USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Watertown > Historical sketches of Watertown, Massachusetts > Part 6
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He was a more subtle and more brilliant thinker for being also a poet. Dr. Orestes Brownson, no mean judge on such matters, spoke of him as the most promising philosophical mind in the country. To a native talent for metaphysics his early studies at Heidelberg probably contributed congenial training. His knowledge of German philosophy may well have been stimulated and matured by his residence in that centre of active thought ; while his intimaey, on his return, with the keenest intelleets in this country may well have sharpened his original predilection for abstraet speculation. However this may have been, the tendency of his genius was decidedly towards metaphysical problems and the interpretation of the
human consciousness. This he erected as a barrier against materialism. His volume on " American Religion " was full of nice discriminations; so was his volume on the "Immortal Life; " so were his articles and lectures. His " Lifeof Theodore Parker " abounded in enrious learning as well as in vigorous thinking. He could not rest in sentiment, must have demonstration, and never stopped till he reached the ultimate ground of truth as he regarded it.
He was a man of undaunted courage. He believ- ed, with all his heart, in the doctrines he had arrived at. He was an anti-slavery man from the beginning. At a large meeting in Waltham in 1845, to protest against the admission of Texas, Mr. Weiss, then minister at Watertown, delivered a speech, in which he said, "our Northern apathy heated the iron, forged the manacles, and built the pillory."
To his unflinching devotion to free thought in religion he owed something of his unpopularity with the masses of the people. "There is dignity in dust that reaches any form, because it eventually betrays a forming power, and ceases to be dust in sharing it." " It is a wonder to me that scholars and clergymen are so skilled about scientifie faets." "We owe a debt to the seientifie man who can show how many moral customs result from local and ethnie experiences, and how the conscience is every- where capable of inheritance and education, He eannot bring too many facts of this description, because we have one fact too much for him ; namely, a latent tendency of conscience to repudiate inherit- anee and every experience of utility." John Weiss was essentially a poet. His pages are saturated with poetry. His arguments are expressed in poetie imagery.
" What a religions ecstasy is health ! Its free step claims every meadow that is glad with flowers; its bubbling spirits fill the eup of wide horizons, and drip down their brims ; its thankfulness is the prayer that takes possession of the sun by day, and the stars by night. Every daneing member of the body whirls off the soul to tread the measures of great feelings, and God hears people saying : ' How precious also are thy thoughts, how great is the sum of them ! When I awake I am still with thee.' Yes, 'when I awake,' but not before."
John W. Chadwick said of him, " It is hard to think of Weiss as dead, and the more I think of it, the more I am persuaded that he is not."
After Mr. Weiss resigned, the society spent some time in hearing candidates, but in 1870 Mr. James T. Bixby was installed, and he preached until 1873, showing those scholarly traits that have made him so famous as a writer sinee.
Joseph H. Lovering preached from 1875 to 1878 ; Arthur May Knapp, preached from 1880 to 1887 ; and William H. Savage has preached from 1887.
The society seemed to take a new start under Mr. Knapp, and has fairly roused into something of its old activity under Mr. Savage.
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338
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.
Within the last few years a new building has been erected for Sunday-school work and for social pur- poses, which has proved an aid in religious and social ways. The Unitarian Club, of this church, the first to be established in any society, has proved of help to its members in leading to new interest and participa- tion, in church activities, and has been followed in its form of organization by many new clubs in various parts of the country.
THE BAPTIST CHURCH AND SABBATH-SCHOOL.1. During the summer and fall of 1827, Miss Eliza Tucker, Miss Martha Tucker and Miss E. Brigham united in gathering some of the children of the vil- lage together, Sabbath mornings, to teach them verses of Scripture and poetry, and also to properly observe the Sabbath.
They were successful, and the movement found favor with the people, especially the mothers, who were glad to have their children properly cared for on the Lord's day.
Miss Brigham was a teacher in the Town School, which gave her special opportunity with the children for good.
They held their gatherings in the house of Deacon John Tucker (the building lately occupied by Otis Bros.), but their numbers increased so they had to seek a larger place, and in the fall of 1827 they hired the hall in the brick building now occupied by S. S. Gleason and others,
In this hall the Sabbath-school was held at 9.30 A.M., and preaching service at 10.30 A.M., every Sab- bath. In April, 1828, the school was organized, with a membership of thirty-five, including officers and teachers. William Hague, superintendent ; Josiah Law, vice-superintendent; Deacon Josiah Stone, Elijah Pratt, Mrs. Pratt, Misses Eliza Tucker, Mar- tha Tucker, E. Brigham and E. A. Wheeler were ap- pointed teachers. .
