USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > History of Boston, the metropolis of Massachusetts, from its origin to the present period; with some account of the environs > Part 16
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This act of the baptists was in defiance of a standing . law of the colony, as the formation of the first church had been contrary to a law of the kingdom. Shortly after the depar- ture of the commissioners, Aug. 20, a warrant was issued t the constable of Charlestown to labour to discover where these people were assembled, and to require them to attend the established worship ; upon refusal to do this, they were brought before the court of assistants in September, when they presented a confession of faith, setting forth their distin- guishing sentiments .* The court were not satisfied, but de- clared Mr. Gould and his company to be no orderly church assembly, and sentenced them to be disfranchised, and on con- viction of any further meetings, to be committed to prison. In April of the next year they were again indicted for non-at- tendance on publick worship, and plead their own constant meetings in defence. This was considered an aggravation, and Gould, Osborne and George were fined £4 each, and or- dered to give bonds for their appearance at the next court. This they refused, and were therefore committed to prison. They remained in confinement, for a long time, making occa- sionally appeals for release, but in vain. In March, 1668, Gould appealed for himself, but the court of assistants again affirmed the judgment against him, and he was recommitted. But the same court appointed him and his associates a day to hold a publick dispute in defence of their principles, 'for their orderly conviction by the labours of some of the rever- end elders.' When the day arrived, April 14th, the baptists appeared with some of their friends from Newport, and the six selected divines were attended by the governour and oth- er magistrates and ministers. A memorandum of the procced- ings is preserved in the Historical Library, but as it remains undeciphered, we can only say that 'the conference seems from the quick alternation of the dialogue, as the speakers' names indicate, to have been more animated than might have been expected, but the eloquence and argument of each is lost in an impartial oblivion.' The result was more palpable. In the following May, Gould, Turner and Farnum were ordered to remove from the jurisdiction before the 20th of July ; and if seen after that time, they were to be thrown into prison, and there to remain without bail or mainprise. Mr. Gould was thereupon set at liberty, that he might prepare to go into ban- ishment : in the mean while, the court ordered that no meet- ing should be held or ordinances administered. The bap- tists were determined to suffer imprisonment rather than go into exile. One of them, Turner, lay in prison Nov.1670, and warrants were then in two marshals' hands against Mr.Gould,
* Rev Mr. Winchell's Jubilee sermon.
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HISTORY OF BOSTON.
but he was not then taken 'because he lived on Noddle's Island, and they waited to take him at town.' Many influen- tial men in the town 'laboured abundantly as if it had been for their best friends in the world to obtain their release,' and from the documents left on record, we should suppose the op- position to this church was more from the country than from the people of Boston .* The church at this time held their meet- ing at Noddle's Island every sabbath : Mr. Gould officiated as their pastor,and John Russell, senior, who had joined them from Woburn, held the office of elder. This Mr. Russell and another of their members by the name of Foster, were con- fined in prison for nearly six months in 1672, and in the spring of 1673, two others were fined for withdrawing from the pub- lick meetings.
Gov. Bellingham, who had been opposed to the baptists, had died Dec.7, 1672, and was succeeded at the May election by Maj. Gen. John Leverett, who had always objected to the measures pursued against them : and one oftheir number writes in Jan. 1674, ' the church of the baptized do peaceably enjoy their liberty " Their pastor died in October, 1675. Encour- aged by the lenity of Gov. Leverett's administration, they re- solved, in Jan. 1678, to erect a place of worship in Boston. They proceeded with so much caution in building their house, that it was not known for what purpose it was erected until it was completed. After it was finished,the church purchased the house, with the land it was built upon, of Philip Squire and Ellis Callender for £60 ; and they met in it for worship on the 15th of February, 1679. It was situated on part of the lot now owned and occupied by the church, nearer to the street than the present meeting-house stands. The society did not enjoy it long unmolested ; in May, their leaders were convented before the court and admonished, and an order was then passed that no meetings should be held in any house, erected without the consent of the town in which it might be, on penalty of forfeiture or demolition. They therefore re- frained from meeting, (in the mean time ordaining Mr. Russell as their pastor) until another letter came, July 24, 1679, from the king, forbidding that any of his subjects, not being papists, should be subjected to fines or forfeitures or other incapacities for serving God in the way they might desire. Then they ventured to meet again ; and again they were summoned to
* A petition (which see in Backus i. 380) was offered to the court in behalf of the prisoners. Henry Shrimpton, who died after the 17th of July, 1666, when he made his will, left 10 pounds ' to the society of christians that doth now meet at Noddle's Island, of which is Gould and Osborn and the rest, as a token of my love.' Mr. S. left property worth 10,000. of which he gave some to each of the other churches, and 504. to the town, on condition that be might be buried in the tomb with his former wife, otherwise nothing.
