USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Quincy > History of old Braintree and Quincy : with a sketch of Randolph and Holbrook > Part 21
USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Braintree > History of old Braintree and Quincy : with a sketch of Randolph and Holbrook > Part 21
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" Nehemiah Hayden of full age, testifieth and saith that Col. Quinsey came to me some time before the £90 vote passed and persuaded me to consent to it, saying that thereby we should bind the churchmen to pay to Mr. Fisk, and by this persuasion I consented to it, further saith not, or words to that effect.
Mass. Archives, Vol. II., p. 242. NEHEMIAH HAYDEN."
" The inhabitants of Braintree lawfully assembled August ye 7, 1704. Then voted by the major part of the freeholders,1 and other inhabitants of said town, that the Rev. Mr. Moses Fisk have a salary of ninety pounds in or as money, (he finding him- self with wood,) to be annually well and truly paid to him, ye Mr. Moses Fisk, or his assigns for support and maintenance dur- ing his performing ye work of the ministry in the town, from the first of March, one thousand seven hundred and four." Mass. Archives.
Mr. Joseph Marsh succeeded Mr. Fisk ; he was ordained May 18th, 1709. The records of the Cambridge Church under the date of Nov. 28th, 1703, contain the following entry, "Joseph Marsh, student," this is the first mention of him that can be found. He graduated at Harvard College in 1705.
On the records of the General Court, under date of May 26th, 1708, it is stated that upon complaint being made that the town of Tiverton, (then belonging to Massachusetts,) did not comply with the law and provide themselves with a minister; the order directs that Mr. Joseph Marsh be treated with and obtained, if it
1. " A man might be a freeholder and not a freeman, and vice versa. He might be a voter in town affairs, and yet neither be a freeholder nor a freeman. A freeman was one who had taken the freeman's oath, and which alone entitles him to vote in the nomination of magistrates, choice of deputies, alias, town representatives. A freeholder was one who either by grant, purchase, or inleri- tance, was entitled to a share in all the common undivided lands. When any town officers were to be chosen or money raised by way of rate, all the inhabi- tants could vote. Thus we sometimes find the expression, At a meeting of the freemen, sometimes, a meeting of the freeholders, or a meeting of the freeholders and proprietors, or a meeting would be called of the freeholders and the inhabi- tants, or a general town meeting. The expressions in the call for the meeting, would always indicate the nature and object of the business to be transacted."
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may be, and sent to said town. There is also a petition from Mr. Marsh, dated Feb. 7th, 1709, which says that he preached ten Sabbaths in Tiverton, and that having been called to Braintree, had obtained a substitute for his former place.
The North Precinct records contain the following : " Feb. 14th, 1708-9, Then voted by the freeholders and other inhabitants of the North End Precinct, regularly assembled, to raise the sum of £70 per annum, to be given to the Rev. Mr. Joseph Marsh, upon his settlement with us in the work of the ministry, during the time of his performance of that service, beginning the first day of March next. Then it was also voted, to give to the said Mr. Joseph Marsh £100, upon his settlement with us, and that to be final for said settlement."
Mr. Marsh continued to preach here until his death, which occurred March 8th, 1725-6, in the 41st year of his age. Mr. Hancock, in his century sermons says he was buried in the same tomb with Mr. Fisk. "The number of members added to the church under his ministry, including himself is 102. Baptisms 288. In the vacancy between his death and the settlement of his successor, there were eight baptisms.
Mr. Marsh, June 30th, 1709, married Anne Fisk, daughter of his predecessor, who survived him many years.
Mr. Joseph Marsh, son of the pastor, kept for many years a private classical school in this town.
