USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Wakefield > History of the First Baptist Church in Wakefield, Mass., 1800-1900 > Part 7
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The work was thorough and satisfactory, if we may judge of it by the results manifested in this church. Of the forty-five candidates for baptism and church membership this year, thirty-nine conversions were traced directly, or indirectly, to
II5
WAKEFIELD BAPTIST CHURCH.
the influence of these meetings. Looking over this list at the present writing nearly all of these converts are found to be in active church relationship.
One marked feature of these meetings, similar to that which characterized the meetings of Mr. Pratt in 1888, was their influence upon those of adult age. Of the thirty-nine converts, mentioned above, twenty-two were above twenty years of age, and of these fifteen were heads of families.
In the fall of this year brethren Samuel L. White and Robert N. Howard, both of whom had pre- viously served the church in the diaconate, were elected deacons, increasing the number to six, instead of four which had been the limit for many years.
116
HISTORY OF THE
CHAPTER XIII.
At the annual meeting in 1898 an advanced step · was taken by the church in considering the propo- sition to substitute individual cups for the common cup at the Lord's Supper. The matter was sub- mitted to a committee which subsequently reported in favor of the change. Action by the church was deferred, however, to the Covenant meeting in September when the change was made by a ballot vote of sixty-three to twenty-seven, and went into effect at the Communion service in November.
The natural prejudice against a change from the old, time honored custom which symbolized so forcibly the idea of fellowship has, we think, grad- ually subsided.
The Boston East Association this year held its fifth anniversary with this church. The opening sermon by Rev. H. O. Hiscox, of Malden, was deeply spiritual and was the key note to all the services that followed. The interesting exercises of the day closed with an impressive address at the evening session by Rev. T. B. Johnson, of Lynn, on "Successful Church Work." About four hun- dred guests were entertained by the church with its accustomed liberality. .
In October Mr. Franklin Poole died, leaving to the church his estate on Salem street " without
117
WAKEFIELD BAPTIST CHURCH.
conditions, to be retained and rented by the deacons, or sold and the proceeds invested, or otherwise appropriated, according to the pleasure and action of the church."
The wife of Mr. Poole, who died in 1893, was an active and devoted member of the church for more than half a century, and previous to her death, by mutual agreement, this disposition of the property was to be made at his decease.
On the morning of the 18th of November the church met with a severe loss in the death of Dea. Edward Mansfield, who suddenly passed away in his 86th year. The evening previous he occupied his accustomed seat in the prayer meeting and took some part in the service. For a year previous his health had been failing, but he retained his mental faculties in a remarkable degree, teaching a class of ladies in the Sunday school to the last, and leading the school in prayer the Sunday pre- vious to his death.
The writer was a neighbor of his for ten years and ever found him a courteous christian gentle- man, a wise and sagacious counsellor, chary of advice or suggestion, a warm supporter of his pas- tor, with a quick recognition of his prerogatives. His long and intimate acquaintance with the church, in whose affairs he was actively engaged for more than half a century, rendered his presence in the committee room invaluable and gave great weight to his opinions in the business meetings of
1
118
HISTORY OF THE
the church. The records of the church, which he kept for fifty years with painstaking care, are remarkably complete and full, little less than an historical abstract, as such records should be, but seldom are.
Sunday morning, December 4th, his pastor preached a memorial sermon from Acts 13: 36, which was followed by an impressive memorial service in the evening, in which high tributes to the character of brother Mansfield, tender testimo- nies and interesting reminiscences were given by his former pastor, Dr. Bullen; by Chester W. Eaton, Esq., and Dea. Morrison, of the Congrega- tional church ; and by Dea. A. G. Sweetser, brother E. R. Partridge, superintendent of the Sunday school, Rev. C. H. Hickok and Dea. S. W. Luf- kin, of this church, the latter presenting the following paper from the pastor and deacons of the church :
"We, the pastor and deacons of this church, desire to express and place on record our sense of the deep loss we sustain in the death of our be- loved brother, Edward Mansfield, with whom we were permitted to hold official relations so many years. His long acquaintance with, and accurate knowledge of the affairs of the church, and his untiring devotion to her interests; his superior judgment and kindness of spirit, together with his uniform courtesy and regard for the opinions of others, rendered him invaluable in our councils,
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WAKEFIELD BAPTIST CHURCH.
and won all our hearts. In his departure we feel that the church has lost one of her most faithful servants, and each of us a personal friend." The first of the following month Dea. S. L. White was elected church clerk.
