USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > Dalton > History of Dalton Methodism > Part 2
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at the next Conference, I asked for a superannuated station." After about fifty years of consecrated labor, he departed this life, leaving a memory unique in Methodism. He was one of the most notable men in the history of Berkshire County and of his church.
This is the earliest record found of a Methodist preacher "stationed" in Dalton, and Rev. Billy Hibbard's pastorate from June, 1822 to May, 1823 is probably the first. No doubt he used the term "station" in connection with Dalton to explain his residence here while he cared for this part of the Pittsfield Circuit, as Dalton was but an appointment on a large circuit until 1831, when the name "Dalton Circuit" first appears, and Noah Bigelow and Freeborn G. Hibbard, a son of Rev. Billy Hibbard, were placed in charge. F. G. Hibbard was for fifty years the most effective preacher in western New York and widely known as an author. In the carly years of Noah Bigelow's itinerancy, he served as co- laborer with Billy Hibbard.
No record is found of the preachers and work between 1823 and 1831, except mention of a minister by the name of Ross who preached sometime between 1820 and 1825, and little is known of the years immediately following, except the names of the men in charge. Rev. Edwin Genge added the names for the nine years previous to 1840, with which date Rev. E. A. Blanchard began his record. A list of the names of the Dalton Methodist preachers, with the date of their pastorates, will be found at the end of this account.
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The First Church, Remodeled
III The First Church
0 HE first Methodist church building, or meeting-house as it was then called, was erected in 1834 at a cost of $1400. Griffin Chamberlain took the contract, but the builder was Charles Marsh. It was raised by a "bee," a neighborly gathering of the people, who united in giving material and labor for a common cause. Tables were set in the orchard, back of where the church was being raised, and dinner was served to all. At the conclusion, the preacher stood upon the loose boards on the floor of the frame and offered prayer. This first church building was a wooden struc- ture, one story in height, and stood on the site of the present edifice. It was remodeled in the year 1 8 50, under the pastorate of Rev. William Griffin. Thomas D. Thompson, a local preacher, and also a carpenter, worked as a day laborer in building the church, first in 1834, and, when it was remodeled in 1850, he did the work by the day, finishing off the base- ment and two class rooms, which were situated underneath the main room, where new seats were placed. The edifice was remodeled the second time in the year 1869, under the pas- torate of Rev. A. Heath, and church services were inter- rupted for six months because of the repairs. The contract was taken by Rev. T. D. Thompson for $3000, on which he claimed to have lost $500. The building was raised up one story, leaving a good cellar beneath and bringing the "lecture hall" and two class rooms above the ground, while in the auditorium the gallery was removed. This copy from a blue- print made by D. H. and A. B. Tower for the remodeling in 1869 shows plainly the arrangement of the pulpit and pews, and may recall hours of inspiration and incidents of help- fulness to the minds of many Methodists living today.
The valuation of the meeting-house jumped from $2500 in 1854 to $3500 in 1867, and then with the second remodel-
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ing in 1869 to $8000, where it remained until 1888 when it reached $10,000. As carly as 1853, action was taken in the Quarterly Conference to have the property insured, so that for seventy-five years the trustees have followed this wise precaution. On Christmas Day, 1875, it was resolved that "If the money can be got on subscription this winter, the board of trustees are requested to add fifteen feet to the north end of this church in the spring." It is to be noticed that in the early days an indebtedness was seldom carried by any church. The vote resulted in success and soon this addi- tion appeared on the rear of the building, as the plans of 1869 had suggested. The first floor of this addition was used as a kitchen, and in the space on the second floor, which backed the pulpit, was placed the organ and choir "loft." Formerly, as in all the old churches in New England, the choir sat back of the congregation, which, when singing, arose and turning faced the choir. An organ, which was purchased second-hand from Rev. Kimball, was worn out by 1875, and a new Estey was secured and placed in this addition, so that after this time the choir always faced the people.
In the autumn of 1888, the Congregational Society having resolved to build a new church, Zenas Crane, W. M. Crane, J. B. Crane, Byron Weston, Mrs. L. Weston, Charles O. Brown, and John D. Carson, members of that Society, who were joint owners of the organ used by the Congregational church, offered the organ as a gift to the Methodist Church and Society, to be removed when the new church was oc- cupied. Accordingly, in March, 1889, the organ was removed and set up in the Methodist Church. The organ cost twelve hundred dollars when purchased in 1869. The gift was most gratefully received and appreciated by the trustees and people.
