USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Dorchester > Fiftieth anniversary of the foundation of St. Mary's parish, Dorchester, 1847-1897 > Part 5
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V. R. 1850. Mar. 21. Vestry Meeting. Account of Building Committee, duly audited, was accepted, showing total cost of building, $4,932.67, of which $1,797 was given by various persons, through the Rev. G. W. Porter, and $600 advanced by the Ladies' Sewing Circle ; the rest, mostly for the purchase of pews, by various persons, in sums from $215 down.
The following Resolve was presented by the Junior Warden : - "Whereas, A chaste and beautiful gothic structure has been erected for the accommodation of the worshippers. in St. Mary's Parish, in Dorchester : We, the Wardens and Vestry of St. Mary's Church, believing it (under the smiles of a benignant Providence) owing mainly to the influence and exertions of our beloved Rector, the Rev. George W. Porter, that our undertaking has been brought to so speedy and happy a termination, and wishing to convey to
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him our appreciation of his self-denying and untiring zeal in our behalf : -
" Resolved, That the Clerk be, and he is hereby, instructed to transmit to him our hearty thanks, in behalf of the Parish, and that the same be placed upon the Records."
Voted, unanimously, that the above Resolve pass.
1850. Feb. 6. An organ was erected in the church by E. & G. G. Hook, at a cost of $1,200, - $300 cash and $300 in one, two and three years.
V. R. 1850. April 18. Vestry Meeting. The Parish Clerk reported that on Sunday, the seventh instant, the Rev. G. W. Porter was instituted Rector of the Parish of St. Mary's Church, by the Rt. Rev. the Bishop of the Diocese of Massachusetts. .
RESIGNATION OF RECTOR.
V. R. 1852. Nov. 7. Vestry Meeting. The meeting was called to order by the Senior Warden. A letter from the Rector, the Rev. G. W. Porter, was then read, tendering his resignation as Rector of St. Mary's Church.
On motion, it was Voted, that for reasons set forth in said letter, his resignation be accepted.
Voted, that the Wardens be a committee to reply to said letter in suitable terms.
V. R. 1853. May 15. On motion, Voted, that the Treasurer be authorized to purchase from the Rev. G. W. Porter the Communion Service which has heretofore been used by the Church.
V. R. 1853. May 25. . Vestry Meeting. . . The committee appointed to supply the pulpit and to procure a Rector, reported that they had conferred with the Rev. Mr. Drown on the subject of filling that station, and had proposed to him a salary of seven hun- . dred dollars per annum.
V. R. After the meetings above referred to, a further corres- pondence between the committee and Mr. Drown was continued, which resulted in Mr. Drown's acceptance of the Rectorship of this
THE REV. EDWARD L. DROWN.
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St. Mary's Parish, Dorchester
Church, and his salary was fixed at eight hundred dollars per an- num, to commence on ist day of July, 1853. Mr. Drown's letter of acceptance is on file.
ENLARGEMENT OF CHURCH.
P. R. 1856. June 24. Parish meeting. The second article of the warrant having been read it was
Voted, That it is expedient to enlarge the church edifice as recommended by the Vestry in the second article of the warrant, and that the Wardens and Vestry be entrusted with this duty, and that the sum of three thousand dollars is hereby appropriated for that purpose.
Voted, That the Wardens and Vestry of the Parish of St. Mary's Church be, and they are hereby authorized and empowered to raise, by mortgage of the church property or otherwise, a sum not exceed- ing twenty-five hundred dollars, for the purpose of making the addition to the church edifice as recommended by the Vestry, and that the Treasurer be authorized to execute the necessary deed or deeds and note or notes in behalf of the Parish for that purpose. On motion the meeting was dissolved.
V. R. June 26. Vestry Meeting. Voted, To proceed to choice of a Building Committee for enlarging the church edifice. Messrs. Jenkins, Coffin and Bradford were chosen with full powers to carry out the purposed enlargement and repairs of the church edifice.
