USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Marlborough > Historical sketch of the First Congregational Church in Marlborough, Mass., with the exercises at the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of Rev. Sylvester F. Bucklin's ordination, as Pastor of said church > Part 4
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April 29, 1835, the Union Society voted to take down the old Meeting House which had been standing since 1806, and erect a new one on nearly the same spot. This new House was dedicated Sept. 15, 1836.
As the First Parish made it a condition of union, that Mr. Forbush should be dismissed, his connection with the Evangelical Society was dissolved March 26, 1834, by an Ecclesi- astical Council. He was soon afterwards in- stalled over the Congregational Church in Northbridge.
In October of the same year, a call was given to Rev. Joseph Fuller to settle with them in the ministry, but the call was declined.
On the 24th of April 1836, the church " vot- ed that the name of this church be changed from the East Church in Marlborough to the Union Church in Marlborough, to cor- 6*
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respond with the name of the Union Society, with which we are connected."
In removing the old Meeting House, and erecting the new one, some very serious and unexpected difficulties were encountered. The Meeting House was claimed by the town, be- cause the town had built it; it was claimed by the pew holders, in part at least. because they had property invested in it ; it was also claimed by the Society, because they had the control of it. But a law had been passed in April 1834, abolishing the old method of meeting ministe- rial and Parish expenses, and establishing our present Parish system, and the rule of taxation for its support. According to the provisions of this law it was found, that the House now belonged to the Parish and not to the Town, and that only the pew holders had any real claim upon it. A Committee of disinterested per- sons was therefore chosen to appraise the pews, and the amount of the appraisal of each pew was tendered to its owner in the presence of witnesses. In this manner, after a very severe struggle, the Society gained complete control of the Meeting House, with full liberty to repair or remove it as they pleased. In accom- plishing this object, and in erecting the new
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House, no one was probably so active and so influential, as the late Dea. David Goodale.
Rev. John N. Goodhue was the first pastor settled over the Union Church. He was grad- uated at Amherst College in the year 1>30, and was ordained pastor of this Church May 4, 1836. The order of exercises at his ordina- tion were as follows: Introductory services, Rev. Mr. Cross of Boxboro'; Prayer by Rev. Mr. Long of Milford ; Sermon by Rev. Hub- bard Winslow of Boston; Ordaining Prayer, by Rev. Mr. Hyde of Wayland ; Charge to the Pastor by Rev. Mr. Phinney of Westboro'; Fellowship of the Churches, by Rev. Mr. Paine of Holden ; Address to the People, by Rev. Mr. Fay of Northboro'; Concluding Prayer. by Rev. Mr. Trask of Framingham. His Salary was $600.
Mr. Goodhue's ministry was short, lasting only a little more than three years; but brief as it was, it was yet long enough to show his ability as a preacher, his faithfulness as a pas- tor, his usefulness as a minister of the Gospel, and also to secure for him an affectionate and lasting remembrance in the hearts of his peo- ple. The Church Records have the following notice under the date of Sept. 13, 1839. "At
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3 o'clock P. M., our Pastor, Rev. John N. Good- hue, died of typhus fever, after an illness of three weeks. He ministered to us, before and after ordination, three years and a half, and died beloved and lamented, aged 29 3 years."
On the last Sabbath that he preached to his people, he delivered three sermons from Eccl. 9: 10: " Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave whither thou goest." These sermons, which he preached with unusual earnestness and solemnity, proved to be his last earthly labor. He retired from his pulpit to sicken and die. The singular energy manifest in the delivery of his sermons was probably the first stages of that feverish and fatal delirium, which was soon to settle down upon and cloud his reason. These discourses were published after his death, together with a "Tribute" to his memory, which appeared in the Boston Recor- der, from which the following extracts are taken.