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desist, and the court ordered the marshal to nail up the house, which he did on March 8, 1680, and posted on the door a paper in these words :
" All persons are to take notice, that by order of the Court, the doors of this house are shut up, and that they are inhibited to hold any meeting therein, or to open the doors thereof, without license from authority, till the Court take further or- der, as they will answer the contrary at their peril.'
' The church met in the yard, next Lord's day, and in the week ensuing erected a temporary covering ; but coming the second Lord's day, they found the doors of the house open, and they continued meeting in it till the General Court met in May following, when, having been admonished in open Court, by the Governour, and charged not to meet in their house, they were dismissed ; and the Court agreed to suspend any further proceedings against them.
Thus were the baptists 'left to worship God as they chose, although the law forbade it; but neither the church nor the rulers afterwards regarded this prohibition.'
While the baptists were thus earnestly contending for the application of baptism to believers only, a question arose among the pedobaptists themselves, of most peculiar ' exercise and concernment respecting the ecclesiastical state of their posterity.' To some unpleasant disagreements on this sub- ject is to be traced the origin of the Old South Church.
In 1657 the first church had voted, that it was the duty of a church to exercise church power regularly over the children of their members, who had been baptized in infancy, and to take care that their life and knowledge might be answerable to the engagement made by their relatives. This duty they put into practice. This opinion was sanctioned by a council, and another proposition was adopted, which gave to such per- sons the right to bring their children for baptism, on condition of their owning the covenant before the church, though they might not have sufficient confidence of their own regeneration, to justify themselves in partaking of the sacrament. This was the commencement of the half-way covenant.
Some persons feared that a consequence of adopting this rule would be, that before the churches should be aware, 'a worldly part of mankind might carry all things into such a course of proceeding, as would be very disagreeable unto the kingdom of heaven.' Among those who were of this opin- ion was the Rev.John Davenport, of New Haven. It happen- ed very singularly that the first church, which had acted on the principles recommended by the synod, and whose pastor, Mr. Wilson, had decidedly approved them, should, when call- ed to fill the vacancy occasioned by his death, choose Mr. Davenport. Yet so the major part did, in opposition to a
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large minority. Mr. Davenport accepted their invitation, and he and the Rev. James Allen, from England, were or- dained, the former as pastor, and the latter as teacher of the church, on the 9th of December, 1668. This step created so great a division, that the minority withdrew, and formed a new society, by the advice of ' councils fetched from other churches in the neighbourhood.'
The names of the thirty ' brethren which came off and laid the foundation of the third [pedobaptist] church, partly on May 12, and partly on May 16, 1669, were Capt. Wm. Da- vis, Messrs. Hez. Usher, John Hull, Edw. Raynsford, Peter Bracket, Jacob Eliot, Peter Oliver, Tho. Brattle, Edw. Raw- son, J. Scottow, Benja. Gibbs ; Major T. Savage, Messrs. Jo. Rocke, Theodore Atkinson, John Wing, Richard Truesdale, Theophilus Frarye [and] R. Walker, John Aldin, Benja. Thurston, Wm. Salter, John Morse, Josiah Belcher, Seth Per- ry, Jas. Pemberton, Wm. Dawes, Jo. Davis, Mr. Thomas Thacher [and] Joseph Belknap.'
The heading of their covenant* says the church was gath- ered in Charlestown, on the 12th of May, 1669. In July a
* Covenant of the Old South Church.
