History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 37

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 37

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In the forty-seven years of its history the parish has been in charge of nine different clergymen. Rev. Edward M. Gushee (Brown University, 1858)

was rector from Easter, 1875; but at the present time (February, 1890) the rectorship is vacant.

St. Philip's Church, 2 Allston Street .- This church was built by Rev. Edward M. Gushee while he was rec- tor of St. Peter's Church, chiefly at his own expense. The formal benediction of the foundation took place on Sunday, November 28, 1886, and the church was opened for service on Sunday, June 12, 1887. Mr. Gushee continued to serve both churches until Eas- ter, 1888, when he resigned the rectorship of St. Peter's and devoted himself entirely to St. Philip's, of which he still remains in charge, In the summer of 1888 the church was enlarged by lengthening both chancel and nave and the addition of a tran- sept. The congregation is not represented in the meetings of the Diocesan Convention, not having been admitted into union with the Diocese.

The Church of the Ascension,1 East Cambridge, and St. Bartholomew's, Cambridgeport, are canonically called " Missions," having no parochial organization and no representation in the Diocesan Convention, but they are not dependent on any parish.

St. Bartholomew's has been in existence about two years and is now under the care of Rev. David G. Haskins, D.D.

The first service for the Mission of the Ascension was held on Whit-Sunday, 1875, by Rev. Wm, War- land in the present church, which was then owned by the Third Congregational Society.

In May, 1886, the building, with the organ and bell, was bought for the Church of the Ascension. There is no clergyman in regular charge at the present time.

St. James' Parish,3 Cambridge .- The circumstances leading to the organization of this parish are of more than ordinary interest, as its growth has been one of the noticeable features of the religious life of the city. Iu 1860 the Rev. Frederic D. Huntington, D.D., Plummer Professor of Christian Morals in Harvard University, and previously a Unitarian, had been ordained to the ministry of the Protestant Episcopal Church. Four years later he resigned his office in the university. His organization and rectorship of Em- manuel Church, Boston, followed this step. Another result was the organization of the "Church Union," a fervent society of young churchmen of Boston and vicinity, dedicated to aggressive effort in the line of church extension. Living at this juncture in Cam- bridge, and connected with the mother parish of Christ Church, was the Rev. Andrew Croswell, a retired Episcopal clergyman in impaired health. Stimulated by the zeal and activity around him, he looked about for a suitable place at which himself to try a mission work, and pitched upon North Cam- bridge, then an almost outlying and detached precinct of the city, beginning a mile or more above the col- lege buildings at Harvard Square. There he hired a hall, and, with the co-operation of Samuel Batchelder

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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

and George Dexter, two devoted laymen, honored Cambridge names, the first service was held on the evening of Christmas Day, 1864, the rector of Emmanuel Church, Boston, now Bishop of Central New York, preaching the sermon. The hall was Atwill's, on the corner of North Avenue and Russell Street. Here the mission continued under Mr. Cros- well's ministry until its growth led to its rem oval to the abandoned bank building on the avenue near Porter's Station, which was fitted up for a chapel and occupied as such until 1871. Meantime a parish of the Episcopal Church had been organized under the legal title of the Free Church of St. James, on the 18th of June, 1866, with the Rev. Andrew Croswell as rector, which position he filled till the building of the little church on Beech Street, the gift of a Cambridge lady deeply interested in the mission, and erected on land secured by Mr. Croswell with the aid of other friends. The corner-stone of this church was laid June 30, 1871, and the building was conse- crated December 21st following. Mr. Croswell's health obliging him about this time to retire from the rectorship, he was succeeded by the Rev. W. H. Fultz, and he in turn, in 1873, by the Rev. T. S. Tyng, a grandson of the Rev. Dr. Stephen H. Tyng, of New York. Fresh from the Episcopal Theologi- cal School in Cambridge, Mr. Tyng brought to this his first rectorship great ardor and indefatigable industry, and during the five years of his ministry the parish, though still small and feeble and strug- gling, made steady gains. The planting of St. John's Church, Arlington and the building of St. James' Chapel, West Somerville, were part of the visible fruits of Mr. Tyng's energetic work. In 1878 Mr. Tyng resigned, having offered himself as a mis- sionary to Japan, and was succeeded by the Rev. Edward Abbott, formerly a Congregationalist min- ister, and a resident of Cambridge since 1865 (founder and first pastor of what is now the Pilgrim Congregational Church), who had lately been con- firmed in the Episcopal Church, and was about be- coming a candidate for its ministry. Mr. Abbott vir- tually took charge of the parish in September, 1878, and is now (1890) still its rector. The growth of the parish in the past twelve years has been vigorous and marked. The purchase of land in the rear of the Beech Street Church and the erection thereon of a Parish House, and later the purchase of the sightly and historic Davenport estate, on the corner of the avenue and Beech Street, and the completion thereon, in 1889, of a large, new and beautiful stone church, are the two most notable outward signs of their pro- gress. Of this church Bishop Huntington laid the corner-stone in August, 1888. The new St. James' Church is considerably the largest Episcopal Church in the city, and in many respects one of the most im- pressive and attractive of all its religious edifices, having a capacity of nearly, if not quite, 800 per- sons, and possessing one of the most spacious and

