USA > Massachusetts > Franklin County > History of the churches and ministers, and of Franklin association, in Franklin County, Mass., and an appendix respecting the county > Part 21
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FREEWILL BAPTISTS. A church of this order was organ- ized in Leverett, called the "Freewill Baptist Church of Leverett and Shutesbury," in July, 1835, and was reorgan- ized, July 3, 1841. It has been supplied by Revs. Luther Pierce, Austin B. Wood, Horatio Flower, Jacob D. Couliard and John C. Ball.
EPISCOPALIANS. Rev. D. G. Wright, son of Rev. Joel Wright, is an Episcopal minister, of Prattsville, N. Y., who originated from Leverett.
UNITARIANS. A Unitarian Society existed for some years in Leverett, and was supplied by Revs. Dan Huntington, Henry Colman, John A. Williams, Frederic D. Huntington, and Mr. Clarke.
UNIVERSALISTS. A Universalist Society was organized in North Leverett, Oct. 5, 1835, with 13 members. They have been supplied with preaching by Revs. S. Davis, J. H. Willis, N. C. Hodgden, C. W. Mellen, J. Baker, M. B. Newell, O. W. Bacon, and O. Perkins. They have no preaching at present.
SUMMARY of Preachers originating from Leverett. Con- gregationalists, 4. Baptists, 3. Episcopalians, 1. Total, 8.
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OF LEYDEN.
LEYDEN.
This town was incorporated March 12, 1784; the popu- lation, in 1850, was 716. This town and Monroe are the only towns in Franklin County in which there has never been a Congregational pastor settled, or a Congregational church or society organized. Since 1820, the Massachu- setts Home Missionary Society has employed a missionary for short periods in four different years in Leyden, and has expended for this purpose, $328. In 1830, Rev. Ebenezer Bradford labored in this capacity for a short time in the place. A few Congregational families reside in the town.
Three churches have been organized in Leyden, viz., one Baptist, one Episcopal Methodist, one Wesleyan Methodist, and a Universalist society.
BAPTISTS. "The Baptist church in Leyden was organ- ized July 5, 1780; and the number of communicants at the time of organization, probably some 35 or 40." "This church became extinct about the year 1830, having never been reorganized, and no one of that denomination, it is said, now (1853,) resides in town. The Baptist church was organized under the ministerial labors of Elder Joseph Green, who continued their pastor a number of years, and died Jan. 11, 1796, and was succeeded by Elder Asa Hebbard, about the year 1800, who continued their pastor until the time of his death in 1830." "Rev. B. F. Remington supplied the society with preaching some two years. The old Baptist Meeting-house was built probably about 1797, and has stood unoccupied some eight years." One Freewill Baptist min- ister, Rev. Ephraim Gates, originated from Leyden. Elder Asa Hebbard died and was buried in town.
EPISCOPALIANS. One Episcopal minister, Rev. Charles P. Clark, formerly settled in Louisiana, and is now in Indiana, originated from Leyden.
EPISCOPAL METHODISTS. " The Methodist Episcopal
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church was organized about May, 1810, and at that time consisted of but few members, holding their meetings for some thirty years in school-houses, dwelling-houses, barns, and groves ; it now numbers some 45 members, and owns a meeting-house in connection with the Wesleyan Methodist and Universalist denominations, which was built in 1841." They have been supplied by the following preachers, viz. : Daniel Bromley, Joseph Fairbanks, Elisha Ware, C. C. Barnes, Samuel Ruth, A. Latham, David I. Winslow, J. Tate, Philo Hawks, William Gordon, David Todd, Ichabod Marcy, J. S. Clarke, Rufus P. Buffington, J. W. Mowry, and Randall Mitchell in 1853. The following Methodist ministers originated from Leyden, viz .:- Revs. Benjamin N. Bullock, Edward N. Crossman, James Mowry, Edmund S. Potter, Norris Stearns, and Cornelius Waggoner.
WESLEYAN METHODISTS. " The Wesleyan Methodist church was organized in 1842, and was composed of se- ceders from the Methodist Episcopal church ; and numbers some 45 members. Each of the Methodist societies now sustains preaching one half of the time and on alternate Sabbaths." Their first preacher was Rev. John Tate. Rev. Daniel De Wolf has supplied this people for several years, and in 1853 still preaches for them.