" As a preacher, Mr. Goodhue was clear. plain, pungent, always energetic. often very powerful. His views of di- vine truth were bold and original, his illustrations of doc trine, of which his sermons were full, were uncommonly
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apt and striking, and his application of truth to the con- sciences of his hearers were generally of that convincing kind from which there is no escape. Doctrinal preaching was his forte. Strictly evangelical, without narrowness or illiberality, jealous for what he considered God's mes- sage to his creatures, undaunted in its advocacy, impatient of the pr valence of error, yet resisting it in the spirit of a Christian, he delighted in going down into the gospel and bringing up from thence some great neglected doc- trine, and then endeavoring to wield it in the name of the Lord.
" Mr. Goodhue's mind was emphatically a ready mind. ' Semper parat is '-always ready-was his motto. Hence his remarkable fluency, in preaching, in prayer, in conver- sation. His memory was not merely uncommon, it was vast. He could remember the plans of all the sermons he ever wrote. and could repeat passages from his favorite authors, for hours, without exhaustion.
" As a pastor, too much cannot be said in praise of the departed. He was always about his Master's business- instant in season, out of season-wholly devoted to his p ople. The sick, the dying, the aged, the infirm were the objects of his constant care. His only error in the pastoral work was that too common error of the youthful clergy of the present day, attempting to do too much at once."
" After preaching on the last Sabbath, " intense pains soon settled in his head, and in four days he was placed on a bed of fevered anguish, his reason clouded and at times shrouded in delirium. But in all and under all he was submissive and patient as a little child. Many a sweet prayer he made upon that bed of death, and many a holy
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thought escaped his lips. Much of the time he evidently thought himself in his pulpit, and would then proceed reg- ularly through the services of public worship, praying for every body, singing with the choir, naming the text. and delivering the sermon throughout with great accuracy and force. At times, after a paroxysm of pain, he was heard to say, ' Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly.' Half an hour before his death, he seemed to be in the company of invis- ble beings, and with great earnestness would' exclaim, ' Oh the angels, the angels !' And so he died Sept. 13th 1839, Aged 29 years."
The Church and Society erected a Monu- ment to his memory.
During Mr. Goodhue's ministry there were seasons of special religious interest. In the year 1837, more than forty were received to this church, some by letter, but by far the larg- est number on profession of their faith. Many of these were converted through the instru- mentality of Mr. Goodhue's labors.
Oct. 21, 1836. " Voted that the Deacons of the church should be ex officio members of the Examining Committee."
" Voted that candidates for admission to the church, after having been examined by the Committee and approved by them, shall be proposed to the church as soon as convenient ; and if no objection is offered, they shall be
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publicly propounded to the church two weeks previous to admission, and be voted into the church at the Preparatory I ecture as Church members, after having assented to the Articles of Faith and having taken upon them the Covenant."
In the year 1836, a donation was made to this church by Hon. Job Goodale of Bernards- ton, Franklin County, who was a native of this town, and formerly a member of this church. The bequest runs as follows :
" I give, bequeath and devise to Jonathan Hapgood, Ezekiel Bruce, and David Goodale, Deacons of the Trini- tarian Congregational Church in Marlborough, and to their successors in said office .- the Temple Farm so called, lying in the easterly part of said Marlborough, containing about one hundred acres ; also about six acres of land, lying southwesterly about one hundred rods from the same, which I bought of Heman Stowe; to be held by said Hapgood, Bruce, and Goodale, and their successors in said office of Deacons forever,-in trust to and for the use and support, so far as the income of the same will go, of a stated, settled, Orthodox minister of the Gospel in said Parish and Society."
In Nov. 1836, this farm was sold to Richard Hemenway of Framingham, for $1600. The church voted that the money arising from the sale of this farm be kept as a fund, and that it
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be called the " Good dle Fund." The following year, Deacon Goodale offered to the church a deed of the place which he had bought of James Woods, on condition that he should receive from the church the obligations which they held against Mr. Hemenway The church " voted to accept the offer and make the ex- change, for the purpose of having a Parsonage for our Pastor." This place was afterwards sold, and the original Fund is now invested in the present Parsonage. This, with the Woods Fund before mentioned, are the only Funds belonging at present to this church.
