USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Beverly > First Parish Church, Unitarian, Beverly, Mass. a vol. of historical interest pub. in honor of the 275th anniversary of the founding of the church on Sept. 20, 1667 > Part 8
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MISS LORING'S HYMN-BOOK
In 1904 and 1905, Miss Louisa P. Loring of our Parish, feeling that the hymn-book of the day lacked much in the matter of both words and music, made a thorough study of the subject, and went to work on a new book. She was finely educated in music herself, and worked in collaboration with Mr. Carl Baerman, a musician and scholar, who had come from Munich to Boston. They were greatly assisted by Mr. A. Scott Fraser, for twenty-five years or more our organist and choir-master, whose long term of service and unfailing helpfulness is held in grateful remembrance by us all. In London Miss Loring consulted with the organists of Westminster and St. Paul's, and she bought the copyright of the "Barnby" hymns. She wrote the words for No. 239 (First) and for No. 250. Mr. Baerman himself composed the music for the hymn named "Beverly", Nos. 38 and 226, also for "St. Elizabeth", No. 212. When the book was completed, Miss Loring transferred her coypright of the new book to the American Unitarian Association, and gave to our Church the two hundred copies now in use, the gift being only one more evidence of the interest and support which has come from the Loring family through several generations.
PRESIDENT TAFT AT SUMMER SERVICES
During the summers of 1909-10 and 1910-11, William Howard Taft, President of the United States, attended our Church services
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العلم
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ΕΥΡΥΝΟΣ ΑΝΑΛΩΣΗ ΤΑ ΣΤΗΚΕ ΤΗΚΕΚΙΕΥ
الله السند.
IN MEMORY OF A BELOVED MINISTER AND FRIEND ELLERY CHANNING BUTLER BORN IN OTEGO NEW YORK 1842 DIED IN QUINCY MASSACHUSETTS 012 INSTALLED NINTH MINISTER OF THE FIRST PARISTI 18/2 RESIGNED 1894
"I HAVE FOUGHT A GOOD FIGHT I HAVE FINISHED MY COURSE
Ellery Channing Butler Memorial Tablet On the South Wall
TWO WORSHIPPERS ON THIS SPOT. JOANNA BATCHELDER PRINCE. AFTERWARDS THE WIFE OF PROFESSOR EBENEZER EVERETT, WITH HANNAH HILL, A NIECE OF THE REDOUBTABLE PRIVATEERSMAN OF THE REVOLUTION. HUGH HILL, AND A KINSWOMAN OF ANDREW JACKSON, FIRST GATHERED THE NEGLECTED CHILDREN OF THE STREETS ON SUNDAYS, FOR RELIGIOUS TEACHING, ANNO DOMINI: 1810.
.......
NO EARLIER SUNDAY-SCHOOL IS KNOWN TO HAVE EXISTED IN NEW ENGLAND. --
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Memorial Tablet for Joanna B. Prince and Hannah Hill On the Southeast Wall
with great regularity. On such occasions, the Church overflowed with visitors from far and near. The traditional pastor's pew, No. 84, which was occupied by the President, is marked with a plate as a memorial of his attendance at services.
SUNDAY SCHOOL CENTENNIAL
On October 2, 1910, the Parish celebrated the centennial of the founding of its Sunday School by Joanna B. Prince and Hannah Hill. A tablet commemorating the founders was unveiled by Master Edward Ober, kindred to Hannah Hill. The Sunday School is the first which is known to have been organized in New England.
TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY
On Sunday, September 29, 1917, the First Parish celebrated its Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary.
At the morning service an historical address was delivered by the Reverend Pemberton Hale Cressey, then Pastor of the Society. At the afternoon service representatives were present from those Churches which originally ordained John Hale, the first Minister, and the principal address was delivered by Reverend T. E. Waters of the old North Church in Ipswich. Both services were largely attended.