beautiful chancels in the State. This feature of the building is a memorial to the late James Greenleaf, of Cambridge, with whom the late Rev. Andrew Croswell, first rector of the parish, was connected by marriage. Through all these years the parish has been deeply interested and carnestly active in all good works, especially in behalf of missions at home and abroad, and has been a liberal giver according to its means. A flourishing Sunday-school, a numerous Ladies' Missionary Society, a Men's Benefit Society, a Young Men's Guild, a Young People's Missionary Society and a temperance society are among its activ- ities. Its present number of communicants is about 250.

The' Episcopal Theological School .- "This institu- tion was incorporated in 1867. It had long been felt that a theological seminary was needed to provide a ministry for the church in New England, and espe- cially when Cambridge offered so excellent an oppor- tunity to recruit and prepare candidates." "Several attempts to establish the seminary had been made, but had not been successful. The Rev. J. H. Hop- kins, later Bishop of Vermont, for nearly two years taught several young men in a house which he occu- pied in Cambridge. But as he was elected to the episcopate, and expectations in regard to finances were not realized, the matter was given up."

But in 1867 Benjamin T. Reed, of Boston, revived the scheme and conveyed to trustees selected by him- self, the sum of $100,000, " accompanied by an inven- ture of conditions." The title of the property is in the hands of five lay trustees who fill their own vacan- cies. There is also a Board of Visitors consisting of the bishop of the Diocese, with three clergymen and three laymen. In regard to the instruction : "The aim has been to be independent of all schools of thought or parties, and to make the teaching as com- prehensive as the church itself, and as impartial to- wards all loyal members thereof."

In 1869, Mr. R. M. Mason built St. John's Memo- rial Chapel " for the free accommodation of officers and students of the school and of Harvard College, and of the public on such terms as the trustees may fix." In 1873 Mr. Amos A. Lawrence built a dormi- tory, which was completed in 1880. In 1874 Mr. Reed gave the library and class-room building, and at his death, soon after, bequeathed to the seminary the reversion of his estate. In 1875 Mr. John A. Burn- ham built the refectory. There have been other gifts of money and land. " The actual donations have amounted to $426,500." The "property actually on hand is worth $381,500." "The ultimate reversion of the estate of the founder will render the endow- ment of the school one of the largest in America." The buildings make a very attractive group on Brat- tle Street, and the affairs of the school are in a flour- ishing condition. The Rev. Johu S. Stone, D.D., was dean of the school until 1876, when he retired. The Rev. George Zabriskie Gray, D.D., was then chosen

CAMBRIDGE.

dean, and filled the office with great usefulness and acceptauce until his death in 1889. The Rev. Wil- liam Lawrence (Harvard, 1871) is now the dean of the school.

The course of study covers three years, with pro- vision for post-graduate studies. The catalogue of the school for 1889-90 gave 43 students. About 200 students have been connected with the school.

BAPTIST CHURCHES .- The First Baptist Church.1 -The First Baptist Church was organized "at the house of Mr. Samuel Hancock," in Cambridgeport, Dec. 17, 1817, seventeen males and twenty-nine fe- males then subscribing to the " Articles of Faith and a Covenant." Measures had been taken already to erect a house of worship. February 10, 1818, Wil- liam Brown and Levi Farwell were chosen deacons, both of whom acted in that capacity for twenty-six years. February 25, 1818, the church was publicly recognized in its own house of worship, situated on the corner of Magazine and River Streets. The house was built of wood and was three times enlarged to meet the wants of the increasing congregation. It was burned January 22, 1866. December 25, 1867, on the 50th anniversary of the organization of the church, a new and elegant structure of brick, cost- ing $90,000, was dedicated. This house was also burned to the ground February 3, 1881, but a new and still finer building was erected and dedicated, free of debt, October 15, 1882.

