USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Newton > History of Newton, Massachusetts : town and city, from its earliest settlement to the present time, 1630-1880 > Part 68
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CENTRAL CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, NEWTONVILLE.
On Wednesday evening, December 11, 1867, several residents of the village of Newtonville, who were members of various Con- gregational churches, met at the house of Mr. Nathaniel D. Vose for social conference and prayer. At this meeting, another was appointed for the succeeding week, and thus was instituted the regular weekly meeting for prayer and conference which was main- tained thenceforward. Out of this meeting grew the establishment of the religious Society, the purchase of a house of worship, the Sabbath School, the organized church and the settlement of a pastor.
The chapel on the corner of Washington and Court Streets, Newtonville, at first occupied by the Methodist Society of that Village, was purchased by members of the Society, and provision
710
HISTORY OF NEWTON.
was made for a pulpit supply. The edifice was opened for regular Sabbath services, under the auspices of the new Society, April 8, 1868,- Rev. H. J. Patrick, of West Newton, preached in the fore- noon, and Rev. J. W. Wellman, of Newton, in the evening.
The church was organized by public services September 8, 1868, and at the same time Rev. Joseph B. Clark, formerly pastor at Yarmouth, Mass., having been previously invited, was installed pastor. Mr. Clark graduated at Amherst College in 1858, Ando- ver Theological Seminary, 1861, and was ordained at Yarmouth September 10, 1861.
The constituent members of the church were the following :
Rollin M. Baldwin,
Maria S. Baldwin (Mrs. R. M.),
Nathan B. Chamberlain,
Sarah H. F. Chamberlain(Mrs. N. B.), Joseph B. Clark,
Carrie M. Clark (Mrs. J. B.),
Harriet B. Clark (Mrs.),
Hattie S. Clark (Mrs. L. E. Caswell), Mary F. Clark,
John M. Perry, Mary Q. Perry (Mrs. J. A.),
Mary H. Coffin (Mrs.),
Kittie C. Picket (Mrs.),
Almira Russell (Mrs.),
Lydia Sisson (Mrs. S.),
S. Amanda Sisson, Hannalı Vose (Mrs.),
Nathaniel D. Vose,
Mary S. Vosc (Mrs. N. D.),
Roswell Wilson,
Mary D. Wilson (Mrs. R.).
At the public exercises for the recognition of the church, the charge to the church was by Rev. Daniel L. Furber, of Newton Centre, and the hand of fellowship by Rev. H. J. Patrick, of West Newton. At the installation service, the sermon was by Rev. Alexander McKenzie, of Cambridge ; charge by Rev. J. W. Wellman, of Newton Corner ; right hand of fellowship by Rev. E. E. Strong, of Waltham, and address to the people by Rev. H. J. Patrick, of West Newton.
The pastorship of Mr. Clark continued till July 1, 1872. Ad- mitted to the church during his ministry, eighty-six.
The second pastor was Rev. James R. Danforth, who was in- stalled January 2, 1873. The sermon on this occasion was by Rev. Z. Eddy, D. D. Prayer of installation by Rev. S. R. Dennin,
Annie G. Goodwin (Mrs. W. A.),
D. Wayland Jones, Josephine D. B. Jones (Mrs. D. W.), Amanda M. Littlefield,
Clara S. Cormerais, Helen R. Cormerais,
Henry J. Darling,
Phebe A. Darling (Mrs. H. J.), John De Huff,
Ellen A. De Huff (Mrs. J.), Rebecca F. Goodale, Eliza A. Goodale,
George I. Goodwin,
Harriet J. Goodwin (Mrs. G. I.), William A. Goodwin,
711
SWEDENBORGIAN CHURCH.
of Watertown ; charge by Rev. E. E. Strong, of Waltham ; hand of fellowship, by Rev. H. J. Patrick, West Newton. Mr. Dan- forth resigned his pastorate March 17, 1874, and was followed by Rev. E. Frank Howe, who was installed December 6, 1876.
At the public installation of Mr. Howe, the sermon was by Rev. J. L. Withrow, D. D., and Reverends T. C. Biscoe, J. B. Clark, S. M. Freeland and L. T. Townsend, D. D., also officiated.
