History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 50

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1672

USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II > Part 50

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On W molay early in the Day, many came to my House, both young i menandwomen, trased down under a sense of their lost and perishing Com ton and my Home was filled all that Day ; some found Comfort bwf . the 1. ening , and by any-setting, ur a little after, so mminy re- sorted to my house that it could not hold them, and we repaired to the Metin -les , which was good billed , and by that Time we bud prayed ALTA hp th By n, the Awakrbed were in such an Agony of Distress Moves Part of the Meeting- House, above and below, that there was no wo the congregation il general n Wurd of Exhortation that they . all bagget what I shotfattone were given were given in a private -) f Pw to D's aid yun t ight lind Pews full of young Men in got An ch f sol, u tho the very Tormenta of tell were k | 11 e rionsin en, crying ont, saying, 'Oh, what a sinner I Inse bei 0, what a stubborn Wil and huurd Heart I have !' And I wy siget to In corners of the Home, in the Galleries, toLeben de settset enter the Seats, upon their Faces, cry-

Evidently Mr. Cleaveland was deejay sincere in the effet that the e manifestations resulted from the di- n tro lacare of the Spirit of the Infinite Being.

WRITTEN EXPERIENCE OF ONE OF HIS CON- VIPI. Appended to the " Narrative" is a commu- Ist ation written by a young woman of his congrega- Han, to be read at the public service in the church. It Where given as copied verbat m. It illustrates the Toware igious thought and phraseology of that time:

"IPSWICH, FEB., 1765.

" What follows is a Relation of some of the gracious Dealings of God with my Soul.

". I was from my Youth (or Childhood) at Times under Awakenings and Thoughtfulness about the Salvation of my Soul, which, I believe, were from the Spirit of God, knocking at the Door of my Soul ; some- times by awakening Providences ; at other Times by his Word ; and after living some time in this Manner, I went about to establish a Righteousness of my own, und so settled down upon a sandy Foundation, short of I'nion to, or saving Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the ouly Way of salvation, and should have perished forever, if God, who is rich in Mercy, had not opened mine Eyes and showed me my fatal Mistake before it was too late ! But the God of all Grace, who, I believe, had a design of Love, Grace and Mercy to my Soul from Etermty, did not suf- fer me to rest bere ; but sometime in December, 1763, when it pleased God to visit this place (('hebacco) in such a wonderful Manner by his blessed Spirit in the Conviction and hopeful Conversion of a Number of precious Souls, I was bro't to some serious Reflections about the state of my Soul.

" I saw that Christ died for me, as much as if there had been no other Person npon Earth, and my Soul was filled with Astonishment at the dying Love of Christ. I found the Love of Christ shed abroad in my lleart, and I felt a sweet Calmi in my Soul.

" But this View of Things was but short before a dark Cloud overspread my Mind again ; but I still had Longings of Soul after Discoveries of ('hrist, and that I might be more and more established ; at Length, the LORD appeared in a more wonderful Manner; these Words were brought to me, '1 can do all Things through Christ strengthening me ;' I believed that I could do all Things through Christ strengthening me ; and that all Things were possible with God, and that God could freely pardon the greatest Sinner, that ever was, through the Merits of His Dear Son ; and my Soul was so filled with the Love of Christ, that I was ready to cry out with the Spouse, 'Stay me with Flagons and comfort me with Apples, for I am sick of Love!' I seemed to myself like a little mote swallowed np in the Ocenn of Love ! I saw those that were inter- ested in the Covenant of Grace were interested in a sure Covenant, and that lleaven and Earth shall pass away before one Word of God's Pro- mise shall fail."

It is evident that at the time this was written it was customary to allude to the ocean as a symbol of Divine Love.

In this and other publications of that period, Mr. Cleaveland followed the old English usage of begiu- ning each of the principal nouns with a capital letter. In his later writings he deviated from this rule.

HIS OPPOSITION TO REV. JOIN MURRAY .- He pub- lished, about 1774, a pamphlet entitled, " An Attempt to Nip in the Bud the Unscriptural Doctrine of Uni- versal Salvation, and some other Dangerous Errors connected with it; which a certain Stranger, who calls himself John Murray, has of late been endea- voring to spread in the First Church iu Gloucester."

