History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 4

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1464

USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II > Part 4

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The ordination of Mr. Hooper took place on the 9th of March, 1794; the churches in Shrewsbury, Northborough, Bridgewater, Holden, Sterling, Berlin, Marlborough and Lancaster assisted in the ordina- tion. The council convened at the house of Deacon Daniel Andrews, and organized with Rev. Dr. Joseph Sumner, of Shrewsbury, as moderator, and Rev. Dr. Renben Holcomb, of Sterling, as scribe. The inhabit- ants of the westerly portion of the town presented a paper to the council, signifying their intentions to form a new religious society by themselves, and mani- festing their perfect neutrality in the proceedings of

the council and in the choice of a minister. A re- monstrance was also presented by Rev. Mr. Morse and his adherents "against any person being ordained over him or the church, until he had been regularly heard in an ecclesiastical council, as he presumed he had never had a regular dismission." The first of these two papers was the result of the controversy between the two sections of the town in relation to the location of the meeting-house then recently erected, and is the first intimation on the church re- cords of the intention of the inhabitants of the west- erly portion of the town to form a separate church and precinct. The council, having voted that they considered neither of these papers as any bar to the ordination, proceeded to the public exercises of the ordination. When Rev. Mr. Hooper began his labors the church consisted of one hundred and eighteen members. His salary was £115 per year. He was a young man of much talent, and gave great promise of success in the work of the ministry.

The discordant elements in the church were united. Rev. Mr. Morse and his adherents returned and be- came members of his congregation, and he received the harmonious support of the church and town. His ministry, was, however, brief, failing health forced him to relinquish the duties of the pastorate and he returned to his friends in Bridgewater, where he died of consumption, December 2, 1795, having been the minister of this people one year, nine months and twenty-five days. During his pastorate he received into the church fifteen members on confession of faith and five by letter from other churches. Agree- ably to the desires of the deacons of the church and the selectmen of the town, the 24th day of December, 1795, was set apart and observed as a day of fasting and prayer, that the death of Rev. Mr. Hooper "might be sanctified to the church and town, and the church and town might be directed to the choice of an able minister to settle with them in the work of the ministry."

After the death of Rev. Mr. Hooper several candi- dates were heard and several meetings were held to take action in regard to the settlement of his succes- sor. On the 19th of September, 1796, the church made choice of Mr. Ward Cotton, of Plymouth, to settle with them, which choice was concurred in by the parish by a large majority, and the same salary granted him as was paid Rev. Mr. Hooper, viz., one hundred and fifteen pounds per year. This call was accepted by Mr. Cotton and he was ordained June 7, 1797.

The following October the church assisted in the ordination of the Rev. William Nash as the first minister of the Second Precinct. The town was now divided into two precincts, each having its own church and minister; this necessarily lessened the First Precinct in numbers and strength, but had the effect of restoring harmony to the two sections of the town, a result which could hardly have been hoped

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for had both parishes remained together, and Mr. Cotton found himself the pastor of a church united both among themselves and in him as their minister. Mr. Cotton continued as the minister of the town twenty-eight years, until June 22, 1825, when he was dismissed by a mutual ecclesiastical council. His pastorate during nearly its entire period was charac- terized by a high degree of harmony.

In the early part of his ministry he inaugurated some important changes in the church policy and discipline, and in 1817 the custom of receiving mem- bers on the Half-way Covenant was discontinued. In 1818 the present Sabbath-school was organized. The only breach of harmony, which seemed to have oc- curred during his early ministry began about 1810, when several of the members of the church withdrew and united with the Baptist denomination, A church and society called the Shrewsbury and Boylston Bap- tist Society, was organized in 1812, holding services alternately in the two towns, and the following year, 1813, a church building was erected in Shrewsbury twenty-five by thirty-two feet, at a cost of four hun- dred and fifty dollars, aud Rev. Elias McGregory was ordained, in 1818, as its regular pastor. This church soon became divided, and the services were afterwards occasionally continned in Boylston, Rev. Henry Archibald and others officiating.

During the ministry of Rev. Mr. Cotton ninety- eight members were added to the church in full com- munion ; there were also four hundred and one bap- tisms, three hundred and sixty-five deaths and one hundred and sixty-seven marriages in the town, ex- clusive of those who were married by justices of the peace. After his dismission Rev. Mr. Cotton preached for some time to a congregation of his friends and adherents at the Town Hall, and contin- ued to reside in the town until his decease, Novem- ber 15, 1843, at the age of seventy-four years.

