USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Chelsea > Documentary history of Chelsea : including the Boston precincts of Winnisimmet, Rumney Marsh, and Pullen Point, 1624-1824, vol 2 > Part 53
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 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79
" This custom of letting the town's pew to the highest bidder was con- tinued for some years.
564
HISTORY OF CHELSEA
[CHAP. LII
for warming it in winter; on the condition, that the town will keep said stove in good repair, and supply it with fuel at the town's expense. [ See appendix at end of this chapter.]
The church committee to ask for a meeting of the town, to act on this proposition of the church; and in case the town accepts it, to have the stove erected as soon as may be.
The period at which we have arrived in Chelsea history was one in which the different schools of ecclesiastical opinions were assuming positions which widely separated them; and since whatever illustrates this separation is of historical in- terest, not to be overlooked, I yield considerable space to an interesting case.
Nov. 9, 1817. I requested the brethren of the church to meet at my house on Wednesday evening at 6 o'clock.
Wednesday evening, Nov. 12th. At a meeting of the brethren of the church at my house this evening I stated to them, that the cause of calling them together was, a desire expressed to me by Mr. Amos Sargeant of Malden, in behalf of himself and Allice, his wife, to join in communion with the church of Christ in this place ; that it was well-known to all of them that Mr. Sargeant and his wife had been refused admission into the church in Malden ; that Mr. Sargeant laid before me the grounds of this refusal ;. and that we were now to determine whether notwithstanding this rejection we would receive them to partake with us of the Lord's supper. And that we might enter upon and pursue our delibera- tions in the spirit of the gospel of Christ, it became us to look up to God for His presence and for the sure guidance of His word and spirit.
Our prayers having been offered, I informed the brethren that I had written to the Rev. Mr. Green of Malden, requesting an ex- tract from his church records, stating the cause or causes of the rejection of Mr. and Mrs. Sargeant's request to join in christian communion with the church in Malden; and inquiring whether any objections had been made against Mr. Sargeant's moral char- acter. The following is a copy of the reply of Mr. Green.
" May 20th, 1817. The brethren of the church of Christ in Malden, having been notified on the previous Lord's Day, met at the Parsonage house to confer together on the expediency of re- ceiving Amos Sargeant and Allice, his wife, who have been pro- pounded, but to whose admission objections have been made, into our communion. After debate on the subject, in which the prin-
565
CHAP. LIL] REV. DR. TUCKERMAN'S PASTORATE
eipal objeetion urged was, that they did not give satisfactory evi- dence of their having experienced a work of grace on their hearts, the brethren voted to ask the opinion of some of the neighboring ministers on the subject.
A true copy from record. Attest : AARON GREEN, Pastor of the Congregational Church in Malden.
" Dear Sir: The above I think is all that can be interesting to you on this unpleasant subjeet. Respecting Capt. Sargeant's moral character, I know of nothing which in my view would disqualify him for church membership. - Your sincere friend and brother, A. GREEN."
" Saturday evening, Nov. 8th, 1817."
I then stated to the brethren that Mr. Sargeant, having refused a reference of the business to neighboring ministers, for he knew to whom it was to be referred, preferred for the present to withdraw his application. Here it appears that, the whole ground of the rejection of Mr. and Mrs. Sargeant, " was, that they did not give satisfactory evidence of having experienced a work of- grace on their hearts"; and Mr. Sargeant had stated to me that his evidence, - for he only, it appears, was summoned and tried, no notice having been taken of his wife, - was unsatis- factory because he could not say at what time he had been converted.7
Some months after this rejection of Mr. and Mrs. Sargeant,. some of the brethren in Malden, very much regretting that Mr. and: Mrs. S. had been refused the enjoyment with them of the Lord's- supper, requested that another meeting of the church might be- ealled to revise their doings at the former meeting; and, if it: should be deemed expedient, to rescind their vote concerning Mr. and Mrs. Sargeant. The brethren met; and having revised their · doings, agreed to abide by their former decision. Mr. S. now consented for himself and his wife to join with the church in taking counsel of Dr. Morse of Charlestown, and of Mr. Emerson of Reading. These gentlemen met with the brethren of the church in Malden; and Mr. Sargeant, having been called and examined, Dr. Morse and Mr. Emerson found, that, which was well-known before, by his own confession, Mr. Sargeant believed in the
" I think it proper to inform my successors, into whose hands these records may fall, that my brother. Mr. Green, was uniformly opposed to the measures of the church in Malden on this subject. One bigoted man, however, had influence enough to obtain a majority.
