History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 124

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed. cn
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1226

USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II > Part 124

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In the year 1673, Mr. Willard published a volume of sermons entitled, "Useful Instructions for a pro- fessing People in Times of great Security and Degen- eracy : delivered in several Sermons on Solemn Occasions."

It consists of three sermons, of which one was preached on the occasion of a case of witchcraft which occurred in Groton. It is evident, from a reference in the sermon, that the fame or notoriety of the case had spread far from this town. Mr. Willard says : " There is a voice in it to the whole Land, but in a more es- pecial manner to poor Groton ; it is not a Judgement afar off, but it is near us, yea among us."

The book is inscribed, " To his Beloved Friends the Inhabitants of Groton." Like all the publications of that time, it is purely theological, and contains nothing now of particular interest. If he had given us even a few lines of town history, it would be almost invaluable. We look in vain through its pages for any thing that throws light on the manners and customs of the early settlers. We do find, however, the modes and habits of thought that were prevalent in those days ; and with these we must be content, for the ser- mons furnish nothing more.

After the town was burned by the Indians in the spring of 1676 and the settlement deserted, Mr. Wil- lard became the pastor of the Old South Church in Boston, where he died on September 12, 1707.

The third minister was the Reverend Gershom Ho- bart, a son of the Reverend Peter Hobart, of Hing- ham, and a graduate of Harvard College in the class of 1667. In the early spring of 1678, just two years after the attack on the town, the old settlers returned to their former houses ; and Mr. Hobart accompanied them, or soon followed. He was not ordained, how- ever, until November 26, 1679; and soon afterward troubles between the people and the preacher began to spring up. There was the usual controversy about the site of the new meeting-house, which is not pecu- liar to this town or to that period, but is common to- day here and elsewhere; and there was a dispute over

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the minister's salary. Mr. Hobart's pastorate was anything but happy and harmonious, and he appears to have left Groton about 1690. The records of this period are very meagre, but contain brief allusions to his absence. During the next two years there was no settled minister of the town, though the inhabit- ants were not without stated preaching. The Reverend John Hancock filled the pulpit for several months and received a call to become the minister, which was declined. He was the grandfather of John Han- cock, Governor of the Commonwealth and signer of the Declaration of Independence.

The fourth minister was the Reverend Samuel Car- ter, who came on an invitatiou given by the town, on October 21, 1692. It is evident, from the scanty records, that he accepted the call and remained with his peo- ple until the time of his death, which took place in the autumn of 1693. According to papers on file in the Middlesex Probate Office at East Cambridge, ad- ministration on his estate was granted on October 30th of that year. Mr. Carter was the eldest son of Thomas Carter, first minister of Woburn, and born on August 8, 1640 He graduated at Harvard Col- lege in the class of 1660, and, before coming to Gro- ton, had been preaching at Lancaster for a consider- able length of time. He was followed in time by Gershom Hobart, who became the fifth minister as well as the third, in the order of settlement. Mr. Hobart came back to his former parish in the autumn of 1693, but it is not now known how the reconcilia- tion was brought about between him and the town, as the church records of that period are lost ; perhaps it was through an ecclesiastical council. He contin- ued to preach here until about the end of the year 1704, when he gave up his charge. His dwelling stood on the site of the present Baptist meeting- house, and, at one time during the Indian wars, was used as a garrison-house. On July 27, 1694, it was captured by the savages, when one of Mr. Hobart's children was killed, and another, Gershom, Jr., a lad eight or ten years old, was carried off a prisoner and held in captivity during nearly a year. Mr. Ho- bart, the father, died at Groton on December 19, 1705.

During the year 1705 the pulpit appears to have been filled by John Odly, as the records have it, and probably the same as John Odlin, a native of Boston and a graduate of Harvard College in the class of 1702. On July 3, 1705, he received a call to be the "town's minister and the church's officer," which was not ac- cepted.

The fifth minister was the Reverend Dudley Brad- street, a son of Dudley Bradstreet, of Andover, and a grandson of Governor Simon Bradstreet. He was born at Andover on April 27, 1678, and a graduate of Harvard College in the class of 1698. He was the first master of the grammar school in his native town, where he was teaching as early as the year 1704, and perhaps earlier.

It is highly probable that he was connected with this school when he received his invitatiou to come to Groton. On May 4, 1704, he was married to Mary Wainwright, and they had three sons, and perhaps other children. Mr. Bradstreet was preaching here as early as March, 1706, but was not ordained until November 27th of that year. Under a vote of May 8, 1706, a house " of 38 foot long and 18 foot wide " was built for the minister, which is still standing, and in a state of good preservation. It is situated on the east side of Hollis Street, and the present measure- ments conform very uearly to the dimensions given in the records.

