USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Ashburnham > History of Ashburnham, Massachusetts : from the grant of Dorchester Canada to the present time 1734-1886 with a genealogical register of Ashburnham families > Part 20
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After hearing two or more candidates, the church and .parish united in a decision to hire Rev. Edwin Jennison for two years. This action was soon modified. A call was accepted and Mr. Jennison was installed May 12, 1842, or within six months after the dismissal of Mr. Goodyear. In the first year of this pastorate the church in North Ashburn- ham was organized to which twenty-five members of the church transferred their relations. Mr. Jennison entered upon his labors under favorable auspices. He was an acceptable preacher and was justly regarded as an earnest, devoted minister. His health soon failed, but with fading strength he continued his labor until the close of the fourth year. The relation was dissolved May 12, 1846, and from the record of the proceedings it appears that "The council regard Mr. Jennison with high esteem and confidence as a worthy Christian brother, an able and faithful preacher of the gospel and an affectionate pastor."
Rev. Edwin Jennison, a son of Major William and Phoebe (Field) Jennison, was born in Walpole, New Hampshire, August 26, 1805. He was graduated at Dartmouth College 1827, and at Andover Theological Seminary 1830. Previous to his labors in this town Mr. Jennison had been settled over churches in Walpole, his native town, 1831-5, Mont Ver- non, New Hampshire, 1836-41. Subsequently he was in- stalled at Hopkinton, New Hampshire, January 6, 1847, and dismissed September 5, 1849. In each instance the relation was dissolved on account of his feeble health. For twenty-
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five years he has been incapacitated from labor and has resided in Winchester, New Hampshire, and of late in Con- way, Massachusetts.
The dismissal of Mr. Jennison had been anticipated. His failing health had prepared his charge for the event and a successor was soon chosen. To Rev. Elnathan Davis a call was extended by the church May 25, which was ratified by the parish June 27, 1846. For some reason, not now apparent, the installation .was deferred and in the mean time Mr. Davis continued to preach with unqualified acceptance. A council being convened early in September exception was taken to the views of the candidate on the doctrinal question of infant baptism. The solemnities were postponed. The council was recalled September 16, 1846, and recognizing the merit and ability of the candidate, and finding the church and society tenacious in their increasing desire to have the pastor of their choice settled over them, the installation was consummated. The minutes of the council are evidence that all the proceedings were conducted in a friendly spirit and that the only embarrassment was found in a difference of opinion on a single question of doctrine.
Mr. Davis was a man of positive ideas and enduring con- victions. He was an able preacher and an active pastor. His labor was incessant, knowing every member of his flock he kindly and faithfully ministered to them. The church and the parish were united, the social meetings were fully attended and the influences of this pastorate have been per- manent and salutary. In the dawn of many golden promises of a long and happy ministry, Mr. Davis was invited to attend the World's Peace Congress held in Paris in 1849. Knowing that this overture, if not refused, would invite a continued connection with the American Peace Society and consequently lead to a dissolution of his relations to the
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church and people of Ashburnham, he accepted the proffered mission with great reluctance. Soon after his return from Europe Mr. Davis became the secretary of the Peace Society and tendered his resignation as pastor of this church. He was formally dismissed May 21, 1851.
Rev. Elnathan Davis, son of Ethan and Sarah (Hubbard) Davis, was born in Holden, August 19, 1807. Graduating at Williams College 1831, East Windsor (Connecticut) Theological Seminary 1836, he was ordained as an evangelist at Holden in November following. He labored in the cause of IIome Missions several years in Indiana and Michigan. Returning to the East in 1845 he was settled in Ashburnham the following year. Later he was pastor of the Trinitarian church in Fitchburg fourteen years. In 1869 he was elected to the Legislature from the Fitchburg district and imme- diately after this service he removed to Auburn and preached there until 1879 and there resided until his death, April 9, 1881.
The seventh pastor was Rev. Frederick A. Fiske who was installed December 30, 1851. This was a brief pastorate. Mr. Fiske came at a season of inactivity in the church and indifference in the parish. If he did not mingle with the people with the brotherly and ready sympathy that attended the walk of Mr. Davis and Mr. Goodyear, he set before them the example of a well ordered life and conversation. In the pulpit he was unemotional but instructive ; earnest but never eloquent ; his sermons were carefully written but delivered with little animation. At the close of two years of labor he made a request for an increase of salary. It came at an inopportune moment. The failure to accede to the request . was chargeable more to the temporary condition of the parish than to the general impulses of the people. With fraternal sentiment on other points the relation was dissolved April 17, 1854.
