USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > History of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of its prominent men, Volume II pt 2 > Part 3
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After the old house had thus come to grief the town meetings were held in the " middle school house," which stool on the east of the Old Elm. This was exceedingly incommodious ; and a meeting. convened in it, and thus having a realizing sense of its utter nnfitness for human oc. cupation, appointed a committee to consider the most eligible mode of keeping a grammar school, and to take into consideration the sale of the school house and the erection of a new one, which might serve as a town house.
The committee, consisting of J. C. Williams, Woodbridge Little, and Timothy Childs, reported that "a house ought to be built about forty- eight or fifty feet long by twenty-four or twenty-five wide, two stories high, with a flat, square roof, a chimney at each end : that on the lower floor there should be two rooms, one for the grammar and one for the district school : that the chamber should be fixed with convenient seats. rising one above another in the form of a gallery, with a proper arrange. ment for the seats of the moderator, selectmen, and town clerk, some-
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HISTORY OF BERESHIRE COUNTY. .
what as in the chamber allotted to the use of the House of Representa- tives. This might also be convenient for learning to sing in, and for making exhibitions on " quarter day."
The cost of this was slightly in excess of the estimate of the com- mittee (£250) and it was occupied for the meeting in March, 1793. It long continued to serve for public meetings and the many uses to which such halls are appropriated in New England.
During the first fifteen years of the nineteenth century, although Pittsfield enjoyed a large degree of substantial prosperity, and of ad. vance in agriculture and the industrial arts, and although it numbered among its citizens an unusual proportion of able men, political bitterness was so intense that it divided the town socially, and even religiously. into two hostile camps, with passions quite as malignant, if their weapons were less fatal, than those of the battle field.
The causes of this rancorous feeling, which was not confined to Pitts- field, are to be sought in the circumstances which then surrounded the people here and also in other countries. It was a transition period. The old notion of the divine right of kings to rule was slowly and reluctantly giving way before the advancing ideas of popular rights and of the true source of governmental powers. That intense personal malignity should be engendered by the strife that was then in progress, and that this should pervade all classes, from the chief magistrate of the nation down to the lowest bar room wrangler, is not a matter of wonder when the magnitude of the contest then pending, and the radical character of the changes in public sentiment then in progress are considered.
The records and traditions of the feuds then prevalent are silent con- cerning those who were not involved in the existing contests, and their numbers probably bore a larger proportion to the entire population than many imagine ; for it is reasonable to suppose that then, as now, there were many with whom politics was not an all-absorbing consideration. It is true, however, that the men of the warmest hearts and strongest minds were the ones who were most deeply engaged in these unfortunate strifes.
Although it is not true that all social intercourse was suspended be- tween those of different political creeds, and that they met each other on the street only to scowl and pass by on different sides, yet it is true that the progress of the town was impeded, family feuds were engendered, and the Congregational church and parish, which then comprised the larger portion of the population, was rent in twain.
Hon. Ezekiel R. Colt denominated that period " The Age of Folly." and it may be said that there was equal justice and severity in the expression.
In 1791 Elder John Leland, of Cheshire, a Baptist clergyman of abil- ity and vehement feeling, returned from Virginia, and frequently spoke in Pittsfield, both on religious and political subjects. His extreme lib-
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TOWN OF PITTSFIELD. 375
eralism had its effect. The Baptists and Methodists in the town be came almost or quite unanimous on the side of the democrats.
A majority of the Congregational church. and a very large propor- tion of the wealthier members of the parish were federalists. Rev. Mr. Allen was as ardent a democrat as he had been a whig in the time of the Revolution, and he did not hesitate to promulgate his sentiments at all times and in all places, even in his pulpit, as was then the custom in New England Congregational churches. Mr. Allen was also a contributor to the columns of the Sun, of which Phinehas Allen was the editor.
His'ardent support of republicanism. or democracy, and his un sparing denunciation of the federalists, gave offense to the latter, and in March, 1807, the dissatisfied members appointed a committee. con- sisting of Woodbridge Little, Joseph Fairfield. Ashbel Strong and Eli Maynard, who addressed to their pastor a "letter of remonstrance " setting forth their grievances. This letter, which was written by Mr. Little, was answered by Mr. Allen, but the dissatisfied members voted his reply "unsatisfactory." Mr. Little was then requested to unite with him in the call of a mutual council to advise in the case. This Mr. Allen declined to do. The controversy which followed, and which was managed on the side of the "disaffected " by Mr. Little. did not tend to re-establish cordial relations between them and their pastor. At- tacks were made on Mr. Allen in the papers. Some of these were per- versions and exaggerations of what had been said or done by him. and others were malicious fabrications. These had no tendency toward a conciliation of matters, and in July, 1807, the correspondence closed with the breach wider than ever.
