History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 59

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1576

USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I > Part 59

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of over 99 per cent .; the amount raised for State, county and town purposes to $19,158, not including highway taxes-a gain of over 100 per cent. ; and the rate of tax to $5.06 per $1,000-a gain in rate of 75 per cent.

In 1888, twenty-six years later, the number of polls have increased to 885; the valuation to $2,032,725; the amount raised for State, county and towu pur- poses, including highway taxes, to $28,696-a gain of over 300 per cent .; and the rate to $13.50 per $1,000 -a gain in rate of 266 per cent. It is worthy of note that the State tax for Uxbridge, in the year 1860, was $495; while in 1888 it has increased to $2,475-a gain of just 500 per cent.

This town believes in the axiom " pay as you go;" and although it raised over forty thousand dollars for war purposes during the Rebellion, took possession and paid for over twenty thousand dollars' worth of school district property in 1870, when school districts were abolished, built a new town hall in 1879 at a cost of over fifteen thousand dollars, and has recently expended over fifteen thousand dollars more in new school-houses, widening Mendon Street, and building new bridges and annually appropriates over twenty thousand dollars for town charges and expenses, it is all paid up. It owes no debt, and its excellent roads, good care of its unfortunate poor and its unsurpassed schools attest the wisdom of its course. In 1879, after years of agitation, a fine brick town hall building, containing a concert hall, voting hall, rooms for the Free Public Library and all the town officers, was erected by the town, at an expense of a little over fifteen thousand dollars. This sum was all raised. by taxation and paid in three years-five thousand dol lars and interest being raised each year in addition to the regular taxes for town purposes ..

Taken as a whole, Uxbridge is one of the brightest iu the galaxy of stars that form the crown of muni- cipal glory which makes old Worcester County famous.

" I fain would pause to name her every charn,- The sheltered cot, the cultivated farm, The never-failing stream, the busy mill, The decent church that tout the neighboring hill."

CHAPTER XXVI.

UXBRIDGE-(Continued.)

RELIGION .- One of the conditions upon which the new town was chartered, which is expressed in the act of incorporation, was that within two years from the publication of the act the said inhabitants should "erect and finish a suitable House for the public wor- ship of God, and procure and settle a learned Ortho. dox Minister of good conversation," etc.

We find, therefore, that at a town meeting held August 25, 1727, the inhabitants passed the following

vote, copied verbatim from the records :- " Voted, That they would Sett ye moeting House on ye South side of Drabble Tail Brook. But seeing it would be inconvenient to Set the meeting House where the First Vote Specified, they recalled sd vote and passed a vote that They would Sett ye meeting llouse within the Fence of Eben" Read's Pasture, on a place which they had Viewed for, and Judg'd convenient for that pur- pose."

October 1, same year, " voted that they would main- tain the public preaching by way of Rate, till ournext annual meeting." Also voted at same meeting, "that they would accept of Mr. Terry's proffer of preaching to us for twenty shillings a sabbath, till ye next an- nual meeting ; and also that all the money that should be put in unmarked, should be looked upon as given gratis."

It is a matter of some interest, that the pay of a minister to occupy the pulpit in 1888 is about four times greater than in 1727, or twenty dollars per Sun- day, instead of twenty shillings; and it also seems that the good people of that early day might off-set against the parish tax any money put into the contri- bution-box, which they were careful enough to mark, probably meaning marked with contributor's name, and claimed as paid in anticipation of tax.

It was also voted at said meeting, "that they would build said meeting house forty teet in length and thirty-five feet in breadgth, and twenty-niue feet be- tween joynts."

How acceptably Mr. Terry preached to our hard- headed forefathers is matter of some doubt, for at the annual meeting in March, 1728, his name is not men- tioned in the records, and the town voted "that a com- mittee be chosen to provide some suiteable person for to preach unto us." That they sadly needed some suiteuble person to preach unto them is manifest from the succeeding votes relative to church and meeting- house, viz .: "Voted at said meeting that they would not free the Quakers," which means that all those un- happy followers of George Fox who had settled in this town should be taxed the same as the orthodox be- lievers, to sustain orthodox preaching, even though (as now) they had conscientious scruples against it; a system of religious intolerance which the progress of a century and a half has, in a great measure, cor- rected.

