USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Danvers > Exercises in celebration of the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the First Church, Congregational, Danvers, Massachusetts: October 8th to 15th, 1922; with an address at the centennial of the Sunday School, November 17th, 1918 > Part 3
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The story of the period intervening between the "beginning of preaching" and the formal organization of the church need not detain us long. The new institution fell immediately on troublous times. There seemed at first little desire on the part of the people "to keep the unity of the spirit in the
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bond of peace," but rather a predisposition to quarrel and faction. We can understand this the more readily if we take note of two facts : first, matters having nothing to do directly with church interests, such as land titles and the village boundaries, had occasioned personal feeling which would in- evitably affect the people in their church relationship. Couple with this, secondly, the marked individuality, not to say as- sertiveness, of the Puritan character and we have a situation instinct with the possibility of rancorous contention. Given the occasion, perhaps merely the pretext, the fires will break out.
The occasion for disagreement was early supplied. Pos- sibly because of family dissensions previously existing the congregation was divided in the choice of the first minister and never attained harmony in regard to him. The rancor thus excited seems to have been the cause of all their future troubles. The people were of course not wholly to blame. The ministers were not perfect. James Bayley, the first, was extremely youthful, being only twenty-two at his coming, and by reason of inexperience totally unable to cope with a situation requiring the utmost wisdom and tact. Troubles multiplied, some of a financial nature between minister and parish, some the continued upthrust of old family jeolousies. Mr. Bayley could do little to allay them and they led to his undoing. He closed his work about January 1st, 1680, after serving eight years.
The condition of contentious bitterness did not abate dur- ing the ministry of his successor. Having been split into factions the people held their alignment. Those who had supported Mr. Bayley were singularly possessed of the dis- position, not entirely unknown in more recent times, of proving their loyalty by opposition to his successor. Mr. Bayley made this almost inevitable by continuing to live within the parish after his term of service was over. Some- times the presence of a former shepherd proves a benediction to both pastor and people but in this instance it was bound to preserve the lines of division.
Mr. George Burroughs, who followed Mr. Bayley, began work in November, 1680, and closed his ministry in 1683. He seems at this distance to have been wholly sinned against.
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He suffered contumely in the adjustment of financial matters and was the object of an unreasoning enmity which made his stay a time of distress and finally pursued him to the prov- ince of Maine, bringing him back to die a victim to the witch- craft delusion.
The last of the group, Mr. Deodat Lawson, while totally unable to calm the strife, was a man of education and elo- quence and might have proved an efficient servant of the congregation had it been moved by a better spirit. Under the conditions Mr. Lawson, as his predecessors, found him- self powerless. The reservoir of ill-feeling had not been ex- hausted and the issuing stream of quarrel and bickering continued to flow.
Into the details of these interesting things I cannot take time to go. My object will have been attained if I shall supply without enlargement the basic facts which explain in part the yet darker chapter which followed.
But let us turn for a moment to more pleasing contempla- tions. For a time at least the sky brightens. After the de- parture of Mr. Lawson, who came in 1684 and went in 1688, the people seemed to attain a better mind and spirit. Ap- parently realizing the futility and banefulness of the passions which had divided them they were in a mood to seek harmony and peace. In this promising frame of mind they turned to the selection of a new shepherd. The choice fell upon Samuel Parris. In this action the culminating mistake was made. The one thing most needed was a wise and gracious and pa- tient man to lead out from confusion into better things. And Mr. Parris was not such a man. Serious portents were mani- fest even before he began his ministry. There was unfortu- nate delay in reaching an agreement on financial terms. Mr. Parris, who seems always to have looked out assiduously for his own interests, tried to drive a hard bargain with his pros- pective people. Some rough edges were developed during negotiations. Nor did his coming see the last of the matter. There arose shortly a grievous dispute as to the terms of settlement agreed upon. Right or wrong in his view of the matter, Mr. Parris failed to show the restraint of a Christian gentleman or a loving pastoral guide when he openly de- nounced certain of his opponents as "knaves and cheaters."
