History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 17

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1534

USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 17

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IN the year 1827 there began a movement which led to the formation of the Universalist Society in the South Parish. It will be remembered that the church of the Second Parish adhered to the ancient covenant and confession of faith, and probably those who dissented had been seeking another place of wor- ship. The Rev. Thomas Whittemore, a preacher of the Universalist denomination, held services Feb. 6, 1827, for the first time. In the following September, fifty-two persons entered into covenant or agreement for forming a religious society to be denominated the First Universalist Society. In May, 1828, a legal meeting was held to take the first steps towards the building of a church edifice. The work was speedily begun, and on the 14th day of January, 1830, the church was dedicated. While the church was being built, the Rev. J. C. Waldo supplied the society for about eight months. The Rev. Alfred V. Bassett was the first pastor, being inducted into office June

17, 1830. He died Dec. 26, 1831, having in his brief ministry secured the affection of his people. His successors were the Rev. T. B. Thayer and Rev. R. S. Pope, and from the years 1836 to 1840 the society was without a pastor. In 1840, the Rev. Edwin Thompson became the pastor, and closed his ministry here in 1844. He was prominent in the total abstinence movement begun about this time, known by the name of the Washingtonian movement, to which he subsequently gave his whole time and ener- gies. After Mr. Thompson, the succession of pastors were the Rev. C. H. Webster, from 1846 to 1853; the Rev. Ebenezer Fisher, from 1853 to 1858; the Rev. A. R. Abbott, from 1858 to 1860 ; and the Rev. M. R. Leonard, from May, 1861, to 1865, when he was succeeded by Rev. George Hill.

The Episcopal Church in Dedham village, during the rectorship of the Rev. Mr. Boyle, had received some accessions to the number of families, and also to the number of communicants connected with it. The troubles arising from the divisions in the First Church had caused many persons to have a nominal con- nection with the Episcopal Church for the purpose of parochial taxation, since the law then compelled every property-holder to pay a tax for the support of public worship, though he might select his place of worship. There were some, however, who were in- terested in the services of the church, among whom may be named Samuel Lowder, Edward Whiting, Theron Metcalf, and Erastus Worthington. The growth of the parish, however, was quite gradual. In 1822 a Sunday-school was first established. The number of families reported as connected with the parish from 1822 to 1828 was about fifty, and the number of communicants increased from twenty-five in 1822, to forty-one in 1828. In 1831, an organ was procured by subscription, Mr. Edward Whiting being a large contributor. From the beginning of the rec- torship of Mr. Boyle, the name of the church was changed from Christ Church to St. Paul's Church. Mr. Boyle was a man of high character and scholarly attainments, but he was afflicted with deafness, which impaired his efficiency in the public services of the church. He resigned April 21, 1832. The parish, in accepting his resignation, entered upon its records a minute of its estimation of his " Christian integrity and pastoral fidelity." He was graduated at Harvard College in 1813, and received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from both Trinity and Columbia Colleges in 1838. He was ordained as deacon by Bishop Griswold April 29, 1820, and he died Dec. 2, 1850. The parish then invited Mr. Samuel Brazer Babcock, a graduate of Harvard College in 1830, a lay reader,

HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

but who was pursuing his theological studies, to offi- other engineers and contractors, resided in Dedham. ciate in the parish, which invitation he accepted Au- gust 18, 1832. Mr. Babcock was ordained as deacon in 1832, and as priest in 1833. During the first ten years of Mr. Babcock's ministry, the parish received the accession of two gentlemen who subsequently

Application was made to the directors of the Boston | and Providence Railroad Company for building a branch from Low Plain, now Readville, to Ded- ham. This application was granted upon condi- tion that the citizens of Dedham would give the became identified with the parish, and have been its | land. A subscription was immediately collected in constant and liberal benefactors down to the present time, and both are still living. The project of erect- ing a new church had been entertained for some time, but could not be carried out for lack of means. Ed- ward Whiting had left a bequest of one thousand parish proceeded to erect a new church. The site of the old church on " Franklin Square" was objection- able, both to the parish and to the people who resided upon the square. A subscription was made up by several owners of estates bounding upon the square, and paid to the parish, and a conveyance was made to the subscribers of the whole " church common," with the provision that no building should ever be erected upon it. A new site on the corner of Court Street and Village Avenue was purchased. The old church was taken down in December, 1845, and on Jan. 15, 1846, the new church was consecrated. It was con- structed of wood, of mediaval Gothic architecture, with a tower after the Magdalen tower, in Oxford, Eng- land, and was an architectural ornament to the village. It had a good organ and fine bell, both the gifts of parishioners, and other liberal gifts were made by others. It cost, including furniture, about seven thou- sand dollars. On Nov. 30, 1845, it being the last Sunday on which services were held in the old church, Mr. Babcock preached a historical discourse reviewing the history of the parish, which was printed.