The original cost of the church edifice was $6,500. It was en- larged in 1869 and again in 1875,- the additions costing about an equal sum. The seating capacity of the church is about six hun- dred and fifty. After the second enlargement, the church was re- dedicated November 6, 1875. Sermon by Rev. J. B. Clark.
In the spring of 1878, through the exertions of the pastor, $12,000 was pledged towards the liquidation of the debt upon the church, and a Union Service was held in the church April 18, 1880, in celebration of the accomplishment of this object.
PASTORS.
INSTALLED.
DISMISSED.
Joseph B. Clark,
Sept. 8, 1868
Sept. 5, 1872
James R. Danforth,
Jan. 2, 1873
April 5, 1874
E. Frank Howe,
Dec. 6, 1876
DEACONS.
ELECTED.
William A. Goodwin,
Sept. 17, 1868.
D. Wayland Jones, M. D.,
Sept. 17, 1868, and Jan. 13, 1873.
William F. Slocum,
Jan. 12, 1871, and Jan. 5, 1875.
Henry C. Hayden,
Jan. 26, 1877.
Charles E. Chester,
Edward W. Greene,
66
SABBATH SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENTS.
Henry J. Darling, from Jan. 18, 1869, to Jan. 20, 1871.
Henry C. Hayden,
20, 1871, 12, 1874.
Joseph Byers,
12, 1874, 66 -, 1875.
Winfield S. Slocum,
66 11, 1875,
SWEDENBORGIAN CHURCH.
The first New-Church family in Newtonville was that of Mr. Davis Howard, who removed from Boston in June, 1846.
.
712
HISTORY OF NEWTON.
Mr. T. H. Carter followed Mr. Howard from Boston in just one year. At first, both families attended church in Boston ; but as the distance was inconveniently great, Mr. Robert Curtis, who boarded with Mrs. Howard, began to read services at her house, and at the same time opened a Sunday School. Both these exer- cises were afterwards continued at the house of Mr. Carter, which was hospitably open, for many years, for the use of the church.
As the number of New-Church families in the neighborhood in- creased, a hall in the village was obtained for their meetings, and also occasional preaching by New-Church ministers. Mr. S. A. Schoff and Mr. Joseph Andrews served successively as readers.
In October, 1857, Mr. John Worcester was invited to preach regularly in the hall; but no Society was formed, as most of the worshippers were much attached to their old home in the Boston Society. This arrangement continued for eleven and a half years, the services being held during that time successively in four differ- ent halls.
In the winter of 1868-9, the chapel now occupied by the Society, on Highland Avenue, was built, on land given by Mr. T. H. Car- · ter. The chapel will seat about two hundred and seventy-five persons, and was dedicated April 11, 1869, by Rev. Thomas Wor- cester, President of the Massachusetts Association; who, at the same time, instituted a Society, consisting of twenty-nine members.
Among the original members were Messrs. T. H. Carter, H. L. Keyes, R. M. Pulsifer, Edwin Field, S. I. Kellogg, F. N. Palmer. The Society numbered in February, 1878, sixty-three members.
December 26, 1869, Rev. John Worcester was installed as pas- tor of the Society ; the services being conducted by the Rev. Thomas Worcester. Mr. Worcester has been the only pastor.
UNIVERSALIST SOCIETY.
The Universalist Society of Newtonville was the outgrowth of a missionary movement made in 1870. The first to be identified with the movement were several persons who had been connected with the " Newton and Watertown Universalist Society," and the " Waltham Universalist Society," viz., William Page, E. F. Tainter, E. S. Farnsworth, and others, who had been members of neighboring churches, E. T. Trofitter, Eben Higgins, H. M. Small. Mrs. Mary T. Goddard added her influence and generous support. The Society was prosperous from the beginning.
UNIVERSALIST CHURCH, NEWTONVILLE.
713
METHODIST CHURCH, NEWTONVILLE.
The first meeting was held in the small hall over Williams' Drug Store, in Newtonville Square. Rev. T. B. Thayer, D. D., preached the first sermon, in February, 1871. In the following spring, the Society removed into Tremont Hall. The legal organ- ization of the Society was effected early in April, 1871, and a vote was passed July 22, 1872, to purchase land on Washington Park, Newtonville, for the erection of a church edifice. The corner- stone was laid October 22, 1872, and the building was dedicated June 26, 1873. The church is of stone, in the Elizabethan Gothic style of architecture, sixty feet by forty, and capable of accom- modating about three hundred hearers. The cost was about $20,- 000. The interior is finished in ash and black walnut; the organ was built by Hutchins, Plaisted & Co.