The first parsonage, valued in 1854 at $1200, was built ibout 1848, and stood on the main street across the park early opposite and facing the first house of worship. By
Plan DE Auditorium Methodist Episcopal Church Đalten, Mass. 1 869
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vote of the Quarterly Conference, March 22, 1884, the trus- tees were authorized to sell the parsonage property to Byron Weston, who desired more land for the erection of his res- idence, "Westonholme." A place for the parsonage was secured farther west, and the present home for Methodist ministers was built in 1884 at an original cost of about $2000, with a rental value then of $120 a year.
The first Quarterly Conference for Dalton station was held at the parsonage August II, 1848, with eight persons present : Z. Phillips, Presiding Elder, T. Benedict, Pastor in charge, T. D. Thompson, Local Preacher; three Class Leaders, Martin Chamberlain, A. H. De Maranville, and A. S. Bigelow; and two Stewards, Griffin Chamberlain and William N. Fuller. T. D. Thompson's name appears also as a Leader. The Presiding Elder came each quarter and held the Quarterly Conference, which is the governing body of the church. When these leaders could no longer visit all the stations on the district each quarter, and so were presiding only once or twice a year, their name was changed to District Superintendent, which more properly designates the office.
An old method of raising funds to support the church is first mentioned in the records for 1850, when "slip rent" re- sulted in $46.50. Beginning with the next year, a committee was appointed each year to assess and rent the pews. The rental brought to the treasury in later years what was for those times large sums of money. Rev. J. J. Noe wrote in his record for 1888, "The method of bidding off pews at auction produced much alienation of feeling. I think the practice is highly inconsistent in a Christian church," and, just before leaving the pastorate, on March 12, 1889, he added with clear vision: "Systematic Giving is needed for the best re- sults." Soon after this, pew rental was abolished, and the system of weekly subscriptions began.
One important committee to report at the Quarterly Con- ference each year, from the first meeting of the body in 1848 to the present time, is the committee to estimate the pastor's
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salary. How the figures have changed with the years! The first record states that "the committee to estimate the amount necessary for the fuel and table expenses (for the pastor and family for one year) reports the sum of $150 as necessary for said purposes." The Presiding Elder's claim on the station was $13.48, and the "Quarterage," which sig- nified the quarterly allowance paid the pastor, was $224, making $387.48 the total amount of expenditures for the year 1848. Evidently this sum of $150 for fuel and food was too large, as for the next two years, the committee reported $125 only as necessary. On July 21, 1851, the committee asked for $200, and on December 5, 1857, the sum of $236 was deemed needful, which with $264 as "Quarterage" gave the pastor a total salary of $500. From that date until 1870, the salary increased to $800, which was the amount paid until 1890. However, a large item in the pastor's finances was the annual "Donation," which brought many necessities to the parsonage, even though they could not be counted in cash on the salary. From January, 1852 to 1889, "Donations" were given the pastor and his family, and various indeed were the gifts received. Some church members or friends brought food and aids for housekeeping and homemaking, while others gave wood for fuel and hay or grain for the horse and chickens. Often the dominie did not receive a wedding fee in money, but accepted whatever the happy groom chose to give, sometimes even driving home with a squealing pig fastened in the back of his carriage. It was not until later years that the wedding fee became traditional hat money for the minister's wife. The first sexton who cared for Methodist Church property in Dalton was appointed in 1852 and was paid $25 for his year's service. In 1858, the bill for sexton, wood, and lights totaled $46.50. Thirty years later the sexton received only $60.
An important part of church worship has always been the music, but in the early days the organist and choir gave
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their services, gladly and faith fully attending rehearsals and appearing regularly in their p_laces on Sunday. The organist and choir and congregation sometimes forgot the unseen helper with the music, but when all sound ceased in the organ, attention was empha boy or man in the background- tically drawn to the humble - -the necessary organ pumper. One organist in speaking of a = selection well played remarked with pride, "I played that
vell, didn't I?", to which the pumper replied, "You'd better say we did it well," but the player insisted on taking all Of the credit. To the organist, intent on rendering the next selection in a manner most effective and equally pleasing to the congregation, reali- zation suddenly came that t he air was leaving the organ. Silence followed and all of the player's efforts failed to pro- duce a sound. Then the purenper was approached with in- quiries as to the trouble, an -. El to the angry and distressed organist said, "Now will you say We? Say We, and I'll go on pumping." Needless to relate-, apologies were made and the organist did not soon forget thate lesson.