In the summer of 1712 Mr. Bradstreet was dismissed from his charge in this town, presumably for his Episcopal tendencies ; and soon afterward he went to England to apply for orders in the Anglican Church. It appears from a copy of the original docu- ment iu Latin, made in a manuscript volume, (page 90), by President John Leverett now deposited among the archives of Harvard University in the College Library, that he was ordained a deacon by the Bishop of London, on April 18, 1714, and a priest one week later, on April 25th. He died of small-pox during the next month, only two or three weeks after receiving priestly orders; and tidings of his death reached this country in the following summer.

The sixth minister was the Reverend Caleb Trow- bridge, a son of Deacon James Trowbridge, of New- ton. He was born on November 17, 1692, and grad- uated at Harvard College in the class of 1710. On March 10, 1715, he was married, first, to Sarah Oliver, of Newton ; and on September 18, 1718, to Hannah Walter, of Roxbury. Mr. Trowbridge was blessed with a family of nine children, and until recently some of his descendants were living at Groton. He died on September 9, 1760, and lies buried in the old burying-ground, where the inscription on a slab of slate laid over his grave makes a just statement of his religious and social character.

The seventh minister was the Reverend Samuel Dana, son of William Dana, and born in that part of Cambridge which is now Brighton, on January 14, 1738-39. He was a graduate of Harvard College in the class of 1755, and ordained in the ministry at Groton on June 3, 1761. No articles of faith or church covenant appear on the church records until the period of his settlement. On May 6, 1762, he was married to Anna Kenrick, of Newton; and they had five children born at Groton. His pastorate appears to have been harmonious until the political troubles of the Revolution began to crop out, when a sermon preached by him in the early spring of 1775 gave great offence to his parish. Mr. Dana's sympa- thies were with the Crown, while those of the people were equally strong on the other side; and the ex- citement over the matter ran so high that he was compelled to give up his charge. After his dismissal from the town and church he remained at Groton

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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

during some years, preaching for a year and a half to a Presbyterian society, then recently organized ; and later he removed to Amherst, New Hampshire, where lic died on April 2, 1798.

The eighth minister was the Reverend Danicl Chaplin, a son of Jonathan Chaplin, of Rowley, where lic was born on December 30, 1743. He grad- uated at Harvard College in the class of 1772, and studied theology under the tuition of the Reverend Samuel Haven, of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He was ordained at Groton on January 1, 1778, when lie became pastor of the First Parish, and he continued to hold this relation until the time of his death, on April 8, 1831, being the last minister settled by the town. The degree of D.D. was eonferred upon him by his Alma Mater in the year 1817. On June 24, 1779, he was married to Susanna, eldest daughter of the Honorable James and Susanna (Lawrenee) Prescott, of Groton. After their marriage they lived for awhile in the house built by Colonel William Lawrence, who was Mrs. Chaplin's grandfather. It was situated on the north corner of Main and Court Streets, lat- terly the site of Liberty Hall, which was burned on March 31, 1878; and subsequently they removed to the dwelling built by Major William Swan, and situated on Sehool Street, north of the burying- ground.

Dr. Chaplin's youngest daughter, Mrs. Sarah (Chaplin) Rockwood, died in Cortland, Cortland County, New York, on November 26, 1889, at the re- markable age of 104 years and eighteen days.

The ninth minister was the Reverend Charles Rob- inson, the eldest son of Caleb Robinson, of Exeter, New Hampshire, where he was born on July 25, 1793. He graduated at Harvard College in the class of 1818, and was ordained over the Unitarian Church at Eastport, Maine, where he remained two years and a half. Mr. Robinson was installed at Groton on No- vember 1, 1826, and resigned his charge in October, 1838. He was afterward settled at Medfield and at Peterborough, New Hampshire, but in the year 1860 he returned to Groton, where he resided until his death, on April 9, 1862. During his residence here he was married, on July 3, 1827, to Jane, only daugh- ter of the Honorable Stuart John Park, of Groton, who died on March 23, 1828; and subsequently to three other wives.

The tenth minister was the Rev. George Wads- worth Wells, son of Seth and Hannah (Doane) Wells, of Boston, where he was born on October 17, 1804. He graduated at Harvard College in the class of 1823, and then pursued his theological studies at the Harvard Divinity School. For a while he preached in Boston and Baltimore, and, on October 24, 1827, was ordained at Kennebunk, Maine, as colleague pas- tor of the first Congregational Church in that town, where he remained during eleven years. On Novem- ber 21, 1838, Mr. Wells was installed over the First Parish in Groton, where he preached with great ac-

ceptance and success until his death, which took place on March 17, 1843. The last time that he of- ficiated in the pulpit was on Sunday, February 5th of that year. He was married on May 30, 1833, to Lucia Gardner, daughter of John Fairfield, of Bos- ton. Just before graduation at college, liis middle name was inserted by an Act of the Legislature, on June 14, 1823.