Rev. J. Coleman Adams, the first pastor, took charge of the Society in September, 1872, and was ordained December 19, 1872. The ordaining prayer was offered by the father of the pastor, and the charge to the candidate was by Rev. A. A. Miner, D. D., of Boston. In 1880 Mr. Adams resigned his charge, and removed to Lynn.
The church was organized in February, 1873, with thirteen members.
The first Deacons were Elijah F. Tainter and Edward T. Tro- fitter ; afterwards, Henry Ross. The creed of the church is the Confession of Faith of the Universalist church, known as "the Winchester Confession," and to this all candidates are expected to assent. It is as follows :
We believe that the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments con- tain a revelation of the character of God, and the duty, interest and final destination of mankind.
We believe that there is one God, whose nature is love, revealed in one Lord Jesus Christ, by one Holy Spirit of grace, who will finally restore the whole family of mankind to holiness and happiness.
We believe that holiness and true happiness are inseparably connected, and that believers ought to be careful to maintain order and practise good works ; for these things are good and profitable unto men.
The church, in 1878, numbered sixty, and the congregation about one hundred and fifty.
METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
The Methodist Episcopal church at Newtonville grew out of a Methodist class formed in the year 1857, composed of members
714
HISTORY OF NEWTON.
of that faith, previously belonging in Watertown. Class-meetings were continued with more or less regularity until the spring of 1860, when the question of forming a Methodist church at New- tonville began to be agitated. On the 24th of March, 1860, the first public meeting of the Society on the Sabbath was held in the piano-forte wareroom of Mr. Amasa Dexter. Rev. George M. Steele preached at the services in the day, and Rev. William Pen- tecost in the evening.
The public services were removed from the wareroom to Tre- mont Hall, and Rev. G. W. Mansfield appointed by the Confer- ence pastor of the Society, April 14, 1860. The chapel on the corner of Washington and Court Streets, now (enlarged) the meeting-house of the Central Congregational church and Society, was built by Hon. William Claflin and Mr. Dustin Lancey, was hired by the Society, and dedicated to Divine worship in April, 1860.
The church was formed May 17, 1860, and composed of the fol- lowing names,-twenty-four in all :
Amasa Dexter,
Ellen M. Maynard, Freeborn G. Smith, Rachel P. Smith,
George T. Denton,
Eliza T. Dexter,
Lucy A. Denton,
Avery P. Ellis,
Livie O. Mansfield,
Marcus T. Heywood,
Mary Smith,
Lucinda D. Richardson,
Helen E. Heywood,
Hannah White,
Ira Dexter,
Dustin Lancey,
Eliza Wing,
Ruth Dexter,
Louise Lancey,
Caroline Wing,
Robert Porter,
George S. Maynard,
Elizabeth Beecher,
Nancy A. Porter.
Two of the young men of the church were in the Union army in the war of 1861-5. At the close of the first year, the church numbered thirty-six. The Sabbath School was organized April 21, 1860, with fifty-three members. The first Superintendent was Mr. Freeborn G. Smith.
Another religious Society in the village, which had commenced the brick church, near the Railroad Station, and completed the out- side, having become weakened by removal of members, were desi- rous of selling their church edifice which they were unable to hold. It was purchased by a number of citizens of the village, forming what was known as the Newtonville Lyceum, and after its occu- pation for a short time by a Unitarian Society was purchased by the Methodist Society for about $6,000, and, having been finished by its new owners, was dedicated in August, 1863.
-
METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, NEWTONVILLE.
715
NEWTON HIGHLANDS.
The following ministers have been stationed here :
Geo. W. Mansfield, 1860-1
C. L. Eastman, 1868-9
Wm. L. Lockwood, 1876
Z. A. Mudge,
1862
John D. King, 1870
L. R. Thayer, 1877
Henry Baker,
1863-4
J. S. Wheedon, 1871
Elias Hodge, 1878
George Prentice,
1865-6
Frederick Woods, 1872-3-4
T. W. Bishop. 1879
W. M. Ayers,
1867
John Smith, 1875
NEWTON HIGHLANDS.
