USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Dedham > History of the Clapboard Trees or Third Parish, Dedham, Mass. : now the Unitarian Parish, West Dedham, 1736-1886 > Part 3
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11
Josiah Dwight, Joseph Ellis,
Thomas Herring, John Brackett,
Daniel Fisher, Joseph Ellis, 2nd.,
John Gay, John Baker,
Nathaniel Gay,
John Richards,
Lusher Gay, Benjamin Fairbanks.
Jonathan Onion,
These persons included less than one-third of the mem- bers of the parish. The first assessment roll, made in the
28
THE CLAPBOARD TREES PARISH
spring of 1737, contained forty-three names, as follows : Lieut. John Baker, Eliphalet Baker, John Baker, Jr., Tim- othy Baker, Jeremiah Baker, Samuel Badcock, Ensign Joseph Colburn, Ephraim Colburn, Samuel Colburn, Joseph Dean, Antony Dier, Jeremiah Dean, Joseph Ellis, Jonathan Ellis, Deacon Joseph Ellis, Aaron Ellis, William Ellis, Ebenezer Ellis, Samuel Everet, Daniel Fisher, Widow Han- nah Fisher, Benjamin Fairbanks, Nathaniel Gay, Lusher Gay, John Gay, Stephen Gay, Daniel Gay, John Gay Tayler, Thomas Herring, Samuel Herring, Samuel Haws, John Haws, Jr., Ebenezer Lewis, Elisha Pike, John MacNab, Deacon Jonathan Onion, Peter Tompson, Jedediah Tucker, Lieut. Jabez Pond, Eliphalet Pond, John Richards, Joseph Richards, Josiah Whitemore. Within the next ten years appeared the names of Kingsbury, Belcher, Campbell, Draper, Pilcher, Cheever, Buckmaster, Whiting, and Cham- berlain. These names are here spelled as they appear on the records of the parish. It may also be added, that the names of the first members of the church were preserved by Mr. Thacher in connection with his sermon on the his- tory of the church and parish published in 1801.
The records of the parish were written in a simple, direct, and manly fashion. The first clerk was an educated man, a graduate of Harvard College. He wrote down only what was legally the result of each meeting; but we are sometimes able to read between his lines, and to guess at more than he directly tells us. As a specimen of his work, and as showing just what the records contain, the first two or three pages may be transcribed verbatim. The spelling, punctuation, and use of capital letters have been carefully preserved; but it ought to be said that the manner of writing the names of committees, and other details, make the absence of punctuation seem less unfitting on the writ- ten than it does on the printed page.
Dedham February ye 14th 1737.
Att a Precinct Meeting warned as the Law directs The Precinct chose Lieut John Baker Moderator Joseph Richards Clerk & sworn. Joseph Ellis Lieut John Baker Joseph Richards Precinct Comttee.
29
REV. JOSIAH DWIGHT, THE FIRST MINISTER
I It was put to the Precinct whether they would grant Money towards finishing their Meeting House, & it passed in the Affirm :
2 It was put to the Precinct whether they would grant one Hundred and twenty Pounds towards finishing their Meeting House passed in the Affirm :
3 The Precinct chose Lieut. John Baker Lusher Gay Joseph Rich- ards a Committee to lay out the above granted Money on ye House.
Dedham March ye Ist. 1737
Att a Precinct Meeting in the ClapboardTrees warned as the Law directs. The Inhabitants Met & chose Lieut. John Baker Moderator Joseph Richards Precinct Clerk Joseph Ellis Lieut John Baker Joseph Richards Precinct Comttee & Assessors & Sworn as the Law directs Joseph Ellis Junr. Precinct Treasurer & Sworn John Richards Precinct Collector & Sworn
I It was put to the Precinct whether they would buy the House the Revd. Mr. Dwight now lives in for a Parrish House it passed in the Affirmative.
