USA > Massachusetts > Franklin County > Shelburne > History and tradition of Shelburne, Massachusetts > Part 13
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The conditions of membership were the acceptance of the essential principles of the Universalist Faith -
(1) The Universal Fatherhood of God;
(2) The Spiritual Authority and leadership of His Son, Jesus Christ ;
(3) The trustworthiness of the Bible as contain- ing a revelation from God;
(+) The certainty of just retribution for sin ;
(5) The final harmony of all souls with God.
Services were held for nearly 20 years in a school- house or in homes and various halls, and for one year the Methodist Church was leased. In 1869, during the pastorate of Rev. Benjamin Varney Stevenson, the construction of an edifice was begun on Main Street, and the building was dedicated on February 16, 1870.
Commendation of the spirit of the church is revealed in a letter made public by the Congregational Church, in September, 1900. While its building was being repaired, the Congregational Church had accepted the offer of the use of the Universalist Church. The letter stressed appreciation of the cordial way in which the Universalists had joined in the services held, and the officers and janitor were thanked for making all arrangements so pleasant and convenient. Hope was expressed that the same cordial relations might con- tinue in their mutual efforts in the common cause.
In 1903 the society observed its Fiftieth Anniver- sary with appropriate exercises, under the leadership of Rev. William Daniel Potter, who is still remem- bered by some of the townspeople as highly esteemed and beloved in the community. Thirteen pastors served the church from 1853 to 1905. In 1914 the society became defunct. The building had been deeded to the Massachusetts Universalist Convention in 1877, and was taken over by the Convention in 1916 and sold to the Mountain Lodge of Masons. The church organ is still in place and is used on certain occasions by the Masons. Most of the members of the church have associated themselves with other churches in town.
THE SHAKERS
Barber's History of Massachusetts, as quoted in "History of Churches and Ministers in Franklin County," by Rev. Theophilus Packard, Jr., states that a colony of Shakers came into the town of Shelburne in 1782, and a Mr. Wood was their Elder or leader.
On the bank of the river, at so-called Salmon Falls, the Shakers built a gristmill. They also erected a large house, three stories in front and two in the rear, which came to be known as the Old Abbey. It stood just back of the present stone hotel, and was remembered by people living during the early part of this century.
A more or less reliable tradition says that Mother Ann Lee, founder of Shakerism, who died in 1784, once stopped at the Old Abbey. After about three years the Shakers moved to Lebanon.
MISSIONARIES
REV. ROBERT HUBBARD, JR. was born in Shelburne, December 7, 1782; was the son of Rev. Robert Hub- bard, the first pastor in Shelburne; graduated from Williams College in 1803; studied theology with Rev. Dr. Packard of Shelburne; and was licensed by Frank- lin Association, August 10, 1809. In 1810 he went as a Home Missionary into Weston, New York. On August 20, 1812 he was settled as pastor of the churches in Angelica and Alfred, N. Y., where he remained about seventeen years. He died at Canisteo, N. Y. May 24, 1840 aged 57.
REV. PLINY FISKE was born in Shelburne, June 24, 1792; graduated from Middlebury in 1814; studied
theology with Rev. Packard of Shelburne; and was licensed by the Franklin Association January 18, 1815. After preaching in Wilmington, Vermont, about eight months, he entered the Andover Theological Seminary in November, 1815, and completed the theological course in 1818; was appointed a missionary to Pales- tine by the American Board September 23, 1818; and was ordained for that purpose in Salem November 5, 1818; then spent about a year in Georgia and South Carolina ; and in October, 1819, preached an affecting farewell sermon in his native place, from Acts 20:22: "And now, behold, I go up bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me." With Rev. Levi Parsons, his missionary col-
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FIDELIA FISKE
league, he received his instructions October 31, 1819, at Boston, and embarked November 15, 1820. He resided for a time in Smyrna and in Scio, and visited the "Seven Churches in Asia"; went to Egypt sev- eral times, and visited the Pyramids; attended upon Mr. Parsons in his sickness, and witnessed his death in Alexandria February 10, 1822; resided for a time in Malta; in 1823 visited Jerusalem, and again in 1825; visited in Syria, and resided at Beirut and died there October 23, 1825, aged 33.
A memoir of Mr. Fiske, by Rev. Dr. Alvan Bond, was published in 1828, from which the following extract was taken: "A prominent trait in his early character, and one that was distinct in his subsequent life, was persevering application. Whatever the busi- ness might be to which his attention was called, he did not shrink from it on account of difficulty, but promptly applied himself to it, and persevered till his work was done."
