USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Dedham > History of the Clapboard Trees or Third Parish, Dedham, Mass. : now the Unitarian Parish, West Dedham, 1736-1886 > Part 4
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Plan of four acres of Land with a house & Barn Thereon Given By the Clabbord tree Parish in Derham to The Revered Mr Andrew Tyler Their Pastor and was bounded out by Cap. Daniel grapes & meg~ Ebenerer Kingbary & Daniel Gay Committee for thety Eno the air m. Tyler Being Prosent acute Surveyed march & 14th 1754. by John metialf
Daniel Drasen
Elene Bar Kingsbury
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Daniel Gay
Parish Land
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Clabbordtree Parish Land
.Stake & flower
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PLOT OF THE LAND GIVEN MR. TYLER.
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REV. ANDREW TYLER, THE SECOND MINISTER
money was given him, sometimes land, and sometimes a house. For the first year, Mr. Tyler was granted "one hun- dred and sixty pounds a year old tenor for his salary, and the improvement of the remainder of the precinct lands, as long as he is our minister." At a meeting of the parish, held October 31, it was voted to give Mr. Tyler twenty-five cords of wood after the first three years. This, also, was in accordance with a custom of the time,-that the minister was to be provided with his firewood ; and always the wood was furnished or its equivalent in money given. It is probable that this custom was the result of the poverty of the people in the colonies and the simplicity of their life. They had plenty of wood, but little money ; and it was easier for them to cut the minister's wood for him than to give him a larger salary.
A few days after being invited to settle with the parish, Mr. Tyler sent his letter of acceptance. It is an interesting illustration of the ministerial mind of that period, and is almost ludicrous in its mixture of piety and thrift. It was incumbent on Mr. Tyler, as a minister, to make a great use of religious phrases, and they were probably sincere in his case ; but he mixed with them a careful consideration of the worldly advantages to be obtained from his situation.
BOSTON, Octbr. 22d. 1743.
To the Chh & Congregation belonging to the Clapboard Tree Parish in Dedham, to be communicated.
Dear Brethren :
When I consider the work of the Ministry, & take a View of the many Difficulties that attend it, and att the same Time see my own insufficiency for the right Discharge of such an important Trust, and consider of that most dreadful Curs with which they are threatned who do the Work of the Lord negligently, I am almost ready to give up all Thoughts of entering upon that Business - tho' noble and excellent in it Self. And, indeed, I should be quite discouraged were there not many gracious Promises made to such as are really desirous of being faithfull & successful in the Work of the Lord. But when I take a View of that gracious Promise of our ascended Saviour to his Disciples & so to his Ministers in all Ages, Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the End of the World. This much encourages me in En-
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THE CLAPBOARD TREES PARISH
gaging in this noble Employ; an Employment which there is not an Angel in Heaven but would clap his Wings for Joy to be engaged in. But when I look furthur into the future & eternal State, & meditate upon that Glory which is promised to the faithful Ministers of Christ, They that be wise shall shine as the Brightness of the Firmament, & they that turn many to Righteousness as the Starrs forever & ever. These considerations seem to drive all my Fears away; & animate & encourage me to a Performance of that difficult Office. My Brethren, I hope when I first devoted myself to the Service of God in the Min- istry, the Motives which induced me were a Sincere Desire of bring- ing Glory to my God & being an Instrument in the Hand of God of bringing many Souls to Glory. And as I hope these were my Views att first, so I humbly trust I act from the same now. And that my ear- nest Desire of God's Glory being advanced, & Happiness of precious Souls being promoted is as great if not greater than ever. And now, as God, in whose Hands are the Hearts of all Men, has been pleased in his holy & wise Providence to incline you to make Choice of me, his most un Worthy Servant, to be your Pastor, & has so greatly united you in your Choice of me, I can't but take Notice of the Hand of God in it, especially when so many other Churches are torn with Quarrels & Dis- putes ; and have, I hope, thought seriously upon your Invitation & the Offers you have made me for my Maintenace. I have advised with my Friends, who, I trust, have the Interest of our Lord Jesus & his Religion att Heart; and, as I hope & trust, have been careful in committing my Cause into his Hands who is infinite in Wisdom, beging of him all