USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Reading > Genealogical history of the town of Reading, Mass., including the present towns of Wakefield, Reading, and North Reading, with chronological and historical sketches, from 1639 to 1874 > Part 23
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In 1828 their first meeting-house was built, at a cost of $3,000.
First pastor, J. M. Driver, who was ordained Oct. 8, 1828, the new meeting-house being dedicated at the same time. Mr. Driver labored successfully nine months, and then left.
Second pastor, George Matthews. Ordained January, 1830. Left in May, 1834.
Third pastor, William Heath. Settled June, 1836. Left, 1841. Mr. Heath was a graduate of Dart. Coll. in 1826 ; married Sarah A., daughter of Burrage Yale, Esq., of Wakefield ; had been one of the earliest teachers in South Reading Academy ; was a gentleman of high respectability ; not an eloquent speaker, but possessed of fair talents as a scholar and writer. He was a good pastor ; looked well after the secular as well as spiritual interests of his flock; " and under his wise counsels the society thrived, increased in numbers, and became a thing of power." He subsequently settled in South Reading (now Wake- field), and engaged in business pursuits. He died in 1869, in his 70th year.
Fourth pastor, J. Holbrook. Settled July, 1841. Left April, 1842. Fifth pastor, J. N. Sykes. Ordained August, 1842. Left Octo- ber, 1843.
Sixth pastor, Benjamin Knight. Settled April, 1845. Left Novem- ber, 1846.
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Seventh pastor, F. E. Cleaves. Settled May, 1847. Left January, 1851.
Eighth pastor, A. C. Bronson. Settled June, 1851. Left Novem- ber, 1854.
Ninth pastor, E. W. Pray. Settled February, 1855. Left July, 1857.
Tenth pastor, W. K. Davy. Settled -. Left, 1868.
Eleventh pastor, A. W. Ashley.
In April, 1860, their first meeting-house was destroyed by fire. Their second church edifice was erected in . -.
The deacons of this church have been as follows : Oliver Emerson, ordained 1830; Eliab Parker, Jr., ordained 1830; Joseph Cook, or- dained 1850 ; Geo. K. Parker.
The licentiates of this church have been: Wm. Bowen, licensed 1820 ; Oliver Emerson, Jr., licensed 1835 ; C. W. Hewes, licensed 1840 ; H. M. Emerson, licensed 1858; G. S. Abbott, licensed 1860 ; Forrest F. Emerson, licensed 1867.
Eliab Parker, Jr., Esq., referred to above as one of the earliest dea- cons of this church, was long an eminent and most useful citizen of North Reading. He died suddenly, in the midst of life and useful- ness, Jan. 26, 1850. His death was a heavy stroke to this young church. "To the church and Sabbath school, over which he had been for more than twenty years a model deacon and superintendent, his loss seemed at first irreparable. Assiduous in the discharge of Christian duty, punctual and exact in business, he served the Lord in the abund- ance of his means, with strict fidelity and zeal. His duties were only to be known to be done. His short sickness of twelve hours was peace. His end was that of the righteous. Resting from his labors, his works ' do follow him.'
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" 'Earth seems more sweet to live upon, More full of love, because of him.'"
OLD SOUTH CHURCH.
The church now called the "Old South Church, of Reading," for- merly called the " West Parish Church," was organized in 1770.
First minister was Thomas Haven, who was ordained Nov. 7, 1770, and died May 7, 1782, aged 38 years.
Mr. Haven was graduated at Harvard College in 1765. Little is known of his life and labors. Tradition ascribes to him the character of a mild, amiable, and cultivated man. He passed away early from his
.