The first Sunday-school -connected with the Methodist church was organized in 18-26 by Griffin Chamberlain. In this school, William Renne, al though only fourteen years old, was appointed by Mr. Chamberlain, who was his class leader, as teacher of a Sunday-school class among whose members was W. W. Carson, a brother of David and Thomas Carson, who became such good friends to Dalton Methodism. Under date of July 9, 1848, reported with the pastor as a complete re-organization was superintendent, seven teachers, and ninety scholars. The ex ___ penses for the year 1851 were $13.53, and in that year a Bible class was organized. The report continues : "The scho lars have been regular in their attendance and the teachers ___ punctual and faithful in their work. The subject of Missio- ns has been introduced in the school and an interest in the cause excited which it is hoped will result in good." The Sur1day-school library held an im-
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salary. How the figures have changed with the years! The first record states that "the committee to estimate the amount necessary for the fuel and table expenses (for the pastor and family for one year) reports the sum of $150 as necessary for said purposes." The Presiding Elder's claim on the station was $13.48, and the "Quarterage," which sig- nified the quarterly allowance paid the pastor, was $224, making $387.48 the total amount of expenditures for the year 1848. Evidently this sum of $150 for fuel and food was too large, as for the next two years, the committee reported $125 only as necessary. On July 21, 1851, the committee asked for $200, and on December 5, 1857, the sum of $236 was deemed needful, which with $264 as "Quarterage" gave the pastor a total salary of $500. From that date until 1870, the salary increased to $800, which was the amount paid until 1890. However, a large item in the pastor's finances was the annual "Donation," which brought many necessities to the parsonage, even though they could not be counted in cash on the salary. From January, 1852 to 1889, "Donations" were given the pastor and his family, and various indeed were the gifts received. Some church members or friends brought food and aids for housekeeping and homemaking, while others gave wood for fuel and hay or grain for the horse and chickens. Often the dominie did not receive a wedding fee in money, but accepted whatever the happy groom chose to give, sometimes even driving home with a squealing pig fastened in the back of his carriage. It was not until later years that the wedding fee became traditional hat money for the minister's wife. The first sexton who cared for Methodist Church property in Dalton was appointed in 1852 and was paid $25 for his year's service. In 1858, the bill for sexton, wood, and lights totaled $46.50. Thirty years later the sexton received only $60.
An important part of church worship has always been the music, but in the early days the organist and choir gave
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their services, gladly and faithfully attending rehearsals and appearing regularly in their places on Sunday. The organist and choir and congregation sometimes forgot the unseen helper with the music, but when all sound ceased in the organ, attention was emphatically drawn to the humble boy or man in the background-the necessary organ pumper. One organist in speaking of a selection well played remarked with pride, "I played that well, didn't I?", to which the pumper replied, "You'd better say we did it well," but the player insisted on taking all of the credit. To the organist, intent on rendering the next selection in a manner most effective and equally pleasing to the congregation, reali- zation suddenly came that the air was leaving the organ. Silence followed and all of the player's efforts failed to pro- duce a sound. Then the pumper was approached with in- quiries as to the trouble, and to the angry and distressed organist said, "Now will you say We? Say We, and I'll go on pumping." Needless to relate, apologies were made and the organist did not soon forget the lesson.