2 It was put to the Precinct whether they would grant the Sum of one Hundred & ten Pounds for to buy sd House, it passed in the Affirm- ative
3 It was put to the Precinct whether they would choose a Comttee to examin Accounts about sd House & lay out sd Money on sd House It passed in the Affirmative
4 Nathl Gay Ensign Joseph Colburn Joseph Richards a Comttee chose to examin sd accts & lay out sd Money
5 It was put to the Precinct if it were their Mind to grant fifteen Pounds to pay the Gen : Courts Comttee & buy a Law Book & Precinct Book. It passed in the Affirmative
Dedham June 27th. 1737
Att a Precinct Meeting in the Clapboard Trees warned according to Law: The Inhabitants met & chose Lieut. John Baker Moderator of sd Meeting
I It was put. if it be the Mind of the Precinct to make all the Money's granted in sd Precinct by the last years Tax Bill passed in the Affirmative
2 To see if it be the Mind of the Precinct that all the Money's granted in sd. Precinct be made in one Rate. passed in Affirm.
3 To see if it be the Mind of the Precinct to do any Thing towards diging a well for the Precinct House passed in the Affirm :
4 To see if it be the Mind of the Precinct to grant ten Pounds towards digging sd well. passed in Affirmative
5 The Precinct made choise of Deacon Onion to lay out sd ten Pounds in digging sd Well
: 30
THE CLAPBOARD TREES PARISH
Dedham March 3d. 1738
Att a Precinct Meeting in the ClapboardTree Precinct warned according to Law. The Inhabitants met & chose Lieut. John Baker Moderator of sd. Meeting. Joseph Richards Precinct Clerk & sworn att the same Time by the Moderator of sd. Meeting Joseph Ellis John Baker Joseph Ellis Junr. Comttee. & Assessors & Sworn as the Law directs Stephen Gay Collector & sworn att the same Time by the Clerk Joseph Ellis Junr. Treasurer. & sworn
Dedham April 17th. 1738
Att a Precinct Meeting in the ClapboardTree Precinct warned ac- cording to Law. The Inhabitants met & chose Lieut. John Baker Moderator of sd. Meeting.
I. It was put ; to see if it be the Mind of the Precinct to grant Lib- erty to those Inhabitants of sd. Precinct as inclined to build their own Pews att their own Cost & Charge. passed in the Affirmative.
2. To see if it be the Mind of the Precinct That the Inhabitants of sd. Precinct that incline to build their own Pews shall make Choise of their Place to build upon (successively) beginning with the highest in the last single Rate passed in the Affirmative
3. It was put ; if it be the Mind of the Precinct to grant eighty Pounds of Money towards finishing the Precinct Meeting House passed in Affirmative.
Dedham July ye 5th. 1738
Att a Meeting in the ClapboardTree Precinct warned according to Law; The Inhabitants met & chose Lieut. John Baker Moderator of sd Meeting.
I It was put to see if it be the Mind of the Precinct that Messr. Natll. Colburn Richard Ellis Ebenr. Kingsberry Danll. Draper & Timo- thy Draper may vote in any affair relating to Pews. passed in the Affirmative.