September 1, 1837, we have the following Record. "Our Pastor and Rev. S. F. Bucklin, having been previously appointed a Committee to revise the Church Covenant and By-Laws, and to prepare a copy of the Articles of Faith for the press, presented their Report, which was accepted ; the Covenant and By-Laws being voted in, one by one, the Articles of Faith having been previously adopted in the same way."
'The Brimsmead Covenant, with a few verbal changes, had been used from the formation of the church until this time; but this church had no Articles of faith until March 18, 1836.
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This form of the Covenant and Articles of Faith are still in use at the time this sketch closes. It must not be supposed however, that, because the church had no distinct Articles of Faith, it had no standard of doctrinal belief. The Covenant refers to the Catechisms as the sys- tem of doctrine which the church adopted ; and all its members bound themselves to in- struct their children out of these orthodox standards.
The views of this church in regard to the Reforms of the day, will be seen from the fol- lowing Resolutions :
October 28. 1836. " Voted that in future, candidates for admission to this Church, shall pledge themselves to abstain from the use of distilled spirit, except as a medi- cine." This was incorporated into the Rules adopted April 1, 1837.
February 20, 1840. " Resolved, 1st That regarding Slavery, in all its forms, and under all the circumstances in which it is at this moment upheld and practised in our country, as a sin of awful magnitude in the sight of God- as in most direct opposition to the precepts of our holy religion-as a tremendous obstacle to the spread of the Gospel of Christ, and as having a dire t and powerful ten- dency to corrupt the purity, disturb the harmony, and destroy the influence of the Church, we will not knowing- ly suffer a slaveholding minister to enter our Pulpit, nor a slaveholding professor to sit at our Communion Table."
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" Resolved 2d. That the cause of the slave is entitled to the sympathies the contributions and the prayers of all, and we hereby add the Massachusetts Abolition Society to the list of Benevolent Societies to which we have pledged our countenance and support."
In February 1840, Mr. J. Addison Saxton was invited to become pastor of this church, but the invitation was declined.
December 2, 1840, Mr. George E. Day of New Haven, a graduate of Yale College and of the Theological Seminary connected with that Institution, was ordained pastor of this church. The order of exercises were as follows:
Introductory Services, Rev. Mr. Cummings of Southboro'; Prayer, Rev. Mr. Hosford, Sax- onville ; Sermon, Rev. Dr. Bacon, New Haven ; Consecrating Prayer, Rev. Mr. Cummings ; Charge to the Pastor, Rev. Mr. Brigham, Fra- mingham; Fellowship of the Churches, Rev. Mr. Buckingham, Millbury ; Concluding Pray- er, Rev. E. P. Dyer, Stow ; Benediction by the Pastor.
Mr. Day was dismissed December 23, 1847, to become pastor of the Edwards Church, North- ampton. From that place he was called to a Professorship in Lane Theological Seminary, where he still remains.
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Rev. David L. Ogden was installed pastor of this church April 26, 1848. The several parts of public services were assigned by the Coun- cil as follows :
Introductory Services, Rev Mr. Tarbox, Framingham ; Sermon, Rev. Mr. Griggs, Mill- bury ; Installing Prayer, Rev. Mr. Houghton, Northboro' ; Charge to the Pastor, Rev. Mr. Adams, Berlin ; Fellowship of the Churches, Rev. Mr. Rawson, Southboro'; Address to the People, Rev. Mr Day, Northampton ; Conclu- ding Prayer, Rev. Mr. Cooke, Stow ; Benedic- tion by the Pastor.
Mr. Ogden was dismissed July 23, 1850, and now resides in New Haven.
Rev. George Denham, now of Barre, Mass., preached as a Stated Supply from the last of July 1850. until the first of April 1853.
During the summer of 1852, the Meeting House was thoroughly repaired at an expense of about $1000, and furnished with a new organ. It was opened for public service at the Preparatory Lecture, September 17th On the evening of Wednesday, November 10th. it was discovered to be on fire, and in a short time was entirely destroyed. No satisfactory expla- nation has ever been given of the origin of the
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fire, but it is generally supposed to have been the work of an incendiary.
Measures were taken by the Society during the succeeding winter for the erection of a new House on the same spot. It was commenced in the Spring of 1853, and completed in August of the same year, at a cost of more than $10,000.
