USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Billerica > History of Billerica, Massachusetts, with a Genealogical register > Part 27
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This academy building stood south of the Unitarian Church. and was probably identical with the earlier school-house, on the same spot, which is mentioned above. The school was good and useful, but it lacked the pecuniary foundation needful for permanence, and its career closed in 1836. From that time, until 1852, the only
258
HISTORY OF BILLERICA.
opportunity for higher instruction in the town was a private school, which was taught for some years by Reverend Mr. Stearns, in the vestry of the Congregational Church, of which he was the pastor.
Dr. Howe, knowing the value of such a school and instructed by the failure of the Academy, a few years later set about a more substantial foundation ; and the results of his benevolent plans remain, and must long endure, in the Howe School. The design had occupied his thoughts before his death, and the lot was selected and purchased by himself. By his will, a Board of Trustees, to be incorporated, received the bulk of his estate, and were charged with the duty of carrying his plans into execution. The first Trustees were John Baldwin, James R. Faulkner, Dudley Foster, William II. Odiorne, Marshall Preston, Amos Spaulding, and George HI. Whit- man ; of whom only Mr. Foster is still a member of the Board. Others, who have been appointed to fill vacancies by the Judge of Probate, are Thomas Talbot, John A. Buttrick, Gardner Parker, Luther W. Faulkner, Henry A. Hazen, Moses G. Parker, and Peter B. Bohonan. The building was erected in 1852, and dedicated with an address by Mr. Whitman, who remained until 1875, the diligent and faithful secretary of the Trustees. Valuable details of the his- tory may be found in that address, which has been published.
The School was opened at once under the charge of Mr. William C. Grant. He was succeeded, in 1855, by Mr. Stephen Gilman, and, in 1864, by Mr. Francis Gorman. The present principal, Mr. Samuel Tucker, assumed his charge in 1868. Tuition was free at the beginning, but in recent years the income of the fund, somewhat more than $20,000, has not been sufficient alone for the support of the School, and a small tuition fee has been charged ; it is now four dollars . per term, with three terms in each year. The Catalogue, published in 1880, enrolls the names of 838 pupils, of whom, since 1868, there have been 66 graduates. Pupils are received on exami- nation from the common schools of the town, and from other towns on the same terms. The generous endowment of Dr. Howe is now less adequate than at first to the needs of the School, and should receive some increase from the town, or from private munificence, in order to meet the larger requirements of instruction and equipment, which the lapse of thirty years and the demands of recent progress have laid upon it.
This record of schools in Billerica has also a recent addition. Early in 1879, Professor M. C. Mitchell, a graduate of Waterville
M. C. MITCHELL. :100HOS SA08
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259
EDUCATION.
College, now Colby University, in 1862, who had for some years bad a private Boys' School, at Edgartown, Massachusetts, removed with his school to this town. After brief locations, on Boston Street and on Andover Street, he purchased the large and handsome building which had replaced the old hotel, burned in 1876, on the south corner of Andover and Main Streets, which was occupied in May, 1880. It is designed as a home school for boys, the number of pupils being limited to twenty-four, and the charge, including all expenses, being $400 per year. The school is prosperous, and we give a good view of its buildings.
CHAPTER XV.
RELIGIOUS HISTORY. - CONTINUED.