Mr. John Hancock followed Mr. Marsh as minister of the First Church, and was ordained Nov. 2d, 1726. His father was for many years minister in Lexington. John Hancock's name appears on the records of the Cambridge First Church under date of Dec. 21st, 1718, as a student admitted to full communion. He graduated at Harvard College in 1719. The North Precinct records contain the following : "June 29th, 1726. At a meeting this day, a unanimous call was given to Mr. Hancock to settle in the work of the ministry. A yearly salary was at the same time voted, of £110, in good and lawful bills of public credit on this province, for his support; and a settlement of £200, in good and lawful bills of public credit, was also voted." An account · of his ordination in his own handwriting is contained in the church records, and is as follows : "On Wednesday, Nov. 2d,
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1726, Mr. John Hancock was ordained the pastor of the Church of Christ, in the North Precinct of Braintree, by the solemn imposition of the hands of the presbytery. The churches sent unto, and desired to be present at the solemnity, were the churches of Cambridge, Lexington, Dorchester First Church, Milton, Braintree South Church, Weymouth First Church, and Hingham First Church. The Rev. Mr. John Danforth made the first prayer. My honored father, the Rev. Mr. Hancock of Lex- ington, preached the sermon from Luke XXIV : 49. The Rev. Mr. Thacher gave the charge, and the Rev. Mr. Danforth the right hand of fellowship. The Rev. Mr. Niles and Mr. Appleton laying on hands. His letter of dismission from the Church of Cambridge was read at the same time by the Rev. Mr. Hancock. The auditory was very numerous."1
Mr. Hancock preached here until his death, which occurred on the 7th of May, 1744, in the forty-second year of his age. He is buried in the same tomb with Mr. Fisk and Mr. Marsh. He married the widow of Mr. Samuel Thaxter of Hingham. Her" maiden name was Mary Hawke. By her he had three children, whose baptisms are thus recorded by his own hand : " Mary IIan- cock, my first-born, April 13th, 1735; John Hancock, my son, Jan. 16th, 1736-7; Ebenezer Hancock, my son, Nov. 22d, 1741. Mary was born April 8th, 1735 ; John, Jan. 12th, 1736-7 ;
1. We have not been able to find the expense of Mr. Hancock's ordination, but it must have been quite an onerous charge on the parish, if the cost to them was as much as it was to the church at Woburn, on the installation of the Rev. Mr. Jackson in 1729, over their church. Ordinations at this period were a severe charge upon the not over-wealthy societies of the province. There can be no doubt, but what this ceremony at Woburn was a highly spiritual one as the following items would indicate :-
£ S. D.
" To 243 Dinners, at two and sixpence a dinner, - 54 2 6 Supper and Breakfast for one hundred and seventy-eight, - 8 18 0 Keeping thirty-two horses four days, 3 0 0
6 Barrels and one-half of Cyder, -
4 11 0
9 10 0 28 Gallons of Wine, - -
2 Gallons of Brandy and four of Rum,
- 1 16 0 Loaf Sugar, Lime Juice, and Pipes, - 1 12 0
83 9 6"
1
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Ebenezer, Nov. 15th, 1741." The above births are taken from the Braintree Church Records, Book I.
The completion of the first century from the gathering of the church occurred also during Mr. Hancock's ministry. In the church records is the following in his handwriting: "The Church of Christ in Braintree, was embodied Sept. 17th, 1639. N. B. On Sept. 16th, 1639, being Lord's day, the First Church in Braintree, both males and females, solemnly renewed the covenant of their fathers, immediately before the participation of the Lord's Supper. The text preached upon at the solemnity was Isaiah LXIII : 7.
The two sermons delivered on that occasion were published the same year, and a second edition in 1811.
The whole number of baptisms during Mr. Hancock's ministry was 355. Mr. Lunt says, "Several individuals of high and deserved celebrity have been nurtured in the bosom of our church. John Hancock, as has been said, was baptized here by his father. John Adams, the second President of the United States, was son of a deacon of the church, was baptized by Mr. Hancock, Oct. 26th, 1734, became Jan. 3d, 1773, a member of the church, and was to the close of his life, a devout and con- stant worshipper in the place where his fathers had worshipped before him. The Quinseys, from the earliest time, have lent their influence to support, and their virtues to adorn, the institu- tions of religion here, as well as the institutions of government and learning on a wider theatre. Judge Edmund Quinsey, who died abroad in the service of his country, is affectionately men- tioned in a sermon preached by Mr. Hancock, after the intelli- gence was received of his death. John Quinsey was for forty years representative of this town in the General Court, and for many years in succession, Speaker of the House of Representa- tives. His name, which appears in the Town and Precinct Records in connection with all public meetings, was given to this North Precinct of Braintree, when in 1792, it was set off and incorporated as a distinct town."
Mr. Lunt in speaking of Mr. Hancock says, he "was singularly favored in some of the circumstances of his life and ministry. He transmitted to his son a name, which has been rendered by
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that son's conspicuous position and acknowledged virtues, illustri- ous in the eyes of the world, and which must ever be repeated in connection with the history of freedom in this Western Con- tinent. And with the water of christian baptism, he gave the name of John to another individual, who stood before kings and princes, the fearless and persevering advocate of his country's rights, who raised himself, with the consent of millions, to the people's throne, and who fell asleep in an honored old age, with the glad shouts ringing in his ears of a nation he had helped to redeem."