The year 1899 opened propitiously. The ser- vices of the Week of Prayer were so well attended, and of such interest, that additional meetings were held the following week, and during the spring nine converts entered the church.
On Easter Sunday, which was the first Sunday in April, the church held an extra service. The Covenant meeting, usually held the Friday even- ing preceding the first Sunday in the month, was held in the auditorium at three o'clock Sunday afternoon. Many of the aged members were in attendance. The spirit of the meeting was excel- lent, and of the one hundred sixty-five present, one hundred twenty-five participated in the con- ference. This was followed by the Lord's Supper for which the previous meeting seemed to have made fitting preparation.
On account of the unpleasant weather which so frequently prevails the first week in January, the customary Week of Prayer, at the suggestion of of their pastors, the evangelical churches in the town decided to substitute some week in the autumn, upon which the pastors should agree, to be observed by them as the annual week of prayer. As a result this year (1899) the second week in
120
HISTORY OF THE
October was so observed. The services were held in the separate churches, closing with a union meeting in the vestry of this church Saturday afternoon at three o'clock. Throughout the week the weather was fine, the attendance good, and the interest steadily increased.
At the annual meeting the following year (1900) a much needed action was taken toward preparing suitable dressing rooms for the candidates for baptism, culminating in the convenient rooms now in use over the pastor's ante-room in the church.
On the morning of Saturday, the 21st of July, a destructive conflagration raged in the centre of the town, seriously damaging the Universalist church, whereupon the deacons of this church promptly offered their society the use of the Baptist church until their own was ready for re-occupancy. The offer was courteously declined, they preferring the use of the Congregational church which had also been tendered them.
In the autumn a thorough canvass of the town was made under the direction of the pastors of the Congregational, Baptist and Methodist churches, having for its object, a basis for more intelligent and practical christian work, the reaching of families and individuals that are non-attendants upon the services of any of the churches in the town, and the children who are not in Sunday schools. The town was divided into three dis- tricts ; three canvassers were selected, one from each church, and assigned, one to each district.
REV. N. R. EVERTS.
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WAKEFIELD BAPTIST CHURCH.
The work was carefully and conscientiously performed. After the canvass was completed brother Frederic Emerson, who was the canvasser selected from this church, was appointed by the church as a religious visitor in the town, under whose faithful labors strangers have been led to attend the services of the church, and a number of children brought into the Sunday School.
122
HISTORY OF THE
CHAPTER XIV.
At the close of the morning service, Sunday, October 21st, Mr. Everts read a letter to his people, resigning his pastorate of the church to take effect on or before the first day of December following, the latter date completing the twelfth year of his ministry with this church. The resignation was accepted at the following Covenant meeting, November 2nd, with a vote to continue the pastor's salary to January 1, 1901. At the prayer meeting, the week following, kind and appreciative reso- lutions were passed by the church with reference to the pastor and his ministry with the church.
The second week in November was observed this year as the Week of Prayer. The meetings during the week were marked by unusual interest in all the churches, and closed with a union meet- ing in the Congregational church Sunday evening, November 18th. The auditorium was filled by a congregation numbering about five hundred fifty persons and was of remarkable interest. Besides the remarks of the pastors, forty-three testimonies were given by the congregation and the Spirit of God seemed moving the hearts of the people.
Tuesday evening of this week a fine crayon portrait of the late Dea. Mansfield was presented to
I23
WAKEFIELD BAPTIST CHURCH.
the church by the pastor, in behalf of the donors, . and was received, in behalf of the church, by Dea. Sweetser. Others followed in tender words, indicating the large place this good brother holds in the hearts of this people. His portrait hangs by the side of his worthy compeers in the diaco- nate, a noble group, whose holy living and devotion to the cause of Christ cannot fail to be an encouragement and inspiration to those who knew them, or may know of their godly lives and the faithful service they rendered this church.