The part of Newton called Newton Highlands is the latest, and one of the most remarkable, centres of thrift and population in the city, and its growth is due, mainly, to the railroad facilities which it enjoys. Previously to the planting of a depot within its limits, it was known only as the home of a small number of fami- lies, living on a few unpretending farms. On account of the intersection of roads, it was a good place for tavern-keepers to catch the patronage of travellers from various quarters, and Bacon's tavern,-later, the home of Deacon Asa Cook,- and Mitchell's tavern,- afterwards kept by Mancy Thornton, at the junction of Centre and Boylston Streets, on the west side,- were, for a long time, places of note. These, with a wheelwright's and a blacksmith's shop, included all the business of Newton High- lands. The railroad station was at first denominated Oak Hill ; then, for a short time, Newton Dale; and finally, as the village grew in business and population, it assumed its present name. Gentlemen of taste and enterprise, among whom is Hon. J. F. C. Hyde, the first Mayor of the city of Newton, have given it an impulse in the right direction, and since about the year 1870, it has acquired a church, a school-house, stores and shops, and all the means requisite to make it one of the most desirable wards of the city.
NEWTON HIGHLANDS CONGREGATIONAL SOCIETY.
The persons most active in the movement which led to a church organization in the part of Newton called Newton Highlands were Messrs. James F. C. Hyde, S. N. Woodward, John Stearns, Ephraim Grover and H. O. Lamson. Meetings were first held in Farnham's Hall in November, 1871. A church and chapel were erected in 1872, and after nearly a year, the meetings were removed from the hall into the chapel. The interior of the church was fin- ished and the edifice dedicated in 1875. The land on which the building stands was given for the purpose by Moses Crafts, Esq.
716
HISTORY OF NEWTON.
The house was built by subscription, and cost about $16,000. There are no pew-proprietors ; all the property is in the hands of the Society, and the current expenses are paid by the voluntary con- tributions and pledges of those attending worship, in weekly amounts.
The church was organized June 13, 1872, and consisted of the following original members,- of whom twenty-three were dis- missed from the First church :
James F. C. Hyde, .
Emily W. Hyde,
Clarice S. Hyde,
Samuel N. Woodward, Mary A. Woodward,
Emily Woodward,
Harriet Woodward, · Minnie L. Woodward,
Grace W. Allen,
F. N. Woodward, Catharine Murdock,
Ephraim Grover, Caroline Grover, Sarah Butters, Isaac Smith, Adaline C. Smith, Anna S. Whittemore,
John Stearns, Mary E. Stearns, Mary A. P. Blethen,
Ellen A. Eagle, George Sanderson, Sarah M. Sanderson, Charles C. Stearns, H. Addie Stearns, Clara F. Stearns, Julia A. S. Josselyn.
Total, 27
On the 9th of July, 1872, by invitation of the First church, Newton Centre, the public ceremonies connected with the organi- zation and recognition were held in the church which had hitherto been the home of most of the members. Rev. D. L. Furber preached on the occasion; Rev. Joseph B. Clark offered the prayer of recognition and consecration ; Rev. Calvin Cutler gave the right hand of fellowship ; Rev. II. J. Patrick the address to. the church.
July 15, 1872, a call was extended to Mr. S. H. Dana to become the pastor of the church, and, the call having been accepted, he was ordained October 9, 1871. Sermon by Rev. Dr. Hutton, of New York ; ordaining prayer by Rev. D. L. Furber ; charge to the pastor by Rev. Calvin Cutler ; right hand of fellowship by Rev. Edw. Y. Hincks, of Portland, Me. ; address to the people by Rev. H. J. Patrick.
Mr. Dana continued pastor till May, 1877, when he resigned. The second pastor was Rev. George Gardner Phipps, for the pre- ceding ten years pastor of the church at Wellesley. Mr. Phipps graduated at Amherst College in 1862 and Andover Theological Seminary in 1865. At his installation, April 4, 1878, at Newton Highlands, Rev. Dr. Withrow, of Boston, preached the sermon ; Rev. Dr. Furber offered the installing prayer ; Rev. E. F. Howe
717
CHESTNUT HILL.
gave the right hand of fellowship, and Rev. F. N. Peloubet, of Natick, the charge.
