USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Lowell > History of Pawtucket Church and Society : with reminiscences of pastors and founders, sketches of Congregational churches in Lowell, and a brief outline of Congregationalism > Part 4
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STYLE OF ARCHITECTURE.
In early times the style of church-building in New England was plain and less pretentious than now. The churches in all the prosperous villages of New England looked about alike, and did not need to be labeled to indicate the purpose for which they were intended. This church was built and finished according to the style in those days. The pews were high and about six feet square, with seats around the sides, hung on wire hinges. There was a high pulpit on the north side, the ascent to which was by winding stairs. In front of the pulpit was
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PAWTUCKET CHURCH AND SOCIETY.
an inclosure, handsomely constructed, called " the Deacons' Seat." It was occupied by the minister and deacons on communion days and was frequently used by lecturers instead of the pulpit. On the other three sides of the house stood galleries. The " broad-aisle," so called, led from the front door (which opened where the vestry door does now, on the south side of the house) to the pulpit. There were also entrances on each end of the house.
SOUNDING-BOARD.
A century ago no first-class church was complete in its appointments without a " sounding-board," and this society was possessed of one which was handsomely constructed and decorated. It was sus- pended over the pulpit, and remained there until about the year 1828, when it was removed, by the request of the pastor, Rev. Sylvester G. Pierce, by a committee (without authority from the society) consisting of Jeremiah Varnum, Jonathan Gould and John T. Spofford. The affair caused no little disturbance in the minds of some of the members of the parish, and a parish meeting was called to consider the matter; but, after considerable discus- sion, it was thought best, on the whole, to let it re- main in the loft of the horse-sheds, where it had been deposited.
On the next Sabbath one of the good brethren upon entering the church and seeing that the tem- ple had been stripped of this adornment, amazed at what he considered such vandalism, stopped short,
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PAWTUCKET CHURCH AND SOCIETY.
and thus soliloquized : " They have taken away the Ark from the house of the Lord, and I will go, too." He then left the church and returned no more.
The old sounding-board was never restored. It remained in its resting-place until 1844, when the church was undergoing extensive changes and re- pairs; it was then removed and sold with a lot of lumber to Col. Coburn Blood. A part of it is still in existence in possession of his son, Orford R. Blood. We have often heard, from members of the com- mittee who removed the sounding-board, an account of the adventure and the excitement which it caused.
THE STEEPLE AND THE BELL.
The meeting-house, as originally constructed, had a " porch " on the east end; but in the spring of 1820 that was removed and the tower with steeple, as it now stands, was erected. Captain Nathan Hunting framed this addition, assisted by Benjamin Melvin, Thomas, Samuel, Jeremiah and Daniel Varnum, Coburn Blood and others whose names we are unable to obtain. After the steeple was framed it was put together and raised bodily by means of pulleys. When it was almost up one of the ropes snapped, but the others held while the broken one was mended, and it was put safely into position. After it was raised, Samuel Varnum and Sewell Cilley climbed to the top where the vane was placed. Four sticks of timber, each forty-eight feet long, that would square about a foot, were re-
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PAWTUCKET CHURCH AND SOCIETY.
quired for corner posts. Samuel Woods and Nathan Tyler, of Middlesex Village, and Moses B. Coburn, of Dracut, each furnished one of these posts. Nearly all the people in the parish were there when the steeple was raised. Joseph Tyler superintended the raising. The first bell was purchased the same year (1820), and cost about $700.
It was also " voted to build pews on the lower floor, where the seats now stand." The work was accordingly done, and on July 7th Samuel F. Wood, Captain Coburn Blood and Lieutenant Joseph Var- num, the committee, were authorized to give deeds of the pews.
A NEW STOVE.
The first means ever used for warming this church was by a large cast-iron box-stove, which stood upon high legs. It was purchased by individ- uals for the society, we judge from the following vote passed December 12, 1820: "Voted to give those persons, who have purchased a stove, liberty to set it up in the meeting-house." We are told that our grandfathers and grandmothers wore re- spectively, good homespun woolen breeches and gowns to meeting on the Sabbath, which comfort- able articles contributed wonderfully towards the support of their fortitude and endurance, while sit- ting all day in a cold house in midwinter; but still we do not much wonder that they sang-
" Kindle a flame of sacred love In these cold hearts of ours !"
