USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > History of the Old South church (Third church) Boston, 1669-1884, Vol. II > Part 52
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Voted that in testimony of their respect and affection for the de- ceased, the brethren of this church will attend the funeral, on the 14th inst. at 4 o'clock P. M. and walk, in a body, in the procession.
Nearly eighteen hundred years before this, "devout men," we are told, carried the first deacon in the Christian church "to his burial." On the 26th of February, Mr. Wisner preached a funeral sermon, in which he said of Mr. Salisbury : -
His was a consistent character - always the Christian, at home and abroad, in the social circle and in the busy throng. As a deacon in a Christian church . . . his retiring disposition prevented his being as publicly active as some who sustain that important office. He never, however, shrunk from any obvious duty. In the various business transactions of the church, important services were frequently required of him, and always judiciously and promptly performed. To the poor of the church he was kind, attentive and liberal. He generously and systematically contributed to the various benevolent institutions of the age, of several of which he was an active and useful officer. He loved to hear of the triumphs of the gospel, and fervently prayed for the ex- tension of its blessed influences throughout the world.
The annual meeting of the pew proprietors was held as usual on Fast Day, April 6, and the following special report was presented : -
The Standing Committee of the Old South Society, to whom was referred the subject of further compensation to our much respected and beloved Pastor and Minister, the Revd. Mr. Wisner, either by adding to his permanent salary, or by occasional grants, as heretofore, have attended to the duty assigned them, and ask leave to Report -
That they have seriously and they trust devoutly and with Chris- tian like spirit, examined the subject referred to them, keeping in full view that peace and harmony which now so happily prevails in the Society as such, and that admirable love and confidence existing and cherished between the Pastor, Church and Congregation, which prom- ises a long and happy continuance. Under these impressions, and with an ardent desire that this happy spirit and good fellowship may be as lasting as time, your Committee hesitate to recommend any addi-
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HISTORY OF THE OLD SOUTH CHURCH.
tion to the permanent salary of our beloved Pastor and Minister, be- lieving that unless it could be effected by a unanimous vote and wish of the Society, or nearly so, (which they have reason to think would not be the case) it might mar and much injure those good feelings and Brotherly Love, which the benign Religion we profess is so eminently adapted to foster and promote. Under these circumstances, and with a single eye to the peace, happiness, and furtherance in the ways of well doing of this Society,
Your Committee recommend that from time to time, as Mr. Wisner's wants and the Society's knowledge thereof may occur, grants of money may be made him of such sums as shall comport with his happiness and the ability of the Society to grant.
This report was accepted by the brethren ; a grant of $300 was voted to the pastor, and the standing committee was re- quested to take into consideration the expediency of building a new vestry.
The church met on Saturday afternoon, April 29, and chose two deacons, Thomas Vose and Pliny Cutler ; the pastor was requested to inform them of their election. " Immediately after the adjournment of the meeting, the pastor gave brethren Vose and Cutler official information of their election, and requested their acceptance of the office, agreeable to the provisions of the last recorded vote, and received from them a declaration of their acceptance of the office; whereupon the senior deacon cordially welcomed them to their new relation. The fact of these brethren being thus elected, and of their acceptance of the office to which they had been chosen, was announced to the whole church, in the presence of the congregation, at the close of divine service in the afternoon of Sabbath, April 30th 1826."
Thomas Vose was born in Dorchester, August 26, 1788, and united with the First Church there in his twenty-second year. His business as a merchant called him to Baltimore, where he lived for a time, but he returned to Boston in 18.15, and soon after became a member of the Old South. It was said, when he died, in 1840, that since his election as deacon the members of this church, in common with the whole community of Chris- tians in the city, could with united voice bear witness to the consistency of his character. The poor of the church and con- gregation knew that in him they had a friend and helper; the afflicted, a sympathizing comforter ; the pastor and officers of the church one who was ever ready to cooperate with them to
487
DEATH OF TWO OF THE DEACONS.
