USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Newburyport > History of Newburyport, Mass., 1764-1905, Volume I > Part 21
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HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT
fession of faith, and appointed a committee to receive the church plate.
April 6, 1768, Enoch Titcomb sold to Abel Merrill, Edmund Bartlet, Ichabod Woodman and Obadiah Horton, " a committee appointed to build a meeting house," land on a private way, one and a half rods wide, now Titcomb street, that the grantor agreed to lay down and keep open to Merrimack street,' and on the eleventh day of April the church and society gave Rev. Mr. Marsh " a call to the Gospel ministry among them," which for some reason unknown he did not consider it advisa- ble to accept.
During the summer following, a meeting house was erected on the land purchased as above stated. It was built of wood, with a steeple, and faced the river. It was completed and dedi- cated in September.
October 4, 1768, the church and society again invited Rev. Mr. Marsh to become their pastor, and on the nineteenth day of October he was ordained in the new meeting house.
The following notice was published in the Essex Gazette, October 18-25, 1768 :_ 2
We hear from Newbury Port, that on Wednefday laft the Rev. Chris- topher Bridge Marsh was ordained Paftor of a Church and Society, late- ly formed there, being Part of the Congregation formerly under the paf- toral Care of the Rev. Mr. Lowell, deceafed. The Rev. Mr. Noble, of Newbury, made the firft Prayer; the Rev. Mr. Wibird, of Braintree, preached ; the Rev. Mr. Chandler, of New Rowley, gave the Charge ; the Rev. Dr. Langdon, of Portfmouth, gave the Right Hand of Fellowfhip ; and the Rev. Mr. M'Clintock, of Greenland, made the laft Prayer.
Rev. Mr. Marsh died December 3, 1773, and was buried in the Old Hill burying ground. A monument, suitably inscribed, was erected to his memory; but it has been neglected, and needs to be reset and relettered.3
For nearly three years and a half after the death of Rev. Mr. Marsh the society was without a pastor. On Sunday, Septem-
1 Essex Deeds, book 130, leaf 262.
2 Essex Institute, Salem, Mass.
3 See Coffin's History of Newbury, p. 385, for the inscription on the monu- ment to Rev. Mr. Marsh.
NORTH CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH AND SOCIETY 273
ber 17, 1775, Rev. Samuel Spring, chaplain of the expedition under the command of Col. Benedict Arnold, then encamped in Newburyport, preached to a large congregation assembled in the First Presbyterian meeting house on King (now Feder- al) street.
Six or eight months later, while Mr. Spring was still in the army, he was invited to supply the pulpit made vacant by the death of Mr. Marsh. He replied as follows :-
TICONDEROGA, August 2, 1776.
. The situation of things is such with me at present, that I cannot com- ply with your kind invitation, neither can I think it is proper or consistent at this time so far to encourage a visit after this campaign is concluded, as that your people might expect it. My business is now in the army, and it will be some months before the time will be completed for which I am engaged ; so that it must be duty, considering the situation of the so- ciety and my own, to decline the matter at present. What Providence may bring into view hereafter, I hope I shall have wisdom and a heart properly to attend to.
In the month of October following, the society again invited Rev. Mr. Spring to preach as a candidate, and April 1, 1777, they united with the church in calling him to the work of the ministry among them. He accepted the call, and was ordained August 6, 1777.
He was a strong and vigorous preacher ; firm and self-reli- ant. His theological views were somewhat gloomy and aus- tere, but he was earnest and eloquent in defending the doc- trines of the Christian faith as he understood them.1 He was bitterly opposed to the half-way covenant, and, through his influence, it was abolished soon after his settlement in New- buryport.
Many of his parishioners, dissatisfied with his Calvinistic views, declined to come to communion. Nathaniel Pierce who had neglected that service for nearly five years, was cited to
1 John Quincy Adams, a student-at-law, in the office of Theophilus Parsons, in 1787, frequently attended public worship in the Old North meeting house, and although he was not pleased with the theological views of Rev. Mr. Spring he evidently found his sermons interesting. "His delivery is very agreeable; there is an earnestness and solemnity in his manner which I wish I could find in preach- ers whose doctrines are more conformable to my ideas of truth." Life in a New England Town: Diary of John Quincy Adams (1903), p. 105.
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HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT
appear at a church meeting to be held October 28, 1783. He attended and replied, in answer to the charge brought against him, that a person might under certain circumstances innocently neglect the table of the Lord for years together. He also asserted that the church was arbitrary and tyrannical, following the example of Great Britain in her treatment of America : "As the United States have renounced the au- thority of Great Britain and declared themselves independent so I now, renounce the discipline of this church and view myself no more subject to it than to any other church in the neighborhood." He then left the room and could not be per-
ORDER WRITTEN BY REV. SAMUEL SPRING.
suaded to return. He was notified, on the eleventh day of November following, that the church could hold no further communion or fellowship with him, and after that date his name is not mentioned in the records.