Rev. Levi A. Field, the present pastor, a native of Leverett, and a graduate of Amherst College and of Andover Theological Seminary, commenced preaching to this Society on the first Sabbath in April 1853. He was ordained the 31st of August of the same year, when the new church was first opened for public worship; the ordination and dedication being included in one service. The order of public services on that occasion were as follows :
Introductory Exercises, Rev. Mr. Ashley, Northboro'; Dedicatory Prayer, Rev. Mr. Cady, Westboro'; Sermon, Prof. Austin Phelps, An- dover ; Ordaining Prayer, Rev. Mr. Northrop, Saxonville ; Charge to the Pastor, Rev. Dr. Ely, Monson ; Fellowship of the Churches, Rev. Mr. Morse, Brimfield ; Address to the People, Rev. Mr. Bodwell, Framingham ; Con- cluding Prayer, Rev. Mr. Spear, Sudbury ; Benediction by the Pastor.
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At this point we bring this brief and imper- fect sketch to a close. We have followed along the course of this history, sometimes smooth and sometimes troubled, for a period of almost two hundred years. No friend of the church can fail to lament the strifes and divisions which facts have compelled us to record ; yet some of these have involved questions of prin- ciple which she felt compelled to maintain, and in doing it, she has been purified and strength- ened. This church has never been distin- guished for any remarkable displays of the agency of God's renewing and sanctifying Spirit ; and yet there have been all along in her history, seasons of spiritual refreshing, manifest tokens of divine favor and converting grace. She has been blessed for the most part with a devoted and faithful ministry, and some- times with men of preeminent ability and learning, and their labors have been owned and accepted of God. We cannot but express the hope, that those seasons of severe trial and bit- ter contention which have marred her earlier records, have forever passed away, and that henceforth her course is to lead over calmer and smoother seas. But if in future years she shall be made to pass through those scenes by
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which God disciplines his children ; if ever she shall meet with losses, or even be rent asunder in her efforts to preserve inviolate the purity of her doctrine ; we can only ask that she enjoy the same Presence, and be led by the same powerful Hand, which guided and strengthened our fathers.
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APPENDIX.
The following list embraces all the pastors of this church, with the date of their settlement, and also of their dis mission or decease,
WILLIAM BRIMSMEAD,
Set. Oct 3. 1666. Died, July 3, 1701. Set. Oct. 25. 1704. Died, Jan. 6, 1731.
ROBERT BRECK,
BENJAMIN KENT,
AARON SMITH,
ASA PACKARD,
SYLVESTER F. BUCKLIN,
Set. Oct. 27, 1733. Dis. Feb 4, 1735. Set. June 11, 1740. Dis. April 29, 1778. Set. March 23, 1785. Dis. April 10, 1806. Set. Nov. 2, 1808. Dis. June 20, 18:2. Set. Aug. 21. 1833. Dis. March 26, 1834. Set. May 4, 1836. 5 Died, Sept. 13, 1839. Set. Dec. 2d. 1840.
CHARLES FORBUSH,
JOHN N. GOODHUE,
GEORGE E. DAY,
DAVID L. OGDEN,
Dis. Dec. 23, 1847. Set. April 26, 1818. Dis. July 23, 1850.
LEVI A. FIELD,
Set. Aug. 31, 1853.
The following is a list of those who have held the office of deacon in this church, with the date of their elec- tion and decease, and also their age so far as is known.
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EDWARD RICE,
Elected, 1
Died, Aug. 15, 1752.
JOHN WOODS,
Died, -
Elected. June 1, 1710.
JOSEPH NEWTON,
Died,
JAMES WOODS,
Elected, Aug. 9, 1716. Died,
CALEB RICE,
Elected. March 12, 1718. Died, Jan. 5. 1739 aged 72. Elected, June 17, 1726. Died, - -
JOHN BARNES,
Elected, April 17, 1729. Died,
JAMES WOODS,
Elected, May 22, 1741. Died, Elected, May 22, 1741. Died, Elected, Oct. 14, 1742. Died, Jan. 15, 1775, aged 72.
