USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > History of the Old South church (Third church) Boston, 1669-1884, Vol. II > Part 42
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Jos. PIERCE JOSIAH SALISBURY Committee.
EDWD PHILLIPS 1
BOSTON NOV. 1, 1815 [1816]
Voted, The report be accepted, and the thanks of the Society be presented to said Committee for their Care and the Trouble they had in procuring said Bell, which passed unanimously.
The Committee on the Vestry made report and exhibited a Drawing and drafts of the Building, with an estimate of the expences, all which was accepted by the Standing Committee, and ordered to be laid be- fore the Society for their approbation, and that the Society be called together on this day week at 3 O Clock to take the Subject into Con- sideration.
Voted, That the proceedings of the Standing Committee respecting the building a Vestry upon the plan now exhibited, which have been laid before this meeting at this time by said Committee, meets the approbation of this meeting, and the Church and Society do hereby approve of the same, and direct that said Standing Committee carry the same into full effect, in such way and manner as they may think most for the interest of this Church and Society.
ciety. Mr. Adams wrote that in his earlier years he had read the writings of Fénelon, St. Pierre, and others, on the subject of peace, but had since become satisfied that wars were inevitable, and as necessary in our system as hurricanes, earthquakes, and volcanoes. In closing his letter the ex-president said: " I do
sir, most humbly supplicate the theo- logians, the philosophers and the poli- ticians, to let me die in peace. I seek only repose."
1 [In 1860 Mr. Phillips's older brother, Jonathan, gave a chime of bells to the church in Arlington Street, on the corner of Boylston Street.]
394
HISTORY OF THE OLD SOUTH CHURCH.
Voted, The bill presented by the Committee who procured the bell be paid by the Treasurer of the Society.
This meeting now dissolved.
Attest JOHN WINSLOW Clk.
The new bell arrived in Boston in the month of July preced- ing, probably in the brig Brutus from London.1 We find the following mention of it in the newspapers : -
A correspondent congratulates the public on the arrival of a Bell for the Old South meeting-house, as the town will again have the con- venience of a clock, that has long, and usefully, told us how our hours pass - conducting materially to the order and regularity of our movements. Especially serviceable to this end, is the Bell rung at nine in the evening - and it is earnestly hoped that those whose duty it may be, will attend to the due performance of the Bell-Ringer's duty - the person who was last employed having shamefully neglected his charge. The proper ringing of the bell at the time mentioned, is of great importance to the comfort, order, and even to the morals of this metropolis.
Preparations are making for placing the new Bell in the steeple of the Old South meeting-house. It is about 400 wt. heavier than the old and excellent bell it replaces. It appears by the inscription on the old bell, that it was placed in that steeple in 1728 ; and was pre- sented to the society by Capt. Timothy Cunningham. The excellent Clock in this steeple was made by Mr. Gawen Brown, an eminent artist of this town. The new bell, we learn, weighs about 1500 wt. was cast in London, by T. Mears, and bears the names of Joseph Peirce, Edward Phillips, and Josiah Salisbury, Junr. Committee of the Society to procure it.
The Bell in the Old South steeple was rung yesterday, [July 23] and proves equal, if not superior in tone, to the excellent old one.2
An aged member of the church, Abigail, daughter of Thomas and Sarah Dawes, and widow of Josiah Waters, died on the 22d of November, in her ninety-sixth year. She was born Jan- uary 13, 1721, early in the ministry of Sewall and Prince (by the former of whom she was baptized, January 15), and she saw the termination of seven pastorates at the Old South ; had she lived three years longer, she would have survived the eighth. Her ancestors had been members of the church since its foun- dation, and she came into the sacred succession, by joining it in
1 This bell now hangs in the campanile 2 [Col. Centinel, July 20, 1816. July of the Old South in Copley Square. 24, 1816.]
395
AN HISTORIC PRAYER-MEETING.
1736, soon after she had completed her fifteenth year.1 A few years later she received new impressions of divine truth under the preaching of Whitefield and Tennent, and the begin- ning of her active religious life dated from that period. She will always be remembered with especial interest as the founder of a female prayer-meeting, which was sustained by three gener- ations of pious women in the Old South membership, and which, perhaps, more than any other one agency, served to sustain the vital energy of the church in the midst of strong, prevailing tendencies to formalism and indifferentism. In a memoir of Mrs. Waters, Mr. Huntington gives the following account of this prayer-meeting :-
Convinced of the necessity and utility of prayer, and encouraged by the examples of union in this exercise, recorded in the sacred volume, she [Miss Dawes] proposed to several of her young female friends, who were "partakers of like precious faith " with herself, to appro- priate one afternoon of every week to this most delightful purpose. The proposal was gladly embraced.