They occupied this hall until the fall of 1828, when they were obliged to move to a larger hall; they found such a hall in the building opposite Market and Arsenal Streets, where they remained until they moved into the vestry of the new church, in August, 1830, the same year the church was organized, com- posed of members of the Sabbath-school and others, which was July 18, 1830, with forty-six members.
The first house of worship was completed the same year and occupied the lot on which the present house stands.
In 1857 the old house was removed and the new house was built upon the same foundation, with a few alterations. This was dedicated in 1859. During the sixty years, the church has had ten pastors, whose names and terms of service are as follows : (1) Rev. Peter Chase, served 1 year and 1 month; (2) Nicho- las Medbery, served 10 years and 10 months; (3) E. D. Very, served 1 year and 1 month ; (4) C. K.
Colver, served 4 years and 1 month; (5) B. A. Ed- wards, served 3 years and 5 months; (6) William L. Brown, served 5 years and 3 months; (7) A. S. Pat- ton, served 3 years and 2 months; (8) William F. Stubberts, served 2 years and 10 months ; (9) G. S. Abbott, served 7 years; (10) E. A. Capen (present pastor), nearly 13 years.
The present number of members is 335. The whole number that have united during the sixty years is 1003, of whom about 230 have died.
The membership of the Sabbath-school is 350. Thus, from the small beginning, both church and school have become a power for good.
PHILLIPS CHURCH AND SOCIETY."-During the spring and summer of 1834 a pious and devoted lady, who was engaged in missionary labors in the town, became aware of the fact that many residents of the town were members of Congregational Orthodox churches in the neighboring towns and cities. A careful estimate gave from thirty to forty families. With these were connected many single individuals and a large number of children, who preferred to at- tend Orthodox Congregational preaching. Some of these had found a temporary religious home in the other churches of the town. But they had long felt that their own usefulness and growth in grace were in a great measure dependent upon church privileges, in accordance with their belief and convictions. For this they had anxiously waited and devoutly prayed. It seemed to them that now "the set time to favour Sion had come," and, acting in accor- dance with this, and believing that God was ready whenever the instrument by which His work is carried on is ready, a meeting of all those known to be in favor of such an object was called. The first meeting was held at the house of David F. Bradlee, on Main Street, in the latter part of January, 1855. The meeting was ad- journed one week in order to invite some brethren from the Eliot Church, Newton, to advise in the matter. At a subsequent meeting the subject was duly considered. The church was named after George Phillips, the first pastor of Watertown, and a committee chosen to procure a preacher. This committee were providentially directed to Dr. Lyman Beecher, the father of Mrs. Stowe and Henry Ward Beeeher, who, after hearing some facts in relation to religious affairs in Watertown, said : " I will come and preach for you." He came, and his services were secured until a pastor was obtained.
Sabbath services were held in the Town Hall morning and evening. These services were well at- tended. Mr. Beecher was well advanced in life, but his eye was not dim nor his natural force abated.
He held his audiences with a tight grasp, and even Theodore Parker, then at the height of his popular- ity, who preached in the same hall, on Sabbath after- noons, with matchless eloquence, hardly held his
1 By Royal Gilkey.
: By Dea. L. Macdonald.
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WATERTOWN.
own against the stern logic and fire of Beecher, many of Parker's hearers being found at the evening service, careful and attentive listeners. great satisfaction to pastor and people, and the rela- tions between them ever after were cordial and affec- tionate. Rev. James M. Bell succeeded as pastor in The society, or parish, was legally organized in the the following spring. He filled the office for six month of March; and the church was organized on ; years. He was followed in the pastorate by Rev. E.
the 17th of April, 1855, with a membership of twenty- six, received by letter from other Orthodox Congre- gational churches. A large council of churches from the neighborhood met in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the use of which was kindly offered by that society for the purpose.