2 To see if it be the Mind of the Precinct that the Liberty granted to the Inhabitants of this Parrish to build Pews att their own Cost & Charge should run to them & their Wives dureing both their natural Lives & then to return to the Precinct for regulation, the Precinct first paying the Prime Cost to the Heirs of the deceased passed in the Affirm :
3 To see if it be the Mind of the Precinct to grant twenty Pounds of Money to be added to the eighty Pounds already granted towards finish- ing their Meeting House passed in the Affirm :
4 To see if it be the Mind of the Precinct by vote to make the House they now Meet in for publick Worship their own passed in the Affirm :
The first meeting of the parish of which there is a record was held Feb. 14, 1737, when the precinct voted to finish
3I
REV. JOSIAH DWIGHT, THE FIRST MINISTER
the meeting-house, which was at this time nothing but a frame covered with boards, and without pews. The vote with reference to the possession of the meeting-house by the parish may refer to the legal action necessary in order to secure its ownership by the parish or it may refer to its pur- chase from individuals, but probably the former, as there is no other mention of the subject and no money was voted for buying it. For several years, the meeting-house was a sub- ject of much thought and labor to the members of the par- ish. What they did is not very interesting in itself, but it will help to bring before us one side of the life of that time. In April, 1738, it was voted to give the inhabitants the privi- lege of building their own pews, the highest bidder having the first choice as to locality. This would indicate the democratic character of the parish, for in some other parishes at this time the people were rigidly seated according to their social rank. In September of the same year, they voted to build four seats on each side of the meeting-house "for their pres- ent use and service," and to build a pair of stairs into the gallery. In 1739, it was voted to pay for the pew in which Mrs. Dwight sat, and to build a pair of stairs up gallery, and lay down the gallery floor, and finish the fore seats all round. In 1740, the finishing of the pews and the completion of the gallery again claimed much of the attention of the parish meeting.
The land on which the first meeting-house was located was given by Joseph Ellis, who lived on the spot where the house of Col. James M. Ellis now stands. It was forty-four rods in extent, and was surveyed and plotted in 1754. The house of Jonathan Onion stood near where the barn of Mr. Greenwood Fuller is now located. The meeting-house was half way between these two houses, but more to the west, on land now occupied by an orchard. On his first coming to live in the parish, Mr. Dwight occupied a house which stood where the house of Greenwood Fuller is now located ; and tradition has it that the present house contains a part of the old one. At its second meeting, held March 3, 1737, the parish voted one hundred and twenty pounds to buy this
-
32
THE CLAPBOARD TREES PARISH
for a parish house. At this time or very soon after, ten acres of land were bought from Jonathan Onion, which he described as "near my own dwelling on the northerly side of the road leading to Pond Plain." He gave one and one-half acres to the parish ; one acre each was paid for by Joseph Ellis, Thomas Herring, Daniel Fisher, Nathaniel Gay, Lusher Gay, John Gay, Jr., Benjamin Fairbanks, and John Richards ; one-quarter of an acre by Joseph Ellis, Jr .; and ten rods each by Dr. Joseph Richards, Timothy Richards, Samuel Richards, Josiah Dwight, and Michael Dwight .* The house was located on the southerly side of this land. The plot made of this piece of land at the time still exists among the parish papers, and has been reproduced in fac- simile for this work, but somewhat reduced in size. In 1740, the land was fenced by the parish.
The first minister, Josiah Dwight, was born in Dedham, Feb. 8, 1670, and was over sixty-four years of age when he began his work in the parish. His father was Capt. Timo- thy Dwight, who was one of the leading men of the town, of the second generation. He was born in England, and came to Dedham with his father, John Dwight, when a boy. He was for ten years town clerk, twenty-five years selectman, and in the General Court for two years. He was a man of great energy and influence. Four of his sons, Nathaniel, Josiah, Henry, and Michael, have had long lines of descend- ants, who are found in every part of the country, and in places of responsibility and trust. The many professors, teachers, clergymen, and authors of the Dwight name are the descendants of Nathaniel and Henry.
The eighth child of Capt. Timothy Dwight, there being fourteen in all, received his early education at home, gradu- ated from Harvard in 1687, obtaining his second degree in 1720. In the summer of 1690, he was installed as the first minister of Woodstock, Conn., that town being owned by Roxbury and under Massachusetts laws. The town was a new one, the people not numerous or wealthy. A church
* This was a brother of the Rev. Josiah Dwight, being the son of Capt. Timothy Dwight by his third wife.