Rev. Mr. Sanford says of him : " As a man, Mr. Cotton was amiable, with strong sympathies for those who were in affliction, obliging in his disposition, took pleasure in conferring favors and never sought to give unnecessary pain and trouble to those around him." He took a deep interest in the affairs of the town and especially in the education of the young. He was for many years a member of the School Com- mittee, and for eight years represented the town in the General Court. He was a son of Rev. John Cotton, of Plymouth, and was born there March 24, 1770. He graduated from Harvard College in 1793. He de- scended from a line of ministers, illustrious in the religious annals of New England. His father gradu- ated from Harvard College and was settled as the first minister in Halifax, Mass., in 1735, where he remain- ed until 1756, when he resigned on account of ill health and returned to his native town of Plymouth, where he was chosen register of deeds for Plymouth County, in which office he died. His grandfather was Rev. John Cotton, Jr., born March 15, 1640, gradu- 57

ated at Harvard College 1657, and preached first at Wethersfield, Conn., and from 1664 to 1667 to a con- gregation of Indians and white people at Martha's Vineyard. He was settled as the minister at Plymouth June 30, 1669, and remained there until October 5, 1697, when he went to Charleston, S. C., and gathered a church there, of which he was the pastor until his death, September 18, 1699. His church erected a handsome monument over his grave. He was dis- tinguished for his knowledge of the Indian language and the whole care of correcting and revising the second edition of Elliott's Indian Bible, published at Cambridge in 1685, was entrusted to him. His great- grandfather was the distinguished Rev. John Cotton, minister of the First Church in Boston.

After the dismission of Rev. Mr. Cotton the church remained without a pastor for nearly a year, when, after having heard several different candidates, the church, by a unanimous choice, determined upon Mr. Samuel Russell. This choice was concurred in by the parish by a large majority and a call was extended to Mr. Russell to settle with them in the Gospel min- istry at a salary of five hundred dollars per year. This call was accepted, and on the 21st of June, A.D. 1826, Mr. Russell was ordained by a council selected by mutual agreement. The examination of Mr. Rus- sell was vigorous, the council frequently assuming the appearance of a heated theological discussion and " in it," says Rev. Mr. Sanford in his anniversary sermon, preached ou the completion of the twentieth year of his settlement, in 1853, "were represented all the isms that distracted the Congregational churches of Massachusetts at that time," which was a peculiar crisis in the religious history of New England, and especially in Massachusetts, the condition of this church and people being similarly disturbed with the other Congregational Churches of all this region, and, in fact, through the whole of the New England States, by the conflicting doctrines which had for some years divided their harmony. Some of the church and par- ish looked for a new pastor from the liberal school, while others were more in sympathy with Calvinist doctrines. These conflicting doctrines and the lack of harmony resulting therefrom had been the cause of the severest trials during the last years of Mr. Cotton's ministry. His dismission had by no means removed them and it was hardly within the bounds of possi- bility or reason that the next pastor should unite them. To this arduous and difficult task Mr. Russell had been called. He was at the time of his ordination twenty-seven years of age, having been born at Bow, N. H., September 24, 1799. He was the eldest child of his father's family and had early been intended for the ministry, and at the age of fifteen years had united with the church in Dunbarton, N. H., of which the Rev. Dr. Harris was then pastor. He was gradu- ated at Dartmouth College in the class of 1821 and from the Andover Theological School in 1824. Soon after coming to Boylston he was united in marriage

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to Miss Mary J. Ilowe, daughter of Rev. Nathaniel Howe, of Hopkinton, Mass. His religious faith and teachings when he entered upon his ministry agreed essentially with the Shorter Catechism of the West- minster Assembly. During his pastorate here the church covenant was changed and the present articles of faith adopted, to which all who should unite with the church in the future should be required to give assent, and to a large extent the entire policy of the church was changed.

While this same controversy was going on in the Congregational Churches of Eastern Massachusetts, the Evangelical Churches of New England experienced one of the most powerful revivals of religion which had been felt since the time of Rev. George White- field. This revival was felt in the Boylston Church, and many were added to its membership.

