History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 36

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 36

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Stearns' Chapel was again at the disposal of the church which had built it, and sustained in good mea- sure the services in it. Religious services, including preaching and a Sunday-school, were resumed, and Rev. Robert E. Ely, from the Union Theological Sem- inary, was placed in charge of the work which is under the supervision of the church in Prospect Street, by which the mission is chiefly sustained. The affairs of the mission are prospering, and it is thought that an- other Congregational Church will soon be formed in Stearns' Chapel.

Second Evangelical Congregational Church .- This church was organized March 30, 1842, by persons who were generally " Zealous advocates of the immediate abolition of slavery." They erected a meeting-house at the corner of Austin and Temple Streets, and dedi- cated it January 3, 1844. The first minister, Rev. Joseph C. Lovejoy (Bowdoin, 1829), was installed Janu- ary 26, 1843, and he continued in office until May 10, 1853. Rey. Charles Packard (Bowdoin, 1842) was the minister from April 26, 1854, to March 21, 1855. Rev. Charles Jones was the minister from May 25, 1855, to October 16, 1857. Rev. George E. Allen (Browu University, 1850) was installed May 20, 1858, and he resigned July 12, 1861. After a series of discourage- ments, by advice of a council, the church was dis- banded October 3, 1865. Many of the members united with the Pilgrim Church, furnishing more than $1200 to aid in building the church on Magazine Street. The meeting house, which was no longer needed by the society, was sold, and was burned Sep- tember 6, 1865.

The Evangelical Church at East Cambridge was or- ganized September 8, 1842. In 1843 a meeting-house was erected at the northeasterly corner of Second and Thorndike Streets. The first pastor was Rev. Fred- erick T. Perkins (Yale, 1839), who was ordained Jan- uary 11, 1843, and resigned May 26, 1851. He was followed by Rev. Joseph L. Bennett (Amherst, 1845), who was installed July 1, 1852, and resigned Febru-

ary 18, 1857. Rev. Richard G. Greene was pastor 1858- 60 ; Rev. William W. Parker 1861-64; Rev. Nathan- iel Mighill (Amherst, 1860), 1864-67 ; Rev. Heman R. Timlow was acting pastor in 1867-70. Then Samuel Bell was installed November 1, 1870, and resigned May 29, 1872. Rev. D. W. Kilburn supplied the pul- pit afterwards. In 1876 the meeting-house was pre- sented to the Day Street Church in West Somerville, aud was taken down and removed for the use of that church, by which it is now occupied. The East Cambridge Church had become greatly reduced in numbers by the removal of its members and the changes in the population around it, and it was there- fore disbanded.

The North Avenue Congregational Church was or- ganized September 23,1857. It was at first called the Holmes Congregational Church, and was connected with the Holmes Congregational Society, which was formed in North Cambridge in September, 1857. In 1866 the name North Avenue was substituted for Holmes. A chapel was built in 1857, and called the Holmes Chapel. In this worship was maintained until it was too small for the congregation, when it was sold to a new Methodist Society. The Holmes Society bought the meeting-house of the old Cam- bridge Baptist Church, and moved it hodily to the corner of North Avenue and Roseland Street. It was dedicated by its new owners September 29, 1867. It was afterwards enlarged to meet the wants of the growing congregation, and it is still the home of the church. The church at its formation had forty-three members, some of whom were from the First Church. At the last report there were 512 members.

The first pastor was Rev. William Carruthers (Bowdoin, 1853), who was installed January 2, 1861, and dismissed February 21, 1866. Rev. David O. Mears (Amherst, 1865) was ordained and installed October 2, 1867. After a successful ministry he re- tired July 1, 1877, to become the pastor of the Pied- mont Church, in Worcester. Rev. Charles F. Thwing, (Harvard, 1876, Andover, 1879) was ordained and in- stalled September 25, 1879, and resigned October 29, 1886, to become the pastor of Plymouth Church iu Minneapolis. Rev. Walters Alexander, D.D. (Yale, 1858, Andover, 1861), was installed October 28, 1886, and has remained the pastor of the church until his recent resignation of the office.

Pilgrim Congregational Church .- An account of the origin of this church has already been given. The fuller sketch which follows has been prepared by one of the officers of the church and is printed in full.