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PAWTUCKET CHURCH AND SOCIETY.
The following quaint description is not over- drawn :
" In the large square pew were seated around, The pious matron in her woolen gown ; The long queued sire sat free from legend witches, In his buckled shoes and homespun breeches; In pulpit high the aged parson stood, To pray, to plead, to counsel all for good ; The mighty sounding-board hung over all, In shapeless carving, fastened to th' wall."
It will be inferred that in " olden times" churches were not furnished with stoves or furnaces as they now are. An old gentleman, when about eighty years of age, said to us : "I have always attended church here, and it was a good many years before we had any way of warming the house. I recollect very well the exertions I was obliged to make when a boy to keep my feet from freezing in church."
THE FOOT-STOVE.
The first invention for personal comfort, by means of fire inside of churches, was a little tin foot- stove. It was about eight inches square, very nicely fixed into a wooden frame, with handles on top to carry it by. The stove was perforated with holes like the old-fashioned tin lantern, to let the heat out from a little sheet-iron box, inside the stove, filled with good hard-wood coals. Every woman who was able to own one, was glad to carry it to meeting, and we very well remember when the mothers and grandmothers came gracefully up the broad-aisle each with her foot-stove in one hand
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PAWTUCKET CIIURCH AND SOCIETY.
and a Watts' hymn-book in the other, feeling doubt- less that they were pretty well provided with the comforts, if not the luxuries, of this life. The fol- lowing poem, cut from the Congregationalist, may aid us in forming an opinion of the importance of the invention of the foot-stove.
THE OLD FOOT-STOVE.
In the remote ancestral days- The pious days of yore- When simple tastes and simple ways Left little wish for more ; When sweet content prevailed supreme, The heart with faith so filled, That every thought and every dream Were deemed as heaven-instilled.
The church was then so sacred held That naught but fire divine, By whatsoever need impelled, Was sanctioned in the shrine ; The frosty airs assailed its door, And swept its crannies through, Invading the unshielded floor And unresisting pew.
However faith might warm the heart, Or the cold airs repel, The feet assumed a stand, apart, And threatened to rebel ; Forsooth it was a trial sad Those pedals had to meet, As, though the heart were warm and glad, The cold possessed the feet.
'Twas then invention-very young- A remedy assayed :
The foot-stove into being sprung, And cold fled off dismayed. Though an " indulgence " deemed at first, A half-suspected sin, Woman the weak objection burst, And took the stranger in.
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PAWTUCKET CHURCH AND SOCIETY.
The foot-stove, fed by generous coals From the home hearth aglow,
Gave genial comfort to the soles Exposed to icy woe. Then sweet contentedness prevailed, With no more shrinking dread,
And though cold airs the crown assailed, The feet came out ahead.
The time is past when churches old Were fireless and chill,
When foot-stoves human need consoled As fierce winds had their will ; Luxurious now the scene and place Of our devotion's rite, But may the fathers' sturdy grace Be kept in duty's light. -B. P. Shillaber.
CHANGE TO PRESBYTERIANISM.
In 1819 this church and society joined the Pres- byterian order and remained until 1837, when, as the record says, "They were permitted by the Presbytery at Newburyport to become Congrega- tional." Joining the Presbytery was an act of pecuniary expediency. Those who permitted it, or advocated the change, felt that it was the best thing that could be done under the circumstances. They did not claim that the injunction "Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by the prophesy, with the laying on of the hands of the Presbytery" (2 Tim. iv .: 14) had much to do with the revolution. The old refrain of -
" Dimes and dollars, dollars and dimes, An empty pocket is the most of crimes,"
had, perhaps, more of a controlling influence. The two denominations being the same in their doc-
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PAWTUCKET CHURCH AND SOCIETY.
trinal belief and manner of worship, and only differ- ing in their form of church government, the change from the Congregational to the Presbyterian order was not regarded as important, and we have never heard that the society ever had occasion to regret its action, and in many respects it was greatly im- proved. By the encouragement and material aid which it received from the Presbytery it was soon enabled to procure the services of a settled minis- ter. Soon after this a large number of citizens of East Chelmsford (where Lowell now stands) obtained an act of the legislature setting them off from Chelmsford to this society, for parochial purposes, which greatly strengthened and encouraged it. Their names are nearly all familiar to the writer, and some of them, who lived to an advanced age, were personally known to him. Most of them, however, passed away many years ago.
