USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Dedham > History of the Clapboard Trees or Third Parish, Dedham, Mass. : now the Unitarian Parish, West Dedham, 1736-1886 > Part 8
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In this state, with the usual variation of character found in large par- ishes they continued perfectly united, and strongly opposed to anything like evangelical doctrine. But in the year 1807 it was contemplated to erect a new meeting house, when disputes arose concerning the spot of its location. The parish was divided, one party contending for one spot, and the other for another. Meeting after meeting was held, but no ad- justment could be made. Disputes, animosities and determined oppo- sition succeeded, when one party gaining by an inconsiderable majority the victory, the other felt insulted in such a manner that they knew not how to brook it. Retaining their feelings, but concealing their inten- tion they determined to erect themselves into a separate society; and accordingly, when the old meeting-house was sold, as was expected, for a barn or some other unimportant purpose, a committee was secretly in- structed to purchase it. This event quickened the feelings which it was hoped some months had allayed; each one declared himself for one party or the other, and opposition, triumph and revenge actuated both.
Two distinct parties now were established, though no variation of feeling or judgment upon any religious subject existed. The offended party held a number of meetings to consult what denomination they should call themselves, when it was decided they should unite them- selves with the Baptist society in Medfield. ... Not one of them was con- verted, not one was friendly to evangelical truth, not one but despised and hated the sentiments of the Baptists; and yet these men solicited union with a society poor and despised holding these sentiments .. ..
When a union was effected with Medfield, part of the society went regularly to that place upon the Sabbath day; but their new doctrine gave great offense to some. . . . Then could they have repented of their choice had not persecution, by taking their property and lodging their
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THE CLAPBOARD TREES PARISH
persons in prison for ministerial taxes, made them determined to submit to anything rather than reunite with those who endeavored to oppress them in the extreme.
In 1811, those who remained members of the Clapboard Trees parish contributed to a fund for the support of preach- ing. The contributions ranged from ten to one hundred dollars, and the contributors numbered about forty-five per- sons. The following are their names and the sums con- tributed, as given in the first report of the trustees of the fund thus created : -
Rev. Thomas Thacher, .
$100.00
John Fisher,
100.00
Willard Gay,
100.00
John Baker,
50.00
George Ellis,
50.00
Benjamin Fisher, .
77.00
Benjamin Boyden,
35.00
Samuel French,
25.00
Lemuel Thwing,
25.00
Eaton Whiting,
I6 66
Jesse Warren, . 25.00
John Richards, Jr.,
100.00
Jotham Richards,
25.00
Jotham Richards, for his father,
75.00
Nathaniel Whiting,
33-34
Thaddeus Gay,
16.66
Moses Kingsbury,
16.67
Jeremiah Baker,
100.00
Phinehas Ellis,
85.00
Frederick Richards,
35.00
Eliphalet Rhodes, Jr.,
25.00
Abijah Parker,
16.66
Robert Steel,
25.00
Jason Ellis, .
50.00
David Boyd,
16.66
Edward Glover,
16 66
Joel Everett,
32.00
Abel Richards, Jr.,
16.66
Moses Gay,
33.33
Hannah Gay,
11.00
Moses Richards, 16.66
John Richards, 25.00
Sarah Richards,
25.00
Oliver Ellis,
75.00
Lemuel Gay,
50.00
1
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THE NEW MEETING-HOUSE
William Gay,
$1 50.00
Richard Ellis,
25.00
Royal Ellis, .
25.00
Willard Ellis,
25.00
Jabez Ellis, for his mother, Rebecca Ellis, . 40.00
Benjamin Fairbanks,
75.00
Benjamin Fairbanks, Jr.,
60.00
Daniel Covell,
50.00
Seth Gay, Jr.,
10.00
Lusher Gay,
100.00
The whole amount thus subscribed was $2,084.96. The first trustees of this ministerial fund were the Rev. Thomas Thacher, Willard Gay, George Ellis, and John Baker. The fund was established with the following conditions and regulations : -
DEDHAM, April 18th, 1811.