The substance of this he had preached in Chebacco; and in it he had made a statement, which, though he doubtless believed it, was a transparent absurdity, as well as a falsehood. He was naturally a confiding man, and his credulity had probably been imposed upon by some less gullible and more crafty person. lle represented that Murray, when preaching in Gloucester, turned towards that part of the gallery where sat some rough sailors, and told them to go on, do just as they pleased, swear, drink, and commit any sin, and it would be just as well with them hereafter, as if they had lived virtuously ;- they would all go to heaven. The story was based upon an utter miscon- ception of Murray's character, and of his doctrine; for he taught explicitly, so that no intelligent hearer

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could possibly misapprehend, the " final holiness and happiness " of all hnman souls. I say nothing here of the respective merits or demerits of the theology of either of the preachers, who were, I believe, equally honest and sincere; but I now aim only to state accu- rately the precise facts.

He did not have the secretiveness of a fox, but on the contrary had a confiding simplicity and openness that were truly Arcadian and refreshing. For in- stance, in the sermon referred to, he exhorted the young especially not to hear Murray preach, and added that if they did, they would be in danger of getting some ideas into their heads which they would never be able to get out of them !

He and Murray had some traits in common. They were both decidedly frank and open in manner and bearing ; both fearless in utterance of the opinions they sincerely cherished. In temperament, they were considerably alike, both being ardent and enthusiastic. Could they have met and shaken hands with each other, some degree of cordiality would inevitably have sprung up between them, and prejudice would have been softened if not dispelled. What a pity that the Chebacco minister had not ridden the short dis- tance of seven miles which separated them, and called upon the man whom he deemed in error, even if only to reprove and warn. Murray was an elegant gentleman ; and I picture to myself what a gracious and hospitable welcome Cleaveland would have received.

SUBSTANTIALLY ALIKE IN FAITH, EXCEPT ON ONE POINT .- Besides their resemblance in personal ehar- acteristics, it should be noted that in its general fea- tures the theological system of the one was exactly the same as that of the other, the only difference between them in belief being Murray's conclusion that finally the benefits of the Divine Atonement would surely be universal in extent. Murray had been a member of Whitefield's church and congregation in London, be- fore his adoption of Universalism. He still believed in the trinity and a sacrificial, vicarious atonement ; and this belief he retained to the last of his days on earth. In the Universalism of Rev. Hosea Ballou, these tenets are discarded; and on this account Mr. Murray's widow would not recognize him as sound in faith. The late Ellis Gray Loring, Esq., (brother of Hon. Charles G. Loring) once told me in conversa- tion that he found among the papers of his grand- father Faxon, who was a deacon of Mr. Ballou's church, a letter from Mrs. Murray, addressed to him, in which she said : "I cannot sit under Mr. Ballou's preaching, because he has taken the crown from the head of my Redeemer."

She was Murray's second wife, his first having died in England when he was a young man. She was Mrs. Judith (Sargent) Stevens, the widow of John Stevens, and daughter of Winthrop Sargent, then an opulent merchant of Gloucester, afterwards of Boston. She was a lady of considerable literary talent and culture, and of much force and individuality of character.

HIS FRANKNESS .- Mr. Cleaveland was always out- spoken and straightforward. The word sneak had no application to him. He had strong doctrinal convic- tions, and he adhered to them tenaciously. More- over, he had the courage of his convictions, as was shown by his refusal to acknowledge that he had done anything wrong in attending a Separatist meeting, for which he was, with his brother Eben- ezer, who had done the same, expelled front Yale College, while in his junior year. 1

CLEAVELAND'S AND MURRAY'S ARMY CHAPLAIN- CIES-PERSECUTION OF MURRAY .- Murray was ap- pointed as a chaplain in the army of the Revolution, and was popular with both officers and sokliers. He was a more graceful speaker than Cleaveland, and was especially gifted and sympathetic in devotional exercises. The brothers Cleaveland, John and Eb- enezer, served at the same time in that capacity,- as they had done previously in the French and Eng- lish war. If they joined in the unjust personal war- fare instituted against Murray on account of his theological belief, they undoubtedly did it openly. Several of the chaplains petitioned Washington, the Commander-in-chief, to remove Murray from his position, on account of his opinions.

The duty assigned to army chaplains was not to confuse the minds of the soldiers by speculative doc- trinal discussions, or to proselyte them to any particu- lar sectarian standard, but to inspire them with hope and endurance. to give them good counsel, and to pray with and console them when sick, wounded br dying.

