History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 162

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton), ed. n 85042884-1
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1538

USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I > Part 162

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

He died in 1653, at the age of eighty-three years. He was a man, says Mr. Felt, whose "talents, attain- ments and piety were of a high order ; and after an examination of his public and religious service, and with a good knowledge of the public's opinion of him,-since he had probably then left the colony, the Wonder-working Providence declared him, a judicious man, a very able preacher, and much desired."

His son John was minister of Haverhill. James

581

IPSWICH.

went to England with his father, and became a phy- sician, and Giles Firman married a daughter and fol- lowed them over the sea.

Mr. Felt speaks of a REV. THOMAS BRACEY, who resided here in 1635. Cotton Mather did not know him. He probably assisted Mr. Ward a short time, and early returned to England.

4. Second Pastorate .- The second pastorate was be- gun by REV. JOHN NORTON. Rev. E. B. Palmer, of the tenth pastorate, says that Mr. Norton " was set- tled here in 1636, and continued in his relations to the church till about the year 1653, when he removed to Boston and became pastor of the old church of that place." He was probably a colleague with Mr. Ward, who resigned in 1637, and then became acting pastor till the settlement of Rev. Nathaniel Rogers, February 20, 1638, when he was ordained teacher. Mr. Norton was born May 6, 1606, in Starford, county Hertford, England. He entered Cambridge at four- teen years of age, was a brilliant scholar, and took his first degree. On account of parental pecuniary embarrassment, he left college to become usher and curate in his native place. His intellectual promise attracted the attention of many, A prominent Cath- olic sought to win him to Popery ; his uncle offered him a " considerable benefice ; " he declined a fellow- shin at Cambridge ; he served meanwhile as chaplain to Sir William Masham. He could not subscribe to the church conformity, and cast in his lot with the Pilgrims.

He arrived at Plymouth October, 1635, and settled here the next year. He expected friends to follow him, and he asked for grants of land to be held in reserve for them. Accordingly, lands were reserved in several parts of the town. His friends did not come, and the lands are now known as the "Norton Reserves." He was an influential member of the Synod that heard the case of Mrs. Hutchinson in 1637 ; he composed, in 1645, the reply of the New England ministers to the questions on ecclesiastical government, proposed by Rev. William Apollonins, of Middlebury,-a work in Latin, the first book in that language printed in this country,-an able exposé of the usages of the church fathers. He was influen- tial in the formation of the Cambridge Platform in 1647 ; and in 1651 he made the reply before the Gen- eral Court to the treatise of Mr. William Pynchion. Rev. John Cotton, of Boston, who died in 1652, ad- vised his church to call Mr. Norton. They did call bim, and his friends and admirers here demurred. The controversy was long and warm, but he, having accepted the pastorate in 1653, was installed July 23, 1656. While of Boston he published several works, and was for two years in England as colonial agent. He was twice married, but had no children. He died April 5, 1663, in his fifty-seventh year.

He is said to have been learned and eloquent, an able disputant and a ready writer, a warm friend and a pious man. If failing he had, it was a natural iras-

cibility, and a weakening under compliments, of which few men received or merited more, In this ordeal, among the most searching, his good sense and sterling piety kept his mind and heart. When he left England, a venerable minister remarked that " he believed that there was not more grace and holiness left in all Essex, than what Mr. Norton had carried with him." Mr. Felt remarks, " He was, undoubtedly, one of the greatest divines, who ever graced this or any other country. He was emphatically 'diligent in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.' As a result of this, many souls were given him as the seals of his ministry."

The pastor of the church at this time was REV. NATHANIEL ROGERS. He was the second son of John, best known as minister of Dedham, in Eng- land, and was born in 1598, while his father minis- tered in Haverhill, England. He was a lineal de- scendant of the Smithfield martyr. He had a pious mother, and rewarded her Christian care and instruc- tion with evidence of early piety. He entered Emmanuel College, Cambridge, when about fourteen years old, and was eminently scholarly in his attain- ments and Christian in his deportment. He began his labors as chaplain, then he was curate, hut con- formity to the established church troubled him and he must flee its power. He had married Margaret Crane, of Coggshall, daughter of a gentleman of wealth, who offered to maintain him and his family if he would remain at home. His heart spoke his con- viction, and he declined the generous offer. He ar- rived in Boston in November, 1636, " after a long and tedious voyage."