The whole number of members in February, 1878, was fifty-six.
DEACONS.
James F. C. Hyde, elected June 24, 1872.
Samuel N. Woodward,
Resigned April 20, 1876.
Albert F. Hayward,
April 20, 1877.
CHESTNUT HILL.
The part of Newton called Chestnut Hill is on very elevated ground, and from many parts affords a landscape of unsurpassed beauty. Some of the land is said to be as high as the top of Park Street steeple in Boston, and the views to the south and southeast reach far down into the harbor. The Lee estate, so called, for- merly owned by five brothers of that name, has been cherished and adorned with taste and care, and, though remote from the more thickly settled parts of the city, is a pleasant Paradise, and has a railroad station and a post-office, a church and school. The num- ber of houses included in this part of the town does not exceed fifteen or twenty, and the population numbers not over ninety or one hundred. The earlier name of Hammond, and the later names of Judge Lowell, Colonel Francis L. Lee, Leverett Salton- stall, Henry Lee and Dr. Slade are impressed on this attractive territory of Newton.
Chestnut Hill chapel, with the small school-house attached, was given by the late Thomas Lee, Esq., to the families residing at Chestnut Hill. The property was placed in the care of Trustees, with authority to sell it and devote the proceeds to charity, when it should be no longer employed for religious or educational.pur- poses. The Society was organized in 1861. The chapel was dedicated to Christian worship October 2, 1861. The first pastor was Rev. William Augustus Whitwell, who graduated at Harvard University in 1824, and continued pastor from the commencement of worship in the chapel at Chestnut Hill until his death in 1865. He was succeeded by Rev. Artemas Bowers Muzzey (Harvard University, 1824), a college classmate with Mr. Whitwell. The present pastor (1880) is Rev. John Albert Buckingham, who graduated from the Cambridge Theological School in 1839.
CHAPTER LII.
HIGHER EDUCATION .- MRS. ROWSON'S FEMALE ACADEMY .- FULLER
. ACADEMY .- ACADEMY AT NEWTON CENTRE .- LASELL FEMALE SEMINARY .- WEST NEWTON ENGLISH AND CLASSICAL SCHOOL.
NEWTON gained prominence at an early period for its private schools for common or higher education. Among them were the private grammar school of Judge Fuller, previous to 1760; the home school of Mr. Charles Pelham, kept in his own house for- merly Rev. John Cotton's, corner of Centre and Cabot Streets, in 1765 ; Master Davis' excellent academy at West Newton,- in- augurating a broader system of education,- begun in the early- part of the present century, and subsequently continued by his accomplished daughter, Miss Harriet L. Davis, until failing health compelled her to relinquish it about 1848; the school of Master Rice at Newton Centre, where several men of note obtained the rudiments of their education ; Moses Burbank's school, kept in the basement of the First Baptist church, in Newton Centre, between 1845 and 1850, where one of his pupils was William F. Bartlett, afterwards the distinguished General Bartlett ; Mr. Weld's school in Auburndale; Dr. Charles Siedhof's school, at Newton Centre, first kept in one of the Professor's houses on Institution Hill, and afterwards in the old house (renovated) a little south of the Baptist Pond (Mr. Jepson's), Preston Cottage and Hillside school near Newton Corner, and others, of which we find no record. The following items gleaned from various sources have a historical interest.
MRS. ROWSON'S FEMALE ACADEMY.
Mrs. Susannah Rowson commenced a private school for girls in Newton, according to Mr. Davis, in 1804-8; the late Mrs. Pres- ton, two of whose sisters, Anna and Vesta Kenrick, attended the
718
719
MRS. ROWSON'S SCHOOL.
school, put the date of its commencement at 1800. Mr. and Mrs. Rowson and one son lived in the brick part of the Nonantum House, and remained in Newton about twelve years. This school is said to have been the first Female Seminary in the United States, or, certainly, among the first. The daughters of some of the most distinguished families in the country were sent here. Among them, at one period, were two daughters of Governor Claiborne, of South Carolina, and three young ladies from the West India Islands. Mrs. Rowson was the sole manager of the school, and had two or three assistants. All the useful and ornamental branches were taught. Mrs. Rowson, who was very particular in attending to the manners of her pupils, was herself very digni- fied in manner, and highly cultivated. In a history of the town of Hull, Mass., we find the following notices of this lady.
