a white great coat, gave sucli a handle against him as occasioned his dismission from them. Singularity in dress sometimes proves a snare to one that has a mind to be popular. We should dare to be true, though it exposes us to banter and ridicule. A small spark may be blown up to a great flame. Be careful what you say, and before whom. Do not meddle with other peoples' affairs. The asking of impertinent questions may have bad consequences."
Mr. Noble was installed pastor of the Fifth Church in Newbury, Sept. 1, 1762 ; dismissed April -, 1784. The recognition of this separation was in the following paper :
We, the underwritten, the Pastors and delegates of the Church in Hampton Falls and the Church in Greenland, being convened at the desire of the Rev- erend Oliver Noble and the Church and Congregation in this Place, to recog- nize a friendly separation, which the said Mr. Noble and the said Church and Parish have agreed should take place between them, as what they judge in their present circumstances and difficulties will be for their mutual confort and the interest of religion, and the Reverend Mr. Tappan of Newbury, and the Church under his care, who were also invited on this occasion, having unex- pectedly failed to attend, so that we do not consider ourselves a sufficient num- ber to constitute an Ecclesiastical Council in form, therefore do give our opin- ions and advice only as undivided churches.
We rejoice to find that the unhappy disputes which have sometimes arisen between Ministers and their people about temporal interest, and which too often have proved the occasion of bitter invectives and mutual accusations, have pro- duced no such disagreeable effects on this occasion, but, on the contrary, that we hear the Parties speaking of one another in terms of Love and Friendship, - that the Committee of the Church and Parish have under their hands testi- fied their approbation of Mr. Noble as a Preacher of the true Gospel among them for twenty years, a kind friend, a good neighbor, and a benevolent gen- tleman.
We approve of the Separation for the reasons which have induced them thereto, and add our ardent wishes and prayers that the valuable ministerial gifts with which Mr. Noble is endowed, by the Author of every good and per- fect gift, may be improved, wherever Divine Providence may call him to labor, to the edification of the Church of Christ, the advancement of religion, and the Glory of God ; that he may ever be directed to unite in his conduct the wisdom of the Serpent with the innocence of the Dove, - and that the Church in this Place, who are now left as sheep without a Shepherd, may be under the special
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.