We, the subscribers, taking into view the importance of supporting the public worship of God in the third Parish in Dedham, the pressure on individuals among us in performing that necessary duty by reason of the secession of a part of our number to the Baptists, the desire we feel to perpetuate a Christian Congregational Church according to the mode in which it has ever existed among us, do solemnly agree and bind our- selves to pay the several sums affixed to our names to the treasurer of the said third Parish in Dedham, for the purpose of supporting the Gos- pel and its ordinances ; the income of which shall be annually devoted to pay the Minister ; and the raising of the said fund shall be executed according to the conditions hereafter mentioned, and subject to the reg- ulations here expressed :
First ; that the sum subscribed shall be placed at lawful interest, and the interest devoted forever for the annual support of a gospel minister of the Congregational denomination.
Second; that the house of public worship shall continue, and when necessary a new one to be built, on the spot where the present house now stands or within fifty rods thereof.
Thirdly ; any subscriber who may desire it shall be entitled to the loan of such sum of money as he may subscribe, by giving his note therefor to the parish treasurer, and paying the interest thereof an- nually; but if such subscriber or subscribers shall neglect to pay the interest on such note for the space of thirty days after it falls due, they shall thereupon become liable to pay the principle on demand, and it shall be the duty of the trustees hereinafter named forthwith to compel payment of the same.
Fourthly ; all monies paid to the treasurer of said parish shall be loaned on land security ; and in case the debtor shall neglect to pay the
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THE CLAPBOARD TREES PARISH
interest on such loan for the space of thirty days after it falls due, it shall be the duty of the said trustees to compel payment of the prin- cipal.
Fifthly; the settled minister, the treasurer and parish committee of said parish shall be a board of trustees for the purpose of managing said fund, and under the regulations and subject to the conditions herein contained shall have the entire control thereof; but in case they shall presume to appropriate either the principal or the annual interest to any other purpose than that herein before mentioned they shall be jointly and severally answerable to the parish therefor out of their own estates and effects.
Sixthly; the said trustees shall at the annual parish meeting lay be- fore the people the state of this fund.
Seventhly ; in case the parish shall be destitute of a settled minister for a term not less than one year nor more than six years, the income of this fund shall be reserved by the trustees for the use of the next set- tled minister, and put out to interest in the same manner as the prin- cipal is till a minister shall be settled and then paid over to him in such sums and in such manner annually as the trustees see fit for his annual salary, and not for any other purpose.
Eighthly; in case there shall be no settled minister the treasurer and parish committee shall be the sole trustees of this fund, and the surviv- ors of them in case any of them should die within the year for which they are chosen ; and in case the parish should neglect to choose parish officers, and the said offices should be vacant, such of the donors or their heirs as are legal voters within the parish, shall be authorized to appoint trustees to manage said fund in conjunction with the minister, if at such time there shall be a settled minister in the parish, if otherwise such trustees shall have the entire control thereof, subject to the conditions and regulations aforesaid.
Ninthly ; in case the parish should apply the said fund or the interest thereof to any other purpose than the one before mentioned, or place the house of worship at a greater distance than fifty rods from where it now stands, or shall be destitute of a settled minister for the space of six years or over, then the whole of the said fund, together with the interest that may have accrued after the parish ceased to have a settled minister shall be forfeited, and the said parish shall be liable to pay to the said donors or their heirs in a right descending line, who may then be inhabi- tants of said parish, the several sums by them or by their ancestors sub- scribed; and in case any one of the said subscribers at the time of such forfeiture shall not be living nor have any such heir or heirs in the right descending line living within the parish, then the sum or sums by such donor or donors subscribed, shall be appropriated as a fund for the sup- port of a school within the parish and the interest thereof applied for that purpose forever.
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THE NEW MEETING-HOUSE
Tenthly ; the proprietors, should the majority of them think best, may within two years from this date, viz., April, eighteen hundred and eleven, get incorporated, and alter the management of their property in this fund in its circumstances and forms; but the essentials of it, as comprised in its application and design, shall not be altered.
VIII.
REV. THOMAS THACHER, THE THIRD MINISTER.
THOMAS THACHER was born in Boston, Oct. 24, 1756. His father was Oxenbridge Thacher, a successful and well- known lawyer of that city, who was for many years a mem- ber of the General Court, and was so at the time when the Clapboard Trees parish was established. The Thacher family had long been a prominent one in Boston. The great-grandfather of Thomas was the Rev. Thomas Thacher, the first minister of the Old South Church in Boston, whose son, Peter Thacher, was the first minister in Milton. He was also descended from John Oxenbridge, who was a pastor of the first church in Boston.