We whose names are underwritten, being called of God to join together into a church, In heart sense of our unworthiness thereof, disability thereunto, and aptness to forsake the Lord, cast off his government, and neglect our duty one to another, do in the name of J. C. our L. trusting only in his grace and help, solemnly bind ourselves together as in the pres- ence of God, constantly to walk together as a chih. of Christ, according to all those holy rules of God's word given to a chli. body rightly establ. so far as we already know them, or they shall be hereafter farther made known unto us. And particularly, we do first of all acc. to the tenor of the everl. cov. give up ourselves and our offsp. unto God our chief yea only good : unto our L. J. C. as the only mediator, our only spotl. head and Lord, receiving and relying on him not only as our h. p. for satisf. and interc. but also as our prophet to t. and King to reign over us, and unto the II. S. to be a temple to him, that by his dwelling and working in us we may have and be establ. in fellowship with God in O. and one with another. And for the furth. of this blessed fp. we do likewise promise to end. to establ. am. ourselves and convey down to post. all the holy truthis and ordin. of the g. committed to the chlis. in faith and observance, opposing to the utm. of our chli. power whatever is diverse therefrom or cont. thereto. Also we do give up ours. unto one an. in the L. and by the will of G. hereby prom'g to cleave one to an. as fellow m. of the same b. in brotherly 1. and holy watchf. unto mutual ed. in C. J. and to be subj. in and for the L. to all the adın. and cen- . sures of the congr. so far as the same shall be ord. acc. to the rules of God's most holy wd. & finally we do hby. cov. and prom. thro. the help of the same grace to hold, promote & maint. sisterly fp. and comm. with all the chh. of saints in all those holy ways of order app. betw. ym. by our L. J. C. to our utmost. esp. wt. those among wh. the L. hath set us; that the L. may be one and his n. one in all these chh. thro'out all gen. to his et. gl. in C. J. And now the good Lord be merciful unto us, pardg. acc. to the greatness of his gr. as all our past sins so esp. our chih. sins in negligence & unfreq. of former enjoym. & accept as a sweet savour in J. C. this our offg. up oursv. unto him in this work-filling this his house with his own glory-making us faithf. to himself, & one unto an. acc. to himself, for his holy name sake. Amen.
20
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HISTORY OF BOSTON.
council was called by Gov. Bellingham, ' fearing,' as he says in the order, 'a sudden tumult ; some persons attempting to set up an edifice for publick worship, which is apprehended by authority to be detrimental to the publick peace.' But the council thought best not to interpose any farther than to caution those, who were about to erect the house, to conform to the laws on that subject. They accordingly applied to the selectmen, who passed a vote 26, 5, 1669, 'that there is need of another meeting-house to be erected in this town ;' though they judged it did not belong to them to determine the placing of it. The house was erected on the spot where the Old South now stands, and the abovenamed Mr. Thacher was installed as pastor of the church, Feb. 16, 1670 .*
Mr. T. was from Salisbury in England, where his father, Mr. Peter T'hacher, was minister. He arrived in this coun- try in 1635, at the age of fifteen, and received his education under Mr. Charles Chauncy, who was afterwards president of the college. In 1644 he was settled at Weymouth, where he remained more than twenty years, till after the death of his first wife, when upon marrying a second, who belonged to Boston, he removed hither, and engaged himself in the prac- tice of physick, to which he had devoted considerable atten- tion : this he did not entirely relinquish, after he became pastor of the Old South. He was the author of the first med- ical tract which appeared in this state, which was a discourse on the subject of the small-pox and measles, published 1677.
CHAPTER XXVII.
Sermons in stones, and good in every thing.
Shakspeare.
WE shall devote this chapter to a variety of miscellaneous facts, which were interesting at the time of their occurrence.
The following useful regulation is found in the town records, March 14, 1664. For the more orderly and deliberate car- rying on of the affairs of the town, it is ordered, that hence- forth there shall be no alteration made in the way of elec- tions, or other matters of moment and publick concernment, that hath not been duly considered of, and proposed at a pub-
* Mrs. Norton had conveyed the land to several of the above gentlemen in their associate capacity, by a deed, April 1, 1669.
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lick town meeting, orderly called, before the meeting when the final determination shall be put to vote.
ELEVEN O'CLOCK BELL.
