History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 35

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton), ed
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & co
Number of Pages: 1034

USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I > Part 35

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Those were trying days for the men who had left the parish, but their faith was strong. For a time they used private plate at the communion services. Then the junior pastor came into the possession of the "small book " of Thomas Shepard, and by its publication a communion service was obtained.

In September, 1831, the senior pastor found that his age and increasing debility prevented him from performing the duties of his office and he asked re- lease. The church consented to his request. He preached his farewell sermon October 2, 1831, from the text : "For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord." He bore witness to the steadfastness of the people in the time of their trial and to the goodness of God. "Let this house which we have built for the honor of his name be at once a monument of our gratitude and a temple for his praise." The

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impression was unspeakably touching when, after his sermon, he gave out the seventy-first Psalm :

" God of my childhood and my youth, The guide of all my days, I have declared thy heavenly truth, And told thy wondrons ways.

" Wilt thou forsake my hoary hairs, And leave my fainting heart ? Who shall sustain my sinking years, If God, my strength, depart?"

But Dr. Holmes was still to live among his old friends, and where his presence and counsel would be at the service of the church and the town. He preached a double sermon in February, 1836, on the two hundredth anniversary of the founding of the church. He preached his last sermon to his people on the 22d of February, 1837. The subject was : "The vanity of life a reason for seeking a portion in heaven." An illness of a few weeks brought his long and useful life to a close. A severe paralytic shock rendered him almost helpless. But the end was in peace and charity. He said that he wished his injuries written in sand. He died on Sunday morning, June 4, 1837, in the seventy-fourth year of his age. The church-bells were ringing as he passed away ; they were afterwards tolled in tribute to his worth, and in witness to the respect of the community. His first wife was the daughter of President Stiles. His second wife, the daughter of Hon. Oliver Wendell, long survived him and re- ceived the affectionate homage of all who knew her. The body of Dr. Holmes was at first laid in the ancient burying-place, but was removed to Mount Auburn.

The ministry of Dr. Holmes was, with one ex- ception, the longest which the church has known. He stood at the centre of the parish and the town. and his influence was widely felt. He was a friend to the college of which he was an overseer. He was greatly interested in historical studies and published a " History of Cambridge " in 1800. He printed many sermons, preached on special occasions. His largest work was "The Annals of America from 1492 to 1826." He was actively connected with the Massa- chusetts Historical Society. He was one of the founders of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, and of the American Education Society, and was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from the University of Edinburgh about 1805, and was made Doctor of Laws by Alleghany College in 1822 .. His life was long and full and helpful in every direction. His old friend, Dr. Jenks, said of him: "That blending of moderation and modesty with firmness and decision of character, where decision and firmness are needed, constitute, if I mistake not, an enviable or rather a desirable dis- tinction. Never in extremes or chargeable with extravagance, his deportment and character

united, in no common degree, the gentleman, the scholar and the Christian." Some who were children in his day recall his kindly manner towards them, and they like to tell how, as he walked the streets with his well-remembered cane, he would pause at a group of children, and, with a pleasant question and a word of counsel, would draw from his capacious pocket a handful of confectionery and distribute it among the listeners, who had learned to expect it. They tell how, a few weeks before his death, he stood before the pulpit and gave a good book to .each member of the Sabbath-School as they passed before him. His name is engraven on the tablet in the Shepard Memorial Church, and his initials are on one of the pillars at the door. His name is on the mon- ument in the church lot in the Cambridge Cemetery. But his best memorial is his work. At the installation of his successors in 1835 and in 1867, at the dedication of the meeting-house in 1872, at the 250th anniversary of the foundation of the church, a hymn written by him was sung. With the last two verses we close this sketch of his ministry :

" Here may the church thy cause maintain, Thy truth with peace and love, Till her last earth-born live again With the first-born above.

"O glorious change ! From conflict free, The church,-uo danger nigh, - From militant on earth, shall he Triumphant in the sky."