V. R. August 4. Building Committee reported that they had made a contract with Mr. Bartlett to enlarge and alter the church edifice for the sum of twenty-three hundred and fifty dollars.
The committee appointed July 9, 1855, to confer with. the Rev. Mr. Porter respecting the money donated to the Church for the purchase of a Communion Service, and to obtain the same, reported 1856, Nov. 10, at Vestry Meeting.
V. R. They have completed the duty assigned to them, and are . ready to deliver to the Parish the Communion Service. The com- mittee, in making their report, deem it proper to state the circum- stances that have so long delayed the purchase.
The sum of $150 had been contributed in the year 1849 for the purchase of a Communion Service for St. Mary's Church, and the
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funds placed in the hands of the Rev. Geo. W. Porter to be put at interest. Your committee, soon after this appointment, requested Mr. Porter to transfer the funds, that they might effect the pur- chase. He refused to do so, alleging that the conditions attached to the donations required the sum of $500 to be raised and that he should be the purchaser. . . . .. The committee showed to Mr. Porter that a Service every way suited to the wants of St. Mary's Church could be purchased for $300 or less, and urged him by . persuasion and argument, by letter and in personal interviews, to unite with the committee in the purchase of such Service, but he was inflexible, and there was no way in which the committee could compel him to relinquish the funds but by meeting him on his own ground. Accordingly, a number of gentlemen volunteered to ad- vance a sum sufficient to make up the amount of $500, and a formal tender was made to Mr. Porter by Mr. Cobb, who subsequently met him in New York, and they jointly purchased a Service for $500, Mr. Porter paying $204, Mr. Cobb paying $296.
MARTIN L. BRADFORD, MOSES G. COBB, N. W. COFFIN, Committee.
This Service was not put into use in the Church till June, 1 860.
On July 12, 1857, among those confirmed at the afternoon Service, by the Right Rev. Manton Eastburn, we find on the Parish Record the name "Mr. Phillips Brooks." It is needless, perhaps, to add that this Mr. Brooks afterwards became one of the greatest of American preachers and the sixth Bishop of Massachusetts. Phillips Brooks, at this time, was an attendant at St. Paul's Church, Boston, and whether he was confirmed at St. Mary's for some special reason, or what is likely, because of the influence of his aunt, Mrs. John Phillips, who lived at this time in Dorchester, and was a member of St. Mary's, it is impossible to state.
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RESIGNATION OF RECTOR.
V. R. 1860. July 2.
PROVIDENCE, July 2, 1860.
To the Wardens and Vestry of St. Mary's Church, Dorchester, Mass. :
GENTLEMEN :- I herewith resign the Rectorship of St. Mary's Church, Dorchester. It is my desire, if agreeable to the Vestry, that this resignation shall take effect on and after the first Sunday in September.
My dear friends, I cannot tell you how great has been the trial thus to sunder the ties which for seven years have bound us in the close and endearing relation of pastor and people. All my ministry thus far has been passed in your midst, aud I am confident that neither time nor distance can destroy my affection for my first Parish. I leave a Parish where God has vouchsafed to bless my labors. I leave friends long known and well known, friends endeared to me by mutual experiences of joy and sorrow. I could not bear the trials of separation were I not sustained by the firm conviction that God by His providence has called me to another field of labor. I have not daied to disobey the call. I rejoice, Brethren, that I leave St. Mary's in the midst of its brightest prosperity. I rejoice that I leave you a united people, disturbed by no envyings of dissensions, striving together with one heart for the Faith once delivered to the saints. May God continue to bless you. May He bless you in your Parish, bless you in your families, bless you in your own souls.
For all your kindness to me and mine the Lord reward you a hundred fold, and thus, loving you as I know I am loved, I remain your friend and Brother in the Church,
EDw. E. DROWN.