Rev. Mr. Spring's salary for the first year was one hundred and forty pounds ; for the second year four hundred and forty pounds ; for the third year twenty-four hundred pounds ; and for the fourth year, owing to the depreciated condition of the currency, the society voted him ten thousand pounds. Several orders, signed by him, for small sums to be charged to his ac- count, and deducted from his salary, have been preserved in the archives of the society. One of them is reproduced, less than half the original size, in the above half-tone print.
February 22, 1794, the society was incorporated by the name of the Third Religious Society in Newburyport and
NORTH CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH AND SOCIETY 275
authorized to choose assessors and levy a tax on pew holders for the support of public worship.1
In 1807, Mr. Spring received the honorary degree of doctor of divinity from Yale college and also from Williams college. He was prominent in the movement that culminated in the organization of the American Board of Foreign Missions and was chosen vice-president at its first meeting in 1810. On Sunday, January 10, 1819, he preached his last sermon. He was occasionally in the pulpit after that date, but on account of his infirmities he was unable to take a prominent part in the service. He died March 4, 1819, and was buried in the New Hill burying ground.2 His widow, Hannah, daughter of Rev. Dr. Samuel Hopkins of Hadley, died on the eleventh day of June following. The inscription on his monument is printed in Coffin's History of Newbury, page 386.
Rev. Luther F. Dimmick was ordained pastor of the society December 8, 1819.
At a special meeting, held May 18, 1826, a committee was appointed to prepare plans and estimate the cost of building a new house of worship. This committee subsequently re- ported in favor of removing the old meeting house and erect- ing a new one on the same site. Contracts were made, and the work of removal began a few weeks later. When the steeple was taken down, Brown square and the streets in that neighborhood were crowded with spectators who had gathered to see the sight. "The steeple fell on the spot desired without injury to any person or accident of any kind."3 The main building was removed to a vacant lot a few rods distant. It was probably used for public worship until the new brick meeting house was completed, when it was taken down. March 14, 1827, the selectmen of Newburyport granted Philip Bagley license to sell at public auction " the pews in the New Brick Church on Titcomb street," and six days later the new edifice was formally dedicated to the worship of God.
1 Acts and Resolves, 1793-1794, ch. 44.
2 His son, Rev. Gardner Spring, was for more than sixty years pastor of the Brick Presbyterian church in New York city.
3 Newburyport Herald, June 30, 1826.
2 76
HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT
February 1, 1860, a committee was appointed to consider the advisability of changing the name of the society, and on the ninth day of March the following resolution was passed by the General Court :-
Resolved, That the Third Religious Society of Newburyport shall hereafter be designated and known as the North Congregational Society of Newburyport.I
RUINS OF MEETING HOUSE.
Rev. Luther F. Dimmick died May 16, 1860, and was buried in Oak Hill cemetery.
December 1I, 1860, Rev. Elias Cornelius Hooker, born in Bennington, Vermont, was ordained pastor of the society. Between one and two o'clock, Friday morning, March 22, 1861, the meeting house was destroyed by fire. It was con- sumed with the chapel adjoining, and only the brick walls were left standing.2
1 Acts and Resolves, 1860. ch. 16.
2 Several firemen were seriously injured while attempting to save property from destruction at this fire. Francis C. Lunt and Henry Goodwin died from the ef- fects of wounds received. Newburyport Herald, March 23-26 and April 1, 1861.
NORTH CONGREGATIONAL MEETING HOUSE, 1861.
1
278
HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT
The society made preparations to rebuild the meeting house without delay. It was completed and dedicated Wednesday, October 23, 1861. The exercises were interesting and at- tracted a large audience. Rev. E. W. Allen of North Ber- wick made the first prayer ; Rev. Daniel T. Fiske read selec- tions of scripture ; Rev. Dr. Kirk of Boston delivered an earn- est and practical sermon ; Rev. E. C. Hooker made the dedi- catory prayer ; and Rev. Leonard Withington, D. D., gave the benediction.