When Thomas Thacher was nine years old, his father died ; and he found a home with his grandfather, "who was a man of public education and usefulness." It is said that in early life "he evinced much more than ordinary force of intellect ; but it was combined with an imprudent, reckless spirit, that gave little promise of either respectability or usefulness." At the age of fifteen, however, he entered Harvard College, and was a successful student, graduating in 1775.
After graduation, he spent some time in teaching; and then he began his studies in preparation for the ministry, which he seems to have carried on under the guidance of the Rev. Dr. Cummings, of Billerica. He became the minister of the Clapboard Trees parish at the age of twenty-four, and under conditions favorable to his success. It is said of him, however, in Sprague's Annals of the Unitarian Pulpit, that "the indiscretions and follies of his youth had awakened strong prejudices against him, so that his ministry did not begin under the fairest auspices." If he had such a reputa- tion as is thus indicated, it was doubtless owing to his love
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REV. THOMAS THACHER, THE THIRD MINISTER
of mirth and wit; but he had already made a good impres- sion in other churches before he accepted the invitation to Dedham.
The best account of the person of Mr. Thacher is given by the Rev. Samuel Osgood, who says that he "was a man of a portly and commanding figure, and had a face expressive of much more than common intellectual power. His man- ners were sufficiently free and cordial, but somewhat blunt, and indicative of what he really possessed,- great indepen- dence of character. You could not meet him in the most casual interview without perceiving that he had not the fear of man before his eyes. He had great power of sarcasm ; and he indulged it sometimes, perhaps, without the most deli- cate regard to circumstances. But there was a manifest openness and honesty of purpose that all recognized as a redeeming feature, and as rendering less objectionable that unceremonious bluntness, and even severity, which could hardly fail sometimes to give offence."
The account of him given by his successor is needed to supplement this by Dr. Osgood, which evidently applied only to one side of Mr. Thacher's character. "He pos- sessed," says Mr. White, "intellectual „powers far above the ordinary level. He was able to take comprehensive views and could express them in strong and clear language. He could be severe or pathetic, as occasion required. As no one could long be in his presence, so no one could peruse his writings, without being convinced of his mental energy. Possessed of strong moral feeling, he could not look upon vice but with the strongest abhorrence ; and when he took the lash he used it with no feeble strokes. He was ardent in his friendship, kind, and ready to sympathize with the distressed. Did he by any harsh or hasty expression wound any one's feelings, he was ever ready to make apology to the injured. He did not think it a mark of a great mind never to confess a fault; nor did he disdain to ask pardon for the wrong he might have done. He sought the things which make for peace."
Mr. Thacher evidently was a man with a vigorous mind,
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THE CLAPBOARD TREES PARISH
cast in an original mould, so that he thought and acted for himself. He had too little respect for the conventionalities of society, and often acted from the fresh impulses of a nat- ure that was full of strong purposes. He was possessed of a very active sense of humor, and often spoke and acted without a nice regard to the proprieties of social intercourse. His sympathy was always active, and he was very charitable and generous. A public-spirited citizen he was on all occa- sions, being greatly interested in all town affairs, and in the politics of the State and nation. He was in every way the leader of his people, and to him they went for advice on sub- jects of every kind. To a shrewd and capable common sense, he added an acquaintance with affairs and a knowl- edge of every subject connected with the activities of a country parish. He could settle disputes between his par- ishioners, tell his neighbors what breed of swine to raise, advise his friends as to the best way in which to cast their votes, talk with the Cambridge men on science and the classics, and discuss with his ministerial brethren, in a man- ner of uncommon vigor, all the questions of theology. It has been related by a former member of the parish, who has only recently passed away,* that on one occasion a parish- ioner was asked who was to be voted for at the coming town meeting; and the reply was that "he had not yet asked Parson Thacher."
In every way, Mr. Thacher was a typical country minister of the kind so common in New England in the last century. In a gentle and noble way, he was the autocrat of his parish, ruling it with a rod of love and good-will, with the consent and desire of his people, but ruling it with no uncertain pur- pose. Then the minister was the educated man of a country parish, and the man in all things the best capable of guiding his fellows. He was a farmer, tilling his own land, often getting a goodly portion of his income by his activities as a man of business ; and in many ways he was the most stir- ring and capable man in the parish. He looked after the interests of the schools ; and he did not forget to admonish and advise, and to chastise with his tongue, the younger
* Mr. Jeremiah W. Gay.