MISS JANE HARDY was born in Shelburne, Febru- ary 1838, the daughter of John and Sarah Hardy, early settlers of this town, and was one of twelve children born on a farm in the northern part of the town. Miss Hardy fitted herself to be a teacher and taught in all the schools of this part of Shelburne with success. Early in her girlhood days she became a Christian, which was a factor that determined to a large extent her future. She became greatly inter- ested in the Bible and the church. When the Civil War was over and a period of reconstruction started in the South, she heard the call for teachers of the Negro people. Her health was never robust, and her own people felt that she could never endure the life in the South, but, nevertheless, she went in 1868 to Savannah, Georgia to engage in teaching under the American Missionary Association. She continued this for eighteen years at different stations until her health gave out, making it necessary for her to return to her home in the North. At her death she was the oldest communicant of the Shelburne Church, having united with it in 1855. Miss Hardy died October 6, 1916 at the age of 78.
Note: I remember . . . Miss Hardy as a gentle frail lady, sitting in a high-backed, old-fashioned chair in the front room of the house now owned by John Herron. Miss Hardy made up little books of Bible verses alphabetically arranged and colored with colored pencils to give to the boys and girls who passed her house from the old Center School.
I remember . .. the smell of oldness and death that lingered in that house, and always sat on the edge of my chair ready to flee at a moment's notice. B.L.C.
The name of Fidelia Fiske is a tender remem- brance in all this region, and especially in the town of Shelburne. Here she was born May 1, 1816, the fourth daugh- ter of Rufus and Han- nah Fiske. Her father was the brother of Pliny Fiske, one of the first missionaries to Palestine. The house where she was born is still standing.
As a child she was un- usually thoughtful and observing, a good listener. She was a good student, and easily held first place in her class. She was fond of reading and enjoyed such books as "Missionary Herald," "Life of Thomas Spencer," "Memory of Martyn," and Dwight's "Theology." This last she read through twice when she was eight years old.
As a young woman she was an efficient teacher in Sunday School and taught in day school six years before entering Mount Holyoke Seminary in 1839. At the end of her first year she contracted typhoid fever and did not return to the Seminary until 1841. She graduated in 1842 and was appointed a teacher there.
In 1843 the call came to go to Persia. She sailed from Boston March 1, 1843. She reached Oroomiab June 14, 1843, and was given a joyful reception. A letter to Miss Mary Lyons at Mount Holyoke in July 1843 says in part: "As I am permitted to see more and more of the poor degraded females of this country, if I know my heart, I do feel a deeper interest in them, and a stronger desire to spend and be spent for them."
In April 1858 she wrote: "It is thought by my good friends here that I must seek a change in order to prolong my life and usefulness." She sailed from Smyrna on July 27 and reached Boston Dec. 17, arriv- ing in Shelburne in time for Christmas, Dec. 24, 1858.
She visited institutions of learning, asylums, and churches and spoke in many places in this country and Canada. She was offered the highest position at Mount Holyoke Seminary, and other institutions sought her services, but she was loath to sever her connections with the school in Persia. Finally, however, she con- sented to be religious instructor at Mount Holyoke as her strength would permit.
The Rev. Rufus Anderson, D.D., Secretary of the American Board of Foreign Missions, said, "In the structure and working of her whole nature, she seemed to me the nearest approach I ever saw, to my ideal of our blessed Savior as He appeared in His walks on earth. Her usefulness was as extraordinary as her character." Fidelia Fiske died July 26, 1864.
Footnote on Fidelia Fiske - next column
(Condensed from a paper by Dr. Martha A. Anderson, read at a Memorial Meeting of the Woman's Board of Mis- sions at Shelburne. The original document by Dr. Anderson may be seen in the Library at Shelburne Center.)
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DR. MARTHA ANDERSON
A teacher, a mission- ary, a doctor, and a reformer, Dr. Martha Anderson was born in Shelburne in 1843, grad- uated from Mount Hol- yoke College in 1868, and taught for five years at Kalamazoo, Mich. In 1878 she went to India
as missionary, but after three years was forced by ill health to return home. Upon re- gaining her health she studied medicine in Bos- ton and Philadelphia. Before completing her studies, she was called home to care for her aged mother.
Always a strong advocate of Women's Rights, she labored conscientiously to convince the public that changes were necessary. She often was called upon to lecture in Boston and other cities. For many winters she conducted a lecture course at Shelburne Center, always using the best talent obtainable. She also did much to improve the schools of the town.