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The manifestation of such a spirit on the part of a leader could result in only one thing, a condition gravely prejudi- cial to the harmony of the parish and the success of the new relationship.
This issue having been composed, a step of signal impor- tance was taken. For seventeen years the congregation, as already stated, had been united under a parish organization merely, the church members, so many as there were, still hold- ing their covenant relation with the First Church of Salem. Now, on November 19th (old style), 1689, Parris having come upon the ground the preceding June, a church was organized under the name of the Church of Christ in Salem Village. The creed adopted by the new church was the Boston Confes- sion of 1680 and was of course Calvinistic, as was that of all the Puritan churches of New England. The covenant, the tie that joined the people in the particular organization, is of special interest and significance. It breathes a spirit of Christian love and gives promise of better things. Seem- ingly the unrest had created within the little circle of the newly formed church a desire for and purpose to achieve a life of brotherhood in the new order upon which they were entering. To this the covenant gives expression.
There follow in our old worn book of records the signa- tures of seventeen men and ten women, charter members of this church, who, apparently in high hope of concord and godly service, affixed their names to its organic law.
But they were doomed to disappointment. The first chap- ter had not been entirely lived out. A long period of tran- quility was absolutely requisite if the people, church and parish, were to be even measurably freed from their past. And such a period was denied them. For this Samuel Par- ris was preeminently responsible. His good intentions at the time of the organization of the church do not seem to have abated his assertive and dictatorial quality. Very evidently he had small purpose to win the good will of the community by the graciousness and breadth of his Christian service. A year had not gone by before, by his violence and unreason, he had revived the factional spirit in more than its original intensity and involved the devoted people in a yet deeper sea of passionate animosities. I shall not stop to set forth
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the situation in detail or give proof of Parris' accountability. All that has been done by competent hands before me.
In this connection I can only beg you, on the basis sup- plied, to exercise your gift of imagination that you may sense the actual conditions of stress and passion under which this ancient church entered the cloud which so soon enshrouded it.
As regards the so-called Witch-craft delusion I shall enter upon no historical or psychological study. The historical de- tails have been given repeatedly. The psychological aspects present an inviting field for inquiry but must be reserved for specialists. I remember that I am writing of the church in Salem Village and propose to confine myself to those things which may help to bring out its essential spirit. This will in- volve merciless pruning but the limitations must be accepted.
The trouble in Salem Village began, as is well known, in the household of the minister. A daughter and a niece of Mr. Parris, with certain of their girl companions, were seemingly afflicted with a mysterious disorder. The local physician was called in. Unable otherwise to account for the unusual symptoms he declared the girls bewitched. By the popular conception individual human souls entered into alliance with Satan and became the subjects of his will for the accomplishment of his malevolent purposes. One so surrendered to Satanic control was called a witch and was supposed to be the agent of the devil in the undoing of other parties. Given, then, the pronouncement that these girls were bewitched, arose the question who bewitched them. Accusa- tions were made and the long, sad story begun. It did not end until twenty persons, many of them members of this parish, had suffered execution.
Guilt has been variously assigned. Let it be remembered in this connection-first: that belief in witchcraft was not limited to Salem or New England. It was universal. And -secondly : Salem was not the only place where prosecutions occurred. Before this time death had been inflicted on charges of witch-craft in New England and the Salem tragedy did not entirely put a stop to executions this side of the At- lantic. As for the Old World, the story of the suffering in- flicted under this delusion is one of the somber chapters of human history. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries
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30,000 people in the British Isles perished as witches; 75,000 in France and 100,000 in Germany. Thirdly : in the particu- lar case the charge does not lie against Salem alone. She has had to bear the odium of a wrong in which the whole province was as deeply involved. The officers of the law who carried the matter through to its awful end were the accredited agents of Massachusetts, the governor and chief-justice being in the very front of the inquisition.
But all this is in a sense beside the mark. Our interest today centers in the question whether there were peculiar conditions in Salem Village which account for the initial outbreak and its consuming flame.
