USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Springfield > History of the First church in Springfield. An address delivered June 22, 1875 > Part 2
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There were some stirring events during this period, events the like of which have never been witnessed here during the ministry of any other man. It was a day of terror and trouble, when, on the fifth of Oc- tober, 1675, old style, the Springfield Indians, till then peaceful and friendly, having admitted to their fort on Long Hill, a body of King Philip's hostile Indians, united with them in a sudden and murderous attack upon this settlement. Notified by a messenger from Windsor, who arrived at midnight, that this place was to be attacked, most of the inhabitants fled to the for- tified houses, but, seeing no immediate movement, the first alarm had partially subsided, and some had re- turned to their own houses. Of this number was Mr. Glover, who had moved his family and his "brave" library, as Hubbard calls it, to a place of safety, but. deeming the alarm groundless and " being impatient for want of his books," had moved the latter back again to his own house. Comparatively few of the settlers lost their lives, but the destruction of build- ings and property was great. About thirty houses and twenty-five barns, with their contents, were burned. The house of Mr. Glover with his valuable library was consumed. The meeting-house, which was fortified, escaped the conflagration. Great distress prevailed. The people were discouraged. and entertained the idea of abandoning the settlement altogether, as too much exposed to the incursions of the savages. Some actually left, but the greater part of the inhab- itants, encouraged by the sympathy and aid of the colonial government, and trusting in the care of an overruling Providence, determined to hold on. A let- ter of John Pynchon to his son, then in England, writ-
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ten about two weeks after this calamity, breathes a spirit of fervent piety and submission to the Divine will. Jonathan Burt, then or soon after a deacon of the church, in a brief narrative of the facts entered upon a fly-leaf of the records which is signed "Jon- athan Burt an eye witness of the same," recognizes devoutly the good providence of God in preserving the lives of the people.
An event, of importance to the church, that oc- curred a few days after the burning of the town, was the death of Deacon Samuel Chapin, which took place on the 11th of November of the same year. From a very carly period, he had been one of the deacons of this church, one of its most useful and in- fluential members. Savage calls him "a man of dis- tinction," and when we consider the responsible trusts reposed in him by the church and the government. the appellation seems highly appropriate. He was not only associated with Mr. Pynchon in the administra- tion of the temporalities of the town, but he was one whom the church designated often to carry on the work of the Sabbath. The loss of such a man, occur- ring as it did so soon after the great calamity, must have been deeply felt. The deacons during the re- mainder of Mr. Glover's pastorate appear to have been Jonathan Burt, already named, and Benjamin Parsons. Deacon Parsons died in 1689, and was suc- ceeded in office by John Hitchcock. Deacons Burt and Hitchcock survived Mr. Glover more than twenty years. Hitchcock held the military office of ensign and lieutenant, in addition to that of deacon. He and Deacon Burt were both men of some note. Both have representatives in this church among their descendants.
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Soon after the destruction of the town by the In- dians in 1675, the original meeting-house, which had escaped the flames, was taken down and a larger and more commodious structure erected further west, mostly if not wholly within the limits of what is now Court Square, very near its south-western angle. It was built in 1677. A very strong attachment sub- sisted between Mr. Glover and his people. In 1669, finding himself straitened in his means of living, on account of the smallness of his salary, yet aware of the inability of the people to increase it at that time, he addressed to them a communication in which he expressed his desire to remove to another field of la- bor on that account.
To this the town, by the hand of Mr. Holyoke, sent the following reply :
"S" :- Wee are much affected with this sad provi- dence by this motion of yours for leaving us, and the rather beinge sensible of our general inability to in- crease your stipend at ye present by reasons of God's hand upon us by the flood and blast, and at such a tyme as we have taken in hand the building of a house for you, which through the help of God we shall goe on with, the cost whereof will be neere one hundred pounds to us, besides the €80 of y' stipend weh by the Lord's assistance wee shall endeavour punctually to present and make good in ye best maner we can, not- withstanding all the difficultys of the yeare weh doe retard our doing further or more at present : but yet if the Lord enable us, we shall for future according as y' needs call for it, enlarge and doe to our utmost ability, and that according as God shall bless us; that soe you may live honorably and without distraction
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in your employment. And we intreat your accept- ance of these our synsere intentions, and the mani- festations of your love and affections to us by yr cheer- ful going on in y' ministerial work in this place which we take soe much content in and cannot neither dare quitt our interest in, but must according to God hold it fast to our utmost, all words of parting being like darts. forbid the thoughts of change.
