USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Brookline > Historical sketches of Brookline, Mass. > Part 17
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Voted, " that three men be chosen and appointed to survey the limits of this town, and to find the centre or middle thereof, and to enquire where a convenient place may be procured where- on to build a meeting-house as near the centre of said town as may be."
Voted, " that Samuel Aspinwall, John Druce, and Peter Boylston, be appointed a committee to manage the affair relat- ing to the meeting-house aforesaid."
There were several places proposed, and a Committee of the General Court was called to visit the places.
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238
HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF BROOKLINE.
The record of the next Town Meeting contains the fol- lowing : -
December 2, 1713. At this meeting Mr. Caleb Gardner, Jr., did offer and bequeath, ratify and confirm unto the town of Brookline a piece of land nigh to his Dwelling House, lying westward therefrom on the left-hand of the roadway leading to Roxbury, whereon to build a Meeting House for the Public Worship of God."
Voted, " that Lieut. Thomas Gardner, Lieut. Samuel As- pinwall, Mr. Joseph White, Mr. Thomas Steadman and John Seaver, be a committee to treat with Mr. Caleb Gardner, above said, about the bounds of said piece of land, and to desire of him a legal conveyance and confirmation thereof to said town."
Voted, " that the Meeting House aforesaid should be of the same dimensions with the Meeting House in the southwest part of Roxbury."
Voted, " that Lieut. Thomas Gardner, Lieut. Samuel Aspin- wall, Mr. Erosamond Drew, Mr. Thomas Steadman and Mr. John Seaver, be a committee to manage the concern, or affair of building the above said Meeting House."
The Committee of the General Court decided upon the site above mentioned, and there seems to have been no further opposition.
Mr. Caleb Gardner lived in a house directly opposite what is now the Cemetery, but it must be remembered that the Cemetery had not then been bought or its loca- tion decided upon. Mr. John Hammond's old house was standing just about where the entrance to Mr. Kennard's place now is, and Mr. Gardner's between that and the present parsonage.
From Mr. Gardner's, to the house now occupied by Mr. Chapin, there was no building except the old school-house in " the fork of the roads."
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239
THE FIRST MEETING-HOUSE.
All was woods on both sides of the way, and neither Cypress Street nor Boylston Street were thought of. The exact spot given by Mr. Gardner was that now cov- ered by the stable west of the parsonage, and a small piece of the garden of the latter place. Mr. Samuel Clark, as has been previously stated, was the builder. The frame was raised November 10, 1714. The young carpenter and another youth, Mr. Isaac Gardner, when the frame was raised, played at leap-frog on the ridgepole. They lived to be, the one eighty-one years of age, and the other eighty-three, and each came to the same place of worship in his old age supported by two canes or . crutches. The meeting-house was forty-four feet long and thirty-five feet wide. It originally contained but fourteen pews, and several long benches. There was a gallery round three sides, and probably long benches therein for the children, who in those days never sat with their parents. Afterward fourteen more pews were added.on the floor and four in the gallery. There was no steeple to this house till the town voted in September, 1771, to build one, and accepted thankfully the bell which was presented by Nicholas Boylston, Esq. The pulpit was of oak, and upon it was kept an hour-glass for meas- uring the time. A clock was a luxury not yet aspired to by the fathers of the town.
The building stood with the side to the road, entrances at each end, and a door in the centre of the front. The steeple was at the west end. The bell presented by Mr. Boylston was a very fine toned one, but was cracked in 1803, much to the regret of the people. The pulpit was overhung by an immense sounding-board, which threat- ened the minister like a large extinguisher.
The people were arranged by a person appointed in Town Meeting for that purpose, according to dignity, age, standing, etc.
240
HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF BROOKLINE.
The church was gathered the 26th of October, 1717, by Rev. Mr. Thayer, of the Second Church in Roxbury. There were seventeen male members, and twenty-two females.
The arrangement of the people, after the pews were sold April 29, 1718, was on this wise : -
Samuel Sewall, next the pulpit, west.
John Winchester, Sen., next west.
Capt. Sam. Aspinwall, Northwest corner.
Lieut. Thomas Gardner, between west door and men's gallery stairs.
John Seaver, between west door and men's gallery stairs.
John Druce, left of men's gallery stairs.
Joseph Gardner, left of front door.
Josiah Winchester, Sen., right of front door.
Thomas Stedman, right of women's gallery stairs.
William Sharp, left of east door.
Ensign Benj. White, right of east door.
Peter Boylston, Northeast corner.
Ministerial Pew, right of pulpit stairs.
One of the above mentioned Benjamin Whites, and Lieutenant Thomas Gardner, were the first deacons, and were chosen in 1718.