For a year and a half after Mr. Hancock's death, there was no settled minister over this church. Mr. Benjamin Stevens sup- plied the pulpit for several Sundays, and on the 22d of October, 1744, by a unanimous vote was elected pastor of this church, and invited to settle here, but he declined. At a subsequent meeting the call was repeated, but he declined again. At a meeting held on the 25th of Feb., 1745, three gentlemen were put in nomination, Mr. Vinal, Mr. Newman and Mr. Stevens. Mr. Stevens now had the largest number of votes ; but there was a division in the minds of the people, and in his reply, he pro- posed that the matter of his settlement should be laid before a council of clergymen of the neighboring churches. Mr. Stevens finally concluded not to accept. On July 29th, 1745, it was voted to extend an invitation to Mr. Lemuel Briant who was, on the 16th of Sept., 1745, unanimously elected minister of this church. On the 23d of the same month, " the precinct voted that there should be allowed and paid unto the Rev. Lemuel Briant, (if he settle with them in the work of the ministry,) one hundred pounds in bills of credit on this province of the last emission, fifty pounds to be paid at the end of the first year after his ordination ; the other fifty pounds to be paid at the end of the second year, as an encouragement towards his settling with them in the aforesaid work ;" and they then voted " that there should be allowed and paid unto him, the said Mr. Lemuel Briant, fifty pounds per year in bills of credit on this province of the last emission, for two years after his first settling with them ; and at the end of two years, there should be an addition made of twelve pounds and ten shillings in bills of the like emission,
-
----
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or in other bills equivalent, as a yearly salary during his perform- ing the work of the ministry among them."
It appears by an entry in the church records, that at a meeting held Sept. 15th, 1745, it was voted " that the church will forego the privilege of preceding the other qualified inhabitants in the choice of their minister, and will join with the other inhabitants of the said preeinct, pursuant to a warrant made out for assem- bling them on the 16th instant, in order to the choice of a gospel minister to settle among them." Mr. Briant evidently accepted the call, for the church records contain the following : " Wednes- day, Dec. 11th, 1745, Lemuel Briant was ordained the pastor of the first church of Christ in Braintree. The churches sent to were, the church at Lexington, the second church in, Scituate, the second in Braintree, the first in Hingham, the first in Seitu- ate, the church in Milton, the first in Stoughton, the church in Dorchester, the first in Weymouth. The Rev. Mr. Bourne of Scituate, began with prayer. The Rev. Mr. Eells of Seituate preached from 2d Cor. IV : 5. The Rev. Mr. Niles of Braintree, gave the charge. The Rev. Mr. Taylor of Milton, the right hand of fellowship."
Mr. Lunt says, " it has been said that Mr. Briant was not examined, at his ordination, as to his creed." Mr. Briant was born about the year 1722. He was a native of Scituate, Mass. He graduated at Harvard College in 1739, and was admitted to' full communion with the church in Scituate, July 5th, 1741.
Before coming to Braintree, he preached some time in Wor- cester. His ministry here was brief, for his health failing him he petitioned to be dismissed. A precinct meeting was called October 22d, 1753; one object of which was "to take into serious consideration the matter of the Rev. Mr. Briant's petition, bearing date October 10th, 1753, inscribed to the North Parish in Braintree ; more especially that clause in the petition which earnestly desires that you will make way for the settling a minis- ter, by dismissing your present pastor from the burdens and labors of his office ; and if the parish after mature consideration had on the premises, shall think it advisable and it will be for the best, (all things considered,) both for the parish, and for our Rev. Pastor, to grant him a dismission ; or if otherwise the Par-
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ish shall think best to wait patiently some time longer, to see if it may not please God in his good providence, to restore our reverend pastor to his former state of health."
John Quincy was chosen moderator. "Then the vote was put whether they would proceed according to the warrant ; it passed in the affirmative. Then the vote was put whether they would grant to the Rev. Mr. Briant his request in respect to his dismis- sion, and it passed in the affirmative. A committee was chosen, Edmund Quinsey, Esq., Major Joseph Crosby, Deacon Parmenter, Mr. Josiah Quinsey and Deacon Moses Belcher, to acquaint the Rev. Mr. Briant with the proceedings of the meeting, viz : that they have dismissed him from his ministerial office in this place ; and to return him thanks for his labors in the ministry among He died the year following at Hingham, and was buried at Scituate.
" From Mr. Briant's publications, one would be justified in pro- nouncing him a man of strong native abilities, of a capacious and vigorous intellect. He was a bold thinker, and fearless and independent in his judgment. His wit was pungent; he had considerable command of language and skill in the management of an argument ; and he was capable of giving forcible, pointed and felicitous expression to his thoughts. In theological specu- lations, he had advanced considerably beyond the prevalent opinions of his day, and was one among that small but honored company of New England divines, who had been able to extri- cate their minds from the dogmas of Calvin, and to discover and appreciate the native worth of simple, primitive christianity." 1
After Mr. Briant's death, an invitation to settle here was extended to the eccentric Dr. Barnes of Scituate, but he declined.