Six months later, Rev. Mr. Hooker was compelled, on ac- count of ill health, to take a sea voyage, and in 1863 he trav- elled in Europe hoping to regain his strength. He returned somewhat improved, but still unable to attend to his pastoral duties. He resigned November 15, 1864, and removed to Nashua, N. H. Since that date, the following-named persons have been installed ministers of the North Congregational church and society :-
Rev. William A. McGinley, from August 17, 1865, to January 26, 1869. Rev. James Powell, from November 24, 1869, to February 26, 1873. Rev. Charles R. Seymour, from October 8, 1874, to October 5, 1879. Rev. Charles P. Mills, from September 23, 1880, to January 1, 1899. Rev. Elmer E. Shomaker, from May 24, 1900, to September 30, 1902. Rev. Edward H. Newcomb, from October 1, 1903.
Some facts relating to the purchase of the bell, clock and organ for the meeting house of the Third Religious society in Newburyport, now known as the North Congregational so- ciety, have been recorded and deserve at least a passing notice.
February 3, 1772, a committee was appointed to raise money by subscription to buy a bell for the meeting house, " and send to England for one as soon as may be agreeable to said subscription."
[March II, 1773] Voted unanimously, that the thanks of this propriety be presented to Messrs Henry and Thomas Bromfield, Merchants in London, for their kind care in purchasing and shipping a Bell for our use, and generously giving us the commissions due thereon.
279
NORTH CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH AND SOCIETY
After twenty-five years of service this bell, while being rung at an alarm of fire, was broken, and a new one, cast in 1795, by John Warner, in London, was purchased to take its place." The bill of sale, signed by Paul Revere, reads as fol- lows :-
BortonJuly : 1/93 Bot of Paul Revere
-ne Church held Weight 7502/8 1002000 tering + bringing the Clothes 2. 10/20-0 62 15:0
Oot ballance
38:5.0 By Note for ballame -- 062-16. 21010
When the meeting house was destroyed by fire, March 22, 1861, this bell was melted by the intense heat. A new one from the foundry of Naylor, Vickers & Co., Sheffield, England, presented by Capt. Joshua Hale and Josiah L. Hale, Esq., was hung in the belfry of the new house of worship erected dur- ing the following summer.
In March, 1785, a few individuals were granted permission to place a clock in the tower of the meeting house at their own expense. On the twenty-eighth day of September follow- ing, the Essex Journal and New Hampshire Packet announced
1 Forty Years in the Christian Ministry : a Sermon by Rev. Luther F. Dimmick, p. II.
280
HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT
that a clock, made by Simon Willard of Roxbury, had been purchased and set up in the place provided for it.
When the building, erected in 1768, was removed the clock was taken down and set up in the tower of the new brick meet- ing house, erected in 1826. It was destroyed by fire, with other property belonging to the society, in 1861.
In 1877, a new clock was presented to the proprietors of the new meeting house by Miss Elizabeth Gerrish of Ring's island, Salisbury, Mass. It bears the following inscription :-
A Memorial of My beloved Father and Mother. Hitherto hath the Lord helped us. I will bless the Lord at all times for his excellent goodness. June, 1877. E. G.
In 1828, Capt. John H. Titcomb purchased an organ for the meeting house, the society agreeing to pay, for the use of it, interest on the cost at the rate of six per cent per annum. Previous to that date the psalms and hymns were sung to the accompaniment of the violin, bass viol and other stringed in- struments.
This organ was totally consumed when the meeting house was burned in 1861, and a new one, made by E. & E. G. Hook of Boston, was purchased and set up in the new meeting house previous to the twenty-third day of October of that year.
FOURTH RELIGIOUS SOCIETY.
Rev. Charles W. Milton, born in London in 1767, was ed- ucated for the ministry by Lady Selina Huntington. He came to the province of New Brunswick in 1789, and while preach- ing there Rev. John Murray invited him to supply the pulpit of the First Presbyterian church and society, in Newbury- port, for several months. He accepted the invitation and preached so acceptably, during the winter of 1791, that many of the congregation were unwilling to have him leave. In the summer of 1792, religious services were held in a private house at which he officiated. Several members of the First
28I
FOURTH RELIGIOUS SOCIETY
Presbyterian church who attended these meetings were sus- pended and a resolution of censure adopted that was subse- quently commended and approved by the Londonderry pres- bytery.
Believing that these proceedings were unwise and unjusti- fiable, the friends of Rev. Mr. Milton determined to organize a new society as soon as possible, and applied, September 10, 1792, for liberty to use the town house for public worship, but the prayer of the petitioners was vigorously opposed and the request was not granted.1 Rooms, however, were secured at the residence of Mr: Anthony Morse, on Milk street, and services were held there for more than twelve months.
Rev. John Murray, pastor of the First Presbyterian society, died March 13, 1793, and on the thirtieth day of May follow- ing a church, under the pastoral care of Rev. Charles W. Mil- ton, was organized by the name of the " Independent Calvin- istic Church of Newburyport."