Deacon White lived in a house which stood on the site of the present residence of Colonel Lyman. This house was purchased by Hon. Jonathan Mason, who had it torn down in 1809. Between the floors of this house was found a carefully folded paper, which contained an account of the manner in which the congregation was seated March 9, 1719. " Whole number of individuals seated, 66, of whom 28 couples were men and wives."
In the men's foreseat, in the body seats, are seated Jo- siah Winchester, Captain Aspinwall, Joseph Gardner, and Edward Devotion.
241
SEATING OF THE CONGREGATION.
- In the second seat, are seated William Story, Joseph Goddard, Thomas Woodward, Daniel Harris, and John Ackers.
In the third seat, are seated James Griggs, Samuel Newell, Abraham Chamberlain, Ebenezer Kendrick, and Robert Harris.
In the fourth seat, are seated Thomas Lee, William Davis, and Joseph Scott.
In the front foreseat in the gallery, are seated Caleb Gardner, Josiah Winchester, Samuel White, Henry Win- chester, Joseph Adams, Robert Sharp, Thomas Cotton, and Samuel Clark, Jun.
In the foreseat in the side gallery, are seated Joshua Stedman, William Gleason, Dudley Boylston, Addington Gardner, John Taylor, Stephen Winchester, and Philip Torrey.
In the second seat in the front, are seated Isaac Glea- son, John Wedge, Thomas Woodward, Jun., and James Goddard.
In the women's foreseat, in the body seats, are seated the wife of Josiah. Winchester, Sen., the widow Ackers, the wife of Joseph Gardner, and the wife of Edward De- votion.
In the second seat, are seated the wife of William Story, the wife of Joseph Goddard, the wife of Thomas Woodward, the wife of Daniel Harris, the wife of John Ackers, and the widow Hannah Stedman.
In the third seat, the wife of James Griggs, the wife of Samuel Newell, the wife of Abraham Chamberlain, the wife of Ebenezer Kenrick, and the wife of Robert Harris.
In the fourth seat, the wife of Thomas Lee, the wife of William Davis, and the wife of Joseph Scott.
In the front foreseat in the gallery, the wife of Samuel White, the wife of Henry Winchester, the wife of Joseph
242
HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF BROOKLINE.
Adams, the wife of Robert Sharp, and the wife of Sam- uel Clark, Jun.
In the foreseat in the side gallery, the wife of Joshua Stedman, the wife of William Gleason, the wife of Dud- ley Boylston, the wife of Addington Gardner, the wife of John Taylor.
In the second seat in the front, the wife of John Wedge and the wife of James Goddard.
A fast day was appointed on the third of July, 1718, " to seek Divine direction in the ordination of a minis- ter."
On the 5th of November the same year, the Rev. James Allen of Roxbury was ordained first minister of the church.
Mr. Allen lived, as we have before mentioned, in a house on the south side of Walnut Street, opposite the head of Cypress Street.
Mr. Allen preached here more than twenty-eight years. He died in February, 1747, aged fifty-six years. His death was caused by a lingering consumption. He was buried in Brookline Cemetery. During his ministry one hundred and fifteen were added to the church, " besides forty-four who owned the Covenant without coming to the Lord's table." The baptisms were two hundred and sixty-one. Mr. Allen was called "a pious and judicious divine." There are seven sermons of his now extant which were published during his lifetime, which have been said to " do equal honor to his head and heart."
The period of Mr. Allen's ministry, however, was not without its troubles. During the time of powerful relig- ious excitement produced by the preaching of Rev. George Whitefield, the Brookline church was much affected by it; and Mr. Allen described this work in a letter to Rev. Wm. Cooper in glowing terms, saying, that "scores of persons have been under awakenings."
243
SECEDERS.
It seems, however, that during six years from 1738 to 1744, there were but twenty-two added to the church. The effect of the excitement, however, like similar relig- ious fervors in our own times, was to produce a reaction, and in less than a year from the time Mr. Allen wrote his enthusiastic letter to Mr. Cooper and the Convention of orthodox ministers, he condemned the whole thing as a delusion.
The effect of this revulsion of feeling on his part was to cause six of the leading members of his church to secede with their families. They wrote him a caustic letter in which they say, " Now we desire with humility and meek- ness to give you the reasons of our withdrawal from you and your church."
We copy from this paper a few of the reasons given by the seceders for their course.
" I. The first reason we shall mention, is Mr. Allen's speaking against that, which we think to be the glorious work of God, but he calls it a delusion.