Dedham amounting to about two thousand dollars, besides some contributions of lands, and deeds were made to the Providence Railroad corporation. An act authorizing the construction of the railroad was passed by the Legislature. This was done in 1834, dollars for the purpose. At length, in 1845, the | and the road was completed in December of that year, and was opened Dec. 28, 1834, when the presi- dent and directors of the Boston and Providence Railroad Company were invited to a collation at the Phoenix Hotel, then kept by James Bride. The cars, built in the manner of English railway-carriages, with two compartments each like a stage-coach, were drawn by horses to Boston until the completion of the main line, when a connection was made at Readville with trains from Providence drawn by locomotives. It was some years before trains were drawn from Ded- ham to Boston by steam-power. The first season- ticket passengers to Boston from Dedham, were Alvan Fisher and Francis Guild. The ultimate effects of the building of the railroad upon the local business prosperity of Dedham were quite different from what was then anticipated. The manufactories for building stage-coaches, for which extensive buildings had been erected near the Phoenix Hotel, in the course of time were suspended, and no other business ever took their places. Indeed, for a time the old stage-coaches ran from Dedham to Boston, as passengers preferred to be called for at their houses. To meet the convenience of this class of passengers, the railroad corporation provided a carriage for several years to take up pas- sengers in Dedham. As late as 1841, a long omnibus, drawn by four horses, was driven from Dedham to Boston by Reuben Farrington, Jr.

The building of the Boston and Providence Rail- road was an event which excited much interest in the people of Dedham. The first surveys located the road through Dedham village, southerly of the present station, and following the line of the turnpike. The decision to change this location occasioned great dis- There was at this period considerable business activity in Dedham. A silk-manufactory had been established by Jonathan H. Cobb, for many years the register of probate for the county. In 1837 there were manufactured 7135 pairs of boots and 18,722 pairs of shoes, valued at $32,483. There were also silk goods manufactured to the value of ten thousand dollars, straw bonnets of the value of twenty thousand dollars, chairs and furniture of the value of twenty- marble paper and enameled cards of the value of eighteen thousand dollars. appointment. The people doubtless regarded the railroad as a substitute for the turnpike, and they desired to retain the same relative position to the former, which they had hitherto sustained to the latter. The losses . which the owners of the stage company had sustained in the burning of the Dedham Hotel and stable, with sixty horses, Oct. 30, 1832, and the burning of the Phoenix stable, with fifty-three horses, Jan. 7, 1834, had prepared the minds of the | one thousand two hundred and fifty dollars, and people to regard favorably the new enterprise of the railroad. Gen. McNeill, the engineer, and William | Raymond Lee, afterwards the superintendent, with In the Second, or South Parish there was also an

DEDHAM.

activity in manufacturing enterprises. The tanneries established by George Winslow, Lyman Smith, and Joseph Day had begun the successful business which has ever since been continued by their enterprising sons. Willard Everett made furniture, a business afterwards much enlarged, and continued for many years by his sons. Subsequently, Curtis G. Morse and Addison Boyden prosecuted the same business. The enterprise of these men and others laid the foundation of the growth and prosperity of this | Dedham Gazette. beautiful village, which is the present village of Norwood.

In the Third, or West Parish the activity in manu- facturing enterprises was less apparent. There was an iron foundry, and some years after a sugar-mill at the dam of Rock Meadow Brook. But this parish having the best farming lands in the town has always remained an agricultural community. It has | produced large quantities of milk, which is sent to | Boston by milk wagons. Probably this parish has experienced fewer changes than any other portion of the town during the last century.

The population of the town in 1835 was three thousand five hundred and thirty-two. In 1840, it was three thousand two hundred and ninety, the de- crease being due to the depression of business in the mills following the financial crisis of 1837. Although the building of the railroad had an untoward effect upon the local business of Dedham village, it induced many excellent and valuable citizens, whose places of business were in Boston, to make their residence here. Dedham was then regarded with favor by those seeking a country residence.