The frame of a meeting house for this new church was raised the eleventh day of June on a lot of land extending from Temple street to Prospect street. The building, when com- pleted, was sixty-seven feet long and sixty feet wide, with two towers and an open vestibule, or porch, at the main entrance, on Prospect street, and a door, that has since been closed, opening into a vestibule under the pulpit, on Temple street.2
February 22, 1794, the society " whereof the Revd Charles William Milton is minister," was incorporated by the name of the " Fourth Religious Society in Newburyport,"3 and Rev. Mr. Milton was installed pastor on the twentieth day of March following.
March 9, 1796, Benjamin Balch conveyed land between Temple and Prospects streets, with the meeting house stand- ing thereon, to Daniel Plummer, Jonathan Morse, and Solo- mon Haskell, "a committee for the proprietors of the Meeting House occupied by the Fourth Religious Society in Newbury-
1 Newburyport Town Records, vol. II., p. 56.
2 Essex Journal and New Hampshire Packet, June 12, 1793; History of New- buryport (Mrs. E. Vale Smith), p. 310.
3 Acts and Resolves, 1793-1794, ch. 44.
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HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT
port,"' and two months later a bell weighing ten hundred and twenty pounds, was purchased and hung in the belfry.2
Two glass chandeliers, presented to the society by Lady Huntington, were used, with candles at first, and afterwards with lamps made to burn oil, for lighting the meeting house.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century many converts were added to the church. The meeting house was enlarged to accommodate the increasing number of worshippers, and in 1809 a small chapel, or vestry, was built on adjoining land, purchased of Samuel Holland and others.3
Rev. Mr. Milton was a man of marked individuality, eccentric in his habits and style of dress. He usually wore a broad brimmed low crowned black hat, a long black coat of the Washingtonian revolutionary cut, a black waist coat, short clothes, silk stockings and shoe buckles. He was short in stature, compact, active in his movements, and carried a smooth ivory-headed cane. He wore his hair in long curls, complete- ly concealing his ears, and was said to resemble the " jack of clubs " by the unregenerate youth who seldom listened to his preaching.+
He was an earnest and impassioned preacher and in the illustrations of his subject the element of unexpectedness was common, so that his sermons remained in the memory of his hearers, and hundreds of stories are still current of his pulpit sayings. Nor was he less original in his daily conversation, which was brusque and characterized by a ready wit.5
During the last year of Rev. Mr. Milton's life he was able to preach occasionally, but his mind was evidently weakened by the infirmities of age. He bitterly opposed the appoint- ment of a colleague to assist him in his pastoral duties, and the church, after a delay of several months, voted to favor a motion, to take effect March 1, 1837, declaring the pulpit
1 Essex Deeds, book 160, leaf 202.
2 This bell was probably sold previous to 1825 and a new one, bearing the in- scription : " Revere, Boston, 1823," purchased to take its place.
8 This vestry was removed in 1854 to make room for the larger building now standing there.
4 Newburyport Herald, September 3, 1864.
5 Newburyport Herald, March 23, 1872.
FOURTH RELIGIOUS SOCIETY
283
vacant. Subsequently, however, a committee was appointed to confer with Mr. Milton and induce him, if possible, to accept the office of senior pastor, but he died suddenly, at his resi- dence on Lime street, May 1, 1837.
Rev. Randolph Campbell, of Woodbridge, N. J., supplied the pulpit for several Sundays in the summer of 1837, and on the twelfth day of October he was installed pastor of the church. In 1845, the interior of the meeting house was re- modeled and improved by the removal of the side galleries and the addition of new pews. Mr. Campbell remained active
1
PROSPECT STREET MEETING HOUSE.
pastor until 1877 and pastor emeritus until his death, August 9, 1886.
Rev. James H. Ross was installed pastor February 22, 1878. His resignation was accepted May 31, 1882. Since that date, the church and society has been under the charge of the following named ministers :-
Rev. Palmer S. Hulbert, from April 30, 1885, to January -, 1889.
Rev. George W. Osgood, from May 13, 1890, to July 25, 1894.
Rev. Myron O. Patton, from April 30, 1895, to July 14, 1903.
Rev. George P. Merrill, from April 3, 1905.1
1 Rev. Mr. Merrill supplied the pulpit of this church from January, 1904, until the date of his installation April 3, 1905.