The first pastor of the church was Bela Jacobs, for- merly of Pawtuxet, R. I., who filled the office from 1818 to 1833. The time of his ministry was one of great prosperity, and though the church was, during this period, the mother of three other churches, she was compelled to enlarge her own facilities to accom- modate the increasing congregation. A short and uneventful pastorate of two years succeeded, during which Stephen Lovell, of New Bedford, was the in- cumbent of the office. This was followed by the call of Joseph W. Parker, a student in Newton Theolog- ical Institution, who was ordained and installed as pastor Dec. 11, 1836. This pastorate continued seven- teen years, and was one of great prosperity to the church. The congregation greatly increased, though eighty-three members of the church with their fami- lies were dismissed to form the Old Cambridge Bap- tist Church. March 25, 1855, Sumner R. Mason, of Lockport, N. Y., was installed, whose labors were greatly blessed through sixteen years. August 26, 1871, Dr. Masor was killed in the terrible railroad disaster at Revere. During this period the Broad- way Baptist Church went forth from the First Church Jan. 1, 1873, H. K. Pervear, of Worcester, became pastor and continued in the office for seven years. Large additions were made to the church, the net in- crease being from 423 to 538. Sept. 1, 1879, W. T. Chase, of Lewiston, Me., entered upon the duties of

the pastorate and remained with the church until 1884, the church numbering at the close of his pastor- ate 656. He was followed by the present incumbent, James McWhinnie, of Portland, Me., May 18, 1884.

The "Inman Square Mission" is under the care of this church. In 1887 a commodious chapel was pro- vided for the use of the mission. A flourishing Sun- day-school and regular Sunday and weekly services are held there. Among the deacons of the church Josiah W. Cook has held the office for forty-six years. Deacon Joseph A. Holmes has been clerk of the church for more than forty-five years.

The Second Baptist Church .- In 1824 a Sabbath- school was established in East Cambridge by members of Baptist Churches in Boston, who subsequently sus- tained preaching on one evening of the week in a room of the Putnam School-house. In 1827 a meet- ing-house was built on Cambridge Street, at the corner of Fourth. This house was burned April 14, 1837. A house of brick was erected on the same site, and dedicated January 11, 1838. A church was or- ganized September 3, 1827. The first pastor was Rev. John E. Weston, who was ordained October 10, 1827, and resigned April 4, 1831. His successor was Rev. Jonathan Aldrich, (Brown, 1826), from June 3, 1833, to June 19, 1835. Rev. Bela Jacobs was in- stalled August 23, 1835, and served until May 22, 1836, when his sudden death ended his useful and honored life. His successors have been Rev. Nathan- iel Hervey, 1836 to 1839; Rev. William Leverett, 1840 to 1849; Rev. Amos F. Spalding, 1852 to 1856; Rev. Hiram K. Pervear, 1858 to 1865; Rev. Frank R. Morse, 1865 to 1867; Rev. George H. Miner, 1868 to 1872; Rev. Hugh C. Townley, 1873 to 1875; Rev. George W. Holman, Rev. H. R. Greene, Rev. N. M. Weeks and Rev. Burton Crankshaw, who is now the pastor. Mr. Crankshaw came to this country from England in 1872. He graduated at the Newton Theological Seminary in 1889. Under his ministry the church is pursuing its work with renewed energy and hope.

The Old Cambridge Baptist Church? was organized August 20, 1844, with a membership of nearly ninety persons, almost all of whom had formerly belonged to the First Baptist Church in Cambridgeport. Its first house of worship was on land bought from Har- vard College, at the corner of Kirkland Street and Holmes Place. Services of dedication and of recog- nition of the church and installation of the first pas- tor, Rev. E. G. Robinson, D.D., LL.D., in after-years president of Brown University, were held October 23, 1845. Just twenty-one years later, October 23, 1866, the building was sold, and after removal to the corner of North Avenue and Roseland Street, where it now stands, became the church-house of the North Avenue Congregational Society. The laud was resold to Har- vard College, and what was perhaps the most desirable

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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

place in Cambridge for a church, had not its limits then been so small, became by enlargement a fine site for the attractive Hemenway Gymnasium of the University. With the proceeds of the sale of house and land, and with what Dr. Paige, in his "History of Cambridge," calls "contributions on a magnificent scale," provision was made for the present place of worship, between Harvard and Main Streets, near Quincy Square, the dedication of which took place September 29, 1870.