In 1637 he was a member of the Synod convened in reference to the antinomians ; he received a call to settle at Dorchester, bnt chose to fraternize with Ward and Norton and Winthrop, and he was ordain- ed here February 20, 1638. The same year he took the oath of freeman. Mr. Palmer says that "seven- teen male members of his church in England came with him to this town," and that tradition names them,-William Goodhue, Nathaniel Hart, Nathaniel Dav, Robert Lord and Messrs. Warner, Quilter, Waite, Scott, Littlefield, Lambert, Lumax, Brad- street, Dane and Noyes.

He was long in feeble health, and in consequence was subjected to periods of despondency. Hemor- rhage of the lungs was his boding trouble. He was obliged to reduce his manual labors to their mini- mum, and his later sermons were not written. He, however, kept a diary ; but, as he requested, it was burned after his death. He little realized how much value for other days he thus destroyed. He left a manuscript production, in fine, classical Latin, a plea for Congregational church government. He was much exercised in mind and heart when Mr. Norton went to Boston. He was burdened with his infirmity and with cares, and an attack of an epidemical in- fluenza proved fatal. With his latest breath, he ex-

582

HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

claimed,-" My times are in Thy hands." Thus the " reverend and holy man of God fell on sleep," July 3, 1655. During this pastorate, "this church, says Wonder- Working Providence, consisted of about one hundred and sixty souls, being exact in their con- versation, and free from the epidemical diseases of all reforming churches, which under Christ, is pro- cured by their pious Learned and Orthodox min- istry." It calls the pastor " a very sweet, heavenly- minded man, . . whose mouth the Lord was pleased to fill with many arguments for the defense of his truth." Rev. William Hubbard, his son-in- law, says of him,-" He had eminent learning, sin- gular piety and holy zeal. His auditory was his epistle, seen and read of all that knew him." He left an estate of £1200. His widow died January 23, 1666. His children were John, Nathaniel, Sam- uel, Timothy, Ezekiel and the wife of Mr. Hubbard.

The amount of all the salaries had been £140 previous to 1652, but was then changed to £160, which in 1656 was paid "three parts in wheat and barley and fourth part in Indian."

Third Pastorate. From the death of Mr. Rogers till Mr. Cobbett's settlement, the church was without a pastor. This was the REV. THOMAS COBBETT, who was born in Newbury, England, in 1608. He studied at Oxford, then with Dr. Twiss. of his native town, and prepared for the ministry. Soon after his set- tlement, he was confronted with conformity. He came to this country, arriving June 26, 1637. He was colleague at Lynn, till he was invited to succeed Mr. Rogers. Mr. Palmer says he was settled in 1656.

5. Church Edifice. - During his pastorate a new house of worship was built. Ezekiel Woodward and Freegrace Norton contracted, June 10, 1667, to furnish timber, and June 18, 1668, to furnish shingles for a new meeting-house. The steeple was completed October 22, 1667, when the committee was discharged with thanks. In 1673 they voted to repair the house " with speed." In 1674 seats were put in the gallery. Early in 1677 a committee was to see about keeping the house "tite." In 1681 it had a " pouder Roome." It stood where the present First Church edifice stands. In 1665 the salaries amounted to £210.

Mr. Cobbett was a noted public man, sought out for his learning, his diligence, his readiness in de- bate, the dexterous use of his pen and his stabil- ity of purpose and action. Yet amid arduous public labors he found time to attend carefully and dutifully to his floek. In about four months, beginning in De- cember, 1673, nearly ninety were added to the church, some in full communion and some by " taking the covenant." There were sixty-five males. Twenty-four of the "young generation " took the covenant. He conferred special privileges on the children of his laity in full communion, thus enact- ing in advance a half-way covenant, like that sanc- tioned by the synod shortly after and drafted, doubt- less, by his own hand ; a covenant so noble in purpose,

so mischievous in practice. He was watchful of the needs of the pious poor, and promptly excommuni- cated the scandalous. His ministry was noted for its Christian fervor.