UNIVERSALISTS. "A Universalist society was organized in Leyden in 1830, under the ministrations of Rev. Matthew Hale Smith, consisting of some twenty members, but con- tinued their organization only for two or three years.". Two Universalist preachers, Revs. John Allen and Dennis Cha- pin, originated from Leyden.
SUMMARY of preachers originating from Leyden : Freewill Baptists, 1; Episcopalians, 1; Methodists, 6; Universalists, 2. Total, 10.
DORRELITES. As the account given of the other denomi- nations in Leyden, occupies only a comparatively small space in this work ; and as this sect was remarkably singu- lar, and having long been extinct, it is difficult to obtain access to sources of correct information respecting it ; a more
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full description of it is therefore given than would otherwise have been done. An intelligent correspondent, who is an inhabitant of Leyden, has furnished the following account, viz. :- " As it respects the sect once known as the 'Dorre- lites,' I find it extremely difficult to collect any very authen- tic information respecting their belief, ceremonies, &c., from the fact that so many erroneous and exaggerated statements and accounts have been made and published respecting that misguided sect. William Dorriel, the leader of that sect, was born in Yorkshire, England, March 15, 1752, and died in Leyden, Aug. 28th, 1846, aged 94 years, 5 months, and 13 days. He was of respectable parentage, his father being a farmer. At the age of sixteen or seventeen years he enlisted in his country's service as a regular, and continued in the service until the war between the mother country and the American Colonies. He then came to America with Bur- goyne, and was under that officer's command at his surren- der ; but at what time he came to Leyden, I am unable to state ; but probably somewhere from 1790 to 1795. I find the sect were at their zenith in 1797 and 1798, continuing some two or three years, and numbering somewhere from twenty to thirty, including some as respectable people as there were in town. Dorriel taught, that there was a Mes- siah for every generation, and that he was the Messiah of that age or generation ; that no arm of flesh could injure or offend him ; of the falsity of which declaration his followers had the fullest demonstration, when he fell beneath the up- lifted hand of Ezekiel Foster, whom Dorriel challenged to hurt him in the least. He also forbid the taking of life under any circumstances whatever; hence they abstained entirely from all animal food, and the wearing and use of the skins of animals for any purpose, which gave rise to their wooden shoes, tow-cloth harnesses and bellows. They held their property in common, making a certain shrewd man their treasurer, who made no small speculation out of the matter. They held to, and practised, the strictest honesty in their
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dealings with other men. Their ceremonies consisted merely in drinking, dancing, and lectures from Dorriel, who was very illiterate, being unable to read or write, but of a strong and retentive memory ; he having committed a large portion of the Bible to memory, from hearing it read by his wife. His habits were far from being what would be termed, even in those days, temperate. When questioned in after-years, whether he was sincere in his professions, he replied, that he was not, but did it that the scriptures might be fulfilled, 'that in those days should arise false christs,' &c."
August 20, 1798, Rev. John Taylor, then a pastor in Deerfield, published in the Greenfield Gazette the following account :- " As there has been much said in this vicinity re- specting a new religious sect in the town of Leyden, I had the curiosity to visit Mr. Dorrel, the head of the sect. I asked him if he was willing to communicate his sentiments on religious subjects. He manifested a readiness to do it, which, from what I had heard, I did not expect. To grat- ify the public, as they are anxious to know the religious opinions of this man, I request you to publish the following, which I received from his own mouth, in the presence of a witness. That I have not misunderstood him, the public may be assured ; for, after having received his answers to my questions, I wrote them down, and read them to him for his approbation, and nothing is inserted but what was ap- proved of by him, as containing his sentiments. At the in- consistencies of this man, and especially at his blasphemies, your readers will doubtless be astonished ; and whilst they pity and pray for the poor deluded proselytes of the de- ceiver, will consider him as a monster of iniquity. I wished, in this publication, to have put his sentiments into some kind of order, but I found it impossible. I shall therefore give them in the same disconnected manner in which I re- ceived them.
" Question. What do you believe concerning God and Jesus Christ ?
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OF LEYDEN.
" Answer. I believe that Jesus Christ is, as to substance, a spirit, and is God-that he took a body-that he died, and never rose from the dead-that no one of the human race will ever be raised from the grave-and that all scriptures which speak of a resurrection, respect a resurrection from sin to spiritual life.
" Q. What are your ideas of spiritual life ?
" A. Spiritual life consists in perfect obedience to God.
"Q. What is the rule of obedience ? Do you believe in the divine authority of the scriptures ?