THE dismission of Mr. Chandler left the church for the first time without a pastor; and the devont fathers set apart a day of fasting and prayer, 1760, October 2, "to supplicate the throne of grace for divine direction in the choice of a minister." The ministers of Littleton, Tewksbury, Wilmington, and Woburn were invited to assist in the public services. Sixteen ministers were paid for preaching during the two years ensuing. Samuel Angier was employed twenty Sabbaths; Edward Sparhawk. ten; Edward Brooks, twelve; Job Whitney, Nathaniel Noyes, and Mr. Frye, eight each; William Whitwell, seven, and Benjamin Caryl, four. The latter received a call to settle, which was not accepted. At length a town meeting was held, 1762, November 18, and this is the record : "The church of Christ in this town having at their meeting on the 25 Day of August, 1760, Voted to give up their Right and Priviledge of Choos- ing a Gospel minister by themselves, and to act in conjunction with the Town in this Important affair ; and the Church and Town Having mett together upon this occation, * and the meeting being opened by a prayer to god for his Gracious Influence, guidance. & Direction. The Question was put whether we would proceed at this Time To the Choice of a Gentleman to settle with us in the work of the Gospel ministry, and it was voted in the affirmative. Then the members of the Church & the Inhabitants of the Town were desired by the Moderator to Bring in their votes conjunetly, in order to the choosing such a minister, which being done and the votes examined, it appeared that Mr. Henry Cumings was chosen by all the votes. Then the Town voted to the said Mr. Henry Cummings, as an Encouragement to settle with us, for his settlement Two Hundred Pounds Lawfull money, one Hundred to be paid" at the time of his ordination. and
261.
RELIGIOUS HISTORY.
the remainder a year later. His salary was to be £80, paid annually, and he was to have the use of the "Parsonage pasture." The ques- tion of acting on "the article of wood" passed "in the negative," and ministers have since been permitted to furnish their own wood. In paying Dr. Cumings the promised " settlement," the town appro- priated £73, 17s., 11d., which had been received from the State for the care of the French neutrals. The ordination took place, 1763, January 26. "Seven churches came to the solemnity. The Revd. Mr. Morrill, of Wilmington, began with prayer ; Revd. Mr. Emerson, of Hollis, preached the sermon, from Heb. xiii : 17; the Revd. Mr. Rogers, of Littleton, gave the charge, & the Revd. Mr. Bridge, of Chelmsford, the Right Hand of Fellowship. & y' Reyd. Mr. Emerson. of Peperil, made ye last prayer."
The record of Mr. Cumings' birth and family is given elsewhere. He was a young man when he assumed his important and lifelong charge, having graduated from Harvard College just before he was twenty-one years of age, and spent only two years in teaching, at Reading, where he found his wife. and in the study of theology with his pastor, Rev. Daniel Emerson, of Hollis. Mr. Emerson was a man of character and spiritual force, and of power as a preacher, and many young men went from Hollis under his influence to take high positions in the pulpit and at the bar. He had been in ardent sympathy with the Great Awakening and the labors of Edwards and Whitefield, and Mr. Cumings brought the tonic of this training to his ministry in Billerica. He brought also a fine physical manhood, a culture and a piety, which gave him good equipment for his office : and for almost two generations he led his people, a good example of the oldtime pastor, holding their respect and love with a rare force to the end. As to the manner of man he was, I am able to give some authentic and interesting reminiscences, furnished by his grand- daughter, Miss Nancy Wilkins, whose privilege it was to be with him twenty years in the later part of his life, and who, after illustrating in her own person a most serene and charming old age, has but recently been called away by death. She says, -
"The earliest recollections of iny revered grandfather are of a pleasing nature, although they inspired my youthful heart with awe. He was six feet and upwards in height, finely proportioned. with silvery, flowing locks and a pleasant smile. He would be called a perfect Christian gentleman, in whom was no guile, and was noted for his hospitality to all. He was a powerful man. both mentally and physically, and was considered a fine Hebrew scholar, having been taught while in college by a Jew, who took
262
HISTORY OF BILLERICA.