1. This letter was written by President John Adams to Dr. Marsh in refer- ence to the first effort made to establish liberal theology in the first parish :
Quincy, May 15th, 1815.
" Dear Doctor,
"I thank you for your favor of the 10th, and the pamphlet enclosed, entitled, ' American Unitarianism.' I have turned over its leaves, and found nothing that was not familiarly known to me. In the preface, Unitarianism is repre- sented as only thirty years old in New England. I can testify as a witness to its old age. Sixty-five years ago, my own minister, the Rev. Lemuel Briant ;
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On Oct. Sth, 1754, Anthony Wibird was unanimously chosen pastor of the Braintree First Church. He was born in Ports- month, N. H., and graduated at Harvard College in the year 1747. At first it was voted that he should receive a settlement of £133 Gs. 8d. lawful money, and £80 yearly salary. He declined the invitation, but being requested to reconsider the matter, he accepted the offer finally made him, which was, that he should receive £100 salary and no settlement.
The church records contain the following : "Wednesday, Feb- ruary the fifth, 1755, Anthony Wibird was ordained pastor of the first church of Christ in Braintree. The churches sent to were, the second and third churches in said town, the Rev. Mr. Niles, pastor of the second, and the Rev. Mr. Taft, pastor of the third; to the Rev. Messrs. Sewall and Prince of Boston ; to the first church in Cambridge, the Rev. Mr. Appleton, pastor ; to the first church in Portsmouth, the Rev. Mr. Langdon, pastor ; the Rev. Mr. Bowman, pastor of the church in Dorchester; the Rev. Mr. Robbins, pastor of the church in Milton ; the Rev. Mr. Smith of Weymouth ; the Rev. Mr. Gay of Hingham, and the Rev. Mr. Dunbar, pastor of a church in Stoughton. The Rev. Mr. Langdon began with prayer. The Rev. Mr. Appleton preached from those words in the 10th Levit. 3d, ' I will be sanc- tified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified.' The Rev. Mr. Gay gave the charge. The Rev. Mr. Dunbar, the right hand of fellowship."
Mr. Whitney in his history in speaking of Wibird, says, " he was a learned man, though in his habits somewhat eccentric, and withal of great dignity, and beloved and respected by his peo- ple." He died June 4th, 1800, in the 46th year of his ministry, and his remains lie in the same tomb with Mr. Hancock. In the church records is the following notice : "Died June 4th, Rev.
Dr. Jonathan Mayhew of the West Church in Boston; the Rev. Mr. Shute, of Hingham; the Rev. John Brown, of Cohasset; and perhaps equal to all, if not above all, the Rev. Mr. Gay, of Hingham, were Unitarians. Among the laity how many could I name, lawyers, physicians, tradesmen, farmers! But at present I will name only one, Richard Cranch, a man who had studied divinity, and Jewish and Christian antiquities, more than any clergyman now existing in New England.
JOHN ADAMS."
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Anthony Wibird, senior pastor of the Congregational Church in Quiney, aged 72. ITis funeral was attended on the 7th, when the Rev. Mr. Williams of Weymouth made the prayer, and the Rev. Mr. Weld of Braintree preached from the words of the Apostle Paul, 'I have finished .my course.'" Mr. Wibird for many years prior to his death was unable, from bodily infirmities, to attend upon the duties of his office, consequently it was neces- sary to supply his pulpit with other clergymen the greater part of the time. Mr. Whitman, afterwards a lawyer in Pembroke, and Rev. Mr. Flint, afterwards a minister in Cohasset, received ealls to settle as colleagues with Mr. Wibird, but did not accept them.
Rev. Peter Whitney having supplied the pulpit a short time, was invited to settle, and was ordained Feb. 5th, 1800. The services at his ordination were by the following clergymen : Introductory prayer, by Rev. Prof. Ware of Cambridge, then minister at Hingham ; sermon by Rev. Mr. Whitney of North- borough ; ordaining prayer by Rev. Dr. Fisk of West Cam- bridge ; charge by Rev. Mr. Cummings of Billerica ; right hand of fellowship by Rev. Mr. McKean of Milton ; concluding prayer by Rev. Mr. Harris of Dorchester. Mr. Whitney was born at Northborough, Jan. 19th, 1770. He was the son of Rev. Peter Whitney of Northborough, and grandson of Rev. Aaron Whit- ney of Petersham ; he graduated from Harvard University in 1791. His death occurred suddenly March 3d, 1843, he being seventy-four years of age.
