USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > History of the Old South church (Third church) Boston, 1669-1884, Vol. II > Part 45
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of this Church be requested to put both the letter missive and the reply of the Revd Mr. Huntington upon the records of this Church, that, should it unhappily prove that the ties of christian fellow- ship and charity which had so long con- nected these churches were finally sev- ered, it might appear of record, by which of the Churches those ties were not first broken.
LETTER MISSIVE.
To the Revd Joshua Huntington, and the Church under his pastoral care.
BOSTON March 15th. 1819 Christian Brethren
The members of the Church and So- ciety in Hollis Street, Boston, having unanimously elected Mr. John Pierpont to be their pastor and teacher, and he having made known to them his accept- ance of their call to that office : Wednes- day the 14th day of April next has been appointed for his ordination.
Your presence and assistance by your pastor and delegates is requested on the occasion. With devout wishes for your happiness and welfare, both in this life and the life to come, we remain your friends and brethren in the faith and hope of the Gospel of Christ.
(Signed) .
BENJAMIN WEST SAML MAY Committee WILLIAM BROWN
REPLY OF REVD. JOSHUA HUNTINGTON. To Mess. Benjamin West, Samuel May and William Brown, Committee of the Church in Hollis Street.
Respected Brethren
Your request in behalf of the Church in Hollis Street for the presence and as- sistance of the Old South Church in the
422
HISTORY OF THE OLD SOUTH CHURCH.
Of the change which was taking place at this time, in the relations of the Old South to the other Congregational churches in the town, formed before the commencement of the present century, Dr. Wisner said, in 1830, in one of his Historical Sermons : -
Formerly there was the closest union evinced by a constant inter- change of all the acts of ecclesiastical and ministerial communion. Eighteen or twenty years ago, this interchange began to be less frequent ; and, for some time past, has entirely ceased. In 1819, - it having become common for councils composed of representatives of those churches and others of similar views, to induct persons into the ministry without any examination in reference to doctrinal belief and personal religion, and the then pastor of this church having, while sitting on such councils, been repeatedly denied the privilege of put- ting questions, relating to the particulars just named, to candidates for ordination, - the church decided, on the 4th of April in that year, to accept no more invitations to such councils.1 And no invitations have since been received. About two years before his death, Mr. Huntington made his last exchange with a minister of one of those congregations. And I have been assured from the best authority - his lamented widow - that he had decided, never again, be the consequences what they might, to make another such exchange. And such another has never since been made.
The action of the Old South Church in April, 1819, un- doubtedly marks an epoch in its history. We do not understand, however, that it was, in words, as broad as Dr. Wisner described
ordination of Mr. John Pierpont as your pastor having been submitted to our Church it was Voted to decline the same, and that the Pastor be desired to Communicate this Vote to the Commit- tee from whom it was received, and through them to the Church which they represent.
Wishing you Brethren, the guidance and blessing of the great Head of the Church in the solemn transaction before you, and devoutly praying that you and your pastor elect may be each others' joy and Crown of rejoicing in the day of the Lord Jésus
We remain
Very respectfully and affectionately yours
In behalf of the Church
(sd.) J. HUNTINGTON, Pastor. May 4th. 1819.
A note is added : " Date should prob- ably have been April 4th as it was re- ceived April 5th. by S. May." There is also a discrepancy between the corrected date of the letter and the date of the final action of the Old South. The rec- ord is not in the handwriting of Mr. Huntington, and in transcribing, it would seem that the dates April 4 and April II were given by mistake for March 28 and April 4.]
1 [Dr. Wisner added in a note : “ Be- fore [his own ordination], in every case, all the Congregational churches of Bos- ton had been invited by this church to its ordaining councils. In this instance it was determined to pursue a different course. After full deliberation and dis- cussion, the church decided to adopt the different principle in selecting the coun- cil."]
·
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THE OLD SOUTH AND HOLLIS STREET.
it, although, in effect, it was precisely as he stated it. Whether intended to be so or not, the declination to assist at Mr. Pier- pont's ordination was a test case ; and it led to the ecclesiastical separation of the Old South from the churches with which, for so many years, it had been on terms of friendship and fellow- ship.