that Light & Direction I stood in need of in acting worthy of such an im- portant Affair. I came upon the whole to this Conclusion, that I would accept of your Invitation & do now declare my Acceptance of it, hoping and expecting that from Time to Time you will make such Additions to what you now offer me as may serve to maintain me comfortably & hand- somely so long as God in his holy & wise Providence shall continue me among you. And also that you pass a vote that you will find me my Wood, after three years from this Time. And these Things, my Breth- ren, are so reasonable in themselves, & I make no Manner of Doubt, appear so reasonable to you, that I need not use one Argument to per- suade you that they are so. And now here upon, my dear Brethren, I devote myself to the Service of God. I offer myself to you to spend & be spent in your Souls Service. And O my Brethren, pray for me. I am but young & unexperienced & need your fervent Prayers to God for me that I may be found faithful to God & your Souls, least after I have preached to others I be a castaway myself. I consider the important & weighty. Charge I am about to undertake, & let this stir up the Gift of Prayer in you & your spirits of Prayer. And I, that God would make me a great Blessing to you, & you to me, and many of you be Seals of my Ministry for my Comfort here & Crown of rejoicing in the
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REV., ANDREW TYLER, THE SECOND MINISTER
great Day & forever in Heaven; & when God shall right up the People may it be said that such & such were born to God here. And when he shall make up his Jewels may you & I be found of that blessed Number in whom the Riches of free Grace shall be admired & magnified forever & ever, and who shall Joyn the Angels & Saints above in the Hallelujahs of that Temple above not made with Hands where his Worship is pure unmixed & eternal. Amen & amen.
Your Servt. in the Gospel of our Lord Jesus,
Mr. Tyler was ordained Nov. 30, 1743, and on the same day was admitted a member of the church by a letter of recommendation from the Brattle Street Church in Boston. The churches in Brattle Street, Boston, Medfield, Natick, Milton, Hingham, the first in Dedham, and the second in Roxbury were invited to join in the ordination. The prayer was made by the Rev. Dr. Gay, of Hingham. The sermon was preached from Revelation vi., 2, by the Rev. Mr. Cooper, of Boston. The charge was by the Rev. Mr. Baxter, of Medfield, and the right hand of fellowship by the Rev. Samuel Dexter, of Dedham.
Mr. Tyler was born in Boston, Aug. 20, 1719, the son of Andrew Tyler, Esq., of that city. He graduated at Harvard in 1738; and he died in Boston, May 3, 1775. His zeal for the royal cause, when the colonists were beginning to agitate for liberty, was the original cause of his trouble with his parishioners in later years. He married, March 20, 1745-46, on her sixteenth birthday, Mary Richards, daughter of Dr. Joseph Richards, first clerk of the parish. They had nine sons,- Andrew, Joseph, William, Pepperell, George, Belcher, John, David, and one whose name is not known.
Two of Mr. Tyler's sermons were printed in 1756; and they were preached February 8 and 15, "at Dedham, 2d parish." They were published at the desire of the hearers,
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THE CLAPBOARD TREES PARISH
and were on "The Terms of Christianity briefly Considered, and the Reasonableness of them Illustrated." The second sermon was a continuation of the first ; and they were printed together in Boston by Edes & Gill, "at their printing-office next to the Prison, in Queen Street." The text for both sermons was Luke xiv., 26: " If any man come to me, and hate not his father and mother and wife and children and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple."
Each of the two sermons concludes with a "short im- provement." That to the first one is in three parts, in the first of which he said that we may judge of our religion, as to its worth and sincerity, by our comparative subordination of everything to Christ. "Let us be cautioned," he says in the second part, "against imagining that an unkind, morose Behavior towards our fellow Men, and especially our near and dear Relatives, is any part of the Religion of Jesus Christ." In the third part, he said : " Let us be exhorted to think seriously upon the Nature of the Religion of Jesus Christ, and make it our principal Care to get our Affections disengaged from all earthly Enjoyments, and place them principally upon our God, and Redeemer."
The second sermon is an attempt to show the reasonable- ness of the conditions of salvation as they are presented by Christianity. They both are strong, well-reasoned sermons, calculated to make an impression on a congregation, as they evidently did. They indicate that the preacher was a man of fair ability, and that he was inclined, according to the fashion of the day, to give to Christianity a somewhat prac- tical interpretation.