566
HISTORY OF CHELSEA
[ CHAP. LII
final restoration of all mankind to the favor of God and to future happiness. On this ground, they determined that without inquir- ing any further they deemed it right that churches acknowledging the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Assembly's Shorter Catechism as their grounds of doctrine and discipline should not receive into their communion any one holding this doctrine; 8 and the church in Malden, having been commended for what they had done, Mr. and Mrs. Sargeant were again rejected. These were the circumstances in which Mr. and Mrs. Sargeant made their application to me.
In examining these facts, it appeared that Mr. and Mrs. Sar- geant had been refused admission to the church in Malden, in May last, because " they could not give satisfactory evidence of having experienced a work of grace on their hearts "; or in other words because Mr. S. could not say at what time he was converted ; - that Dr. Morse and Mr. Emerson had sanctioned this rejection, not from dissatisfaction on the subject of Mr. and Mrs. Sargeant's experience, but because Mr. S. believed in the final restoration of mankind. On each of these grounds of decision we proceeded to deliberate.
The first inquiry to be answered was, have we a right of re- quiring of one who wishes to join with us in partaking of the Lord's supper, that he should be able to tell the time of his con- version ? It was replied by one and another of the brethren, 1st, that it is a great thing for anyone to say that he is truly converted ; that many have been deceived in attributing to the spirit of God, what afterwards, it appeared, could not have been a work of the spirit; and therefore that men should be very careful not to be too confident of their conversion. In the second place, that the ininds and hearts of men are very differently affected by the means and motives which God has appointed for bringing them to Him- self, even in cases in which we have equal reason to suppose that a work of grace on the heart is actually experienced; that God operates variously ; sometimes, in a manner so sudden and strik- ing as to arrest the attention, not of the person alone who is par- ticularly affected, but of those around him; sometimes, in a man- ner so silent, gradual, and unimposing, that a very deep and solemn sense of the truth and power and excellence of religion is felt and acknowledged and exhibited in the life, even where no particular circumstance can be fixed on from which to derive a
Mr. S. very explicitly stated to these gentlemen, that he was not a 8 Universalist in the common sense of that term; but a bclicver in the doctrine of a final restoration of the wicked.
567
CHAP. LIII REV. DR. TUCKERMAN'S PASTORATE
date of the time of conversion. In the 3rd place, that we are not and cannot be judges of the heart; that visible christianity, or a conformity of life to the profession made, is the best evidence we have a right of requiring or can possess that another had expe- rienced a work of grace on his heart; that the actual sincerity of any profession could be known only to God; and that if a man appeared to us so far to be sincere that his temper and conduct seemed to be consistent with the spirit of the gospel, we ought to hope that he is indeed a christian, and on this ground to receive him into christian fellowship. For these reasons, and having received a very favorable report of Mr. and Mrs. Sargeant, it was unanimously voted that we do not think Mr. Sargeant's desire of being propounded for admission into the church of Christ in this place ought to be rejected because he cannot say at what particular time he was converted.