Since the beginning of the century, there had been during most of the time a weekly newspaper in Ded- ham. The Columbian Minerva was published by Herman Mann from 1797 to 1804. The Norfolk Repository was published by the same proprietor from 1805 to 1814, though with some irregularity. In 1813, the Dedham Gazette was established by Jabez Chickering, with Theron Metcalf as editor, and was continued until 1819. In 1820 the Village Register was started by Asa Gowen, and continued by Jonathan H. Cobb and Barnum Field. In 1822, it passed into the hands of H. and W. H. Mann, who continued it until 1829, when it was discontinued. In 1829, the Norfolk County Republican was pub- lished for one year. In 1830 the Dedham Patriot was established, and passed through various changes in name and location. It was finally edited by Ed- ward L. Keyes, a prominent politician and gifted man, who purchased it in 1844, and published it in Roxbury, and afterwards in Dedham, under the name

of the Dedham Gazette. It was afterwards owned and edited by Henry O. Hildreth, who subsequently removed it to Hyde Park. In 1831 the Independent Politician and Working Men's Advocate was begun. In 1832 it became the Norfolk Advertiser and Inde- pendent Politician, and afterwards the Norfolk Ad- vertiser. It was afterwards published under the name of the Norfolk Democrat by Elbidge G. Robinson Auntil his decease in 1854, when it was merged in the

On the 21st day of September, 1836, the town observed the second centennial anniversary of its incorporation. The bells were rung at sunrise and | a salute of one hundred guns fired. At half-past ten o'clock a procession was formed, moving, under the escort of the Dedham Light Infantry, commanded by Capt. William Pedrick, with the Boston Brass Band, through the principal streets to the meeting-house of the First Parish. At the Norfolk Hotel, the proces- sion was joined by His Excellency, Edward Everett, the Governor of the commonwealth, and his suite, and by the reverend clergy and other invited guests. On the green in front of the meeting-house, was an ornamental arch erected for the occasion, covered with evergreens and flowers. Upon one side of it was inscribed, "Incorporated 1636," and on the other, "1836." Between this arch and the meeting- house, eight engine-companies had placed their engines and apparatus in two lines, leaving a space between them for the passing of the procession. On the inner sides of these lines about five hundred children of the public schools were arranged by their instructors. Under the arch and between these lines of children, the procession passed into the meeting-house. The services of the day were full of interest. A hymn, written for the occasion by Rev. John Pierpont, sung to the tune of " Old Hundred," and a prayer by the Rev. Alvan Lamson, were followed by an-ad- dress from Samuel F. Haven, of Worcester. The se- lection of the orator was in every way a fortunate one. A native of Dedham, having for his maternal grandfather Mr. Dexter, and his paternal grand- father Mr. Haven, both ministers of the Dedham Church, he was also a learned antiquary. His ad- dress, which was printed with an appendix con- taining valuable notes, is perhaps the most concise and interesting account of the early history of the town which has ever been written. At the dinner about six hundred persons were seated, and James Rich- ardson presided. Governor Everett, a direct de- scendant of Richard Everard, one of the first settlers of Dedham, made a very felicitous and elegant speech. Other speeches were made by Judge John Davis,

HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

Josiah Quincy, Henry A. S. Dearborn, William Jack- son, Franklin Dexter, Alexander H. Everett, and Robert C. Winthrop. The ladies furnished a colla- tion in the court-house, using the court-room as a drawing-room, and the library for the tables. There was also vocal music, and an address from the Gov- ernor in the court-room. At the time of this cele- | bration there were nine men who had served in the Continental army, or had done military duty'in dis- tant campaigns in the Revolution, still living. Be- sides these, there were thirteen others who had done military duty during the Revolutionary war in the | State. The whole services of the day were worthy of the event they commemorated.

The two hundredth anniversary of the gathering of the First Church occurred Nov. 18, 1838, allowing for the difference between the old and new style. The Rev. Dr. Lamson prepared and delivered three historical discourses on the occasion, on Thanksgiving- day, and the succeeding Sunday. These discourses contained a very accurate and complete history of the church down to the time of Dr. Lamson's set- tlement, and were printed with many pages of val- uable notes. They contained full notices of the lives of Allin, Adams, Belcher, Dexter, and Haven, 1 and of their respective terms of service. Dr. Lamson was an excellent historical scholar and critic, and the discourses are admirable for their true historical method and perspicuity of style.

