USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Groton > Groton historical series. A collection of papers relating to the history of the town of Groton, Massachusetts, Vol IV > Part 2
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Sep1 7. being Lecture the (" stop't and being informd by M' Parker that his Wife was unable to attend on Acct of Bodily Infirm-
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ity and Desird that the Meeting might be Adjournd. Her request was granted and the Meeting was adjourn'd to next Lecture.
Oct'. 3. Clh Met on Adjournment and M": Parker Complyd to the Satisfaction of all Parties -and the Whole was settled.
1770 Jan' 21. Abel Parker (in Cov! with the Ch) confessd For- nication & was forgiven.
March 25. Notify'd a Chh Meeting at the Meeting house next friday to consider in What Manner to Dispose of the Income of the Legacy bequeathed by Capt" Sawtel to the Chh for the use of its poor.
30. Ch Met at the Meeting House, and Voted that the Sum of Twenty Shilling Reet by the Committee for the use of the Legacy before mentiond be given to the Widow Bradstreet, the Wife of Ebenezer Kemp and Hannah Fisk to be equally divided between them and that the Committee for letting out the Money shall lay it out for them in such way as yy Judge best for them.
1770. July 22. Notify'd a Church Meeting next friday at the Meeting House to Consider of an Objection made by John Woods against Abel Lawrance being admitted a Member in full Con- munion with this Church - He having been propounded some time Since
27. Church Met at meeting House, and the s? Abel Lawrance being prevented by bodily Indisposition from attending. The Church Chose Deac" Farwell, Stone, & Longly with Joseph Stone & Nathaniel Parker a Committee to hear the parties on the Com- plaint and report at the adjournment of the meeting The Meeting was then adjourned to the next Lecture.
Note. The Substance of the Complaint was that the sª Abel Lawrance had been guilty of a breach of promise by w" the sd John Woods was kept from his Just right, and that the s! Abel still refus! to make satisfaction tho' the Steps of the Gospel had been taken with him to obtain it.
Ang: 16. The Church met by Adjournment and the Committee Reported ( Verbally) that the Complaint was of a Civil Nature and not proper for the Ch to settle. The C !! Voted their acceptance of the report and the Complaint was Dismiss'd.
Aug: 19. This Day Abel Lawrance was mentioned for Admission upon which Bro! John Woods Publickly Objected to proceeding tho without offering any other reason than - that he believed a Num- ber of the Cla were uneasy as well as himself. The Church were
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thereupon Desird to Manifest by lifting up their bands Whether he should be Admitted Notwithstanding and it Appearing to be a Vote - the negative was not Ask'd. but he was Admitted.
1771. June 9. Sybele Wife of Ebenezer Nutting Confess'd the Sin of Fornication & was forgiven. Note She ownd the Cov! as the Truth at Harvard.
July 19. The Church was Stop'd after Lecture in order to Dis- pose of the Money which the Deac" had rec! for the Loan of the Legacy bequeathed by Capt Sawtell &c. but upon a Motion made the affair was put of to the adjournment of the Ch Meeting which was then appointed to be at the Meeting house at the usual time for the Stated private Lectures.
August. 16. The Ch Met according to Appointment and Voted to give the Interest Money then in the Deac" hands being 16'. To the Widow Shed the Widow Bradstreet and Hannah Fisk to be Equally Divided between them.
1772. April 30. The Chh tarried After Lecture on a Motion of the Deac' and Voted to give the Interest of Capt" Sartells Legacy then in their Hands being 16 .. The one half to the Wife of Eben- ezer Kemp the other half to the Widow Bradstreet & Hannah Fisk in Equal proportion.
1772. Dec! to. The Church tarried after Lecture and made Choice of the same persons as a Committee in behalf of the Chh (10 recieve of Brother Amos Lawrance the Legacy bequeath'd to the Chh by our Brother Sam' Barron deceasd) who had the Care of a former Legacy left by Brother Eph" Sawtell Viz the Dea" Farwell, Stone & Longly and Impowerd them to Discharge Brother Lawrance of the same and put it out to Interest that it may be Improv'd agreable to the Design of the Donor, and particularly Enjoind them to take good Security for the same
See the Appendix to this Number for an account of Samuel Barron's legacy.
August 13. 1773. The Ch being notified the last sabbath, met at the meeting House to dispose of the interest Monies in the hands of the Committee And being then Notified by Brother Amos Law- rance that a years interest upon ME Barrons Legacy was due and ready to be paid the Church voted to give the whole to Deac Longly, being $1. 12. 0 --
Also Voted their thanks to Brother Josiah Satell for the new
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cover of the Meetinghouse Cushing by him presented since the (' were last Met on a week day.