During Rev. Mr. Russell's ministry in Boylston one hundred and four persons were added to the church-ninety-nine on profession of faith and five by letter from other churches. There were also one hundred and nineteen baptisms, twenty-five mar- riages and sixty-three deaths in the town. February 13, 1832, Rev. Mr. Russell, by letter, requested his dismission, which was granted by the church and parish, and on the 17th of the following April the pastoral relations were dissolved. His ministry in Boylston covered a period of five years, nine months and twenty-six days. Soon after leaving Boylston he received a call to the church in Norwich, in this State, where he was installed September 5, 1832, and where he remained sustaining the most harmonious relations with his people until his death, which oc- curred from consumption, Jan. 27, 1835, at the age of thirty-five years. Rev. Dr. John Todd, of the Edwards Church at Northampton, in his sermon preached at the funeral of Mr. Russell, says of him : "In his manners and appearance he was simple, unaffected and kind. His judgment was clear, sound and dis- criminating. As a husband, a friend, a pastor and a brother he was respected and beloved. As a preacher he was plain in manner and plain in matter, but he was uniformly judicious and practical."

On the 9th of August, 1832, the church and parish, by a unanimous vote, invited Mr. William H. San- ford, of Belchertown, to become its pastor at an an- nual salary of five hundred dollars. This offer Mr. Sanford accepted, although at great personal sacrifice, and on the 17th of October, 1832, was ordained as their pastor. At the time of his ordination the church consisted of one hundred and forty-eight members. Soon after assuming the pastorate the present church edifice was erccted, and was dedicated December 10, 1835. So harmonious was the condi- tion of the church and society at this time that only eight parish meetings were held for the purpose of transacting the business connected with the erection of the house. When the first house of worship was erected, in 1742, not less than fourteen precinct meet-

ings were needed for completing the house, and the erection of the second house, in 1791, was the cause of about twenty town-meetings and a subsequent di- vision of the church, parish and town. During twenty years of Rev. Mr. Sanford's pastorate, from 1832 to 1852, one hundred and thirty-five members were added to the church. There were also one hun- dred and forty-five baptisms, ninety-one marriages and two hundred and fifty deaths in the town. Ile had also preached one thousand and twenty-eight Sabbaths. He was dismissed on account of ill-health, September 15, 1857, after having been the pastor of the church a little less than twenty-five years.

Rev. Mr. Sanford was independent and fearless in his manner and preaching, never hesitating to pro- claim what he considered to be the truth, and in all his ministrations was greatly beloved by his people. He ever took a deep interest in the affairs of the town, and especially in all matters relating to educa- tion. During nearly the entire period of his ministry he served as chairman of the School Committee of the town. In 1857 he represented the town in the Gen- eral Conrt. He was a graduate of Harvard College in the class of 1827. Previous to coming to Boylston he married Harriet S., daughter of the late Rev. Ethan Smith, A.M., for some time city missionary of Boston, and the author of several theological works. After the termination of his pastorate in Boylston Rev. Mr. Sanford removed to Worcester, where he en- gaged in the book and publishing business, which is now carried on by his sons. He died in Worcester, November 27, 1879, aged seventy-nine years, nine months and thirteen days.

After the close of Rev. Mr. Sanford's labors a period of supply intervened, and several clergymen were acting pastors, among them the late Rev. Wil- liam Murdock, of West Boylston, and Rev. Daniel Wight, afterwards for many years librarian of the Morse Institute at Natick, Mass., until October 17, 1861, when Rev. Abel Hastings Ross, a graduate of Oberlin College, Ohio, was ordained. During his pastorate the country passed through the great Civil War, and Rev. Mr. Ross was away from his parish for some time in the service of the Christian Commis- sion. He was a minister of growing ability, and a talented and eloquent preacher. He resigned to accept a call from the Congregational Church at Springfield, Ohio, and was dismissed from the Boylston Church and Society January 16, 1866. He has been quite prominent in the Congregational denomination, and has received the degree of Doctor of Divinity. He has been for several years Southworth lecturer on Congregationalism in Andover Theological Seminary and special lecturer on Church Polity in Oberlin College. He is now located at Port Huron, Mich. Soon after the close of Rev. Dr. Ross' pastorate Rev. Andrew Bigelow, D.D., became the acting pastor of the church, and remained here until April, 1873. During his service the interior of the church was re-