In 1835, William Parsons Lunt received and accepted a call to become a colleague pastor with Mr. Whitney, who was then advanced in years and not reluctant to divide the labors of his office with a younger man. The services of installation took place on the third of June, that year. The order of services were as follows, namely : Introductory prayer and selections from the Scriptures by Rev. Mr. Whitney of West Roxbury ; sermon by Rev. Mr. Frothingham of Boston ; prayer of installation by Rev. Peter Whitney of Quiney ; charge by Rev. Dr. Parkman of Bos- ton ; right hand of fellowship by Rev. Mr. Cunningham of Dor- chester; address to the society by Rev. Mr. Gannett of Boston; concluding prayer by Rev. Mr. Huntoon of Milton. Mr. Lunt was born in Newburyport, Mass., April 21st, 1805. While quite
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young his parents removed to Boston, where he commenced his school education ; at the age of ten he was sent to prepare for college at an academy in the town of Milton ; he entered Harvard College in 1819, graduating in 1823. The year subsequent to his graduation was spent in teaching school in Plymouth. From Plymouth he returned to Boston and commenced the study of law; but soon became convinced that this was not the profes- sion to which, either by his nature or his habits, he was adapted. He entered the Theological School at Cambridge in 1825. Before he had completed the prescribed term of theological study, he was invited to the pastoral charge of the Second Congregational Unitarian Society, in the city of New York, which, although it had been gathered some time before and had already erected its house of worship, had never, until his settlement, enjoyed a stated ministry. For six years previous to this period the Rev. William Ware had been the only minister of the Unitarian faith in that great city. Mr. Robbins says, " hand in hand they walked, side by side they toiled, for more than five years, meekly and faith- fully fulfilling their sacred ministry." Mr. Lunt obtained a dis- mission from the church in New York in November, 1833. The interval between that period and his settlement in Quincy, was employed in recruiting his strength by comparative rest, and in the occasional supply of vacant pulpits.
Mr. Lunt left Quincy on the first of January, 1857, to visit the Holy Land, he having for many years cherished a desire to visit that region. On the 22d of February, he wrote from Cairo : "Our tent is now pitched in the great square opposite my win- dow, and yesterday we tried for the first time the camel's back. It is more like a dream than anything which has ever happened to me. Only fifty-three days have elapsed since I left home and now, here I am, with my most cherished plan about to be accom- plished ! How amazing it seems to me to be commencing a jour- ney in which, all the way through, the Bible is the best guide- book ! Our expectation is to be in Jerusalem in about forty days, which will bring us to the 6th of April. Easter this year falls on the 10th of April, and that will be a truly interesting occasion to be in Jerusalem. You will not, therefore, expect to hear from me or of me for a long time after this. But I trust
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in the kind care that has preserved me thus far, to enable me to carry through to a happy result this, the darling wish of my life." On the 28th of February he writes from the desert itself, a few miles distant from Suez : "Our ride in the desert has been bean- tiful, the atmosphere has been clear and bracing. I never enjoyed any scenery more highly. At sunrise this morning, while the Bedouins were striking the tents and loading the cam- els, our party walked forth to enjoy the exhilarating air. The hills on either side, although composed of nothing but stone and sand, yet presented the most beautiful forms against the clear sky, and were colored with the softest tints. Every shade imagina- ble of brown and purple was displayed upon their many angles, and mingled with the masses of shade. I have just mounted one of them, and with a telescope, had the pleasure of seeing the Red Sea, stretching its blue line down from Suez, and beyond it the hills of Asia. I never felt better in my life, and everything looks inviting before me." His tone was cheerful-ever jubilant. He little thought then that in a few short days he should pass away even before reaching the sought-for goal, but so it proved.
The day after leaving Sinai, a disease which had been coming on stealthily for several days previous, began to manifest more decided symptoms, and was evidently fastened upon him. The only chance of relief was in getting to some inhabitable place. He was carried forward for three or four days, by short stages, . as carefully and gently as was possible on a camel's back. They halted at Akaba, a small and mean village of Arabia Petraea, sit- uated at the northern extremity of the Elanitic gulf, the east arm of the Red Sea. Every thing was done to comfort the inva- lid that the skill and kindness of his intelligent fellow-travellers could suggest or supply. But it was in vain. While neither they or he anticipated immediate danger, he was already beyond the reach of human aid. The second night at Akaba, after a short fever, attended with delirium, a deep sleep fell upon him, and in it he passed away. Decently and reverently, on the morning of the 21st of March, his mortal remains were laid away in the sand. A rude heap of stones marks the spot.1 .
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