In 1852 a mission Sabbath-school was established in the lower part of Cambridgeport, which was for some time carried on by the First and Second Con- gregational, the Methodist and the Baptist Churches, acting together. Within a few years, however, all these churches except the First Congregational relin- quished their connection with the work. In 1863 the Stearns Chapel was built on Harvard Street, near

HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

Winsor, primarily for the accommodation of this school. The chapel was soon opened for religious meetings on Sunday and Wednesday evenings, and preaching services were held on Sunday afternoons with a good degree of regularity. The success of these efforts was such that the First Church was led to consider the question of organizing another church.

In the autumn of 1864 Rev. Edward Abbott was invited to "take charge of the Stearns Chapel for one year." He began his work Sunday, January 1, 1865, and on November 21st of the same year a church of fifty-one members was formed. It was called the Stearns Chapel Congregational Church, and Mr. Abbott was installled as its first pastor. Of the fifty-one members, eighteen came by letter from the First Congregational Church, seventeen from the Second Congregational Church (which disbanded at about this time), and four from churches outside of Cambridge; while twelve made their first public con- fession of faith.

The growth of the church was rapid. In Decem- ber, 1867, it became necessary to enlarge the chapel. Mr. Abbott resigned the pastorate in November, 1869, and on the 4th of the following May Rev. George R. Leavitt was installed as his successor. It had now become evident that the church ought to leave the mission chapel, and build a larger meeting-house. A majority of the attendants at the Stearns Chapel lived on the southerly side of Main Street, in a part of the city where there was no Congregational Church. It was consequently decided to build in that section, and a lot was hought at the corner of Magazine and Cottage Streets, in April, 1870. The corner-stone of the new house was laid May 13, 1871, and the building was dedicated January 4, 1872. The cost of the lot and the building was nearly forty thousand dollars.

Early in 187t the name of the organization was changed to The Pilgrim Congregational Church, and a petition was laid before the Legislature for a special act of incorporation, giving the church the right to hold property and do all its own business, without a parish or society. At that time such a form of church life was almost unknown, and was impossible without special legislative enactment. The petition was granted, however, and The Pilgrim Church be- came a legal corporation. February 22, 1885, Mr. Leavitt tendered his resignation, in consequence of a call to Cleveland, Ohio, and on the 10th of March he was formally dismissed by an ecclesiastical council. Soon afterward a call was extended to Rev. George A. Tewksbury, of Plymouth, Mass., and on the 7th of May he was installed as the third pastor of Pil- grim Church. He held this office about four years, and was dismissed March 5, 1889. Rev. Charles Olmstead, formerly of Oswego Falls, N. Y., suc- ceeded Mr. Tewksbury, being installed July 9, 1889.

At the outset the church adopted the plan of free

sittings and voluntary offerings. None of the pews are assigned to individuals or families, but all are strictly free. The expenses of the church are met entirely by the free-will offerings of the people, which are gathered by passing boxes throughout the house at each Sunday preaching service. The old custom of having two sermons every Sunday, forenoon and afternoon, has never been abandoned.

The church has received a total of over eleven hundred members, and its preseut membership is about six hundred and fifty.

Wood Memorial Church .- An account of the forma- tion of this church has been given. It moved from Stearns' Chapel to its new house in 1884. Mr. Bick- ford retired from the pastorate May 26, 1887, after a ministry which had been of signal advantage to the church. Rev. Isaiah W. Sneath became the acting pastor September 1, 1887, and was finally installed as pastor June 20, 1888. The church had in February, 1890, a membership of 195, with a Sunday-school of 395 members.

UNITARIAN CHURCHES .- The First Parish Church was organized February 1, 1636. The account of this church has already been given.

Cambridgeport Parish .- An account has already been given of the organization of this parish. The meeting-house corporation was formed in 1805, the meeting-house dedicated January 1, 1807, the parish organized in 1808, and the church formed July 14, 1809. The first minister, Rev. Thomas Brattle Gan- nett, was ordained January 19, 1814, and was the pas- tor till 1834. He died in 1851, at the age of sixty- two.

The second pastor was the Rev. Artemas B. Muzzey (Harvard, 1824), who was installed January 1, 1834, and continued in the office until 1846. Mr. Mnzzey is still living in Cambridge. He has been especially in- terested in historical studies, and as a native of Lex- ington has appropriately published a book of " Reminiscences and Memorials of Men of the Revolu- tion, and their Families." The third minister was the Rev. John F. W. Ware (Harvard 1838), who was installed November 29, 1846, and retired April 1, 1864. He resigned to take charge of a society in Baltimore, and afterwards was the minister of the Arlington St. Church, in Boston, until his deatlı, in 1881.