Messrs. J. P. CLAPP, M. L. BRADFORD, - Wardens. DANIEL SHARP, Clerk. C. H. STIMPSON, N. W. COFFIN and others, -- Vestrymen ..
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DORCHESTER, 14th July, 1860.
Rev. and Dear Sir :
We, the Wardens and Vestry of St. Mary's Church, have received the letter conveying a resignation of your Rectorship. Learning, as we do from this letter and from conversation with you, that you are convinced that God, by His providence, has called you to another field of labor, we feel it our duty to accept your resignation.
This duty is the most painful of any the Vestry has had to per- form during your Rectorship of seven years. We cannot express to you in a letter the sorrow of our hearts at this separation. In bidding you farewell, we congratulate your new Parish on the acquisition of a Pastor so well fitted for his sacred office ; may your ministry be blessed to them as it has been to us.
You found us weak, you leave us strong ; more willing to work for that Master to whose example you have so constantly and so eloquently pointed us. We thank you in the name of the Parish for your unwavering fidelity to us ; we thank God for having per- mitted you to stay with us so long ; seven years is no very long period, it is true, but seven years of untiring devotion to a strug- gling Parish on the one hand, and seven years of firm and increas- ing love for a Pastor on the other, is long enough to leave lasting effects to all united by such ties. We shall never forget those years as long as the walls of our little church resound with the words of our noble Liturgy, as long as the Faith once delivered to the saints is preached from its pulpit ; we shall look back to those days when you ministered the altar, and pray that the continual dew of God's blessing may be poured upon you.
Farewell, dear sir. May God endue plenteously both you and yours with heavenly gifts, grant you in health and prosperity long to live, and finally, after this life, to attain everlasting joy and felicity, - is the prayer of your hearty friends,
THE WARDENS AND VESTRY OF ST. MARY'S CHURCH, DORCHESTER.
To the Rev. Edward L. Drown,
Rector of St. Mary's Church, Dorchester.
St. Mary's Parish, Dorchester 63
ELECTION OF RECTOR.
P. R. 1860. August 15. Special Parish Meeting. On ballot- ing for a Rector, Rev. William H. Mills was declared unanimously elected Rector of St. Mary's Church.
V. R. 1860. Sept. 3. Vestry Meeting. The Clerk read a letter from Rev. William H. Mills, dated August 21, 1860, accept- ing the Rectorship of St. Mary's Church immediately on its becoming vacant.
V. R. 1863. May 4. Vestry Meeting. Mr. E. P. Tileston reported to the meeting, that having been informed that the agent having control of the land lying next the church had an opportu- nity to dispose of the same to some persons whose intention was to erect thereon a Roman Catholic church, and not having time to call a meeting, he had taken the responsibility of purchasing the same, and the following paper having been presented to some of the gentlemen of the Parish, these names and amounts have been obtained, viz :
We, the subscribers, agree to pay the sums affixed to our names, for the purchase of the lot of land adjoining St. Mary's Church, to be presented by us to the Parish. Signed,
E. P. Tileston, $100.00 A. H. Stevens, $50.00
Samuel Gilbert, Sr.,
100.00
Wm. W. Page, 50.00
Martin L. Bradford,
100.00 D. B. Stedman, 50.00
Henry J. Gardner, 100.00 Shelton Barry, 50.00
Henry A. Rice, 100.00 T. D. Quincy, 25.00
R. W. Robinson, 100.00
Chas. Emery, 25.00
Nathaniel Phillips, 50.00
$900.00
Amounting to nine hundred dollars, and leaving four hundred and eighty-nine and 60-100 dollars short of the amount required to pay for the land, $1,389.60.
On motion of Samuel Gilbert, Sr., it was .
Voted, To appropriate the sum of four hundred dollars ($400.00) from the proceeds of the " Easter Offering " towards paying for the land purchased by Mr. E. P. Tileston in the name of the Church, Messrs. Tileston and Gilbert offering to assume the balance still deficient.