It is worthy of mention that the deceased deacons of this church, with a single exception, lived to a ripe old age, three of them passing four score years. Dea. Eaton died in his eighty-eighth year; Dea. Mansfield in his eighty-sixth year; Dea. Smith in his eighty-fourth year and Dea. Stowell in his seventy-seventh year. Dea. Sulli- van passed away in his forty-eighth year.
At the Covenant meeting, Friday evening, November 30th, Mr. Everts closed his ministerial relations with this church. After the benediction, to his surprise, the people resumed their seats and he suddenly found himself confronted by a brother of the church who, tenderly referring to the sepa- ration of pastor and people, now consummated, presented him with a purse containing $120 in gold, the unsolicited gift of individuals of the church and congregation. Mr. Everts was deeply moved by this expression of the affection of his
124
HISTORY OF THE
people and could only say, in a broken voice "Thank you." The Sunday morning following the pulpit was supplied by Rev. W. H. Eaton, Secretary and Superintendent of the Massachu- setts Baptist Convention, and an esteemed member of this church.
In the evening a farewell service was given the retiring pastor by the church, with co-operation of the Congregational and Methodist churches, presided over by Rev. Mr. Eaton. The floor and gallery of the auditorium were filled by the three congregations, and citizens of the town. Rev. Charles H. Hickok, a member of this church, led the congregation in responsive readings from the Scriptures and Dea. Robert N. Howard offered prayer. Exceedingly kind and fraternal addresses were delivered by Rev. Albert P. Davis, pastor of the Congregational church, and by Rev. Putnam Webber, pastor of the Methodist church ; and parting words, in behalf of this church, were tenderly spoken by Rev. W. H. Eaton.
To these addresses a response was made by Mr. Everts, in which he said that whatever success might have attended his ministry here was due to the uniform courtesy he had always received from the citizens of the town, and the delightful rela- tions he had been permitted to sustain with the churches and their pastors ; but still more was due to the sympathy and support which, throughout his entire pastorate, this church, in all its depart- ments, had generously given him.
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WAKEFIELD BAPTIST CHURCH.
The remainder of the month the pulpit was sup- plied, and the mid-week prayer meetings conducted, by Rev. C. L. Jackson, whose evangelistic meet- ings were such a blessing to the town in the late winter of 1897. His ministry during the month, and the first Sunday in January following, was signally blessed in the awakening and conversion of sinners.
The last night of the century a union Watch Meeting of the Congregational, Baptist and Metho- dist churches was held in the Methodist church, conducted by Rev. Mr. Webber, pastor of the latter church, and sermons were preached before a large congregation by Rev. N. R. Everts, Rev. A. P. Davis, and Rev. C. L. Jackson; and the event- ful century fittingly closed with the members of the three churches bowing together around one altar in silent prayer.
In reviewing the century one cannot fail to be impressed with the thought that this church has been signally blessed of God. If its growth has been slow it has been sturdy. The obstacles it encountered in its childhood grounded it in the faith. In its youth it courageously met and over- came the perils incident to the Millerite and anti- Masonic movements. It took strong and ad- vanced positions with reference to Temperance
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HISTORY OF THE
and Slavery when such positions were unpopular. At an early period it was deeply imbued with the missionary spirit, and its contributions to the Foreign, Home, and State work have not been meagre. It stood loyally by the Union during our late civil war. And in these later years, in- different to the charge of narrowness and bigotry, it has stood among the timid and wavering, " con- tending earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints." Strong and united it occupies today an enviable position among its sister churches in the Commonwealth.