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professional work, and, so far as is known, left no printed productions of his pen, excepting one sermon, preached at the ordination of Mr. Jacob Burnap (a native of Reading), at Merrimack, N. H., in 1772. His ordination sermon by the Rev. Mr. Turner, of Duxbury, was pub- lished and is extant. The Rev. Mr. Prentiss, of the First Parish, Wakefield, left this brief notice of his death : "1782, May 7, -I prayed with my friend, Mr. Haven, of the West Parish, this morning, and was with him when he died at 10 A. M., of consumption." His grave, and that of his wife, who died at the age of 22, are in the burial- ground of his own Parish. . The last living link, connecting him with the present generation, was Mrs. Hannah (Bancroft) Brown, whom he baptized Jan. 20, 1771. She was the second infant baptized by him, and her funeral was attended by Dr. Barrows, Feb. 27, 1861.
Second pastor, Rev. Peter Sanborn. Ordained June 9, 1790. Dismissed June 7, 1820. He was the tenth child of William and Mary (Sleeper) Sanborn, and was born at Kingston, N. H., Aug. 13, 1766, and was graduated at Dartmouth College, 1786, in a class of twenty- five. Of these, ten became ministers of the Gospel. He studied theology with the Rev. Ephraim Judson, of Taunton, Mass., and preached his first sermon in Dighton, May 24, 1778, and his first in Reading in 1789. A strong Arminian influence in the Society, and the refusal of three men, previously called, to settle in it, because a difficult field, and the fact as stated by him to the Rev. Dr. Barrows, that he was, as he believed, the thirty-second candidate, led Mr. Sanborn to consider his call nine months before acceptance. The ordaining coun- cil was lengthy and stormy, as between the Calvinistic and Arminian theologies, and crowded the ordination of the young Hopkinsian into ' the candle-light of that long June day. His ministry, and specially till past 1810, was one of marked power. For special seasons of in- terest, three revivals signalized it, the most noted of which was n 1810, when for a term there was not a house in the town in which at least one praying person could not be found, and but few families that did not have family worship. As a preacher Mr. Sanborn was ardent, and in his earlier years, very impressive. Three of his revival sermons are in print ; also one preached before the Mass. Missionary Society, in 1815; The Right Hand of Fellowship, at the Installation of the Rev. Reuben Emerson, over the First Parish, Wakefield, 1804 ; and an Anti-Masonic Address delivered in Reading, 1829. Mr. Sanborn was twice married. His first wife was Miss Mary Stimpson, adopted daughter of Daniel Chute, Esq., of Reading, married May 26, 1798,
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and had, by this union, nine children. After her decease, Oct. 15, 1818, he married, in 1819, Miss Martha Wakefield, by which new alliance five children were added to his house. She died May 2, 1847. He died Aug. 8, 1857, in the same house where he began his home in Reading, sixty-seven years before. Two sons in the ministry still live, the Rev. Pliny F., of Bloomfield, New York, and the Rev. George Edward, of Northborough, Mass. His funeral sermon, which was published, was preached by the Rev. Lyman Whiting, D. D.
Third pastor, the Rev. Samuel Green. Ordained Sept. 20, 1820. Dismissed March 26, 1823. Mr. Green was graduated at Harvard College, 1816 ; studied theology for a term at the Andover Theological Seminary, and finished his preparatory divinity course in 1819, while tutor at Bowdoin College. His ministry in Reading was short, but powerful for good, and many still remember his tender spirit and faith- ful labors in Christ. In November, 1822, the Union Church, Essex Street, Boston, invited him to become their pastor. His people strongly and affectionately declined to give him up. But a renewal of the call prevailed, and he was installed in his new field, March 26, 1823. For ten years he labored at that conspicuous post, and with great energy and success and acceptance. As a result his health failed, and he went abroad to regain it ; but in vain. He died in Boston, Nov. 20, 1834.
His principal publications were, a sermon before the Mass. Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1827; a Memorial Sermon, at Plymouth, Dec. 22, 1828; and "More than one hundred Arguments in proof of the Supreme Divinity of Jesus Christ."