33
REV. JOSIAH DWIGHT, THE FIRST MINISTER
was built in 1699, but his salary was small and not promptly paid. He was paid his salary partly in land, which he cultivated, and thus gave offence to some of his parish. He was sometimes hasty in speech, and did not always refrain from using sharp words; and a gradual feeling of opposition to him was developed. He was voted more sal- ary in 1730, and it was hinted to him that he should give more time to his parish. Some years of bitter contention followed, and then he asked to be dismissed. At a town meeting in 1726, he acknowledged his faults, and promised to amend them; but the town voted, sixty to one, and one neutral, that his labors would not be any longer to the profit of the people. In September, 1726, he was dismissed, after a pastorate of more than thirty-six years. He then went to live in Thompson, Conn. The neighboring churches, believ- ing he had not been justly dealt with, took up his cause and called a council; none of the charges against him were proven. He admitted rashness of speech and want of meek- ness in some cases, but this seems to have been the extent of his errors.
After leaving the Clapboard Trees, at the age of seventy- two, Mr. Dwight returned to Thompson, where he died in 1748, at the age of seventy-seven. His son-in-law, the Rev. Marston Cabot, was the minister in Thompson; and in his genial society the last days of Mr. Dwight were cheerfully spent. He was a man of a positive character, much energy of will, a good preacher, and somewhat singular in manner. He was not always wise and discreet, used too sharp a tongue, and was inclined to contend for his own rights. Mr. Thacher said that he " was supposed by his contempo- raries to be a man of good natural abilities and considerable acquirements in ancient learning. He was well versed in old. school divinity, and was respected by the more enlight- ened, as a scholar and a gentleman. Though a man of piety and virtue, he was singular in his manners. His peculi- arities increased in his old age."
Mr. Dwight married Mary Partridge in 1695. She was the daughter of Col. Samuel Partridge, of Hadley; and his
34
THE CLAPBOARD TREES PARISH
brother Nathaniel, who settled in Northampton, married her sister Mehitable. He had thirteen children,- Anna, John, Ruth, Dorothy, Flint, Mehitable, Eunice, Mary, Elizabeth, Theodore, and three who died young. Only his younger children could have accompanied him to the Clapboard Trees in 1730, and possibly none but Elizabeth and Theo- dore. Elizabeth married Jeremiah Baker, and lived on Fox Hill until her death. Theodore died unmarried at the age of thirty-two.
The genealogy of the Dwight family has been very fully given in The History of the Descendants of John Dwight, of Dedham, Mass., a work written by Benjamin W. Dwight, and published in 1874. It is in two large volumes, of over five hundred pages each. Forty-two pages of this work are devoted to the Rev. Josiah Dwight and his descendants. There is also a sketch of his life in the third volume of Sibley's Harvard Graduates.
About the year 1725 there was a considerable agitation in the churches in regard to the methods of singing. The old method of "lining out " hymns was discarded by some, and it was proposed to give to the art of singing more of expression. On this subject, Mr. Dwight preached a ser- mon, which was afterward printed, and with a title-page worded as follows : "An Essay to Silence the Outcry that has been made in some Places against Regular Singing in A Sermon Preach'd at Framingham. By the Reverend Mr. Josiah Dwight, Pastor of the Church of Christ in Woodstock. Boston : Printed for John Eliot, and Sold at his Shop at the South-End of the Town. 1725." The text was from Acts xvii., 6,- "These that have turned the world upside down are come here also."