ELIZUR HOLYOKE, Recorder, in the name and by ye appoyntment of the town. Springfield, month 4, 18th, 1669."
In regard to the character of Mr. Glover as the pastor of this church and people, Hubbard, a contem- porary historian, says : " He was a great student and much given to books," and Breck adds, "he lived in great harmony with our fathers and highly esteemed." John Pynchon, who knew him better and more in- timately than either of them, and whose judgment was unsurpassed, in his private book of records calls him " the Reverend Teacher of ye church of Spring- field," " a faithful minister of the gospell and teacher of ye church of Springfield." This is surely high commendation for this servant of God. It needs no expansion or addition. But there is a touching ex- pression in the entry upon our public record of his death, which must not be omitted. It is in these words : " The Reverend Mr. Peletiah Glover fell asleep in Jesus, March 29, 1692." To him may well be applied the words of the hymn-
"Asleep in Jesus! blessed sleep! From which none ever wakes to weep; A calm and undisturbed repose, Unbroken by the last of foes."
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It is not strange that, after the death of their re- vered pastor. Mr. Glover, his people should have sought for his successor, one who was nearly allied to him. Accordingly, Mr. John Haynes, who became the husband of Mr. Glover's youngest daughter Mary, soon after her father's death, was invited to fill the vacant pastorate; but this call, although persistently urged, was unsuccessful. A spiritual teacher and guide was, however, soon found, as the record reads. The town " voted to send Captain Thomas Colton and Sergeant Luke Hitchcock to the Bay for the procur- ing a minister to preach the word of God to this town ; and that they apply themselves to the Rev'd the Pres- ident of the College, with the rest of the elders in Boston, for their help for the obtaining a minister that may promote conversion work among us.". These men of war, on this their mission of peace, were suc- cessful. Mr. Daniel Brewer, a native of Roxbury, a graduate at Harvard College of the year 1687, came here in response to this appeal. The town voted to give him " an invitation to carry on the work of the Gospel in this place," and offered him a salary of $80 and the use of the ministry land. The committee by whom this call was communicated to Mr. Brewer, in their report say that he answered that, " provided we were unanimous, he was inclinable to compliance with the town's proffer, and in order to continuance with us, if he shall further find God leading him to doe so." And thereupon " Col. John Pynchon, Esq., and Deacon Jonathan Burt were appointed to declare to Mr. Daniel Brewer the towns good resentment of Mr. Daniel Brewer his answer to the towns invitation, and to give him thanks for the same." With a can-
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didate thus "inclinable to compliance," and this " good resentment " on the part of the people, a settlement was sure to come, and on the 16th day of May, 1694, "Ir. Daniel Brewer was ordained minister of this church and people. He was at the time of his ordi- nation twenty-five years of age, and unmarried. About five years afterwards he married Catherine Chauncey. From this union sprung all of the name of Brewer in this town and vicinity, including two deacons of the church, one of whom united in his person both these names. Rev. Daniel Brewer's ministry here continued till his death, on the 5th November, 1733, nearly forty years. Of the personal traits of Mr. Brewer, of the style of his preaching, and of the nature and extent of his pastoral work, less is probably known than in regard to either of the ministers who preceded or who have followed him. The town records of that period are meager in relation to all parochial matters, with a single exception, and the church records, if any ever existed, have long been lost .*
Compared with the stirring times of Mr. Glover's ministry, this was a time of quiet and growth. The settlers, at first limited to a narrow space, had now spread themselves in every direction, and laid the foundation of new parishes, soon to require each their own separate pastors. This condition of things led to the most important event, of which the records take any notice during Mr. Brewer's ministry, to wit : the formation of a new parish on the west side of the river, and the subsequent, although not immediate, separation of this first parish from the town, which had before transacted both municipal and parochial
*Appendix C.