Rev. Henry C. Badger was installed January 15, 1865, and he resigned on account of ill health Octo- ber 1, 1865. He is now connected with the Cartographi- cal Department of the library of Harvard College.

The Rev. George W. Briggs, D.D., was installed April 3, 1867, and is still pastor of the church. He graduated at Brown University in 1825 and at the Harvard Divinity School in 1834. He received his Doctorate of Divinity from Harvard in 1855. The Rev. John Tunis, a graduate of the Harvard Divinity School in 1882, was installed as colleague pastor April 11, 1889.

During Mr. Ware's ministry the society increased

CAMBRIDGE.

largely, and in 1854 the church was remodeled and new pews took the place of the old ones. After Dr. Briggs' accession to the pastorate of the church the society was so much enlarged that iu 1872 it was found necessary again to remodel the church and to increase the number of pews. A new vestry was fit- ted up in the basement. The first meeting-house was of brick, and stood on the west side of the square bounded by Broadway and Harvard, Columbia and Boardmau Streets. This house was so much injured by the wind in 1833 that it was abandoned, and the new house was erected on Austin Street. This is now the home of the church,-the place of worship, and the centre of its religious and philanthropic activities. A Sunday-school was established by the society in 1814.

The Third Congregational Society was incorporated June 16, 1827, and in that year it erected a brick meeting-house at the corner of Thorndike and Third Streets, East Cambridge. The church was organized March 3, 1828. The first pastor was Rev. Warren Burton (Harvard, 1821). He was installed March 5, 1828 and resigned in 1829, and the Rev. James D. Green (Harvard, 1817) was installed January 6, 1830. He resigned in 1840 and afterward filled various civil offices. He was the first mayor of Cambridge. His successors were Rev. Messrs. Henry Lambert, George G. Ingersoll, Frederick W. Holland, Frederick N. Knapp, William T. Clarke, Henry C. Badger, Rufus P. Stebbins, Stephen G. Bulfinch and Samuel W. McDaniel. The latter resigned in 1874. The changes in that part of Cambridge made it impracticable to continue the services in the church. In 1887 the Cambridgeport Parish and Church in Austin Street received the fund of the society and became responsi- ble for its custody and use. In connection with this arrangement the society in Austin Street, by an act of the Legislature, took the name of the Third Congrega- tional Society in Cambridge. The house in East Cambridge was sold in 1886, with the organ and bell, and has since been used by the Church of the Ascen- sion (Episcopal).

The Lee Street Society was organized in 1846. Most of the original members, with the first pastor, had been connected with the Cambridgeport Parish. The church was organized April 9, 1847. The first meet- ing-house was built on Lee Street and dedicated March 25, 1847, and burned May 20, 1855. Another house was erected on the same lot and dedicated January 23, 1856.

Rev. Artemas B. Muzzey was the pastor from Sep- tember 7, 1846, till February 20, 1854, when he re- signed. He was followed by Rev. Henry R. Harring- ton (Harvard, 1834), from February 11, 1855, to April 1, 1865. He was followed by Rev. Abram W. Stevens, who was installed November 26, 1865 and retired November 1, 1870. Rev. John P. Bland, of the Harvard Divinity School (1871), was ordained Sep- tember 6, 1871. But the Lee Street Society had become 5

reduced in strength by the death or removal of most of its original members, and it was at length thought best to accept a cordial invitation to re- turn to the church and society in Austin Street. "The result was accomplished satisfactorily to all concerned and the union was consummated without a dissenting voice."

The church on Lee Street was bought by the city, and is now temporarily used by the Latin School.

The Allen Street Congregational Society ( Unitarian) was organized October 8, 1851, in North Cambridge. Several of the members resided over the line, in Somerville. A meeting-house was built at the corner of Allen and Orchard Streets, on land given for that purpose by Mr. Walter M. Allen. The house was finished in February, 1853, and was destroyed by fire March 19, 1865. Another house, erected on the same site, was completed in December, 1865, and was after- wards enlarged. In 1869 it was found expedient for the society to unite with the Universalist denomina- tion, and its latest history will be found in connection with the Universalist Churches.