Mr. Dwight began his sermon with a consideration of how new things may be misunderstood, and how they may be thought to be turning the world upside down, when, in real- ity, their effect is wholly good. He then spoke of singing as a natural gift, and of the pleasure it gives when rightly used. To him, it was a good gift of the Father, to be culti- vated and enjoyed. Then he proceeded to answer the objec-
35
REV. JOSIAH DWIGHT, THE FIRST MINISTER
tions raised against the proposed reform. He said that the elderly should give up the old way, if the new one elevates the spirit of worship. To those who said that the rejection of the old way would be a condemnation of the fathers, he said : "And I see not but some congregations, and sundry in many more, are to be blamed for their ignorance and heedlessness about the tunes, that may be can't distin- guish one tune from another when sung, and slide out of one tune into another, and do not mind it, or sing the lines of several tunes for one, when a little care and study would have saved the disorder. Therefore I would propose, that there might be many advantages attending a practice which I could wish all our congregations were come into, viz., to name the tune together with the psalm, and all the skill- ful of the congregation be sure to fall in with the first note and syllable ; nor is this a bare proposal without experiment, for some of us have been some time in proof hereof, and see its expediency." He said that the new way is singing in the spirit as much as the old way was, that the disturbance of regular singing was only incidental, that it is approved by Scripture as much as the old way, and that it is a help in promoting piety and devotion.
The references to Mr. Dwight in the parish records are of a business character, for the most part. After the purchase of the house he lived in, the next mention of him was in connection with the digging of a well at the parsonage. This not having been done, at the next meeting it was voted to do something farther towards digging a well for the Rev. Mr. Dwight, "and also to build him a little gate." His salary was one hundred pounds a year, with firewood. In 1742, his salary was voted; but no firewood was allowed him. At a meeting held November 12 of that year, the question was raised of getting another minister; but the proposition was voted down. The difficulties, whatever they were, increased as the months went by; and March 16, 1743, it was voted "to settle another minister agreeable with the consent of their Revd. Pastor."
At a meeting held April 13, it was discussed whether
1146756
36
THE CLAPBOARD TREES PARISH
"the Precinct would have preaching among themselves," while only twenty-five pounds were voted for that purpose. A special meeting was held May 20, to act upon a communi- cation sent to the church by Mr. Dwight. At this meeting,
It was put : to see if it be the Mind of the Precinct to make the Revd. Dwight a generous Grant of fifty Pounds old Tenour on Condition he quits the pastoral Office among us & is dismissed by his consent att a Chh meeting.
This motion was carried in the affirmative; but John Richards, John Gay, Peter Thompson, and William Ellis entered their dissent against the vote. The communication from Mr. Dwight was in these words, the spelling of the records being retained : -
To the Chh of Christ att the Clapboard Trees in Dedham : Hond & beloved,
Tis well known to all the World, you settled me in this Place with the utmost Chearfulness & Pleasure; and for Years together spake of my Ministerial Labors as Superior to those of any ClergyMan round about : and as to my Carriage among you, I am conscious to myself, it has been universally & entirely innocent. However, as there is a Fire of Contention kindled among us, which it seems, cannot be extinguised but by my Departure, I consent, from a Regard to the Glory of God & your Welfare, to quit the pastoral Office among you, upon your regular Dismission of me att a Chh Meeting; and upon the following Condi- tion, namely ; That you make me a generous Present of fifty Pounds old Tenour; & in Token of hearty Love and Regards, a Select Number of you accompany me & my Family to Thompson, when I am ready to remove
I am, Gentlemen
Your very humble Servant Josiah Dwight.
DEDHAM May 16th 1743.
Mr. Dwight was dismissed according to his request, but whether the " select number" of the parish accompanied him to Woodstock the records do not indicate.