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Rev. Frederick Augustus Fiske, the son of the Rev. Elisha and Margaret (Shepard) Fiske, was born in Wren- tham, Massachusetts, April 15, 1816, and was prepared for college at Day's Academy in his native town. After his graduation, he at once engaged in teaching ; first as assistant in Washington Institute, New York city, then in Norwalk, Connecticut, next as principal of Monson Academy (1833-4), later in Fall River, and finally as principal of the High School in Clinton. After taking the full course of three years at Yale Theological Seminary (from 1847 to 1850), he entered upon the work of the ministry, being ordained pastor of this church. For about three years from November 16, 1854, he was pastor of the Congregational church in East Marsh- field, Massachusetts ; for the next eight years, principal of a boarding school in Newton; from 1865 to 1868, Superin- tendent of Education for North Carolina, under the Freed- men's Bureau ; and from January 26, 1869, to November 28 of the same year, pastor of the Congregational church in Raynham. The remaining years of his life were spent in the service of the Protestant Episcopal church, his ordination as a deacon occurring June 25, 1870, and as a priest, November 5, 1870. From July, 1870, to May, 1873, he was rector of Trinity church, Van Deusenville; from May, 1873, to September, 1876, rector of St. Paul's church, Brookfield, Connectient ; from September, 1876, till his death, rector of Grace church, North Attleborough. He died December 15, 1878.
Mr. Fiske was succeeded by Rev. E. G. Little, who was installed August 22, 1855. This was a memorable pastorate. In the autumn of the first year Mr. Day, an evangelist, was joined with the pastor in a series of meetings which were fully attended. The visible fruit of their labor is found in the record of forty-two admissions to the church before the
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close of the year. Mr. Little was a diligent pastor. Ilis sermons were wrought with care, logical in arrangement, sometimes glowing with the warmth of an ardent nature and always teaching the fundamental doctrines of his faith. Ilis brief ministry in this town was terminated at his request May 13, 1857.
Elbridge Gerry Little was born in Hampstead, New Hampshire, November 11, 1817. He was a son of Joseph and Rebecca (Webster) Little. At an early age he com- menced teaching. Mainly meeting the expenses of a liberal education by his own efforts, he fitted for college under the instruction of Prof. Benjamin Greenleaf of Bradford and entered the college of Nassau Hall at Princeton, New Jersey, in sophomore year, graduating in the class of 1845. He pursued a full course of study at Princeton Theological Seminary and was licensed to preach in April, 1848. His first charge was at Manayunk, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. Returning to New England in 1850, he was installed over the church in Merrimack, New Hampshire, in September of that year. After his dismissal from this church and after preaching a year or more in Middleborough he was installed over the church in that place April 13, 1859, and dismissed September 15, 1867. Mr. Little then removed to Wellesley where he was mainly engaged in secular and literary pursuits until his death which occurred December 29, 1869.
Succeeding Mr. Little, Rev. Thomas Boutelle supplied the pulpit nearly six years, from the spring of 1857 to January, 1863. His health was not firm and afforded so little assurance of continued service that a call was not extended. The friend- ly offices of an ecclesiastical council were not invoked and the neighboring churches were permitted a brief respite from attendance upon the accustomed solemnities in this place.
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Mr. Boutelle was greatly beloved. His sympathies were warm and constant, his friendship was enduring and his interest in the highest welfare'of his charge was unabated. The memories of this pastorate are savory and imperishable. With generous impulses was joined the constant force of superior mental endowment guided by wisdom and prudence. Always instructive, sometimes eloquent, he was at once an able and a popular preacher. In 1862 he was elected to the Legislature from the Winchendon and Ashburnham district.
Rev. Thomas Boutelle, son of James and Abigail ( Fair- banks) Boutelle, was born in Leominster, February 1, 1805. He completed his preparatory studies at New Ipswich and entering Amherst College at the age of twenty years he was graduated in the class of 1829 and at Andover Theological Seminary 1832. After a short engagement with the Ameri- can Educational Society, he was ordained and installed over the Congregational church in Plymouth, May 21, 1834; dismissed March 23, 1837. His next charge was at Wood- stock, Connecticut, where he remained twelve years. From 1850 to 1856 he labored at Bath, New Hampshire. At the close of his pastorate in this town he removed to Fitchburg and there conducted a bookstore, preaching occasionally as opportunity was offered. He died suddenly of heart disease November 28, 1866.