unwearied pains with a small class to perfect them in the language he loved, and took great pride in their success. He was well versed in Latin and Greek. From the latter I have heard him quote largely ; particularly from a speech of President Holyoke. In prayer time some of the students had whistled and scraped. After prayers, my grandfather said, he never heard such a powerful address as he made to them in. Greek; it came like a thunder-clap, and the offence was never repeated. I have often heard him repeat this speech, and his memory was very uncommon. He would repeat the first book of Paradise Lost without hesitation. He fitted several for college in his younger days, and, later, instructed some theological students. Ile was uniformly kind, but in those days any approach to familiarity would have been considered highly improper ; and, as he seldom spoke of himself, I knew but little of his history. His mother was a woman of uncommon energy, and very devout. Dr. Cummings owed much, in his own opinion, to her influence. Mr. Emerson, his pastor, befriended him, fitted him for college, and helped him through. The Sabbath was kept very strictly. None could visit or leave his house on that day, or stay at home to provide food. To me it was always a pleasant day. I had my Bible and Pilgrim's Progress, and I longed to find and enter through that wicket gate, for it was all real to me. I never knew one who had a more vivid sense of an overruling providence. Ilis wives' family was of English descent, all Episcopalians, and their grandfather kept slaves. He often spoke of his first wife and always with deep emotion, and she must have been a most lovely Christian woman. In memory of her and of his blessed Saviour, he used to trim his rooms with evergreen on Christmas Eve, and for this purpose would go far to get the double spruce which he thought the most beautiful. He was a man of strong passions and quick temper, but had learned the lesson of self-control .. In his younger days he used tobacco freely, but, when convinced that it was injurious, he abandoned it ; but he said it was like cutting off a right arm.
"Once a year he visited all the schools, in order to catechise the chil- dren, using the Assembly's Catechism, The Commandments and Creed, portions of The Bible, and Hymns. It was a very interesting day to the children. My grandfather took great pleasure in cultivating his garden, and was very fond of flowers, having a fine assortment for those times. He gave me a flower-bed and taught me to cultivate it. He often brought us wild flowers and herbs, and seemed to know their properties; as well as all the birds of the air and all their peculiar habits."
This picture, outlined by one who knew and loved him, shows very clearly some of the elements of his power as a minister. He was a diligent student, wrought out his sermons with great care, and preached them with effect. Then he was a man of the people. He had known in his own early experience what poverty and trial were, and was prepared to sympathize with the trials through which the people were passing. The testimony is abundant how heartily he shared in the patriotic discussions and actions which bore fruit in the
COMMON. FIRST CHURCH.
263
RELIGIOUS HISTORY.
independence of the States and establishment of the Union. He was a leader in the patriot councils, and the action of the town was often shaped by him. His election as a delegate to the Convention which framed the Constitution of Massachusetts, in 1780, was only the proper and natural recognition of his standing among his towns- men. He was often called on councils, far and near, and to preach on public occasions, in a way to show that his merits were appreciated beyond the bounds of his rural parish. But if he was ever called, in the modern fashion, to leave his chosen field, the temptation did not move him, and he was content to live and to die among the people, who gave him in youth unanimously their confidence and love, and continued it to the end.
A new and more commodious meeting-house was found necessary and was erected in 1797. It stood near, but a little southeast of, its present position, facing the north. By some accident the first steeple fell, and the builder received 8500.00 compensation from the town. The cost of this house was provided for by sale of the pews, which took place, 1797, December 8, as follows, the sum received being $8504.50 : -
SALE OF PEWS.
No.
Price.
No.
l'rice.
On the lower floor :