The Rev. Dr. Burgess also delivered in "the new meeting-house of the First Church" a centennial discourse Nov. 8, 1838. Although not exclusively historical, it contained a full account of the pastors of the Dedham Church. It was printed in a volume of sermons of all the different pastors from 1638 to 1800, which was prepared with great care and fidelity by Dr. Burgess in 1840. A printed discourse by Mr. Allin, the first pastor, was found, after a patient search, and inserted in the volume. The title of this collection of sermons was the " Ded- ham Pulpit," and the preservation of these sermons, which had become extremely scarce, was an appro- priate memorial of the second centennial of the church.

On the 17th of January, 1836, the Rev. John White delivered an interesting and valuable his- torical discourse upon the first centennial anniversary of the church in the Third Parish. This, with the centennial discourse upon the history of the South Church in the Second Parish by the Rev. Mr. Durfee, delivered June 26, 1836, completed the ob- servance of the centennial anniversaries of all the Congregational Churches of the town. It is not a

little remarkable that the First Church closed the second century of its existence only about two years after the Second and Third Churches closed their first century. Posterity cannot be too grateful to these faithful pastors for their efforts to preserve these memorials of the past.

Some destructive fires occurred between 1830 and 1850 which are worthy of record. On the 30th day of October, 1832, the Dedham Hotel and stable, owned by Timothy Gay, were consumed by fire, and one man and sixty horses perished in the flames, in- volving a loss of twenty-eight thousand dollars. On the 7th day of January, 1834, the stable attached to the Phoenix Hotel, which was rebuilt on the same site, was burned and fifty-three horses perished, with a loss of ten thousand dollars. Both these fires were the work of an incendiary, and one John Wade was convicted of the former offense, and sentenced to death, but his sentence was commuted to imprisonment in the State prison for life. The motive was the destruction of the property of the Citizens' Coach Company. Jan. 27, 1837, the railroad station, with cars and loco- motive, were burned, with an estimated loss of ten thousand dollars. March 12, 1845, the silk-factory was burned, with a loss of forty thousand dollars. March 28, 1845, the factory near Cart Bridge, used for calico printing, was burned, with a loss of fifteen thousand dollars. On the site of the latter building a carpet-factory was burned in 1827. July 17, 1846, a paper-mill, known as Taft's Mill, belonging to the |Norfolk Manufacturing Company, was destroyed, being the third mill burned on the same spot. In January, 1849, another railroad station was burned, and Jan. 17, 1850, the Phoenix stable was again destroyed. These visitations of the same spots by fire are somewhat remarkable.

In 1840, the condition of the public schools still continued to be unsatisfactory. The school-houses were small and inconvenient. Even in Dedham vil- lage there had been up to a recent period a one-story school-house with two school-rooms. About the year 1848, there began to be a new interest in the improvement of the schools. The school committee recommended the abolition of the school districts, and the establishment of a high school in Dedham village. This latter proposition met with a decided opposition from the people of the other parishes, but at length it was carried by great effort, and the high school was established. It was opened Sept. 15, 1851, and Charles J. Capen was the first master. It was kept in the Masonic Building, on Church Street, and had forty-two scholars at its opening. Mr. Capen re- signed in 1852, and was succeeded by Carlos Slafter,

DEDHAM.

who has remained the master ever since. The school- house was dedicated Dec. 10, 1855, and cost about five thousand five hundred dollars.

In the South Parish a new school-house was built in 1851, and in 1856 it was much enlarged and im- proved, making the expense of the whole structure about ten thousand dollars.

In Dedham village, May 23, 1859, a new and spacious school-house erected by the Centre School District was dedicated. It was named the Ames School, in honor of Fisher Ames.