It was also " voted, that there be fifteen gallons of Good Rum provided for ye raising of ye meeting- house." A suitable minister in that early time might, and undoubtedly did, approve of this strong auxiliary force, then considered necessary for the proper and successful raising of even an orthodox meeting-house, whose huge timbers, rough hewn and unseasoned, should stand against storm and flood and Indian foes, monuments of the people's devotion to the living God.

So lately as twenty-five years ago, in this same town, the writer has seen the prodigious effect which a few quarts of " good rum" has had in raising some

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of the dwelling-houses and barns which grace the hillsides, and it is a question fit for the decision of the prohibitionist of 1888 whether churches and dwellings raised by the strong aid of strong drink are more prone to decay and destruction, and more the object of divine wrath thau those raised upon cold water? At all events the religion of 1728, and many years since, recognized without serious criticism the use of intoxicating liquors upon all important occa- sions ; while the religion of the present day, thanks to a more enlightened public opinion, has not only ceased to approve, but severely condemns its use. The next record concerning preaching is of the meeting held Novemher ye 8th, 1728, when the town voted "that they would continue preaching this winter amongst them; " but January 13th, following, they voted "not to do anything at present about settlement of a minister;" though on the 28th of the same month they voted "that there be five men chosen to be a committee to see about providing one to preach among us, and that said committee shall provide a suiteable person to preach to us by the first Sabbath in April next, and that said committee shall stand while (until) there is a minister settled among us." For more than a year following no meution is made in the records, concerning the success of the committee or the building or completion of the "meeting-house." So it may be presumed that the spiritual needs of the people were satisfactorily provided for.

May 4, 1729, about two years after the town at its first meeting voted to build a meeting-house, the record says, " the freeholders and other iuhabitants met att ye meeting-house ;" so that now, for the first time, we are certain that the town complied with the conditions of its act of incorporation, and did, " within two years from the publication of the act, erect and finish (?) a suitable house for the public worship of God; " but the other condition of said act " procure and settle a learned Orthodox Minister of good con- versation," etc., was not fulfilled for some time after, though they evidently tried to make literal compli- ance.

July 13, 1729, the town voted " that they are willing to settle Mr. Othniel Campbell to be their minister, and that if he will settle amongst us as our minister, that they will give him 70 pounds a year for his sallary, and 100 pounds settlement for encouragement."

It must be remembered that it is pounds sterling herein referred to, and that to a new people in a new country, dependent on the earth for their living and burdened with the expense of building for them- selves houses, and developing their farms from the wild woods and rocky hillsides around them, the payment of a sum equal to nearly five hundred dol- lars, as " encouragement" to a minister of the Gospel to settle among them, and an annual stipend or salary of about three hundred and fifty dollars, was an undertaking which shows more than anything else iu the early history of this town what sterling, loyal,

public-spirited and religious men these first citizens of Uxbridge proved themselves to be-a lesson which the wealthy and independent citizen of to-day may study with pleasure and profit.

Mr. Campbell seemed to have trouble in getting dismissed from his previous pastoral relations to some other town, for Uxbridge voted February, 1730, "to pay not exceeding 100 pounds per year if he could get to preach for us by the first Monday of March next."

May 4, 1730, it appears of record that Mr. Camp- bell couldn't come, for the town "voted for Mr. Webb and Mr. Wales, and Mr. John Wales had ye major vote," and on May 7th it was "voted that if Mr. Wales will accept of their call and settle among them as their minister, that they will confer on him ye sum of one hundred pounds in good passable money for his settlement, and ninety pounds a year in good passable money for his sallery." In May of the same year Mr. Campbell comes to the front with a demand for pay- ment of his services for supplying the pulpit ; for on the 20th of May the town "voted to give Mr. Camp- bell ye sum of five pds. for ye 7 Sabbaths he has been absent from ye town since we had ye Minister's advice for ye hearing of others, and for ye damage he has sus- taiued since he preached to us or had a call from us ;" and also "voted that they do dismiss Mr. Campbell from any tie that the town has upon him for preach- ing among us;" "and likewise voted that they will have preaching continued among us."