284
HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT
SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
Rev. Daniel Dana was ordained pastor of the First Pres- byterian church and society November 19, 1794. Thirty- three persons, dissatisfied with his theological views left the church and applied, August 18, 1795, for liberty to use the town house every Sunday for religious services. This request was granted " so far as the town has a right to the house."1 On the twenty-ninth day of October following, the second Presbyterian church in Newburyport was organized by the Londonderry presbytery, and December twenty-second Joshua Toppan sold to Enoch Titcomb, Jr., John O'Brien, Philip Johnson, Daniel Horton and Joseph Huse of Newburyport, " a committee chosen by the proprietors to purchase a lot of land and build a new meeting house in said town," about thirty-two rods of unoccupied land, " purchased of the widow Mary Hooper, September 3, 1795," with a private way, one rod wide, extending therefrom to Green street.2
May 16, 1796, the corner-stone was laid, and on the second day of June the frame of the meeting house was raised. The building was completed and dedicated on the twenty-second day of December following.3
Rev. John Boddily, born in Bristol, England, came to New- buryport and preached, August 2, 1795, in the house of Elder Enoch Titcomb, and afterwards in the town house until the meeting house was completed. November 24, 1796, the in- habitants of the town "who usually attend the Public Wor- ship of God and the instruction of Rev. John Boddily " were incorporated by the name of the Second Presbyterian Socie- ty in Newburyport,4 and January 13, 1797, the society pur- chased land adjoining the meeting house lot, bounded by a two-and one-half rod way, now Park street.5
1 Newburyport Town Records, vol. II., p. 118.
2 Essex Deeds, book 160, leaf 139.
Harris street was not laid out and accepted by the inhabitants of Newburyport until March 17, 1796. The private way, described in the above deed, was con- veyed to Leonard Smith and Thomas M. Clark, July 25, 1806, in exchange for a right of way from Harris street to the meeting house; and, subsequently, addition- al land was purchased adjoining this private way from Harris street. See Essex Deeds, book 180, leaf 231, book 181, leaf 21, and book 183, leaf 115.
3 History of Newbury (Coffin), p. 270.
4 Acts and Resolves, 1796-1797, ch. 29.
5 Essex Deeds, book 162, leaf 73.
285
SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
On the twenty-eighth day of June following, Rev. Mr. Bod- dily was installed pastor of the church and society. Three years later, Timothy Dexter gave three hundred and thirty- three dollars and thirty-three cents to purchase a bell for the meeting house. The gift was gratefully acknowledged in the newspapers of the day ; and in May, 1801, a bell from the foun-
HARRIS STREET MEETING HOUSE.
dry of John Warner & Son, London, inscribed : "The Gift of Timothy Dexter, Esq., to the 2nd Presbyterian Society in Newburyport," was hung in the belfry.1
Rev. Mr. Boddily died November 4, 1802. His successor, Rev. John Giles, was installed July 20, 1803. In 1824, owing to ill health, Rev. Mr. Giles was unable to attend to his pastor- al duties, and on the eleventh day of August, Rev. William
1 Newburyport Herald and Country Gazette, June 27, 1800, and May 22, 1801.
286
HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT
Ford was ordained assistant-minister. Rev. Mr. Giles died September 28, 1824, and Rev. Mr. Ford resigned March 23, 1826.
Rev. Daniel Dana, D. D., who was pastor of the First Presbyterian church and society from 1794 to 1820, accepted an invitation to return to Newburyport, after an absence of nearly six years, and was installed pastor of the Second Presby- terian church May 24, 1826. He resigned May 24, 1846, and was succeeded by Rev. William W. Eells, who remained until 1855. Rev. Heman R. Timlow was installed pastor in 1856.
The meeting house was then standing near its present lo- cation, the steeple on the northerly end facing Green street. It was moved in September, 1856, to the position it now occu- pies, the steeple facing Harris street. The corner-stone was relaid with appropriate ceremonies September thirtieth. The high pulpit and large square pews were removed to make room for new ones of modern construction, but the old galleries were allowed to remain undisturbed.
The half-tone print on the preceding page gives a view of the meeting house as it now stands, with the main entrance on Harris street, substantially the same, in outward appear- ance, as it was when first built in 1796.
Rev. Daniel Dana, for twenty years pastor of the Second Presbyterian church, died August 26, 1859. Funeral services were held in the meeting house on Harris street Tuesday afternoon, August thirtieth.
Rev. Mr. Timlow, who had been for nearly four years pastor of the church, resigned December 17, 1859. Since that date the following-named persons have been regularly ordained, or officially installed, pastors of the church :-
Rev. James Cruikshanks, from 1860 to 1862. Rev. Benjamin Y. George, from 1863 to 1866. Rev. James G. Johnson, from 1866 to 1868. Rev. William Baker, from 1872 to 1874. Rev. James A. Bartlett, from 1877 to 1879. Rev. T. James Macfadden, from 1890.
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