History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 99

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 99

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HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

tions of the district, where there were better roads, while in the westerly part the residents were less in numbers, and no roads had been constructed.

Mr. Frink was a native cf Massachusetts and in the fiftieth year of his age; a man of vigorous intel- lect and strong opinions, both theological and other- wise, and, in addition to his imperious will, a man of great irritability. His annual salary was £53 88. 6d., the pound being equivalent to three and one-third dollars of the present currency ; this salary was not always paid when due, at times the arrearages ex- tending over a period of several years, but after 1763 and until his dismissal it was paid him regularly. His arrogance and infirmity of temper unfitted him for hi- sacred duties, being productive of dissensions of great bitterness, and these became so intense that a mutual council was called to decide where the fault lay in the unhappy controversy which had arisen, and to advise as to the future course to be pursued. This council was an able one, consisting of well-known pastors and lay delegates from the most important churches of the province, coming here from Spring- field, Amherst, Watertown and Boston. It was in session six days, investigating the difficulties.

The task was a perplexing one; the determined spirit of the people on the one hand and the equally strong course of the minister on the other had pro- duced such a bitterness of feeling that only a calm and searching investigation could allay the excite- ment.

June 18, 1766, the council reported its findings, which were signed by all the members. It was a lengthy document and on nearly every point sustained the complaints of the people. It found that Mr. Frink had acted in a very arbitrary manner towards mem- bers of the church, commanding some to abstain from the communion for what he termed their perverse- nes-, speaking of them, both publicly and privately, in hard, abusive and scurrilous language; that he had interfered in the private and domestic concerns of others ; that he had claimed and had exercised the power to summarily adjourn a church-meeting con- trary to the wishes of those present; that he had de- nied the right and privilege of certain members either to speak or to vote in these meetings; that he had defamed many of the other regular ministers of the county ; and that his example had engendered pride and wrath. In view of these and other findings, the council recommended "that the pastoral relation be- tween the Rev. Mr. Frink and the Church in Rutland District should be dissolved."

On the part of the people another step was neces- sary. A town-meeting was held July 16th to see whether the district would acquiesce with and accept the "result" of the council. The meeting was a stormy one. John Caldwell was the moderator, and at his request the meeting was adjourned for one hour, and the people were requested not to leave the house; private consultation was desired, and it was

deemed the part of wisdom to devise some plan that would allay the excitement and anger everywhere visible, and endeavor to obtain a better outcome of their deliberations than now seemed possible. After again coming to order, the district finally voted to accept the findings and to comply with the advice of the council that the pastoral relation should be dissolved.

This vote was passed by a large majority; in the district records is the following entry : "N. B. Some people said the meeting-house was so full of people that they desired the moderator would draw the peo- ple, that were voters, out of the meeting-house into a ring abroad, which was immediately done; and it was openly declared aud desired by the moderator that there might be two rings of the people drawn up, and if there were any in favor of Mr. Frink, that they would draw into a ring at the westerly end of the house, and all that were for voting Mr. Frink's dismis- sion to make a ring towards the easterly end of said house." The record further states that the people went almost unanimously into the ring at the east end.

Mr. Frink was not disposed to accept this finding of the council and its endorsement by the people; there were a few who, in the main, approved of his course.

Dr. Thompson, in his semi-centennial sermon, re- calls the story that the next Sabbath Mr. Friuk at- tempted to enter the pulpit, but was prevented by John Caldwell, who took him by his coat-collar and led him to the door of the house.

Mr. Frink preached a short time to his partisans here, and afterwards was an attendaut at the church in Petersham, but soon returned to Rutland, where he died in the seventy-third year of his age. He brought au action against the district which was decided against him in the Court of General Sessions in No- vember, 1767. The following April he brought another for trespass, and again the district was triumphant, but Mr. Frink entered an appeal. The decision of the Superior Court of Judicature was adverse to him, and he now agreed that henceforth there should be a bar to all further legal proceedings.