JOSEPH TAYNTOR,
Elected, Ang. 18. 1742. Died, Feb. 19,1764 ag'd 76.
DANIEL BARNES,
Elected, May 26, 1762. Died, Mar.24, 1775,ag'd 73. Flected Oct 17 1770. Died, Jan. 12,1818 ag'd 89.
SAMUEL STOW,
Elected, Oct. 17, 1770.
SIMON STOW,
1 Died, Dec. 16, 1795.ag'd 73. ( Elected, March 20, 1776. Died,
SAMUEL HOWE,
Elected. July 3, 1794. Died, July 31, 1820.ag'd 71.
ÅBNER GOODALE,
Elected, July 3. 1794. Died, May 16, 1823, ag'd 68.
JOSIAH HOWE,
Elected, Sept. 21, 1796. Died, Jan. 15, 1827,ag'd 78.
THOMAS KEYES,
- - STEVENS,
ANDREW RICE,
THOMAS HOWE,
Elected, Sept. - 1704.
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JONATHAN HAPGOOD,
Elected, Oct. 17. 1821. Died, Apr. 12, 1849, ag'd 90.
DAVID GOODALE,
Elected Sept. 15. 1823, Died, Oct. 17, 1858, ag'd 67.
EZEKIEL BRUCE, Elected, March 13, 1827. 5 Elected, Dec. 16, 1836.
WILLIAM E. TIDD,
Dis. May 2, 1851.
WILLIAM STETSON,
Elected, Dec. 1, 1853.
JOHN E. CURTIS,
Elected, April 5, 1855.
RUFUS HOWE,
Elected, July 2, 1858.
The following list has been furnished me as including most, if not all, of those who originated in this place, and entered the ministry.
David Barnes, son of Daniel Barnes, settled in Scituate.
Benj. Brigham, son of Benj. Brigham, settled in Fitz- william, N. H.
Jonathan Barnes, son of Jonathan Barnes, settled in Hillsborough, N. H.
John Bruce, son of William Bruce, settled in Amherst, N. H.
Perley Howe, son of Simon Howe, settled in Surrey, N. H.
William B. Stowe, son of Heman Stowe, settled in Wilmington, Vt.
David Goodale, son of Nathan Goodale, settled in Hal- ifax, N. H.
Levi Brigham, son of Willard Brigham, settled in Saugus.
Edward Warren, son of Thaddeus Warren, Missionary to Ceylon.
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Jonathan Wilkins,
Willard Brigham, son of Willard Brigham, settled in Waldsborough. Vt.
Waldo Stevens, son of Temple Stevens, settled in Mans- field.
Of most of the persons contained in the f regoing list, . I have no knowledge. How many of them are now liv- ing. or where is their present location, I am unable to say. In many cases the families are broken up and scattered, and information in regard to them is very difficult to be obtained. Most of them however have long since finished their work.
Two missionaries have originated in this place : Mr. Edward Warren, mentioned above as a missionary to Cey- lon ; and M'ss Lucy Goodale, who became the wife of Rev. Mr. Thurston. missionary to the Sandwich Islands. Mr. Warren sailed for Ceylon in 1815, in company with Messrs. Meigs, Richards Bardwell and Poor ; he died in August 1818, at Cape Town, where he had gone for his health. Mrs. Thurston sailed with her husband for the Sandwich Islands in Oct. 1819, and still survives.
A Methodist Church has existed in this town for more than fifty years. Early in the present century a Class was formed by Mr. Phineas Sawyer at Felton ville, and meetings were held there from that time until 1827, when a church was erected in the north part of the town. This church was burned late in the year 1852, and in the Autumn of 1853 their present church in the center of the town was opened for public service.
The Baptist Society commenced holding meetings in Feltonville in 1844; and in 1851, their present church was erected.
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The Universalist Society commenced holding meetings in 1818. and continued them until the close of 1854. Their House of worship was erected in 1829.
Several of the neighboring towns were taken from what was formerly embracedl in Marlborough, and of course their churches once had a close connection with this church.