Dec: 5. 1773. Appointed A Church meeting to be at the Meet- ing house the last friday of this Ins! to choose one or two Deac" if they think fit.
Dec! 26. 1773. Jeptha Richardson (having been guilty of the Sin of Fornication) this day made his confession and was forgiven.
Feb! 27. 1774. Eunice the Wife of Tim? Dustun having been guilty of the same fault Made Desired Satisfaction.
Dec! 31. 1773. Church met according to appointment and made choice of the Brethren Isaac Farnsworth & Benj' Bancroft Jun! to the office of Deacons.
The above dates are right tho placed wrong
Sep! 9. 1774. At a Ch Meeting at the meeting house the CH voted to give the Interest money then in the hands of the Deacons being £1.12. the one half to the Wife of Lemuel Parker (Brother Benj' Bancroft to see to the disposal of it for her benefit ) the other half to the Widow Bradstreet & the wife of Eben! Kemp ( Deac" Isaac Farnsworth to see to the disposal of Mr Kemps part for her benefit ).
1775 March 12. Notify'd a Chh Meeting to be at the Meeting house on Tuesday 21. Ins! 2 O Clock P. M. in general to transact any matters they may Judge proper to put an end to the unhappy differences subsisting among us.
21. Chh Met according to appointment and after a few hours Spent in Saying but little and doing Nothing adjourned to next Monday 2. OClock P. M.
27 CL Met had a long Conference, but they refusing to make any Charges against the Pastor, and the Pastor refusing to make any Concessions, till he should first know what would be satisfac- tory - the meeting was finally dissolved without any vote being calld - except to try with regard to deferring the Sacrament for the present - and dissolve the Meeting, both which pass'd in ye affirmative.
After the Church meeting on the 27th March 1775 was Dissolved, they could not obtain another meeting by the appointment of their late Pastor, Notwithstanding they had informed him of a Great many of their Grievances & Repeatedly Desired him to Call a Ch meeting both by verbal & written Requests, one of which was Signed by a Great majority of said (" but Rec" for answer that he
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xcell not Call a C- meeting nos attes i che of their Calling, Say- ing you may do as you please & I must do as I can. Therefore afterwards on the 15th of may following the Town met, and in a very full Town meeting, after Some hours Conference, the said late pastor asked a Dismission from his Pastoral office which was Readily Complyed with by a unanimous Vote.
Lords day may 28- 1775-
Rev! D' Cooper of Boston preached & was Desired by the Dea- cons and Some of the brethren of the Ch to appoint a Ch meeting to be held at the Publick meeting house on the next monday two O'Clock afternoon
Monday may 29" Ci met accordingly
Chose D" James Stone moderator
Chose D' Isaac Farnsworth Clerk
Chose D" James Stone Doc' Prescott D" Isaac Farnsworth a Com'e to examine the C" Book and to Report at the adjournment of this meeting
Voted that the Sacrament of the Lords Supper be administred in this place as Soon as Conveniently may be & that the Comte above Desire Some proper person to preach a Lecture previous thereto.
Voted that the Ch keep up their meetings between the Sacra- ments as usual heretofore & that the D'appoint time and place.
Voted that what M' Samuel Dana has offer! to the Publick for Satisfaction for his Conduct in Political matters is by no means Satisfactory to this Church as a brother.
Voted that this meeting be adjourned to the Thursday before the next Sacrament at 4 O'Clock in the afternoon on said Day.
Thursday June 84 1775 Cl met according to adjournment
Voted to accept the Report of the Com" that was Chosen to Examine the Ch Book.
Then the meeting was Dismissed.
[Recorded by Isaac Farnsworth. Clerk ]
The line within brackets has been nearly scratched out, presumably by Deacon Farnsworth himself.
The Committee of y CH of Christ in Groton beg leave to report That they recommend the Ohh Covenant to be continued as it now stands recorded in the ( Book ..
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That the Terms of Communion be the same as were established by a Vote of the Ch & are recorded in this Book.
That it is highly proper that the following Vote should be passed by this Chh, & strictly adhered to & recorded in this Book (viz)
" That those persons who own the Covenant in order for Baptism, as hath been practiced in this C', shall be under the same Watch & Discipline as members in full Communion."
That the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper be administered in the ("""" once in two months thro' the year, & oftener if the Pastor & Ch should think proper.
That sacramental Lectures be continued in this Town as heretofore.
That CH Meetings for religious Exercises be kept up as hereto- fore practiced in this Town.
That the Pastor hath a right to call a Ch meeting for any impor- tant occasion, when & as he may think proper, giving suitable notice to the Brethren.
