USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Brookline > Historical sketches of Brookline, Mass. > Part 18
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There were seventy-four pews on the floor and four- teen in the gallery. Afterwards, during Dr. Pierce's ministry, some improvements were added. No provision was ever made for warming the old church, and the women carried foot-stoves with them. The new church was warmed by two square box stoves, in which wood was burned.
The pulpit and the caps of the pews were made of southern cherry-wood, contributed by Stephen Higgin- son, Jr. The bell, which was cast in London, and weighed one thousand pounds, was given by Hon. Stephen Hig- ginson, father of the above.
Mr. John Lucas, who lived nearly opposite the Reser- voir, gave four hundred dollars, out of which was pur- chased a clock, which served faithfully as long as the old meeting-house stood, and still does duty in the old Town Hall.
Richard Sullivan, Esq., who lived on the place now owned by Mrs. Bowditch, gave a hundred and fifty dol- lars, for the stone steps. Mr. Thomas Walley gave an elegant pulpit Bible, valued at thirty-six dollars. Mr. David Hyslop gave a baptismal basin, which cost forty- seven dollars.
The whole cost of the house was $18,083. Some ad- ditional expenses, of furnishing, probably, brought the amount up to $20,193, and the whole was apportioned on the pews, which were sold at auction.
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HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF BROOKLINE.
No pew on the first floor was prized at less than one hundred and sixty dollars, and none in the gallery at less than one hundred and ten dollars. The highest cost of a pew, including a bonus paid for a choice, was five hun- dred and twenty-five dollars.
Dr. Pierce preached a valedictory sermon on leaving the old house, June 8, 1806, from the text, "Lord I have loved the habitation of thy house and the place where thine honor dwelleth."
The dedication sermon was from the words. " In all places where I record my name, I will come unto thee and I will bless thee."
The next day, the work of demolishing the old church commenced. The ancient pulpit which had been faith- fully pounded and belabored by the fists of the energetic Mr. Jackson, was denuded of its upholstery, and carried into the parsonage attic, where it served as a playhouse for the pastor's children for many years. It has since been tastefully remodeled as a bookcase, and still graces the parsonage. The hour-glass, whose sands had run through many a tedious hour for the unfed souls in the old house, or had needed turning only too quickly for the more devotional. now served its time in fleeting min- utes among the attic treasures of the little ones. The ancient pewter christening basin, from which Mr. Jack- son had bathed the infant brow of many a now gray- haired father and mother of the town, was turned to domestic uses in the pastor's house. After many vicissi- tudes it came into possession of the writer, with the ancient tin tobacco case, previously mentioned as belong- ing to Mr. Jackson. after the death of the late David R. Griggs, to whom they had been given as curiosities.
It seems that the ancient church for many years, in- stead of having a sexton, was taken care of by a slave
255
SINGING IN THE FIRST CHURCH.
belonging to the Sewall family, as Henry Sewall's bill against the town for the services of his "slave Felix," in that capacity, is still in existence.
The first white sexton of whom we can gather any account, was a man named Blanchard, who lived in a little house on the Aspinwall estate, close to Washington Street. He was succeeded, if we are correctly informed, by Captain Benjamin Bradley, who served for many years in that capacity, after the second meeting-house was built.
Very little information has come down to us respecting the singing in the First Church, in the early times. A brief note written by Mr. Jackson lets a ray of light on the forgotten history of those days. It is addressed to Mr. Isaac Gardner, who was afterwards killed at Lex- ington.
" Sir,
"BROOKLIN Aug. 8, 1763.
"I perceived it was not agreeable to you to lead in the singing yesterday - If Mr. Aspinwall does not return before ye Thanksgiving I will speak to Mr. Bowles,
Yrs.
J. JACKSON. "
What Mr. Aspinwall this was, we have no means of knowing, but it is certain that Mr. Isaac Gardner was a fine singer, and did " lead in the singing," as did his son Isaac S. Gardner, after him. The bass-viol and trom- bone were the principal instruments used. When Dr. Pierce came, a new impulse was given to the music, as he had a clear, strong voice, and sang with great energy.
After Dr. Pierce had been for some time settled in Brookline, a board of trustees was organized to take charge of all matters concerning the church music. Mr. Ebenezer Heath was president and secretary, and Dr. Charles Wild, vice-president.