At the expiration of Dr. Beecher's engagement a call was given to the Rev. Stephen R. Dennen (then finishing his studies at Andover Seminary), who ac- cepted, and was ordained and installed as pastor on the 11th of July, 1855. A lot of land was bought and a church building erected on the site of the present one. The locality was then an open country, and the large building had a seating capacity of double the present one, and was a conspicuous object for miles around. It was dedicated and occupied in April, 1857. The congregation increased slowly during the following years, with a good deal of up-hill work.
On the night of January 13, 1861-one of the cold- est nights of the season-the building was destroyed by fire. It had got such headway before the alarm was given that nothing was saved. The front of the building was much nearer the street than the present one, and many feared that the tall steeple might fall across Mt. Auburn Street, and do much damage. For- tunately it fell into the burning building.
For a time the enterprise seemed to stagger from the blow ; pastor and people had to begin the up-hill struggle over again. They went back to the town hall again till a new building could be erected; and about a year after the destruction of the first build- ing they occupied their second house, on the 12th of January, 1862. This is the building now occupied by the society. It is much smaller than the first house, but up to this date it is large enough to ac- commodate the worshipers. It is much more commo- dious, having a chapel in the rear which is used for prayer-meetings, Sabbath-school gatherings and social purposes. There are library rooms, vestries and kitch- en. There is a bell in the tower. The inside of the building is frescoed. The windows are of stained glass. The choir gallery is over the front vestibule. It is one of the pleasantest and prettiest church edifices in the suburbs of Boston. There is a row of graceful shade- trees in front, and a well-trimmed lawn and concrete walks, the whole forming a picture in harmony with the neat private residences which cluster around it.
In August, 1862, Dr. Dennen, at his own request, was dismissed from the pastorate, and for a length- ened time the church depended on stated supplies. In the fall of 1863 the church secured the services of Rev. William L. Gage (afterwards of Hartford), who remained one year. This brief pastorate was one of
P. Wilson, who was installed on the 5th July, 1872. He remained pastor for near sixteen years, resigning February, 1888. During the vacancy the church was supplied by Dr. Webb, Dr. Dennen and others.
In the autumn of 1889 a unanimous call was given to the Rev. E. C. Porter, who accepted and commenced his pastorate on the 1st of October of that year, and continues his labors at this date. Under his faithful, and devoted pulpit and pastoral work the church and society have entered upon a fresh career of prosperity, spiritually and materially evinced by the large at- tendance, and interest taken in all the services of the church, the gain in membership, and the sound finan- cial condition of the society.
The church has on its roll of membership up to July, 1890, 247.
The Sabbath school connected with the church has a membership of 252, including twenty-four teachers and six officers. The studies are graded from adult Bible classes down to a primary department, which is the largest and perhaps the most important of the school's work. It is in charge of a very efficient lady teacher, who is devoted to the work.
A deceased lady, formerly a teacher in the school, Miss Sarah Cook Dana, left a sum of money, the in- terest of which is to be spent yearly in the purchase of books for the use of members of the church aud Sunday school, and to he called the " Dana Library." It is expected that the Sunday school library will be merged in it, and 'the Sunday School have the benefit ofit. There is already an excellent collection of books and more are to be added from time to time, of standard religious works, suitable for promoting sound knowl- edge and instruction among the members of the church and Sunday school, all of whom are invited to take out and read such books.
She also left a fund, the interest of which is to be spent in purchasing shoes and clothing for destitute children, to enable them to attend the Sabbath-school. Several missionary societies exist in connection with the church, viz : A Sunday-school, the Ladies' Miss- ionary Society, the Phillips Mission Board, and the Sunshine-makers. They do a vast amount of work, and contribute freely for home and foreign mission work. There is also a Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor, which is a strong and active as- sociation. The members are pledged to be active and earnest in Christian work, outside the regular meet- ings. There are at this date seventy active and twenty- five associate members on the roll of the society.
The officers of the society are E. A. Benton, presi- dent; Fred Lyman, secretary and treasurer. Most of the young candidates for church membership come from this society and the Sabbath-school.
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310
IHISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.