Andrews Bigelow

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BOYLSTON.

paired and improved by the addition of a fine organ. Rev. Dr. Bigelow was a native of the town, and the son of Andrew1 and Lydia Bigelow. He fitted for college at the Amherst Academy, under the care of Rev. Dr. Cotton, and graduated at Amherst College in 1838 in a class of forty-two members, nineteen of whom became clergymen. Before entering the min- istry he was for two and a half years principal of Rochester Academy, Mass. He read theology with his brother, Rev. Jonathan Bigelow, and Rev. Dr. Thomas Robbins ; was licensed by the Old Colony Association, and ordained over the church at South Dartmouth in 1841. He afterwards was settled at West Needham, West Hampton and Medfield, where he remained eleven years. His pulpit and parish labors were characterized by soundness of theology, spirituality of discourse, and boldness in proclaiming what he thought to be the truth. He took a deep interest in all educational matters, and served during nearly all of his residence here as chairman of the School Committee, and labored earnestly to bring the schools to a high standard. He was twice married- first to Emily Louisa, daughter of Hon. William Blackler, of Marblehead, who died at Medfield July 4, 1857, and second to Nancy J., daughter of Hon. Marshall P. Wilder, of Boston. After finishing his labors here he removed to Southborough, Mass., where he died September 23, 1882, at the age of seventy-two years, nine months. In his will he made provisions for the benefit of the Boylston Church. From April, 1873, to October 1, 1877, the pulpit was supplied by Rev. W. H. S. Packard and Rev. Francis F. Williams and in 1873 the present parsonage was erected. Octo- ber 1, 1877, Rev. Henry S. Kimball became the acting pastor, and remained until April, 1882. During this period the church debt was paid, largely by J. Avery White, Esq., of Framingham, Mass., and Thomas W. White, Esq., of Brooklyn, N. Y., sons of the late Aaron White, of this town, John B. Gough, Esq., and family, and Rev. Dr. D. O. Mears and others of Pied- mont Church, Worcester. During this time, also, a deep religious interest took place.

April 29, 1884, Rev. Israel Ainsworth was installed as pastor, and remained until Sept. 21, 1887, when he was dismissed at his own request. He is now the pastor of the Congregational Church in South Peabody, Mass. Rev. Mr. Ainsworth is a native of England and came to this country about 1870, at the age of eighteen years, and had been for two years previous to that time a preacher in England in fellowship with the Methodist denomination. In 1875 he entered the regular ministry among the Methodists in the New Hampshire Conference, and for the last two years previous to coming to Boylston was pastor of the church in New Boston, N. H. On his change of de- nominational connection he became a member of the

Congregational Church at Amherst, N. H. He is a man of fine talent, and of independent thought and action, and a pleasing and eloquent speaker. During his pastorate the church building was repaired and thoroughly painted and beautified, and a neat and commodious barn erected for the parsonage by the young people of the parish. Many additions were made to the church membership and a large and flourishing society of the Young People's Christian Endeavor was organized. Rev. Austin Dodge, a graduate of Amherst College. 1861, and of the An- dover Theological Seminary, 1866, came in December, 1887, and is the present acting pastor.

The following persons have served as deacons of the church : John Keyes, Esq., and Cyprian Keyes, chosen 1743, and were formerly deacons of church in Shrews- bury ; Jonathan Keyes, chosen 1743; Amariah Bigelow to 1779; Levi Moore, 1770-1815; Jonathan Bond, 1779 -1793; Jonas Goodenow, 1794-1811; Cyrus Houghton, 1794-1797; Daniel Andrews, chosen 1794; Jonathan Bond, Jr., 1797-1821 ; Joshua Stiles, 1809-1828; Rob't Andrews, Jr., 1821-1829; Abijah Flagg, 1829-1837 ; Dr. John Andrews, 1829-1837 ; Wm. H. Moore, 1837- 1846; Jotham Bush, Jr., 1837-1844; Simeon Partridge, 1844-1865; Henry H. Brigham, 1846-1888 ; Harvey A. Stowell, 1867-1877; Preston P. Lane. 1877-1881. Lyman S. Walker, chosen 1876, and A. V. R. Prouty, chosen 1888, are the present officiating deacons. Of all the persons holding the office, Deas. Levi Moore and Henry H. Brigham held it for the longest period, about fifty years each. At the time of his death, June 19, 1888, Dea. Brigham had been town clerk for thirty-eight years and parish clerk for fifty years, and had repre- sented the town twice in the General Court. He was a man of great usefulness, and in all his long service to both town and church labored with untiring zeal for their best interests.