Although the society "became congregational" in 1837, the name "Presbyterian" remained un- changed until 1850, as we see by the following act of the legislature :
Be it enacted, &c., as follows : That the Presbyterian Church and Society in Dracut, in the County of Middlesex, shall, after the passing of this act, be called and known by the name of the West Congregational Church and Society in Dracut. This act shall take effect from and after the time when it shall have been accepted by the Church and Society at a meeting called for that purpose.
April 2, 1850.
ADDITIONAL MEMBERS FROM CHELMSFORD) BY ACT OF THE LEGISLATURE.
Be it enacted, &c., as follows :
That Phineas Whiting, Nathaniel Wright, John Ford, Silas Hoar, Arte- mas Holden, James Bowers, Jonathan Bowers, Samuel F. Wood, Nathan
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PAWTUCKET CHURCH AND SOCIETY.
Tyler, Josiah Fletcher, Joseph C. Hall, Otis Tyler, Nathan Tyler, Jr. , Nathan Hunting, Nathan P. Ames, Joseph Dane, Ephraim Osgood, Simeon Parker, Lewis Butterfield, Zebulon Parker, Jeduthan Parker, Osgood Worcester, Joel Dix, Varnum Spalding, Robert Spalding, Micajah Bowers, Bradley Varnum, John Goulding, Samuel Hunt, Moses Chever, Jr., and Amos Proctor of Chelmsford, in the County of Middlesex, with their polls and estates, be and they are hereby set off for parochial purposes only from said town of Chelmsford, and annexed to the West Congregational Society in Dracut in said County, there hereafter to enjoy all the parochial privi- leges of said society and to pay their proportion of all necessary charges that may arise therein for the purposes aforesaid. Provided nevertheless that the aforesaid persons shall be holden to pay their proportion of all parochial taxes now assessed or granted by the said town of Chelmsford.
Approved by the Governor February 1, 1820.
A. BRADFORD, Secretary of the Commonwealth.
SETTLED PASTORS.
During the existence of the Pawtucket Church there have been eight pastors settled over it, viz:
Rev. REUBEN SEARS, from January 31, 1821, to August 26, 1827.
Rev. SYLVESTER G. PIERCE, from April, 1829, to April 25, 1832.
Rev. TOBIAS PINKHAM, from May 18, 1836, to April 16, 1839. Rev. JOSEPH MERRILL, from April 20, 1842, to April 19, 1848.
Rev. BROWN EMERSON, from June 5, 1850, to May 9, 1854.
Rev. PERRIN B. FISKE, from Oct. 1, 1863, to Nov. 7, 1865.
Rev. JOSEPH BOARDMAN, from September 1, 1870, to November 1, 1874.
Rev. CHARLES H. WILLCOX (the present pastor), settled November 6, 1884.
ELDERS* AND DEACONS.
When the church organized under the Presby- terian order (April 19, 1819) three elders and two deacons were elected. The following list comprises
* The following record appears under date of November 20, IS19: "The Elders and Deacons were ordained and solemnly set apart to their respective offices with the exception of Jabish Coburn, who was not present in consequence of sickness." "Sab- bath, August 12, 1827, Samuel Coburn was set apart and ordained as an Elder." There are no records of the church prior to 1819.
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PAWTUCKET CHURCH AND SOCIETY.
all who have been chosen since that date-all elect- ed for life.
ASA UNDERWOOD, Elder, elected November 19, 1819; died October 3, 1834, aged 82 years.
JABESH COBURN, Elder, elected November 19, 1819; died June 17, 1824.