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affairs under one and the same organization. There had been for some years a feeling among the settlers on the west side of the river, that they were subjected to peculiar inconveniences, if not dangers, in being obliged to cross the river to attend public worship on this side. As early as May, 1674, they had brought before the town this subject, and a committee was ap- pointed to consider the propriety of the town's fur- nishing, at the common charge, a boat to convey them across the river, to attend worship on the Sabbath and other public occasions. There is a tradition that several persons had lost their lives in attempts to cross .*
In the year 1695, the people on the west side of the river presented to the General Court at Boston their petition for leave to procure a minister for that part of the town. Those living on this side did not feel willing to part with so large and substantial a part of the ecclesiastical body, and, being a majority, they passed a vote in town meeting that - some- thing" should be drawn up to send to the General Court to answer this petition of their " neighbors on the west side of the great river," and they appointed Dea. Burt and Lieut. Abel Wright to draw up this " something." At a subsequent meeting in May, 1696, Serg. Luke Hitchcock was chosen the agent of the town to "give in reasons and objections " against said petition ; and, that there might be a good understanding and unanimity of sentiment on this important question among the dwellers on the cast side, a committee was appointed to meet the people at the school-house and acquaint them with the objec- *AAppendix D).
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tions. Whatever may have been the objections, they were unavailing against the petition from the west side of the river. The petition was granted by the General Court, and a second parish or precinct estab- lished in what is now West Springfield, in 1696, over which the Rev. John Woodbridge was ordained pastor in 1698. The creation of a new parish legally dis- solved the relation of the town to the old parish. They were no longer identical organizations. The
inhabitants of the town, as such, could not properly transact the business of the original parish as they had heretofore done in town meetings. But this was not at once realized. The town books continued for some time to record the transactions of the first par- ish. The meetings, however, purport to have been of " the inhabitants of Springfield on the east side of the river ;" and when soon afterwards a third parish was created in what is now Longmeadow, the style was further changed, and the record reads : " At a meet- ing of the inhabitants of the town on the east side of the river, the precinet of Longmeadow excluded," it was voted, etc. The latest record of this kind upon our town records is under date of January 1, 1717. The oldest parish record (properly so called) begins August 7, 1734, after the death of Mr. Brewer and
the ordination of his successor. The earliest church record now in existence bears date January 1, 1736, and is, with one or two exceptions, merely a record kept by the pastors of admissions to the church, mar- riages, baptisms and deaths.
At the time of Mr. Brewer's ordination in 1694, one of the deacons of the church was Jonathan Burt, who had served in that capacity under the ministry
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of Mr. Glover. IIe undoubtedly continued in that office until his death, October 19, 1715, at an advanced age. Ile was a man of some prominence, and served for a time as clerk of the town. Another deacon in the carly part of Mr. Brewer's ministry was John Hitchcock, already named, who held various civil and military offices, and at one time represented the town in the General Court. I have been unable to ascer- tain precisely at what time he was chosen deacon, but probably it was soon after the death of Dea. Par- sons in 1689. He certainly held the office in 1704, and down to the time of his death, February 9, 1712. The successors of Deacons Burt and Hitchcock were James Warriner and Nathaniel Munn. Dea. Warriner died May 14, 1727, before the close of Mr. Brewer's ministry. Dea. Munn survived Mr. Brewer about ten years, and served in that office under his successor till the last day of December, 1743, when he died at the age of eighty-two. Before the close of Mr. Brewer's pastorate, the deaconship passed again into the Burt family, in the person of Henry Burt, son of Dea. Jonathan.