" A. The written revelation is a type of the substance of the true revelation, which God makes to those whom he raises from spiritual death : God has given the type by man till the substance comes, which is God revealed in the soul. Such as are raised in this sense, are perfect, and are beyond the possibility of sinning.
" Q. On condition they violate the type, have they no sin ?
" A. They are not bound by the type, but by the sub- stance, even if the substance is contrary to the type : They, who are raised, have nothing to do with the type-I want nothing to do with the Bible.
" Q. What is meant by eternal life ?
" A. I believe that through the obedience of Jesus Christ, mankind shall never be cut off from the earth-and that an eternal succession of natural generation was the eternal life purchased by Christ.
" Q. What do you understand by heaven and hell ?
" A. Heaven is day, and hell is night ; or heaven is light, and hell is darkness.
" Q. Are those in the dark world under the wrath of God?
" A. God will never execute wrath, either in this or the next world-God has no wrath. Hell is merely a place of darkness. If the souls of wicked men can make friends with the devils, they will fare as well as they.
"Q. Does God govern the dark world ?
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" A. There is no opposition between God and the devil, or between heaven and hell. God and the devil have equal power in their respective worlds of light and darkness.
" Q. What are your ideas of baptism and the Lord's Sup- per ?
" A. Baptism is an introduction into the human person of Christ, and separates the raised person from the world. There is no such thing as outward baptism. The Lord's Supper is a resurrection from spiritual death.
" Q. Are such as are raised, in your sense of the word, under any law whatever ?
" A. They are free from all condemnation as they respect God. And they are free from all civil laws-from all prin- cipalities and powers.
" Q. What are your ideas of the marriage covenant ?
" A. When husband or wife become perfect, by being raised to spiritual life, the other party is not holden by the old covenant, which is that of the civil law: And if both are raised, still the parties are not holden to each other, and the perfect have a right to a promiscuous intercourse.
" Q. How do you prove this ?
" A. Christ is the head-all such as are raised are in Christ-and all in his body are one body.
" At the close of my inquiries, I again turned to the sub- ject of marriage-he appeared to be embarrassed, sometimes denying the doctrine of promiscuous intercourse, and some- times explaining it in such a manner, as that he could not be clearly understood. It is undoubtedly a fact, that his true sentiments on this subject are here properly exposed ; for at the time he answered these questions respecting mar- riage, he was under no embarrassment; and the reason which he here gave for the support of the doctrine, viz., that all the members of Christ's body are one body, is a sufficient evidence that his after-denial and embarrassment arose from some fears he entertained that he should expose himself to the law.
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"Q. Have you any form of worship?
" A. We have no meetings for worship-all days are alike -one day is as holy as another day.
"Q. But you probably sometimes meet ; what is your business when together ?
" A. We talk about our business, and anything, just as it happens.
" I would here observe, that I learnt from others, who had attended some of their meetings, that they were guilty of conduct beastly in the highest degree. One told me, that he saw Dorrel with his wife, and a young woman of a re- spectable family, rolling together upon the floor, in one of their meetings. They sing songs, the most vile and filthy that were ever written by bacchanalians. One verse of one of their songs I have obtained ; it is so vile and filthy, that, if such a thing were possible, it would defile even a brothel.
" Q. Do you believe that prayer is necessary, and do you pray ?
" A. Prayer is not necessary. I do not pray. What should I pray for ? I can carry nothing to God.
" Q. Did man ever fall ?
" A. No otherwise than by his actual sin ; no man is de- filed but by his own works.
" Q. What law do men break by their works ?
" A. There is no law but that of nature.
" Q. Is man ever to be judged for his deeds ?
" A. There is no future judgment-judgment is now.
" Q. Do you believe that the future state of the souls of men will be determined by what they do in this world ?
" A. There is no knowledge after death of what has passed in this world.
" Q. Do you believe in the existence of a just God, who knows all things and has all power ?
" A. God has no forethought, no knowledge of what passes in the dark world, which is hell ; and has no knowl-
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edge of what has taken place, nor of what will take place in the world.
"Q. Is there any such thing as a Divine Providence ?
" A. Neither God nor the devil has any power over man to control him.
" Q. Have you any hope of future happiness ?
" A. I have no hope, but I have assurance. I am perfect ; my body is in perfect obedience to the spirit. I am swal- lowed up in the power, that is, God. I cannot violate my conscience. If I violate the laws of the Bible, I have no sin from that consideration.
" Q. Are all your followers perfect ?