PARKER VARNUM, Elder, elected November 19, 1819; dicd December 18, 1824.
SAMUEL COBURN, Deacon, elected November 19, 1819.
JOSEPH C. HALL, Deacon, elected November 19, 1819.
ROBERT BARTLEY, Elder, elected July 27, 1827 ; ceased to act, 1829.
DANIEL COBURN, Elder, elected August 28, 1828; ceased to act May 25, 1838; died May 25, 1838.
NATHANIEL B. COBURN, Elder, elected August 15, 1831 ; ceased to act November, 1848; died April 12, 1854.
JEREMIAH VARNUM, Elder, elected August 15, 1831 ; ceased to act April, 1859; died April 18, 1876, aged 82 years.
JOHN P. BROWN, Elder, elected August 15, 1831; ceased to act May, 1846; died June 19, 1878.
THEODORE HAMBLET, Deacon, elected November, 1848; ceased to act March 23, 1860; died September 30, 1880.
ABEL COBURN, Deacon, elected April, 1859; ceased to act May 31, 1872.
ASA CLEMENT, Deacon, elected March 26, 1860; ceased to act February 23, 1865.
AUGUSTUS COBURN, Deacon, elected February 23, 1865 ; ceased to act January 14, 1877.
ALFRED BROWN, Deacon, elected January 21, 1876; ceased to act June 23, 1877.
SAMUEL B. SIMONDS, Deacon, elected January 12, 1883.
GEORGE B. BROWN, Deacon, elected January 12, 1883; ceased to act March 9, 1885.
SILAS M. DICKEY, Deacon, elected March 9, 1885; ceased to act January 4, 1886; died February 15, 1886, aged 37 years.
JOHN J. COLTON, Deacon, elected March 13, 1887.
CLERKS .*
During the time the church was Presbyterian it appears that Rev. Reuben Sears, the pastor, who was
* Samuel B. Simonds, the present clerk, says : "I think it must have been cus- tomary for the moderator to enter upon the records meetings and business transactions, thereby performing the dnties of clerk. I find the records entirely omitted for several years, and others not in their chronological order."
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moderator, served also as clerk. His first record was made February 15, 1821, and his services con- tinued to May 4, 1826.
At a meeting holden July 27, 1827, Robert Bartley was chosen clerk.
May 16, 1828, Rev. Sylvester G. Pierce is first mentioned as a moderator, and it is supposed he also acted as clerk. The last meeting he attended as moderator was June 15, 1832.
May 31, 1834, Mr. Payson appears as moderator and the last record concerning him as such was July 26, 1834.
July 29, Rev. Tobias Pinkham appears as Clerk, although there is no record when he was chosen. His services, as such, closed April 16, 1839. His services also closed as pastor on that date.
Horatio N. Marshall served as clerk from Novem- ber, 1848, to March 23, 1860.
February 23, 1863, Augustus Coburn appears as clerk-no record when chosen. He resigned July 5, 1870.
A. C. Varnum served from July 5, 1870, to Sep- tember 13, 1871. James M. Coburn served from September 13, 1871, to January 21, 1876. A. C. Varnum from January 21, 1876, to March 24, 1884. Samuel B. Simonds was elected March 24, 1884, and is still serving.
The clerk of the parish at the present time (1888) is Orford R. Blood. He was elected in March, 1871, and has served continuously since that time.
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PAWTUCKET CHURCH AND SOCIETY.
SUNDAY SCHOOL.
A Sunday School was opened in connection with this Church in the year 1828, and it has been continuously in operation since that time. The first superintendent was Robert Bartley. No record was made of the organization of the school or of its tran- sactions or membership for some thirty years, but the superintendents have been, Robert Bartley, Jonas Varnum, Amos Pearson, Joseph Conant, Abel Coburn, Asa Clement, Henry M. Woodward, John J. Colton, Arthur M. Clement, James M. Coburn, Henry L. Newhall and Edward S. Howe. Mr. Howe is the present superintendent and has served in that capacity about five years, having been elected in March, 1883.
The School at the present time numbers two hundred and sixty-seven, including officers and teachers.