The eleventh minister was the Reverend Joseph Couch Smith, a native of Walthamn, where he was born on July 18, 1819. He graduated at Bowdoin College in the class of 1838, and subsequently passed two years at the Andover Theological Seminary. On October 11, 1842, he was ordained in Portland as an Evangelist. After Mr. Wells's death he came to Gro- ton, and was installed on July 12, 1843. Here he re- mained during eight years, working diligently and faithfully in the cause of his Master, to which he had devoted his life. Finally the loss of his health com- pelled him to ask a dismission, and his relations to the society ceased in August, 1851. After passing six or eight months in foreign travel, and returning home much invigorated, he was called to the Chan- ning Congregational Church, at Newton. Here he preached for four years, when his physical infirini- ties again compelled him to seek retirement from his cares and labors; and he sailed for the Sandwich Isl- ands in the hope that he would still be able to act as an agent of the American Unitarian Association, but in this he was disappointed. After a rapid decline he died at Honolulu, of consumption, on December, 29, 1857.

Mr. Smith was twice married,-first, on August 31, 1843, to Augusta Hepsibah, daughter of Ivory and Louisa (MeCulloch) Lord, of Kennebunk, Maine ; and secondly, on December 8, 1846, to Margaret Ann, daughter of George and Margaret (Shattuek) Brig- ham, of Groton. His first wife died at Groton, on June 20, 1844, and his widow in Lowell, on March 31, 1864.

The twelfth minister was the Rev. Crawford Night- ingale, a son of Samuel and Elizabeth Kinnicut, (Thompson) Nightingale, and born in Providenee, R. I., on November 3, 1816. He graduated at Brown University in the class of 1834, and at the Harvard Divinity School in 1838, and was ordained as an Evangelist, in Providence, on November 7, 1838. He was married, on May 13, 1846, to Mary Hoyt, daugh- ter of William Henry and Franees Wiswall (Hum- phrey) Williams, of Athol. Mr. Nightingale was settled over the parish on January 26, 1853, and received his dismissal on September 1, 1866, though he continued to be a resident of the town until the year 1875. Before coming here he held a pastorate at Chicopee, and had previously acted as a mission- ary in Toledo, O., and in Chicago. He has now re- tired from the laborious duties of his profession, though he preaches occasionally, and is living at Dorchester.

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The thirteenth minister was the Rev. George Mc- Kean Folsom, a son of Charles and Susanna Sarah (Mckean) Folsom, and born in Cambridge on Feb- ruary 6, 1837. He graduated at Harvard College in the class of 1857, and at the Harvard Divinity School in 1866. He was ordained at Groton on December 12, 1866, and married, on January 8, 1867, to Susan Cabot, daughter of Charles, Jr., and Susan (Cabot) Jackson, of Boston. In April, 1869, he left Groton and removed to Dedham, where he was installed over ancther parish. He died in Boston on May 20, 1882, and his wife at Dedham on June 27, 1871. An only child, a daughter, born at Groton on November 16, 1867, survives the parents.

The fourteenth minister was the Rev. John Martin Luther Babcock, a son of James Babcock, of Ando- ver, Me., where he was born on September 29, 1822. His father's family removed to Boston in the year 1825, where he remained until 1846. In early life he studied for the Baptist ministry, and joined the cleri- cal profession in 1852, though he was not ordained until January, 1854. He held pastorates at different towns in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, but later he changed his denominational relations and entered the Unitarian pulpit, being settled at Lancas- ter, N. H., before coming to this town. He was in- stalled over the First Parish on April 26, 1871, though he had been preaching here since December 1, 1870, and received his dismission on August 31, 1874, though he continued to fill the pulpit until April 1, 1875. Since leaving Groton he has given up the profession. On November 30. 1843, he was married (first) to Martha Day Ayer, of Plaistow, N. H., who died on January 26, 1846 ; and, secondly, on April 5, 1849, to Miriam Clement Tewksbury, of Wilmot, who died at New Hampton, N. H., on September 22, 1888.