University Church,-An account has already been given of the organization of a church in connection with Harvard College in 1814, That was nearly fifteen years before the separation of the First Church from the parish, and the new church was formed with the approval and assistance of the old church and its minister. But the new church became allied with the Unitarian movement and its ministers were from that branch of the church. Services were held in the new College Chapel in University Hall and the pres- ident with the Faculty of the Theological School, officiate. In 1858 Appleton Chapel was completed, and the services of the College Church have since been held there. The pastors and preachers, in addition to President Kirkland, have been Rev. Henry Ware, D.D. (Harvard, 1785), from 1814 to 1840 ; Rev. Henry Ware, D.D., Jr. (Harvard, 1812), from 1840 to 1842; Rev, Convers Francis, D.D. (Harvard, 1815), from 1842 to 1855 ; Rev. Frederic D. Huntington, D.D. (Amherst, 1842), from 1855 to 1860; Rev, Andrew P. Peabody, D.D. (Harvard, 1826), from 1860 to 1881. Since that time the services of the University Church have been discontinued. After Dr. Peabody's resignation the chapel pulpit was supplied by different ministers who were invited by the college authorities, In 1886 Rev. Francis G. Peabody (Harvard, 1869), was appointed Plummer Professor of Christian Morals, and a board of five preachers was appointed to administer with him the religious affairs of the college. The five preachers were Rev. Edward Everett Hale, D.D., Rev. Phillips Brooks, D.D., Rev. Alexander McKen- zie, D.D., Rev. Richard Montague, Rev. George A. Gordon. The preachers are appointed annually. Rev. Theodore C. Williams, Rev. William Lawrence, Rev. Lyman Abbott, D.D., Rev. Brooke Herford, D.D., and Rev. Henry Van Dyke, D.D., have been added to the board, from whichi some of the original

HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

members have retired. The Plummer professor and the preachers conduct the service of morning prayer, and a Sunday evening service in which they are assisted hy other clergymen.

PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCHES. - Christ Church .- The introduction of the Episcopal Church into Cambridge has been mentioned already in its chronological place. A fuller account can be given here, compiled, for the most part, from the narrative written by Rev. Dr. Hoppin for the "History of the American Episcopal Church." " Several worthy gen- tlemen of the town of Cambridge," members of the Church of England, petitioned the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts to grant them a missionary who should officiate for them and for others in neighboring towns, and for such college students as were in the English Church. They named the Rev. East Apthorp, a Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge, England, as a suitable man for this ser- vice. Mr. Apthorp was appointed in 1759. Arrange- ments were made for building a church. The original subscription for this purpose is dated at Boston, April 25, 1759. The building committee was composed of well-known men: Henry Vassal, Joseph Lee, John Vassal, Ralph Inman, Thomas Oliver, David Phips. They employed "a masterly architect," Mr. Peter Harrison, of Newport, R. I." "Christ Church, built from his designs, at a cost, not including the land, of about £1300 sterling, seems to have been always re- garded as an edifice of superior elegance." Mr. Ap- thorp spoke of it as "adding to the few specimens we have of excellence in the fine arts." Archdeacon Barnaby, in his "Travels," published in 1760, says of the house and the minister, " The building is elegant, and the minister of it, the Rev. Mr. Apthorp, is a very amiable young man of shining parts, good learning, and pure and engaging manners." The establishment of the Church of England in this colony was met with resistance. Mr. Apthorp, published in 1763, " Considerations on the Institution and Conduct of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel." The Rev. Jonathan Mayhew replied, the Archbishop of Canterbury replied to him, and Dr. Mayhew and Mr. Apthorp continued the controversy. Upon his settle- ment here, Mr. Apthorp "built a spacious and costly mansion, the unwonted splendor of which caused many remarks." Dr. Mayhew wrote: "Since the mission was established in Cambridge, and a very sumptuous dwelling house (for this country) erected there, that town hath been often talked of by' Episcopalians, as well as others, as the proposed place of residence for a bishop." Dr. Hoppin writes : "No doubt Mr. Ap- thorp's situation in Cambridge was rendered uncom- fortable by this controversy, and he the more readily embraced the opportunity of preferment in England." He received in 1765 an appointment from Archbishop Secker, and returned to England, where "he died at the advanced age of eighty-four, and was buried with great honor in the chapel of Jesus College, Cam-

bridge." His death occurred on the 16th of April, 1816.