That the Pastor shall call a Ch meeting being requested by any ten of the Brethren of the Ch, they exhibiting their request in writing, with the Reasons of their sd Request, plainly set forth & subscribed by their own hands, the Pastor giving the Brethren suitable notice for sd purpose.
That no silential Vote ought to be allowed in the Clh at any Time.
That no Committee of the Chh or Delegates or Assistants of the Pastor, ought to be chosen but by written Votes or regular Nomi- nation ; & that the Pastor have an equal right in such matters with the Brethren.
That the Pastor ought to be acquainted with the state of his Flock & therefore visit them all at such Times, & in such way & manner as he shall think will be most for their Advantage & answer the best purposes.
That it is of the highest Importance that the Youth should be instructed, & the Duty of the Pastor to feed the Lambs --- There- fore that the Pastor twice a year (& oftener if he think proper) cause them to be assembled for the purpose of catachizing, at such seasons & in such way & manner as he shall think most for their Edification & spiritual AAdvantage, & that it is a Duty incumbent on all Parents, & Masters to evert themselves in causing the Youth under their Government diligently & seasonably to attend the Appointment for that purpose.
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And may the God of all grace daily make additions to this Ch! of such as shall be saved.
All which is humbly submitted to the Ch for their approbation & acceptance.
GROTON Sept: 5" 1777.
OLIVER PRESCOTT JAMES STONE
Com' "
ELISHAA ROCKWOOD
S
Sept! 5" 1777.
The Ch being met at the public Meeting House the aforegoing Report was read & accepted
Voted That Deacon Stone be desired to wait upon Mr Daniel Chaplin their Pastor Elect & inform him that the (44 had accepted the aforegoing Report & were ready to receive answer.
At a (" Meeting at the public meeting House Oct. 24th 1777.
Voted & chose D' Prescott Moderator.
Then Voted, that the Vote of the Ch relative to the baptizing of the Infants of new married persons as it was passed & recorded in the Ch book previous to the Ordination of Mr Dana, should be the Rule of Conduct in future.
The aforegoing Report & this last Vote having been considered, is now consented to, by Daniel Chaplin P. E.
Then the aforegoing Report & Votes with Mr Chaplin's Consent as Pastor Elect were read & accepted, & voted that the Moderator sign the same & that the whole be recorded in the Ch Book
Attest. OLIVER PRESCOTT Moderator
Daniel Chaplin in Officium Pastorale apud Groto- nenses inauguratus fuit Die Januarii 1 1778.
At a Clb Meeting March 26th 1778.
Voted That the ensuing Ch meetings for religious Exercises, unless the Ch find it disadvantageous, be all at the public meet- ing House.
Votes & Proceedings of y" Chh in y" time of their Vacancy. Nº 1. On File. [For many years this file of papers has been lost. ]
Mr Dana's Letter to y' ordaining Council objecting to y' ordina- tion. Nº 2.
Result & Proceedings of y ordaining Council Nº 3.
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أطباء قسم ـوي
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Lord's Day Nov. 14. 1779. The Brethren of ye Chh being de- sired to tarry after Divine Service was over, a Letter Missive from a Number of People belonging to ye Chh & Town of Westford, requesting our assistance in Council, was read & yt Chh voted to comply with y" Desire, & chose Col Sartell & Capt Amos Lawrence to accompany y' Pastor. This Letter Nº 4.
The Articles of Complaint laid before y Council by y' aggrieved. Nº 5.
The Result of y' Council. N: 6.
Letter from y' Chh in Westford. N: 7.
Letter from y" aggrieved. N. S.
At a Chh-Meeting April 28. 1780. for religious Exercises, after such exercises were concluded, the Brethren who were desired to tarry took into Consideration y Letter from y' Chh in Westford & y' Letter from y" aggrieved abovementioned ; but as y matter ap- peared to be important & many of y' brethren were absent, it was agreed to defer acting upon it untill ye next public Lecture.
June 1. 1780. Lecture Day. The Brethren of ye Chh tarried after Divine Service, having been notified ye Sabbath before, further to consider of ye matters relating to Westford. And to proceed with ye greatest Care & Deliberation, y" Letter Missive from ye ag- grieved, ye Result of y' Council, ye Letter from ye Chh of Westford & y" Letter from y' aggrieved desiring occasional Communion with us, were all read, & y' Chh went into a mature, lengththy & cool Debate upon y" subject. After which y' Question was put, Whether y Chh approve of y" Result? See Nº 6. And it passed in y Affirm- ative by a large Maj. And also Whether y" Chh will grant y" Re- quest of y aggrieved, to admit ym to occasional Communion so long as their situation shall remain such y' they cannot enjoy y" Privilege of y Ordinances at home upon such Terms as they can conscienciously comply wt? Passed in ye Affirmative by a great Maj.