Unwilling, however, to act unadvisedly on a subject of so much importance, they applied to their respected pastor, the Rev. Mr. Prince, whose daughter was one of the number, for counsel. Gratified to find they were so piously disposed, he encouraged them to carry their wishes into effect, and assured them of his readiness to give them all the assistance in his power. Desirous of avoiding all ostentation, and, as far as possible, publicity, the execution of their purpose was for a considerable time delayed, for want of a suitable place at which to meet. At length, encouraged by the promise, "if any man lack wis- dom, let him ask of God, who giveth liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him," they set apart a day, on which, unitedly, to implore the Divine direction. Immediately after, a striking Provi- dence relieved them from their embarrassment, and confirmed their faith in the efficacy of prayer. Miss Dawes, while returning home from the meeting through Portland Street,2 observed a lady with whom she was unacquainted, beckoning to her to approach. "I hear," said she,
1 She used to say that her first re- ligious impressions were received under a sermon which she heard Dr. Cotton Mather preach, in the first meeting- house of the Old South, when she was seven years of age, from Jer. xxiii. 29: " Is not my word like as a fire? saith the Lord, and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces ?" Her sister Rebecca joined the church on the same day ; she married William Homes, "the honest
goldsmith," a nephew of Benjamin Franklin, who died in 1783. Abigail and Rebecca were cousins of the Hon. Thomas Dawes, deacon from 1786 to 1809.
2 [Miss Dawes's father lived in Sud- bury Street, in a house which was built by his grandfather, William Dawes, and which, after having been in the family for several generations, was pulled down during the siege of Boston.]
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HISTORY OF THE OLD SOUTH CHURCH.
"my dear, that you have found Christ." "I trust that I have," was the reply, "and He is the chiefest among ten thousand, and altogether lovely." "Come in, come in," said the lady, " I want to see and con- verse with you." The invitation was readily accepted. Miss Dawes then communicated to her, in compliance with her request, the change through which she had passed, and concluded with mentioning the purpose for which she and her Christian companions had been engaged that afternoon. "My dear young friend," said the lady, "God has sent you here. I have this day been kneeling in that place (pointing to a staircase in sight) intreating him to open the way for such a meet- ing as you contemplate, in my house. I am much confined at home, and of course deprived in a great measure of the privileges which others enjoy, who speak often one to another, and to God. Nothing could delight me more than to have you convene under this roof. There is but one difficulty I can think of in the way. My husband, though kind and affectionate to me, is not a man of religion ; and may perhaps object. He is out now. But I will ask his consent as soon as he returns, and then let you know the result." The result was as favorable as could have been desired. A place being now provided for the meeting, the little band, that the design of their union might not in future be frustrated by the admission of unsuitable associates, requested Mr. Prince to draft them a form of covenant, confession of faith, and rules of discipline, which every member should be required to subscribe. This excellent man cheerfully complied with their re- quest, earnestly commending them to Him who despiseth not the day of small things.
The society met eighteen years at the house of this pious lady. At the expiration of that time, her husband became dissatisfied, and another place was procured. It was not long, however, before he re- gretted the removal, -confessed that nothing in his worldly affairs had succeeded to his wishes since, and begged that his house might again become an house of prayer. Rejoiced at the change in his mind, the society immediately returned to the place where they at first con- vened, and which so many seasons - delightful and refreshing seasons of communion with God, and one another, had endeared. There they continued to meet, until the British took possession of Boston, in 1775, when they were dispersed. After the evacuation of the town, they again assembled as before, though in a different place, and have continued to do so, to the present day ; the vacancies occasioned by death and otherwise, being supplied, and more than supplied, by the addition of new members.1
1 [We get another glimpse of this prayer-meeting, in a sermon by Dr. Cod- man, preached July 11, 1834, at the funeral of Harriett (Moore), wife of the
Rev. Richard S. Storrs, of Braintree : " It is utterly impossible for the speaker to do justice to the character of our much loved friend, though it has been his priv-
397
MRS. ABIGAIL WATERS.