New school-houses had also been built within a few years at West Dedham and at East Dedham. The latter school-house was enlarged and improved in 1860, by adding four rooms at a cost of about six thousand dollars. In 1860, there were remaining but two or three of the small school-houses of the former time. The town also had begun to make more liberal appropriations for the support of the schools. In 1840 the appropriation was three thousand dollars ; in 1850, five thousand dollars; and in 1856, nine thousand seven hundred and ten dollars. The reports of the school committee during this period indicate progress in the condition of the schools themselves, and the establishment of the high school did much to raise the efficiency of the grammar schools. In 1867 the school committee gave names to the schools of the town. By the abolition of the school districts their former designations had become obsolete. The names of men who had by their benefactions or ser- vices done something worthy to be recognized, such as Dexter, Avery, Ames, Everett, Colburn, and Fisher, were thus perpetuated.

a mile and a half south of the village. The effect of these changes in the ownership of the Norfolk County Railroad has been to leave Dedham without any direct railway connection with the westerly and southerly portions of the county, and to the obvious detriment of the shire-town.

In addition to the formation of the Universalist Society in the South Parish in 1827 (of which an account has already been given), there were other religious societies formed during the first half of the present century in other parts of the town. Mention has already been made of the organization of the " First Baptist Church" in West Dedham in 1824, of which the Rev. Samuel Adlam was the first pastor. The succession of pastors after him were Rev. Jona- than Aldrich, Jan. 3, 1828, to Feb. 27, 1830 ; Rev. Thomas Driver, May, 1830, to the autumn of 1838; Rev. T. G. Freeman, from the spring of 1839, to April, 1841 ; the Rev. Joseph B. Damon, from Oct. 13, 1841, to October, 1843; the Rev. J. W. Park- hurst, from October, 1843, to Nov. 24, 1850; the Rev. Jeremiah Chaplin, from Nov. 24, 1850, to Sept. 6, 1858; the Rev. Benjamin W. Gardner, from Nov. 11, 1858, to Nov. 1, 1867; the Rev. I. J. Burgess, from Nov. 1, 1867, to Sept. 9, 1871; the Rev. Samuel J. Frost, from Sept. 15, 1872, to April 26, 1874 ; the Rev. S. C. Chandler, from Sept. 6, 1874, to Jan. 20, 1878; the Rev. T. M. Merriman, from April 6, 1879, to May 6, 1883; the Rev. E. S. Ufford, from June 28, 1883, to the present time (1884).

In 1859 a committee reported in favor of building | whom sixteen were members of the Baptist Church a new town-house, but no action was taken on the subject.

A Baptist Church was formed in East Dedham, Sept. 13, 1843, consisting of twenty-one members, of at West Dedham. A small chapel was soon erected, which was removed to High Street, opposite Harrison Grove, in 1846. In 1848, the Rev. William C. Pat- terson became the first pastor of the church, and-the chapel soon proved too small for the congregation. The new church, built on the corner of Milton and I ship, was built at a cost of less than five thousand dollars, and was dedicated Nov. 18, 1852. The Rev. Mr. Patterson continued to be the pastor of the church until 1863, when, at the request of the church, the relation of pastor and people was dissolved. In 1866, the Rev. Charles Skinner was called to this church, but he remained less than a year. In 1869 the Rev. A. Edson was recognized as pastor, and re- mained one year. In 1871, the Rev. K. H. Campbell was pastor for only a short time.

In 1849, the railroad from Dedham to Blackstone, | then known as the Norfolk County Railroad, was opened. About the same time, and for the purpose of connecting with this road, the Boston and Provi- dence Railroad corporation built its new branch | Myrtle Streets, which is the present house of wor- through West Roxbury to Dedham. There had been much discussion respecting the building of the rail- road to Blackstone for several years, and another rival route had been surveyed, running through the west- erly part of the county, known as the " Air-Line." The majority of the people of Dedham favored the Norfolk County route, and so instructed their rep- resentative, and the " Air-Line" was constructed through Dover and Needham. Not many years after- wards the Norfolk County Railroad passed into the hands of other corporations, and a new road con- In November, 1875, the Rev. Charles H. Cole was structed through Dorchester connected with it about | installed as pastor, and he remained until 1878. In

HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

February, 1879, the Rev. D. C. Bixby was called. The society was then in debt, and the house of wor- ship out of repair. By a great effort on the part of pastor and people, some repairs were made and a debt of nearly two thousand dollars canceled. Mr. Bixby closed his pastorate in November, 1880. He was succeeded by Rev. J. H. Wells, May 1, 1881, who is the present incumbent. During the year after his becoming the pastor the house of worship was re- paired at a cost of two thousand five hundred dollars.

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History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 17

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & Co. Number of Pages: 1534

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1534