The parish records contain little more than the votes passed at the meetings held from time to time, but they give us hints here and there of what men were doing and thinking. At the meeting when the date of Mr. Tyler's ordination was fixed upon, Joseph Ellis, Nathaniel Colburn, and Ebenezer Kingsbury were appointed a committee to provide suitable entertainment for the ministers and mes- sengers; and seven pounds new tenor or twenty-eight pounds old tenor were voted for this purpose. A dinner
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REV. ANDREW TYLER, THE SECOND MINISTER
and plenty of rum were provided for the ordination, without doubt, as that was the custom of the time. At the parish meeting the next year, it was voted to give Mr. Tyler the loose money put into the contribution box, which was also a custom in most of the churches. The salary was small, and it was added to in this way by the free-will offerings of the people. Mr. Tyler's salary was from sixty to eighty pounds, which was a small sum, owing to the financial de- pression of that period and the want of a stable currency. When the loose money was voted to the minister, it was also decided "to make two lights below the girt, one on each side of the desk in the pulpit." It will be seen by this that the work of completing the church was still going on. In 1745, it was decided to lath and plaster the meeting- house above the gallery floor and overhead the minister's pew, and also to furnish the side galleries with pews. The granting of money for this work was deferred, however, to another meeting, the pressure of the war with the French probably being felt. At this meeting, liberty was given for any one to build horse stables on the bounds or outsides of their lands near the meeting-house. It would seem that Mr. Tyler was the owner of a slave whose name was Weston, and who swept and took the care of the meeting-house from 1748 to 1756. The treasurer's book in 1754 had this entry : " Paid to Westown negro to Mr. Tyler six shillings, it being for taking care of ye meeting house in ye year 1753." A few years later, one of Mr. Tyler's sons performed the same service.
One of the difficulties of the time of the French wars is to be seen on the pages of the record. In 1746 it was voted to give Mr. Tyler " a free gift of forty pounds old tenor on consideration of the scarcity and uncommon price of the necessarys of life," and in 1747 he was granted one hundred and forty pounds old tenor "on account of the great rise of the necessarys of life." For the same cause, his salary in 1748 was three hundred and fifty pounds, and four hundred in 1749. A part of this rise in prices was doubtless due to the unreliable financial methods of the colonies and to the
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THE CLAPBOARD TREES PARISH
depreciation in the currency. In 1750, his salary came back to a normal basis, and was sixty pounds thirteen shillings and fourpence. He was allowed seven pounds six shillings and eightpence for firewood. This remained his salary for several years; but in 1762 it was raised to eighty pounds, while ten pounds were allowed for firewood.
The controversy about the parish lines between the Clap- board Trees and the other parishes in the town was contin- ued for many years, and on several occasions that subject was discussed in the parish meetings or referred to commit- tees for adjustment. A difficulty with the first parish about lands also excited attention. In 1758, the parish meeting chose "Thirteen men to Over See ye Boys on Sabath Days"; and this committee was renewed the following year.
For about twenty years, the ministry of Mr. Tyler was successful, and he was popular with his people. After that time there were causes of dissatisfaction on the part of the congregation, which gathered force for a few years, and then found expression at a parish meeting held Feb. 7, 1769. At that time, a petition was presented, requesting a committee to wait on Mr. Tyler, and ask him on what terms he would give up his pastoral connection. At the meet- ing held the 20th of March, the committee reported that Mr. Tyler had no terms to offer. No salary was granted at this meeting, and such was the action at meetings held in June, September, and November. At a meeting in January, 1770, it was decided to ask the church to join in calling an ecclesiastical council "to give their judgment and advice " in regard to the difficulty, which by this time had grown to large proportions. In a communication addressed by this meeting to the church, the members of the parish say : " You cannot be insensible that the animosities among us are great and melancholy, and attended with many great and unspeakable disadvantages." At the March meeting, Mr. Tyler was voted his salary for the previous year; but the sum was reduced to forty pounds. At the March meeting of 1771 there was still a refusal to grant a salary ; but a
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REV. ANDREW TYLER, THE SECOND MINISTER
committee, consisting of Capt. Daniel Gay, Deacon Joseph Ellis, and Isaac Whiting, was appointed " to prepare reasons to be entered on record to justify the parish in neglecting to grant a salary for the support of the Reverend Andrew Tyler." This committee made a well-written statement of the grievances of the parish, which was adopted by the meeting. That they should have carried their action so far as to prepare such a statement can be understood only when we remember that the settlement of a minister was then a process having a legal significance, and that the minister could hold his place until death, unless the proper means were taken to dispossess him of it. Had it not been for this feeling of the binding connection of minister and parish, which was carefully protected by the laws, it is prob- able Mr. Tyler would have given up his position long before he did. This necessity of resorting to harsh means, to get rid of a man they had ceased to have confidence in, is seen throughout the report of the committee, in the spirit which breathed through it: -
The Committee appointed to prepare Reasons to be entered on Record, to justify the Conduct of the Parish in neglecting to grant a Salary for the Support of the reverend Mr Tyler, have attended that Service, and beg Leave to report the following Draft ; which is humbly submitted.