the utmost of his ability, in council and in action. He seemed evidently to act upon the principle of regulating his secular affairs with a constant reference to the best interests of the church of Christ.1
Pliny Cutler was the youngest son of John, and grandson of John Cutler, who moved from Lexington to Brookfield in 1752. He was born in Brookfield, May 17, 1783, came to Boston at the beginning of the present century, and was a prosperous merchant and manufacturer.2
Deacon Edward Phillips died on Saturday, November 4, in his forty-fifth year. Among his last words to his pastor were these, "God has given me the victory." The church met at the close of public worship, Sunday afternoon, and adopted the fol- lowing vote : "Whereas it hath pleased Almighty God to remove, by death, on the 4th inst. our beloved brother, Edward Phillips, a deacon of this church, from this world of sin and suffering, and, as we trust, to take him to himself, Voted, that, as a testimony of their respect and affection for the deceased, the brethren of this church will attend the funeral, on the 8th inst. at } past 3 o'clock, P. M., and walk in a body, in the procession." 3 On the following Sunday, Mr. Wisner preached from the text, " The Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice." " At the close he applied the subject to brother Edward Phillips, and sketched his character very justly, introducing a number of his remarks in his sickness, upon the subject of religion." Mr. Phillips's sister, Mrs. Walley, and his father died a few months later.
The Hon. William Phillips died on Saturday evening, May 25, 1827, on the eve of the annual meetings in the interest of religion and philanthrophy which then made "anniver- sary week" the great festival of the Christian year, and in which he had been accustomed to take a distinguished part. For fifty-three years he had been a member of the Old South Church, and for thirty-three years one of its deacons ; and dur- ing this long period, we are told, he adorned the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things, " by a holy life and conversa-
1 See an obituary on Thomas Vose in the Boston Recorder, December 25, 1840, written probably by Dr. Blagden.
2 Mr. Cutler married Phebe, widow of his brother Joseph, and daughter of the Rev. Ephraim Ward, of Brookfield. Her daughter Mary married the Rev. Hub- bard Winslow.
3 Mr. Phillips was buried in the Brom- field tomb. His first wife Mary was a daughter of Deacon Samuel Salisbury ; his second, who survived him, was The- resa Henshaw.
# Diary of Samuel Hall Walley, brother-in-law of Edward Phillips, and son-in-law of William Phillips.
488
HISTORY OF THE OLD SOUTH CHURCH.
tion, by exemplary piety, and by active Christian benevolence." " His charities," it was said, " have smoothed the furrowed cheek of some who were descending to the grave penniless and friendless. They have comforted and supported others, who know not and never will know, till the secrets of all hearts are disclosed, to what source they are indebted for those blessings. They have largely contributed to the spread of the gospel in heathen lands. They have aided in building churches, in circu- lating Bibles, in educating pious youth for the gospel ministry." On this point Mr. Wisner said, in his funeral sermon preached Sunday afternoon, June 3 :-
There has, I believe, no man of wealth lived and died in this coun- try, who has, in proportion to his ability, done so much for the cause of charity. It is to be remembered also, that he was educated, and his habits formed, when, in this country, liberal benefactions were un- known. With him, it may almost be said, began that spirit of liber- ality which has sprung up and spread so rapidly in our community. . .. Scarcely a measure has been adopted or an association formed, in this city and vicinity, for the improvement of the physical, the intellectual, the moral or the spiritual condition of men, which has not received his cooperation and his liberal support.1
In the summer of 1827 two Trinitarian Congregational churches were established in Boston, one at the north end of the town in Salem Street, the other at the south end, first called the Pine Street, and now the Berkeley Street, Church. A council met in the vestry of Park Street Church, Saturday afternoon, September I, at which Mr. Wisner and Deacon Vose were present as representatives of the Old South : 2_
1 [He had been giving away annually about $10,000, and his bequests were more than $60,000. At the time of his death he was president of the Massa- chusetts Bible Society, the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, the American Education Society, the For- eign Mission Society of Boston. and Vicinity, the Congregational Charitable Society, the Massachusetts General Hos- pital, the Boston Dispensary, and the Board of Trustees at Andover, and vice- president of many other benevolent as- sociations both in Boston and in other parts of the country.
At the head of Chapter VIII. in this volume (p. 390), we show a cut of Mr. Phillips's stately mansion in Tremont
Street, nearly opposite the Stone Chapel. It had been owned and occupied previ- ously by Andrew Faneuil and Peter Fan- euil ; and it now came into the posses- sion of Mr. Jonathan Phillips.