For nearly three years after the retirement of Dr. Holmes, Mr. Adams remained the pastor of the church. In February, 1834, he was invited to be- come the pastor of the Essex Street Church. and Society in Boston. He thought it his duty to accept this invitation. With reluctance the church gave its consent, and he was released from his office here, with the approval of a council, on the 14th of March. This is the only instance in the long history of the church in which a minister had left it to assume the care of another church. Mr. Adams was here in a critical time, when his labors were especially needed, and large results attended his work. After a long and fruitful ministry in Boston, Dr. Adams died in 1878. He had published many religious books, which were widely read and which will preserve his name and character when those who knew him and enjoyed his friendship have all passed on.

For thirteen months the church had no pastor. But Dr. Holmes was here, still a father to his people. In October, 1834, a call was extended to Rev. Oliver E. Daggett, but this was declined. A call was ex- tended to Rev. John A. Albro, and this was accepted, and he was installed April 15, 1835. Mr. Albro was born in Newport, Rhode Island, August 13, 1799. He studied for the law and entered upon its practice at Mansfield, Connecticut, and there he united with the First Church. After spending about two years in the law, he entered the Theological Seminary at

HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

Andover, to prepare for the ministry. He graduated in 1827, and was ordained at Middlesex Village, in Chelmsford, Massachusetts. There came a division there as there came here, and in many other places. After about two years there he became the minister of the Calvinistic Congregational Church in Fitch- burg, Massachusetts, where he was installed in 1832. Three years later he came to Cambridge, where he was to have a pastorate of thirty years. The popula- tion of the town was then about 6,000. The church was still small and its pecuniary ability limited. But the place was attractive and he was qualified to enjoy it and adorn it. His salary at first was $850 and was to be increased $50 each year till it was $1000. He was to have a suitable dwelling-house at a rent not exceeding $200. If his salary for the second and third years did not cover his expenses he was to have a further grant, not exceeding $50 per year. Soon after his installation a parsonage was built on Holyoke Street, and in this he resided until his death. The original meeting-house contained sixty-six pews. In 1840 ten pews were added. In 1844 the house was enlarged and twenty more pews were provided. In 1852 there was another enlarge- ment, making room for 130 pews on the floor. There was a small gallery at the south end of the house. At his installation the church had 101 members. In 1852 there were 244 and in 1865 there were nearly 300.

In 1848 Mr. Albro was made a Doctor of Divinity by Bowdoin College and in 1851 Harvard conferred the same honor upon him. In 1852 he visited Europe, through the liberality of his people. In 1860 the twenty-fifth anniversary of his installation was cele- brated by the church and society, when abundant witness was borne by his own people, and his neigh- bors, and by the college, to the esteem in which he was held for his learning and character and fidelity. His labors were not restricted to his parish. He served on the School Committee. He gave the address at the consecration of the Cambridge Cemetery. He was a manager in the Massachusetts Sabbath-School Society, and always enlivened the meetings of the Publication Committee "by his genial and keen criticisms, and made them instructive by his learn- ing."

He was the friend and advocate of the Puritan faith and order in the churches. He was conserva- tive in temper and had no fondness for innovation. His preaching was Scriptural and logical, and help- ful to his hearers. He could lead the songs of the church with his voice and direct them by his taste and skill. He excelled in conversation, and it was a rare enjoyment to listen to him as his spirit and wit illumined his words. He had for many years a class of college students with whom he read portions of the Greck Testament, which he expounded with the wealth of his learning and his piety, hearing and ask- ing questions. "Many theologians refer to the principles of interpretation which he gave them as

laying the foundation of their interest and success in Biblical studies."

On the 12th day of March, 1865, the congregation was surprised by a letter from the pastor in which he resigned his office. He had contemplated taking this step at the close of thirty years of service, and the time was at hand. The resignation was accepted with deep emotion and many expressions of affection and gratitude. On the 15th of April, 1865, his pas- torate ended. But he remained in the parsonage and was in many ways still the minister of the people, preaching and serving in other offices of religion. He had no desire for another settlement, but he preached in neighboring churches. On the 16th of December, 1866, he preached for the last time. It was at West Roxbury. When near the close of his sermon a pallor overspread his face. He laid his hand on his heart, and then on his head. He finish- ed the service, resumed his seat and became insensi- ble. He was removed to his temporary home at the house of a deacon of the church, where he regained consciousness, and with it his wonted calmness and peace. Quietly, patiently, in faith and hope, he waited till the end came on the 20th. On Monday his venerated form was brought to his old church and a few days later the last ministries of religion were performed in the darkened church. He was laid to rest in the Cambridge Cemetery, as he had desired, the first tenant of the lot belonging to the church-the Shepard lot. An appropriate stone marks his grave, a granite monument bears his name, with the names of all the ministers of the church who have finished their course.