Mr. Campbell is not so easily disposed of. Like some ministers of the present day, he knew how to stick, aud about how much he wanted for the privilege of going ; for in June, same year, after demanding fur- ther satisfaction for damages sustained, the town voted " not to do anything further in respect to Mr. Camp- bell's request for satisfaction for getting off from his obligations when he was called to Uxbridge." At the same meeting it was " voted to follow the minister's advice and give Mr. Nathan Webb a call, or renew Mr. Campbell's call." That some of the town did not take kindly to the proposition to "renew Mr. Campbell's call," appears from the vote passed. July 9th, "Voted that they will give Mr. Nathan Webb a call in order to settle with us as our minister, and that they give him for encouragement ye same for settlements and salary as were voted Mr. Wales, when they voted to give him a call." This is the first intimation given in the records that Mr. Wales had declined the call.

September 4, 1730, Mr. Campbell carried his point, and received from the town the sum of twenty-one pounds for all his damages, for dismissal, etc .; and his receipt, recorded at length on the records of the town, gives evidence that a legal mind advised, and a care- ful hand drew up, an acknowledgment that held this litigious minister of the gospel so tightly that his name does not again appear upon the records of the town-meetings.

Mr. Nathan Webb was the first settled minister in Uxbridge, and his ordination took place the 3d day

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of February, 1731 ; so that it was nearly four years, instead of two, before the other condition in the act of incorporation was fulfilled. Mr. Webb died March 16, 1772, after a ministry of over forty years. He was deeply lamented, and goes down to posterity as a faithful preacher, an earnest, true-hearted man, whose influence upon the minds and hearts of the early in- habitants of Uxbridge was extremely beneficial and conducive to that growing prosperity which made Uxbridge one of the leading towns of Provincial Massachusetts.

The second settled minister was Hezekiah Chap- man, who was settled January 27, 1774, and was dis- missed April 5, 1781. It is a lamentable fact that the cause of Mr. Chapman's dismissal was intemperance.

The third settled minister was Rev. Josiah Spauld- ing, who was settled September 11, 1783, and was dis- missed at his own request October 27, 1787. After the dismissal of Mr. Spaulding, Mr. Samuel Mead preached for some time ; and in December, 1791, the town voted to concur with the church in giving Mr. Mead a call to be settled over them in the ministry ; but it does not appear upon the records what answer Mr. Mead made to the call. It probably was not loud enough in a pecuniary sense. The fourth settled minister was the Rev. Samuel Judson, who was settled October 17, 1792, and dismissed in 1832, and died in November of the same year. The First Congre- gational Society was incorporated in the year 1797; and from this time all connection between the town and the "Congregational Society " ceased. The town occupied the meeting-house for town-meetings and business purposes until it was taken down for the purpose of building a new church, in 1834. Many of the present residents of the town attended church in the time of Mr. Judson, and can bear testimony that " he was a man of remarkable conscientiousness, rare good nature, much native common sense, and deep in the love and confidence of the people of his charge." At the dismissal of Mr. Judson the elements of re- ligious opinion came to an open rupture, and those who had formerly been united under his ministrations formed themselves into separate societies, and the two houses for religious worship which now stand upon opposite sides of the Common were erected, and the members of the two societies, who unitedly had paid Mr. Judson a salary of $400 a year, settled the Rev. Samuel Clarke at a salary of $600 a year, and the Rev. David A. Grosvenor at a salary of $600, and from that time to the present, when the salaries of the ministers of these two churches aggregate $2600, both societies have been exceedingly prosperous.

The new church of the First Congregational So- ciety was dedicated in January, 1835, the pastor, Rev. Samuel Clarke, preaching the sermon. This build- ing, still standing, was thoroughly repaired in 1864, at a cost of about $4500; and again in 1878 it was re- modeled inside, new pews put in, and the walls and ceiling elegantly frescoed, at a cost of some $4000,

and to-day it is one of the finest country churches in the State. During the present year a new and ele- gant organ, costing some $3000, has been put in at the right of the minister's desk, and its full, deep, musi- cal tones would astonish the early choirs who, at the other end of the church, succeeded in drowning the accompanying music of the little organ which Mr. Rogerson so artistically played.

The meeting-house of the Evangelical Congrega- tional Society was built in 1833 and dedicated in the autumn. It has been several times repaired, has been lately remodeled and fitted with handsome fur- niture and a new pipe-organ, and, like its neighbor across the Common, is a fine, convenient and comfort- able church,

Referring to the records of the town, we find that the original meeting-house, though erected within the limit prescribed by the act of incorporation, was not finished till long after; for a vote was passed in February, 1733, " that they will have but one pew built in ye meeting-house, and that they will have ye men's seats on ye one side of ye alley, and ye women's seats on ye other side ; " and in August, 1735, "the sum of one hundred pounds was appropriated to finish ye meeting-house." So it appears that for sev- eral years the people met in a cold, uncomfortable, barn-like structure, sat upon hard benches or cushion- less seats without backs, and listened to the word of God under circumstances that would appal the stoutest heart and chill the marrow of the most consistent and earnest Christian of the present generation.