The illustrious General Nathaniel Greene, Washing- ton's favorite adviser and right-hand man, was a warm friend and admirer of Murray, and he and General Varnum earnestly advised his retention. Greene was of Quaker descent, and had learned from his ancestors the lesson of toleration. Those who op- posed the friend of Greene did but bump their heads against a stone wall. But in addition to these influ- ences Washington himself carried a level head, and sought union and harmony among all the supporters of the patriotic cause; and so he quietly disposed of the matter by directing that Murray be transferred from the chaplaincy of a regiment to that of a bri- gade ; which change was a promotion. And he offi- ciated thereafter as the chaplain of three combined regiments of Rhode Island troops. History furnishes no more signal instance of a rebuke of bigoted in- tolerance. 2

1 Years afterward reparation for the wrong thus done him and his brother was made, so far as then possible to make it, by granting both the degree of A. M. und eorolling them among the graduates.

2 Washington was governed in his action by broad and national con- siderations. So far as his individual opinions were concerned, he was not in unison with the Calvinistic form of doctrine which Cleaveland and Murray both adopted. He was a reverent believer in the Supreme Be- ing and the Hereafter ; but, although he attended Episcopal services, and sometimes served as warden and vestryman, he did not accept the theory of vicarious, sacrificial atonement. This fact is shown by the

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Alas! for the blinding influence of prejudice. The per-ccutors do not seem to have perceived the as- x imiptions impropriety of their conduct in insulting not only Murray himself but also his devoted friends, the enterprising and patriotic merchants of Glouces- ter and Boston, who cheerfully endured sacrifices and gwe freely of their worklly substance to protect and defend the liberties of America.

Theological opinions did not disqualify a man from " trying a musket. How conkl they alone have un- filted a person to pray for that man, to a Being in w hose existence he believed ?

CLEAVELAND'S FAMILY .- Mr. Cleaveland was twice married : first in 1747 to Mary Dodge, by whom be had four sons and three daughters, and with whom he lived nearly twenty-one years. She died in 1768. His second wife was a Widow Foster, of Manchester.

Of his sons, three were in the Revolutionary war, with himself-one, Dr. Parker Cleaveland, being an Assistant army surgeon, and another, Lieutenant John Cleaveland, Jr., serving throughout the entire war. The latter became a preacher, and was settled at Stoneham and afterwards at Wrentham, Mass., where he died in 1815, at sixty-five years of age. Dr. Par- ker t'leaveland settled in Byfield, and lived there till the age of 74. Ile had two sons, Professor Parker Cleaveland, of Bowdoin College, and Rev. John P. ('leaveland, for several years minister of the Taber- nacle Church in Salem, whose ruddy countenance and general air and manner corresponded with do- scriptions given of the appearance of his grandfather. Nehemiah Cleveland, M. D., settled as a physician in Topsfield, and became eminent as a civilian-serving an Associate Justice and Chief Justice of the Court of Sessions, and also as a member of the State Senate. He had several sons who became distinguished -- Nehemiah, widely known as a classical scholar and Instructor ; John, a lawyer in New York ; and Rev. Dr. Elisha L. Cleaveland, for some time minister in New Haven, Conn. Wm. N. Cleaveland, Esq., another son, was a few years since a resident of Box- til; and a daughter was the wife of Rev. O. A. Taylor for some years minister at Manchester, Mass.

His GrypyLody- Mr. Cleaveland was of the "me I'neage as that of Grover Cleaveland, the sventy-second President of the United States. Both scende l from Moses Cleaveland, who came, when a Lov, in 16635, from Ipswich, Suffolk County, England, w th n mi ter jojner, of whom he was an apprentice.

This Moses Cleaveland settled in Woburn, Massa- hurtis, where he married a lady whose surname was Winn

for any I svermur Mura ne of the few persone with whom Wanli-

AT n Mr El we at In paper at anto gaph note from Washington, 10 00 td ( voh 1 0, win fonett by hly grandson Nehemiah. 1 ℃ pita pib! tinta almillar courtesy was extended to other chap- It- a -t'il faite l, by proximity of thier stato na to the General's And she's, ( like I In Io, Washington had tact us a 1

If there is luck in names, as some say there is in numbers, the maiden name of the first ancestress in America of the Chebacco minister and the United States President, may have foreshadowed that the latter would win in the great national race of 1884.