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REV. THOMAS THACHER, THE THIRD MINISTER
portion of his people. Such a man made his influence felt in every part of his parish, and he knew every member of it in the most intimate manner. He was respected and ven- erated by his people, and by many of them he was loved with generous affection.
As a preacher, Mr. Thacher was marked for good sense, clear thought, and an earnest purpose. He studiously avoided all efforts at arousing the feelings to an undue pitch, and he equally avoided everything like undue enthusiasm and excess in religion. The school of theologians to which he belonged cultivated a calm and deliberate manner of preaching that applied itself to reason far more than to emo- tion. He appealed to experience, to history, to common sense, and to the practical judgment of his people, in his discourses, and not to dogmas or religious feelings. Every- thing in the shape of excitement and fervor he rigidly dis- carded as unworthy of men who would worship God in spirit anu in truth.
" As a preacher," says Dr. Samuel Osgood, "he had none of the graces of rhetoric, or other qualities fitted to render him especially popular ; but he had a vein of strong sense, which gave him considerable favor with persons of reflection and intelligence." There was probably little of unction and magnetism in his preaching, and little that aroused and moved a congregation ; but there was wholesome teaching, that left its deep results on thought and life, and that helped to mould the purpose and the conduct of the thoughtful. His sermons were carefully planned, thoroughly wrought out, written in a good and clear style, and had a distinct end and purpose in view.
It may truly be said of Mr. Thacher that he was given to hospitality ; and it is the social side of his character which is the most fully remembered in the parish. It was his usual custom to invite several of his parishioners to his house to dine after the morning service, saying to them that they must expect "pot luck." On Sunday evenings, his people were wont to gather at his house, and there to discuss the affairs of the parish, or whatever else was upper-
98
THE CLAPBOARD TREES PARISH
most in their minds. "Hospitality," said one of his minis- terial friends, "was a prominent trait in his character. This is a tribute which all who were conversant with him will cheerfully pay. It was a virtue in which he excelled." The same friend says that " he possessed a high and delicate sense of honor, and was susceptible of the. tenderest sym- pathy. To the distressed and needy, he was ever ready to extend a benevolent arm, and to open the charitable hand. In a remarkable degree, he was kind to the poor."
It is evident that Mr. Thacher was generous, sympathetic, hospitable, sociable, and a lover of wit and fun. His jokes, witticisms, odd speeches, and droll actions have been more fully remembered in the parish than anything else about him. In the sermon preached at his funeral, already quoted, this was said : "There was sometimes a want of uniformity and evenness in his deportment, and his passions evidently partook of the strength of his mind. His sensibility was quick and keen. Like the musical instrument, it obeyed the touch ; and, in the warmth of the moment, he was apt to be warm in his expressions. By a sudden impulse of feeling, and from a native frankness and openness of mind, he was sometimes betrayed into extremes, when it is pr,- sumed no moral evil was intended, when his heart meant not to be wrong. Under such strong excitements, he was tempted to unguarded licenses, which, in cooler moments, he pretended not to justify." This strong temper, joined with his drollery and dislike of conventionality, made Mr. Thacher a man of a marked character, and one long to be remembered.
For many of his parishioners he had a nickname, indica- tive of character. Another oddity of his was to call his pitchers by the names of lady members of his congregation. He even carried his love of joking into the pulpit ; for, when he was observed smiling frequently one afternoon during the delivery of the sermon, he was asked the occasion, and replied, "Why, I was preaching the very same sermon, word for word, this afternoon, that I preached in the morn- ing ; and I was laughing to see how gravely you took it, -
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REV. THOMAS THACHER, THE THIRD MINISTER
just as if you had never heard it before." The sharpness of his wit was sometimes cutting, as when he said of a woman in the parish, "If the Lord should send for the greatest slut on earth, I should tremble for my neighbor's wife." Even more stinging was his remark, that the Baptist society was as necessary to his own as a sink to a house. On one occasion, when about going away to preach a sermon, he said to a workman, "I must go and preach the word : you will find the spirit in the closet." When he first came to preach in the parish, he said to the family of Capt. Jere- miah Baker, by whom he was entertained, the first morning after breakfast, "Well, I suppose I must play a tune on that old fiddle of yours." Then he took up the Bible, read a chapter, and offered prayer. His wit seems sometimes to have aroused the wit of his neighbors, and on one occa- sion a parishioner quite got the better of him in a wit com- bat. He named one of his swine after a parishioner he did not hold in high esteem. The parishioner retorted by sketching a pig-pen, with Mr. Thacher standing by it, and uttering this couplet : -
" My office, though sacred and divine, I now have left to christen swine."