£
256
HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF BROOKLINE.
By request of Mr. Heath, on behalf of the board, Mr. Benjamin B. Davis was requested to take charge of the singing, as chorister, in the year 1818. Of the faithful devotion with which for thirty-eight years he led the choir, any attendant upon Dr. Pierce's ministry for that length of time will bear witness.
The choir consisted of thirty members, many of the names being still familiar to the people of the town. Prominent among these at that time, or a little later, were Deacon Pierce, James Pierce, John Woodward, Jabez Hunting, Lewis Withington, James Leeds, Samuel Barry, Jeremiah Lyon, E. W. Stone, Eben Heath, Charles Heath, Jona Jackson, Capt. Charles Stearns, Marshall Stearns, James Robinson, the daughters of Mr. James Pierce, Eunice Ford, Ann Dunn, two daughters of Mr. Celfe, three daughters of Dr. Pierce, and some years later, Susan, the eldest daughter of Mr. Benjamin B. Davis. This young lady was not only a sweet singer, but lovely in mind and person, deservedly a favorite with all who knew her. But her fair young life, only just unfolding its charms to a loving circle of friends, was like a spring flower, the joy of but a brief season ; and the voice which had given such pleasure on earth, was called to join the choirs who praise in " the house not made with hands." Several years afterwards, the other daugh- ter of Mr. Davis, who was also a member of the choir, died young, leaving a childless father to sing sorrowfully without them.
Mr. James Pierce, who also played the bass-viol, as well as sung, took his little daughters into " the singers' seats," when they were so small that they were obliged to stand on crickets to bring their heads above the balus- trade. One of them, who was afterwards the wife of Charles Stearns, Jr., was for years the leader of the . female voices.
257
SACRED MUSIC.
The instrumental music, as there was no organ, was subject to variations at different times, but several per- formers were for years identified with the society. Among these were William H. Brown, who played the bassoon, John H. Pierce, Dr. Charles Wild, and Charles Lyon, the flute, George Murdock, bass-viol, Artemas Newell, bombadoon, Job Grush, clarionet, and somewhat later, Mr. Flagg, who for several years was hired, also played the clarionet.
Dr. Pierce attended nearly all the meetings of the choir, for practice, and his affable and courteous manners, and the intense interest which he took in sacred music, no doubt had much influence in preserving harmony among the members, and keeping up their interest. He usually stood in the pulpit and joined with great fervor in the singing. He frequently attended the Oratorios of the Handel and Haydn Society, and enjoyed them ex- ceedingly. Dr. Pierce and Dr. Bates of Dedham called a meeting of the singers of Norfolk County, to improve church music, from the use of newly published books. On one occasion when there was an unusually severe snow-storm, there were but thirteen persons at church, but Dr. Pierce went through the services as usual, and he and Mr. Davis were the choir.
Among the Doctor's parishioners was Mr. David Hys- lop, an estimable citizen, but who could not tell one tune from another. One Sunday, a stranger who was preach- ing instead of Dr. Pierce, took occasion to quote in his sermon,
"The man who has no music in his soul,
Is fit for treason, stratagem, and spoil."
Mr. Hyslop felt himself severely reflected upon, and rising from his seat near the pulpit he walked deliber- ately out.
258
HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF BROOKLINE.
It was customary to open the services with an anthem. One Sabbath morning a dog, which had ventured into the church in search of his master, had reached the broad stair near the pulpit, when suddenly, the preliminary scrape of the instruments being given, the choir burst forth in a jubilant anthem. The terrified dog, having no ear for music, set up a tumultuous barking, which accompaniment not having a tendency to promote de- votional feelings on the part of the congregation, the sexton appeared and assisted him in retiring promptly from the scene.
Great attention was given to rehearsing suitable music for Thanksgiving Days. Sometimes a sum was raised by subscription to secure the services of some extra musicians from Boston, so that there was quite an or- chestra.
In the year 1800, there were but six hundred and five inhabitants in Brookline, but it will be recollected that no other church was formed until 1828. Most of the church-going people, therefore, were attendants upon Dr. Pierce's ministry. He knew personally every man, woman, and child, who thus attended, and remembered the name and age of every child whom he baptized, and none were beneath his notice or ever forgotten.