The trouble had its rise in that which might have occurred in almost any community in New England or Europe, the diagnosis of a perplexing disorder as witch-craft, by a sin- cere but superstitious physician. When we come to the further evolution of the matter we are in a different field of thought. It has sometimes been necessary to fend the charge that the community was ignorant and emotional to a degree surpassing sister communities in New England. But such an accusation will not hold for a moment. The men who first occupied the "Salem Farms" were among the picked men of the Salem colony. Their descendants two generations later may have declined somewhat, owing to the lack of educational facilities in a new land, from the high level of the first settlers, but they were not in any measure beneath their fellows in other parts of New England in cul- ture and understanding. The sterling qualities of the lead- ers of the community at the very time of the outbreak will fully confirm this. In spite of their distressing prepossession as regards witch-craft the people of the day redeem their community from any such aspersion. In fact before and at the time and since, this community has been blest with so large a number of men and women of the finest mentality and character as to imply just the opposite of the thing suggested.
It has been asserted by competent historians that Samuel Parris made unhesitating and cruel use of the opportunity presented by the witchcraft excitement for personal ends in his contention with the parish ; in other words, that he pushed
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if he did not inspire charges against his enemies to strengthen his own position. While the facts give color to this view it is precarious to attempt to appraise motives. Mr. Parris has his defenders who claim that he was sincere in his attitude toward the persecutions. Yet the fact remains that, even though sincere, he was at the same time an assertive and strong-willed man and he lent the full power of his nature and position to the prosecution of the unfortunate victims. The effect could only be to add to the flame already raging. It is further said that individuals supposed to be under evil influence were moved, in making charges, by per- sonal animosities arising out of parish conflicts dating far back. But we need not indulge in accusations of this nature. Be these things true or not, the matter resolves itself ulti- mately into a question of the general state of the public mind. There is, I believe, a sufficient explanation of all the sad train of events to be found in the condition of sus- ceptibleness to violent and unreasoning thought and action created by the long continued state of dissension and pas- sionate excitability which we have been reviewing. For this condition a measure of blame attaches to the people of the parish. Even though they were diligently seeking the better way when Samuel Parris came upon the scene, they yet were largely responsible for the evils from which they were then trying to escape. But we must not single out the congregation in Salem Village for peculiar condemnation. To be sure they had not assimilated the Christian principle, "with love serve one another." But they were not alone in this. The churches of their generation, while characterized by a high Godly loyalty, united with that loyalty a spirit of ungentleness in carrying out the business of the church which in a great many places led to deep injustice and the destruction of brotherly feeling. "Love, the fulfilling of the law" was not an article of their creed nor was the preserva- tion of peace within the church a primary consideration. It was the fate of Salem Village to be swept, by a singular con- catenation of forces and events, into the gulf of tragedy when, in intrinsic wrong, she probably had little preeminence among the communities of her day.
Again we must not deny to her and New England a meas-
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ure of positive credit for their part in connection with the delusion. They had the courage of their convictions and did not shrink from the execution of what they thought the will of God. To them the establishment of the Kingdom of God hinged upon the success of the Puritan theocracy and there was among them a wide-spread and profound belief that Satan was concentrating all his forces for its defeat. This, the last hope of mankind, was imperiled, they thought, by the hosts of the Evil One. Deplore the infatuation as we may, we must concede to the misguided protagonists of Jehovah the tribute of sublime loyalty and courage as they launched the contest wtih the powers of darkness. The men of Salem Village had much to learn. They were victims of a mournful and fatal error, yet the "root of the matter" was in them. Their loyalty to divine rule would ultimately lead them into quiet waters. This was the saving fact.
Mr. Parris continued as minister a few years after the passing of the great tragedy. Within this period he did little to repair the wrongs he had inflicted or promote the restoration of kindly feeling among the families that had drawn apart from each other. A little more sympathetic attitude toward those who had suffered, a more thorough- going confession of his own failure, and a loving endeavor to bind up the wounds received by so many of his people would have modified materially the judgment of history. At last, after long effort, the church obtained its freedom. Parris gave up his work June 30, 1696.