There can be no doubt he would have thoroughly enjoyed the spirit of one event, which, says tradition, happened during his ministry in the parish. One of his young men wished to marry a young woman who lived in Walpole, and he was very anxious to have Mr. Thacher perform the mar- riage service. The tradition says that the law did not per- mit a minister to go out of his own town to officiate on such occasions, and that the service must be performed in the town where the bride lived. To get over these difficulties, the parties concerned proceeded to Bubbling Brook, where the happy couple stood on the Walpole side, and Mr. Thacher on the Dedham side, and the marriage took place.
It is also related of him that he on one occasion exchanged with Mr. Buckminster, of the Brattle Street Church, Boston. A number of young men were in the habit of attending that
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THE CLAPBOARD TREES PARISH
church, who did not care to hear any one but the pastor, and were accustomed to leave the church if any other minister appeared in the pulpit. This occurred on the day when Mr. Thacher preached, and he happened to notice it. At his nephew's, during the intermission, he mentioned what had taken place, and said, "I have, at least, shown myself pos- sessed of one apostolic gift to-day,- that of casting out devils." This story is told in a somewhat different form, in which this remark is said to have been made in the First Parish Church, Dedham. During the fierce political discus- sions of the early years of the Republic, he preached a ser- mon there that was extremely partisan in its character, as he was strongly devoted to the principles of the Federalist party, and not at all disinclined to give strong expression to his opinions. A number of persons arose and went out of church. Mr. Thacher stopped, and said, "I see that I have, at least, one apostolic gift,-the power to cast out devils." It is possible that both of these incidents are true, and either is true enough to have been highly characteristic. Thomas Thacher was a man of wider reading and greater intel- lectual power than his brother Peter, who preached in Bos- ton, although the latter was the more polished and eloquent of the two. Being a popular preacher, many of Peter's ser- mons were printed; and he was in the habit of sending them to his brother. On one occasion, when Peter was on a visit to Thomas, he took up, in his brother's study, a vol- ume labelled Trash. "What is this book called Trash ?" asked Peter. "Look and see for yourself," was the reply. After glancing through it, Peter exclaimed, " Why, you dog, it is my sermons !"
He was sometimes in the habit of preparing his own meals, with the aid of his students. One morning, after the steak had been well put on the coals, he said to the boys, "You watch, and I'll pray." When quite a young man, he was one day at the house of a relative in Milton, when a lady asked him what profession he intended to choose. When he replied that he was to be a minister, she expressed some doubt of his fitness for that calling. He
IOI
REV. THOMAS THACHER, THE THIRD MINISTER
said to her, " Madam, I shall some day preach in Milton ; and I will make you weep." It is said that this really hap- pened a few years later. A tradition of the parish says that Mr. Thacher was engaged in marriage to a young lady, who finally discarded him for some other lover ; and this is said to have been the reason why he did not marry, for his disappointment made him resolve he would not expose himself to another failure. He was engaged to be mar- ried ; for the town records contain this entry under the head of "Intentions of Marriage": "Rev. Thomas Thacher and Miss Catherine Fuller, both of Dedham, Nov. 20, 1783." They also reveal the fact that she was the daughter of Hezekiah and Anne Fuller, and that she was born July 12, 1764. A little farther on is this entry, also under the head of " Intentions of Marriage," which seems to explain why Mr. Thacher did not marry: "The Rev. Ebenezer Wight of Boston and Miss Catherine Fuller of Dedham, October 22, 1785." Miss Catherine was young in 1783, and the oddities of her reverend lover may have frightened her. It is said, by way of tradition in the parish, that she visited Mr. Thacher's house just before the marriage was to have taken place, that she carelessly soiled her dress on some fresh paint, and that he became very angry with her, so much so that she discarded him.
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