The relations of the Old South with the church in Hollis Street had been exceptionally intimate ever since the founda- tion of the latter, when, in 1731, Governor Belcher gave the land on which its meeting-house was built, and Dr. Sewall, a year later, drew up the form of words under which its mem- bers entered into solemn covenant with God and with each other.1 When its meeting-house was burned in 1787, the Old South opened its doors in Christian hospitality, and the two congregations worshipped together for many months. At a service in the open air, after the foundations of the new house had been laid, Dr. Eckley invoked the blessing of the Most High on the rising walls. At the installation of Mr. West in 1789, Dr. Eckley gave the right hand of fellowship to the pastor, and made an address to the people, in which he said : " Often have we mingled our souls together at the same Church, in humble adoration of the God of heaven ; often have we sat as brethren around the same table of our Saviour." Again in 1809, preaching the sermon at Mr. Holley's installation, Dr. Eckley spoke with affectionate interest of the time when the two congregations worshipped together as one. No wonder that when the question was presented, whether or not these fra- ternal, or, we might say, these filial relations, hallowed by the memories of more than fourscore years, should be interrupted, there was a minority which hesitated to take the responsibility involved in the refusal to accept the invitation then under con- sideration.
No church recently established could be confronted by such
1 " The site upon which the first meet- ing-house in Hollis Street was erected, was given in 1731 to William Pain Esq. by His Excellency Governor Belcher, on condition that he, 'with a covenant num- ber, would associate themselves together, and build a house for the publick wor- ship of God.' This first edifice was built in 1732, and upon the eighteenth of June of that year, the first sermon within
its walls was preached by the Reverend Joseph Sewall, pastor of the Third (or Old South) Church. It was he who 'more immediately formed ' or organized the church here. He wrote its covenant, dedicated its house of worship with prayer, gave the charge to its first pastor, and laid the hand of ordination upon his head." - Historical Sermon, by the Rev. George L. Chaney.
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HISTORY OF THE OLD SOUTH CHURCH.
traditions and memories as these, when it passed upon questions of fellowship with the historical churches by which it was sur- rounded. The division now taking place in the denomination could not mean for it what it meant for the Old South. Be this as it may, we cannot believe that Mr. Huntington, and the leading men of his church who agreed with him, were in favor of a division in the denomination - positive, sharp, final. It must be remembered that the only matter upon which the church voted at this juncture was the adoption of the majority report of its committee, recommending the acceptance of the invitation to assist at Mr. Pierpont's ordination. By a majority vote it refused to adopt this report, for reasons which do not fully appear. Dr. Wisner says that Mr. Huntington had not been satisfied with the course of procedure in recent installa- tion councils of which he had been a member. He desired the privilege of examining the pastors-elect on such occasions, in accordance rather with the principles of consociationism under which he and Dr. Morse and Mr. Dwight had been trained, than with the usages of Massachusetts Congregation- alists. When Mr. Lowell was ordained at the West Church in 1806, he did not preach his own ordination sermon, as had been the custom in the past, and Dr. Eckley and Mr. Channing were in favor of his presenting a statement of his theological views, but they did not go so far as to recommend his submission to an examination upon his statement by the assembled ministers. Such an examination, as we know, easily degenerates into cross- examination, and captious criticism, and unseemly wrangling. An installation council is convened, usually, by the church which is about to settle a minister, and not by the pastor-elect ; and it is expected to act, chiefly at least, in view of its acquaint- ance with and confidence in the inviting church, for, in most cases, its members can have no such personal knowledge of the pastor-elect as would justify them in passing an independent judgment upon his fitness for the position to which he has been called. A man should possess, we think, extraordinary powers of intellectual and spiritual insight who would venture, after an acquaintance of an hour or two, to pass adversely upon the choice of a church and congregation made after months of care- ful and prayerful deliberation. Undoubtedly a church has a right to decline an invitation to an ordination or installation council ; were it otherwise, the bonds of denominational fellow- ship would be like fetters of iron. It ought, of course, to be
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" ONE IS YOUR MASTER, EVEN CHRIST."
sure of its ground in such a case, for it is not a light thing to disturb the relations of sister churches dwelling in unity. The proper time, however, for declination or dissent is on the pres- entation of the letters-missive, and when the question of ac- cepting the invitation has come up for definite action. Then it may become the duty of a church to decline, and, if it wishes to do so, to give reasons for its declination ; but it can never be its duty to accept such an invitation, and allow its representa- tives to go and stir up strife and sow the seeds of rancor in the solemn services in which they have been asked to assist as an act of fellowship. This view of the case can be controverted only on the dangerous assumption that Congregational churches are answerable to each other, that is to say, to each other's min- isters, for their doctrinal beliefs and ecclesiastical doings ; and the logical issue of such accountability, as Dr. Emmons said of the consociationism of his day, is the absolute supremacy of an hierarchy.