Westborough-so called from its including the section lying along the w o'e length of the west side of the orig- inal town of Marth ro gh-was incorporated Nov. 18, 1717. The church was formed Oct. 28, 1724, and on the same day Rev. Ebenezer Parkman, their first pastor was ordained. He continued to perform the duties of the pas- toral office mmtil within six weeks of his death, which oc- curred on the 9th of Dec. 1792, in the 80th year of his ag", and the fifty-ninth of his m nistry. He married a daughter of Rev. Robert Breck of Marlborough.
Northborough-so called from its embracing the north part of the town of W stbor >agh- vas incorporated Det. 20. 1711. The first church was githered in this town May 21, 1716, and of the sune day Rev. John Martyn was ordained as their pastor. He retained the pastoral office unt 1 April 30th 1767, wheni he died after a short sickness, in the sixty first year of his age, and the twenty- first of his ministry. Thur soud pistor, Rev. Peter Whitney, was orda ned N v. 4th, 1767.
Southorough -so culed fron its embracing the south part of the ancient towy of Mail or jag'-was incorpora- ted July 6th, 1727. The first church was organized Oct.
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24th, 1730, and Rev. Nathan Stone was ordained their first pastor on the same day. He died May 31st, 1781, in the seventy-fourth year of his age, and the fifty-first of his ministry. Rev. Samuel Sumner, the second pastor, was settled June 1st, 1791.
A
SERMON,
PREACHED IN MARLBOROUGH, MASS.,
Nov. 3, 1858, BY REV. SYLVESTER F. BUCKLIN, ON THE
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY
OF HIS ORDINATION,
AS PASTOR OF THE EAST CHURCH IN THAT TOWN.
WITH AN APPENDIX.
WORCESTER : HENRY J. HOWLAND, PRINTER, 1859.
TU MIT JO JOTHAT BA
SERMON.
AND THOU SHALT REMEMBER ALL THE WAY WHICH THE LORD THY GOD LED THEE. DEUT. 8 : 2.
The ways of Divine Providence, in the gov- ernment of the world, are often to us dark and mysterious. The dealings of God with his rational creatures are often covered with a veil too thick for the dim eye of reason to penetrate. The truth of this appears from his treatment of the children of Israel in the wilderness. No people were ever visited with greater trials, none ever experienced more signal deliveran- ces, and both these were designed to make them feel and acknowledge their dependence on and obligations to God. IIc led them forty years in the wilderness by his own hand, and although their course was indirect and circuit- ous, notwithstanding their many trials and dis- couragements, the mercy of God always pre- dominated. They were favored with many miraculous evidences of the Lord's special pres-
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ence with them, and regard for them. " He led them forth in the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation." It was on account of that series of blessings which fol- lowed the Israelites, those miraculous deliver- ances which they experienced, and trials they endured, that Moses required them to " remem- ber all the way which the Lord had led them." He well knew this would be fitted to humble them under a sense of their sins, and to lead them to exercise love, gratitude, and obedi- ence.
The same duties are required of us. Every individual, and every community, is required to remember God's dealings with them.
To review the past, to call to remembrance the various scenes through which we have been led, to see as we may and acknowledge the hand of God in them, is both instructive and profitable. " Days should speak, and multi- tude of years should teach wisdom. Consider the days of old, the years of many generations, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known unto their children. That the generation to come might know them; that they might set their hope in God and not forget the works of God." The blessings of
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God's common providence, their richness, vari- ety, and importance, added to his special inter- positions in their favor which all experience, would, if properly noticed, awaken gratitude in every heart, and lead to a devout and holy life. Under a sense of these, David was pressed with a load of gratitude, of which he could unburden himself only by daily praise. " Blessed be the lord who daily loadeth us with benefits ; even the God of our salvation." Especially should those, whose days have been prolonged beyond the ordinary period of hu- man life, who have been carried safely through all its dangers and vicissitudes, carefully notice the dealings of God with them, be humbled under a sense of their great deficiencies in duty, and incited to constant gratitude and love.
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