The harmony which had subsisted in this church and parish during the ministry of Mr. Brewer was destined soon to a serious interruption. The settle- ment of a successor was attended with unusual dilli- culties, and produced an excitement not only here, but very extensively throughout this region. In May, 1734, Mr. Robert Breck, a young man then not quite twenty-one years of age, a son of Rev. Robert Breck, of Marlboro, Mass., was invited to preach here with refer- ence to a settlement. He had graduated at Cambridge in 1730, at the early age of seventeen. Before he was
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invited here, he had been preaching at Scotland. a par- ish of Windham, Ct. He preached his first sermon in Springfield, on the 26th of May, 1734. On the 30th of July following the church made choice of him for its pastor, and on the 7th of August the parish con- curred in this choice, and proposed to him terms of settlement, which, although at first declined for other reasons, were ultimately accepted. Soon after Mr. Breck commenced preaching here as a candidate, re- ports prejudicial to his character for orthodoxy began to be circulated in this town and among the neighbor- ing clergy. The authority for these reports was Rev. Thomas Clap, of Windham, afterwards President of Yale College. The effect of these rumors was to dis- affect a minority of the parish with Mr. Breck, and to create so strong an opposition among the ministers of this vicinity that, for the time, the project of his set- tlement was abandoned, and a call extended to Mr. Joseph Pynchon. This being declined, the attention of the church and parish was again directed to Mr. Breek, and he was again invited to preach as a can- didate. At the parish meeting in March, 1735, a com- mittee was appointed to wait on the reverend minis- ters of the county, at their next meeting in April, to get what information they could relating to the charges exhibited against Mr. Breck by the Rev. Mr. Clap and others, and to ascertain the sentiments of the ministers. It does not appear from the parish records that this committee ever made a report. Probably they never acted under their appointment. The opposition of so large and respectable a number of ministers as the association of the old County of Hampshire, did not deter this church and parish from
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their purpose. With all their reverence for the cler- gy, they appreciated their own right as Congregation- alists to choose their own pastor, and their hearts were fully set upon Mr. Breck as the man. Accord- ingly the church, on the 17th April, 1735, formally renewed their call to him, and the parish, one week afterwards, concurred in the call.
All his endeavors to remove the obstructions to his settlement having failed of success, Mr. Breck, on the 28th of July, 1735, in a letter which is recorded at length in the parish records, accepted the call .*
Arrangements were made for his ordination on the 14th of October following. On that day a council as- sembled for this purpose, consisting of seven clergy- men, namely, Messrs. Chauncey of Hadley, Devotion of Suffield, Rand of Sunderland, Cook of Sudbury, and Cooper, Welstead and Mather of Boston, with their delegates. Then ensued a scene, such perhaps as never occurred in an ecclesiastical council in New England before or since. In the midst of its deliberations, a civil officer entered the council armed with a warrant from a magistrate, arrested Mr. Breck, and carried, or attempted to carry him off to Connecticut, "there to answer to such things as should be objected against him." I am not able to state the precise nature of this charge made against him. I have an impression, however, that it was for some heretical opinions which he was accused of having uttered or published, while he was preaching in that State. It was undoubtedly a charge that had been trumped up for the purpose of preventing his ordination here. It served the pur- pose for the time being, but not long. The church *Appendix E.
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and parish were justly indignant at this flagrant at- tempt to deprive them of their chosen pastor. . At a meeting of the church, held two weeks afterwards, two of its leading members were appointed to go to Boston, and present to the General Assembly of the Province the remonstrance of this church and precinct against these proceedings, and to assert the rights and privileges of the church and parish to choose their own minister and have a council ordain him. The result was that the council was again convened, and Mr. Breck ordained on the 27th of January, 1736. Rev. Dr. Cooper, of Boston, preached the ordination sermon, which was published.
The opposition to Mr. Breck in his own church and parish, did not at once subside after his settlement. A few leading men, who had failed to secure his re- jection by the ecclesiastical council, appear to have been guilty of the folly of seeking to defeat his set- tlement by an appeal to a legal tribunal. It was in this way: A provincial statute made it obligatory upon every parish to be provided with an Orthodox minister, under penalty of being liable to a prosecu- tion for non-compliance. Complaint was made that the parish was not provided with such an Orthodox minister, and a summons was served upon it to appear before the Court of General Sessions of the Peace for the County of Hampshire, to answer to this com- plaint. The parish appointed a committee of five to represent and defend the parish, authorizing them "by all ways and means, with the best advice, that may be had in the law, to answer to this complaint, and at the charge of the Precinct to appear, defend, and pursue the said cause from Court to Court, and
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to carry the same before any proper authority what- soever, and where they may think it necessary in order to a final issue and determination of the matter. And that they have power to prosecute and defend as aforesaid, in any cause or action that may arise by the virtue of the said complaint or controversy, or in the management thereof." William Pynchon, Senior, (a great-grandson of the first Pynchon,) was made chair- man of this committee. As there is no further refer- ence to this matter in the parish record, it is probable that "the Court of General Sessions of the Peace" never actually adjudicated this delicate question of the orthodoxy of the Springfield minister. Subse- quent events rendered it unnecessary.