Now indeed the night was banished and the sun began to shine. The people were exceedingly fortunate in their next pastor. Joseph Green, a youth of twenty-two, came to the church in 1698 and served till his untimely death in 1715. A man of loving spirit and great practical wisdom, he did all that could be done, humanly speaking, to repair the breaches. The church owes him a lasting debt for his Chris- tian labors. And yet the credit is not his alone. The people did their part. Old wrongs were forgiven, old grudges buried; even where the loss of loved ones had been endured the element of sincere delusion was recognized and the veil of charity permitted to cover all the past. Not only so, but there was a resolute facing front and the establishment of
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positive relations of brotherhood and service. By the help of God they drew themselves "out of the horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and established their goings," with a new song in their mouth. Honor to the Christian minister who pointed the way but equal honor to the people who could drop their burden of misunderstanding and bitterness, overcome the dragging weight of their past, and attain to the heights of true Christian grace !
I find in this spirit-not in the old spirit of malice and wickedness, but in the new spirit of concord and unity-the essential quality of the church in Salem Village, a quality which characterized and influenced its future history, as will be seen as our story progresses.
In addition to his pastoral efficiency Mr. Green is remem- bered as the founder of the first public school in what is now Danvers. He aroused the sentiment among the people, helped to build the schol house and himself engaged the first teacher.
During the early years of Mr. Green's ministry, partly be- cause of the growth of the congregation and partly from a desire to escape from painful associations, the site of the first meeting-house was abandoned and a building erected on the spot where we are gathered today. This was occupied in 1701. There has been a meeting-house on this site from that day to this.
Beginning with Mr. Green there was a long series of not- able pastorates. Peter Clark was his immediate successor. Mr. Clark served the parish from June 5, 1717, to June 10, 1768, a term of fifty-one years. He was a man of unbeliev- able industry, of great physical and mental vigor and withal courage to match. He was a noted preacher in his day, and many of his sermons, given on distinguished occasions in Boston and elsewhere, have been preserved. In a day of theological dialectic he was prolific in discussion. His ser- mons were long and seem to us involved, but they were what the times demanded of a preacher. One cannot read them today without getting the impact of a real gospel and the life of a loving Christian heart.
Mr. Clark was followed by Benjamin Wadsworth, to whom it was given to serve the longest term in the history of the church. He was ordained December 23, 1772, and continued
FIRST CHURCH, CONGREGATIONAL, DANVERS, MASS. 25
as minister till his death, January 18, 1826, a little more than fifty-three years. Some things connected with him and his pastorate are very clear in the memory of the parish. Dr. Wadsworth was a man of gentle and irenic spirit yet, like Mr. Clark, of great vigor of mind and character, which he could display on occasion. We think of him as a preacher of strength and dignity and sweetness, but he was more than a preacher. His term, unlike that of Mr. Clark, cov- ered a period in our national life in which great issues were formed and fought out and concerning these he had his word and did his work. His correspondence with Judge Samuel Holton reveals him as one of the statesmen of his day. Moreover he was ready to back up his thoughts with deeds and we find him, musket in hand, with the men of his congregation at Leslie Bridge in Salem on that mem- orable day, February 26th, 1775, when the British were turned back by the wise and determined speech of Rev. Thomas Barnard. Agitation for the promotion of temper- ance led in 1812 to the organization in Boston of a society for the attainment of that object and of this Dr. Wadsworth was a member. A branch was organized in Danvers, 1813, making this church one of the pioneers in that great reform. An address given by Dr. Wadsworth before the Society for the Suppression of Intemperance and Other Vices, June 29, 1815, makes mighty good reading for today. Under Dr. Wadsworth this church was in the forefront of the Sunday School movement. A school was organized here in 1818, one of the very first in this country. The sermons and ad- dresses from Mr. Wadsworth's hand disclose a fine literary quality. To be sure he was a writer of the "old school" and was not at all times free from undue efflorescence, but, when writing, as Dr. Rice has pointed out, with forgetful- ness of style, his sentences are tense and strong and moving. This is to be seen notably in his address over the remains of his friend, Judge Holton.