In Dr. Anderson's time the ladies' gowns were sweeping the floor, and she was often heard to re- mark: "The time will come when ladies will wear their dresses up to the top of their shoes." I wonder what she would say if she could see present-day fashions.
MISS LAURA FISKE was born in the Patten district of Shelburne on the Fidelia Fiske homestead, Novem- ber 7, 1857. She attended schools in Shelburne and Greenfield and later taught in Greenfield for several years. In the spring of 1885 she went to South Africa to teach in the Bloemhof Seminary at Stellenbosch, under the management of a Miss Ingraham, whose father was William Ingraham of North Adams.
This seminary was an off-shoot of the Huguenot Seminary at Wellington, started by a Miss Ferguson after the model of Mount Holyoke Seminary. Miss Ferguson's father was a native of Whately, and a son, Rev. George Ferguson, started in the same place a sort of theological seminary to fit young men to be preachers and missionaries. The work at these schools, including Bloemhof, was not with the blacks, but with the old Dutch and Huguenot families who originally fled there from persecution. In two particulars it differed from usual missionary work: (1) They were Christian people; (2) They were able financially to support their schools, but had not, for generations, had teachers, schools, or pastors and were as ignorant as possible.
The teachers at Bloemhof received from $300 to $500 per year, besides living expenses and passage money. Miss Fiske went by way of Liverpool with a stop-off in London, and thence to Capetown, South Africa. Miss Fiske spent three years there before returning to America. She later married E. D. Clark and she died, August 8, 1937.
EARLE A. CROMACK came to Shelburne with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. John B. (Mary Graves) Cromack in 1904, when he was eight years old. He attended the Skinner School and worked his way through Mount Hermon School and Massachusetts Agricultural College. Drafted into Service in World War I, he trained at Fort Knox, Kentucky, graduat- ing a 2nd Lieutenant. His religious interests began at MIt. Hermon. He received his degree as Bachelor of Agriculture at M.A.C. in 1924 and taught agricul- ture at Hampton Institute in Hampton Roads, Vir- ginia, a school for colored people.
In July 1926 he sailed for Africa as an Agricul- tural Missionary under the Church of Scotland Mis- sion on a five-year appointment, one of which was a Sabbatical year. He taught in Kikugu in Kenya Colony, East Africa. He married Miss Katherine Campbell from Danville, New York, who was teach- ing in Kyiba, Kenya, under the American Board of Missions. Two children were born to them in Africa, Marjorie in 1928 and John in 1930.
They returned to the United States at the end of the fourth year and Earle spent the fifth year study- ing theology at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. After unsuccessful attempts to get a church pastorate, he accepted a position in agriculture in a Mission School in Buckroe Beach, Virginia.
Robert was born there in October 1931. At the age of two weeks it was discovered that the baby's left side was paralyzed from polio, and treatments were started that lasted many years. At this time Earle gave up Missionary work and dedicated his life to his family. Two more children were born to them, Elizabeth in 1938 and Carol in 1943.
It is interesting to note that the eldest daughter, Marjorie, has been accepted as a missionary under appointment by the African Inland Mission for service in the Kenya Colony. She is a graduate of the Provi- dence Bible School, a graduate nurse of Providence Hospital, has recently completed a course of inter- mission candidate training in Chicago, and is to have a year of study in obstetrics in a hospital in England.
Robert, the "polio baby," graduated from Wheaton Bible School and has a Master's degree in languages. He had severe recurring attacks of malaria, which he contracted while studying languages in Mexico, but through some "wonder drug" is considered cured.
Robert is a missionary to the Indians under the Wycliffe Bible Translators, in the jungles of Peru, South America.
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CEMETERIES
SOME of the earliest settlers buried their dead in the neighboring towns. The first two places of burial are not now recognized as such. One of these at Shel- burne Center was a few hundred feet west of the Zenas Bardwell place. The remains from here were removed to the Town Cemetery, the oldest recognized burial place. This is located on the hill next to the former residence of C. S. Bardwell. The first burial arrangements were made in 1768. Sarah Nims, aged 35 years, the wife of Reuben Nims, who died April 2, 1774, was the first person buried there.
In this cemetery there are many old flat slate stones, probably chiseled by hand, some decorated with cher- ubs and wings and some with the headstone. Buried here are Revolutionary War and Civil War veterans. During the plague many children were buried here.