"II. His speaking against those ministers, which we believe the Lord has sent out to invite sinners to Christ. Mr. Allen warns people not to go to hear them, and said they who go to hear them go upon the Devil's ground.
" III. We cannot join with Mr. Allen in letting in those to preach who we fear are strangers to the life and power of God in their souls ; because they preach only the form, as we think. One of which coming into Mr. Allen's house one time, he said he had as lief see the Devil."
There were other similar reasons given, and the paper was signed by Ebenezer Kendrick, Nath'l Shepard, John Seaver, Jr., Elhanan Winchester, Jr., Richard Seaver, Dudley Boylston, Jr.
This secession, from this and other churches, was the
244
HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF BROOKLINE.
origin of the "New Lights." They began to hold meet- ings in Mr. Shepard's house, which was where the Pub- lic Library now stands, and was afterwards known as the Dana house.
Those who lived in the upper part of the town held meetings at Mr. Winchester's, afterward " the Richards Tavern." The sect finally broke up, and distributed its members among Baptists and Shakers. We shall give a further account of Elhanan Winchester at some future time.
The Rev. Mr. Allen remained firm in the Orthodox faith till his death, notwithstanding his disapproval of itinerant revivalists and the measures they employed. But the effect of the division and unkind feeling among his people was to render Mr. Allen very unhappy, and is said to have been the cause of the consumption which ended his life.
After Mr. Allen's decease the Society gave a call to the Rev. Cotton Brown, son of a minister of Haverhill; he was ordained October 26, 1748. Those who read the account of the Walley house will remember that he was there mentioned as having been engaged to Mr. Allen's daughter, and that the Walley house (so called) was built for him to live in. The young lady, however, died in 1750, and Mr. Brown died in 1751, aged twenty-five years, having been pastor of the church not quite two years and a half.
The eminent Dr. Cooper of Brattle Street Church, spoke thus of his character at the time of his decease : -
" He was a gentleman who, by the happiness of his genius, his application to study, and taste for polite literature, his piety and prudence, his sweetness of temper, and softness of manners, had raised in his friends the fairest hopes, and gave them just reason to expect in him one of the brightest ornaments of society and a peculiar blessing to the church."
245
EXPENSES OF ORDINATION.
Mr. Brown was buried in Brookline Cemetery.
The next clergyman who accepted a call to the Brook- line Church was Mr. Nathaniel Potter, of Elizabeth, New Jersey, who was ordained pastor of the church November 19, 1755. He remained in this connection three years and a half. He had been hastily called, from a distant city, without credentials, and was as hastily settled. Of him Dr. Pierce remarked in an anniversary sermon, that " though professedly orthodox in faith, he was destined, during a short ministry, to give woeful emphasis to the apostle's monition, ' Lay hands suddenly on no man.' "
A bill presented to the town by Deacon Elisha Gard- ner for the expenses of this man's ordination, possesses a curious interest when viewed with modern eyes.
to monney Pad at The ordanation. old tenor £ 6. 0 0 0
to Rum
£1.14.0
to Shugar
£ 1.1 0.6
to spice
to turces (turkeys ?)
3 0.0.0.
to fouls
1.1.0 0
to pork
3046
to crambres
0080
to puding pans
0150
£18.0 26
Of this charge the Selectmen ordered the paying of £. 2. s. 8. d. 4. and probably the Society paid the rest. Ordinations in those days evidently involved the consid- eration of material as well as spiritual wants, for the time being.
REV. JOSEPH JACKSON.
After the removal of Mr. Potter, the church extended a call to the Rev. Joseph Jackson, at that time a tutor at Cambridge. He had occasionally preached for the Brook- line society, and was much liked by his hearers.
246
HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF BROOKLINE.
Mr. Jackson accepted the invitation, and was ordained fourth minister of the church, April 9, 1760. The only relic or memorial of his ordination which we have been able to trace out is the bill for the expenses of the dinner. It is somewhat similar to that of his predeces- sor.
" Brookline, 1760. Elisha Gardner's accompt to providing at the Ordination of mr Joseph Jackson old tenor
to cash for Sundries at the ordination £14. 00. 0
to cash for crambres and Ross water 2. 00. 0
to cash for butter and Eggs and Pickels 2.15. 0
to cash for to pay the Cakes 6. 00. 0
£24. 15. 6
Errors Excepted. Allowed by the Selectmen."
The rum being omitted, perhaps the rosewater served instead.