The origin of our eleven o'clock bell is found under date of 25. 5. 1664. ' For the more convenient and expeditious despatch of merchants' [and maritime] affairs, or any other relating to strangers or our inhabitants, it is ordered that the bell shall be rung at eleven of the clock every working day, to give notice thereof to all persons concerned ; and that the ringer shall be allowed 12d. a year by every person that commonly resorts thereunto, and that they may assemble in the room under the Town-house, for the space of one hour, for the ends above expressed.'
NORTH AND SOUTH BATTERIES.
Some of the letters from the king in 1665 had recommend- ed to the court to fortify against the Dutch and other enemies ; how faithfully they obeyed, appears in the subjoined report, which is found in the colony records for 1666, p. 222.
' We the subscribers being appointed a committee by the Hon. Court, to view the batteries lately erected by Maj. Gen. John Leverett, with the advice of the committee of the militia in Boston, accordingly attended to that service, and under the conduct of the said Maj. General we entered a well contrived fort called BOSTON SCONCE, the artillery whereof is of good force and well mounted, the gunner attending the same. The form thereof is suitable to the place, so as to scour the harbour to the full length of their shot every way ; it is spa- cious within, that the traverse of one gun will not hinder the other's course ; and for defence the foundation is of stone, and well banked with earth, for dulling the shot, and hindering execution. Finally, we apprehend it to be the completest work of the kind, which hitherto hath been ordered in this country. We also took survey of another work, on the north side of Boston, called Merry's point, raised with stones ; the founda- tion is defended from the violence of the sea with spyles and planks ; the wall of a considerable thickness, yet less so than by reason of the sharp edges next the cannon, and wideness of the ports within, which (being faced with strong timber as intended) will be much better. To conclude, we judge the defence to be considerable, and the offence to be available (by God's blessing) for the thing intended, for which the actors and contrivers, whereof Maj. Gen. L. hath been the chief, both in contriving, acting and disbursing, deserve the thanks of this court and all due encouragement. Boston Sconce hath nine guns mounted and four more intended with-
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out, and seven at Merry's point.' Then follows a vote of thanks to Gen. L. and £100 grant for his services.
DEATH AND CHARACTER OF REV. MR. WILSON.
The death of Mr. Wilson, the first pastor of the First Church, occurred in 1667, on the 7th. of August, in the 79th year of his age. He left an amiable character, and is repre- sented as one of the most humble, pious, and benevolent men. Cotton Mather, who tells us he never would sit for his like- ness, says ' if the picture of this good, and therein great man, were to be exactly given, great zeal with great love would be the two principal strokes, that joined with orthodoxy should make up his portraiture.' He was the son of Dr. Wilson, a prebend of St. Paul's in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and received his education at King's college, Cambridge. His
cotemporaries considered him an excellent poet, though noth- ing which he has left behind would lead us to form that opin- ion of him. His principal forte lay in the making of ana- grams upon the names of his friends, and the happy faculty he possessed, of flattering them in that way for their virtues, probably gained him their compliments in return. His heart was full of compassion for the distressed and of affection for all : his house was renowned for hospitality, and his purse was continually emptying itself into the hands of the needy. This disposition was so remarkable, that it could not escape unnoticed. One day as he was present at a general muster of the military corps, a gentleman standing by said to him, 'Sir, I'll tell you a great thing : here's a mighty body of people, and there is not seven of them all, but what loves Mr. Wilson.' On which he instantly and pleasantly replied, 'Sir, I'll tell you as good a thing as that : here's a mighty body of people, and there is not so much as one of them all but Mr. Wilson loves him.' The witty Mr. Ward, (the simple cobler,) passed a very neat encomium on him, when he gave as an anagram of his name, I PRAY COME IN, YOU ARE HEARTILY WELCOME. And the following lines upon his hearse are far from being inex- pressive, though ' some thought the Muses looked very much dissatisfied' at them :
John wilson. Son
Anugram. JOHN WILSON.
Oh ! change it not : no sweeter name or thing, Throughout the world, within our ears shall ring.
Magnalia.
-
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HISTORY OF BOSTON.