This long narrative has reached its closing sentences. In October, 1865, the minister of the South Church and Parish in Augusta, Me., was invited to become the minister of the First Church in Cambridge. The in- vitation was necessarily declined. It was renewed in December, 1866, and under changed conditions it was then accepted. Accordingly the Rev. Alexander Mckenzie (Harvard 1859, Andover 1861, S.T.D. Amherst 1879) was installed January 24, 1867. In 1872 a new church of stone was opened and dedicated on Garden Street, corner of Mason. The chapel on Mason Street was finished in the following year. The parsonage on Garden Street was built in 1872. Dr. Mckenzie is still the minister of the First Church in Cambridge and the Shepard Congrega- tional Society. The Rev. Leonard S. Parker, A.M., is the assistant minister.

It has been most convenient, and according to pre- cedent, to trace to its present estate the history of the church "in an ecclesiastical sense." The church, " as to all civil purposes," to borrow another phrase of the Supreme Court, is best known as the First Parish Church. The names are sufficiently distinct to prevent confusion. We have now to trace the course of the First Parish Church from the time of the separation-on the 12th of July, 1829. Abel

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Whitney was chosen deacon and Sylvanus Plympton clerk or scribe of the church. The Rev. William Newell was called to the pastoral office. Mr. Newell was born in Littleton, Mass., February 25, 1804. His school and college career was very brilliant- He entered the Boston Latin School in 1814, and graduated at Harvard College in 1824, the second scholar in his class. Dr. John Pierce wrote in his diary, "The II. oration of Newell, on early prejudices, was finely written and delivered." His subject, as given by his son and biographer, was, "Duties of College Students as Men and as Citizens." In 1825 he was appointed usher in the Latin School. The tendencies of his mind carried him towards the miu- istry, and he entered the Harvard Divinity School, where he graduated in 1829. He wished to delay his settlement for a year at least, as his health was uncer- tain. But he was sought by the church in Cam- bridge, as we have seen, and he was here ordained May 19, 1830. His salary was $1000 for the first four years, and then $1200, in equal quarterly payments. "His active connection with the parish was severed March 31, 1868. But his heart never could be sep- arated from his people. In the long interval between his own retirement and the settling of a successor many parochial duties continued to fall to his share." "He came to Cambridge in delicate health, and found himself, without any accumulated stock of ex- perience or any store of addresses, obliged to con- tribute two sermons a week, and to conduct the min- isterial duties of a large parish-a parish, too, some- what formidable from its connection with the college and the number of retired ministers who had come to settle in the university town; while, on the other hand, a section of his auditors stood on the level of plain, practical life. . . . He succeeded as well as it was possible to succeed in satisfying the natural claims of one class and the other." In 1832 the parish sold to the college the land on which its meet- ing-house stood, and the house now occupied by the parish church was erected. It was dedicated Decem- ber 12, 1833. The college had certain reserved rights in the house, and the commencement exercises were held there until 1873. When Mr. Newell was settled there was a partial connection of Church and State, by which every townaman was required to pay his part toward the support of public worship. Changes in the law were made in 1833 and 1835, and it was declared that no person " shall hereafter be made a member of any parish or religious society without his consent in writing." The whole matter was compli- cated and made more perplexing by the financial connection between the church and the college.

Mr. Newell came to Cambridge in the year follow- ing the division of the church. A protest against his settlement as minister of the parish was presented to the ordaining council, but, like other protests, had no effect. "He met the storm of hostility by absolutely refusing to engage in religious controversy and by ig-

noring enmity." When the twenty-fifth anniversary of Dr. Albro's settlement was celebrated, Dr. Newell wrote a letter, expressing his "respect for your able and faithful pastor, with whom, during the whole pe- rjod of his ministry, my personal relations, notwith- standing our theological differences, have always been pleasant and friendly." He spoke of "the kindly feeling which I hope will always subsist, not only between your pastor and myself, but also be- tween the societies with which we are connected- branches as they are of the same old stock, descended from the same old Congregational family, looking back, amidst their honest differences of opinion, with common pride to a common ancestry." Dr. Albro expressed the comfort he had in knowing that he had lived in so much harmony with his "neighbors of different persuasions."