2 The following were dismissed from the Old South membership, to assist in founding the new churches : -
To Salem Street : Ward Litchfield, Jr., Rebecca Weeks, Leah Lillie, Rebecca Lincoln, Sarah Parkman.
To Pine Street : Charles Cleveland, James Clap, Willard Williams, Meheta- bel Cleveland, Eliza Clap, Mary Green, Betsey O. Williams, Charles Messinger, Robert L. Bird, Lucy Bird, Charles C. Barry, Joseph H. Eayres, Mary C. Eayres.
489
COMMUNION SABBATH.
The council met at the time and place named in the letter missive ; and after examining the testimonials of the brethren and sisters desir- ing to be formed into the proposed new churches and approving the Articles of Faith and Covenant they had adopted, voted unanimously to constitute these churches of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was done on the afternoon of next day, Sabbath, Sept. 2nd. 1827, in the Park Street Church at 5 o'clock P. M., after which the new churches and the six Orthodox Congregational Churches previously existing in the City, united in celebrating the Lord's Supper.
The Rev. Justin Edwards was the first minister of Salem Street Church, and the Rev. Thomas H. Skinner of Pine Street Church.
On Friday evening, October 28, the church voted, "after considerable conversation on the subject" at this and a previ- ous meeting, "that the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper be, hereafter, celebrated by this Church at the close of the morn- ing service on the first Sabbath in each calendar month, instead of, as heretofore, on every fourth Sabbath ; and that the next communion be, accordingly, celebrated on the first Sabbath in December."
The First Church, under Mr. Cotton and Mr. Wilson, cele- brated the Lord's Supper on every fourth Sabbath. After Mr. Davenport's settlement, a change was made, at his request, to the first Sabbath in each month, which was the day observed for the ordinance by the New Haven church. The Third Church celebrated the Lord's Supper for the first time, February 27, 1669-70, and thereafter every fourth Sabbath ; there seems to have been no deviation from this custom until the adoption of the vote, as above, in 1827.1
The meeting-house was closed for repairs during the months of June, July, and August, 1828. On the 15th of May, 1829, Mr. Samuel Turell Armstrong was elected. deacon.2 He had been elected previously, February 8, 1828, but had then de- clined. The question of his ordination came up for considera- tion ; the pastor said that " though not essential to the office, it was sanctioned, if not required, by Scripture, and was the an-
1 See ante, vol. i. pp. 329, 330, 372.
2 Samuel T. Armstrong was born in Dorchester, April 29, 1784. His grand- parents, John and Christian Armstrong, and his great-grandparents, Samuel and Christian Bass, were members of the Old South. He was brought up as a
printer, and became a prosperous pub- lisher and bookseller. He was repre- sentative, senator, lieutenant-governor, acting-governor, and, for a single year, mayor of Boston, after which he retired from public life. He died March 29, 1848.
490
HISTORY OF THE OLD SOUTH CHURCH.
cient practice of the Congregational churches of New England, and of this church." A committee was appointed to consider the subject, but no ordination took place. At the beginning of the communion service, June 7, the pastor announced " the elec- tion of brother Samuel T. Armstrong to the office of deacon, and that he would then enter on the duties of that office, and was to be received and treated as became the relation henceforth to subsist between him and the church."
On Friday evening, September 18, " a letter missive was read, by the pastor, from the Presbytery of Newburyport, inviting this . church to attend, by its pastor and a delegate, a meeting of that body to be held in this city on the 24th inst. for the ordina- tion of missionaries, and sit with Presbytery on that occasion as corresponding members." The invitation was accepted, and Deacon Armstrong was chosen to attend as delegate with the pastor.1
On the 9th and 16th of May, 1830, Dr. Wisner (he received the Doctor's degree from Union College in 1828) observed the centenary of the meeting-house by preaching four historical discourses, which were immediately printed, and which will always be read, as they were listened to at the first, with the deepest interest. They carefully trace the history of the church from 1669, under the successive pastors from Thacher to Hunt- ington ; and, in their printed form, they are illustrated by more than fifty pages of notes which testify abundantly to the learn- ing, the painstaking industry, and the historical fidelity and accuracy of the preacher.2
Soon after this, Dr. Wisner's health became impaired, and, in February, 1832, he went to the South for a change. He re- turned to Boston in June, but not being well enough to resume pastoral labor, he rested during the summer months. In the autumn he was chosen a secretary of the American Board ; he had become deeply interested in the missionary work as a mem- ber of the Prudential Committee, and as, during his absence at the South, some things had occurred in the congregation which disturbed his somewhat sensitive nature, he decided to accept the appointment, and, on the 29th of October, sent in his resignation to the Old South. We can quote only a portion of his letter : -