As part of the celebration, there was an historical exhibit which included : original volumes of Church records from 1667 to date; the old Joseph Champney chair, and the Christening Robe used during the Champney pastorate, 1729-1773; the Bible from which the first reading was given May 2, 1773, this Bible being the one which is on the pulpit desk today; and the valuable collection of Church Silver, the piece of earliest date being that presented by Lieut. Robert Briscoe in 1718. In connection with this exhibit of silver, it was noted that in 1828 the First Parish gave to the Second Parish at the rededication of its Church a silver tankard purchased in 1797, and another tankard to the Beverly Farms Church when the Church building was erected there in 1831.
THE BUTLER CHIMES
In 1931 were installed the Chimes, which came as a legacy by the will of Mary Adelaide Butler, widow of Ellery C. Butler, in memory of their son Max Lovell Butler, who died in young manhood. The bells were made to order by John Taylor and Company of Loughboro, England, bell-founders since the year 1366, the cost of bells, chime machinery and installation being about twenty-one thousand dollars.
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The three peals of the morning and afternoon are variations of the old "Dick Whittington" chime, and the two peals of the evening are variations of the "Guildford" chime.
THE SENIOR AND JUNIOR CHOIRS
In 1934, our Church service received the benefit of a new idea in respect to its music. A choir of between twenty and thirty mixed voices, mostly from the young folks of our Parish, was inaugurated by Reverend Fred R. Lewis, then our Minister. The training and management was, and still is, in the hands of Mr. Ralph E. Stevens. With the hearty cooperation of the Choir members, Mr. Stevens' training, good taste, and selection of music, have made a great success of the enterprise, and from the beginning, the results have been a con- stant pleasure to our congregations. In April, 1942, a junior choir of fifteen voices was organized by the new Pastor, with Mr. Stevens as its director. The junior choir made its first public appearance on Children's Day, June 14, 1942, and during July sang with the regular choir at the Sunday services.
THE JUNIOR CHURCH
On April 12, 1942, the upper department of the Sunday School was reorganized as a Junior Church, with its order of service and officers paralleling those of the Parish Church.
Albert Boyden.
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AS A MEMORIAL to
MAX LOVELL BUTLER
THE CHIME OF BELLS IS INSTALLED THROUGH THE GENEROSITY OF MARY ADELAIDE BUTLER, wife of
ELLERY CHANNING BUTLER, MINISTER OF THIS PARISH
1872 - 1894.
Long may they ring in cheerful remembrance.
1931
Beverly
Max Lovell Butler Memorial Tablet On the Front of the Church
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A SUMMARY OF THE RECORDED BEQUESTS AND GIFTS to the First Parish Church in Beverly From the Year !716, with Short Biographical Reviews of the Donors BY CALVIN P. PIERCE
MINISTERIAL FUND
1831 Joshua Fisher (Gift) $1,000.00
1832 Heirs of Israel Thorndike (Gift of Dwelling House) 2,562.03
1836 Snake Hill Parsonage Land (Sale of land) 130.00
1858 Joshua Fisher (Life Insurance) 4,000.00
1858 Joshua Fisher (Dwelling House)
3,000.00
1870 Charles Davis ( Bequest ) 1,000.00
1884 C. T. Thayer Fund (Bequest)
5,000.00
1898 Hannah Bray (Bequest)
1,000.00
1899 William Endicott (Bequest)
2,000.00
1911 Lydia Stone (Bequest )
1,000.00
1918 Emeline S. Robertson (Bequest) 100.00
1922 Chapel on Hale Street (Sale of Chapel) 400.00
1929 Mary A. Butler (Bequest ) 10,000.00
GENERAL PARISH FUND
1934 Family of Roland W. Boyden (Gift) $2,000.00
1936 Abby W. and Belle Hunt ( Bequest) .38,000.00
SUNDAY SCHOOL FUND
1870 Charles Davis (Bequest ) $5,000.00
1889 Henry Woodberry ( Bequest) 100.00
1898 Hannah Bray (Bequest) 2,000.00
1905 Albert Perry (Bequest ) 1,000.00
· 1909 Frances E. Wells ( Bequest) 100.00
1911 Elizabeth K. Foster (Bequest) 100.00
1918 Emeline S. Robertson (Bequest) 200.00
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BHT TO TRAMMAUR A PERIG DMA 21290020 000 00025
الصـ
MISCELLANEOUS FUNDS (Use Restricted to Specific Purposes )
1858 Robert Rantoul (Request) $ 300.00
1929 Andrew W. Rogers ( Bequest) 2,000.00
1929 Mary Adelaide Butler (Bequest ) 300.00
SNAKE HILL PASTURE
In the Beverly Town Records of June 1716, page 79, an entry describes an action by the town alienating about eighty five acres of the common lands to be divided and distributed to certain persons designated as "proprietors".