The supply of Mr. Boutelle was succeeded by the settle- ment of Rev. George E. Fisher who was installed May 21, 1863. It was a successful ministry. The church was united and increased in membership and the parish strength- ened. Ilis sermons were thoughtful and instructive and his social relations were firmly supported by enduring friend- ship. In 1867 he represented the district in the Legislature. His request for a dismissal reluctantly granted by the church and parish was approved by a council convened September 2,1867.
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HISTORY OF ASHBURNHAM.
Rev. George E. Fisher, son of Rev. George and Mary (Fiske) Fisher, was born in Harvard January 22, 1823. Pursuing his preparatory study under the tuition of his father and at the Lawrence Academy in Groton, he was graduated at Amherst College 1846, and at Andover Theo- logical Seminary 1849. He was successively settled over the church in Rutland February 27, 1850; the North church in Amherst September 16, 1852; the church in Mason Village (now Greenville), New Hampshire, June 22, 1859. Following his removal from this town Mr. Fisher was installed over the church in South Hadley Falls September 2, 1867, and over the East church in Amherst December 10, 1879, where he remains an active and successful pastor.
Leaving Mr. Fisher, the ninth and last minister who received installation, the church and parish entered an era of supply as yet unbroken. The ministry has been con- tinuous and not without a character of stability.
Rev. Moody A. Stevens was employed three years com- meneing in 1867. During this period the meeting-house was thoroughly repaired and it is probable the progress of his labor was considerably interrupted by the activities of the parish. He was a devoted man and he earnestly and faithfully labored for the highest good of his people. He was singularly free from ostentation, prudent in his methods and manifested a friendly interest in the welfare of his parish. Being a cultured musician he took a lively interest in church music and enlivened the social meetings with the spirit of song. Ilis ministry was successful.
Rev. Moody 1. Stevens, son of David and Elizabeth (Ryder) Stevens, was born in Bedford, New Hampshire, February 7, 1828. He fitted for college at Phillips Acad- emy, Andover, and at Exeter, New Hampshire, and at twenty years of age he entered Dartmouth College. His
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health failed and he did not complete a course of study at that time. For seven years he made a thorough study of music and was a student and instructor in Boston and in St. Johns, New Brunswick. Subsequently he completed his academical studies at the University of New York and is a graduate of Union Theological Seminary. In 1861 he was chaplain four months of the Second New York City Volunteers. He was ordained and installed over the church in Plymouth December 9, 1862. Since his labors in this town he has supplied at Anoka, Michigan, and at Minne- apolis, Minnesota, and is now temporarily residing in Boston.
The following six years and until 1876 the pulpit was supplied by Rev. Leonard S. Parker. He is a man of strong convictions but generous in all his relations to his fellow-men. A diligent pastor, a frequent visitor in the schools, a willing supporter of every laudable enterprise the pastorate is a record of labor and substantial results. The Cushing Academy was opened while Mr. Parker was preaching in this place. June 10, 1874, he was elected a trustee of that institution and is now in duration of service the fourth member of the board.
Rev. Leonard S. Parker, son of William and Martha (Tennes) Parker, was born in Dunbarton, New Hampshire, December 6, 1812. He pursued his preparatory studies at the academies in Hampton and Hopkinton, New Hampshire, and at the Boston Latin School, and is a graduate of Dartmouth College and Oberlin Theological Seminary. In early life he enlisted in the anti-slavery movement, and his public efforts elicited the favorable notice of Giddings and other pioneers in the cause. He has been settled over churches in Mansfield, Ohio ; Providence, Rhode Island ; West Brookfield and Haverhill ; and Derry, New Hampshire.
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Following his ministry in this town he supplied at Miller's Falls and Turner's Falls, preaching each Sabbath at churches four miles distant and having a class in each Sunday-school. At the commencement of these labors both were mission churches, but during the ministry of Mr. Parker both became self-supporting and erected houses of worship. At present Mir. Parker is acting pastor of the Congregational church in Berkley.