In 1743 Abigail Dawes married Josiah Waters,1 who during his life was a prosperous business man in Ann Street; but after his death, which came very suddenly, September 30, 1784, his widow found herself in somewhat straitened circumstances. Her last illness was a long and painful one, but was borne with true Christian fortitude, and she looked forward to the moment of death with joyful expectation. Her last words were, "Open to me the gates, that I may enter in." Mr. Huntington preached her funeral sermon from Rev. xiv. 13 : "Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord," and it was printed with her Memoir. "One who had known her half a century" sent an obituary notice to the papers, from which we quote a few sentences : -
Though she was not a nurse by profession, yet her charitable and personal attention to the sick was very extensive, and until the evening of her days, she went about doing good. Her visits were so disinter- ested, that the most malignant disorders never deterred her from watching with the afflicted ; and so benign was her temper, and so eloquent was the expression of it, that many a dying bed was softened by her consoling observations and prayers. That eminent physician, the late Dr. Lloyd, has been heard to pass the most fervent encomi- ums upon her conduct in the chambers of the diseased ; and when the means of her subsistence were impaired by some grievous vicissitudes, which she bore with pious submission, he freely offered her his valu- able services, when she might need them. But she seldom required medical aid for herself, so firm was her health for a series of years beyond the age of man.
ilege to have known her worth for nearly thirty years. The circle of Christians which, at the time of his first acquaint- ance with her, then resided in our me- tropolis, many of whom are now in heaven, were distinguished for deep and ardent piety. Surrounded as they were by fashionable and increasing errors, they maintained their integrity and held fast their attachment to the doctrines of grace. The precious names of Mrs. Waters and Mrs. Mason, and other aged saints, are embalmed in the memory of many a child of God. With these ven- erable pilgrims was associated a young disciple, who, with all the loveliness of youthful attractions, separated herself from the world, and consecrated herself to the service of her God and Saviour. From the prayers and conversation of
these aged saints, through the blessing of God, she seemed to receive a peculiar unction of spirit, which was strikingly characteristic of her future course." Mrs. Storrs was a daughter of Samuel and Katharine (Snow) Moore; she was born in Charlestown, December 12, 1784, she joined the Old South in 1811, and she was married by the Rev. Mr. Dwight to the Rev. Richard S. Storrs, of Brain- tree, September 16, 1819. Mr. Hunting- ton had died the week before.]
1 Mr. Waters was captain of the ar- tillery company in 1769; his son, Josiah Waters, Jr., was captain in 1791. The latter married, March 14, 1771, Mary, daughter of William and Elizabeth Whit- well. They were married by Dr. Lathrop, as the Old South had no minister at that time.
398
HISTORY OF THE OLD SOUTH CHURCH.
On the evening of New Year's Day, 1817, the Rev. Mr. Cor- nelius preached a sermon at the Old South before the Boston Foreign Mission Society. This gentleman had recently made a successful trip through Essex County, to procure funds for the education of heathen children and youth, and this sermon had particular reference to this subject, which then formed a promi- nent part of the designs of the American Board of Commis- sioners for Foreign Missions. In a newspaper notice, we read : -
Perhaps no plan for the benefit of the heathen world has ever been so extensively approved, as that which is here referred to, and which has been adopted by Missionary Societies in Great Britain, as well as in this country. The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions have lately made provision for the support of schools among the Cherokees, and have instituted a school for educating such heathen youths, as may have arrived in our country, and may be expected to return to their respective countries and islands, carrying with them the blessings of Christianity and civilization. They have also gratified the wishes of a multitude of benevolent persons, by furnishing the means of giving Christian education to heathen children at Bombay, in imi- tation of the three largest Missionary Societies in the world, which pursue substantially the same plan, for the benefit of heathen children in different parts of Asia and Africa.1
At a meeting of the Brethren of the Old South Church and Con- gregation Fast Evening April 3, 1817, Deacon William Phillips Moderator.
Voted, That John Winslow be requested to do the duty of Clerk for the year insuing.
The Committee chosen by the Society April 4, 1816, to take the care and direction of all the temporal concerns of said Society, as the time for which they were chosen has expired, beg leave to report their doings the last year. Vizt.
Ist. They have laid out for sundry repairs on the Meeting House, Parsonage Houses and Stores the sum of $350.24 and also $66.50 in repairing and putting up the New Bell.
2d They have expended in purchasing Books for the Singers, hiring a Room for their Use, and paying the Leader and Instructor, three Hundred Dollars.
3d They have let the Stores belonging to the Society, on leases for Five Years, three at the rent of $600. and two at $650. p. Annum ; they have also let the Eastern parsonage House for one year for $750., and the cellars under the Meeting House at $400 pr Annum.
1 [Col. Centinel, January 1, 1817.]
.
399
A VESTRY TO BE BUILT.