As a preacher he handled the great doctrines of the Gospel ; he was direct, simple, earnest, holy, and impressive in the pulpit ; he labored from house to house ; with the afflicted he was tender, yet faithful, being governed by a mild and sweet affection. When fifteen years of age he became an apprentice as a mason and bricklayer, choosing this trade as it would give him the long winters for study ; and till within a few years, an old brick house has been standing in the southern part of the town, where he handled the trowel and brick and mortar in its erection. God promoted him to be a skilful master-builder on His spiritual temple. The Rev. Dr. R. S. Storrs prepared his Memoirs, published in 1836.
Fourth pastor, the Rev. Jared Reid. Ordained Oct. 8, 1823. Dis- missed June 12, 1833.
Fifth pastor, the Rev. Aaron Pickett, Installed Sept. 25, 1833. Dismissed April 3, 1850. Mr. Pickett was born in Sandisfield, Mass., 28
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July 15, 1792. He entered Union College as a sophomore, and was graduated with the class of 1818. He studied theology with the Rev. Drs. Lansing, of Auburn, N. Y., and Fay, of Charlestown, Mass. On account of feeble health he spent some years in teaching, preaching occasionally. During this time he supplied the pulpit at West Stock- bridge for some months, and at Boxboro' for two years. He was ordained June 23, 1826, and installed at Cohasset, Mass., in 1827, where he remained for six years. He was settled in Reading in 1833, and had a pastorate here of seventeen years. He was then dismissed and installed in his native town, Jan. 22, 1851, and remained a pastor there till his death, Jan. 10, 1866. Mr. Pickett was a familiar, earnest, and devout preacher and pastor, with the leading purpose to honor Christ in the Gospel ministry, and he was much blessed in his labors. His publications were two Funeral Sermons : one of Mrs. Lathrop, of Cohasset ; and the other of Mrs. Bennett, the wife of the Rev. Joseph Bennett, of Woburn, Mass.
Sixth pastor, the Rev. Lyman Whiting, D. D. Installed Jan. I, 1851. Dismissed Nov. 1, '1855. Mr. Whiting was born in North Brookfield, Mass., April 28, 1817 ; entered Amherst College in Octo- ber, 1835, and left, on failure of health, in the second year. He then studied in private and at Harvard College; entered the Theological Seminary, 1839, and was graduated at Andover in 1842. He was married to Sophia E. Chamberlain, of Westboro', Jan. 5, 1843, and ordained colleague pastor with the Rev. Micah Stone, son of the Rev. Eliab Stone, of North Reading, over the Evangelical Congregational Church, in Brookfield, South Parish, Jan. 11, 1843. January, 1847, he was called to preach in Lawrence, Mass .; aided in organizing the First Congregational church there, and in erecting the Lawrence Street meeting-house, and was installed pastor June 6, 1847. He was dis- missed Jan. 16, 1849, and by a " unanimous vote " called to the pastor- ate of the Second, or Central Church, Lawrence, Oct. 5, 1850. This was declined, and a call to the Old South Church, in Reading, was preferred, over which he was installed Jan. 1, 1851. He was dismissed by a council that installed him pastor of the North Church, Portsmouth, N. H., Nov. 1, 1855. From thence he was called to the Park Presby- terian Church, Brooklyn, N. Y., in November, 1858. He removed there, but did not consummate the call, and in December, 1859, he became the pastor of the High Street Church, Providence. In 1864 he was called to the Congregational Church, Dubuque, Iowa. The honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred on Mr. Whiting by Iowa College in 1868.
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As a preacher, Dr. Whiting is clear, compact, doctrinal, and practical, in happy combination with a warm, animated style. His publications have been : Dedication, Ordination, Funeral and Commemorative Ser- mons ; Addresses, religious and secular ; Articles in the North Ameri- can and other Reviews, and joint editorial work in the " Iowa News Letter."