Mr. Parker was immediately succeeded by Rev. Daniel E. Adams, who was acting pastor from July 16, 1876, to July 5, 1885. In duration the ministry of Mr. Goodyear exceeds that of Mr. Adams by only a few Sabbaths ; and, except the prolonged ministry of Dr. Cushing, no other pastorate of this church has been continued an equal length of time. Assuming without hesitation the prerogatives of his sacred calling, Mr. Adams preached the whole truth but with a sincerity and kindness that provoked neither bitterness nor controversy. In his administration of the affairs of the church he pursued a pacific policy and his ministry was an. era of concord and harmony. The memory of the fraternal relations continuously maintained in the church and parish is a living tribute to his judicious ministry in the pulpit and among the people. Of the one hundred and fifty funerals attended by Mr. Adams while in this town, the extreme age of two of the deceased is remarkable. The funeral of Mrs. Emma (Willard) Skelton, aged 103 years and 10 months, occurred November 7, 1881, and that of Colonel Charles Barrett, aged 97 years and 4 months, June 10, 1885.
Rev. Daniel E. Adams, son of Rev. Darwin and Catherine (Smith) Adams, was born in Hollis, New Hampshire, June 22, 1832. His grandfather was Daniel Adams, the author of Adams' Arithmetic and other popular school-books, and his mother was the daughter of Rev. Eli Smith of Hollis,
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I. D. Crosby.
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ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.
New Hampshire. Graduating at Bangor Theological Semi- nary 1860, Mr. Adams was ordained and installed over the Second Congregational church, Wilton, New Hampshire, December 5, 1860, and dismissed May 5, 1876. Since December 5, 1885, he has been acting pastor of the Pilgrim Congregational church of Southboro.'
During several of the intervals between the pastorates and when called upon by the sickness or absence of the stated supply, Rev. Josiah D. Crosby of this town has been a present help in every time of need. Ile supplied contin- uously during the absence of Mr. Davis in Europe and in the aggregate he has preached more Sabbaths than some of the pastors who have been in charge. Any record of the ministry of this church would be incomplete without a generous recognition of his willing service. His interest in the prosperity of the church and parish has been unfailing, and in matters of moment his advice frequently has been solicited and cheerfully given, and to the sick and the aged he has been an attentive friend.
Rev. Josiah Davis Crosby, eldest son of Fitch and Rebecca (Davis) Crosby, was born in Ashburuham, March 1, 1807. He pursued his preparatory studies at New Ipswich Academy and under the tnition of Ephraim M. Cunningham, Esq., then a lawyer in Ashburnham. At the age of fifteen years, he entered Amherst College and not completing the course in that institution he entered senior year at Union College graduating in class of 1826. IIe studied theology at An- dover and was licensed to preach by the North Worcester Association in 1830. October 4, 1837, he was installed colleague to the venerable Rev. Laban Ainsworth over the church at Jaffrey Centre, New Hampshire, and was dismissed May 18, 1845 .. He supplied at New Buffalo from October 1, 1857, to July 1, 1858, and from September 1, 1861, to September 1, 1862.
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HISTORY OF ASHBURNHAM.
Here at the close of one hundred and twenty-five years the record ends. Nine ministers have been installed over the church and five have supplied about twenty-five years. The ministry of Mr. Cushing was a continent of the and in comparison the shorter pastorates were little islands in an adjacent sea. Yet each of them, influenced in some measure by its climate, has produced fruit in accordance with the tillage of the vineyard. The ministry has been continuous and in its character it has been able and substantial. If the pulpit has been graced by none who have electrified audiences and by the power of eloquence have swayed the passions of men, each in his sphere has been an acceptable preacher and, apparently, more concerned to secure the approval of his Master than the applause of men, has faithfully discharged his duty to the church and to the parish.
The offices of the church in forming and moulding character and in its ministrations to the souls of men form a part of the unwritten history of another world. The visible results of the record aggregate the admission of one thousand and twenty-six to its membership, beside the few names that escaped record during the ministry of Mr. Winchester. Of these, four hundred and two have died in full relations and four hundred and forty have been dismissed, a few with censure but generally with recommendation to other churches. There have been convened sixteen ecclesiastical councils for the settlement and dismissal of ministers and only one in arbitration upon a proceeding of discipline, and this church has been invited to meet in nearly one hundred councils upon the affairs of other churches.
Through all these years the church in Ashburnham has remained steadfast to its early principles, yet ready to accept the enlargement of its creed which has attended the progress of the age. In the succession of worshippers they have
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borne the prayer and the praise of four generations. In blameless lives, in self-denial, in devotion and in courage they have honored the fathers who planted the vine in the wilderness. As a thousand tender memories warm the heart, the influence of their faith and devotion, as reflected in the record, will become the enduring inheritance of their sue- cessors.