A library in connection with the school numbers about five hundred volumes.
Since the time of the establishment of this school in 1828, great importance has been attached to Sunday Schools, as may be seen from the fact that there are said to be in the United States nearly three millions of pupils connected with the Congre- gational, Presbyterian, Methodist and Baptist de- nominations alone. It is estimated that more than five millions of people are now studying the same passages of scripture on the Lord's day in this country, Great Britain and on the continent. The distinction of having originated the first suc- cessful Sunday School system is ascribed, as is well
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known, to Robert Raikes, of Gloucester, England, in 1781. The success which attended these schools in Gloucester commended them to public favor.
Mr. Raikes was admitted to an audience with the Queen, at Windsor, who talked with him an hour about the results. In 1785 a society was formed for establishing Sunday Schools throughout the British dominions. Four years later three hun- dred thousand scholars were enrolled as attendants. These movements in Great Britain attracted atten- tion to the subject in this country, and led to the organization of a society in Philadelphia, in Jan- uary, 1791, for the establishment and support of Sunday Schools. The object aimed at in their early history was -" To improve children who lacked advantages, and to promote morals and manners." The extensive organization of Sunday Schools, strictly for religious instruction, in this country, is of comparatively recent date. Churches began to assume charge of Sunday Schools in the United States about the year 1809, and from that time the instruction began to be more exclusively religious.
REVIVALS.
Since 1819 there have been five seasons of special revival. In 1828, during the pastorate of Rev. Sylvester G. Pierce, twenty-six persons united with the church on profession. Of these only two are now living, viz: Mr. Jephthah Underwood, of Pelham, N. H., and Mrs. Mehitable F. Varnum, widow of Dea. Jeremiah Varnum. In 1842, soon
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PAWTUCKET CHURCH AND SOCIETY.
after the installation of Rev. Joseph Merrill, twenty- four persons united with the church. Of these there are but four now living. In 1852, during the settlement of Rev. Brown Emerson, seventeen. In 1858, during the stated supply of Rev. Moses Patten, thirty. July 4, 1880, during the services of Rev. Elias Nason, twenty-three united with the church on profession, and four by letter.
MEMBERSHIP.
Four hundred and thirty-five persons have uni- ted with the church since it was re-organized in 1819.
There are at the present time, one hundred and fifty-two members including some non-residents.
THE LADIES' SOCIABLE.
In connection with this Church and Society there is an organization called the Ladies' Sociable. Its object is, as its name suggests, to promote friendly feeling among members of the congregation, and unite them in efforts to advance the interests of the Society. Funds are gathered by a voluntary mem- bership fee and a small fee at each sociable. The money so gathered is dispensed in local charities, repairs and improvements on the buildings of the Society, and for the benefit of the Society generally. The Ladies' Sociable has taken the place of what was formerly known as "The Sewing Circle," which
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organization was established, as we are informed, in 1828.
Mrs. Clarimond W. Pierce, wife of the pastor, Rev. Sylvester G. Pierce, was its projector, and she was elected its first president. It was the custom of the members to meet about once each month, at the houses of such as could accommodate them, and engage in sewing and knitting, after short devo- tional exercises, and after distributing such portion of the result of their labors, among the needy in the parish, as was thought best, to sell the remain- der and appropriate the money for the benefit of the Society, generally towards paying the minister's salary.
In the early history of the Sewing Society we are not aware that any record was kept. We are informed by one of the members who is still living, that this being something out of the usual order of church methods, some of the conservative matrons did not at first take to it; in fact they were inclined to make fun of the plan and subject it to ridicule. They called it the "Pin-Cushion Society," and other derisive names. The very first meetings were female prayer-meetings, then work was introduced, and sub- sequently a supper was prepared. After awhile it became quite popular and all the ladies attended without regard to religious sentiments.
In 1834 a constitution was adopted and the name changed to "The Female Charitable Educational Society," and a record kept of all the meetings and transactions of the Society. The constitution was as follows :
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PAWTUCKET CHURCH AND SOCIETY.