In 1643 his pen advocated a negative vote for tlie Assistants; in 1644 he preached the Election Sermon ; in 1657 was of a committee of thirteen to answer ecclesiastical questions, proposed by the Legislature of Connecticut; in 1661 was one of a committee on " our patent," our laws and privileges and duty to His Majesty ; in 1668 was one of six ministers to rea- son several Baptists out of their peculiar views ; in 1676 was one of twenty-four to counsel in the case of Gorges and Mason; in 1677 he handed Increase Mather " a Narrative of Striking Events." He pub- lished, in 1645, " Defense of Infant Baptism," " Prayer," "First, Second and Fifth Command- ments," "Toleration and Duties of Civil Magistrates ;" in 1653, " Vindicatiou of the New England Govern- ment," " Civil Magistrates in Religious Matters ;" in 1656, " Duties of Children to Parents and of Parents to Children ;" and in 1666 an Election Ser- mon. "He wrote more books than any man of his generation, yet not one has survived to this day."

He was a great man. The great and learned and wise of his day regarded him as their noble peer. He was equally at home in matters of Church and State. No invective deterred him, no flattery swerved him ; once planted on his judgment of duty and righteous- ness, he remained firm and garnered success in the end. Says Mr. Felt, "So far as human imperfections permitted, he was a pastor after God's own heart." He went to his reward November 5, 1685, at the age of seventy-seven. Provisions for his funeral ineluded a barrel of wine, half a hundred weight of sugar, men's and women's gloves, and spice and ginger for "Syder." His widow, Elizabeth, died the next year. Three children crossed the bound of life before he did and three remained to mourn,-Samuel, Thomas, John, who was located at Newbury at the time, and Elizabeth. His estate was valued at £607. His epi- taph, as conceived by the great Cotton Mather, ran thus: "Stay, passenger, for here lies a treasure, Thomas Cobbett, of whose availing prayers and most approved manners, you, if an inhabitant of New Eng- land, need not be told. If you cultivate piety, ad- mire him ; if you wish for happiness, follow him."

This was the office of

REV. WILLIAM HUBBARD,

Whose father was William and who was born in Eng- land in 1621, and crossed the ocean with his father in 1630. He graduated at Harvard College in 1642, a member of the first class. The same year, 4th July, he was called as colleague with Mr. Cobbett, and, says Mr. Palmer, was "probably settled as such in 1656," which statement seems corroborated by a vote of the town, recorded in Mr. Cobbett's pastorate. This pastorate he occupied till his death, September 14, 1704, when he was eighty-three.

583

IPSWICHI.

In 1667 he testified against the " Old South, in Bos- ton, in the settlement there of John Davenport; in 1671 he and fourteen others memorialized the Legis- lature against the censure of its committee for advis- ing the formation of South Church Society in Boston ; in 1675 he was of a council to advise in Mr. Jeremiah Shepard's case, as minister in Rowley; in 1676 he preached the Election Sermon. About 1677 he brought out his "Troubles with the Indians in 1676- 77," to which was appended "The War with the Pequods " in 1637, and also " Troubles with the In- dians from Piscataqna to Pemaquid." The works are now known as " Hubbard's Indian Wars." In May, 1680, he had compiled a history of New England. The Legislature voted him £50 for the work. It was then much needed, was done in a commendable manner and has proved to be of great value. He was appointed to " manage" the Commencement of Har- vard College, July 1, 1684; and, in June, 16SS, he was appointed by Andros acting president at the fol- lowing Commencement, a high honor which he prob- ably did not accept. In 1699 he arraigned the Brattle Street Church, in Boston, for irregularity in doctrine, baptism and communion. In 1701 his decrepit age was overburdensome and he asked for more assist- ance ; and in 1702 gave up pastoral labors entirely, when his people voted him a gift of £60, and in 1704 he rested from his toils.