The exact relationship between them is this : Rev. John Cleaveland was a second cousin of President Cleaveland's great-great grandfather, Rev. Aaron Cleaveland. Each was of the fourth generation from the immigrant Moses-John through two Josiahs, and Aaron through two other Aarons.

John Cleaveland had also a brother named Aaron, who served in the French War in 1758, as a subaltern officer, when John and Ebenezer were chaplains. He was also in the Revolutionary War, commanding a company from Canterbury, Conn., and serving under the famous Gen. Israel Putnam. He was after- wards a colonel in the Counecticut State Militia. He was a farmer. He is thus alluded to in a letter from Chaplain John to his wife at Chebacco : " Our Sur- geon, Dr. Rea, Ebenezer, and I went through Spring- field to Sheffield, where we came across the Connec- ticut forces in which was our brother Aaron."

This Aaron was the father of Moses Cleaveland, who laid out and founded the city of Cleaveland, Ohio. The name is now spelled without the letter a. The founder of that city was, of course, a nephew of Rev. John Cleaveland.

RULING ELDERS AND THEIR FUNCTIONS .- Dur- ing Mr. Cleaveland's ministry, four members of his church, were in succession chosen to the office of Ruling Elder, viz .: Francis Choate, Daniel Giddings, Eleazer Craft and Seth Story. The office, which once existed in several of the churches, has long been ex- tinet, having been either formally abolished or al- lowed to fall into desuetude.

This officer usually read the psalm at the public service, and sat with the minister at the communion ; and when any person present from some other church desired to partake of the sacrament, he applied to him and he proposed his name to the church to ob- tain their consent.

When a minister from another church occupied the pulpit, either on exchange or otherwise, the Ruling Elder, after the singing of the psalm, signified his permission by saying, " If this present brother hath any word of exhortation for the people at this time, in the name of God let him say on."

He also had jurisdiction, to a certain extent, in cases of complaint against church members, which were presented to him in private; which he had dis- cretionary anthority to adjust, if the circumstances warranted. without reporting them to the church.

When complaints had been submitted by him to the church he would, after the hearing, ask the church if they were satisfied. If they said yes, the case would be dismissed without eensure ; but if they said no, he committed it to the pastor to pronounce the sentence

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of admonition, suspension or excommunication, which- ever had, by vote of the church, been decided upon.

Whenever any person expressed a desire to become a member of the church, the Ruling Elder would give public notice of such request and specify the time for the admission, if no adequate objection should be offered ; and at the church-meeting for the purpose, he wonld call upon all persons who knew any just cause for objecting, to state it, or forever after hold their peace.

Ruling Elders were consecrated by the laying on of hands.

CLEAVELAND'S SUCCESSORS .- In November of the year of Rev. John Cleaveland's death, 1799, REV. JOSIAH WEBSTER, a native of New Hampshire, was ordained as his successor, and preached for nearly seven years, resigning in the summer of 1806. He was a very acceptable preacher, and personally much esteemed.

REV. THOMAS HOLT, a native of Connecticut, a very worthy man, was the next minister ordained in 1809. He preached here a little more than four years, leaving in 1813. A funny circumstanee occur- ring during his pastorate, was the request of the peo- ple that he would write his sermons instead of preach- ing extemporaneously, as he had been accustomed to do, as they thought his discourses were not up to the mark of their wishes and expectations, in interest and instructiveness. Their proposed method of remedy- ing the defect complained of, recalls the good story of a constant attendant upon public worship (the town and State of whose residence I am unable to specify) who sold his pew, which was in the rear part of the church, not far from the door, and purchased one located very near the pulpit and in front of it, alleging as a reason for the change that he thought that perhaps the sermons might have some strength if he could take them in immediately after they issued from the minister's lips ; whereas always before, by the time they reached his ears in the back pew, they had become weak and flat.

REV. DR. CROWELL .- Mr. Holt's first successor, the seventh in succession of the settled ministers of the place, and the third in length of pastorate,1 was Rev. Robert Crowell, a native of Salem, who was ordained August 10, 1814, and died here November 10, 1855. .

An intimate personal acquaintance with him for many years, would prompt me to present here a more extended sketch of him than the limits assigned me in this book will admit. As, however, his tastes and in- clinations were not controversial, and circumstances did not bring him into personal or professional con- flict with others, his career was not, in these respects, so eventful as that of some of his predecessors.