The fifteenth minister was the Rev. Joshua Young, a son of Aaron and Mary (Coburn) Young, and born at Pittston, Me., on September 29, 1823. He gradu- ated at Bowdoin College in the class of 1845, and at the Harvard Divinity School in 1848. He was mar- ried, on February 14, 1849, to Mary Elizabeth, daugh- ter of Dr. Sylvanus and Mary Bell (Warland) Plymp- ton, of Cambridge. Mr. Young was settled in Gro- ton at the beginning of 1875, and still continues to be the minister of the parish. Before coming to this town he had held pastorates in Burlington, Vt., and in Hingham and Fall River. On commencement, June 26, 1890, he received the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity from his Alma Mater.

The formation of a second church in Groton dates back to the summer of 1825, when the venerable Dr. Chaplin, enfeebled by age, became so infirm that he required the help of an assistant. At that time he was well past eighty years, and the powers of a vig- orous manhood were beginning to fail him. On Sun- day afternoon, July 10, 1825, a very hot day, Dr. Chaplin, near the end of his sermon, fainted in his pulpit ; and soon after the question of settling a col-

league pastor came up. This matter gave rise to much controversy and discussion, and resulted in a division of the old parish into two societies.

It happened during a period when throughout the Commonwealth many of the Congregational Churches were undergoing great changes in their creed, and were forming new lines of theological be- lief. Few persons of the present day are aware of the bitter animosity that prevailed in New England at that time, when these churches were torn asunder by internal dissensions, and of the sectarian feeling that followed the division of the parishes. At the begin- ning of the troubles the Reverend John Todd, a grad- uate of the Andover Theological Seminary in the class of 1825, had received a call to become a colleague pas- tor with Rev. Dr. Chaplin, but which, owing to cer- tain informalities, was never recognized by the town, and over his settlement the main controversy had arisen. The second society, made up of those who had now separated from the First Parish, was duly organized and a house of worship built, which was dedicated to the service of God on January 3, 1827, and at the same time Mr. Todd was ordained in the ministry. He remained as pastor of this society, which became known as the Union Congregational Church, until January 8, 1833, when he was dismissed at his own request.

The Reverend John Todd was the eldest child of Dr. Timothy and Phebe (Bud) Todd, and born in Rutland, Vt., on October 9, 1800. He graduated at Yale College in the class of 1822, and then entered the Theological Seminary at Andover. On March 11, 1827, he was married to Mary Skinner, daughter of the Reverend Joab Brace, of Newington, Conn., who died at Pittsfield on April 29, 1889. After leaving Groton, Dr. Todd held pastorates at Northampton, Philadelphia and Pittsfield, where he died on August 24, 1873, after an illness of three months. In the year 1845 the degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred upon him by Williams College. He was the author of more than thirty volumes, besides many sermons and pamphlets, including among them "The Stu- dent's Manual," a work which has exerted a wide in- fluence on the young men of the country.

The second minister of the Union Church was the Reverend Charles Baker Kittredge, a son' of Josiah and Mary (Baker) Kittredge, and born at Mount Ver- non, N. H., on July 4, 1806. He graduated at Dart- mouth College in the class of 1828, and at the Ando- ver Theological Seminary in 1832. He was ordained at Groton on October 15, 1833, but the time of his ministry here was short, as he was dismissed on August 31, 1835. After leaving this town he was set- tled over various parishes in different places, and died at Westborough on November 25, 1884. Mr. Kit- tredge was married, on July 9, 1830, to Sarah, daugh- ter of Charles and Susanna (Bayliss) Brigham, of Grafton, who died on March 26, 1871.

The third minister ' was the Reverend Dudley

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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

Phelps, a native of Hebron, Conn., where he was born on January 25, 1798, and a graduate of Yale College in the class of 1823, and of the Andover The- ological Seminary in 1827. He was ordained at Haverhill on January 9, 1828, where he remained until the year 1833, and during 1834 and 1835 was the editor of the Salem Landmark. Mr. Phelps was installed at Groton on October 19, 1836, where lie continued as pastor of the church until his death, which took place on September 24, 1849. He was the father of the late Hon. Benjamin Kinsman Phelps, distriet attorney of New York, an only child by the first wife, who was Ann Kinsman, of Portland, Me. The second wife was Lucretia, daughter of the Hon. Benjamin Mark and Lucretia (Gardner) Farley, of Hollis, N. H., and of Groton, to whom he was mar- ried on October 12, 1837.

The fourth minister was the Reverend Edwin Adolphus Bulkley, a son of Erastus and Mary (Wal- bridge) Bulkley, and born in Charleston, S. C., on January 25, 1826. He graduated at Yale College in the elass of 1844, and at the Union Theological Sem- inary in 1848, and was married, on September 28, 1848, at Huntington, Long Island, N. Y., to Cath- arine Fredrica, daughter of Daniel and Catharine Fredriea (Kunze) Oakley. Mr. Bulkley was installed over the society on September 18, 1850, and dismissed on January 10, 1864. Before coming to Groton he was settled at Geneva, N. Y., and on leaving this town he went to Plattsburg. At the present time he has charge of a Presbyterian Church at Rutherford, N. J. He has been blessed with eight ehildren, of whom three survive, and five of the eight were born at Groton. In the year 1868 the degree of D.D. was conferred upon him by the University of Vermont.