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Fiftieth Anniversary
Among those confirmed at St. Mary's by Bishop Eastburn, October 4, 1863, we find the name of Peter Henry Steenstra, Minister of the Baptist Society, corner of Stoughton and Sumner Streets. Dr. Steenstra, is now, as he has been for several years, Professor of the Literature and Interpretation of the Old Testament, at the Episcopal Theological School at Cambridge.
V. R. 1864. Feb. 13. Vestry Meeting. On motion of Charles Stimpson it was
Voted, That in the opinion of the Vestry the necessity exists of building a new church on the present Church lands.
Voted, that a committee of five be chosen by ballot to enquire into the expediency of building a new church.
V. R. 1864. March 26. The committee appointed February 13th, "To enquire into the expediency of building a new church," reported at considerable length, in substance, that " to build a new church would require a sum of money much beyond the means of the Parish ; " and while they did not desire to discourage the idea of building, they felt the principal object was to obtain an increase of accommodation, and that that end could be reached with greater ease and certainty by an addition to the present building. They would, therefore, recommend the Parish to pass votes authorizing the Wardens and . Vestry for the year ensuing to incur an expense of not more than two hundred dollars, for the purpose of procuring plans and specifications for this enlargement, to appropriate money for the same, and to appoint a committee to carry these votes into effect.
In the year 1865 unusual interest was manifested in a plan for building a new church. Mr. Charles Spear offered to give $5,000 for this object. Others made large subscrip- tions. The plan was to build a church costing about $50,000. Governor Gardner, a member of the Parish, suggested pur- chasing a site for the new church at the corner of Stoughton and Pleasant streets. Many meetings of the Vestry were held to consider the feasibility of the plan, but it was finally
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OLD ST. MARY'S.
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St. Mary's Parish, Dorchester
decided that it would be the wisest course to enlarge the old church, which could be done at very much less cost.
P. R. 1866. Feb. 5. The committee appointed at the meeting of Dec. 11, 1865, to take into consideration the subject of plans, finance, etc., for the enlargement of the church, reported : That they had procured satisfactory plans from an architect of our own town, Mr. George Ropes, Jr., which proposed to add east and west transepts, nearly doubling its present capacity, increasing its sit- tings by 330, distributed in 46 large pews and 25 smaller ones ; to add a more spacious and convenient chancel ; to finish the base- ment under transepts and chancel for a chapel and Sunday school rooms ; to erect a small tower on the north-east corner, affording ample room for a vestibule and a place for a bell. The whole cost of this enlargement, at the highest estimate, will be $16,000. The transepts and chancel will cost $12,500; the basement rooms $2,000, and the tower $1,500. The committee would respectfully advise that the enlargement be proceeded with only as far as the funds will allow.
Voted, that a Building Committee be appointed, who shall pro- ceed to procure full working plans of the east end of the building, without basement, so soon as the Finance Committee have raised the sum of $12,500 ; and so soon as they shall have raised the additional amount of $2,000 required to finish the basement, to procure working plans for its completion also.
Building Committee. - Samuel Gilbert, Jr., Charles Spear, John P. Townsend, Nathaniel Phillips, C. Ellery Stedman, and the Rev. William H. Mills, ex officio.
P. R. 1867. Feb. 18. The whole cost of the work performed upon the church and grounds, exclusive of gifts, and inclusive of the cost of additional land, has been $17,700.90.
V. R. 1867. March 10. Vestry Meeting. The committee, ap- pointed at the Parish meeting of the 18th of February as a Financial Committee, reported that they consider it expedient, before giving a mortgage upon the Church property, to redeem the bonds which have been placed, amounting to $3,400. This amount, together with the balance due on construction account and the amount
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which will be due April Ist for the general Parish expenses over and above the amount collectable, will require the sum of $7,000.00. The $7,000.00 was afterward raised by mortgage to meet the need.