6. Church Edifice .- In 1686 all the salaries paid were £160, and in 1696 the salaries were paid, one- third money and " the rest in pay." The same year the church edifice was repaired, but November 4th, two years later, Abraham Perkins contracted to build a new house, for £900-£500 money and £400 as money. The house was to be "26 feet stud, 66 feet long and 60 feet wide, with § gables on every side, with one Teer of gallery round said house ; as far as necessary, having five seats in the gallery on every side thereof, with as many windows or lights as the committee or said Perkins can agree for." In 1700 Abraham Tilton agreed to finish the meeting-honse, and Abraham Perkins is released. The house stood where the present First Church edifice stands. The same year the old bell, the gift of "Hon. Richard Saltonstall," was sold to Marblehead for £37}, and a new one, weighing 200 pounds, was bought in Eng- land for £72. In 1702 a clock was purchased.

Mr. Hubbard's first wife was Margaret Rogers, daugh- ter of Rev. Nathaniel, a lady of raresocial worth. Their children were John and Nathaniel, and Margaret, the wife of John Pynchon, of Springfield. His last wife was Mary, widow of Samuel Pearce, who died in 1691. She was alive in 1710.

He was a judicious adviser, a faithful laborer in the Master's vineyard and righteous in his inter- course with men. John Dunton said of him: "The benefit of nature and the fatigue of study have equally contributed to his eminence. He is learned without ostentation or vanity, and gave all his pro-

ductions such a delicate turn and grace, that the features and lineaments of the child make a clear discovery and distinction of the father; yet he is a man of singular modesty, of strict morals and has done as much for the convertion of the Indians, as most men in New England." He "certainly was, for many years, the most eminent minister in Essex County, equal to any in the Province for learning and candor, and superior to all of his contemporaries as a writer." For his great labors and his moral and Christian worth, he is held in grateful remembrance.

Another minister of this pastorate was REV. JOHN ROGERS, M.D., the eldest son of Rev. Nathaniel, of the second pastorate. He came to this country in 1636, with his parents. He entered Harvard College in his tenth year, and graduated in 1649. He studied medicine and divinity. He wore the title "Rev.," though there does not appear to be any record of his ordination. He was called here to preach July 4, 1656, by Mr. Hubbard, and afterwards hecame assis- tant to him and Mr. Cobbett. Tradition assigns to him "The Lecture," as his particular service, and re- fers to his small salary as commensurate with his duty. He was the while, the principal physician in town. Although his youth was marked with periods of hereditary despondency, the business of active life wore off the sharp angles of his temperament, and made him one of the great men of his day. He was invited to the presidency of Harvard College upon the death of President Oakes. He accepted and en- tered upon his office August 12, 1683. This was a place of honor and responsibility, for which his dig- nity and firmness, his deportment and culture, his wisdom and learning, particularly fitted him ; but his sun hardly rose above the morning's gray twilight. Just before his first commencement he was prostrated by a "sudden visitation of sickness." Mr. Hubbard, of this pastorate, was appointed to "manage" the commencement, and Mr. Rogers died on the regular Commencement Day, July 2, 1684.

His wife was Elizabeth, daughter of Gen. Daniel Denison, and died June 13, 1723, at the age of eighty- two years. His children were Elizabeth, Margaret, John, Daniel, Nathaniel and Patience. His tomb is in Cambridge, and his epitaph is as follows :

" There is committed to this earth and this tomb a depository of kind- ness, a garner of divine knowledge, a library of polite literature, a sys- tem of medicine, a residence of integrity, an abode of faith, an example of Christian sincerity. A treasury of all these excellencies was the earthly part of Rev. John Rogers, son of the very learned Rogers, of Ipswich, and grandson of the uoted Rogers of Dedham, Old England, the excellent and justly beloved president of Harvard College. His spir- it suddenly taken from us July 2, A. D., 1684, and in the fifty-fourth year of his age. Precioue ie the part that remains with ue even while a corpse."