Prior to the commencement of the correspondence most of the aggrieved party-" except a few church members "-had withdrawn from Mr. Allen's ministry, and set up worship in the town house, which stood on the site of the present Episcopal church. All hope of reconciliation being dissipated at the close of the correspondence, measures were com- menced for the incorporation of a new parish : and in the winter of 1808-9. John Chandler Williams managing the application before the Legislature, Woodbridge Little and one hundred and eight others were incorporated as the Union Congregational Parish of Pittsfield.
In the act of incorporation, as drafted, clauses were inserted giving to the new parish a joint interest with the old in the meeting house and other property of the original organization ; and also releasing the ment. bers who transferred their connection from the payment of taxes which had been assessed but not collected. These provisions passed the House of Representatives unchallenged, but they did not escape the keen eye of Dr. Timothy Childs, an ardent democrat and zealous parishioner of Mr. Allen, who happened that year to be one of the senators from Berkshire : and he opposed them as an invasion of the vested rights of the old parish. and a violation of uniform precedent.
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HISTORY OF BERKSHIRE COUNTY.
The objectionable clauses were stricken from the bill, and the new parish was thus left to its own pecuniary resources, which were ample.
An ex parte council was convened on the 1st of August, 1809, "by letters missive from a committee of Christian professors and others ;" and the organization of an ecclesiastical body was recommended. On the 22d of the same month the committee appointed by the conncil met, and the church was organized with the following members : Charles Goodrich, Nathaniel Fairfield, Zebediah Stiles, Timothy Caldwell, Timo- thy Haskell, Joseph Fairfield, Nathaniel Tremaine, Woodbridge Little. Daniel Chapman, Jonathan Weston, Richard Barnard, Charles Good- rich, jr., Isaac Tremaine, John Chandler Williams, Benjamin Newell, Elisba Ely ; males, sixteen. Hannah Goodrich, Abigail Barnard, Hep- zibah Whitney, Sally White. Mary Newell, Deliverance Blankenship, Olive Tremaine, Huldah Colt, Sarah Colt, Roxana Allis, Lovina Case, Mary Strong, Amelia Goodrich, Eleanor Newell. Martha Gold, Hart Pomeroy, Fanny Hinsdale, Mehitable Kitteridge, Abigail Root, Sarah Peck, Elizabeth Fairfield (widow), Mary Strong. Elizabeth Pepoon, Mercy Merrick, Lucy James : females, twenty-five : total, forty.one.
After the institution of Union Church, on the same day. Rev. Thomas Punderson was chosen to the pastorate, and on the 25th of the following October he was installed.
The nnchristian spirit which was aroused by this controversy did not subside with the organization of the seceders into a church. A counter council was convened on the 10th of October, 1809, and both parties were found guilty of irregularities, and mildly censured.
On the 24th of October three of the seceding members mnone of them had regularly withdrawn). Charles Goodrich, jr .. Timothy Haskell. and Jonathan Weston, were tried for violation of their covenant agreements. and excommunicated. They made no defense, but disclaimed the juris- diction of the church over them. Proceedings were afterward instituted against the others. The excitement caused by these proceedings affected the health of Mr. Allen, who declined rapidly during the winter of 1808-9, and in the spring he visited Boston for the benefit of the sea air. He re- turned about mid-summer, having derived no permanent benefit from his trip. After his return, in deference to the wishes of his family, he con- sented to resign ; but negotiations for that purpose failed. On the morn- ing of February 11th, 1810. he died, at the age of sixty seven.
Nine years after his death action was taken by the town for the erection of a monument to his memory, and a committee for that purpose was appointed ; but for some unexplained reason the monument was never erected. A mural tablet, with the following inscription, was placed over the pulpit in the church that was erected in 1853 :
"IN MEMORY OF THOMAS ALLEN,
first minister of Pittsfield, born at Northampton, January 7th, 1743. ordamed first minister of the Congregational Society of Pittsfield. April 1764. Preached in this piace forty-six years, and died February rith, 1810. Fortaler genit einem."