The first parish tax was levied on fifty persons, one of
37
REV. JOSIAH DWIGHT, THE FIRST MINISTER
them being a widow. In 1765 there were forty-two houses in the parish and three hundred and thirteen inhabitants. The people were nearly all farmers, lived very simply, and enjoyed life under humble circumstances. The first clerk of the parish, Joseph Richards, was a physician, "eminent in his profession " according to Mr. Thacher, and he was a justice of the peace, a colonel of militia, and a member of the House of Representatives for six years in succession, from 1744-50. He was born Feb. 25, 1701, graduated at Harvard College in 1721, and died April 18, 1761, "leaving behind him a very amiable and honorable name." The Lieut. John Baker, who was the moderator at all the parish meetings for the first two years, was probably the John Baker who lived on Fox Hill, and whose father settled the farm now occupied by W. E. Chadwick, about the year 1670. The second John was born in 1677, married Sarah Whiting in 1701, and died in 1768. His youngest son married the youngest daughter of the Rev. Josiah Dwight. This farm was owned by the Baker family for nearly two hundred years. Deacon Joseph Ellis obtained license "to keep tavern " July 28, 1732; and his tavern contained one room on the first floor and one sleeping room above. It was situated near the meeting-house, probably. Much that seems necessary to our life was then wanting. The books were few and poor. There were no daily newspapers, and the few issued weekly were not much worth the reading. About this time was introduced the custom of singing the hymn through without its being "lined out" by the dea- cons. In 1751, the first church gave up the use of the New England Psalms, and adopted the hymns of Tate and Brady. Even then, the old things were being left behind, and innovations were being introduced ; but these incidents show how simple was the life of that time.
In his History of Dedham, Worthington speaks of this period as one of great disorder and ignorance. He says the schools were at their lowest stage, and that "few could have had any instruction." He mentions the fact, as an in- dication of the ignorance of the people at about this time,
38
THE CLAPBOARD TREES PARISH
that the town records were poorly kept. The penmanship was poor, the spelling antiquated, and the grammar not correct. In the second parish (South Dedham, now Nor- wood), in all these respects the records show an absence of education. As a specimen of the spelling, the word oathor- docts will suffice. In the Clapboard Trees parish, however, the records were well kept, and in a manner superior to those of the town or the first and second parishes. The penmanship was excellent, the language good, and the spell- ing fairly modern. The old spelling and the use of contrac- tions were not so common as in the town and first and sec- ond parish records.
On the 26th of February, 1809, the last sermon was preached in the first meeting-house of the parish, by Mr. Thacher, the minister at that time. In that sermon, he described the men who built it, and with that knowledge of them which came to him from their sons. No better tribute can be paid to their memory than that which he then of- fered : "Instead of dwelling in ceiled houses painted with vermillion, while the house of God lay waste, the first settlers of this precinct were content with cottages of the most simple construction, with food of the coarsest nature, and with the plainest dress, that they might obtain a conven- ient and decent habitation for the King of Heaven, and might perpetuate the rituals of Christianity according to the Scripture. They were willing to travel through the world like pilgrims and strangers, that they might prove their regard to the Gospel, and their promptness to suffer for the cause of Christ. Was not this spirit exemplified in rearing this house where we now stand ? This was the work of a few unincorporated individuals, bound to each other by no other law than zeal and love.
IV.
REV. ANDREW TYLER, THE SECOND MINISTER.
THE period from 1740 to 1780 was one of great impor- tance in the history of our country. The colonists were learning to associate together for common protection and benefit, and they were being gradually trained for the com- ing struggle for independence. The struggle for supremacy in America between France and England went on during this time, resulting in victory for England; and this was but the prelude to the Revolution, which soon followed.
We turn from these events of the forming of a nation, to see how the people lived who were learning the worth of liberty, and how to gain it. In our study of the great events of history, we are apt to forget the homely details of every- day life, which make it possible for men to prize truth and to struggle for it. On the other hand, in considering the his- tory of a town or parish, we must constantly keep in mind the larger events of the outside world, or we shall fail to see a cause for much that men do and think. The Clapboard Trees parish was not long without a minister after the departure of Mr. Dwight. On the 5th of Oct., 1743, only three months after Mr. Dwight had left, the parish "pro- ceeded to the choice of a minister to settle among them, and when the votes were counted, the Revd. Mr. Andrew Tyler was chose by a great majority." Then it was voted to give him "and his heirs forever the precinct house, with four acres of land, to encourage him to settle among us." This was in accordance with an almost universal custom of that day, which made it necessary that a parish should pro- vide a minister with a home or a considerable estate on his settlement. He was expected to live in the parish all his life, and, once settled, to remain until his death. Sometimes
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.