The first Sunday-school connected with the Methodist church was organized in 1826 by Griffin Chamberlain. In this school, William Renne, although only fourteen years old, was appointed by Mr. Chamberlain, who was his class leader, as teacher of a Sunday-school class among whose members was W. W. Carson, a brother of David and Thomas Carson, who became such good friends to Dalton Methodism. Under date of July 9, 1848, a complete re-organization was reported with the pastor as superintendent, seven teachers, and ninety scholars. The expenses for the year 1851 were $13.53, and in that year a Bible class was organized. The report continues: "The scholars have been regular in their attendance and the teachers punctual and faithful in their work. The subject of Missions has been introduced in the school and an interest in the cause excited which it is hoped will result in good." The Sunday-school library held an im-
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portant place in the church life in the early years and often three or four hundred books were reported on the shelves or in circulation. Until the winter of 1858, it was necessary to close the Sunday-school, because of cold weather and drifted roads, but in the winter of 1854, three Bible classes with a total attendance of twenty-four kept active, especially the young man's Bible class under the charge of the pastor, Rev. H. H. Smith. The average attendance in 1858 was seventeen teachers and one hundred scholars. Usually the Sunday-school met directly after the morning service and this practice has been followed throughout the years. At first, a second church service was held in the afternoon, but in October, 1859, the time was changed and after that the people came together for evening worship. The mid-week service was for years known as the "Thursday Evening Meeting" as it was held on that night, and when the time was changed to Wednesday night, it was not unusual to hear that "the Thursday evening meeting will be held Wednesday night." This prayer service was supplemented by a "Young Men's Praying Band," which was organized in 1877, with Andrew J. Reed as leader. Rev. E. A. Blanchard records,
"They did good service in the schoolhouses and had con- versions. They conducted an extra meeting at Cranesville for several weeks, and in this meeting about a dozen were brought to Christ." He adds, "In the year 1875, there was a revival in the month of October in which there were forty- five conversions, and in the year 1877, in the month of Jan- uary, there was another, in which about the same number were converted. During the last conference year (1877) there has been a continuous revival spirit, with occasional addi- tions to the church."
In looking at the long list of names of members of the Dalton Methodist Episcopal church from 1844 to 1927, one is impressed anew with the truth of the words of John Wesley, "God buries His workmen, but carries on His work." Origi-
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nally, all members of the church were placed in classes with leaders, and the first list of names, under date of February 24, 1858, is written in five groups headed by the names of the class-leaders-Rev. T. D. Thompson, George Wash- ington Smith, George Cleveland, David C. Smith, and James Reed. The classes were kept up until 1878; then, after a lapse of fifteen years, Rev. C. S. Robertson rearranged the membership by classes, but the spirit and fervor of the early plan had waned. Each class met with its leader, either in homes or at the church, about once a week, and the leader was the spiritual adviser and teacher for the members of his class. Especially was this true when there were probationers in the class, young converts who were "on trial for six months" before admission to final membership in the church. All that remains of this class organization so unique and successful in Methodism is the "class-meeting" still held each Sunday morning at ten o'clock in the Dalton church. The membership in 1844 numbered 77; in 1875, 179; in 1894, 270; and at present in 1927, 373 active, with a “Non-Resi- dent, Inactive List" of 93. The records show that between 1858 and 1899, there were at least 275 withdrawals by letter and 91 by death, a total of 366 removals. The membership in 1899 was 280 with 20 on probation, so that for the period of 41 years there was a total membership of 666. At least four members lived to an age above ninety years about that time and held long memberships in the church. Rev. T. D. Thompson, who was known throughout the town as "Elder" Thompson, died in 1888, at the age of ninety-three years, after serving the church as class-leader for over forty years and having been active in all of the church interests from at least 1834. Mrs. John Tyrrell, after seventy-seven years of membership, died at the age of ninety-three; Mrs. Eunice Hathaway, after seventy-one years in the church, died at the same age; and Mrs. Samantha Bentley, after a church mem- bership of sixty-six years, died at ninety. At the present
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time, three women hold memberships covering sixty years or more -- Mrs. Fannie Johnson, who joined by letter about 1863, Mrs. Emma Bicknell, who became a member in 1864, and Mrs. Mahala Hitt, who entered the church from pro- bation in 1867. The first time that the name of a woman ap- pears on a Disciplinary Committee is in 1867, which seems early, since everyone then believed that the home and its interests were the only proper and sufficient consideration for women.