In the Civil War the church had its doers of patri- otic service at home and its martyrs in the field.

The most striking recent event in this summary of the church's external history was the fire on Sunday, January 20, 1889, by which the interior of the chapel was destroyed and the main building damaged. After an interval of nine months, during which the hospi- talities of the University and of the First Parish were enjoyed (those of the Shepard Congregational Society being proffered with equal kindness), the house was reopened October 27, 1889.

At the date of writing, February, 1890, the church has been without a minister for nearly a year and a half, the pastorate of the Rev. Franklin Johnson, D.D., which began with the year 1884, having termi- nated in September, 1888. The church at present numbers some 450 members.

With its history of only forty-five years it seems al- most a new-comer among the venerable institutions of this ancient home of piety and learning; yet the communion to which it belongs had here a notable representative of its genins and tendencies at a very early period of the history of Cambridge, in the per- son of the first president of the college, whom it re- gards with just fondness as a spiritual ancestor.

The pastors of this church have been Rev. Ezekiel G. Robinson, D.D. (Brown University, 1838), from Octo- ber 23, 1845, to September 13, 1846.

Rev. Benjamin L. Lane, from December 30, 1846, to March 8, 1849.

Rev. John Pryor, D.D., from March 25, 1850, to July 26, 1861.

Rev. Cortland W. Anable, D.D., from June 21, 1863, to October 27, 1871.

Rev. Franklin Johnson, D.D., from December 31, 1873, to September, 1888.

The North Avenue Baptist Church1 had its origin in a Mission Sunday school. The first session was held on the last Sunday of September, 1846.

In the territory now known as the Fifth Ward of the city there was then no religious service held and no religious society existing. At the first gathering there were present forty-five persons. Permission to usc a room in the Winthrop School-house was ob- tained from the city government, through the Hon. James D. Green, first mayor of the city. The history of this religious interest is coeval with the corporate

life of the city. The privilege of occupying a room in the school-house was suddenly withdrawn on the 18th of July, 1852. This withdrawal left the young interest in straits, but the apparent calamity was only a blessing in disguise. It threw faithful Christian workers back on God and their own resources. A lot of land on North Avenue, near the corner of Russell Street, was at once leased from the city, plans for a small chapel were secured, the funds for its immedi- ate erection subscrihed, and on the 31st day of Octo- ber, of the same year, the little company entered their new abode. The city government kindly permitted the school to occupy its old quarters during the erec- tion of the chapel.

This chapel was named "Our Sabbath Home," by the first superintendent, Mr. E. R. Prescott. The prime movers in this enterprise were chiefly members of the West Cambridge (now Arlington) and Old Cambridge Baptist Churches.

As early as February, 1848, the school was admitted into the "Boston Baptist Sabbath School Teachers' Convention," During the winter of 1852-53 reli- gions services were held weekly, on Thursday even- ings, in the chapel. In May, 1853, regular Sabbath services were begun. Rev. A. M. Averill, of the Newton Theological Institution became the "perma- nent supply." In this work of maintaining the preaching of the Gospel, Christian people of other faiths generously participated.

An organization known as the North Cambridge Evangelical Association was formed, and for a short time controlled the business affairs of the new enter- prise. It was soon deemed advisable, however, to or- ganize a regular Baptist Church, as a large majority of those interested were already members of that de- nomination. Accordingly, on the 22d day of March, 1854, a company of thirty men and women formed themselves into such a body, adopting articles of faith which, "for substance of doctrine," were in accord with the tenets and usages of the Baptist denomina- tion. Public recognition services were held on the 6th of April, following. Mr. Averill became the reg- ular pastor of the young church, and under his ad- ministration it greatly prospered. In the meantime there had been formed the "North Cambridge Baptist Society." This body was composed of prominent members of the church and congregation. Under the existing laws, a church, as such, could not legally hold property. The aid of Dr. J. R. Morse, a well- known physician, justice of the peace, and afterward deacon of the North Avenue Congregational Church, was invoked. The forms of law were duly observed and the society commissioned for its important work. Some of the leading members of that day are still foremost in activity and fidelity. Mr. Henry R. Glover, the first chairman, still magnifies that office, having, been elected to it each successive year since. Mr. Warren Sanger, the first clerk, filled that office for twenty-one consecutive years; is still a member