The severe ordeal, through which Mr. Breck passed at the commencement of his ministry here, undoubt- edly exerted a very favorable influence upon his character. If he had been rash and imprudent before he was ordained, he was prudent and discreet after- wards. By his careful and conciliatory course, he soon disarmed all opposition among his own people, and established himself firmly in their confidence and affection. One of the first measures, adopted by him to ingratiate himself with his flock, was prompted probably more by his heart than by his head. With- in a few weeks after his ordination, he took to wife Eunice Brewer, the daughter of his predecessor, with whose widowed mother he had boarded, while preach- ing as a candidate. Another method, that he adopted to conciliate his opponents in the parish was this, which proved to be quite effectual. If he wished any favor, he would be careful to ask it of some one of his people, whom he had reason to believe unfriendly:
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rather than of those, regarded as his staunch sup- porters. This expression of his confidence in them, soon won their confidence in him, and in a short time harmony and mutual regard marked all their inter- course. 'He was a man of uncommon talents. Dr. Lathrop of West Springfield, who studied theol- ogy with Mr. Breck, says of him: "His intellectual powers, which were naturally superior, were bright- ened by his education, and enlarged by an extensive acquaintance with men and books. As he accus- tomed himself to a close manner of thinking and rea- soning, and filled up his time with diligent applica- tion, so he acquired a rich furniture of the most use- ful knowledge." "He was easy of access, given to hospitality, faithful in his friendships, tender and at- tentive in all domestic relations, compassionate to the distressed, and a lover of mankind. In a word, he was an accomplished gentleman and exemplary Chris- tian." Mr. Breck entered upon his ministry with a church of sixty-seven members - thirty-two male and thirty-five female members. Nathaniel Mun and Henry Burt were the deacons. In the course of his ministry of forty-eight years, there were admitted to full communion, by letter and by profession, three hundred and thirty-one.
Dea. Munn died on the last day of December, 1743, at the age of eighty-two, and Dea. Henry Buri, about five years later (December 11, 1748). at the age of eighty-five. Cotemporary with them. during the latter part of their lives, was Dea. Nathaniel Brewer, a son of the former minister, and brother-in- law of Mr. Breck. He was by trade a carpenter, and much employed as such in the repairs of the meeting-
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house, and the house owned by the parish and occu- pied by the minister. He appears to have been a man highly respected in the church and parish. He survived Mr. Breck, and died on the Sth of March, 1796, at the age of eighty-five years. Jonathan Church was a deacon carly in the ministry of Mr. Breck. He is mentioned in that capacity in May, 1747. Ile was admitted from the church in Long- meadow, March 3, 1742, and died October 27, 1761. Josiah Dwight united with this church by letter from the church in Hatfield, September 25, 1743, and was afterwards chosen a deacon. The date of the choice is not stated. He is more frequently mentioned in the records by his military title of Colonel, and his civil title of Esquire. He died September 28, 1768, aged fifty-two years. Probably he was elected. after the death of Dea. Church, and if so, his term of of- fice was comparatively brief. Daniel Harris, joined the church by profession, February 24, 1765. He was a deacon of the church certainly as early as March, 1773, as he is so called in connection with his election at that time as parish assessor. Ile had previously served several years as parish clerk. He was one of three deacons who, after the death of Mr. Breck, took an active part in extending a call to his successor. Dea. Harris died on the 22d of June. 1785, at the age of fifty-three. Moses Bliss was ad- mitted to the church, October 13, 1754, being then a student at Yale College. There is no record of his election as deacon. In fact, there is none of any
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