We, the subscribers, feeling deeply sensible of our obligation to improve our time and talents in such a manner as to promote the interests of religion and benefit mankind, and believing the present to be a day of action-a time when all are called upon to unite in the benevolent enterprise of doing good, encouraged by the example of others and the promises of God- we do hereby resolve to form ourselves into a society, with the confidence that by a united effort we shall be enabled to accomplish much more than it would be possible to do by acting in an individual capacity. Looking for Divine aid and guidance we hope ere long that this Society may become one of those standards that shall be a tributary to that river which shall make glad the City of our God. We therefore resolve,
Ist. The ultimate object of this Society shall be to aid the American Education Society in the education of indigent young men for the Gospel Ministry, and to afford assistance to those who' may be considered proper objects of charity in our parish, etc.
The first officers elected after the adoption of the above constitution (November, 1834) were :
President,
MRS. NATHANIEL B. COBURN.
Vice President, . MRS. ANN HOLDEN.
Secretary, MISS HARRIET COBURN.
The members for the year (1834) were :
Mrs. Sarah Bodwell,
Mrs. Mary Coburn,
Mrs. Ann Holden,
Mrs. Jeremiah Varnum,
Mrs. Jonas Varnum,
Mrs. Pascal P. Coburn,
Mrs. Prescott Coburn,
Mrs. John P. Brown,
Mrs. Simeon Marshall,
Miss- Polly Varnum,
Mrs. Hannah Varnum,
Miss Martha Varnum,
Miss Augusta Varnum,
Mrs. Franklin Osgood,
Mrs. Augustus Coburn,
Miss Sarah Ann Bodwell,
Miss Jane Bodwell,
Miss Harriet Coburn,
Mrs. Thomas Varnum,
Mrs. Moses Clement,
Mrs. David Blood,
Mrs. - Proctor,
Mrs. Nathaniel B. Coburn, Mrs. Jonathan Gould, Mrs. James Coburn,
Miss Czarina Coburn,
Miss Mary A. Holden,
Mrs. Lydia A. Coburn,
Mrs. Elizabeth P. Coburn,
Mrs. Sarah I. Coburn,
Mrs. Elizabeth Coburn,
Mrs. Joseph Gould.
Miss Prudence Ford,
Among the additional names of members in after years, we find those of -
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PAWTUCKET CHURCH AND SOCIETY.
Mrs. Martha Pinkham,
Mrs. Bradley Varnum,
Mrs. Dr. Parsons,
Mrs. Mariam Soule,
Mrs. Robert Park,
Mrs. Isaac Page,
Mrs. Peter Coburn,
Mrs. Ephraim Coburn,
Mrs. Amos Pearson,
Mrs. Rhoda Brown,
Mrs. Jabish Coburn,
Mrs. Franklin Osgood,
Mrs. Benjamin Gage,
Mrs. Dorcas Stearns,
Mrs. Leonard Burbank,
Mrs. Peter Hamblet,
Mrs. Atis Ansart,
Mrs. John Cheever,
Mrs. Jonathan Varnum,
Mrs. Abel Ansart,
Mrs. Joseph S. Conant,
Mrs. Dorcas Marshall,
Mrs. Joseph Merrill,
Miss Jane C. Varnum,
Mrs. Willard Coburn,
Mrs. Levi Parker,
Mrs. Vespasian Nutting,
Miss Caroline D. Gould,
Mrs. William P. Varnum,
Miss Ednah H. Varnum,
Mrs. Leah Brown,
Mrs. Asa Clement,
Mrs. Thornton Page,
Mrs. Julia Carter,
Mrs. Theodore Hamblet,
Mrs. Horatio N. Marshall,
Mrs. Benjamin S. Coburn,
Mrs. Charles B. Varnum,
Mrs. Brown Emerson,
Mrs. George S. Coburn,
Mrs. Joseph Wilson,
Mrs. Justus Richardson,
Mrs. Asa Carkin,
Mrs. Joseph B. V. Coburn,
Mrs. Ruth Hamblet,
Mrs. W. H. Hull,
Miss Sarah A. Varnum,
Mrs. Timothy Coburn,
Mrs. David P. Farmer,
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