For many years, Dr. Pierce's salary was but four hun- dred dollars, besides the rent of the parsonage and a sup- ply of firewood annually. This, however, was generously supplemented by his people by gifts of every sort, and neither he nor his large family knew any lack. This, however, was greatly owing to remarkable domestic econ- omy.
The church was thrifty but not wealthy, as the people were chiefly plain farmers or mechanics. There was however a gradual increase of merchants either active or
259
ECCENTRIC INDIVIDUALS.
retired, among the tax-payers, and an increase of wealth in the society, and also of culture.
One upholstered pew in the church was looked upon as a most aristocratic institution. This was the property of Mr. David Hyslop, who also indulged in the luxury of red morocco covered books with his family coat of arms upon them, and a drawer in the pew to hold them, greatly to the admiration or envy of the children of the less favored.
Any attempt at display in dress or manners was no- ticed fifty years ago in Brookline, as the same things are now in obscure country villages. There were eccentric individuals, curious oddities, intermingled with the gen- eral average of the people, any one of whom might be the subject of an entertaining sketch. Among these were Black Susy, of whom we have already written, who always sat in the high narrow pew above the singers' seats, known as " the negro pew," - and Miss Prudy Heath, a quaint character, who was never seen in the street without a large green cotton umbrella, yet who remembered her minister with many generous gifts. Many anecdotes are told of these persons.
There was also at one time an Englishiman, employed as a shoemaker, who appeared on Sundays at church in the afternoon in small-clothes and a generous expanse of highly ruffled shirt-bosom, always with a rose in his but- ton-hole as long as roses lasted. He was a subject for much amusement and comment, and just such a character as to call out the quizzing propensities of such a wag as the late well-remembered Jerry Davenport, who sat con- veniently near him in church. The hero of the ruffles and roses was usually asleep soon after the sermon began, and on waking had a habit of smelling at the rose he car- ried with great energy.
260
HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF BROOKLINE.
One Sunday the irrepressible Jerry, quietly reaching over the sleeper, filled the rose in his button-hole with pungent snuff, which he carried for the purpose. After a while the sleeper woke, and as usual drew out the rose and took a vigorous smell at it. Such a sneezing as fol- lowed ! Sneeze upon sneeze, which could not be held back or smothered, and the discomfited dandy made the best of his way out of church sneezing till he was out of hearing. The joke was better than a good dinner to the waggish perpetrator, who chuckled over it long afterwards with great delight.
In 1829 or 1830, Mr. Elisha Stone succeeded Captain Bradley as sexton of the church, which office he filled for thirty years. He was a plodding but faithful citizen in the duties not only of his office as sexton, but was the only undertaker and constable in the town for many years. He lived to lay away all but two of his own large family in the cemetery whither he had carried so many of our townspeople, and where at last he was borne, worn out with the infirmities of age.
Previous to Dr. Pierce's time there had been presented at various times to the First Church four silver tankards. One was the gift of Edward Devotion in 1744, one the gift of Miss Mary Allen, daughter of the first minister, in 1750 ; one was given by Miss Ann White, and one by Mrs. Susanna Sharp in 1770. In the same year two silver cups were presented by Thomas and Mary Wood- ward, and two more were given by William Hyslop in 1792. This ancient silver is still the property of the church just as it was presented.
In addition to these, two silver cups were presented by Miss Prudence Heath in 1818, and two by Deacon Robin- son and wife the same year. In the year 1805 Dr. Pierce preached a sermon on the anniversary of the completion
261
A MATTER-OF-FACT MAN.
of a century from the incorporation of the town. In 1837, when he had been settled forty years, he delivered an address called " Reminiscences of Forty Years," filled with interesting local history and rich in valuable statis- tics. In 1845, when the second Town Hall was dedi- cated, he delivered an address which exceeded the previous one in historical value, and created a great interest. It was printed and freely circulated. A valuable appendix to this document has been a mine of information, from which much material for these sketches has been drawn.
The Doctor called himself a matter-of-fact man, and he was eminently so. Not an incident of local or public interest but was treasured up in his memory ; not a birth, death, or house-raising in the town but he recorded and remembered it; not a circumstance connected with the schools or teachers, that did not enlist his interest. "There was," it has been said, almost " as much truth as wit in the remark of the late Judge Davis, when - all other at- tempts to find out having failed, and Dr. Pierce could not tell the birth-place of a certain person - he said, that it was no use to make further inquiries ; for if the Doctor did not know where the man was born, he was not born anywhere." *
A strong friendship existed between Dr. Pierce and Rev. Wm. H. Shailer, the third minister of the Baptist Church. In 1840 when the Baptist Church was enlarged and remodeled, a cordial invitation was given the people of that society to worship in the First Church while the repairs were going on. This was gratefully accepted, and Dr. Pierce and Mr. Shailer occupied the pulpit to- gether, one preaching in the forenoon and the other in the afternoon.