Evidently some repairs were, made on the church- building and things put in order generally, for the com- ing of the new minister, as we find the following bill; dated two days after the ordination: -
" April the 11 Day 1760. for work Brookline Meeting house on the Pulpit Laying a floore in the Same and Raising the Same and Paint and Paint- ing, for weather Boairds and Doore. £2 .- 2 .- 8
caseings for one End of the Meetting hous
0-5-4
for a Lock for the Doore and a Paire of
9-4
hinges
5-9
for three Bolts and three Quarters of a hundred of Board nails.
4-8
for the Doors and Step. Except Arrows.
1 .- 10-0
£.4-17-9
EBENEZER THWING.
247
MR. JACKSON - AN INCIDENT.
A year later was the following : -
BROOKLINE March 19, 1861.
The Select men of Brookline in Behalf of ye town to Joshua Davis Dr. Decem 16th.
To a Shutter for the Meting-house & a Draw for ye Bible £0. 5-4.
Puting up ye same
To a bench for the School and mending seats 5-4
Errors Excepted.
10-8
JOSHUA DAVIS.
Mr. Jackson married Hannah, daughter of John Avery, Esq., of Boston. He occupied the house which his pre- decessors had occupied, during nearly twenty years of his ministry. During his absence one day the house took fire, and though not wholly destroyed, was badly dam- aged.
Dr. Aspinwall, who was passing, rendered efficient ser- vice in saving Mr. Jackson's library. In May, 1781, the ground occupied for now nearly a century for a parson- age lot, was given for that purpose by Mrs. Walcott, a daughter of Judge Sewall, and a house was built the fol- lowing year, into which Mr. Jackson removed, and there he spent the remainder of his days.
Mr. Jackson was admired by many as a preacher ; he seems to have been greatly respected and beloved by his people ; but there was an awe amounting almost to fear on the part of the children and young people of the parish. Perhaps the austere manners, the style of dress, and the powdered wig worn by the clergy of those days, may have had something to do with this feeling.
An incident is related of the boys of those days, which illustrates this point. In the old meeting-house the chil- dren occupied the gallery. A broad balustrade ran along
248
HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF BROOKLINE.
the front of this, and one Sunday a stray dog having -
found his way into the gallery, mounted this balustrade and took a survey of the congregation. Either with or without the help of the boys, the dog by a sudden lurch was precipitated into the pew of Mr. Winchester, below, with such violence as to split the seat. What the conse- quence was to the dog is not reported. But the boys, in spite of minister and tything man, were convulsed with laughter which they could not repress.
The next day, when they were having their recess at the brick school-house, the dignified clergyman was seen walking up the hill. When he reached the school-house not a boy was to be found far or near. Over walls, be- hind fences, into the woods, anywhere out of sight of the minister, they scattered like frightened partridges, and kept still till he had gone, invisible as Roderick Dhu's men till the whistle was blown.
When he called on his parishioners, the children often hid themselves till his visit was over. Not that he was unkind, or intentionally repellant to the little ones, but the office of minister was held in greater sanctity then than now, and the children were taught to fear him. Many a child used to hide behind the wall when about to meet him on the street, rather than make the bow or courtesy which the custom of the times demanded.
In 1790, Mr. Jackson lost his only son, an affliction from which he never fully recovered.
Like Mr. Allen, he too had some parish troubles, prin- cipally arising from the preaching of the " New Lights." Mr. Elhanan Winchester, previously alluded to, had a son of the same name, who was nine years of age when Mr. Jackson came to Brookline. This young man be- came a Baptist, and afterwards a Universalist, preach- ing the final restoration of all men, a doctrine which
249
REV. JOSEPH JACKSON.
gave Mr. Jackson much trouble. Mr. Jackson's health began to fail. after the death of his son, but it was his constant prayer that his life and his usefulness might terminate together. His prayer was answered, for he continued to preach till the last Sabbath of his life, and even made arrangements for the supply of his pulpit for the following Sunday. He died on the 22d of July, 1796, aged sixty-two years, having been pastor of the Brookline Church thirty-six years.
Such was his extreme modesty and diffidence that he never would allow a sermon of his to be published, and he ordered that all his manuscripts should be destroyed at his death.
Mr. Jackson was not buried in Brookline, but his body was carried to Boston, and deposited in his family tomb. He left a daughter, Sarah, who married Atherton Thayer, Esq., of Braintree, and after his death, his brother Ste- phen. She died in 1809, leaving a son and three daugh- ters. Mrs. Jackson died in 1800.
In the year 1759, Mr. Samuel White gave a wood-lot in Newton, to the First Church, for the perpetual use of the ministry in Brookline.
An old bill in our possession reads as follows : -
" Augst ye 3 1763 Deacon this may inform you that I have carted the Revnd mr Jackson four cord & a half of wood & I pray you when you and your brethren the Select men meet you would writ me an ordr for my money & in so doing you will oblige yours to serve
old tenor.