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TOWN OF PITTSFIELD.
Mr. Allen's remains were first deposited in his tomb in the first burial ground near the church. Afterward they were removed to the grave yard on First street, from which they were transferred to Pontoo- suc Hill in the Pittsfield Cemetery, upon which his grandson and name- sake has erected a monumental obelisk.
During seven years after the death of Mr. Allen, or rather after Oc- tober, 1809, no money was in fact raised by the town for religious pur poses. In that year the statute was complied with by voting " that the sum of four hundred dollars shall be raised for the support of the min- istry ; which, together with the expense of assessing the same, shall be assessed exclusively on the polls and estates of those persons who are members of the First Parish in Pittsfield, and be paid over to such uses as they shall appoint." The payment and expenditure of this money was, however, remitted : thus virtually dissolving the connection between the town and the parish. By other votes of the town from time to time this separation was confirmed and perpetuated, producing almost an equality of the religious societies before the law. There was a consider- able democratic majority in the town, but the democrats among the Methodists and Baptists united with the federalists of the Union Parish to accomplish this result.
The town voted, in 1810, that the fund that arose from the sale of the ministry lands should be appropriated to defray the expenses of the schools in the town, but the town treasurer, Captain John Dickinson. disregarded this vote, and paid the money on the salary of the pastor of the First Church. Attempts were made to have the matter investigated. but the democratic majority in the town had become very large, and there was a determination to sustain the treasurer in his non-compliance with the vote of 1810, with rescinding it. By the report of the commit. tee in 1816, it appeared that the treasurer had paid to the minister of the First Parish $971.83, and it was voted " that Thomas Gold, Esq .. Deacon Samuel Root, and Mr. Thomas Hubbard be a committee to settle with Mr. John Dickinson." and in case of failure to settle they were directed to bring an amicable suit against the sureties of the treasurer.
No settlement was effected, and a suit was commenced. It was set aside on a demurrer, and an appeal to the Supreme Court was taken. Pending this appeal measures were initiated for a reunion of the parishes, and this reunion was finally effected. The matter was referred. an l the referees decided that neither party should recover or pay any thing, either debt or costs." This appears to have been the end of this series of remarkable transactions, and no protest was made against the apparent injustice of the action of the town.
On the 10th of August, 1810. the First Church chose Rev. William Allen to succeed his father in the pastorate, and, the parish concurring. he was duly installed.
The measures of discipline commenced by Rev. Thomas Alien against the seceding members of the First Church were resumed seventeen days
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HISTORY OF BERKSHIRE COUNTY.
after his death. or on the 28th of February, 1810. It resulted in the sus- pension for six months of a portion of these members, with absolute ex. communication after the lapse of that time should they continue unre- pentant. Eight of these suspended members afterward tendered a qualified confession, which was not accepted by the church as wholly sat- isfactory, and these members were left for five years. Twenty-one female members made a confession, which was rejected asequivocal. Sixteen of these afterward made the same acknowledgment that the eight male members had offered, with the same result. This was in 1815, and the hindrances that had obstructed reunion were slowly giving way. Soon afterward the church adopted a declaration in which it was stated that. "although retaining our persuasion the foundation of the church of Union Parish was laid in error and irregularity, yet influenced by the desire of promoting the interests of the gospel of peace, we think on- selves allowed to vote, and we do hereby vote, that we shall hereafter overlook, in our measures of discipline. the offense which has been acknowledged, and that hereafter we will treat the church of Union Parish as a Christian church."
As usual in such cases both parties had from the first professed a desire to prevent a rupture. and both had proclaimed a willingness for a reconciliation ; but each held that the terms proposed by the other were inadmissible. and this was true, for each insisted on an unconditionalsur render of what the other considered a vital point.
There is no record of any act by the Union Parish during the first seven years of its existence, except the ordination of its minister and the erection of its house of worship. For this building the town was asked to sell a site " north of the printing office of Phinehas Allen." on what was then the burial ground, although as yet unoccupied by graves. The democrats being in majority. this request was refused. and the new house of worship was built where the South Congregational Church now stands, on South street. It was a neat, tasteful, and convenient struc. ture, with a rather graceful spire, and was supplied with a bell. After the rennion of the parishes it served a good purpose as a lecture and school roon1.