At the breaking out of the Revolution, the people of Hull, whose exposed situation by sea made them an easy prey to the foe, were required by the authorities to abandon the town,* which they did, leaving as its solitary occupant a retired English naval officer, a warm tory, Lieutenant Haswell. His gifted daughter, who was known in literature as Mrs. Susannah Rowson, became one of the most noted women of her day. She is said to have been both brilliant and versatile, a popular authoress, actress, poet and editor. She wrote novels, entitled " Rebecca, or the Fille de Chambre," "The Inquisitor," "Victoria," etc. ; the well-known romance entitled, " Charlotte Temple," and the once popular songs, " America, Com- merce and Freedom," and " When Rising from Ocean," the latter the precursor of the "Star Spangled Banner," and sung to the same tune. The house in Hull in which she lived is still standing, next northwest of the "Nantasket. House," so called, at the foot of Telegraph Hill. It was occupied fifty years before by Zachariah Whitman (H. U. 1668), the first minister of the town of Hull, who died there in 1725-6, after a pastorate of half a century. Besides her novels, some of which enjoyed considerable popularity, Mrs. Rowson also published a Geography, and a volume of Poems ; one of them, a dirge on the death of Washington.
* In 1774, however, the town of Hull passed a unanimous resolution, approving of armed resistance to British aggression, and, when Boston was evacuated, helped to hurry the invaders from the harbor by a battery on what is now known as Telegraph Hill. In the civil war of 1861-5, Hull contributed a contingent of 24, of whom three were lost. This is said to have been a greater quota and a greater loss, proportionally, than that of any town in the Commonwealth.
720
HISTORY OF NEWTON.
Mrs. Rowson used to attend the First church in Newton, with her scholars. She once took her whole school on a picknicking excursion to Newton Lower Falls, and the festivities of the day were said to be nearly equal to those which might be expected to attend a visit of the President of the United States.
On leaving Newton, Mrs. Rowson established a similar school in. Roxbury. At one time she resided in Hollis Street, Boston.
The following is an advertisement of Mrs. Rowson's school, taken from the Columbian Centinel, April 15, 1807 .
YOUNG LADIES' ACADEMY, NEWTON.
Mrs. Rowson and Mrs. Haswell beg leave to inform their friends that their spring quarter will commence in April, and that every accommodation is pro- vided for the comfort of their pupils, and every attention will be paid to their manners, morals and improvement. The drawing will be taught, the ensu- ing season, in a new and superior style, Mrs. Rowson having received instruc- tions lately for that purpose from a professed master of the art. Terms, as usual. Music by Mr. G. Graupner. Dancing by Mr. G. Shaffer.
FULLER ACADEMY.
As it is elsewhere stated, Judge Abraham Fuller (d. 1794) left in his will a bequest of £300, " for the purpose of laying the foun- dation of an academy in Newton." On the 31st of March, 1800, Dr. John King, Major Timothy Jackson and Captain John Kenrick were appointed to consult with the Hon. William Hull, relative to a donation left by his father-in-law, the Hon. Abraham Fuller, toward the establishment of an academy.
And again, January 4, 1801, Captain William Hammond, Major Ebenezer Cheney, Captain Edmund Trowbridge, Timothy Jackson and Colonel Thomas Cushing were appointed and "instructed to devise such a plan as they shall think proper, in connection with the Hon. William Hull, relative to the establishment of an Acad- emy within the town."
The affairs of General Hull were very much embarrassed, and the payment of the legacy was delayed. In his interviews with these committees, General Hull acknowledged the justice of the claim of the town, and his purpose to pay in full, as soon as he should be able, the amount of the bequest. But he died, and left the business still unsettled. After his death, his daughter, Mrs. Hickman, as one of the heirs, being applied to, still conceded the claim of the town, and expressed her purpose to pay the same, relying on an unsettled claim of her father, General Hull, on the
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