MISSION AT THE MILLS.
V. R. 1868. May 4. Voted, To take up the subject of the Mission at "the Mills," and Mr. G. T. Stoddard, by request, gave an account of the success of the Mission, and urged its claims to an appropriation by the Vestry.
This Mission came in time to be the very beautiful and flourishing Church of All Saints, Ashmont. An account of the early history of that Parish and of the connection of the Rev. Mr. Mills therewith, and a brief sketch of his own rectorship, will be found in a letter written in 1880, to the Rev. Mr. Saltonstall, and printed on page 72, following.
1869. Sept. 8. The Church tower was blown down in a heavy gale. It was not rebuilt.
A PASTORAL LETTER.
TO THE PARISHIONERS OF ST. MARY'S :
Dearly Beloved Brethren, - The Wardens and Vestry of St. Mary's Parish have unanimously requested the Rector to appro- priate, for the ensuing year, all offerings, except the Communion Alms, to the payment of the debt on the church ; and to receive the offerings for this object on every Sunday except the first Sun- day in the month.
By the plan proposed, every parishioner is supposed to set apart every week, for the debt on the church, as much as in the fear of God he thinks he ought, and then, on Sunday, offer the same in the Lord's house. No pledge of any particular sum per week is asked, as the amount of each one's offering is left to his own sense of Christian duty and benevolence.
Your Rector, after much prayerful consideration, has given his consent to this request of the Wardens and Vestry. Some of you will, doubtless, very reluctantly withdraw your offerings from the
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St. Mary's Parish, Dorchester
objects to which they have been hitherto devoted, and appropriate them all to your own Parish. But none of you can feel a greater reluctance, and, I may say, a greater fear and trembling, than your Rector, in entering upon this plan, even as a temporary expedient. There seems, however, to be no better course open to us. There- fore I implore you to concentrate upon the debt on the church your power of giving, and remove this cause of embarrassment, that we may at the very earliest moment return to our charities.
The amount of your offerings has been about $2,500 per annum. Unless this amount at least shall be received the ensuing year, we may well account the plan to have been a failure.
The offerings on the card distributed at Advent are withdrawn after Sunday, May 15th. The offerings for the debt on the church will be commenced on Sunday, May 22d.
This letter has been prepared after consultation with Mr. W. W. Page and Mr. Daniel Sharp, the committee appointed by the Vestry to carry out their vote.
May God not withhold His blessing from the undertaking now proposed, but grant us by His Spirit a right judgment in all things pertaining to the Church of His dear Son.
Your affectionate Pastor,
WM. H. MILL.S. ST. MARK'S DAY, April 25th, 1870.
It was during the ministry of the Rev. Mr. Mills that the Dakota League, the parent of the present Woman's Auxil- iary to the Board of Missions, first became known. Mrs. Burnham, one of St. Mary's most faithful workers at this time, writes : "The first missionary. boxes of the Dakota League were packed in St. Mary's Church. Mr. Mills's interest in the League was great, and he brought Dr. J. Lloyd Breck to St. Mary's on a week-day evening to talk to the parishioners, and to try and interest them in Indian Mis- sions. Paul Mazakute, the first beneficiary of the League, and the first Dakota Indian Presbyter of our Church, gave his first address on coming to the east in 1868 in St. Mary's
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Fiftieth Anniversary
- an address interpreted by his self-sacrificing and most devoted teacher, the Rev. S. D. Hinman ; it was a sermon of great power and made an impression for the work of Indian Missions, which several of the members of St. Mary's must remember to this day."
GROWTH OF THE MISSION AT MILTON.
(Dorchester Lower Mills.)
V. R. 1871. Feb. 7. The Rector spoke briefly concerning the increased interest manifested at Milton in the services held there, and the prospect of an early purchase of land for the site of a church. .