Since the organization of the church the following persons have officiated as deacons :
Moses Foster, 1760, resigned 1769, died Oct. 17, 1785.
Samuel Fellows, 1760, removed to Shelburne 1772.
. Tristram Cheney,
1709, removed to Antrim, N. H., 1773.
John Willard,
1772, died July 4, 1793.
Samuel Wilder, 1773,
died May 9, 1798.
Peter Stone, 1788, removed to Townsend 1799.
Jacob Harris,
1788, died in Windham, N. H., Sept. 26, 1826.
Elisha White, 1798,
died June 14, 1817.
Sherebiah Hunt,
1798,
died March 6, 1826.
Samuel Ward, 1817,
resigned 1843.
William J. Lawrence, 1819,
died July 8, 1844.
Daniel Jones, 1824, dismissed to Union Church 1843.
John C. Glazier,
1836, dismissed to Methodist Church, 1857.
Amos Taylor, 1843,
removed to Ashby 1851.
John A. Conn, 1849,
removed to Fitchburg 1865.
William P. Ellis, 1849,
resigned 1862.
Harvey Brooks, 1862,
removed to Gardner.
David Laws, 1865, removed to Worcester 1871.
J. Newton Hastings, 1870, resigned 1877.
Charles E. Woodward, 1870, resigned 1877.
Since 1877 the deacons have been elected for a limited term but are eligible to reelection. The new system com- prises the election of two deacons every other year for the term of four years. Under this arrangement the following persons have been chosen and are continued in office :
J. Newton Hastings, 1877. Charles E. Woodward, 1877. Mortimer M. Stowe, 1877.
George W. Eddy, 1883.
CHAPTER IX.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. - CONTINUED.
THE FIRST MEETING-HOUSE. - VOTES CONCERNING THE EDIFICE. - PAWS CONSTRUCTED. - THIE TOWN AS A PARISII. - THE SALARY OF MIR. CUSHI- ING. - THE HURRICANE. - THE SITE OF THE FIRST MELTING-HOUSE. - THE SECOND MEETING-HOUSE. - PROCEEDINGS 1791. - PAINTING OF THE MEETING-HOUSE. - TOLERATION. - DISSOLUTION OF THE RELATIONS BETWEEN THE TOWN AND THE CHURCH. - FIRST PARISH ORGANIZED. - CONTENTION OVER THE MINISTERIAL FUND. - THE THIRD MEETING- HOUSE. - LOCATION. -- CONTINUED HISTORY. - THE EDIFICE REMODELLED. - TRE PARSONAGE.
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CONSPICUOUS in the annals of Ashburnham are the very early measures concerning the location and building of the first meeting-house. The worship of God in a stated form was a subject of earnest concern and solicitude. The " hill with a very fair prospect " was fitly chosen for the site of the temple in the forest. The work was not suffered to sleep. At a date which excites no small measure of surprise and far in advance of other settlements a meeting-house was built in 1739 or possibly very early in 1740. At a later period, the abandonment of the settlement and, owing to disturbance excited by continued war, the tardy return of the settlers did not permit its use for many years ; but the edifice inviting occupancy remained as a monument to the enterprise and faith of its builders. True it was a long time before it was completed to the satisfaction of the proprietors, but through all the period of repairs and amendments it 284
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could be used, and in the light of the times with some degree of comfort.
Rev. Dr. Cushing speaking midway between the event and the present has preserved the information that this was the first framed building erected in Ashburnham and that it was raised by only sixteen men. It may be inferred that an event like the raising of a meeting-house invited the whole settlement to the scene of action. It is more proba- ble that some came from Lunenburg than that any settler remained at home. At this time the proprietors would not be sustained in the declaration that there were thirty men residing here. The vote of the proprietors instructing Mr. Mossman to nail up the windows and doors, and their com- mittal of this meeting-house in the wilderness to the care of Him in whose service it had been reared and its wonderful preservation during the French and Indian War, add new interest to its history. Reversing the traditions of the temple of Janus, whose gates were thrown open in time of war and only closed under the mild commands of peace, our fathers closed their temple in this season of danger and opened it not until the land was quieted and messages of a sweeter peace were spoken beneath its roof. The records relate the progress of the improvements made upon the building in the early years of its occupancy and convey impressions which would be lost if stated in other language :
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