Mr. Wilson met with his share of the difficulties of the wil- derness. He lost his houses several times by fire ; buried his wife and some of his children and grand children, under trying circumstances ; outlived two of his friends and asso- ciates in the ministerial office ; saw errours stalking into the churches, in forms which appeared to him dreadful in the ex- treme; and died lamenting, that the zeal and pious devotion of the first generation had died with them, and that their children promised nothing better than to prove degenerate plants. He left a little property, which was valued at £419. 14s. 6d. and distributed it in small portions to many individuals, not for- getting the poor of his own church. The foregoing fac simile represents the signature to his will .*
SIGNS OF THE TIMES.
The relation of an incident in 1668 will show us the char- acter of the age. ' There appeared a meteor in the heavens in the beginning of March, in the form of a spear, of a bright colour, something thicker in the midst than at either end. It was seen several nights together, in the west, about half an hour within night : it stood stooping, one end pointing towards the setting of the sun, and moved downwards by little and little, till it descended beneath the horizon.' This and some other occurrences excited the magistrates to make an effort towards 'a reformation of manners :' for it was observed, that the youth of the age had degenerated very much from the strictness of their fathers. A brief was therefore issued to all the ministers in the colony, urging them to a more strict performance of their duty of visiting and instructing families, with the hope, that ' the effectual and constant prosecution hereof will have a tendency to promote the salvation of souls, to suppress the growth of sin and profaneness, to beget more love and unity among the people, and more reverence and esteem of the ministry, and it will assuredly be to the enlarge- ment of your crown, and recompense in eternal glory.'
It is evident, that the face of society was now becoming changed, and so strongly marked, that the line was plainly to be drawn, between those who maintained a regard for primitive holiness, and those who preferred to follow the in- clination of their own hearts. This comports well with the observation of Hutchinson, that the colony about this time (1669) made a greater figure than it ever did at any other time. Their trade was as extensive as they could wish : no
* " 1668. May 3. ' Dorchester chih. records. Role-on-God, the son of Mr. Jolin Cotton, is baptized by virtue of communion of churches : his father being a member of the church at Boston, but there is no officer there to dispense the ordinance at present."
.
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HISTORY OF BOSTON.
custom-house was established. The acts of parliament of the 12th and 15th of king Charles II. for regulating the planta- tion trade were in force,* but the governour, whose business it was to carry them into execution, was annually to be elected by the people, whose interest it was that they should not be observed. Some of the magistrates and principal merchants grew very rich, and a spirit of industry and economy prevail- ed through the colony.'
DEATH AND CHARACTER OF REV. MR. DAVENPORT.
The first church lost their senior pastor, on the 11th. of March 1670, Mr. Davenport dying suddenly of apoplexy, aged 72. 'Although his career in Boston was short and troublous, it had been long and glorious in New-England. Few men were better qualified for planting the gospel in a new world, and seldom has any man made a happier use of his natural and moral energies. His intrepidity saved king Charles' judges, Whalley and Goffe, who fled to New-Haven, in 1661, and who were hidden in his house, whilst he was preaching in publick, before the officers in pursuit of them, a sermon from the following words : " Take counsel; execute judgment; make thy shadow as the night in the midst of the noon day : hide the outcasts ; bewray not him that wander- eth ; let mine outcasts dwell with thee. Moab, be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler." Mr. D. agreed in sentiment with Mr. Cotton respecting the civil as well as religious polity of the bible, and endeavoured a system of order, which should nearly correspond with the Hebrew institutes and the usages of the primitive christians.'
JOSSELYN'S DESCRIPTION.
Mr. Josselyn, whose former travels are noted in page 82, visited Boston again in 1663 and was hereabouts till 1671, when he published the result of his inquiries. We give the substance of them, omitting somewhat, which he borrowed from Wood and Johnson.
' Boston the metropolis of this colony, or rather of the whole country, is in longitude 315 deg. and 42 deg. 30 min. of north latitude. The buildings are handsome, joining one to the other, as in London, with many large streets, most of them paved with pebble ; in the high street toward the common there are fair buildings, some of stone, and at the east end of the town, one among the rest, built by the shore, by Mr. Gibbs, a merchant ; being a stately edifice, which, it is thought, will stand him in little less than £3000, before it be fully finished. The houses are for the most part raised upon
* These acts forbade the introduction of foreign produce, except from England.
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HISTORY OF BOSTON.
the sea banks, and wharfed out with great industry and cost, many of them standing on piles [?] close together on each side of the streets as in London, and are furnished with many fair shops.
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