22-10-0.
JOSIAH WOODARD "
Mr. Jackson was a smoker, and when the ministers met at his house, it was customary for him to invite such of his guests as indulged in the same habit, to share in a 17
250
HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF BROOKLINE.
social smoke. An old tin case for pipes and tobacco, and a pair of tobacco tongs, were long preserved in the family of his successor, not for use, but as curiosities.
The religious views held by Mr. Jackson and his pre- decessors, were those now held by conservative, or old school, Orthodox churches. The dividing line between Unitarianism and Orthodoxy had not then been so sharply defined as to leave the Brookline Church on the liberal side. Mr. Jackson was much lamented by many friends, not only in his own church, but in other places. Many persons were in the habit of walking a long dis- tance, some even from Dorchester, to hear him preach. · With all his diffidence and modesty about preaching on public occasions (which it was his habit to decline), he was fearless in denouncing what he believed to be er- rors, either in belief or practice, among his own people.
When the people of this country were suffering from impoverishment by the Revolutionary War, and many were content to pay their obligations to their clergymen in depreciated currency, the Brookline people showed their appreciation and regard for Mr. Jackson, by allow- ing him, from year to year, above his stated salary, as much more, as covered all his annual expenses.
1
251
REV. DR. PIERCE.
CHAPTER XIII.
REV. DR. PIERCE : BIOGRAPHY. - MR. PHILBRICK AND THE ANTI-SLAVERY MOVEMENT. - POLLY HATCH : ANECDOTES, HER MARRIAGE AND DEATH.
TN writing at the head of this chapter the name of the venerable clergyman so well remembered and so much beloved in our town, we feel that we are only just begin- ning the story of the First Church, he was so long iden- · tified with it, and was so essentially a part of Brookline. In the language of Rev. Dr. Putnam, on a memorable occasion, " As I understand it, Dr. Pierce is Brookline, and Brookline is Dr. Pierce."
He was so truly identified with all our local interests, that Brookline has never seemed the same since his de- parture, to those who knew him, that it did before.
Dr. Pierce was born in Dorchester, July 14, 1773. He graduated, holding high rank in his class, at Harvard College, in 1793. He was for the two succeeding years assistant preceptor at Leicester Academy. In 1795, he commenced the study of theology with Rev. Thaddeus Mason Harris, of Dorchester.
In 1797, he was invited to fill the vacancy in the Brookline Church, caused by the death of Mr. Jackson. He held at that time a tutorship at Harvard College. The invitation was accepted, and he was ordained pastor of the Brookline Church, March 15, 1797.
In October of the following year, he was married to Miss Lovell of Medway, who had been one of his pupils
-
252
HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF BROOKLINE.
at the Academy. She died in July, 1800, leaving an in- fant son, who lived but two years.
In 1802, Dr. Pierce was married to Lucy Tappan of Northampton, a lady beloved for her quiet virtues, and who lived to a venerated old age.
The old church edifice, which had now been standing more than fourscore years, was quite inadequate to ac- commodate the increased population of the town. The congregation received quite a large accession soon after Dr. Pierce's ordination, of Dorchester people, who re- moved here, following their fellow townsman, in whom they took a just pride. Among these were the Robin- sons, Withingtons, Leedses, Tolmans, and others.
The subject of building a new meeting-house was soon agitated, and some mischievous person, probably desiring to facilitate the matter, set fire to the old one. It was soon discovered, and extinguished after some dam- age to one of the rear corners.
May 16, 1804, it was voted to build a new meeting- house on the site of the old one. This, however, was found to be impracticable for various reasons, and the vote was reconsidered. On the 5th of September of the same year, it was voted to build the meeting-house on the spot occupied by the present house.
In April, 1805, the corner-stone was laid. The frame was raised by the help of machinery in a few days. The architect and master-builder was Mr. Peter Banner, an Englishman. This man settled in Brookline, and for many years after his death his widow occupied the house in Aspinwall Avenue, now owned by Mr. Melcher.
The new meeting-house stood fronting the street, with a grass plat in front of it. It was sixty-eight feet long, and sixty-four feet wide, with a porch nineteen feet long and thirty-eight feet wide. There were lobbies or ante-
--------
253
THE MEETING-HOUSE.
rooms each side of the porch, eleven feet square. There was no cellar under the building, it being a rocky foun- dation, and the house was raised up a little from the ground, and openings on either side in the under-pinning afforded space for ventilation. The height of the house was thirty-five feet and six inches from the foundation to the eaves. The spire measured one hundred and thirty-seven feet from the ground.
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