22
Lt. Stephen Barrett and Mr. Joel Baldwin 8123.75
1 Capt. John Winning
$121.50
2 Lieut. John Kidder
121.50
23
Mr. Joseph Jaquith 125.50
24 Capt. Solomon Pollard 114.00
3 Dr. Wm. Wilkins and Mr. Isaac Wilkins 116.00
25 Mr. William Patten 117.00
6 Dr. William Bowers
164.00
27
Mr. John Bromfield 116.00
28
It. Nehemiah Kittredge 114.75
7 Parsonage.
S Jonathan Bowers, Esq. 181.50
29
Mr. Isaac French and Mr. Abel Bowman 67.00
9 Dea. Win. Tompson 133.50
10 Dea. Joshua Abbot 152.00
30 Mr. James Abbot
84.00
31 Mr. Jacob Manning 72.75
12 Mr. Jeremiah Blanchard 115.00
13 Lieut. Peter Hill 126.50
33 Maj. John Parker
34
Mr. Josiah Richardson
116.00
14 Mr. Jona. Pollard and Mr. Thomas Rogers
124.00
35
Lt. Jeremiah Crosby and Mr. John Bacon 123.25
36
Lt. Isaac Baron 120.75
37 Mr. Samuel Bowers 125.50
Mr. Nathan Abbot 120.25
39 Mr. Samuel Whiting 115.50
40 Mr. Zaccheus Shed 115.00
41 Dea. Oliver Crosby 120.50
-42 John White, Esq. 113.50
43 Mr. Josiah Crosby 131.50
14
Mr. Joseph Blanchard 115.25
17 Mr. Zebediah Rogers, jr. 122.75
18 Widow Elizabeth IIill 114.50
19 Mr. William Rogers 124.00
20 Mr. John Soley 114.00
21 Mr. Joseph Danforth and
Mr. John Patten, jr. 121.25
26
Lt. Jeremiah Allen and Mr. Joseph Kendal 123.00
4 Ens. Samuel Parker 120.25
5 Capt. Josiah Bowers 161.00
11 Mr. Luther French 116.25
32 Capt. Stephen Parker 80.00
116.00
15 Mr. Benjamin Bowers 102.50
16 Mr. Samuel Richardson, jr. and Mr. John Rich- ardson 94.00
38
264
HISTORY OF BILLERICA.
No.
Price.
No.
Price.
45 Mr. Ebnzr. Richardson, $115.50
46 Mr. Josiah Rogers [jr. 120.00
47 Mr. Silas Richardson and Mr.Stephen Richardson 116.50
48 Mr. John Rogers 116.00
49 Mr. Benjamin Dows and Mr. William Frost 128.00
50 Mr. Asa Patten and Mr. Oliver Richardson 116.00
51 Mr. Jonas Beard and Mr. William Gleason 115.75
52 Mr. John Crosby and Mr. Ephraim Crosby, jr. 114.25
53 Lt. Sears Cook and Mr. Edward Farmer, jr. 120.25
54 Edward Farmer, Esq. and Edward Farmer 3d 116.00
55
Mr. Isaac Blanchard 124.00
16
Mr. William Hill 40.00
57 Isaac Stearns, Esq. 115.00
17 Mr. Joseph Jaquith, jr. 30.50
58 Lieut. Isaac Marshall
115.75
18 Capt. Stephen Parker 32.00
59 Lieut. Jacob Richardson 123.50
60 Lt. Thomas Richardson and Lt. Wm. Baldwin 120.25
61 Lieut. John Farmer 103.00
21
Lt. Timothy Stearns 41.00
Mr. Oliver Farmer, jr. and Mr. Joseph Wilson, sr.
70.00
Mr. Jonathan Hill
70,50
1
Mr. Benjamin Bowers
32.25
24 Mr. John Lain
53.25
2 Mr. Nathan Mears
33.00
225 Lt. Timothy Stearns 62.75
3 Mr. Seth Crosby, jr. and
Lt. Nehemiah Kittredge 52.25
4 Mr. John Carlton, jr. and Mr. Amos Carlton $48.50
5 Mr. Benjamin Beard. jr. 3 part, and Mr. Francis Cook, 3
53.00 .