The minister of the Old South, as we suppose, thought that he was not in theological agreement with the pastor-elect of Hollis Street Church, and without an opportunity of satisfying himself on this point, he would not have been willing to pro- pose to him an exchange of pulpits ; he hesitated, therefore, to meet him in the highest act of ministerial fellowship, that of participation in the services of his ordination. But this did not necessarily open an impassable, denominational gulf between the two pastors, or between their churches, which would pre- vent their coming together in acts of fellowship under any new circumstances which might arise in the future.1 Much less, as it seems to us, did the declination of the Hollis Street invita- tion lead of necessity to the opening of such a gulf between the Old South and the other historical churches in Boston ; and we think it will appear, as we proceed, that it was not intended to do so.
From the following account of Mr. Huntington, written at the time of his death, a few months later, we can judge some- what as to his personal attitude to the controversies which were raging around him : -
He was not a disputant. He was not deeply versed in critical studies. He was not formed to cope with bold and daring polemics.
1 Mr. Pierpont preached in the Old and Mr. Huntington had been class- South pulpit in behalf of the Asylum mates at Yale College, in the class of for Indigent Boys, April 27, 1821. He 1804.
426
HISTORY OF THE OLD SOUTH CHURCH.
To these things he made no pretensions. But he was a man around whom the pious loved to gather. They saw that he understood the gospel ; that he was its friend ; that he had felt its power ; that he preached it with firmness, in its simplicity and purity ; and that it was his delight to guide the anxious and enquiring in the way everlasting. His trials were often great. As a preacher of the evangelical system, among his brethren of the Boston Association, his situation was pecul- iarly delicate. But possessed of uncommon prudence, he maintained with firmness what he conceived to be truth, and uniformly com- manded affection and respect. . . . At such a time as the present, when the churches are distracted, and the passions of men are high, such a man was greatly needed - a man who would stand firm, yet with whom conflicting parties might meet, and often come to a happy reconciliation." 1
Boston May 10. 1819.
At a Meeting of the Brethren of the Old South Church and Con- gregation, being pew proprietors, as notified by the Rev. Mr. Hunt- ington from the Desk, - Hon. William Phillips was chosen Moder- ator.
At a meeting of the Standing [Committee] the 26 April 1819, it was Voted, That this Committee recommend to the Society at their next meeting, to make a grant of $200 to our Rev'd Pastor to assist him in making a journey the ensuing season, and that the Committee recommend the sum of $200 be granted to the Society for the moral and religious instruction of the Poor of the Town of Boston, for the special purpose of aiding the support of one or more Gospel Preach- ers for the Poor.
Said report being laid before said Meeting, it was
Voted, That they comply with said recommendation, and that the Treasurer be requested to pay to the Revd. Mr. Huntington Two Hun- dred Dollars, also that he pay over to Mr. Thomas Vose, the Treasurer of said Society, the sum of Two Hundred Dollars, for the purposes recommended by said Committee of the Society.
The Committee appointed the 23 March 1819, on the remonstrance of Thomas Vose and others, Report as follows -
The Committee, to whom was referred the Remonstrance of Elisha Hunt, Thomas Vose and others, against the proceedings of the Old South Church and Congregation, being pew holders, and therein claiming a right for Church members who are not owners in Pews, to vote in Parish meetings - have attended to the duty assigned them ; and after twice meeting, and much examination, consideration and conversation on the subject, they cannot agree in opinion. They
1 [Christian Spectator, September, 1819, copied into the Boston Recorder.]
427
MR. HUNTINGTONS LAST ILLNESS.
therefore ask leave to report - that it is the wish of the Committee to be discharged from any further attention to this subject. All which is respectfully submitted. (Signed) BENJAMIN WHITMAN p. order.
BOSTON April 8. A. D. 1819
Voted, said Committee be discharged agreeable to their request.
There being no other business before this meeting, a motion was made it be dissolved, and it was dissolved accordingly.
Attest JNO. WINSLOW Clk.