" A. None can be perfect but the head. I am the head, and none can be perfect as long as I remain. There are two kinds of perfection-the perfection of the head and the per- fection of the members ; my followers are as perfect, com- pared with me, as the members of a body are compared with the head.
"Q. Do you consider yourself as the head, and your fol- lowers as the members ?
" A. Yes. All are led by me as the head is the leader of the body, and I cannot lead them wrong. I do nothing ac- cording to the will of man.
" Q. Do you consider yourself as at the head of a new covenant ?
" A. All the covenants which God has heretofore entered into with man are at an end, and a new covenant is made with me; and I have all power to direct in matters of this covenant.
" Q. Should I be desirous of obtaining an interest in this covenant, how is it to be effected ?
" A. I am the object through whom you must look for all the blessings of the covenant. You must be presented to God by and through me, as obedient to my words, which are from God and not from man.
"Q. By what evidence do you prove that you are at the
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OF LEYDEN.
head of a new covenant ? You are sensible that God gave demonstrable evidence of the divinity of the law and 'of the gospel by miracles-the promulgation of those dispensations was accompanied with a divine power.
" A. Neither Moses nor Jesus Christ wrought miracles. The proof of the divinity of my doctrines is in the effects they produce upon my followers. I stand the same as Jesus Christ in all respects ; my disciples stand in the same relation to me as the disciples of Christ did to him.
"Q. You have acknowledged that Jesus Christ was God united to a human body, and that as God he was to be wor- shiped. If you stand in all respects as Jesus Christ, are you to be worshiped ?
" A. I would not have any person worship my human body. I am to be worshiped in the same manner as Jesus Christ was to be worshiped, i. e., as God united to human flesh.
" It appears, from his answers to other questions which I put, that he refuses to take an oath, or to stand in his own defence. That he denies to such as he calls pure the right to kill beasts or to eat flesh, but that the world may kill and eat. The inconsistencies in this man's opinions are so ap- parent that I feel no disposition to lay them together ; no reader can overlook them. And every mind, which is not given up to total reprobation, must be astonished at his blas- phemies. A number of his followers, I understand, have heretofore sustained good characters, and were valuable men in society. How such men could have been deluded by a man so ignorant, so inconsistent, and so impious and im- moral, is inconceivable. It is probable, however, that, till now, they never had obtained a proper idea of his sentiments. His manner of communicating his notions is such, from his: ignorance of language and his confusion of ideas, that I found it extremely difficult to obtain any proper knowledge of the. objects he seemed to be after. I was not certain I had
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penned any sentiment right, till he affirmed it to be agree- able to his mind, after having heard it read.
" Probably Dorrel will endeavor to make his followers believe that what is here written is not the truth, or that he meant to deceive me. But they may rest assured that there was no deception. He appeared perfectly open and willing to communicate his sentiments ; and was very careful, when I had written anything not agreeable to his mind, to correct it. Whatever effect this publication may have upon Dorrel and his unhappy followers, I cannot but hope that it will prevent any further addition to the deluded company.
JOHN TAYLOR.
Deerfield, August 15, 1798."
The following account of Dorrel and his followers is from Barber's Historical Collections respecting Massachusetts, page 261: " He came to America and was captured with Bur- goyne. He lived for a time in Petersham, where he married a woman by the name of Polly Chase ; he lived afterwards in Warwick, and then removed to Leyden. He was visited by a gentleman in 1834, from whom the above and following particulars are derived. He was found living in a poor old house, situated in a bleak place, far from any traveled road. He was six feet or more in height. He did not believe in the Bible. He said the first revelation was made to him when he was chopping wood ; it was, 'Render yourself an acceptable sacrifice,' or something similar. He began to have followers in the spring of 1794, and at one time twenty or more families joined him ; some were from Bernardston. Dorrel held that all days were alike, and also to non- resistance, and would say that no arm of flesh could hurt him. Some of his followers wore wooden shoes and tow cloth. Dorrel possessed a good deal of firmness of mind, and it is said the organ for this was very fully developed in his crani- um. He was in the habit of occasionally drinking too much ; he was, however, very punctual in fulfilling all his engage-
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OF LEYDEN.
ments, whether drunk or sober. The sect, of which he was the head, it is believed has become extinct."