Mr. Newell received the Doctorate of Divinity from Harvard College in 1853. We may quote again from his filial biographer : " His manuers were as courteous, his heart as open and his attentions as constant to the poorest as to the richest member of his congrega- tion. ... As the years of his, ministry passed on, and as age approached, his face seemed to grow constantly more radiant and benignant. Some have felt such a presence on the streets and in the marts of business as a benediction which seemed to leave behind a sweetening aud consecrating influence." His suc- cessor said of him: "The most marked characteristic of his habit of mind was its complete and childlike simplicity, a sweet, gracious, unstudied naturalness, whose ways were so plain and straight that formal phrases could not fitly follow them." He said there was no need to recall the beauty of the life which for fifty years had been lived in this community by the faithful man and earnest minister.

Dr. Newell's last illness was prolonged and painful, but was borne with wonderful patience and cheerful- ness and faith and hope. What seemed to others the valley of shadows was to him the valley of light.

His release came on the 28th of October, 1831, " in the presence of those dearest to him. Conscious al- most to the end, his last characteristic farewell was thanks for the happiness which their love had con- f'erred on his life."

The Rev. Francis G. Peabody, Harvard 1869, be- came the next minister of this church, and was succeeded by the Rev. Edward H. Hall, Harvard 1851. Under his charge the church has remained in continued prosperity.

It has seemed best to trace the history of the First Church and Parish as fully as the limits of this work will allow, inasmuch as it is, for the most part, a his- tory to which all the churches of Cambridge are re- lated. For the greater portion of the time this is the entire ecclesiastical history of the town. As we are now brought into times much nearer to our own, the historical sketches may well be briefer and in more gen- eral terms. The wiser plan appears to be to group the

HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

churches of each name and class, instead of present- ing them in chronological order. It is proposed, however, to make the order of the groups and the arrangement within each group chronological. In accordance with this principle we continue the ac- count of the Trinitarian Congregational Churches of Cambridge.

In the preparation of these historical sketches con- stant use has been made of Dr. Paigne's invaluable " History of Cambridge." Other material has been furnished by different churches, and will be used, so far as practicable, in the form in which it was pre- sented.

It does not seem necessary in this account of the churches of Cambridge to continue the history of the churches which have been at different times set off from the First Church, and are now in other towns.

CONGREGATIONAL CHURCHES .- The First Church in Cambridge was organized February 1, 1636.

The First Evangelical Congregational Church in Cambridgeport was organized September 20, 1827. Towards the close of the year 1826 the Rev. Dr. Beecher commenced a course of public weekly lectures at Cambridgeport. "It was instituted at the request of a few individuals who had, for some time previous, been connected with the Hanover Street Church in Boston, under the pastoral care of the Rev. Dr.

Beecher. . They were kindly furnished by the Baptist Society, under the pastoral care of the Rev. Bela Jacobs, with the use of their meeting-house for this purpose." This was at the time when theologi- cal controvery was agitating and dividing the churches. It was thought expedient to found a church in Cambridgeport which should maintain and teach the Trinitarian or " Evangelical " doctrines. Meet- ings were held at the house of Dr. J. P. Chaplin, on Austin Street, where the project was considered and plans were laid for carrying it into effect. There the council met to organize the church-on the same day on which the new meeting-house was dedicated. This house was on Norfolk Street, at the corner of Wash- ington Street. Evening meetings were usually held at Dr. Chaplin's house until September, 1841. A vestry was built after the meeting-house, probably in 1834. The meeting-house was of wood and was several times enlarged. But it was found necessary to provide a more commodious place of worship, and a brick house was erected on Prospect Street, which is still used by the church. The old house was sold, and was used for lec- tures and other purposes until it was burned, Novem- ber 7, 1854. The new house was dedicated June 30, 1852. The cost of the house was $23,184.01. The first pastor of the church was Rev. David Perry, from April 23, 1829, to October 13, 1830. He was followed by Rev. William A. Stearns, from December 14, 1831, to December 14, 1854. This was much the longest pastorate which the church has enjoyed, and it was rich in its usefulness. The first meeting-house was twice enlarged and the new house erected. Dr. Stearns