Another minister of this pastorate was MR. JOHN DENNISON, whose father was John, whose grand- father was Gen. Daniel and whose mother was Mar- tha Symonds, daughter of the deputy-governor. John fitted for college at the grammar school, and

584

HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

graduated from Harvard in 1684. Mr. Palmer says that, according to generally received testimony, he became the actual pastor of this church in 1686. Other statements represent him to have been elected to the pastoral office, but on account of failing health, he was not ordained. He was permitted, however, to render pastoral service to this people for quite three years. Mr. Felt says: "He engaged, April 5, 1686, to preach one-quarter of the time as helper to Mr. Hubbard, and the next year one-third of the time. The affection of this people was strong to- wards him, and their estimation of his merits un- commonly high. They elected him for their pastor, but he was not ordained." He was, no doubt, a young man, of rare attainments and virtue; his ill- health, however, crippled his activity, and finally prostrated him. He slept in Jesus September 14, 1689, in his twenty-fourth year.

His wife was Elizabeth Saltonstall, daughter of Hon. Nathaniel, of Haverhill. She survived him, and married Rev. Rowland Cotton, of Sandwich, and died in Boston July 9, 1726. lle left a son John, who was born in 1689. Cotton Mather describes him as "a gentleman of uncommon accomplishments and expectations," and "a pastor of whose fruit the church in Ipswich tasted with an uncommon satisfaction."

7. Fourth Pastorate .- This was Rev. John Rogers', son of Rev. John, president of Harvard College, a native of this town, born July 7, 1666. He studied in the grammar school and graduated at Harvard College in 1684, when his father died and when he was eighteen years old. He was called to this church during the service of Messrs. Hubbard and Dennison, March 9, 1686. He complied as early as 1688, and December 24, 1689, was asked to settle. In relation to his salary there was a difference of one hundred acres of land, and for that reason he was not ordained till October 12, 1692. In 1702 Mr. Hubbard was too feeble to preach, and August 13th Mr. Rogers acceded to the full ministerial duty, wherein he continued till the next year, when Rev. Jabez Fitch came as col- league.

During this pastorate, in 1712, the old diminutive turret was removed to give place to a commodious belfry. In 1743 there was a very extensive revival of religion, as a result of the evangelical labors of Revs. Whitefield and Tennant, a full account of which was published by Mr. Rogers in the "Christian History."

In 1726, when he had served his people, he said, "thirty-seven years," he had sold a part of his prop- erty and mortgaged the rest to meet the requirements of his family, his salary having depreciated through a depreciated currency. Although depreciation was a common burden, his people promptly lifted his mortgage by a gift of a hundred pounds, and in 1733 they gave him forty pounds to repair his house. He died December 28, 1745, and his society voted a fune- ral benefit of two hundred pounds old tenor. His portrait is with the Essex Historical Society.

His first wife was Martha Smith, whom he married January 12, 1687. His second wife was Martha Whittingham, daughter of William, whom he married November 4, 1691, and who died March 9, 1759, at the great age of eighty-nine years. His children were John, Samuel, Nathaniel, Richard, Elizabeth (who died an infant), Martha, Mary, William and Daniel and Elizabeth, twins.

Mr. Felt says of him: "Such was the strength of his mind, the amount of his acquisitions in learning and theology, the prominence of his piety and the perse- vering labors of his ministry, that he held a high rank in the estimation of his people and of the pub- lic." Mr. Wigglesworth, of the Hamlet, January 5th, the Sahbath after the funeral, thus referred to him : " If the tree is to be known and judged by its fruits, we have reason to think him as eminent for his piety as learning; as great a Christian as a divine. There are many living witnesses of the success of his minis- terial labors, as was a multitude who went before him to glory, both of whom shall be his crown when the great Shepherd shall appear. His old age was not infirm and decrepid, hut robust, active and useful, whereby he was enabled to lahor in word and doctrine to the last, and quit the stage of life in action."