The second circumstance to be considered was, that Mr. Sar- geant acknowledged his belief in the final restoration of all man- kind to happiness. This was the ground of his rejection by Dr. Morse and Mr. Emerson, who refer to the doctrine and discipline of the Westminster confession and the Assembly's shorter cate- chism. It was agreed by all, that we do not receive this confession and catechism or any other erced or catechism of human fabrica- tion as the ground of our doctrine or discipline; that our first and last and only resort on these subjects is, to the Scriptures. In regard to the doctrine professed by Mr. Sargeant, it was ob- served first, that it is not acknowledged by the church of Christ in this place. Mr. Sargeant, knowing this circumstance, asks ns to admit him to the Lord's table. The question then is, can we acknowledge him as a brother in Christ and receive him to chris- tian fellowship while he differs from ns in his faith concerning
the final condition of the impenitently wicked? It was said, that the righteous and the wicked are and will be all in the hands of God; that, although we differently interpret the expressions of the divine word concerning the final condition of the wicked, we did not see that a man, acknowledging, as Mr. Sargeant does, the awful punishment of the wicked in the future life, should be rejected from the Lord's table because he did not think that punishment would be eternal. For in receiving him to christian communion with us we do but admit him, with ourselves, to the enjoyment of the means of grace. He acknowledges, with us, the inspiration of the seriptures which he promises to make the rule of his faith and conduet ; he professes sincere repentance before God for all his sins, resolving in reliance on His grace unfeignedly to forsake them ; he engages faithfully to study the scriptures that he may
568
HISTORY OF CHELSEA
[CHAP. LII
know the will of God in Christ Jesus; and in daily prayer to seek the guidance of God's holy spirit, that he may be enabled to walk in the commands and ordinances of the gospel blameless. Thus he gives up himself to God in an everlasting covenant through the mediation of Jesus Christ. And shall we say that with these pro- fessions and these engagements he must necessarily be an un- worthy communicant, and must at last be rejected of the Lord? Shall we say that we cannot admit him to the enjoyment with us of this means of grace? For we consider the Lord's supper to be a means and not the end of religion. In the second place, we are often and most impressively admonished by our religion not to judge, censure, and condemn our brother; that we are not to exercise dominion over faith, but to be helpers of each other's joy ; that we are always to remember that every one must bear his own burden, and must give account of himself to God; and that God, or Christ, is alone the Judge.
We consider, therefore, that we should directly violate both the letter and the spirit of the gospel when we exercise that judgment of our brother as to refuse him the enjoyment with ourselves of a christian privilege, merely because he does not agree with us on a single article, which we do not find in the new Testament .was on any oceasion made a condition of admission to the Lord's table. We remember the solemn words of the apostle, "Why dost thou judge thy brother, and why dost thou set at nought thy brother ? for we shall stand before the judgment seat of Christ." Leaving judgment then to him, and judging ourselves rather, and feeling our own unworthiness, and our entire dependence on the merey of our God and redeemer for the forgiveness of our own errors and sins, we feel that in receiving a brother under sueh circumstances to christian communion with us we do but exereise at best the mcekness which becomes disciples of Christ, and the forbearance which we hope to obtain from our judge. - In the third place we considered that, much as is ascribed to faith in the New Testament, and important as is a right faith, charity is a still higher grace; that our Lord exercised this charity towards his disciples while they had many errors; that we know the apostles had many errors concerning himself, the objects of his mission, his death, and the nature of his kingdom, when he administered to them the last supper ; that we may ourselves be in error on some of the doctrines of religion; and that we could not therefore consider, what we suppose to be the error of our brother as justifying us in refusing to him this great and invaluable privilege.
These reasons having been given, and each brother having been requested in turn to give his opinions, whether on account of this
1
569
CHAP. LII] REV. DR. TUCKERMAN'S PASTORATE
article of his faith the request of Mr. and Mrs. Sargeant should be rejected, each one thought that it should not.
The character of Mr. Sargeant; well-known to several of the brethren, having been considered, it was moved, seconded, and unanimously voted, that Mr. and Mrs. Sargeant be propounded for admission to the church of Christ in this place.
In passing this vote the brethren do not express or imply any indifference concerning articles of faith. But they have acted on the belief that for any peculiarities of his faith every one is accountable only to his own conscience and to God; "that sincere repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ," are the great requisites of admission to the Lord's table; that Christians ought to love one another, and charitably to indulge the hopes of the gospel concerning cach other, when they cannot agree in their views of some of the doctrines of the gospel; that in joining in christian communion they do not become responsible for every article of each other's faith; but in this act above all others where differences exist, exercise that "charity," which is " the bond of perfectness "; that our profession of Christ at his table is not the end of religion, but one of its means, and as we think in some of its tendencies, the most important; and a means designed, not for those only who are certain that they believe all which is to be believed, and that no other faith than their own can be right, but by bringing us nearer to Christ, and by miting us with him in the most solemn and affectionate engagements, that it is a means as well of obtaining a truly evangelical faith as of a holy life and conversation. They think themselves therefore in this decision to be approved by the word of God; and sensible of their own liability to error commend themselves wholly to His mercy, for their hopes of acceptance.
Nov. 12th, 1817.
JOSEPH TUCKERMAN, Pastor of the church, and Moderator of the meeting.