We wonder, as we sit in our comfortable, steam- lieated, electric-lighted, soft-seated, floor-carpeted, well ventilated churches of the present day, and lis- ten to the rich music of the modern pipe-organ, and the operatic warbling of our thousand dollar quar- tette singers, how those old pioneers and great-grand- fathers of ours could possibly have lived through such hardships as they endured, and enjoyed the blessings of religion obtained under such discourag- ing circumstances as attended them.

The pastors who have served God and the people in the First Congregational (Unitarian) Society since its incorporation have been : Rev. Samuel Clarke, who was installed January 9, 1833, and died Novem- ber 19, 1859, " a faithful and beloved pastor for nearly twenty-seven years;" Rev. Charles Taylor Canfield: ordained and installed October 12, 1860, and resigned March 31, 1862; Rev. Rushton D. Burr, installed November 12, 1862, and resigned May 4, 1868; Rev. Samuel R. Priest, ordained and installed January 20, 1869, and resigned January 2, 1871; Rev. James F. Lusk was hired March, 1872, and resigned July 1, 1875; Rev. George Bremner, ordained and in- stalled November 16, 1875, and resigned December 28, 1883; Rev. L. M. Burrington, installed Septem- ber 28, 1884, and resigned July 25, 1886; Rev. W. R. G. Mellin, installed April 6, 1887, and remains pastor of the church.

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HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

The pastors of the Evangelical Congregational So- ciety have been : Rev. David Adams Grosvener, ordained and installed June 6, 1832, and dismissed at his own request June 15, 1842; Rev. John Orcutt, installed December 18, 1842, and dismissed May 1, 1849; Rev. Jacob Jackson Abbott, D.D., installed in 1850, and resigned in 1862; Rev. J. B. Johnson, installed December 15, 1864, and dismissed February 6, 1868 ; Rev. Thomas C. Biscoe, installed December 2, 1868, and dismissed May 25, 1876; Rev. George H. Johnson, hired for one year from May 1, 1877, and served faithfully till the year expired; Rev. William H. Cobb, installed September 18, 1878, and dismissed October 1, 1887; Rev. F. L. Bristol, in- stalled May 1, 1888, and now remains pastor of the church.

The Baptist Church .- The Baptist Church, located at North Uxbridge, was organized June 22, 1842; and on the same day Rev. Austin Robbins was or- dained and installed pastor of the new church. The church rapidly increased in numbers, receiving forty-seven members during the first year of its ex- istence. Mr. Robbins resigned in 1850, after a suc- cessful pastorate of eight years. For the next four years the pulpit of this church was supplied by Rev. Job Boomer, Rev. Joseph Smith, Rev. Joseph Til- linghast and Rev. S. S. Mallory, each officiating about one year. Rev. James W. Russell became pastor of the church November 11, 1854, and re- signed in 1864; Rev. Joseph Barber became pastor in April, 1865, and resigned in November, 1868, and was followed by Rev. J. W. Dick, in April, 1869, who continued his ministry here until July, 1871. In October, 1871, Rev. J. H. Tilton was installed pastor, and remained six years, closing his labors October, 1877. Iu November, 1877, Rev. B. H. Lane was installed, and resigned May 30, 1882; Rev. T. M. Butler was installed November 1, 1882, and resigned in June, 1888.

This society has recently erected a fine church building at North Uxbridge, opposite Chase's Corner, with a convenient parsonage close by, and is rapidly growing in membership and is free from debt.

Methodist Episcopal Church .- The first Method- ist preaching in Uxbridge Centre began about Sep- tember I, 1874. Some of the citizens, desiring to reach a class that was not hearing the Gospel, made arrangements with Rev. Mr. Merrill, then pastor of the M. E. Church in Whitinsville, to preach in Taft's Hall on Sunday evenings ; and Mr. Merrill continued his services up to February 7, 1875.