We take the following account of the closing weeks of Mr. Huntington's life from the Panoplist : -
A close attention to the services which were expected of him, and which it was his delight to render, gradually undermined a constitu- tion far from robust. Several times he had been obliged to intermit his parochial labors for a season ; but a resort to travelling had usu- ally given him recruited health and vigor. In the spring and summer of 1819, he experienced considerable debility, and determined upon another journey. He did not find it convenient, however, to leave the people of his charge till the 19th of July, when he commenced a tour of more than seventeen hundred miles, in company with a be- loved friend and brother in the ministry [Mr. Dwight]. Though feeble when his journey was commenced, he wrote from Saratoga Springs, that he thought his health essentially improved ; and that he expected to return to his people, prepared by a great increase of strength to serve them more effectually, than he had before been able to do for a long time. After having been at the Springs for ten or twelve days, his letters mentioned the intensity of the heat, and his depression in consequence of it. He appeared to suffer greatly from the same cause, during his journey to the Niagara frontier, and while passing down Lake Ontario. His last letter written to Mrs. Huntington from Montreal, August 23d. mentioned his having been quite sick the day before, in returning from Quebec, but added that he was then very well, and thought he should be better for this short illness. In the beginning of the letter, written two days before, he says, "Should I not feel it my duty to spend a week at the Springs, on my way, I shall be at home, a kind Providence permitting, the last of next week : I say duty, for nothing else could detain me longer from you and my people." The next day he parted with Mr. Dwight at Whitehall, and took the nearest route to Boston. In consequence of some irregu- larity of the stages, he was disappointed in not obtaining four or five hours sleep, as he had expected, on Wednesday night, but was obliged to ride the whole time. In the course of Thursday, he was seized so violently, that he was compelled to leave the stage at Groton, thirty miles from Boston, where he was kindly and hospitably received by
428
HISTORY OF THE OLD SOUTH CHURCH.
the Rev. Dr. Chaplin and his family, and where he experienced every attention and alleviation, which it was in the power of Christian be- nevolence and medical skill to afford. Here he languished of a fever for sixteen days, and sunk to rest on Saturday September 11th, in the twelfth year of his ministry, and the thirty fourth of his age.
Mrs. Huntington had been staying at North Bridgewater dur- ing her husband's journey, and was there when the intelligence of his sickness reached her. She did not know how alarming the symptoms were until she arrived at Groton. Several of the members of the Old South hastened to the bedside of their dying minister, among them Deacon Phillips and his wife.
The Revd Joshua Huntington died at Groton in the County of Middlesex, at the house of the Revd Mr. Chaplin, on Friday evening, Sept 10th 1819. He was there, on his return from a journey, which he had undertaken for the benefit of his health.
Sept IIth Saturday morning. The melancholy tidings of the de- cease of our beloved pastor having reached Boston, the Deacons summoned a meeting of the Brethren of the Church at the Vestry at II o'Clock A. M. At this meeting, sundry votes were passed relat- ing to the funeral solemnities, - which were afterwards taken up and carried into effect by the Church and Congregation. (Vide Records of Ch. and Cong.)
At a Meeting of the Old South Church held at the Vestry on Satur- day, September 11, 1819, on account of the Melancholy Death of our beloved and excellent pastor, Rev. Joshua Huntington, Brother Wil- liam Homes, Chairman, -
Deacon J. Salisbury read a letter from the Rev. D. Huntington, containing the very sorrowful tidings. When, upon motion of Deacon Salisbury, a Committee of Arrangements, to make all necessary prep- arations for the Funeral, was appointed, who are as follows : viz. The Standing Committee of the Society, together with Brothers Whitman, Vose and Armstrong.
Voted, To request the Rev. Mr. Dwight to preach the sermon at the Funeral, and the Rev. Mr. Channing to offer a prayer.
Voted, That the Deacons be a Committee to wait upon the Reverend Gentlemen above named, and request the favor of their attendance and performances.
On motion of Brother Whitman,
Voted, That the same measures be adopted, in the present case, as were adopted at the decease of the late Rev. Doctor Eckley.
A messenger now announced that the Body had just arrived from Groton, where Mr. Huntington died, and that it was at the parsonage. On motion of Brother Whitman,
Voted, That the Church repair to the parsonage house, and receive the corpse.
429
MR. HUNTINGTON'S FUNERAL.