CHAPTER CXXI. BOYLSTON-(Continued.)

PROMINENT PERSONS, COLLEGE GRADUATES, ETC.

THE town of Boylston has sent forth many men of ability and influence who have honored the several professions and stations in which they have been called to act. Among the most prominent citizens of the Shrewsbury North Parish during the dark period of the Revolution, and one who afterwards hecame one of the prime movers for the incorporation of the town of Boylston and finally was influential in the sepa- ration of that town and the incorporation of the town of West Boylston, was Major Ezra Beaman. He was born October 16, 1736, in Lancaster, in that portion of the town which two years later became the town of Bolton. He came with his father, Capt. Jabez Bea- man, in 1746 to that part of the Shrewsbury North

1 Andrew Bigelow was a soldier of the Revolution, and the father of fifteen children, three of whom hecame ministers.

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HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

Precinct that is now included within the limits of West Boylston. Upon the death of his father in 1757 the homestead estate came into his possession, and upon it he resided until his death, June 4, 1811. Thus it may be said of him that he resided successively in the towns of Shrewsbury, Boylston and West Boylston without changing his place of residence. During the Revolution he was an ardent patriot and was con- tinuously in the military service of the colonies. He repeatedly served the towns of Shrewsbury, Boylston and West Boylston in their most important town offices. A more extended sketch of his life will probably be given in the historical sketch of West Boylston. Among the most prominent of the citizens of Boylston soon after the incorporation of the town, and who were zealous opposers of Major Beaman in the separation of the parishes in 1795 and the ultimate division of the town in 1808, were James Longley and Aaron White, Esqs. James Longley, Esq., settled in Boyls- ton soon after the close of the Revolution. He was a native of Shirley, in this State, and the son of a large family. At an early age he was apprenticed to a car- penter to remain until he should have reached the full age of twenty-one years. Under this master he received harsh and severe treatment, was coarsely and inefficiently clad and kept constantly at work without obtaining a single day's schooling. After obtaining his freedom he secured a teacher and began to study, and by patient effort gained such an education as en- abled him afterwards to take an honorable and useful station in life. He served throughout the Revolution- ary War in the service of the colonies, first in the ma- rine, or privateering service, and afterwards with the land forces and was present at the battle of Saratoga, and also took an active part in the Shays' War. After coming to Boylston he was continually called upon to assume an active part in the affairs of the town ; was captain of militia, magistrate and held almost every town office, and served as representative to the Gen- eral Court for thirteen consecutive years. His family, like many other early Boylston families, were of honor- able English extraction, and of high standing in Church and State. Several were clergymen of the Established Church, and one of whom hecame Bishop of Durham, Cardinal and Lord Chancellor. The an- cestor of the American branch of the family embraced the Puritan doctrines, and came to New England, where he married a sister of Thomas Goffe, Deputy Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Aaron White, Esq., was born in Roxbury June 9, 1771. His early education was such as the common schools of Roxbury afforded one hundred years ago. Evincing a fondness for reading, he had access to the old Boston Public Library, by the means of which he stored his mind with a good knowledge of English history and literature. At the age of twenty-one years, in 1792, he opened a store in the easterly part of Holden. There he remained five years, until 1797, when he removed to Boylston and engaged in

the tavern and store business, and afterwards in the store business alone, keeping a general country store until within a few years of his death, in 1847. He served for many years as a magistrate and in nearly all the town offices, and for several years represented the town in the General Court.

In 1798 he married Mary, daughter of Rev. Dr. Joseph Avery, of Holden, and by whom he had a large family of children, all of whom lived to grow up and have been very successful in the business, professional and other stations to which they have been called.

Among the natives and others who have received a liberal or professional education the following have honored the ministry :

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History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 4

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) Publication date: 1889 Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis & Co. Number of Pages: 1464

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1464