At a chh-meeting Groton July 5. 1782. Voted & chose D" Joseph Farwell, D" James Stone, D" Isaac Farnsworth, D" Benjamin Ban- croft, & Israel Hobart Esqr, members of y chh of Christ in Groton, Trustees to receive, (& if necessary for ye recovery thereof, to insti- tute a suit at law & prosecute ye same to final judgment & execu- tion.) of M' Samuel Dana late minister of this town ye twenty pounds given by Jonathan Lawrance of Groton in his last will & testament to y" chh, the profits & incomes whereof to be annually
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accounted to ye settled or ordained minister or ministers of Groton successively, as may fully appear by sd will, reference thereto being had ; & delivered into ye hands & improvement of sd M! Dana, as appears by his bond for y' same, dated Sept. 4. 1761. And sd Trustees are further chosen, instructed & impowered when they receive sd money, to offer it to our Rev" Pastor Daniel Chaplin, to remain in his hands & improvement during ye chh's pleasure ; & if he should not chuse to receive it, to let it out to interest, taking good security to themselves as Trustees, & their successors in sd office or trust ; so that y' profits & incomes thereof may be annually accounted for to ye settled or ordained minister or ministers of ye town forever hereafter, according to ye true intention of ye Donor.
The chh of Christ in Groton having for some time been dissatis- fied w' yr brethren Col: Josiah Sartell, Capt. Joseph Shepley & M: John Gragg, for withdrawing ymselves from our communion, & from public worship w' us at ye public meeting house & for joining w' others in setting up an irregular society in opposition to this chh, & against ye peace & happiness of this town, in which society ye sacred rite of baptism has been administered, & an attempt has been made to incorporate a chh, contrary to ye rules of ye gospel & ye constitution of ye congregational chbs in N. England ; and having endeavored, without success, to convince ym of yr errors & reclaim ym to yr duty, by sending committees to confer wt ym; took into serious & prayerful consideration yr cases at a chb-meet- ing held at ye public meeting house in sd town. Sept. 30! 1782. & came to ye following result & determination thereon.
1. The chh think it proper to express yr sentiments more gene- rally in regard to members breaking communion w' ye chh to which they belong, in ye subjoined resolutions.
1. Resolved as ye opinion of this chh yt particular members of a chh have no right to break communion with ye chh they belong to, unless for some weighty & important reasons, & reasons of such a nature yt it would be sinful & displeasing in ye sight of God for ym to continue any longer in yr communion. And even where there are such reasons existing for non-communion, certain steps are to be previously taken in order thereto, if it shall finally be necessary to withdraw, which steps are pointed out to us in ye word of God.
2. That a member's being offended with one or more of his brethren for any fault either supposed or real, provided ye chb in
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general have not by any public act of their's justified or counte- nanced ye brother or brethren in sd fault, is no just ground or reason for his withdrawing from public worship, or from ye com- munion & fellowship of ye chh at ye Lord's table. But if ye offence be a matter of any considerable importance & ye interests of religion require particular notice to be taken of it, he is in duty bound to go to ye offender or offenders, & in a private & friendly manner tell ym yr fault. If he does not gain satisfaction by this method, then in case ye matter be of such a nature yt it cannot be proved, he must & ought to let it wholly drop; but if it be capable of good proof, ye next step is, to take one or two more of his brethren along with him, & go & converse ye matter over calmly with ye offenders before these witnesses -& if satisfaction cannot be obtained by this means, but ye offenders should appear to be obstinate, then he must tell it to ye chh at large, or make his appeal to ym for ye decision of ye case. But while all this is doing, he has no right to absent himself from ye Lord's table, or from public worship with his brethren, on account of ye offence which he has received. We know of no rule in ye word of God yt allows him to omit his duty, or requires him to forego his privilege, because he may be fully persuaded, in his own mind, yt some others do not walk according to yr christian profession.
3. If a member has offended one or more of his brethren, & he does not consent to make yin private satisfaction, complaint being made against him to ye chh, (according to ye general usage of these congregational chhs from ye first settlement of ye country) he must be denied ye privilege of special ordinances, untill such time as ye chh hath determined him to be blameless, or he has made satisfaction by an acknowledgment of ye fault.