This acreage was known as "Snake Hill Pasture". Lake Shore Avenue runs by the southerly side of Snake Hill, and the pasture, which included the hill, covered substantially a territory lying between Essex Street on the west, East Lothrop Street and Cross Lane on the east and extending southerly beyond Corning Street.
This acreage was divided into twenty allotments or "stints" and the persons to whom these stints were assigned by action of the town were as follows:
To the ministry of the old Parish
one stint
Rev. Thomas Blowers
two
the Poor ye food of a cow
one
Sergt Saml Herrick
one
Andrew Elliott
one
Nehemiah Stone
one
Lieut Robert Briscoe
one
Sergt Joseph Morgan
one
Joseph Morgan Junr.
one
John Corning
one
Caleb Wallis his heirs
one
"
Joseph Tuck
one
Edmund Gale
one
"
George Tuck
one
Benj Cleaves
one
John Tuck Sen.
one
Thomas Cox
one
Benjamin Ellingwood
one
John Tuck Junr.
one
"
In the proprietor's records, Robert Rantoul gives the following description of the boundaries :-
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"
"
"
السعر
ESE
NOW SALLY MILLIGAN PARK
STREET
CORNELIUS
BAKER
ELLIOT'S
ANDREW
3L3 DOLES
CROSS
KURE
PAS/
sziod In
GRANTED TO JOT PARISH MINISTRY 1716
HILL
527 POLES
357 Pales
LAKE SHORE AVENUE
CROSS STREET WILLIAM B PRICE
IRON MINE
SPRING
SPRING ST.
( THE OUTLET)
CORNING STREET
RICHARD WOODBURY'S
EAST LOTHROP STREET
PASTURE
Completed by Calvin P. Pierce.
Map of Snake Hill Pasture, drawn by Calvin P. Pierce
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PASTURE
SAMUEL HASKELL COLON STREET
ESSEX
SNAKE
"The pasture is described as containing about 85 acres including Snake Hill and the plain by the iron mine spring to the westward of the way leading from the bars of Richard Woodburys pasture to the nearest part of the way from the outlet and to the eastward of that way as it passes over below Iron mine spring (viz Westerly of said spring) until it falls into the way that leads eastward from Samuel Haskells and so running easterly home to the westerly corner of Andrew Elliotts pasture on that side that is bounded by said way and thence by said Elliotts fence partly and partly Sergt Samuel Herricks, Cornelius Baker and Richard Woodberries home to the bars afore mentioned. See Town Records, Page 79, June 1716."
It was not until eleven years after these assignments were made that the proprietors organized. The first meeting was held May 3, 1727, and John Corning was chosen moderator and the last meeting was held April 21, 1817, Robert Rantoul, moderator. Meetings of the proprietors were held during these ninety years, in the early part of which time, committees were appointed to lay out the stints to the various proprietors, each stint to comprise about four and one quarter acres.