Two meeting-houses were erected during Dr. Wadsworth's ministry. The house of 1701 having been outgrown, it was voted in 1785 to build a new one. The old house was de- molished and replaced by a fine specimen of the architecture then prevailing in New England.
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It was occupied in 1786. Alas, for human plans and ex- pectations! This building, which excited the admiration of its day, stood not quite twenty years. It was burned Sep- tember 24, 1805.
With characteristic courage the parish set about the task of rebuilding. A brick house of stately proportions took the place of the burnt structure. The corner stone was laid May 16, 1806, and the building was ready for use late in the fall of the same year, Dr. Wadsworth preaching a notable dedication sermon.
The "Brick Church" was the first to face west and the "Andover Road," as Centre Street was then called-as have all that have come since.
The successor of Dr. Wadsworth was Milton Palmer Bra- man, pastor from April 12, 1826, to March 31, 1861, a period of thirty-five years. He is distinctly remembered by many here today. His great impress was that of a preacher and as such he lent state-wide distinction to this pulpit. He was scholarly and painstaking, with the sensitiveness of dis- position which makes for eloquence. His was a theological mind and he dealt with masterly strength with the great themes of the Christian faith. He was an ardent champion of orthodox views in face of the opposition of his time. He engaged in combat royal with Rev. Dr. Thomas Whittemore, editor of the Trumpet, a Universalist organ, on the subject of Universalism. The debate was staged November 6th, 1833, in the old brick church here in Danvers, and continued from nine o'clock A. M. till five in the afternoon, with inter- mission for dinner only. The large auditorium was crowded before the beginning of the discussion. (How easy it would be to fill a large church today before nine o'clock for a theological debate!) It is not recorded who won the con- test. It is my opinion that neither did or could, on the basis on which argument was predicated. Proof texts were as in- conclusive then as they are now. But it was a battle of the giants.
Withal Dr. Braman was as much at home in the world of statecraft and the practical issues of the day as in that of religious philosophy. One of his most notable sermons had to do with the war with Mexico, which he condemned with-
RESIDENCE BUILT BY REV. BENJAMIN WADSWORTH, D.D., ABOUT 1785
FROM ""CHRONICLES OF DANVERS""
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out mincing words. It would seem as though this hill of Zion in those days must have yielded even more than the proverbial "thousand sacred sweets," for whenever it be- came known that Dr. Braman was to speak on any question of the day or on a great sacred occasion, as Thanksgiving or Fast Day, the house could hardly hold the crowds that thronged to hear him, his audiences being drawn from all the surrounding towns.
Let it not be thought that Dr. Braman was by nature polemic or aggressive. He was retiring and self-deprecatory and always approached his pulpit ministration with fear and ยท trembling. On Sunday morning before the church hour the devil was almost as real to him as the sneering majesty at which Luther threw the ink well, assailing him with doubt of his powers and preparation. But once in the pulpit, he became the assured prophet of God. The Rev. Dr. Alfred P. Putnam, whose judgment no one in Danvers would ques- tion, has said: "Dr. Braman was, I think, the greatest preacher ever known to Essex County history. . . .
"I have heard many of the greatest pulpit orators of America and Europe such as Beecher, Storrs, Chapin, Bel- lows and Phillips Brooks of our own country, and Martineau and Spurgeon and Newman Hall of London, and Dr. Cant- lish of Edinburgh, and Pere Hyacinthe and the Coquerels of Paris; but not one of them was a better sermonizer than Milton Palmer Braman."
A new temple of worship was erected during Dr. Braman's incumbency. The brick church of 1806 had, according to Dr. Rice, either parted from its tower or the tower had parted from the church. Whichever way it was a seam had opened between them. The structure was condemned and demol- ished although it appeared in the event that, if it had been repaired, it might have stood for centuries. There arose in its place the sightly and beloved "White Church" of 1839. This was of imposing proportions and Georgian architecture, a fitting sanctuary for this ancient parish. The recommen- dation under which it was constructed was that "The front of the house and tower be like that now nearly completed for the use of the Rev. Mr. Fitz's society in Ipswich, the windows and general outline appearance to be like the same."
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