4. Such is ye near & sacred relation yt subsits between ye sev- eral members of any particular chh, & such yr mutual engage- ments to continue in communion one with another, yt a member, offended & aggrieved with the chh in general, is obliged by ye laws of Christ to make known to ym ye cause of his grievance, endea- voring to convince & reclaim ym, & to be convinced himself if he should lie in an error ; even tho' he should have reason to think there would be a great majority of ye chh against him. If he does not succeed in this attempt, but after all he can say they differ in yr sentiments from him & suppose yiselves to be blameless, he must make ye offer of referring ye mitter to ye judgment & advice of a
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mutual council. And if they will not hearken to this proposal, he may call a council himself, to advise him what further steps to take to obtain redress ; or if they shall judge his difficulties groundless, to recommend it to him to sit down easy & contented.
2. The chh express sentiments more particularly in regard to the cases of these our offending brethren in ye following manner,
It gives us very sensible pain & grief to see these our brethren walking contrary to yr profession, & even persisting so long in what to us appears a most evident violation of obligations ye most sacred, which they have heretofore voluntarily laid ymselves under to this chh. We have been led to delay this act of discipline towards ym much longer in hopes yt by reflection they would be bro't to a sense of yr duty, to retract yr errors & return again to us. But notwith- standing ye length of time which has elapsed, & ye measures we have taken to convince & bring ym to yr duty, they still appear obsti- nately set in ye wrong, to ye dishonor of yr religious character, & to ye prejudice & injury of Christ's cause & kingdom in ye world. We consider yt while they remain in ye body they are compassed about with weakness & temptation like other professors of chris- tianity, & we feel a disposition to make all that allowance for human infirmity which that christian charity requires, yt in scrip- ture is said to cover a multitude of sins. We have been neither precipitate in coming to a final determination respecting ym, nor have we taken ye matter up & pursued it to this conclusion without being moved thereto by a sense of duty. The great head of ye chh, as we are convinced, has enjoined it upon us to manifest our displeasure for such irregular & unchristian conduct as their's ap- pears to us to be, & to withhold our christian society & fellowship from ym in special ordinances, untill they manifest repentance & reformation. And this appears plainly to be our duty from that injunction of St Paul; "Now we command you, brethren, in ye name of our Lord Jesus Christ, yt ye withdraw yourselves from every brother yt walketh disorderly, & not after ye tradition which he received of us. And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, & have no company w' him, yt he may be ashamed. Yet count him [not] as an enemy, but admonish him as
brother." In regard to these our brethren, who, we verily appre- hend, have walked disorderly & not according to ye rules given us in ye word of God, we are yrefore constrained by a sense of ye duty we owe unto God, to ye people of God in general, to ourselves,
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& to these brethren, in this manner to declare our entire disappro- bation of this irregular & criminal behavior ; & yt we cannot hold communication with ym in ye special ordinances of ye gospel, untill they shall remove ye ground of offence by repentance & a return to yr duty. But if it should be ye case with ym yt they should be dis- posed to make that satisfaction which ye gospel requires those who have gone astray as they have done. to make ; it will give us sensi- ble pleasure to receive ym again to ye arms of our christian charity & holy fellowship. [68-86] We pray God yt they may be bro't from ye path of sin & error, to ye acknowledgment of ye truth, & to ye way of peace & holiness, yt having escaped ye snare of ye devil yr end may be eternal life thro' Jesus Christ.
It is our opinion also yt those persons who are in covenant & have not as yet desired any higher privilege of communion with ye chh than in ye ordinance of baptism, who have of late ( unwarrant- ably as we think) withdrawn from this congregation, & been en- gaged in setting up a separate, unconstitutional society in this town for public worship, which was mentioned in ye beginning of this result, & have offered their children in baptism there ; in so doing have acted an unjustifiable part in ye sight of God, have forfeited yr right to baptism with us, & must lay under ye displeasure of this chh so long as they do not repent & return.
The chh voted ye foregoing result very unanimously, & yt it be read to ye congregation ye first convenient opportunity, & be re- corded in ye chh-books. And chose a committee of two brethren to inform these brethren yt ye chh had laid ym under censure.
For ye minutes of ye steps taken with ym previous to this final determination. See papers N: 9 on file.
See the first volume of this Historical Series ( Number xiv. 21-25), for an account of the Presbyterian Controversy in connection with the preceding matter.
May 9. 1783. At a meeting of the chh for religious exercises, after which ye brethren tarried & voted, that Deacon Benje Ban- croft be a committee to receive & keep a State-Note given to Thomas Parks, now ye property of this chh, & being in paper- money to get it consolidated as soon as he can conveniently ; & also another Note given by Jonathan Lawrence to a former com- mittee of this chh, & call upon him for ye interest now due upon sd
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