* A conundrum had local circulation at one time, to this effect: "Why is Dr. Pierce like a palm-tree ? " but the dullest could scarcely fail of giving the only possible answer: "Because he bears dates."
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262
HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF BROOKLINE.
When a half century from his ordination had elapsed, Dr. Pierce had a jubilee, which was one of the pleas- antest local affairs which ever occurred in the town. Scattered natives of the town came home from distant places to participate in it, and hosts of friends of the good old minister, from far and near, joined in the celebration to which he and they had long looked forward. Dr. Pierce's discourse was from the text, "I have been young and now am old." It was like the other addresses alluded to, full of historical interest, and is invaluable for the sta- tistics it contains. In the evening there was a collation at the Town Hall, and a presentation of silver-plate, money, and flowers to the venerable man who was the centre of interest. It was on this occasion that Rev. Dr. Putnam made the remark, previously quoted, that " Dr. Pierce is Brookline and Brookline is Dr. Pierce."
At this time, March 15, 1847, Dr. Pierce was in vig- orous health, and as full of energy as at any time during his life. He however consented to the appointment of a colleague, Rev. Frederic N. Krapp, who was ordained October 6, of the same year, but he continued to preach, and to take part in various meetings, both in Brookline and in various other places.
The meeting-house and the minister grew old together. There would have been something incongruous in the building of a modern church, with stained-glass windows and new and fashionable appointments, while Dr. Pierce was the only minister. The house and the minister were in perfect adaptation to each other. Many regretted that the fine substantial old edifice should be taken down. It much resembled Dr. Putnam's church on Roxbury Hill, and might have been as well preserved till the present day ; but there being no cellar under it, furnaces could not be introduced, and it was not thought advisable to re-
263
LAST ILLNESS OF DR. PIERCE.
fit a building which must be warmed by stoves. It was also difficult for Mr. Knapp to preach in it. In 1848 the new church at present standing was built. The dedica- tion took place December 1, 1848. The shrubbery around it was set out by Dr. Charles Wild, in the spring of 1849. In March, Dr. Pierce was seized with a sharp, sudden illness. Relief was obtained, but not a cure. He continued to suffer great pain, and as weeks passed on seemed gradually failing. During his long ministry he had lost only thirteen Sabbaths by ill-health, and several of those were in 1805, when he had a rheumatic fever.
He was a fine-looking, tall, large framed man, with a countenance " beaming with cheerfulness and benignity." His hair, from his early manhood, was almost white, and became beautiful in its snowy whiteness long before he was old. He remarked during his last sickness that for forty years he had not known what it was to have a phys- ical infirmity worth naming. He had always had a habit of rising early, and either sawing or splitting wood, or working in his garden for two hours or more before breakfast. He was so vigorous a walker that when on an exchange anywhere within six or seven miles, he used to go out and back on foot, and without fatigue. He was temperate both in eating and drinking and economical without a shade of meanness or miserly tendency.
When it was talked of that Dr. Pierce was ill and might not recover, the community was shocked. The very idea of sickness was scarcely to be entertained in connection with such a personification of health and vigor. Nobody seemed to have thought that he could die, at least till ex- treme old age should gradually impair his energies.
He belonged to a long-lived family and though at an age when most men grow infirm, he was as elastic and vig- orous as a boy, till the day of his first attack of illness.
264
HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF BROOKLINE.
All was done that love and skill could suggest to arrest the course of the disease, but in vain, and it soon became apparent that the beloved pastor and friend of the people was soon to be called away. Unused as he was to illness, there was no irritability or impatience, and with unfailing serenity and cheerfulness he waited for the end. In August of that year a new organ was placed in the church, and on Saturday the 18th, there was a trial of the instru- ment. This was of course an event of great interest to one so fond of music as the Doctor, and though he was too feeble to walk or ride, he was carried in his chair by some of his young friends, to the church. There he read some passages from the Scriptures and a hymn, joining heartily in the singing. At his own special request the tune sung was " Old Hundred," which Dr. Pierce used to say was " the best tune that ever was written or ever would be."