April 4. Vestry Meeting. There was received a deed dated March 6, 1871, from Asaph Churchill to William H. Mills, Rector of the Parish of St. Mary's Church, Dorchester, and his successors in that office, of 28, 150 feet of land.
V. R. 1871. Nov. 7. Vestry Meeting. The Rector's plan for raising money for a Chapel at the Lower Mills was read by the Junior Warden.
Voted, That the Treasurer be, and is instructed to sign, in behalf of the Parish, a receipt in the following form, to wit : -
" Received of the Trustees of Donations the sum of twelve hundred dollars, which the Parish of St. Mary's Church, in Dor- chester, by the wish of said Trustees, undertakes to apply to the building of an Episcopal Church at the Lower Mills in Dorchester, upon land now held by the Rector of St. Mary's Church, in Dor- chester, for that purpose ; and said Parish promises to repay said twelve hundred dollars to said Trustees or their order within one year from this date, provided said sum is not so applied. "
In order to complete the history of the transfer of this property to All Saints' Parish, the following extract from a later record is here inserted : -
V. R. 1876. April 11. Special Vestry Meeting. The meeting was called for the special purpose, "to receive and act upon a
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St. Mary's Parish, Dorchester
petition from the Wardens and Vestry of All Saints' Parish, Milton Lower Mills, that the Rector of St. Mary's Parish be authorized to convey to said Parish by proper deed the land upon which their church now stands." The following is the petition : -
BOSTON, Feb. 23d, 1876. To the Rev. Mr. Silvester and the Wardens and Vestry of the Parish of St. Mary's (Dorchester District), Boston : -
Gentlemen : - By a deed dated March 6th, A. D., 1871, recorded with Suffolk Deeds, Book No. 1,037, folio 220, in consideration of the sum of eighteen hundred and thirty dollars paid by the Rev. William H. Mills, Rector of St. Mary's Church, in Dorchester, Asaph Churchill, of said Dorchester, conveyed to the said Mills (Rector as aforesaid) and his successors in that office a piece or parcel of land containing 28, 150 square feet, more or less. . . . . The undersigned represent that a house of worship of God, accord- ing to the forms and tenets of the Protestant Episcopal Church, has been erected on the aforesaid lot of land, in which the Services of said Church are regularly held; that a Parish has been organ- ized according to the Canons of the Protestant Episcopal Church by those worshipping therein, called the Parish of All Saints, and at the last annual Convention of the Diocese. of Massachusetts was duly admitted ; that a Clergyman of said Church has been regularly installed over said Parish who regularly ministers therein in spiritual things ; and finally the said Parish of All Saints has in all respects complied with and observed the requirements and provisions of said conveyance requisite to entitle them to, and that they are duly qualified to receive the conveyance named in said deed.
We, therefore, in behalf of said Parish, request the Wardens and Vestry of St. Mary's to authorize their said Rector to make said conveyance of the said lot of land to the Parish of All Saints.
GEO. T. STODDARD, HENRY M. SNELL, HENRY W. EMMONS,
JOSEPH M. CHURCHILL, .
Wardens.
HENRY R. BROWN,
O. B. BUCK, JOSEPH A. FRENCH, -Vestrymen.
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Fiftieth Anniversary
After the reading of the petition and due consideration of the same, it was unanimously voted, on motion of Mr. Wm. P. Hunt, to request and authorize the Rev. W. W. Silvester, Rector of St. Mary's Parish, to make conveyance of the property named in the petition of All Saints' Parish, according to the terms named in said petition of Feb. 23, 1876.
The chronological order is now resumed.
V. R. 1871. Sept. 12. Vestry Meeting.
Voted, to accept a lot at Mount Hope Cemetery, No. 432, on Elmwood Avenue, containing seven hundred square feet. The name of the donor of this burial lot was not revealed.
RESIGNATION OF RECTOR.
P. R. 1873. Sept. 22. Parish Meeting. The following letter from the Rector was read by the Clerk for the consideration of the Parish : -
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