The parish, which forms such an important part in Church government, and in the sound Orthodox New England Congregationalism, has been sour ditied faith, once delivered to the saints, and by its preach- by this society of late years that only members of ing, teaching, and other ministries, seeks to bring in- to obedience to the law of Christ, men's lives. How far it has succeeded in this cannot be gauged by numbers or financial success. Living epistles known and read of all men, are self-evident testimonies to the truth of the Gospel, which the church proclaims to a lost world, and this is the warrant and necessity for the existence of the Phillips Church. The following is a list of names of the original members who were received by letter, twenty-six in number, from other churches, at the formation of the Church, by Council.
the church are eligible as members. Formerly, any member of the congregation could be voted into the parish. In 1856, however, a committee of the parish which had the matter under advisement for many years, reported to change the by-laws. The report was accepted and adopted. It reported that all names then on the parish register should be continued as members, but that after January 1, 1887, only mem- bers of the church were eligible. Members of the church desirious of becoming members of the parish shall present a written request to the clerk. A Pru- dential Committee who shall have an article inserted in the warrant for the next parish meeting, to be then acted on by ballot. The parish is called the First Orthodox Parish of Watertown.
The treasurer's report for the year ending Decem- ber 31, 1889, gives the following items of interest in regard to its financial affairs. The receipts frota pew rents, and the weekly offering, for the year amount to $2924.66, and the expenditures to $2778,25, leaving a balance over to the new account of $146. The Pru- dential Committee who manage the affairs of the parish, are : E. S. Plaisted, James 11. Snow, Willard N. Chamberlain, Clerk ; HI. F. Morse, Treasurer ; J. M. Johnson. The annual meeting for the election of officers and other business is held in April of each year.
Church finances do not pass through the pari-h Treasurer. There is also a church treasurer. The contributions passing through him are the great Missionary Association collections, which are taken up through the year, communion collections and other sums raised by the various benevolent societies of the church for the poor and other objects. The amount of these from all sources for the year 1889 was $745, 77, making the income from church and parish for the year 83970,43. These pass through the treasur- er's hands, but a considerable amount is given directly from private hands to benevolent objeets, of which no account is rendered. The growth of the | four persons already mentioned, the following were church has been steady, with periods of marked dis- either at that time, or soon after, members: Sylvester and Cynthia Priest, George and Grace Bigelow, Thomas and Eden Campbell, Dorcas A. Sifford, Eliza Whitaker and Mrs. (or Miss) Richardson. couragements and trial. The officers of the church, besides its pastors already mentioned were: Deacons -Wm. G. Ladd, Ichabod II. Wood, Henry Waite, James G. Fuller, Abiel Abbott, Charles E. Whitte- more, David B. Makepeace, Frank F. Fay, Orlando W. Dimick.
The present officers are: Rev. E. C. Porter, Pastor; Deacons, L. B. Morse, H. W. Otis, L. MacDonald, Noah Swett; Treasurer, J. Q. A. Pierce ; Clerk, J. H. Green.
The Phillips Church believes in carrying out the commission received from its great head of preaching the gospel to every creature, and in obedience to that command, finds warrant for its existence and work. It believes in the Congregational order, and polity of
Mr. Win. 6. Ladd, Miss Emeline Dana,
Mrs. Margaret G. Lidl, Mi Muses Fuller, Jr.,
Mr. Won. G. Ladd, Jr., Mid. Hannah Shepherd,
Mrs. Adelino P. Ladil,
Mr. Alonzo W. Hildreth,
Mr. Davel F. Br.ullre, Mr -. V'larissa Davis,
Mra. Mara K. Bradlee, Mis. Lucy Collins,
Mrs. Catherine O. Caching, Mis, Sarah Eager,
Mi-, Elydalı French,
Mis. Hustint N Faxon,
Mi- Susauth Stickney, Mr. Ichalaal Wood,
Miss Elizabeth Stickney, Mrs. Anna B. Woud,
Mr. Hannah PAI, MIN Lydia T. Richardson,
Mis. Sarth C. Dahls, Mis. Jlaury Hildreth,
Mrs. Fanny HT. Burnham, Miss Jane Tubey.
METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.' About the year 1822, Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Whitney were received into membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church, Sudbury, Mass. Removing to Watertown soon after, and finding no Methodist society in the town, they opened their own house for services. These at first were attended by but four persons, Mr. and Mrs. Whitney, John Devoll and Joshua Rhodes. Although so few in number, they did not become discouraged, but continued these private services, with occasional preaching, for about two years. Rev. C. S. Macreading, who was then pastor of the Methodist church, at Newton Upper Falls, took great interest in the work of establishing Methodism in Watertown, and freely gave his services to the undertaking. October 4, 1836, the first class was constituted in Mr. Whitney's house. Beside the
At nearly the same time a Sabbath-school was or- ganized; the first superintendent formally placed in charge was George Bigelow.