"PROPRIETORS COMMITTEE & ASSESSORS OF SNAKE HILL PASTURE"
"Whereas at a meeting of the proprietors of Snake Hill pasture In Beverly Legally named & assembled on the twenty fifth day of March anno Domini 1736, Josiah Batchelder, John Balch Junr &
Committee Joshua Dodge were Chosen and appointed A committee Report of the to devide and set out the two Rights in said pasture
Laying
out the . Ministry which were given By the proprietors of the Common Rights Lands In Beverly for the use of the ministry of the first parish In Sd Beverly, having Regard Both to quantity & quality to Be set out adjoining upon that Way formerly Granted to the Bakers by the Proprietors of sd pasture pursuant to wich we the above named have servaied the sd pasture and set out the sd two Rights Both for quantyti & quality in the manner following-Viz.
Bounded Southward by the highway Which Leads towards the house formerly Mr. William Prides, thirty five poles and seven tenths to a heap of Stones by the Wall Side, Westwardly by sd Bakers way and land of the trasks Extending forty and Eight poles to a heap of Stones by Said Trasks Wall then Running East northerly thirty one Rods and three tenths to a Stake & heap of Stones then running South Easterly fifty and two poles and eight tenths to the Stake & heap of Stones first mentioned By sd wall the hole Containing nine
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acres and one half acre Wich we Esteme to Be the said preportion of sd two Rights in witness whereof We have set hereunto oure hands and Seals this Twenty first day of April anno Domini one thousands seven hundred & thirty six.
Josiah Batchelder & a (s) John Balch Junr & a (s)
Joshua Dodge & a (s)
Note :- the symbols, & a (s) signifies, and a seal.
During the existence of the organization, ownership of title changed to all the assignments apparently, with the exception of that held by the First Parish Ministry and this lot of nine and one half acres was not conveyed until the Parish at a meeting held on April 18, 1836, just one hundred years after the lot was laid out, voted, with the con- sent of the then settled minister, Rev. Christopher T. Thayer, to sell the lands.
Essex Registry of deeds, book 290, page 259, May 16, 1836, First Parish in Beverly conveys to Josiah Lovett, 2nd., a lot of nine and one half acres in Snake Hill pasture, consideration $130.00.
A compete examination of the records of conveyance, establishes that this lot of nine and one half acres granted by the town of Beverly for the use of the ministry of the First Parish in Beverly, lies on the northerly side of Lake Shore avenue and is now a part of the estate of Richard C. DeNormandie.
THE PARISH FUNDS
There are several funds standing to the credit of the First Parish Church in Beverly and its Sunday School which have been established through the generous gifts of members and friends of the Church, now deceased, as provided by their will and otherwise, covering a period of many years, which fairly reflect the interest they held for this institution.
These funds are placed under the care of a properly constituted Board of Trustees of the Parish who supervise their prudent invest- ment and discreet control.
In view of the nature of these gifts with special reference to the purposes for which they are to be used, it is here proposed to give a brief summary of these donors together with a short biographical review of each, including the defining clause in the will of each, in- dicating the manner and purposes for which these gifts are to be employed.
In reviewing their kindly sentiments and good will toward the Parish, there comes to us a deep impress of the benign spirit and
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friendly attitude of these departed friends which these gifts convey and which, by the members and friends of the Parish of the present time, are sincerely appreciated and rightfully appraised.
THE MINISTERIAL FUND OF THE FIRST PARISH IN BEVERLY
On the eighth day of August, 1831, Dr. Joshua Fisher presented to the Parish one thousand dollars, "the income whereof to be appro- priated exclusively towards the support of a Public teacher of Christ- ian Piety and Morality in said Parish or to be added to the principal whenever it may be thought expedient."
At a Parish meeting held on the same day, seven trustees were chosen to manage said funds, viz .- William Thorndike, Robert Ran- toul, Joshua Lovett, Samuel Endicott, Edward Ford, Charles Stevens and Cotton Bennett and at the same time it was voted that an applica- tion be made to the General Court by the Parish Committee for an Act of incorporation of the trustees of the said Fund.
At the next session of the General Court commencing on the first Wednesday in January, 1832, a petition was accordingly presented and an Act passed incorporating said persons as trustees of the Minis- terial fund of the First Parish in Beverly.