Immediate steps were taken to secure regular preaching again. In September, 1766, eighty pounds was appropriated for defraying the charges of preach- ing, and a committee was chosen to supply the pulpit. A pastor was soon found in the person of Rev. Josialı Dana; in his few sermons that he had delivered here the people recognized his worth and had become attached to him, and in April, 1767, the church gave him a call to settle over it; the district almost unani- monsly ratified the action of the church, and he ac- cepted the call the following July. In his letter of acceptance, stating that he felt that the people would desire him to be as free from secular care as possible, he " must beg leave to desire, expect and depend upon being provided yearly with a sufficient quantity of fire-wood, fit for use, at the place of my abode, if Providence should put me into a family state." The

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sum of £66 138. 4d., lawful money, was voted as his annual salary, together with a very liberal sum to defray the expenses of his settlement, but his fire- wood at the expense of the district was refused. He was installed the first Wednesday of the following October, his salary dating from the 9th day of July previons, that being the date of his acceptance of the call.

In the troublesome times of the Revolution Mr. Dana found his salary inadequate to his support; he asked for an increase of compensation, and again, that his firewood might be furnished him. These requests were passed over in town-meetings on several occasions, and the feeling spread that it would be advisable to dissolve the pastoral relation. After a time this feeling subsided, and his salary was in- creased and firewood furnished, and subsequently, partly on account of the depreciation in the valne of the currency, and the increasing wants of his large family, his compensation was made still larger. He continued as pastor of the church for thirty-four years, or until his death, in 1801. He is remembered by persons still living here, and they speak of him as a benevolent and kind-hearted man, dignified, yet attractive and pleasant to the young, and one who had the respect of the whole community. His re- mains were interred in the burial ground near his residence. During his pastorate his dwelling-house was destroyed by fire ; it was soon rebuilt, partly with funds raised by subscription, and the balance by a tax laid upon the town. The town voted to have published three hundred copies of the sermon which was preached at his funeral, this being de- livered by Rev. Ephraim Ward, his classmate in college. Mr. Ward says of him, "He was possessed of natural firmness of mind, of a sprightly imagina- tion, and an easy and happy elocution ; his utterance was solemn and manly, which added dignity to his address, and his preaching was serions, instructive and practical."

In 1783, on a petition of a number of the inhabit- ants a meeting was held to see if the town would enlarge the meeting-house or build a new one. A committee was appointed to investigate the question ; they reported that it was advisable to build a new house, but as the news of a treaty of peace being made had spread abroad, they recommended a post- ponement of the subject until another meeting, as then the cessation of war would "make a very con- siderable alteration in the circumstances of men and things."

In April, 1785, the matter was again brought before the town, when it was voted to erect a new house; a committee of seven men was chosen to draw a plan of the proposed building, which they did, and their report accompanying the plan was accepted. The dimensions of the house were to be sixty-eight by fifty-four feet, which size was adopted, and it was also voted to increase the size of the grounds, which

were now about one and one-half acres in extent ; more land was purchased and the area was now abont two and one-fourth acres. Measures were adopted towards commencing work on the new edifice. The town voted to sell the pews in the contemplated build- ing, and if sufficient funds were not procured from their sale, a tax for the balance of the money needed for construction should be levied npon the town. Eighty- six pews were sold for £1184 6s., the conditions being that each purchaser should give his note for the amount he had promised to pay for the pew, of which a third should be payable in building materials on demand, a third in cash at the time of "raising the house," and the remainder three months after- wards; and any person who should not fulfil his agreement should forfeit and pay fifteen per cent. of his bid to the town and the ownership of the pew should revert to the committee. The house was to be built in the Ionic and Doric order of architecture. The report of the committee not being satisfactory as to the price of the material, the number was increased and the estimates revised. A schedule of sizes and prices of each piece of timber and lumber, of stone and of lime was made, and this report was accepted. Some of the materials for the building had been de- livered on the ground; but the process of construc- tion was delayed, some of the purchasers of the pews being unable to fulfill their agreements ; in con- sequence there was a postponement of the work, "the great scarcity of cash, and the load of debts, both public and private," making this course indispensa- ble.