Nor is it difficult to find the secrets of its success- ful career, on the human side, as we trace its his- tory. From the first it has chosen its officers from among its best men, selecting, with great care, those who seemed especially qualified for the posi- tions they were called to fill. It has been moder- ate in counsel, and conservative in thought and action. It has sought to avoid dissension and strife, submitting quietly to the decisions of the majority. Its ministers have been, in the main, strong men, sound in the faith, fearless in the defence of the gospel, and highly esteemed in the community. Under these influences the church has grown strong and self reliant; even when destitute of a pastor for long periods, maintaining its services, retaining its membership, and enjoy- ing "seasons of refreshing from the presence of the Lord."
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WAKEFIELD BAPTIST CHURCH.
May the spirit of the fathers rest upon the chil- dren and lead them to emulate their virtues, so that the historian of the coming century of this church may tread the pathway of the years with increasing delight, and say "The fathers builded well, but the latter glory of this house is greater than the former."
The whole number who have united with the church since its organization is believed to be
By baptism
870
By letter, experience, etc . .
480
To which add the original number 67
Total .
1417
Losses by death, dismissals, &c.
993
Present number, Dec. 31, 1900 · 424
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HISTORY OF THE
LIST OF PASTORS SINCE THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CHURCH TO DEC. 31, 1900.
Pastorate
Began
Ended.
*Rev. Ebenezer Nelson,
Jan. 1804
Apr. 1815.
Rev. Gustavus F. Davis,
Apr. 1818
Aug. 1829.
Rev. Joseph A. Warne,
Nov. 1829
Oct. 1830.
Rev. James Huckens,
Sept. 1832
May
1833.
Rev. Isaac Sawyer,
Apr. 1835
Apr.
1838.
Rev. Charles Miller,
May 1838
Oct.
1838.
Rev. Larkin B. Cole,
Apr. 1840
Jan. 1842.
Rev. Charles Evans,
May 1842
Mar. 1844.
Rev. Paul S. Adams,
May 1844
Sept. 1848.
Rev. George Bullen,
Jan. 1864
Nov. 1866.
Rev. James W. Willmarth,
Mar. 1867
Oct.
1869.
Rev. Richard M. Nott,
Aug. 1872
July
1874.
Rev. Charles Keyser,
Mar. 1875
Sept. 1877.
Rev. R. R. Riddell,
June 1878
Dec. 1882.
Rev. Roland D. Grant,
Apr. 1883
Sept. 1888.
/2- Rev. N. R. Everts,
Dec. 1888
Dec. 1900.
* Rev. Ebenezer Nelson, the first pastor, began preaching in Wakefield (So. Reading) in 1801.
13 .
la Verathe June 1901- 19 F & Bordy 80 %. Трога Feb. 1-1923-
11
/3 - Rev. Daniel W. Phillips,
Jan. 1850
May
1863.
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WAKEFIELD BAPTIST CHURCH.
LIST OF DEACONS SINCE THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CHURCH TO DEC. 31, 1900.
ELECTED
DIĘD
Jacob Eaton
Jan. 31, 1804
May 27, 1859.
David Smith
Oct. 30, 1817
Apr. 6, 1855.
Martin Stowell
Oct. 30, 1817
June 3, 1865.
Manning W. Sullivan
May I8, 1855 Oct. 27, 1863.
Albert G. Sweetser
Jan. 23, 1863 Present Dea.
Edward Mansfield
Feb. 5, 1863
Nov. 16, 1898.
Stephen W. Lufkin
Nov. 20, 1882
Present Dea.
Robert N. Howard
Nov 20, 1882
Moved to Kansas Dec 4, 1885. Re-elected Nov. 5, 1897, Present Dea.
Samuel L. White
Feb. 18, 1886
Resigned, Dec. 2, 1892.
Harvey B. Evans
Re-elected Nov. 5, 1897, Present Dea .. Jan. 16, 1894 Present Dea.
P. Proch now
Percival B, Greve
I30
HISTORY OF THE
LIST OF CLERKS SINCE THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CHURCH TO DEC. 31, 1900.
TERM OF SERVICE.
David Smith
Jan. 31, 1804
to Feb, 28, 1822.
Wm. Patch
Feb. 28, 1822
to May 30, 1823.