On motion of Brother Vose,
Voted, That the thanks of this Church be presented to the Rev. Doctor Chaplin and his Family, for the care and kindness exhibited towards our beloved Pastor during his last sickness at their house in Groton, and that the Deacons be requested to convey this vote of thanks to them ; and to pay all expences which may have been incurred, and to make all such compensation as they may deem generous and proper, in consequence of our lamented Pastor's sickness and death at Groton.
Attest SAM. T. ARMSTRONG Secy. of this meeting.
At a Meeting of the Old South Church and Congregation held in their Vestry, this eleventh day of September A. D. 1819,
On motion of Brother Whitman,
Voted unanimously, That the Thanks of this Church and Society be presented to the Rev. Doctor Daniel Chaplin of Groton, his Family, the People of his parish, and his Neighbors, in particular, with the humane Doctor Bancroft, for their very benevolent and Christianlike attention shown to the late Rev, Joshua Huntington, the beloved Pastor of this Church and Society, during his late sickness, which ter- minated in his Death. And may the God of all grace bless them for their labor of benevolence and love. And the Clerk of this Church and Society is directed to forward to the Rev. Doctor Chaplin a copy from the record of this vote. SAM. T. ARMSTRONG Secy.1
The funeral took place on Monday afternoon. The body was carried by sextons from the parsonage to the meeting-house, preceded by the committee of arrangements, and followed by the relatives, a large number of the clergy of all denominations, and members of the church, and was placed on a bier in the broad aisle. "The meeting-house was crowded to excess, and was shrouded in black. The principal part of the numerous Church of the Society was in deep mourning ; and the whole Society wore suitable badges of respect." The solemnities began with a funeral anthem by a large choir; prayer was offered by the Rev. Professor Porter, of Andover ; Mr. Dwight, of Park Street, preached from Phil. iii. 21 : "Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious
1 [Dr. Chaplin was the last minister of the united parish of Groton. He was ordained January 1, 1778, and continued his active ministry until the summer of 1825. A division came on the question of settling his successor. A majority of the church were in favor of the Rev.
John Todd; a minority of the church with a majority of the parish favored the Rev. Charles Robinson. The result was a separation. Mr. Robinson was settled over the old parish, and Mr. Todd over the new church called the Union Church. Dr. Chaplin died April 8, 1831.]
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HISTORY OF THE OLD SOUTH CHURCH.
body, according to the working whereby he is able even to sub- due all things unto himself." Mr. Lowell, of the West Church, offered the concluding prayer. The pall - bearers were, Mr. Lowell, Professor Porter, Dr. Harris, of Dorchester, Dr. Morse, of Charlestown, Dr. Porter, of Roxbury, Dr. Freeman, of the Stone Chapel.1 A procession of two hundred persons on foot, and sixteen carriages, followed the body to the grave; the route taken was, down Milk Street to Adams Street, through Kilby Street, State Street, Washington Street (then. Cornhill and Marlboro Street), to School Street, through School Street, and Tremont Street (then Common Street), to the Granary Burying Ground, where the remains were laid to rest in the Jlu South tomb.2.
From Mr. Dwight's funeral sermon, we quote the fortwhin'g passages : -
Death, his own death, I need not say, was not a new subject of contemplation. Long had he been accustomed, and for the last two years often, if not daily, accustomed to think solemnly of his own death, his last account, and his final sentence. When the grim mes- senger arrived, it did not surprise him. It found him ready and willing to die. Near the close of life, he expressed his strong con- viction, that he had long rested on the promises of God; that his covenant God had been with him during his sickness, and lifted upon
1 In the selection of pall-bearers, Con- gregational ministers of various shades of theological opinion were chosen, from Dr. Morse at one extreme, to Dr. Free- man at the other. This, of course, was in the interest of harmony.
2 See Col. Centinel. The Old South tomb, No. 160, was built a few years after the death of Mr. Willard, and he and (we suppose) his family were buried there. Mr. Pemberton was placed there in 1717, and we have no knowledge of its being again used until Mr. Hunt- ington's death. We think, however, there is every reason to believe that Mr. Prince, in 1758, and Mr. Cumming, in 1763, were buried in it. This, no doubt, is the tomb in which Mr. Whitefield would have been buried, if what was known to have been his wish had been carried out. See ante, vol. ii. pp. 128, 129, note. The late Rev. Samuel Sewall, of Burlington, had no doubt that his ancestors, Dr. Sewall and wife, and Dea-
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