But the people felt that a new house was a ne- cessity and further efforts were made towards its construction. Success soon crowned their endeavors, and in October, 1790, the edifice was so far completed that the town voted to worship in the house from and after the first Sunday in November. After collecting the sums, so far as possible, for which the pews were sold and from the sale of the old house, a debt of abont ten pounds stood against the committee, the cost of the house having been £1201 1s. 6d.

It was desirable that every outstanding claim should be settled before occupying the house, and strenuous efforts were made for this purpose, but it was nearly two years before they succeeded in raising the required snm.

The people had a justifiable pride in their new edi- fice, and, for those times, it was an imposing build- ing ; it was located on the Common, where now is the North Park, a part of the building extending beyond the south limits ; from its height and style of archi- tecture it attracted much attention. Whitney says of it, in 1793, in his " History of Worcester County," that it was the largest meeting-house in the county ; he gives its dimensions as fifty-six hy seventy-four feet.

This building was kept well-painted and in proper repair; the society was prosperous, the town num-

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bering in population upwards of sixteen hundred, the minister respected and beloved, and his relations with the people harmonious. The church and town acted in unison, the town willingly supplying the pulpit during any temporary sickness of the pastor.

After the death of Mr. Dana, in 1801, the church was without a regular pastor for upwards of two years. During this time several ministers had been called to preach as candidates for the vacancy. No- vember 28, 1803, the town voted unanimously to unite with the church and invite Rev. James Thomp- son to the pastoral charge, and a committee of seven members was appointed to wait upon him and inform him of the proceedings of the town and see if there was a prospect of his settling here in the ministry. December 2d this committee reported that there was a probability of Mr. Thompson settling here if agree- able offers should be made. The town at once voted five hundred dollars as an annual salary so long as he should continue to be their minister, and four hundred dollars for a settlement. The records state that "Mr. Thompson came into the meeting and de- clared his acceptance cheerfully." A committee of five was chosen to provide for his installation, and this took place January 11, 1804.

The church was pleased with its new pastor; he was young, not yet twenty-four years of age, talented, social, yet dignified, and a favorite with the young as well as with the older part of his charge. He took an active part in the various plans and schemes for improving the society of the town and for its welfare in every regard, and he not only participated in these movements, but of many of them he was the origi- nator and leader. He was a member of the School Committee for forty years, assuming most of the bur- dens himself, serving most of the time without com- pensation, and laying down the burden only on ac- count of the increasing cares and troubles incident to old age. As a preacher he was favorably known far beyond the limits of his own parish, and an installa- tion of a minister in any other town for miles around was hardly thought complete without his participa- tion. He was a man of imposing presence, yet easy of approach, a good and fluent speaker, not one who dwelt upon abstract subjects, but one who would hold the attention of his audience and bring them into sympathy with himself; his sermons never seemed to weary his hearers, nor did they become weary of him.

Although a great reader and an original writer, it may be a question whether he was a deep thinker, but he was considered the best preacher in Worcester County. In 1813 he was afflicted with a stroke of par- alysis, which, to some extent, affected his efforts of after-years, but his natural vigor and strong will-power Jed him on to a long and useful career. The impress of his labors in the community was great, and, to-day, although nearly forty years have elapsed since his death, he is still spoken of by the older part of our people with feelings of deep respect and love.

After preaching here for more than forty years, June 9, 1845, keenly noticing the effects of his early affliction and the encroachments of age, he desired the parish to release him from the active duties of pastor, in consideration of which he offered to relin- quish his salary. The parish complied with his re- quest, and the next January Rev. Henry F. Bond was installed as his colleague. Mr. Thompson continued as the senior pastor until his death, May 14, 1854. January Ilth of that year he delivered a discourse at the end of a ministry of fifty years among our people to a house filled to overflowing, and the heartiest testimony as to his worth and influence were made manifest. Dr. Thompson was a graduate of Brown University and from his Alma Mater received the de- gree of Doctor of Divinity.