On the 21st of June. 1813, Woodbridge Little died. By his will he left 8500, the interest of which was to be "yearly appropriated toward the salary of the Congregational minister in Union Parish." He added a proviso, however, that ". if at any time. a union shall be effected between the two societies, on principles of Christian charity, and they become in fact one society and church, then the said sam should be given to the united parishes."
This bequest became available in 1818, when the parishes had become united. It became the nucleus of the fund for the support of the Con- gregational ministry in Pittsfield. Mr. Little was buried in the old First burial ground, but after two disinterments, his grave is in the " Pilgrim's Rest," at the Pittsfield Cemetery.
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TOWN OF PITTSFIELD.
The first earnest and efficient efforts toward a reconciliation between the two parishes were made by the pastors of the congregations. On the 12th of November, 1816, Rev. Mr. Allen addressed to the First congrega- tion a communication recommending that steps toward a reunion of the societies be taken. and signified his willingness to be dismissed from the pastoral relations for that purpose. A disposition to comply with these recommendations was manifested by the church, and a committee, con- sisting of Deacons Crofoot and Maynard, and Messrs. Daniel Foot, James Hubbard, and Ebenezer Burt was appointed to confer with any committee that might be appointed by Union Parish.
These proceedings were communicated to Rev. Mr. Punderson, who laid them before his congregation, accompanied by a letter also signifying his willingness to be dismissed in the interest of harmony. Thereupon this church appointed. as a committee to confer with that of the First Church, Hon. J. C. Williams, Deacon Daniel Chapman, and Captain Tremain. The joint committee thus constituted agreed on the following basis of union :
" First. That the male members of each church, living in town, should express their readiness to fellowship all the members of the other church, who might be in regular standing.
"Second. That the members of the two churches should have separate vote in the choice of the first minister of the united society; and that a majority, consisting of at least two- thirds of the members of each church, present, should be necessary to the settlement of said minister."
These terms were promptly accepted by the First Church, and meas- ures were taken to carry them into effect.
The confessions of faith and covenants of the two churches were found to be substantially and verbally nearly the same: but being thought too long they were condensed into what was considered a faith ful summary.
Conneils met and dismissed their pastors with the highest expres- sions of esteem and affection, and declared that they only consented thereto because the measure was indispensable to the proposed union.
All the preliminaries having been satisfactorily arranged, an ecclesi. astical council convened on the 7th of July, 1817, and after the requisite formalities declared the members of the two bodies a united church.
A fraternal feeling was soon permanently established, and the Con- gregational church and parish in Pittsfield became as distinguished for peace and harmony as it had long been for the reverse.
Previons to 1810 business concerning the support of public worship was conducted in ordinary town meetings, where secular and municipal affairs were discussed and determined. But in 1817. no parochial busi- ness having been transacted by the town during seven years, although the town parish system was revived, the business was confined to those meetings warned for that special purpose, the warrant of the selection requiring the constable to summon only those qualified to vote in the
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HISTORY OF PERKSHIRE COUNTY.
affairs of the "Congregational Society" in Pittsfield. An effort was made in November, 1818, to organize the parish with a special board of parish officers. This failed. however, and the matter of a further organ. ization of the parish rested till 1834.
September Ist, 1817, the church voted to invite Rev. Heman Hunt- phrey, of Fairfield, Con., to the pastorate, and on the 17th of the same month the parish concurred and ten lered him a salary of $900 per annm.
Heman Humphrey, born in West Simsbury. now Canton, Hartford county, Conn., was the son of Solomon Humphrey, a substantial farmer of ordinary education and good natural ability. His mother was said to be a woman of uncommon mental capacity, and an eager taste for read- ing. Heman received the ordinary education of farmers' sons in Connee- ticut at that time. He spent five summers in farm labor and devoted the winters to teaching school. At the age of twenty-two he commenced preparation for college and two years later, in the autumn of 1803, he entered the junior class at Yale. He passed a creditable college course. through which he supported himself, and graduated free from debt. Of his religious faith he wrote : " I was born a Calvinist, not of flesh, nor of blood, nor of the will of man, but of God, who hath mercy on whom He will have mercy. I then fully embraced the doctrines of the shorter cat- echism, and from this platform I have never swerved." He pursued his theological studies in New Haven and Goshen, Conn., was ordained and settled at Fairfield, Conn., and remained there till May. 1817. He then preached a short time in Hartford, and by invitation visited Pittsfield. the result being the call to settle over the united churches. He was in- stalled on the 26th of October. 1817.