Another minister of this pastorate was REV. JABEZ FITCH, who was the son of Rev. James Fitch, of Norwich, Conn. He graduated from Harvard College in 1694, was tutor there 1697-1703, and was elected Fellow in 1700. The town voted, October 5, 1702, to call him to the office of assistant to Mr. Rogers. He accepted December 11, 1702, and was ordained Octo- ber 24, 1703. His settlement was £150 current mon- ey. His salary was £60 for the first year; £70 for the second year; and £80 for the third year, " and so to continue." In 1724 he complained that his support was not sufficient, and though the parish tried hard to meet his demand, he hegan to preach at Ports- mouth with a view to settle there, which he did the next year. His claim upon this society was adjusted by referees September 22, 1726.

He assisted Dr. Belknap in the preparation of the "History of New Hampshire. The earthquake of 1727 called forth a sermon which was published. He was a man of great learning, had a strong, clear mind, a cheerful disposition, a benevolent spirit and a pious heart. He was eminently useful during a long life, falling asleep in his seventy-fifth year, November 22, 1746. His wife was Elizabeth Appleton, daughter of Col. John, married June 10, 1704.

8. Fifth Pastorate .- This we must call REV. NA- THANIEL ROGERS' pastorate. He was son of Rev. John, who then occupied the pulpit, and was born March 4, 1702. He fitted for college at the Grammar School, and graduated from Harvard College in 1721. He succeeded Mr. Fitch, and assisted his father for a year or more, when August 16, 1726, the church gave him a call to settle. In the call the society concurred September 15th, and he was ordained October 18

585

IPSWICH.

1727, as colleague. His salary was £130 annually for three years, and £150 annually thereafter.

9. Church Edifice .- Mr. Rogers built a new meet- ing-house. The frame was raised April 19, 1749. It was twenty-six feet stud, forty-seven feet wide and sixty-three feet long. On either side of the broad aisle were seats instead of the old box-pews, one row of seats for females, and the other for males. The house was supplied with wood-stoves. Hitherto the foot-stoves had furnished all the warmth. In 1743 there was a fine of fifteen shillings for leaving a foot- stove in church, and of five shillings for the careless use of them. The weather-cock surmounting the steeple was one hundred and eighteen feet above the base.

In 1739 Mr. Rogers preached a memorial of Col. John Appleton ; in 1743 he made with others a written statement "that there has been a happy and remarkable revival of religion in many parts of this land, through an uncommon divine influence, after a long time of great decay and deadness." This was the great awakening that was felt throughout New England. This church invited Messrs. Tennant and Whitefield, and engaged, heart and soul, in the work, with these gratifying results: In the five years follow- ing 1741, during the ministry of father and son, one hundred and forty-four persons were added to the church, one hundred and twenty-three of whom are said to have been the result of the Whitefield revival. In 1746 there were more than three hundred mem- bers. The same year he refused the assistance of Mr. John Walley as colleague. Mr. Walley had declined pulpit exchanges with a minister who had officiated for a new church, in Boston, composed of members from other orthodox churches. The stand taken by Mr. Rogers caused a deep excitement, and the germi- nation of the South Church. In 1747 he helped to or- dain Mr. Cleaveland over a new church in Essex; in 1763 preached the sermon at the ordination of Mr. John Treadwell, of Lynn, and a memorial of Deacon Samuel Williams of his own church, which were printed. In 1765 he gave the right-hand of fellow- ship to Rev. Joseph Dana of the South Parish; in 1752 he asked for a colleague, and offered to relinquish a third of his salary for that purpose. He had assist- ance March 30, 1764, because of sickness. His natural infirmities had been to him for many years a cause of anxiety, and they seemed to grow with his years. He owned their power and peacefully submit- ted May 10, 1775.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 162

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton), ed. n 85042884-1 Publication date: 1888 Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & Co. Number of Pages: 1538

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton), ed. n 85042884-1
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1538