Nov. 17, 1817. The town voted to have sheds built on the Com- mon about the Meeting-House by individuals; to build to anv number, but not to exceed twenty-five, and that those that build, be under the direction of a Committee chosen for that purpose .?
Oct. 17, 1819. The church committee was requested to deposit the money of the church, then in the hands of Deacon Harris, in the Savings Bank in Boston, that interest upon it may be accumu- lating. The sum so deposited was $135.
April 30, 1820, after the communion service, the pastor men- tioned that Edward Wait, a brother in the church, was old. poor,
" Town Ree., iii. 65.
570
HISTORY OF CHELSEA
[CHAP. LII
and very infirm ; and a proper object of the church's charity. He proposed that a contribution be collected at the close of the after- noon service, which contribution amounted to $19.33.
April 4, 1822. A contribution of $46.40, was made for Mr. Daniel Pratt, Jr., who was accidentally shot by Mr. Munroe, of Boston, and lost the sight of his right eye.
April 12, 1823, Dr. Tuckerman says, that, " Mrs. Hasey, now in her 97th year, informs me, that this church was built while she was absent from this town, between the time of the ninth, and eleventh year of her age. It has, therefore, stood about 86 years." If this was the case, it is singular that no mention is made in the Boston town records, Chelsea being then a part of Boston. On page 185, we have an account of the raising of a meeting-house there, only 27 years before the ereetion of the building, spoken of by Mrs. Hasey - a short time for it to fall into decay.1º
July 27, 1823. At the town meeting, last spring, it was voted, 1st, that $500 be raised for painting and otherwise repairing the meeting-house ; and, the steeple having been found to be too much decayed to be worth repair, it was voted, that the steeple should be taken down, and a cupola erected; and that the committee which had been appointed to provide for, and superintend the repairs, should have discretionary power to raise and expend such sums as they might think to be proper for the work. The house has con- sequently been painted and repaired, within and without. The expense incurred has been a little more than $800. The old steeple and the refuse lumber has sold for $50. Capt. John Pratt, of Boston, who owns one of the pews, gave $33. Each owner of a pew paid for the painting of his pew; and thus has been obtained, $60. And to-day the church voted to give to the town from our little fund, $50, in aid of the general expense of the work.11
Nov. 14, 1824. Voted, that Mr. Daniel Pratt, Junr., who has raised by subscription, $40.25, for the support of a singing-school,
See Boston Rec. Com. Rep., viii. 62. .
11 The church records, under date of 1857, contain an entry not signed by any clerk, from which the following is an extract: "It" [the church edifice] was similar to the church edifices of that day; entrance at the side; galleries on three sides; pulpit opposite the entrance; two tiers of windows. It fronted north, nearly. The last service in the building was 17th August, 1856, and workmen commenced the alteration on the next day. The edifice was turned round about a quarter of a circle, and entirely remodelled at an expense of about $3,300. It was dedicated on Thursday, the 15th Jan., 1857. Dr. Gannett, of Boston, preached the sermon, and W. O. Moseley made the dedicatory prayer.
Before anything was done to the building a drawing was taken of it, which was lithographed, and probably can be seen in most of the families connected with the society.
-
-
-
571
REV. DR. TUCKERMAN'S PASTORATE
CHAP. LII]
be permitted at the closing of the school to draw any sum less than $15 from the treasury of the church, to make up the salary of the singing master, and to defray any necessary incidental expenses of the school.
Feb. 13, 1825. The pastor informed the church, that the choir of singers wished to possess a Bass Viol for public worship; that the cost of a good Viol will be $25; and that $14.80 had been raised by subscription. Also that Psahn books were wanting for the Singing Gallery. The church voted, Ist, that Deacon Harris be authorized to pay from the church treasury, $10.25, to make up the sum of $25 for the purchase of a Viol; and to advance the sum also that will purchase 8 or 10 Books for the Singing Gallery.
July 3, 1825. The pastor proposed to the church, the case of the widow Vial, now of Saugus, but a member of the Chelsea elmirch. She is now 93 years of age, very poor, and dependent on relations who are not able to support her. She begs assistance from this church. Voted imanimously to give to her from the church funds the sum of $20.
July 2, 1826. Dr. Tuckerman represented to brethren, the state of the Unitarian Church in Calcutta, and the proposition which had been made for its aid from Unitarian churches in England and America, and his desire that the Chelsea church should con- tribute; and it was unanimously voted that about $30 in the hands of the deacons should be given to the object.