1 The missionaries to be ordained were to be supported by the Congregational as well as the Presbyterian churches.
2 Dr. Wisner was elected a member of the Massachusetts Historical Society May 5, 1831.
491
THE REV. SAMUEL H. STEARNS.
What, then, are the indications of Providence ?
In reference to my present station. I have been almost entirely laid aside, by want of health, from the discharge of its appropriate duties, for a whole year. In the mean time, - without my designedly giving any just occasion, and I trust without any one intending anything wrong or injurious, - circumstances have arisen in the congregation which would most likely interfere with my future usefulness as its minister. And the state of my health is such, that I cannot preach and perform other pastoral duties, with safety, for a considerable time to come.
On the other hand, without any seeking of mine, I have been made familiarly acquainted with the operations and business of the Amer- ican Board. An important office in its executive department is vacant, and there is urgent necessity that it be immediately filled. I have been regularly invited to fill it, and may, as far as health will per- mit, enter at once upon the discharge of its duties. There is, in the present officers of the Board, and I have reason to believe among the friends of missions generally thro' the country, a strong desire that I should accept the appointment. My health is such that, in this station, by abstaining from preaching and kindred labors thro' the winter and spring, I shall probably be enabled to perform most of the duties immediately required, and may hope to continue improving in health and advancing toward the restoration of my wonted ability for every kind of service.
At Dr. Wisner's request a council was called, which met on the 12th of November, and completed the severance of the pas- toral relation. Dr. Codman was moderator. For the duties of his new position Dr. Wisner was admirably adapted ; he was secretary for the home department, in the work of the board, and in his correspondence and personal addresses he won the full confidence and regard of the churches. But he was arrested by disease in the midst of his labors, and, after an illness of three or four days, he died February 9, 1835. His funeral was at- tended in the Old South meeting-house by a large concourse of people, and a sermon was preached by Dr. Fay, of Charlestown, in which his character and career were set forth with much appreciation and affection.
We come now to the shortest pastorate in the history of the Old South, that of the Rev. Samuel H. Stearns. The pastorate of the Rev. Alexander Cumming had been brief, -only two years and six months ; but it represented active labor for this period. The active ministry of Mr. Stearns lasted less than three weeks. He was, indeed, a confirmed invalid when he was
492
HISTORY OF THE OLD SOUTH CHURCH.
called, and both he and the church were hoping against hope, at the time of his ordination ; but he seemed to be so pre- eminently fitted for the vacant pastorate by birth, training, and intellectual and spiritual endowments, and the church in its history and in the opportunities for usefulness which it offered, had such attractions for him, that both parties were ready to take the risk of his being able to endure the strain and bear the burden. His biographer says :-
The infirmities with which the subject of this notice had been long encompassed, were made known without disguise, and the fullest and kindest assurances of all needed aid were received in return. There were also peculiarities in this church and society which seemed to urge, with much decision, a favorable answer to the call. They had been long without a pastor, and been subject to many disheartening provi- dences. They were now united ; and many individuals pressed hard the invitation.