The Committee find that the Laws of the Province require that a Minister should be learned, orthodox, able, pious, and of good Conversa- tion - and that when a Minister, qualified as above said, is not suitably encouraged, supported or maintained, he may have his Remedy by a legal Process. But your Committee are humbly of Opinion that the Minister of this Parish is very deficient with respect to some of these Qualifications.
As to his Learning, the Committee, not being competent Judges themselves, can only say, that they know some Men of Learning have given Intimations that he was reckoned, when at College, but a very indifferent Scholar - and that Ministers in general are looked upon to be much Superior to him in that Respect, by those who are able to form a proper Judgment.
As to his Orthodoxy, the Parish have never made any public Com- plaint, and therefore the Committee do not think themselves authorized to make any Observations in regard to that Particular.
As to his Ability, (which we take not to imply precisely the same as
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THE CLAPBOARD TREES PARISH
Learning,) if by that is meant what in Scripture is meant, by an able Minister of the New Testament - apt to teach -one who allways feeds his People with Knowledge and Understanding - one thoroughly fur- nished for the good Work of the Ministry - able to convince Gain- sayers - who can comfort as well as reprove - one who is able to govern his own Temper, so as to bear with the Infirmities of others, and to be patient towards all Men -a Workman who needeth not to be ashamed - one who knows how carefully to avoid such Things as gen- der Strife, and which tend to subvert the Hearers - If all this is meant, in the Law, by a Minister's being a Man of Ability, then Mr Tyler, as the Committee humbly conceive, is much deficient as to this Article.
But what is most exceptionable in Mr Tyler's Character is, that he does not appear to be a Man of that Piety and Good Conversation, which the Laws of the Province, as well as the Laws of Christ require. The Committee join Piety and a Good Conversation together, because they think that where the former is the latter will never be wanting.
With respect to his Conversation they are bound to mention, his many rash and unguarded Expressions, from Time to Time uttered, which it would be tedious to enumerate ; and the repeated Instances of his not paying that Regard to Truth which every Christian ought to do.
Mr Tyler has, in the Opinion of the Committee, since the Commence- ment of our present Difficulties, handled the Word of God deceitfully, in order to level his Artillery against those with whom he has been offended - He has been noisy, boisterous and turbulent, and has not observed the Direction to the Servant of the Lord, not to Strive .- He has not exhorted with Longsuffering, Gentleness and Meekness of Wisdom.
In dispensing the Discipline of the Church, the Committee apprehend, he has acted partially and through Prejudice .- They also think his gen- eral Conduct has shown that he has been lifted up with Pride - That he has been far from exhibiting a Pattern of good Works, and has not been careful, as a Minister ought to be, not to give offence; and conse- quently has not been an Example to the People in Conversation and in Charity - and if he has known the State of Christ's Flock, yet he has not adapted his Behaviour and public Performances thereto; but has, by a haughty and overbearing Carriage, increased the Uneasinesses that have subsisted among us, which, had it not been his own Fault, might long ago have been happily accomodated; but now, alas! are past Remedy but by a Seperation.
For the aforementioned Reasons, & others that might be enumer- ated, the Committee are humbly of Opinion, that the Parish are not in Duty bound to grant Mr Tyler any further Means of Support - and they are encouraged to hope that if he should ever make Application
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REV. ANDREW TYLER, THE SECOND MINISTER
therefor by a Process in Law, the Honorable Court will be of the Same Mind.