Rev. Hubbard, mentioned under ministers, was buried here. The following inscription is found on his marker: "This monument is erected by the town of Shelburne in memory of Rev. R. Hubbard, first pastor of the Church of Christ in this place, who died at Middletown, November 2. 1788, aged 45, much lamented by his surviving friends and people of his charge who enjoyed in him a pattern of family piety and order, an affable, courteous neighbor, and in human view a zealous, faithful minister, who was an example of faith, conversation and doctrine. 'Go Thou and do likewise.'
The next burial place was that in the south part of town near the site of the former Baptist Church. This is near the residence of Charles Kelley. The first burial here was that of John Bull in 1813. The Elder David Long, the first Baptist minister, was also buried here.
The next cemetery was that east of the Skinner residence, now occupied by Alvin Churchill. The first person buried here was a daughter of Warren Allen, who died in 1820. In this cemetery Wilson Graves' grandmother, Mrs. John Wilson Levi, who died of smallpox, was buried. It is a slate headstone near the front fence. On the opposite side of the cemetery her husband lies, for they did not dare to disturb the soil around her grave for fear of the deadly disease.
The fourth cemetery, situated near D. Waldo Barnard's, originated in 1827 when a depository for the dead was prepared just west of Reuben Nims' place. The first burial here was of Reuben Farns- worth, who died that year. The members of the Center Cemetery paid twenty-five cents a year to keep this cemetery in order. MIrs. Kellogg did much to keep this going. The members were incorporated in 1911 and gradually a fund accumulated, so now only the interest from this is used to care for the cemetery.
PLEA FOR OLD CEMETERY
To the Editor of the Gazette & Courier :
1 wish to record an emphatic protest against the present policy of removing old headstones and other memorials to the dead from their proper places at the oldest recognized burial-ground in Shelburne, that at Shelburne Center.
I have seen the bones of martyrs arranged in glass cases in old churches, I have read of the artistic com- binations of Parisians' bones in the Catacombs of Paris, but I never dreamed that the descendants of the Puritan ancestors, who settled in old Shelburne, would tolerate the condition of things such as I recently observed at the old burying-ground to which I have referred. It is an actual fact that some of the old markers have been built into the stone wall surround- ing the cemetery. Surely our sharpest critics never would have accused the Shelburne Yankees of being quite so thrifty. For Heaven's sake let's not be so economical.
To be more definite I will say that I have a list of the markers which have found a lodging place on the wall. I counted about forty such, but to have a complete list of the stones thus disposed of, it would have been necessary to tear down the wall in several places in order to extricate the memorial to some loved friend thus impiously treated.
It is true that in a majority of cases the marker became shaky or was blown down, or in a number of cases that a portion of the stone was broken off. But a large number of inquiries has not revealed any cases in which the descendants were informed of the situation in time to replace the stones by other markers. It seems to many of us here, and that means everyone with whom I have talked about the matter, that it is a policy that cannot be tolerated.
It is a matter which vitally concerns the descendants of the Shelburne pioneers. It is not a matter to be decided off-hand. It is obvious that it destroys the site of someone's burial place, or makes it very diffi- cult to find. Unfortunately, too, it is the memorials to the pioneers of Shelburne or their immediate fam- ilies that have suffered most.
It is no more than fair to say that in a very few cases the markers on the wall have been replaced by other stones. But in a large majority of cases this is not true. Following is a list of those stones that any- one may see on or near the wall. In parentheses I have cited data on file in the town records. A more thorough search in the town archives or in the old church records would have given much more infor- mation: Capt. L. Kemp (d. Aug. 3, 1821) ; D. Kempe; Ensign Daniel Nash; Deacon Ebenezer Childs (d. Dec. 6, 1794) ; Mrs. D. Nims (d. Oct. 14, 1820, aged 85 y. It was at the home of Daniel Nims that the first town meeting was held in 1758) ; E. Nims (possibly Elihu Nims, d. Aug. 28, 1777) ;
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F. Fellows; Mrs. Eunice Fellows (d. Jan. 17, 1795) ; Miss F. Fellows; P. Long; son of Stephen Long; son of Aaron Long (d. 1808. This was evidently Joel Long, who died Apr. 9, 1808) ; A. Barnard ; Miss T. Severance; Mrs. Charlotte Smead; Samuel Smead (d. June 1795) ; Mrs. D. Fiske, Ebenezer Fisk (d. June 9, 1841, aged 92 y. one of the earliest settlers) ; Mrs. Sarah Fisk (wife of above, d. Apr. 15, 1816) ; Mrs. S. Foster; Miss B. Allen ; Mrs. M. Dole (probably Mrs. Moses Dole, d. May 12, 1836) ; Mrs. M. Bardwell; Mrs. Betsy Bardwell ( first wife of Joel Bardwell, d. May 26, 1807) ; P. Bardwell ; Mrs. E. Bardwell; Mrs. H. Bardwell; E. Stratton ; Mrs. E. Stratton; Miss R. Dickinson; S. Taylor ; J. L. ; Deliverance Wells (probably Deliverance Wells, who died Aug. 17, 1794, dau. of John Wells) ; D. Wilson ; Amasa Ransom, Wd. Hannah Hosley ; Mrs. Lucy Smith (first wife of Samuel Smith, d. June 16, 1801).