Preaching was for some months obtained from va- rious sources, but as the interest in and attendance upon the services increased, it was thought that with a little aid from the Missionary Society, regular preaching conld be sustained. Accordingly applica- tion for this purpose was made to the New England Conference. The request was granted, Watertown
1 By Helen Louise Richardson,
341
WATERTOWN.
was made a mission, and Rev. George Pickering was sent as first Conference preacher, receiving his ap- pointment June 17, 1837. Regular services were still held in Mr. Whitney's house, and here, August 4, 1837, was held the first Quarterly Conferenee.
The first stewards of the church, appointed at this time, were Leonard Whitney, George Bigelow and Joshua Rhodes; the last-named soon after removed to the West, and Sylvester Priest was appointed stew- ard in his place. It now began to be generally felt that a larger and a permanent place of worship must be secured.
An old one-storied academy building on a slight elevation in the centre of the town was available; this was bought for four hundred dollars, and in the summer of 1837 was dedicated with appropriate services.
The first trustees of the church were Leonard Whit- ney, Sylvester Priest, George Bigelow, John Devoll and Daniel Pillsbury.
It is said that John Devoll, the first year of the ex- istence of the society, gave in its behalf every dollar that he earned.
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At the close of this year it was reported that the Sunday-school numbered twenty, that there was a Bible class of twenty-five, and though a mission sta- tion itself, 821.84 were raised for missions. In 1838 Waltham and Watertown were united and made a cir- cuit, which arrangement continued till 1846. During these years Revs. Geo. Pickering, Franklin Fisk, David Webb, Horace G. Barrows, Bradford K. Peirce and T. W. Tucker were in turn in charge of the eireuit.
The junior preachers during the same time, who made Watertown their home, were Revs. O. R. How- ard, E. A. Lyon, H. G. Barrows and Geo. W. Frost.
Rev. G. W. Frost was a local preacher, residing in Watertown, and teaching a grammar school; he was recommended to the Annual Conference by the Quar- terly Conference of Watertown, and afterward became quite prominent. Removing to the West, he was ap- pointed Government Director and Purchasing Agent of the Union Pacific Railroad; he also served several terms in the Nebraska Legislature. He died in Omaha, February 2, 1888.
In 1846-47 Watertown and Dedham were united as a circuit, and Rev. W. R. Stone was placed in charge, with Rev. L. P. Frost, a local preacher residing in Watertown, as assistant.
In 1847 Watertown was made an independent sta- tion, with Rev. Daniel Richards as pastor. This proved to be a very important year in the history of the church. The necessity for larger and more acces- sible accommodations was felt, and the society thought that the time had come to change its location, so the hill property was sold at anction.
A man from Boston, unknown to any present, pur- chased it for a bonnet factory, but as it proved, he bought it for the Roman Catholics, and the site has
ever since been occupied by their house of worship. June 6, 1847, was the last Sabbath in the old building. Having made the mistake of giving possession too soon, the society reluctantly left for the Town Hall, where services were held till August 1, when the vestry of the new church on Main street was ready for occupancy.
October 20, 1847, the church itself, which is that now occupied by the society, was dedicated. The land opon which the church is situated, was purchased for sixteen hundred dollars, and the building was completed at a cost of fifty-nine hundred dollars.
In 1848 Rev. J. Augustus Adams was appointed to Watertown ; toward the elose of his second year there was a revival, which was the beginning of a new era in the history of the church.
Mr. Adams was a graduate of Wesleyan University, was two years principal of a school in Norwich, Con- neeticut, and he and his wife were the first teachers of the New Hampshire Conference Seminary. He filled important pastorates honorably to himself and profitably to the church, and was assistant secretary of the conference for several years. He died in Cali- fornia, August 27, 1860, whither he had gone seeking restoration to health.
The pastorate of Rev. Mosely Dwight, who suc- ceeded Mr. Adams, (1850-52) was very laborious and successful ; during this time the trustees sneceeded in raising 82065.00 of the indebtedness upon the church property. From 1852-58, Revs. George Bowler, Franklin Furber and H. M. Loud served the church in turn, each remaining two years.
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