He was the model parish-minister. He had no aim nor ambition but to discharge worthily the duties of

that station. With him, it seemed more a consecra- tion than a professional pursuit. Thoughtful and dignified in his demeanor, he was yet always acces- sible to old and young, and uniformly courteous, genial and social in his intercourse with parishioners or strangers.

When a yonth, he was employed for a few years in a store in Boston, probably with a view to being ulti- mately engaged permanently in a business occupation. But an incident, which he once related in conversa- tion, gave him, I have always supposed, a distaste for a life of trade. He said that a man came in one day to purchase cloth for a suit of clothes, and the proprie- tor of the establishment showed him his variety of fabrics, and recommended to him what he considered the finest piece of goods in the store, setting upon it, however, only a moderate and fair price. The cus- tomer, although seeming half inclined to buy, de- murred, saying he would like something better in quality, and finally went out without making any purchase, the dealer assuring him that if he would call again soon, he would, he felt confident, be able to show him something which would give him entire satisfaction. After the man had gone out, the dealer turned to his young employee, and said, "Now, Robert, I am going to sell that man a suit off that same roll of cloth ! You see if I don't. It is of the very finest quality. The only trouble was, I offered it at too low a price. Next time, I shall ask more for it." In course of a few days the man came in again ; and the dealer, bringing forward one-half of the same roll (which he had cut into two equal parts, so that one end was literally a piece of cloth that the customer had not before seen), said, with animation of voice and manner, "Now I've got something that will suit you ; but it comes higher in price." He then unrolled it, held it up in the light, and descanted earnestly upon its merits; and the customer was so much pleased that he bought a suit from it withont hesita- tion, paying considerably more than the sum for which he might have had it when the uncut roll was first exhibited !

As a public speaker Dr. Crowell was clear and distinct in utterance, and while earnest was modest and unassuming in manner. He had not the inclina- tion, if indeed he had the organization and temper- ament, for anything like impassioned oratory.

As a writer he was able and perspicuous; and his published discourses and especially his history of the town, are specimens of remarkably vigorous and pure English, never characterized anywhere by a weak line or an inappropriate or infelicitous epithet. His diction was never ambitiously ornate but always har- moniously rounded. His fancied visits to the houses of the early settlers, and imaginary attendance at a wedding and upon public worship in the primitive meeting-house ; his narrative of a fishing voyage and his animated account of a deer hunt ; the description of the clandestine raising of the first meeting-honse,

1 Mr. Cleaveland preached here fifty-two years, Mr. Wise forty-five, and Dr. Crowell forty-one,-their three pastorates covering a period of one hundred and thirty-eight years.

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HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

of the first training day, and of a visit to the farmer of Hog Island, -all evince that if he had chosen to devote special attention to descriptive literary effort, or to have wrought in the humorous vein. he would have been decidedly a success.

As a granmarian he was always faultlessly accurate, notwithstanding the fact that (as he once told me, while we were visiting a public school) he had never in le's life formally studied English Grammar. He said he had studied the Latin Grammar pretty tho- roughly ; and while teaching a common school in Manchester, a comprehension of the structure of the English was readily gained, partly from the analogy of the languages and partly by familiarizing himself with the rules of the English text book while hearing recitations.

As a citizen his personal influence was uniformly upon the side of good causes, he having been an | published in pamphlet form soon after their oral de- active member of the first temperance organization in the town, when it required moral courage to advocate total abstinence, and always manifesting an unabated interest in the education of the young, serving upon the board of town's school committee for a large portion of his long residence here, and officiating for many years as its chairman.

Mr. Crowell was a graduate of Dartmouth College, of the class of 1811, and that institution conferred upon him, in 1850, the title of Doctor of Divinity.

Hle was twice married-first, in the year of his onlination, ISIA, to Miss Hannah Frost, of Andover, by whom he had a daughter. His first wife died in December, 1515. The daughter has since deceased. Ilis second wife was Miss Hannah, sister of Hon. Rufus Choate, to whom he was married September 2, 1522, and who died February 9, 1837, and by whom he had six children, three of whom survive-two daughters and a son, Rev. Prof. Edward Payson Crowell, of Amherst College.

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History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 50

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed Publication date: 1888 Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & Co. Number of Pages: 1672

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1672