DANIEL GAY,
JOSEPH ELLIS, Committee. ISAAC WHITING,)
DEDHAM THIRD PARISH March 25th 1771
This committee was composed of the best men in the par- ish. Joseph Ellis had been a deacon of the church since its first organization, being now an old man. He had been a representative in 1751, and again in 1758-59. Isaac Whit- ing had recently served as the clerk of the parish for ten years. He had also been town clerk, serving in that capac- ity from 1769 to 1773 ; and he was elected a selectman in 1753, holding that office for twelve years. Daniel Gay had been a selectman for three years.
Mr. Tyler seems to have been as unwilling to leave the parish as some of his parishioners were anxious to have him go. . At a parish meeting held in December, 1771, he was voted one hundred and eighty pounds, on condition that the parish was discharged from any farther requirements in re- gard to his support. Mr. Tyler communicated to the parish his own views of the situation, under date of Jan. I. 1772, in reply to this action of the parish, which was presented at a meeting held the same date : -
I have taken your proposals into as mature consideration as the short time you have adjourned your parish meeting to, and my other engage- ments, would permit. And upon the whole, I can hardly suppose you yourselves can think what you have offered to be an adequate considera- tion even for past services and wood, especially considering the great disadvantages to which you must needs think I have been subjected by your neglect of voting my supply from year to year for three years past. Nor can I think I should be just to myself or to other persons of my order, even of ages yet unborn, should I, without any further considera- tion, give up the just claims I might have also upon you for future ser- vices, should it please God to spare my life to minister in the place to which in his providence he hath called me, more especially since, after all the "fiery tryals " some of your number have caused me to pass through, there has not been found "matter of occasion " against me in the opinion of judges of your own selection, and whose judgment or
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THE CLAPBOARD TREES PARISH
result this church of Christ expressed their high approbation of (if I mistake not) by a unanimous vote of thanks.
But, gentlemen, if you prize your freedom from the obligations you are under to me so far as to purchase it at an honorable rate, I am ready, for your gratification, to take the matter into serious considera- tion, and shall give you in a very short time, an answer thereon.
The parish charged a committee to ascertain his terms ; and his reply was read at a meeting held January 15, in which he said, "The proposals you have made appear to me so far short of what is right and just that, until your senti- ments are greatly altered, I apprehend there is no expedi- ence in my suggesting anything further to you on the sub- ject." Another committee was chosen to wait on him, and to the meeting held on the 29th he sent this communica- tion : -
-
As I devoted myself in my early days to the work of the gospel min- istry in this place, and for the sake, I trust, of promoting the Redeemer's kingdom, and the best interests of your immortal souls; and, having obtained help from God, continue to this day to minister to you in holy things, so I apprehend I should have very satisfactory reasons before I can see it my duty to relinquish my pastoral office among you.
In an affair which not only relates to my own person and family, but the interests of these churches, I desire to act with all deliberation. I am fully of the mind, that till you make proposals much , superior to what you have done, I should dishonor God and the interests of relig- ion, by complying with those you have already made; but when I am enabled to quit my pastoral care of the flock of Christ in this place on terms honorable to myself, and just to my family, and consistent with the honor of God and these churches, I am willing to do it.
Whatever terms shall be properly proposed by you to me, I will take them into my serious and deliberate consideration, and shall be willing on so interesting an affair to advise with gentlemen that I have reason to think are wise, upright and judicious, and wish well to you as well as myself and the interests of our holy religion. In a word, things being no way prepared for such a reference as you propose, it will be time enough to think upon such a proposal when they are.
It would seem from these letters that Mr. Tyler was in- clined to what was fair and right. So far as the trouble can now be judged of, he was more nearly in the right than those who opposed him. The church was on his side, while
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REV. ANDREW TYLER, THE SECOND MINISTER
those members of the parish who were not church members included his opponents. When the dispute was left to dis- interested men, he received more than double the sum which the parish proposed to pay him.
The controversy went on through the year 1772, the parish making offers for a settlement of the question, and Mr. Tyler declining them because the parish was not liberal enough in its proposals. In October, this article was inserted in the warrant calling a special meeting of the parish : -
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