Early in the century the parish desired to make its meeting-house still more attractive, and in 1806 the town appropriated a sum of money to build a band- some tower and cupola, provided individuals would give sufficient money for the purchase of a bell and clock; this money was soon raised by subscription, and, with the thousand dollars in the town treasury, the work was entered upon with much spirit and en- thusiasm; this addition to the house was soon com- pleted, but the cost was greater than had been antici- pated, being more than the original edifice had cost ; in September, 1807, one thousand dollars additional was appropriated to pay the expense.

From this time until 1812 the usual order of affairs prevailed. Under the pastorate of Dr. Thompson the church was prosperous and the number of members and attendants had increased. Nearly all the people had been united in one parish, holding to the pre- vailing theological (Congregational) belief of the day. In the east part of the town a few of the more promi- nent men had banded together to uphold and promote the Baptist scheme, aud a number withdrew from the church here to unite with those of the eastern sec- tion ; in the south part, in 1820, a few had organized and formed a Universalist society, attracting to themselves other attendants of the original church. One reason assigned by those of the Baptist persuasion for their withdrawal was the excessive taxes that were assessed for the ministerial support. As at this time the town was legally a whole and united parish, and all were liable to be assessed for the support of the one church, their method of withdrawal was somewhat unique. A committee of the church which they de- sired to attend certified to the town clerk this fact, the usual form of certificate being as follows : " We certify that A. B. of the town of Barre is a member of the re- ligious society of the town of Barre called Baptist (or Universalist, as the case might be) and doth associate with them in public worship." This, signed by the church committee and entered upon the town records, was presumed and tacitly acknowledged as a release from their obligations in aiding to support and main- tain the original church.

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With other forms of belief, and with a more liberal as well as with a closer construction of the doctrines set forth, bitter controversies hecame prevalent. The church in the centre of the town adopted the liberal scheme, but many refused to adhere to this party, and, as was to be foreseen, could notact in harmony with them. They withdrew, and August 15, 1827, were organized by an ecclesiastical council, called for that purpose, as the Evangelical Congregational Church in Barre. Aside from the friction of a separation, harmony be- tween these two organizations was somewhat inter- rupted, but the discords were afterwards allayed and a friendly rivalry sprang up between them.

In continuing the history of the original parish, or the First Parish in Barre, as it became to be called, as early as 1818, notwithstanding the withdrawal of a number of its members at different times, and more especially those in 1827 who had formed the Evangel- ical Church, and of the secession of others from 1834 to 1841, the parish prospered. In 1827 a number of the inhabitants who attended its services petitioned that, as the sufferings of the people who attended public worship in the parish during the cold season of the year were very great, the parish should pro- cure a stove, or stoves, with sufficient pipe to warm the meeting-house. This was a decided innovation, but the matter was pressed, and in November it was finally decided to raise one hundred and fifty dollars to defray the expense of stoves and pipe and ground for their location, and a committee of three was chosen to superintend the business of placing them in the house ; this was soon done, and from the year 1827 we may date the introduction of stoves into the churches of the country towns; these may have been intro- duced in some other towns at an earlier date, but none of the adjoining ones preceded Barre in this re- spect.

In 1848-49, the meeting-house having become somewhat antiquated, and being located in a place deemed worthy of improvement, such as enlarging and beantifying the Common, a new church building was erected a short distance northerly of the old one. It is of Gothic order of architecture, neat and attrac- tive, and with a seating capacity of about five hun- dred. In its tower still runs the public clock. The old church was sold to private individuals and trans- formed into a building for offices and shops ; from its magnitude, its pillars and general appearance it re- ceived the name of the Colonnade, it having been moved from its original site, where it continued to be an or- nament to the town until its destruction by fire in 1862. A large brick structure was erected in its place, this being occupied to-day by the National and Sav- ings Banks, store, printing-office, &c.

The various pastors of this society since its organi- zation have been Rev. Thomas Frink, from October, 1753, to June 18, 1766; Rev. Josiah Dana, October 7, 1767, to October 1, 1801; Rev. James Thompson, January 11, 1804, to May 14, 1854; Rev. Henry F.