Seventh pastor, the Rev. William Barrows, D. D. Installed Feb. 20, 1856. Dismissed May 6, 1869. William Barrows, son of William and Asenath [Osborn] Barrows, -the eighth of ten chil- dren, and the youngest of five sons, - was born in New Braintree, Mass., Sept. 19, 1815. After preparation at Phillips Academy, Andover, and entering Amherst College in 1836, he was graduated there in 1840. Teaching in Virginia and Missouri for three years, he studied theology in the Union Theological Seminary for two years, preached his first sermon in Templeton, Aug. 4, 1844, and was ordained and installed in Norton, Sept. 4, 1845. He was dismissed from the pastorate in Norton, June 4, 1850, to settle over the Church of Christ in Grantville, Needham, where he was installed Aug. 22, 1850. Thence he was called by the Old South Church and Society, Reading. Having been dismissed from the pastoral charge in Grantville, Jan. 22, 1856, he became the pastor of this church by acts of council, Feb. 20, 1856, and was dismissed May 6, 1869, to enter on the duties of Secretary of the Congregational Sabbath School and Publishing Society. The honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred on Mr. Barrows by his own alma mater in 1867. The preaching of Dr. Barrows is simple, doctrinal, direct, dense and brief in style, scholarly and popu- lar, with the manner of a quiet earnestness. He has won a large place in the hearts of his people as a familiar and genial pastor, and has gained the reputation for eminent aptness in the sick-room and on funeral occasions. In his leisure hours from professional calls, he has used an industrious pen for the public. In addition to extensive cor- respondence with the leading religious newspapers, he has published five sermons : Ministerial Freedom, the closing sermon at Norton, 1850; Future Punishment Constitutional, 1852 ; Our War and Our Religion, their Harmony, 1862; The War and Slavery, and their Relations to each other, 1862 ; Honor to the Brave, 1863. Also, Alcohol and the Commonwealth in Permanent Temperance Documents, 1851 ; India, Ancient and Modern ; The High School Policy of Mass. ; and Immigration, in the New Englander, 1857-8 ; Romanism and a Free Bible, Bibliotheca Sacra, 1860 ; Moses and the Geologists, Am. Theol. Review, 1860 ; Cyprian's Letter to Fidus ; Future Punishment and
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Natural Laws, the Latin Vulgate ; The American Board and its Review- ers ; Regeneration not by Resolution ; Life and Times of Herod the Great ; The Rabbis, the Mischna, and the Talmuds ; Dr. Bushnell's Vicarious Sacrifice ; Jewish Baptisms, and fifteen other Articles in The Boston and Congregational Review, of which Dr. Barrows was one of the founders and editors for seven years. Also, Raffling and Charity Fairs ; Am. Tract Society, Boston ; and Twelve Nights in The Hunters' Camp, an outline Memoir of his Brother, Willard Barrows, I869
Dr. Barrows has been twice married: in June, 1845, to Miss Lucia Amanda Case, who died Dec. 6, 1847 ; and to Miss Elizabeth Adams Cate, in October, 1849.
List of Deacons in the Old South Church, Reading.
Jonathan Temple, chosen March 1, 1770; Samuel Bancroft, chosen March 1, 1770 ; Timothy Pratt, Jr., chosen July 8, 1778 ; James Ban- croft, chosen May 6, 1784; John Temple, chosen March 12, 1795 ; Benjamin Pratt, chosen March 19, 1795 ; Daniel Temple, chosen Dec. 18, 1811 ; Jonathan Baldwin, chosen Aug. 23, 1821 ; Caleb Wakefield, chosen Aug. 23, 1821; Jabez D. Parker, chosen Sept. 21, 1826; Charles Temple, chosen Oct. 29, 1829 ; Geo. Baldwin, chosen May 5, 1836 ; Thomas H. Sweetser, chosen Feb. 27, 1851 ; Edgar Damon, chosen Feb. 27, 1851 ; James J. Shute, chosen Feb. 27, 1851 ; Edward E. Pratt, chosen Jan. 6, 1853 ; Henry A. Emerson, chosen Jan. 13, 1859; Oliver Wallace, chosen Sept. 4, 1862; James Kimball, chosen Jan. 7, 1869 ; T. Tolman Briggs, chosen Jan. 7, 1869.