6 Mr. Wm. Levistone and Mr. Thomas Mears 57.00
7 Mr. Win. Tarbel, jr. and Mr. Thomas Crage 40.75
8 Mr. Timothy Davis
44.50
9 Mr. JJonathan Bond 41.75
10 Lt. Jeremiah Crosby and Mr. John Bacon 70.25
11 Mr. Timothy Foster 43.25
12 Mr. Elijah Trull 54.25
13 Mr. John Bromfield 52.00
14 Mr. Joseph Dows 69.75
15 Jonathan Bowers, Esq. 31.25
56 Mr. John Patten 125.00
19 Mr. Jeptha Manning 31.25
20
Lt. Thos. Richardson and Lt. William Baldwin 71.00
62 Mr. Benjamin Davis 116.50 22
In the Gallery :
23
26 Mr. Asa Patten and Mr. Oliver Richardson 40.50
The church continued united and prosperous during the long pastorate of Dr. Cumings. A just estimate of his theological atti- tude, in relation to the questions on which the separation among the churches about the time of his death took place, is not easy to reach. Some facts, however, will assist in such an estimate. A pupil of Mr. Emerson, of Hollis, would not fail to hold the views then and after described by the term "evangelical," unless he departed from the position of his teacher ; and that Dr. Cummings ever did so there is lack of evidence. On the contrary, the testimony of his grand- daughter, who sat at his feet during the last years of his life, is that he "held fast" the evangelical doctrines to the end. His published sermons confirm this statement ; and it might be illustrated from his unpublished sermons to almost any extent. I give extracts from two sermons, which show his general tone of thought and discussion. The text of the first is Hebrews, v : 9; and speaking of the benefit procured for us by JJesus Christ, he says : "By this is meant our deliverance from sin and all its penal effects, a deliverance from guilt
265
RELIGIOUS HISTORY.
and condemnation, from wrath to come and the eternal punishments of another world. * It is owing to the interposition of divine grace, that we have not before now been made extremely miserable. * This grace we owe, and it is dispensed to us through the mediation of, Jesus Christ. * Christ hath procured eternal salvation for us by the merit of His own obedience, suffering, and death, whereby he has procured eternal redemption for us, not only deliverance from ye wrath and curse of God, but eternal life and happiness. When man had by sin ruined and undone himself, Christ was contented to be made a sacrifice for him and to bear his sins in His own body on the tree."
The text of the other sermon is Mark, xiii : 33, and its "Doctrine. that a consideration of the uncertainty of the Time when our Lord will call us to Judgment ought to put us upon using the greatest care and Diligence, by Prayer and the most circumspect walk and con- versation, that we may be in a constant preparation to meet Him." Some of the points made in the treatment of it are as follows : "We are in this world in a state of Tryal or Probation. * Christ comes to every Individual at death. The Scriptures teach that as soon as the soul leaves the Body, it appears before God and is sentenced to a State of Happiness or Misery. So that the Day of Death is a Period as interesting to every one as the Day of general Judgment : for the same Sentence that is passed upon every one at Death will be openly and solemnly ratified at the general Assize of the World. Death puts an everlasting Period to our probationary state." After these and other preliminary statements, the preacher outlines what the vigilant man will do ; and under the fifth head uses this language : "The Vigilant Man, as he is put upon watching by a consideration of the Certainty of a Judgment to come and the Uncertainty of the Time when it will come ; so, in order to maintain his Vigilaney, he will frequently represent to his Mind the Solemnity of a future Judgment. And I know of nothing that would tend more to make men watchful and keep them so, than often to reflect upon the solemnityes of that great Day, when we must all give Account of ourselves to God, which Day will certainly come though we know not the Time of it. A consideration that there is a Day approaching when the Lord Jesus Christ will descend from Heaven, with his mighty Angels, in awful Power and Magnificence, to Judge the World, and that He will then raise the dead and summon the whole human Race from Adam to the latest of his Posterity before his
266
HISTORY OF BILLERICA.
glorious Tribunal, and, separating the righteous from the wicked, will, after graciously inviting the former to his heavenly Mansions, pronounce that awful sentence against the latter, 'Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.' * It will be a joyful or a terrible Day to us, according to our present Behav- ior." The duty of prayer is then considered, under several heads ; and the sermon closes with fervent and solemn appeals to his hearers.