4th They have let the Pewes in the Gallery belonging to the Society, and collected the Rents amounting to nearly $400. which they have paid into the hands of your Treasurer, and your Committee would here observe that with few exceptions the taxes have been regularly paid.
5th They have sold the Old Bell at @ 19 p. lb amounting [to] One Hundred Eighty Two Dollars 120% which is paid over to the Treasurer.
6th The Committee were impowered by the Society to procure Ma- terials and Contract for building a Vestry the ensuing year, but after paying Mr. Loring for the House and Land purchased of him, by order of the Society, they found so small a Sum on hand that it was the unanimous opinion of said Committee to defer the erection of said Building for the present.
7th Your Committee have attended to all matters and things en- trusted to their care, all which is respectfully submitted
FRANCIS WELCH Secy p order.
N. B. But they would however recommend that suitable Lumber be purchased as early as possible the insuing season, that it may be better prepared for use.
Voted, the Report be accepted.
Voted, That we now proceed to a Choice of a Standing Committee for the year, who shall have the same powers as former Committees, to attend to all matters and things.
Voted, That Mr. Armstrong and Charles Cleveland be a Committee to count and sort the Votes, which Committee reported the following persons as chosen, Vizt. William Phillips, John Winslow, Joseph Pierce, William Homes, Samuel Coverly, Abraham Wild, Benjamin Whitman, David W. Child, Edward Phillips, Francis Welsh, John Winslow Jun. Porter Cleveland.
Voted, We now come to a Choice of a Committee to examine the Treasurer's Accounts, and they be requested to proceed on the same as soon as convenient, and when they are ready to report, they request the Rev. Mr. Huntington to call a meeting from the Desk. The following Gentlemen chosen, Deacon Salisbury, Joseph Pierce, Deacon Ticknor, Samuel Coverly and John Winslow.
Lord's Day May 4th 1817. The church staid after Divine service in the after noon ; when it was proposed to consider the expediency of electing two additional Deacons. The present Deacons being far advanced in life ; and the duties of the office becoming more laborious, it appear'd highly proper that they should be reliev'd, in some degree at least, by the addition of two to their number. After some conver- sation on the subject, it was Voted to adjourn the meeting to the Tuesday following, 4 P. M. The church met accordingly. The meet- ing was opened with prayer by the Pastor. Brother Joseph Peirce was chosen Secretary. After some discussion, it was Voted, that in the
400
HISTORY OF THE OLD SOUTH CHURCH.
opinion of the church, it is expedient that two additional deacons be chosen. The time when the election should take place, was then consider'd ; whereupon it was Voted, to proceed to the election im- mediately. This vote however was reconsider'd ; and after some deliberation, it was Voted, that the election of the two deacons be postpon'd to Thursday next, at 4 o'clock P. M. The meeting was accordingly adjourned to that time. JOSEPH PEIRCE Secretary.
Boston May 5. 1817.
At a Meeting of the Church and Congregation of the Old South Society, notified from the Desk by the Rev. Mr. Huntington to meet this Day at 10 O Clock A. M. .
Voted, That in Consideration of Several Sums of Money paid by our Revd. Pastor to many Gentlemen, for supplying the pulpit, at periods of time when he has been prevented by Illness from perform- ing the duties of his Office, and when absent in journeying for the benefit of his health, and also in consideration of the Sickness in his family and Expenses thereof at this present time, a Gift or Grant be made him of Three Hundred Dollars, and the Treasurer be requested to pay the same forthwith.
This Vote passed unanimously.
The Committee on the Treasurer's Accounts beg leave to report, That they have attended that business, and find the same right cast and well vouched, and the following in the Treasurer's hands, Vizt.
Belonging to the Church
2 Mass. Bank Shares $1000.00
Of 3 pr ct Stock 2 Certificates nom. $998.66 @ 64 c 639.14
Cash on hand, 817.85
Belonging to the Church and Congregation 2897.27
$5354.26
All which is submitted.
BOSTON May 5 1817
Jos. PEIRCE p order.
Voted, The above Report be accepted.
Voted, That the Standing Committee be authorized to settle and pay to Mr. Luman Streeter the monies agreeable to the vote passed by them which stands recorded in their Clerk's Books.1
Voted, We now proceed to the Choice of a Treasurer for the Year, and that Mr. French be a Committee to receive, count and sort the Votes, who reports that the Honble William Phillips was unanimously chosen.
Voted, This meeting be dissolved.
1 [We find in the Directory the name under the meeting-house, and have had of Luman Stretar, Distiller, Haskins a claim against the society, in some way Wharf. He may have rented the cellars
growing out of his lease.]