Samuel Horatio Stearns was born September 12, 1801, in Bedford, where his father, the Rev. Samuel Stearns, was the minister for nearly forty years. His grandfathers were the Rev. Josiah Stearns, of Epping, New Hampshire, and the Rev. Jonathan French, of Andover. He graduated at Harvard Col- lege in 1823, taking the second honors in the class. He taught for two years in Phillips Academy, Andover, and then entered the theological seminary there, graduating in 1828. He began to preach at once ; but his health soon failed him, and although he returned to ministerial labors once and again, he was engaged in a constant struggle with the insidious disease which was wear- ing away his life. In the winter of 1833-34 he preached for a single Sabbath at the Old South, and then went to Salem, where he supplied the pulpit of the Tabernacle Church for several weeks. Returning to Boston, he was induced to spend two Sabbaths and the intervening week with the Old South congregation ; the result was, unanimous calls to both places. He gave the preference to Boston, and was ordained April 16, 1834. The Rev. Dr. Skinner, then Bartlet professor at An- dover, preached the sermon ; Dr. Wisner offered the ordaining prayer ; Mr. Stearns's father, the venerable minister of Bedford, gave the charge, and his brother, the Rev. William Augustus Stearns, of Cambridge,1 the right hand of fellowship.
On the Sunday succeeding his ordination, Mr. Stearns preached from Eph. iii. 8: "Unto me, who am less than the 1 Afterward president of Amherst College.
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MR. STEARNS'S MINISTRY.
least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;" and from Phil. ii. 17, 18: " Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacri- fice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice with you all. For the same cause also do ye joy, and rejoice with me." In the afternoon discourse he said : -
What may be the design of Providence in leading you now to the united choice of one encompassed with infirmities, we know not. It is yet to be disclosed. God grant it may not be for a mutual chas- tisement, but for a blessing to me and to you. I come to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. It is only some humble trust in him, the joy of whom may be made my strength, and a full confidence in your candor and kindness, that now sustains me. With this I give myself, mind and heart, to the work. It only remains that I ask your constant prayers. . .. Let there be one petition for him who has been consecrated to serve your faith. Pray for him, that his own faith may not fail. Pray that he may have heart and mind and strength to serve you effectually. Pray that he may not falter and languish and faint, and turn from the work, as it would seem that he must ; but rather than this, that life and usefulness might terminate together ; that if he must fall, he may fall at once in the midst of the service, with the robes of the temple still wrapped about him, like a good soldier of the cross, still fighting the good fight, firm and faithful to the last, and go up all armored and nerved from the combat.
On the second Sunday Mr. Stearns preached twice, and on the third, once ; and he never preached again. He rested, he trav- elled from place to place ; and while any probability remained that he might be able to resume his labors, his people would not listen to any proposals looking to his resignation. In the autumn of 1835 he spent one or two Sabbaths with them, he administered to them the sacrament of the Supper, and he took some part in the other public exercises. " Hope now shone full upon his path. He was, however, advised to delay a few weeks, - and a few weeks more ! At length, the first Sabbath in Jan- uary was appointed as the day on which he might go up to the house of the Lord, and feed his flock like a shepherd again. But as the season drew on, after further investigation, it was discovered that his health was by no means matured, and that to preach at present would be a rash experiment, and might be attended with fatal consequences. He must live on hope cer- tainly till spring, possibly till another winter, and indeed no one knew how long. On receiving this information, his heart sank
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HISTORY OF THE OLD SOUTH CHURCH.
in despondency. He had, however, acquired vigor of body and mind to act with decision, and to sustain in some measure his disappointment. He returned to Boston, and, after suitable consultation, asked a dismission." In his letter, dated January 8, 1836, he said : -
It is now just two years since you were induced, in the Providence of God, to invite me to become your Pastor and Minister. The cir- cumstances of that event are fresh in my remembrance. They were peculiar and impressive. Although my health, which was always deli- cate, had for many years been impaired, and was still feeble, yet upon mature and prayerful deliberation, taking the advice of my nearest relatives, and of my brethren and fathers in the ministry, I was made to feel that it was clearly my duty to accept your invitation. I ac- cepted it in the fulness of my heart ; and from that hour, my mind, and strength, and heart have been sacredly yours. And when our connection was confirmed, on the 16 day of April following, by the holy rites of ordination ; when he who had before been your pastor had offered the solemn prayer, in which, with the "laying on of the hands of the presbytery," I was consecrated to serve you in his stead ; when he who had been the guide of my youth had charged me, before you all, to be faithful to the trust ; when I found myself invested with the authority, and bearing the responsibilities of a regularly constituted minister of the Gospel, and charged especially with the care of your souls, new emotions sprung up in my breast, peculiar to a pastor's heart, and which have since grown deeper, and broader, and more full, as the storms of affliction have passed over us.
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