This latter sermon1 was first preached, 1775, February 12; was preached eight times elsewhere, and repeated four times in his own pulpit, the last time in 1810. It reflects the unchanged tenor of his late as well as his early preaching. A characteristic tendency of Dr. Cumings' preaching is to limit his statements of the doctrines of the trinity, of sin, of redemption and retribution, to the language of the Scriptures, seldom interpreting them in phraseology of his own. His sympathies were with the Arminian, rather than with the high-Calvinistic opinions of his time; but when his colleague was ordained, in 1814, it was understood by the council that he held evangelical opinions. Mr. Stearns, of Bedford, concurred in it for that reason ; a fact confirmed on the trial of Mr. Stearns, twenty years later, by Mr. Whitman's own testimony, that the suspension of exchanges between himself and Mr. Stearns was not due to any change in Mr. Stearns' opinions .? On the other hand, it is to be remembered, that the church with substantial unanimity accepted the views of the "liberal" party, under the lead of Mr. Whitman, and that Dr. Cumings' influence, negative if not positive, must have contributed to this result. He is named with Unitarian ministers in the histories of the period ; and whether any injustice is done to him in this classification is a question on which opinions will differ.
In February, 1813, Dr. Cumings preached his Half-Century Sermon. On account of his age and infirmity, he requested a colleague, and the church at once took measures which resulted in the ordination of Mr. Nathaniel Whitman, on the fifty-first anni- versary of the day when Dr. Cumings had been himself ordained, 1814, January 26. The life of Dr. Cumings was spared for almost ten years longer, and his pastorate extended to nearly sixty-one years, his death occurring, 1823, September 6. From ordination to death his pastorate was about eleven years longer than that of Mr. Whiting,
1 This sermon may be found among the MSS. collections of the Congregational Library in Boston.
2 Congregational Quarterly. Vol. X, p. 270.
267
RELIGIOUS HISTORY.
but in this comparison it should be remembered that Mr. Whiting labored here five years before the church was organized, and the actual difference in the length of their ministry is only six years. To the last Dr. Cumings held the respect and love of the people, and, when the end came, he was buried by the town with reverent affection, the third and the last pastor to whom the town has rendered this service.
Mr. Whitman brought high character, scholarship, and piety to his new position. It should be added to the record elsewhere given, that he was two years an usher at Phillips Academy, Exeter, and there began the study of theology with Dr. Buckminster, of Ports- mouth, completing his course at Cambridge. He was received with great cordiality and considerate kindness by his venerable colleague, and a warm friendship grew up between them. His ordination was attended by a multitude of people, and the hospitality of the town was full and generous. The sermon was preached by the Rev. James Flint, of East Bridgewater; the Rev. Samuel Stearns, of Bedford, gave the Right Hand, and Dr. Cummings the Charge, which were published. Mr. Whitman was a good preacher and active pastor. He established a Bible Society and a Peace Society, as well as the first Sunday School in town, and he used his influence effectively in improving the common schools. His pastorate, however, fell upon a period of agitation and disruption among the churches, when influences which had been gathering force, some of them for a hundred years, came to a head; and it is scarcely any fault of this worthy man that they culminated in his day and disturbed the peace of his ministry. The discussions which preceded and attended the separation of the Unitarian churches were not the only and scarcely the most serious of the influences which threatened the peace of the local pastors. The practical union of Church and State, which had been naturally inherited from England, and illustrated in all our previous history, as the constable gathered the pastor's salary, was out of place in the free air of America. With independence the demand for a change grew stronger and stronger ; but it involved so serious considerations and was so startling to good but conservative men, that the resistance was long, and many pastors were unsettled in the process. The age of Dr. Cumings and the honor in which he was held delayed its coming in Billerica, and the town collected the salary of Mr. Whitman until 1834. In that year the usual article in the warrant was "passed" by the town and was not again
268
HISTORY OF BILLERICA.
inserted. The parish was then called to meet, and raised somewhat less than the salary, $700, which Mr. Whitman had received. He remained a year longer, and, in 1835, resigned and removed to Wilton, New Hampshire.
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