Mr. F. T. Pomeroy, of Shrewsbury, a local preacher of the M. E. Church, a young man of excellent ability and pleasant address, succeeded Mr. Merrill, and remained here until April, 1877. His appoint- ment was considered a mission of the church. The mission was formally organized as a church with eight members December 19, 1875, by Rev. Dr. Has- kell, presiding elder of the Worcester District. Mr.

Hunter, of the Boston University, succeeded Mr. Pomeroy, but soon left. He was succeeded by Rev. John W. Collier, who began his labors, June 9, 1877, and closed them June 23, 1878, to go as a missionary to Peru, South America. For the remainder of the Conference year Mr. J. H. Thompson supplied the pulpit.

Mr. Thompson was returned to Uxbridge for the Conference year 1879-80, which was the first appoint- ment made here by the Conference. Mr. Thompson was succeeded by Rev. Charles Perkins, who was in turn succeeded by Rev. J. W. Rodgers. The present pastor is Rev. J. T. Kennedy.

In March, 1878, the society purchased of the town, as a site for a church edifice, a part of the old bury- ing-ground in the centre of the town, Subscription papers for the church were opened in January, 1879, which were very generously signed by the members of other congregations (notably the Unitarian), and on April 1st the amount pledged was three thousand five hundred dollars. The church, which cost about six thousand dollars, was completed early in 1880, and was dedicated with appropriate ceremonies. It stands nearly opposite the railway station, just north of the new town hall, and is a fine specimen of church architecture. This church has grown rapidly, and has a membership, at the present time, of about sixty.

The Friends, or Quakers .- It appears by the town records that at the time the town was incorporated, or very soon after, several families of Friends or Quakers were living within its limits, and, as is their custom, objected to paying the rates or taxes for the support of ministers or preachers, then settled, and paid by tax ; and the matter was brought before the town at a meeting held in March, 1728. At this meeting " they voted that they would not free the Quakers." This is the first information given by the town records concerning the fact that a part of the settlers of the town were members of that society. Mr. L. C. Wheeler, a member of the society, fur- nishes the following account of this sect, which is of great interest :

At the date of the organization of the town, the Quakers were a part of the Smithfield Monthly Meeting, and undoubtedly held meetings, in individuals' houses, till 1770, when the Monthly Meeting authorized " the building of a meeting-house in Uxbridge, near Moses Farnum's." The meeting-house stands at the junction of the roads from Millville and Ironstone to Uxbridge Centre, and is constructed of brick, with a tablet bearing the date of its erection, 1770, in the gable.

The following account of its construction is taken from old records in the possession of the clerk of the "Quarterly Meeting :"

In the 4th month, 1770, the Smithfield Monthly Meeting ordered a meeting-house to be built a little Southerly of Moses Farnum's, by the side of the Great rond. In the months following the house was built, thirty-five feet long and thirty feet broad. During the 5th month, 177], Adam Harkness, William Buffmin and David Steere do report yt they find the whole cost of building the brick meeting-honse to amount to £206 Ss. 1d.

The house has been in use to the present time, and notwithstanding its age of one hundred and eighteen

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years, its walls show no signs of weakness or decay, and its plain roof, without jets or ornamental finish of any kind, is in an excellent state of preservation. The window-sashes contain the same small panes of glass, and the same doors swing on leather hinges, as for- merly. The internal arrangements of the house are also left in their original style, having been simply kept in repair.

A few years previous the Monthly Meeting had authorized the erection of a meeting-house in Ux- bridge, and in 1766 one was erected in what was then the north part of Uxbridge, and which is now North- bridge, that town having been set off from Uxbridge in 1772. This house stood very near the location of the present meeting-house,-about half a mile south from Riverdale in Northbridge.

The meetings held at Uxbridge and Northbridge were a part of the Smithfield Monthly Meeting, till 7th month (July), 1783, when the several meetings held in Uxbridge, Leicester, Northbridge and Rich- mond, N. H., were set off, and formed a separate Monthly Meeting under the name of the Uxbridge Monthly Meeting, which has continued till the pres- ent time, except that the Richmond Meeting has been dropped, and the meeting formerly at Leicester removed to Worcester. In addition to the above, a meeting at Pomfret, Conn., and one at Douglas have been made a part of the Uxbridge Monthly Meeting.

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History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 59

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) Publication date: 1889 Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis & Co. Number of Pages: 1576

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1576