The fifth minister was the Reverend William Wheeler Parker, a son of Ebenezer and Hannah Brooks (Merriam) Parker, and born at Prineeton on Mareh 2, 1824. He graduated at the Andover Theo- logical Seminary in 1858, and on August 24th, of that year, he was married at Holden to Emily, daughter of Joel and Diodamia Walker. Mr. Parker was in- stalled at Groton on May 16, 1865, and dismissed at his own request on August 25, 1868. Since leaving this town he has lived in several places, but is now residing at Harwich Port.

The sixth minister was the Reverend Jeremiah Knight Aldricb, a son of Nehemiah Knight and Sarah Bowen (Braneh) Aldrich, and born in Provi- denee, R. I., on May 20, 1826. He became a lieen- tiate after an examination before the Windham County (Connecticut) Association of Congregational Ministers, on June 4, 1862, and was ordained at Cen- tral Village, Plainfield, in that State, on February 17, 1863. He was settled at Groton on June 1, 1870, and dismissed at his own request on May 18, 1873. Mr. Aldrich was married, on June 3, 1848, in Providence, R. I., to Sarah Hamner, of Taunton.

The seventh minister was the Reverend Benjamin

Adams Robie, a son of Thomas Sargent and Clarissa (Adams) Robie, and born at Gorham, Maine, on Sep- tember 9, 1836. He graduated at the Bangor Theo- logical Seminary in the class of 1865, and was mar- ried on July 6, 1869, at Vassalborough, to Lucy Hedge Wiggin, of that town. He was settled as pastor-elect on April 1, 1874, and resigned on April 1, 1884.

The eighth minister was the Reverend George Austin Pelton, a son of Asa Carter and Ophelia (Austin) Pelton, and born at Stoekbridge, on April 15, 1833. He graduated at Yale College in the class of 1861, and at Andover Theological Seminary in 1864. He was licensed to preach by the Essex South Association in February, 1864, and ordained " to the work of the Gospel ministry " without installation, at Franklin, on August 9, 1865. Mr. Pelton was mar- ried in New Haven, Conn., on April 27, 1864, to Catharine Sarah, daughter of Seth Warner and Cath- erine Post Brownson. He was settled as pastor-elect on May 15, 1884, and resigned on May 15, 1886.

The ninth minister was the Reverend John Bar- stow, a son of Ezekiel Hale and Euniee (Clark) Bar- stow, and born at Newton Centre on February 16, 1857. He graduated at Dartmouth College in the class of 1883, and at the Andover Theological Sem- inary in 1887. He began his labors at Groton on April 1, 1887, and was ordained and installed on June 29th, of the same year. . Mr. Barstow was married at Wethersfield, on July 5, 1887, to Mary Weller Wol- cott, of that town. He was dismissed at his own re- quest on September 12, 1889, and is now settled over a society at Glastonbury, Conn. At one time his father was the principal of Lawrenee Academy.

The tenth minister is the Reverend Edward Leeds Gulick, the present pastor. He is a son of the Rev- erend Luther Halsey and Louisa (Lewis) Gulick, and born in Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands, on March 21, 1862. He graduated at Dartmouth College in the elass of 1883, and at the Union Theological Seminary, New York, in 1887. He began his labors on October 27, 1889, and was ordained on December 23d of the same year.

A Baptist Society was organized on December 5, 1832, and the Rev. Amasa Sanderson was the first ininister. Captain Josiah Clark, one of the members, generously gave them the use of a commodious hall in the third story of a house at the south corner of Main Street and Broad Meadow Road. In the year. 1841 tbe society ereeted a meeting-house on the spot where the Rev. Mr. Hobart's dwelling stood, whiel was a garrison-house in the summer of 1694.

Mr. Sanderson was a native of Gardner, Mass., where he was born on April 16, 1796. He was married, first, at Weston, in 1822, to Abigail Rand, who died on January 3, 1867 ; and, secondly, at Nashua, New Hampshire, in July, 1867, to Mrs. Mary Rebecca (Batehelder) Woodbury, widow of Seth Woodbury. Mr. Sanderson supplied the pulpit until May, 1843,

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History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 124

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed. cn Publication date: 1890 Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & Co. Number of Pages: 1226

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed. cn
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1226