Bond, as colleague, January 7, 1846, to December 30, 1850; Rev. Charles E. Hodges, as colleague, from June 11, 1851, to March, 1854; Rev. William A. Ful- ler, January 3, 1855, to March 28, 1859; Rev. Henry Westcott, June 14, 1860, to April 1, 1864; Rev. John B. Beach, November 9, 1865, to March 27, 1869; Rev. Henry R. Smith, September 1, 1869, to October 1, 1878; and Rev. Alvin F. Bailey, the present pas- tor, who was installed May 7, 1879.

The membership of this church is by many con- sidered coextensive with the members or families of the parish. It draws its worshippers from the remote parts of the town as well as from the immediate vicin- ity of the church edifice. The membership of its Sun- day-school is about one hundred.

The Evangelical Congregational Church at the time of its organization, in 1827, consisted of thirty-two members who had withdrawn from the First Parish, then under the charge of Rev. Dr. Thompson, who had adopted the Unitarian doctrine. The Articles of Faith agreed upon were moderately Calvinistic, containing but little more than the doctrines generally assented to by the various evangelical denominations. During the sixty years of its history the church has had the following pastors : Rev. John Storrs, Janu- ary 14, 1829, to April 24, 1832; Rev. Moses Grosve- nor, November 13, 1832, to May 4, 1834; Rev. John F. Stone, October 26, 1834, to November 17, 1836 ; Rev. Samuel A. Fay, May 10, 1837, to July 1, 1840 ; Rev. Erasmus D. Moore, July 1, 1840 to October 19, 1842; Rev. Amos Bullard. October 26, 1843, until his death, August 21, 1850; Rev. C. M. Nickels, May 7, 1851, to June 17, 1856; Rev. George Denham, Decem- her 3, 1856, to May 2, 1860; Rev. David Peck, April 16, 1861, to Nov. 19, 1867; Rev. Edwin Smith, Octo- ber 29, 1868, to April 24, 1879, and Rev. Joseph F. Gaylord, the present pastor, who was installed Sep- tember 18, 1879.

This church has always taken a decided stand against intemperance, having, as early as 1830, de- clared that it would not receive to its communion any who used ardent spirits except for medicine. In 1837 it adopted a series of rules, among which is the fol- lowing :

"Those who become members of this church are required not to traffic in ardent spirits, or use it as a drink, and it shall be the duty of the standing com- mittee to inform all persons offering themselves for our communion of this rule, and to obtain from them a pledge of its observance ; and whenever any person is proposed it shall be understood that he stands thus pledged to the committee and the church."

In recent years the church has taken ground against the use of, and traffic in, fermented intoxicants as well as ardent spirits.

In the conflict with slavery the church also took a strong position, declaring, in 1842, "that we cannot hereafter receive to our pulpit or communion any minister or layman who holds his fellow-men in

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slavery, and who encourages and upholds those who do." The church has had two church edifices, one known as the brick meeting-house, in the west part of the village, which was erected in 1828, and the other, its present place of worship, bnilt in 1848-49, and which has a seating capacity of over five hundred. After the present church building was occupied by the society, the brick meeting-house passed into pri- vate hands and was transformed into tenements.

The church, at various periods of its history, has been favored with powerful revivals of religion, which have greatly promoted its growth, and to-day its posi- tion is strong in its influence and work, and in its membership, which numbers one hundred and sixty- one, of whom twelve are non-residents of the town, the membership of its Sabbath-school being about one hundred and thirty-five.

Soon after the organization of the church the society connected with it was formed, under the name of the Evangelical Congregational Society, in the town of Barre. This society was formed November 17, 1827, and in February, 1829, was incorporated by a special act of the Legislature. The relations between the church and society have always been harmonious, the church taking the initiative in selecting a pastor, but the relation is not established without the concur- rence of the society, which determines also the salary of the pastor and provides for its payment. It also has charge, under certain limitations, of the church edifice. In 1888 the society adopted a carefully-pre- pared set of by-laws, and in the same year rules for the concurrent action of church and society were adopted by both of these organizations, such action having previously been guided by tradition rather than by specific regulations.

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History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 99

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