was a man of learning and wisdom, of prudence and charity, and of a many-sided efficiency. The church was greatly strengthened during his ministry, and he had the esteem of the whole community for his goodness and dignity and ability. He resigned to accept the presidency of Amherst College, which he held for the rest of his life. Mr. Stearns was born in Bedford, Massachuseets, March 17, 1805 ; graduated at Harvard College in 1827, and at the Andover Seminary in 1831. He died June 8, 1876.

Dr. Stearns was followed by the Rev. Edward W. Gilman, (Yale, 1843) who was pastor from Septem- ber 9, 1856, to October 22, 1858.

Rev. James O. Murray (Brown University, 1850) was installed May 1, 1861, and served until February 6, 1865. He is now professor in Princeton College, which made him Doctor of Divinity in 1867.

Rev. Kinsley Twining (Yale, 1853) was installed September 12, 1867, and resigned April 28, 1872, to become pastor of the Union Congregational Church in Providence, R. I. Rev. William S. Karr (Amherst, 1851) was pastor from January 15, 1873, to November 22, 1875, when he became professor in Hartford Theo- logical Seminary. Rev. James S. Hoyt ( Yale, 1851) was installed September 14, 1876.

He was afterwards pastor of the Congregational Church in Keokuk, Iowa, until his death, in 1890. Rev. David N. Beach (Yale) was installed 1884, and is now pastor of the church. By the last report the church had 600 members.

As a part of the history of the church in Prospect Street, a place should here be given to its work at Stearns' Chapel. A Union Sabbath-School was es- tablished in 1852, which after a few years passed into the control of the Congregational Church. In 1863 a chapel was built on Harvard Street, to which the name of Stearns was given. Rev. Edward Abbott (University of the City of New York, 1860) took charge of this mission January 1, 1865. November 21, 1865, a church of fifty-one members was organized as the Stearns Chapel Congregational Church, and Mr. Abbott installed as pastor. Mr. Abbott retired in November, 1869, after efficient service, and Rev. George R. Leavitt (Williams, 1860) was installed May 4, 1870. The chapel, which had been enlarged in 1867, became too small for the growing church which went out and became the Pilgrim Congregational Church. Ser- vices were continued in the chapel under the care of Rev. Edward Abbott, and another church, was formed October 16, 1872, as the Chapel Congregational Church, and. Rev. John K. Browne (Harvard, 1869) was installed as its pastor. IIe retired September 16, 1875, and was appointed a missionary of the Ameri- can Board at Harpoot, Eastern Turkey. Rev. Robert B. Hall (Williams, 1870) was installed December 29, 1875, and after a promising beginning of his work was removed by death November 2, 1876.

Rev. Marvin D. Bisbee became the acting pastor April 1, 1877, and on the 18th of April, 1878, he was

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installed as pastor. On account of impaired health he resigned his office and was formally dismissed July 3, 1881. He is now librarian of Dartmouth College. September 4, 1881, Rev. Thomas K. Bickford assumed the duties of acting pastor. March 2, 1883, the church was incorporated as the "Chapel Congregational Church in Cambridgeport." About the same time Mrs. Caroline A. Wood, the widow of Caleb Wood, and a member of the church in Prospect Street, made a very large gift for the erection of a meeting-house, on condition that it should be called the Wood Me- morial Church, in memory of her husband. The gift was accepted and a commodious and attractive house was erected on the corner of Austin and Columbia Streets. It was dedicated April 30, 1884, and on the following day Mr. Bickford was installed as pastor. By act of the Legislature February 28, 1884, the name of the church was changed to "Wood Memorial Church in Cambridgeport."

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History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 35

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton), ed Publication date: 1890 Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & co Number of Pages: 1034

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton), ed
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & co
Number of Pages: 1034