Joshua Tweed
May 30, 1823
to Apr. 29, 1824.
Robert Wiley
Apr. 29, 1824 to I825 .*
Zenas Eaton
1825*
to Feb. 18, 1830.
Joseph A. Warne
Feb. 25, 1830
to Oct. 28, 1830.
Zenas Eaton
Oct. 28, 1830 to Feb. 24, 1831*
Thomas Evans
Feb. 24, 1831* to Feb. 2, 1832.
Benj. B. Wiley
Feb. 2, 1832
to Feb. 15, 1837 .*
Clerk pro tem. Feb. 15, 1837* to Nov. 16, 1837.
R. C. Wiley
StandingClerk. Nov. 16, 1837 to Dec. 12, 1839*
Samuel A. Toothaker Jan. 16, 1840
to Sept. 16, 1841.
Martin Stowell Sept. 16, 184I* to Jan. I, 1847 .*
P. S. Adams Clerk pro tem. Feb. 5, 1847
to Sept. 7, 1848.
Edw. Mansfield Sept. 7, 1848
to Nov. 16, 1898.
Samuel L. White
Dec. 1, 1898 Present Clerk.
Lyman E. Sweetser Asst. Clerk Apr. 5, 1894 Present Asst.
*These dates are as near as can be ascertained from the old records.
I31
WAKEFIELD BAPTIST CHURCH.
LIST OF SUPERINTENDENTS OF THE SUNDAY SCHOOL SINCE ITS ORGANIZATION IN 1818 TO DEC. 31, 1900.
TERM OF SERVICE.
Gustavus F. Davis
I818
to
1829.
Martin Stowell
1829
to
1833.
Harrison Pratt
1833
to
1835.
Jeremiah Chaplin, Jr., three months in
1835.
Loel Sweetser,
1835
to
1840.
Warren Wiley
1840
to
1848.
Edward Mansfield
1848
to
1871.
Henry L. Haskell
1871
to
1877.
Dr. S. W. Abbott
April to July 1877.
George H. Sweetser
July 1877
to
April 1879.
Henry L. Haskell, 2d term
1879
to
1882.
George H. Smith
April
1882
to
Oct. 1884.
S. A. Lenfest
Oct.
I884
to
April 1887.
Wm. C. Campbell
1887
to
1890.
Geo. H. Smith, 2d term
1890
to
1898.
Edwin R. Partridge, Present Superintendent.
MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH WHEN CONSTITUTED, JAN. 31, 1804.
Rev. Ebenezer Nelson. Jacob Eaton. Cornelius Sweetser. Jeremiah Green. Lilley Eaton. Eliab Parker. Joseph Smith. Caleb Green. Jonathan Pratt.
Samuel Wiley.
David Smith, Jr.
Noah Smith. Caleb Eaton. Thomas Woodward. Joseph Bryant. Aaron Sweetser. Barzilla Reed.
Abel Beard.
Abraham G. Pope.
Adam Hawks, Jr.
Paul Sweetser, Jr.
Nathan Eaton, Jr. Ebenezer Bryant. William Dix. Andrew Walton.
Ebenezer Walton. Samuel Bryant. William Crane. Ebenezer Evans. George Evans. Elias Sweetser. Betsy Nelson. Susannah Smith. Ruth Brown.
Naomi Badger. Polly Deadman. Martha Green.
Hannah Green. Polly Vinton. Dorcas Smith.
Rebecca Eaton. Mercy Pratt. Mary Newhall.
Hannah W. Eaton.
Hannah Sweetser. Phebe Sweetser.
Phebe Smith.
Katy Smith.
Nancy Eaton. Rebecca Bryant.
Patty Hawks.
Lydia Sweetser.
Lydia Bryant.
Sally Walton. Hannah Center. Polly Center. Mary Bryant. Katy Eaton. Martha Nelson. Lois Nelson. Nelly Green. Phebe Green. Eunice Eaton. Katura Green. Eliza Green.
Hannah Hawks. Sally Vinton.
L
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