All rose and sung the hymn, standing, except the Doc- tor himself, who playfully asked that the old pastor be excused, as he no longer belonged to "the rising genera- tion."
He was borne to his home by the same loving hands, never to be carried out again till he was carried for burial. Daily, however, he received the visits of a host of friends, who came laden with flowers, fruits, or other proofs of their affection ; and in the words of another, "wealth never purchased and power never won attentions of all kinds so devoted and loving as were gladly rendered with- out stint and in constant anticipation of his slightest wishes," not merely from his own society or townspeople but from all sects and many towns and the neighboring cities.
The great friendship between Dr. Pierce and Rev. Mr. Shailer, whom he often called his " oldest son," seemed to grow stronger as the former was drawing near
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DEATH OF DR. PIERCE. - FUNERAL SOLEMNITIES. 265
to the close of life. For three months, Mr. Shailer visited him three times a week and carefully shaved him, and by reading or genial conversation beguiled the tedious hours of illness. Among his numerous visitors, were one hundred and twenty clergymen, representing seven differ- ent denominations.
His colleague, Rev. Mr. Knapp, was also one with whom he had most cordial sympathy, and whom he would have chosen to fill that place had the matter been left to him to decide. So that his people in deciding according to their own choice, had also acted in accordance with the wishes of their pastor.
Dr. Pierce failed very rapidly after his visit to the church, at the trial of the organ, but retained possession of his faculties and consciousness until the evening of Thursday, August 23. His last words were spoken that evening to Mr. Shailer, who with the family and two or three near friends were present. Mr. Shailer made an inquiry respecting the petition which he should offer for him in the evening prayer, to which he replied, " Entire submission to the Divine will." He never spoke again, but still reclining in the chair which he had occupied for weeks, without lying down, he quietly breathed his last at half-past eleven in the forenoon, August 24, 1849, aged seventy-six years.
The funeral solemnities took place at the church, on the afternoon of the 27th. There were no gloomy dra- peries, - they would have ill befitted the last offices for one who had been preeminently an apostle of cheerful- ness, who had done his life's work well, and peacefully passed on.
The baptismal font was filled with white flowers, and a wreath was laid upon the coffin by one of the children of the Sunday-school.
18
**
266
HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF BROOKLINE.
The body was borne from the parsonage to the church by the same young men who had carried him thither a week before, attended by eight clergymen as pall-bear- . ers. Rev. Mr. Shailer read the Scriptures, the venerable . Dr. Lowell of Boston offered the prayer (in compliance with the special wish of Dr. Pierce), and Rev. Mr. Knapp, his colleague, delivered the discourse. The last message of the dying minister to his people was so beautiful, that we give it as repeated by Mr. Knapp on this solemn oc- casion.
" When you gather with my friends around my re- mains," he said, "read to them those cheering words of Jesus, 'I am the resurrection and the life ; he that be- lieveth on me, though he were dead, yet shall he live ; and whosoever livetli and believeth on me shall never die.' and say to my people," he continued, " my faith and hope are there; that I do not feel that I shall ever die, but only pass on to a higher life. And beseech them," he added, " beseech them, if they love me, and would ex- press their love, to do it by remembering me while they seek Christ as their Saviour, and strive to live as his disciples."
The services at the church were attended by a great concourse of people, many of whom were unable to enter it at all, but who followed the remains to the cemetery. Among them were the entire theological schools, students and professors, from Cambridge and Newton, the presi- dent and two ex-presidents of Harvard College. An old lady, upwards of eighty years of age, walked from Roxbury that afternoon, not having heard of his death, hoping to see him once more living, and arrived at the cemetery just in time to see the beloved face as it lay in the light of the summer sunset, before it was shut out from sight forever.
267
THEOLOGICAL VIEWS OF DR. PIERCE.
A simple white monument just within the cemetery wall marks his last resting place.
We have purposely omitted, hitherto, speaking of Dr. Pierce's theological views, preferring to give first his final message to his people. We now subjoin an extract from an article which appeared in the " Christian In- quirer," soon after his death, and which is considered by those better qualified to judge, a fair and just estimate of him as a preacher.
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