HISTORY OF THE LIBERAL CHURCH IN READING, MASS.
Passing by the many influences that reach every community in our land, through liberal publications, occasional lectures and sermons, we notice the first organized effort towards a practical, outward, tangible demonstration of advanced religious ideas in this town, in the forma- tion of the Third Congregational Society, April 2, 1827 ; for the pur- pose, as expressed in the agreement or compact, "Of promoting pure and evangelical principles of practical religion and morality." The original members forming this Society numbered forty-six, as fol- lows: Edmund Parker, Joshua Prescott, Nehemiah Bancroft, Thomas Hartshorn, Silas Smith, Chas. Parker, Miah Bancroft, Samuel Parker, James Davis, John Nichols, David Nichols, Joseph D. Baker, Leon- ard Eames, Daniel Gould, Jr., Sam'l Holden, Timothy N. Brown, Gould Parker, Warren Aborn, Sumner Pratt, Jepthah Brown, Eben E.
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Eames, John Aborn, Thompson Coggin, John Abbott, John Emerson, Jr., Seth Sweetser, Jacob Hartshorn, John McIntire, Cleaveland B. Holt, Bowman Viles, Geo. Batchelder, B. C. Sanborn, John Steel, Joshua Damon, Joseph Boutwell, John Emerson, John Temple, Thos. Richardson, Nehemiah Clay, Eben Aborn, Elijah Hewes, Charles Spin- ney, Elliot Spinney, Joseph B. Fairbanks, Joseph Bancroft.
The Rev. Mr. Sanborn offered to said society land near the spot now occupied by the house of Dr. Brown, for the purpose of erect- ing a building which would meet the needs of the society for their public worship, provided a portion of said building should be set apart and used for an Academy or High School. The offer was accepted, and the church edifice or building was erected in 1827, the upper portion being used by the society, and the lower floor devoted to a school.
Edmund Parker, Esq., who was one of the leading men in this liberal movement, being a member of the State Legislature from Reading for the winter of 1827 and '28, succeeded in obtaining a special act of incorporation, under which the society was duly organized May 7, 1828. Many noted preachers were frequently heard by the earnest, large- hearted people that composed the congregations gathered from Sabbath to Sabbath in the humble edifice, and among those who were more than occasional preachers, we find Rev. Mr. Barbery holding for a while the pastorship, till, in 1830, death dissolved the connection. Then there seem to have been a number of preachers laboring for a few months each, among them Rev. Dr. Peabody and Rev. Mr. Robertson, till 1833, when Rev. Mr. Damon became their pastor, and continued till 1835. From that date the society had no settled pastor, and we find by the records a vote was passed at a meeting held May 28, 1838, to unite with the Second Universalist Society, organized at that time, - the First Universalist Society, holding their meetings in the North Parish, since set off into a township and known as North Reading. As a result of the union above stated, a vote was passed to settle Rev. Chas. Gallagher, and from that date the two societies merged into one, and took the name of the "Second universalist Society" of Reading. Rev. G. G. Strickland became their pastor in 1840, and continued till 1843, when he was succeeded by Rev. Mr. Waitt ; and his preaching, with occasional sermons, is all the record gives for a few years -then the building was vacated by both society and school, sold and transformed into a dwelling-house, now owned and occupied by Gould Richardson, Esq., standing near the original location, the land reverting to the San- born estate.