Mr. Humphrey was endowed in an eminent degree with all the qual- ities requisite for the discharge of his difficult duties here, and he sne- ceeded in cementing the union that had just been formed between two bodies that had been bitterly hostile.
It is believed that Sunday school work commenced here prior to his call. Although there is no mention in the church records of the estab- lishment of a school, the Pittsfield Sun of November 15th, 1820, said : "This is the fourth season of the Sunday school in this town," and gave a detail of the work accomplished in it.
In May, 1823. a Bible class was established, with the following en- rolled members : Henry Strong. Dr. H. H. Childs, James MeKnight. James H. Kellogg. Samuel Colt. Uriah Lathrop, John Mason, Elward P. Humphrey, David White. Robert Colt. George A. Peck. Samuel Crocker. Elbridge G. Frisby, Nelson K. Strong. George R. Whitney. Eliza La- throp. Ann Childs, Julia Porter, Frances Danforth, Maria Allen. Amelia Simpson, Mary Ann Porter, Martha Gold, Eliza Ence, Sarah Ann Wel. ler. M. Clark, Fidelia Clark, Aurelia .Johnson, Ann Burge. Martha Root. Sarah Ann Colt, Mary Ann Brown, Julia Colt. Elizabeth Campbell. Cla. rissa Colt. Loisa Adams, Louisa Merriam. Ancora Bells. Amelia Danforth, Caroline Allen, Salome Danforth. Mary Bissell. Eliza Brown, Harriett
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TOWN OF PITTSFIELD.
Allen, Caroline Colt. Minerva Kittredge, E. M. Seeley. Olivia Porter. Martha D. Bramin, Catherine Smith, Sarah Moore, M. Castle, Charlotte Cady, Abby Warner, Mary Ann Kellogg. Climene Woodworth, Ennice Pomeroy. Parthenia L. Pomeroy, Mary Ann Dickinson. Mary Brown, Mary Dorrance, Elizabeth Jackson, Adelia Merrick, Sarah Chapin. En . nice Rossiter, Nancy Ingersoll, William Goodrich. Christiana Van Valk- enburg. Cornelia Dubois, Hannah M. Tyler. Maria Clapp. John Day. James Warriner, Amelia Goodrich. John Ayres, Horace Bissell, John B. Eldridge, William A. Kittredge, Lemnel Pomeroy, jr .. George MeKnight, Justin Chapman, William W. Ward. Edward Goodrich, Daniel Good- rich, George Colt, Thaddeus Clapp, Peleg Blankinship, Mary Colt, So- phia Warner, Ann D. Childs, Mary W. Childs, Clarissa Lathrop. Cor- delia Johnson, C. Colt, Elizabeth Goodrich, Huldah Goodrich, Edith Powell, Chester Woodworth, Levi Thomas. Charles J. Fox Allen. Aure- lia Hollister, Newell, Clarissa Strong, Sophronia Kitteredge, -- Beebe, Maria Center, Abigail Ayres, Cordelia Blankinship.
In the summer of 1820 a deep religious interest prevailed here, re- sulting in the addition of 40 members to the church. During the next summer occurred the most remarkable revival that Pittsfield had ever witnessed. This was conducted by Mr. Humphrey and the celebrated evangelist, Rev. Asahel Nettleton. The result was an accession to the church of between eighty and ninety members. This revival wiped out the last traces of the feuds that had so long agitated the church.
In addition to his strictly pastoral duties, Mr. Humphrey took a sin- cere and active interest in the secular well being of the town and parish. Many of the alterations and repairs of the meeting house were due to his influence : and so. to some extent, was the improvement in church music. and the gift by Joseph Shearer of a town clock. He was active in the management of the common schools, the academies, and the library. He was one of the original trustees of the medical college, and gave it his aid in its most trying days. He was also among the foremost in giving to the village those avenues of elms and maples which are now the pride of its finest streets : and some of them he planted with his own hand.
Possibly Dr. Humphrey was unnecessarily intolerant of some social customs that some of his people thought quite innocent, but no one doubted his conscientious belief that in combating these he was discharg- ing an imperative duty.
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