Some of this sect lived in the adjoining town of Guilford, Vt., of whom Thompson, in his Gazetteer of Vermont, gives the following account : " In a short time Dorrel collected a large society, among whom were some very respectable families in the towns of Leyden and Bernardston, Mass. People went from all the neighboring towns to hear and see the marvellous doings of Dorrel and his associates. At length, at one of their meetings, a goodly number having assembled, Dorrel opened with music, &c., and began to de- liver his lectures. At that meeting, one Captain Ezekiel Foster, of Leyden, attended as a spectator. He was a man of good sense, of a giant frame, and had a countenance that bespoke authority. When Dorrel came to the doctrine of his mysterious powers, he had no sooner uttered the words, " No arm can hurt my flesh," than Foster rose, indignant at his blasphemy, and knocked down Dorrel with his fist. Dorrel, affrighted and almost senseless, attempted to rise, when he received a second blow, at which he cried for mercy. Foster promised to forbear, on condition that he . would renounce his doctrines, yet continued beating him. Soon a short parley ensued, when Dorrel consented, and did renounce his doctrines in the hearing of all his astonished followers. He further told them that his object was to see what fools he could make of mankind. His followers, cha- grined and ashamed at being made the dupes of such a base fellow, departed in peace to their homes. Dorrel promised his adversary, upon the penalties of his life, never to impose upon the people more. That same Dorrel is now a miser- able, drunken pauper, maintained by the town of Leyden, (in 1824.) The author had this relation from said Foster and many other respectable witnesses." Dorrel has de- scendants now living in Leyden.
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MONROE.
Monroe was formerly a part of Rowe, and an unincor- porated tract called "the Gore." It was named in honor of James Monroe, late president of the United States. It was incorporated Feb. 21, 1822, and, in 1850, its population was 254.
This town and Leyden are the only towns in Franklin County in which no Congregational pastor has been settled, and no Congregational church or society ever formed. The only society of any denomination ever formed in Monroe was of the Universalist denomination. No church of any order was ever organized in the town, and no house for religious worship ever built in the place. School-houses, and the town-house built of late, have been occupied when religious meetings have been held. The inhabitants of the town are generally Universalists.
UNIVERSALISTS. The religious society of this order was organized, it is supposed, about 1810, and became extinct some years ago. The following Universalist preachers have preached more or less in Monroe, viz., Revs. David Ballou, Hosea F. Ballou, Joseph Barber, Joy Bishop, Jeremiah Gif- ford, Charles O. French, and Jonathan Hix. The people have had no preaching statedly in town for a year or two past. The following Universalist preachers originated from Monroe, viz., Revs. Moses Ballou, Hosea F. Ballou, and Jonathan Hix, three in number.
UNITARIANS. Rev. Russell A. Ballou, a Unitarian preacher from Monroe, was lately settled over the Unitarian Society in West Bridgewater.
SUMMARY of preachers from Monroe : Unitarians, 1; Uni- versalists, 3. Total, 4.
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OF MONTAGUE.
MONTAGUE.
This town began to be settled about 1726, and originally belonged to Sunderland, and was formerly called " Hunting Hills," and was erected into a precinct in 1751, and called the Second Precinct of Sunderland. It was incorporated Dec. 22, 1753 ; and its population in 1850 was 1518.
Four churches have been organized in Montague, viz., one Orthodox Congregational, one Baptist, one Episcopal, and one Unitarian.
CONGREGATIONALISTS.
CHURCH. The early records of this church being lost, it cannot be ascertained definitely and certainly, when it was organized. Rev. Mr. Gates, the second pastor, says, "I was informed by the older members of the church, that the church was organized at, or about the time of Mr. Nash's ordination. This I suppose to be the fact." Mr. Nash was ordained Nov. 22, 1752. The first Meeting-house of this people was built in 1753, and the second and present house of worship was built a few rods southeast of the first one in 1834. Revivals have been enjoyed by this people as fol- lows: one in 1816, and 21 added to the church; one in 1819, and 13 added ; one in 1822, and 29 added; one in 1831, and 19 added; one in 1839, and 22 added ; one in 1847, and 16 added ; and one in 1853, and 21 added. This church began to receive missionary aid in 1829, and has re- ceived $226 ; but for many years past it has not been aided. The amount contributed by this people to benevolent ob- jects in 1853 was $317 48. The Sabbath School in 1852 numbered 200. The number in the church in 1853 was 134. In 1807 this church invited Rev. Elisha D. Andrews to settle as pastor ; and in 1828 invited Rev. Elijah Paine to settle as pastor ; both of whom declined to settle. If this church were organized in 1752, then during the one hun-
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