Sept. 7, 1826. At the request of Dr. Tuekerman there was a meeting of the brethren at his house, to receive a communication from him, asking for a dissolution of his pastoral relations to the church and society in Chelsea. At the time appointed Dr. Tucker- man set forth at length his reasons, the state of his health, which compelled him to make the request. The matter was referred to a committee, which reported a resolution for a mutual council. This was adopted.
Oct. 1, 1826. At a church meeting it was stated that some of the parish had expressed a desire that when a call was to be given to any gentleman to be their minister, the whole society, instead of the church alone, should be joined in the call. After some dis- cussion the subject was unanimously postponed.
April 13, 1828. At a church meeting, a paper was read by the officiating minister, signed by Deacon Joseph Harris, his mother and sisters, Seth Copeland and wife, Mary Copeland. Nabby Hall. Oliver Pratt and wife. David Floyd and wife, and Elizabeth Cheever, all members of the church, proposing a separation, and requesting a dismission from the church.
572
HISTORY OF CHELSEA
[CHAP. LII
The matter was deferred, and on the 27tlı it was unani- mously voted that the church "would not act upon it"; so no dismission was granted.
No reason being assigned for the request or the refusal, it is mainly conjectural. It is well-known, however, that at this time a reaction had set in on the part of the more orthodox members of the church, from the departure from the old Or- thodox doctrines in the direction of Unitarian views, which had become more explicit.
Perhaps this reaction had some connection with the follow- ing vote of the town, October 22, 1827: The town refused " by a large majority the petition of David Floyd, Joseph Harris and others, for the use of the Brick School-House, in which to hold meetings for public worship." 12
12 Town Rec., iii. 179, 180, 181.
The reader may ask why in the history of the town so much promi- nence has been given to the history of the Church; but the present generation, which sees a half-dozen, it may be, churches in the same town, may not understand, that, until "the separation of Church and State," in the early part of the nineteenth century, legally there could be only one church in a town, and that church was the town church, to which the town stood in the same relation as the modern religious society does to the church with which it is connected. That is, the town owned the Mecting-House, and took care of it. It paid the minister's salary, raised by general taxation, the same as the cost of schools, roads, the care of the poor, etc .; and in this way the history of the church became a part of the history of the town. I will only add that the history of Dr. Tuckerman's pastorate has been mainly drawn from the church records kept by himself.
---
573
APPENDIX
CHAP. LII]
APPENDIX
OCTOBER 12, 1801. Concurred with the Church that the Ordi- nation of Mr. Jos. Tuckerman be on the 4th of next Nov. Deacon Nathaniel Hall, Col. John Sale, Deacon Joshua Cheever, William Eustis, Jonathan P. Hall, and Henry H. Williams, a committee to make preparations for the ordination.1
July 4, 1803. Joseph Green, John Tueksbery, and Samuel Low, to make some necessary repairs on the Belfry of the Meeting- House, according to their best judgment.2
April 2, 1804. The town's pew in the meeting-house, now im- proved by Mr. S. Payson, be set up at Vendue and let to the highest bidder.3
May 3, 1804. Town's pew lot to Joseph Stowers, as the highest bidder, for one year, at $6.25.
To raise and assess $700. for Rev. Joseph Tuckerman's settle- ment and salary the ensuing year.4
May 22, 1806. To the Church of Christ, In Chelsea, Greetin : Grace, Merey, & Peace be Multiplied. I ask your Prayers for me, When I Call to Mind That I have Stood in the Office of a Deacon in This Church For a Number of years, aud Now Find Myself on the Decline of Life & Labourin Under Infermites, which is Graitly to my Disadvantage. 1 Ask Leave to be Excused from my Office, not But That I would be Found In the ways of well-Doing, That I may be found of my God, And Judge, in Peace. 1 Ask your Prayers for me & my Famely, Which have ben Distinguished with Greavois Afflictions. I Pray that Faith, Love, Obeadiance, & Charrety, may Inercas in This Church & Congregation, untill Time Shall be No longer. And That our Paster and Teacher May be Continued, A rich Blessin for maney years to Come, Seing the Worke of the Lord Prosperin In his Hand, for his Comfort & Consolation in this Life, And his Joy & Crown In the Grate Day.
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.