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But the movement was not dead, only intrusted to the care of those who never let a good cause die. The "Liberal Ladies' Benevolent Association," dating their existence from May 14, 1840, has labored with untiring diligence to maintain and advance those truths, and to perform that work which spring naturally from a firm belief in the love of Our Father, so beautifully illustrated in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Composed of persons holding different shades of opin- ion on many points, yet allowing to each perfect freedom of thought, with concert in action, their history is a remarkable testimony to the efficacy of those ideas that enlarge and develop us into the full stature. of manhood. Always first in any forward movement to sustain and encourage the promulgation of truth, they assisted in keeping the Second Universalist Society in being, and after that expired they pro- cured the services of preachers and lecturers occasionally, until their efforts, with others, culminated in the formation of a new organization in the year 1856, which took the name of the "First Universalist Society," of Reading, holding their meetings in Lyceum Hall, and call- ing for their pastor Rev. N. R. Wright, who labored with them success- fully for two years ; during that time he held the confidence and affec- tion of the society with great unanimity, and with deep regret the part- ing came. Rev. L. M. Burrington was his successor, who was called to a larger society after two and one half years' labor.
Then came the war ; many members from the society were absent on the battle-fields, weakening the ranks at home, and with South Reading the society shared the services of Rev. E. A. Eaton, till 1865, holding meetings in Ellsworth Hall ; after which the two societies secured the services of Rev. W. W. Hayward, who labored with them till the fall of 1867. The society again removed to Lyceum Hall, and after hearing many good sermons from as many good men, the executive committee fortunately secured the services of Rev. E. B. Fairchild in the spring of 1868 for the afternoon service, the morning being devoted to the liberal people of Stoneham. That connection still exists, and to it the society owes its present prosperity and position. Mr. Fairchild, being an independent preacher, drew from other churches many that kept away from the Universalists proper ; and as the Universalist State Organization had engrafted a by-law into their platform of government, which practically disfellowshipped the Reading Society, there seemed no other course to pursue than to form an independent organization, which was formally done April 26, 1869, with a basic platform broad enough for all to stand upon, contained in the following words, namely : " A belief in the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Humanity
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as taught by Jesus Christ, and acknowledging him as Our Teacher and Guide. Considering this belief a sufficient bond of union, we hereby associate ourselves together under the name of " The Christian Union." To this creed or belief many members of the old organization sub- scribed, and many from other sources who had been patiently working and waiting, till at present a goodly number, male and female, are at work, earnestly resolved to establish a church which shall be an expo- nent of truth as revealed in all ages, applicable to the amelioration and elevation of mankind.
Generous donations have been made to the building fund from members of the Society, and numerous others resident in Reading and elsewhere, testifying in tangible form to their real sympathy for, and interest in the work.
The Building Committee - Edward Safford, Wm. Proctor, L. E. Gleason, S. M. Hall, James Reid, F. H. Knight, and C. D. Wright - were instructed to purchase a suitable location and erect thereon a church edifice adapted to the present and prospective needs of the Society.
They have purchased the land located near the Bank Building, and have contracted with Mr. Edward Safford to erect the building, same to be finished early in the summer of 1871, the corner-stone of which was laid, with appropriate ceremonies, Oct. 6, 1870.
SALEM STREET BAPTIST CHURCH, READING.
Twenty-five years ago, a little company, who had hoped in the mercy of God, residing in what was then known as West Reading, not having full fellowship for the standing order, and believing that there was a more excellent way for church building, felt impressed to commence religious services after the manner that some in those days called heresy.
Having held services for a short season in private dwellings, and believing it beneficial to have a more public place for their meetings, it was decided to make application for the hall which had formerly been known as the Orthodox meeting-house, but which had been vacated by them for a more convenient place of worship. For this purpose a com- mittee was appointed, but on application to the owner of the land, to know if there was anything in the way to prevent the Baptists having the use of the hall, they were given to understand, if the Baptists wished to hold meetings, they had better build them a meeting- house.
In the course of a few weeks the school-house in the west part of the
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town was opened for meetings ; but soon a district meeting was called, when it was voted to close the house against the sect which was every- where spoken against. At the close of this meeting, a gentleman not particularly interested for the Baptists, but who took a little broader view than many in that day, said to the Moderator, "I think you have made a mistake. I never thought they would have a society here, - but now I think they will have one." That gentleman is now one of the most able men in the society, and has long been a member of the church.
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