This Act authorized Robert Rantoul to call the first meeting of said trustees which was held at his office on the seventh day of April, 1832, when, they all being present, Robert Rantoul was appointed chairman and Charles Stevens secretary and a committee consisting of Robert Rantoul, William Thorndike and Charles Stevens was ap- pointed to report by-laws and the meeting was then adjourned to Saturday the 21st of April at the same place.
DOCTOR JOSHUA FISHER
Dr. Joshua Fisher was born in Dedham, May, 1749. He was graduated from Harvard College in 1766 at the age of seventeen. He began the study of medicine in 1770 and practised for a short time in Ipswich and Salem but soon removed to Beverly where he passed the remainder of his life. In the early part of the revolutionary period his patriotic spirit seemed to prevail as he sailed from Marblehead on a privateersman as a surgeon.
At the termination of this service he became interested in the es- tablishment of a cotton factory at North Beverly, but returned to his practice as a physician in which profession he was highly successful. He was a man of high moral character and had a genuine love of
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nature and as an evidence of this, he established the Fisher Professor- ship of Natural History of Harvard University, to which by his will he gave $20,000.
Dr. Fisher was President of the Massachusetts Medical Society, a senator of the Commonwealth, President of the Beverly Bank and the Beverly Charitable Society. He founded the latter in 1809 and left to it a munificent bequest by his will. By legislative Act of 1836, the name was changed to the "Fisher Charitable Society."
He was a very liberal benefactor in his lifetime and the legacies to public objects as provided by his will, were bountiful and wisely distributed. He was in an important sense a public man. Dr. Fisher died in Beverly, March 15, 1833, at the advanced age of eighty four.
In 1831, Dr. Fisher gave to the Parish $1000 in cash and this gift provided the means of the establishment of the Ministerial fund.
In 1858, there came to this fund by the provisions in his will, $3000, which was obtained by the sale of his house which he gave to the Parish and $4000, which was deposited with the Massachusetts Hospital Life Insurance Company, the two latter amounts coming to the Parish upon the termination of the life interest of his daughters.
The real estate which Dr. Fisher devised to the First Parish Church by will in 1833, was sold by the Parish to Rev. Christopher T. Thayer in 1858. In 1889, the estate became the property and resi- dence of Dr. George A. Stickney and his wife Harriet W. Stickney.
The house is numbered 88 Cabot street.
EXTRACT FROM WILL, DATED NOVEMBER 8, 1830
"To the first parish in Beverly their successors and as- signs forever, I give and devise all my real estate the rent, income or interest if sold to be appropriated to the support of a public teacher of Christian piety and morality reserving however to my daughters Nancy Bridge and Mary Bridge to them Jointly and to the survivor of them the use of it dur- ing their lives."
"To the first parish in Beverly to be kept by them for- ever as a fund the income of it to be appropriated in the same manner as the income of the real estate above men- tioned, to them and their assigns I give four thousand dollars of the property deposited by me in the office of the Massachu- setts Hospital Life Insurance Company reserving however for the use of my daughters Nancy Bridge and Mary Bridge the interest, income or dividend arising from it during their joint lives and the life of the survivor."
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IS THT
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HON. ISRAEL THORNDIKE
As a liberal contribution to the funds of the First Parish Church came by reason of a warm regard which Israel Thorndike held for this institution, it is desirable to give here proper attention to the character and high qualities of this prosperous and patriotic citizen of the revolutionary period.
Israel Thorndike was born in Beverly in the year 1755. He had no advantages of education except that provided by the public schools of the town, but a vigorous mind afforded the means of self advance- ment.
Becoming active in the cause of the American revolution, he be- came part owner and captain of an armed private ship and the in- trepidity and diligence with which he conducted his cruises were rewarded with distinguished success.
At the close of this service he entered business life. Sagacity and strict attention to his various commercial enterprises, brought to him an immense estate which, at the time of his death, amounted to nearly a million and a half dollars.
In 1810, he removed his business to Boston but retained a resi- dence in his native town for which he held a high regard.