The church was erected on Garden Street, on land adjoining the old burying-ground. " A piece of land one hundred feet square was bought of Mr. James Reed for £16 2s. 1}d., lawful money." "This, with the same quantity bought of the Proprietors of the common and undivided lands of the Town of Cam- bridge and taken in from the commons, formed the church lot. The price paid to the Proprietor was £13 6s. 8d., lawful money, the church also paying for the removal of the Pounds." The church was opened for divine service October 15, 1761. After Mr. Ap- thorp's retirement the Rev. Mr. Griffith officiated from December, 1764, to May, 1765. In June, 1767, the Rev. Winwood Serjeant became the missionary for the church, and he remained in this office until the breaking out of the War of the Revolution. Dr. Caner writes to the society, June 2, 1775: "Mr. Ser- jeant of Cambridge, has been obliged, with his family, to fly for the safety of their lives, nor can I learn where he is concealed. His fine church is turned into barracks by the rebels, and a beautiful organ that was in it broke to pieces." Another writes in 1778: "Mr. Serjeant's parish at Cambridge is wholly broken up. The elegant houses of these gentlemen who once belonged to it are now occupied by the rebels." Mr. Serjeant died at Bath, England, Sep- tember 20, 1780.

While the American Army was in Cambridge it is probable that service was occasionally performed in the church. There is a record of a service held on Sunday, the last day of 1775, " at the request of Mrs. Washington. There were present the General and lady, Mrs. Gates, Mr. Custis and a number of others." But the house " was left for many years iu a melan- choly and desecrated coudition, the doors shattered and all the windows broken out, exposed to rain and storms, and every sort of depredation; its beauty gone, its sanctuary defiled, the wind howling through its deserted aisles and about its stained and decaying walls; the whole building being a disgrace instead of an ornament to the town." No effort ap- pears to have been made for the renewal of divine worship till the beginning of the year 1790. The edifice was then repaired, and on the 14th of July was reopened for service, and Rev. Dr. Parker, rector of Trinity Church, Boston, preached from Ephesians ii. 19-22. "The Rev. Joseph Warren had been 'put into Deacon's orders' by Bishop Seabury, for Christ Church, and officiated till Easter, 1791. The Rev. Dr. Walter and the Rev. William Montague, as assistant, then served conjointly for a time. Readers were employed, among them Theodore Debar, afterward Bishop of South Carolina, and Jon- athan Mayhew Wainwright, afterward Provisional Bishop of New York." In 1826 the building was re- paired and reopened July 30, 1826, "a sermon being preached by the Rev. George Otis, A. M., one

CAMBRIDGE.

of the faculty of Harvard College. Of those who have in later days served this ancient parish as rectors, two are now bishops of the church, the Right Rev. Drs. Vail and M. A. De Wolfe Howe. Of those who have temporarily served in this congregation, the Rev. Dr. John Williams is now Bishop of Connecticut, and the Rev. Horatio Southgate was the Missionary Bishop in Turkey." Mr. Otis was chosen rector, and declined the office on account of his college engagements, but " he continued to officiate for the church, and was vir- tually its minister, till his lamented and untimely death, at the age of thirty-two, February 25, 1828." Rev. Thomas W. Coit, D.D., was rector from Easter, 1829, to Easter, 1835; Dr. Howe for a few months in 1836 and 1837; Dr. Vail from Easter, 1837, to Easter, 1839. The Rev. Nicholas Hoppin became the rector in November, 1839. He was a graduate of Brown University in 1831. The congregation increased under his rectorship, and in 1857 the church edifice was enlarged by an addition of twenty-three feet to its length. Changes were also made in the interior. A chime of thirteen bells was procured by subscription and placed in the belfry of the church, where they were rung for the first time on Easter morning, 1860. After a successful ministry of thirty-four years, much the longest which the church has known, Dr. Hoppin resigned, April 20, 1874. He continued to reside in Cambridge, where he was held in great respect.

The next rector of Christ Church was the Rev. William Chauncey Langdon, D.D., who, after a few years of faithful service, resigned the parish, and was succeeded by the present rector, Rev. James F. Spald- ing, D. D.

St. Peter's Church,1 Main Street, Cambridgeport .-- This parish was organized October 27, 1842. A lot of land on Magazine Street, near Perry, was given as a site for the church, but this location being considered entirely out of town, it was exchanged for a lot on Prospect Street, near the corner of Harvard, on which a church was at once built. The parish was admitted into union with the Diocese at the annual meeting of the convention in 1843.

The movement for a new church building began in 1864, and the foundation of the present church, cor- ner of Main and Vernon Streets, was laid in that year. The work proceeded slowly; in September, 1866, worship was begun in the Sunday-school room, and the church was opened for service on the Sunday after Christmas, 1867 ; but owing to the fact that it was not fully paid for, its consecration could not take place until October 2, 1873, when that ceremony was performed by Right Rev. B. H. Paddock, it being his first public official act after his consecration as Bishop of the Diocese.

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History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 36

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