401
ELECTION OF DEACONS.
Thursday 8th May 1817. The church conven'd agreeably to ad- journment, in the Meeting-House, 4 o clock P. M. and proceeded to the business assign'd.
Voted, that brothers Cutler and Whitman be a committee to col- lect and sort the votes. The committee having attended to this ser- vice, reported, that brothers Josiah Salisbury and Edward Phillips were unanimously chosen. On motion of brother B. Whitman, it was then Voted, that a committee of three be appointed to wait on the newly elected Deacons, and inform them of their election. Brothers B. Whitman, P. Cutler and S. Coverly were chosen for this purpose, and directed to report to the Pastor.
Attest, JOSEPH PEIRCE Secretary.
Twenty-three years before, the fathers of Mr. Salisbury and Mr. Phillips had been elected together to the office to which the sons were now called, nor could the succession have fallen upon worthier men. Edward Phillips was also a grandson of a deacon of the church, and his wife, Mary, was a daughter of Deacon Samuel Salisbury. He became a member in 1806. He was a man of the highest character, but died at a comparatively early age, and before his father. His older brother and partner in business, Jonathan Phillips, joined the church in 1800 ; a few years later, as we have said, he was attracted to the ministry of Mr. Channing, and subse- quently became a deacon in his church.
Josiah Salisbury 1 was born in Worcester, during his father's temporary residence there, Feb- ruary 15, 1781. He graduated at Harvard College in 1798, and among his classmates were William Ellery Channing, Jo- seph Story, Sidney Willard, and Stephen Longfellow. His son, Professor Salisbury, of New Haven, writes : -
Immediately after leaving college, my father "commenced a mer- chant," as he says ; but soon turned again to his studies : in August 1799, he was re-established in Cambridge. On the 29th of June 1800,
1 The above portrait is after an orig- London in 1802, and owned by Professor inal miniature by Grimaldi, taken in Salisbury.
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HISTORY OF THE OLD SOUTH CHURCH.
he united with the Old South Church in Boston, under the pastorate of Rev. Dr Eckley ; and then, in compliance with his father's wishes, resolved to prepare himself for the sacred ministry. He traced the beginnings of his Christian life to his mother [Elizabeth (Sewall)] 's influence, who had died when he was about eight years old, who daily took him with her into her closet, to commend him to God in prayer.
Soon after this he embarked for Liverpool, on his way to Scotland, to join the theological class in the University of Edinburgh, taking with him letters of introduction, which, together with his prepossess- ing manners, disposition and culture, at once secured for him hospi- talities and friendships. He remained in Edinburgh till the spring of 1801, chiefly devoted to study and social intercourse ; then by way of Aberdeen and Glasgow, went to London Here he seems to have sought to add to his knowledge of the world by frequenting places of fashionable amusement, while at the same time he fostered a tender sympathy with the sufferings of his fellow men, and widened his ac- quaintance with the means of relief, by visiting prominent charitable institutions - using his pen, meanwhile, to record his observations, or more directly in the line of his chosen profession. Here, too, he made acquaintances and friends ; among whom he mentions Mr. Cecil and Mr. Newton of the Established Church - evidently Rev. Richard Cecil, who was minister of St John's, Bedford Row, from 1800 till his death in 1810, and Rev. John Newton, who removed from Olney to a rectory in London, on the presentation of Mr. Thornton, and remained there till his death in 1807. . . .
Immediately after his return to Boston, while yet receiving the con- gratulations of his friends, he was licensed to preach (doubtless by a Boston Association) ; and the first pulpit he occupied appears to have been that of his "dear friend Joseph," Rev Joseph Tuckerman, a college classmate and intimate associate, at Chelsea, Massachusetts. He afterwards preached several Sundays "in the environs of Boston," finding " the reverend fathers very willing to receive [his] labors of love "; and then made his " entrée into the metropolis in the presence of the venerable audience at the Old South," then still under the pastorate of Dr. Eckley. A letter of his written in the spring of 1803 speaks of his "just now finishing an engagement in Brattle Street Church," at that time without a pastor, Dr. Peter Thacher having died in 1802, and his successor, Rev. Joseph S. Buckminster having come into office in 1805. Another refers to his preaching " at Dr. [Samuel] West's," then pastor of the Hollis Street Church, and to his expecta- tion of going, after four Sundays, to Providence, for the two succeed- ing. Here he was with great unanimity invited to settle. But experi- ence had convinced him that "his bodily strength was not equal to the effort required in continual preaching," to which being added "a natural reluctance to be the object of public attention, and extreme
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