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IV The Summer of 1894
HE church continued to grow and interest increased until it seemed absolutely necessary that a new build- ing be provided. During Rev. Charles F. Noble's pas- torate there was considerable discussion as to the advisability of erecting a new church, and on June 17, 1891, it was voted in Quarterly Conference that "the edifice remain on the present site." A motion to build a new church was lost, but a committee was appointed to "consider the improvement of the property." Rev. Charles S. Robertson was sent by the Bishop in 1893 as Methodist minister in Dalton, and he at once set himself to the task of providing a more adequate house of worship for the congregation which increased in numbers from Sunday to Sunday. The estimated cost of the new building was $15,000, and the committee and church people did not think they dared to exceed that amount, but four generous donors made a much finer structure possible : Thomas G. Carson, Byron Weston, Zenas Crane, and W. Murray Crane. Many other subscriptions were received from interested people in the town. The church members were so heartened and encouraged by the friendly spirit man- ifested by all that no sacrifice seemed impossible, and while some doubled their subscriptions, others denied themselves in every way, even the children going without butter on their bread that they might share in the great undertaking. The outcome was the present beautiful church, erected at a cost of $35,000, which stands as a splendid monument to the faith and courage of Pastor Robertson and to the sacrifice and love of the men and women and children who were then members. The old house of worship was moved a short dis- tance west in the spring of 1894, following the removal of the old town hall to its present location at the corner of Main Street and Daly Avenue, and the church was occupied on the
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temporary site during the summer and fall. One Saturday afternoon in October at two o'clock a public auction was held, and the building used for sacred purposes for over sixty years was sold to Peter Daly, who moved the structure to the corner of High Street and Daly Avenue, where it now stands, made into a six-apartment block and owned by the Sawyer- Regan Company.
The Corner-stone of the new church was laid Sunday, May 6, 1894, and with the pastor at the exercises were Pre- siding Elder T. A. Griffin, Rev. G. W. Andrews, who was pastor of the Congregational church for about thirty-five years, and Rev. Herman Brady, pastor of the Baptist church, which was built on Carson Avenue and for a few years had a place in Dalton church life. Placed in the Corner- stone at the southeast corner is a sealed copper box which contains the following articles and papers:
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CONTENTS OF CORNER-STONE
I. Testament used at the laying of the Corner- stone by Rev. H. E. Brady, Pastor Dalton Baptist Church.
2. Typewritten list of Subscribers to Building Fund with amount of their respective subscriptions.
3. List of Members and Probationers.
4. List of Members of Quarterly Conference.
5. Organization of the Sunday School for years 1893 and 1894.
6. List of members of the Choir.
7. Autographic list of members of the Epworth League.
8. List members of the Light Bearers, auxiliary to Women's Missionary Society, organized in 1892.
9. List members of the Friendly Aid Society.
10. Cabinet photograph of the Old Church Edifice.
II. Financial Report for the last church fiscal year, May 1, 1893 to April 21, 1894.
12. The Programme of Ceremonies at the Laying of the Corner-stone.
I 3. Copy of the Pittsfield Evening Journal of July 17, 1893, containing article in reference to New Church Building Enterprise.
14. Copies of the Berkshire Evening Eagle of July 28 and December 12, 1893, containing articles in reference to Church, with cut and descrip- tion of new Church Building.
15. Sealed Envelope addressed "In His Name" (contents unknown) placed in box at request of Mrs. C. Florence Chamberlain.
16. Set of Columbian Postage Stamps, one to fifteen cent, in two-cent Columbian Stamped En- velope. Given for deposit by Postmaster M. E. Stockbridge.
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17. On @ ten (Ioc) cent and one twenty-five (25c) Cent piece of U. S. Fractional Paper Currency,
presented for deposit by Mr. A. F. Bentley. 18. Silver Plate on which is engraved the date of Erection of old and new Church Edifices, rnames of present pastor and Building Com- r mittee.
This list wa_s prepared and recorded by a committee duly ap- pointed for the purpose-Andrew J. Reed, Frank O. Bliss, and Sylvest er Young.
On Monday evening, October 22, 1894, the Epworth League invī_ ted the church members and the public in general to Farewell Services which were held in the old building, be- ginning with a tea served at six o'clock. Today it seems strange to read of vehicles called "hacks," but then they were common and the best conveyance known. "Between the hours of five and six on the evening of the farewell exer- cises, hacks- were busy gathering the older people who were unable to walk to the church." The choir of the evening was composed Of about twenty-five singers, among whom were many of the old and retired members of the regular church choir. The Program consisted of singing, prayer by Lewis W. Crosier, the oldest male member of the church, and an Ad- dress of Welcome by Rev. C. S. Robertson, which was fol- lowed by tEne reading of a paper, "In Memoriam," in honor of the deceased members and of the old church building, by George For-bes. "Items of History" were read by Granville Olds, and George Cleveland, who had then been a member of the church for fifty years and was present at the raising of the frame of the first church structure, gave some inter- esting reminiscences. James D. Smith in his characteristic way gave the following original poem, which according to all reports Wrought forth a storm of applause:
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