How long will the descendants of the Shelburne pioneers allow the present policy to continue?
Very truly yours, A. G. Merrill
Shelburne Falls, Mass., Aug. 28, 1908
ARMS CEMETERY
Arms Cemetery is so-called because of the gift of Major Ira Arms, in November, 1854, of a tract of land, comprising about 13 acres, on the Buckland side of the river. In the deed Major Arms stated his desire to "establish a new and better located ceme- tery for public use in the village of Shelburne Falle."
He also expressed the hope that prices for lots might be kept as low as consistent with expenses so that the land might be available to all who wished to use it for the purpose intended. It was stipulated that Major Arms should have his choice of a lot in the new cemetery, not exceeding 30 feet square and that the trustees should remove to it the remains of the Arms family, the gravestones and fence.
This land was thus described : Beginning at a stake and stones on the center line of the railroad survey, then north a specified distance, then east, then north, then west, then north, then west, then north, then east, then south, then on high water mark on the Deerfield River to the starting point.
The trustees, to whose care the land was conveyed, were Ebenezer Maynard and William T. Clement of Buckland, and Z. W. Field, John B. Whitney and E. A. Baldwin of Shelburne. They wisely disposed of their jigsaw puzzle and with the proceeds, $600, purchased of Mr. Benjamin Maxwell, and laid out about eleven and three-fourths acres, forming the nucleus of the present Arms Cemetery, now compris- ing 29 acres. In 1873, seventeen acres on the north
were purchased from Henry Couillard for more space.
The southwest portion, bordering on the Shelburne Falls - Colrain Road, and containing the tomb, was the first part used. Mr. Maxwell's lot, a short dis- tance from the main entrance, on the right, contains a stone erected to a young Englishman who died while attending the Franklin Academy. It is significant testi- mony to the warmhearted spirit of the town that citizens as well as students contributed toward the expense.
On October 11, 1855, Arms Cemetery was con- secrated for a public cemetery. In June, 1856, the proprietors of the "Arms Cemetery, situated in Shel- burne, in Franklin County," organized themselves into a corporation, and at the next meeting voted that the corporation should be known as "The Arms Cemetery Association."
In November of that year they voted to sell the old burying-ground at auction, and the following year negotiated with the proprietors of the old tomb regard- ing moving it to the new cemetery, which apparently was done. The exact location of the old burying- ground is not on record but coffins were exhumed during excavations for Arms Academy and farther along toward the north.
In 1860 the Association received, through the will of Major Ira Arms, $1,000 instead of the $2,000, which he had expected would be available. From the testimony of personal acquaintances it appears that Major Arms was rather frugal in life. Otherwise he might have frittered away his considerable fortune - for those days. Great good has resulted, under wise advice, from the lump sums bequeathed to Arms Academy, Arms Library, the Congregational Church and Arms Cemetery.
The Arms lot is in the center of the older part of Arms Cemetery. The family remains, the monument, the headstones and fence are all there, brought from the Arms Cemetery, in Shelburne, according to stipu- lation in the deed to his first gift.
The townspeople increasingly appreciate the fore- sight and devotion of the promoters of Arms Ceme- tery, and take pride in the possession of such a beau- tifully located and well-cared-for cemetery. They find comfort in being able to lay away the mortal remains of loved ones in such restful surroundings.
The permanent funds of the Association now amount to $65,549. The annual income therefrom, however, plus the earnings of the Association do not provide sufficient means to keep the cemetery in the condition that the officers desire.
Serving in 1947 were Deane H. Jones, President ; B. J. Kemp, Clerk and Treasurer; Executive Com- mittee, Deane H. Jones, Harry P. Shaw, B. J. Kemp.
The same officers are serving in 1958 except that Philip Tedesco has replaced B. J. Kemp as Clerk and Treasurer.
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