He was a member of the convention called for the adoption of the United States constitution, a representative and a senator in the Massachusetts legislature.
A liberal contributor to patriotic, charitable and religious objects, the First Parish Church received a remembrance of his regard in an addition to its funds of $2500, received from the sale of a house and land, agreeably to his expressed intention and wish, by his sons.
This part of his estate was conveyed by Israel Thorndike, Charles Thorndike and Augustus Thorndike to the Parish trustees by deed of October 26, 1832, and by these trustees the property was conveyed to Ingalls Kittredge, by deed of February 11, 1833. The house stood on the north-west corner of Cabot and Federal streets and the Beverly National Bank building now stands on the site.
March 28, 1792, Israel Thorndike purchased of Lydia Cabot, widow of Andrew Cabot, the Cabot mansion, which became his resi- dence and where he resided at the time of his death. The mansion now forms the westerly portion of the City Hall building. He also possessed a large area of land in what is now Ward 2, extending from Cabot street, eastward to the waterfront.
He died in May, 1832.
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HON. ROBERT RANTOUL
Robert Rantoul was born in Salem, November 23, 1778. In early life he engaged in the business of a druggist, which he carried on successfully for more than twenty years. Assuming the duties of a justice of the peace, he disposed of his business as the demands of various public trusts and official duties occupied his entire time until late in life.
His public life was active and prominent, he filling several public offices of both town and state and serving as trial justice for the town from 1808 until his death in 1858.
He served as Parish clerk within that period for many years, as deacon for forty six years, and was deeply devoted to the interests of the Parish. He represented the town in the General Court as a representative and senator, serving on committees of a highly important character. His military service extended from 1805 to 1815.
Mr. Rantoul was chosen by the town to present the address of welcome to Lafayette upon the occasion of his visit to Beverly, August 31, 1825.
He was a member of two state conventions called for amending the state constitution and his interest in town affairs is plainly in- dicated by his attendance at every town meeting held in Beverly, except one, in a period of fifty five years.
He was considered the leading citizen of his time and his private character, constancy and unswerving integrity were among the out- standing features of his life.
As an executor, administrator, guardian or trustee, he held in his hands a large number of estates and these charges he served with fidelity and with charitable consideration of those whose pecuniary means were limited.
With genuine public spirit, he freely gave much time in the years of his long life to the advancement of those features which make for the best in community life and the honors which came to him were the prizes he fairly earned by his liberal devotion to public service. He died October 24, 1858, in his eightieth year.
By will, Mr. Rantoul gave to the First Parish Church a legacy of three hundred dollars. The will provides that the income shall be added to the principal of the fund until the annual income can be safely regarded as three hundred dollars.
"Thereafter, the three hundred dollars annually shall be added to the salary of any minister who has been settled over the Parish for twenty five years, and the balance of the income-or the whole thereof
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if there be at the time no minister twenty five years in service-shall be appropriated for the promotion of piety, religion and morality within said Paraish."
This fund is designated the "Robert Rantoul Fund."
CHARLES DAVIS
Mr. Charles Davis was born in Beverly in the year 1815, the son of Thomas and Helen Stevens Davis. Educated in the public schools of his native town, he took an active interest in public affairs in his young manhood which continued unabated.
Inheriting a fair estate upon the death of his parents, he preserved his patrimony and by prudent investments and business acumen in his real estate and other business employments, he accumulated a goodly estate, which, at his death, the inventory revealed.
Mr. Davis lived a steady and upright life and his personal char- acter won for him the confidence and respect of his fellow citizens.
A devout member of the First Parish Church and liberal in its support, his service as deacon covered many years and the interest which he held for the Parish Sunday school, of which he was Super- intendent in his early and late years, was plainly shown in his will.
He was elected a trustee of the Ministerial Fund at a meeting of the Board, March 6, 1854, and served until his death.
Mr. Davis died suddenly while sitting in a chair at the home of his friend, Major Wallis, whose house stood on the site of the Ware Theater building, January 14, 1870.
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