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CAMBRIDGE.

of the society and retains an unabated interest in its welfare. The society has been called upon during its brief history to build three houses of worship. In all three cases, the chairman of the Building Com- mittee has been Mr. C. W. Kingsley,-a fact which needs no comment. The organization of this society was demanded by the growth of Sunday-school and church. The question of location was long and anx- iously discussed, and at last settled by the generous gift from Mr. Henry Potter of a lot of land upon which the present edifice in part stands. Of many sites considered this has proven the most eligible, and the older members of the church and society still keep the donor's "memory green."

During 1854 the first meeting-house was built, and dedicated to the worship of God in February, 1855. The chapel was moved across "The Avenue" and attached to the rear of the church, affording ample facilities for work, as was supposed, for many years to come. In less than ten years, however, the Sunday- school had outgrown its surroundings, and in the sum- mer of 1865 the chapel was enlarged and beautified, and on the nineteenth anniversary reopened with appropriate services. In the year 1884 the Sunday- school and church were once more straitened for room. The question of enlargement could be deferred no longer. In April, 1885, the work of removing the chapel, enlarging and remodeling the old meeting- house, was begun. In November the new and com- modious chapel was opened for divine service, and on the 18th of May, 1886, the entire edifice was rededicated to the worship of God. The whole cost of the enlarge- ment and renovation was fifty-four thousand dollars.

The spacious lot of land on the northerly side of the church, containing nine thousand square feet, was the gift of Mr. Henry R. Glover.

The original chapel was given to the First Baptist Church, and is now known as the Inman Square Baptist Mission Sunday-school. The church during its life of thirty-six years has had four pastors : Rev. A. M. Averill (Newton Theo. Inst.), Rev. Joseph A. Goodham, (D. C. 1848), Rev. Joseph Colver Wight- man, (B. W. 1852.) Rev. Wm. S. Apsey (Madison Univ., 1861). The last-named became pastor in October, 1868, and is the present incumbent. From the first the work of the Sunday-school has been a prominent feature. The church was the child of the school. The progress of the school has been solid and uninterrupted. It looks now (1890) as if the stakes would soon have to be strengthened, and the cords lengthened of this promising department of Chris- tian endeavor.

The Broadway Baptist Church1 .- A Sabbath-school, consisting of twenty-eight scholars and fifteen teach- ers, was opened December 16, 1860, in a room at the corner of Harvard and Clark Streets, under the patronage of the First Baptist Church. In 1861 a

commodious chapel was erected for the school and for religious meetings, on the southerly side of Har- vard Street, near Pine Street. The school held its first meeting in this chapel January 12, 1852. It was dedicated as a house of worship February 9, 1862.

It was deemed advisable to open the chapel for regular public worship on the Sabbath. Services were commenced on the first Sabbath in March, 1863, the committee having secured the services of Rev. William Howe (Waterville College, 1833), founder and pastor of Union Church, Boston, (now Union Temple).

The attendance so increased that within the year the chapel was enlarged. Subsequently it was sold and removed to the corner of Harvard and Essex Streets.

This Christian enterprise became so successful that it was deemed advisable to constitute a gospel church. Accordingly, on May 9, 1865, a church, consisting of fifty members, was organized and Rev. William Howe chosen pastor. The public services of recognition of pastor and church were held in the First Baptist Church June 25, 1865.

Enlarged accommodations being required, measures were taken to secure a suitable house of worship, which resulted in the purchase of a lot on Broadway, corner of Boardman Street, and the erection of an edifice sixty-eight feet by sixty-four, which was dedi- cated November 22, 1866, with appropriate religious services; sermon by the pastor.

Rev. Wm. Howe continued his pastorate until ill health and advancing age compelled him to resign in July, 1870. He received the degree of D.D. from Colby University July, 1885. Dr. Howe continues to reside in Cambridge, without pastoral charge.

October 25, 1870, Rev. Henry Hinckley, H. U., received a unanimous call to the pastorate and was installed December 13th following. After serving the church very acceptably eight years, he resigned October, 1878, to accept a call from the church in East Lynn, Mass.

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History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 37

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