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 30
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3. Rev. Samuel W. Leonard was born in Bridgewater, Vt., about 1802; and in 1812 removed with his father to Shutesbury, where he continued to live till manhood. He graduated at Williams in 1827; studied theology with Rev.
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Dr. Griffin, then President of Williams College, and with Rev. Jonas Colburn of Leverett; was licensed in 1828; preached a short time in Preston, N. Y .; was ordained as an Evangelist, in 1830, at Oxford, N. Y., by the Presbytery of Chenango, N. Y .; in 1832 went to Constantia, N. Y., and preached as a supply for several years; from 1840 to 1844 preached at Chenango, N. Y. ; in 1845 removed to Little Valley, N. Y., and supplied there for several years ; in 1849 he returned to Oswego Co., N. Y., and since then has been preaching in West Monroe, in that county, where he still lives. Mr. Leonard married Miss Eliza Williams, the youngest daughter of Rev. Henry Williams, formerly a pastor in Leverett.
Rev. Silas Shores, who was formerly a pastor in Fal- mouth from 1822 to 1828, and who lived in Shutesbury many years, and preached several years for the Congrega- tional church there, died in Shutesbury, Feb. 10, 1844, aged 59 years.
Of the three Congregational ministers who originated from Shutesbury, none were natives of the town; two were graduates ; all were ordained ; one was a home missionary ; one is now a foreign missionary ; one has a son who is a minister ; and two are now living.
OTHER DENOMINATIONS.
BAPTISTS. The Baptist church in Shutesbury was or- dained Sept. 24. 1778, and in 1851 had one hundred and two members. The following preachers have supplied them, viz. : Rev. E. Ewing ; Rev. Joseph Smallidge, a settled pas- tor from about 1784 for forty-four years; Rev. Aaron Bur- bank two years, Rev. Elinas Austin four years, Rev. Mr. Munroe, Rev. Daniel H. Grant four years, Rev. John Green four years, Rev. Nicholas Branch two years, Rev. Henry Coombs two years, Rev. N. B. Jones two years, and Rev. W. A. Pease has supplied for about three years, and is still their minister in 1853. The following Baptist preachers origi-
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nated from Shutesbury, viz. : Revs. Mason Ball, Elijah Fish, Elbridge Leach, Sandford Leach, William Leach, and Hiram A. Pratt.
METHODISTS. A Methodist church was organized in Shutesbury, at Lock's Village, in June, 1849, with ten members, and in 1853 it had nineteen members. This people built their house of worship in 1851, and they have been supplied by the following preachers, viz. : Revs. J. J. Woodbury, Rodney Gage, Daniel A. Marsh, Leonard Frost, Gardner Rice, J. W. P. Jordan, and J. J. Woodbury in 1853. This church is composed of members from Leverett, Wen- dell and Shutesbury. Two Methodist ministers originated from Shutesbury, viz., Revs. Charles Ainsworth and Ran- som Spear.
UNIVERSALISTS. The Universalist Society in Shutesbury was formed June 1, 1829, and has been supplied by Dr. John Brooks, Rev. J. H. Willis, Rev. Samuel Davis, Rev. Ira Washburn, Rev. Franklin Whitaker, Rev. M. Newell, Rev. Samuel Brimblecomb, Rev. Otis W. Bacon, and Rev. Gerard Bushnell. They have no stated preaching at present.
SUMMARY of preachers who originated from Shutesbury : Congregationalists 3; Baptists 6; Methodists 2. Total 11.
SUNDERLAND.
This town was formerly a part of Hadley, and was called Swampfield, and was taken from it and incorporated, Feb. 14, 1714. Its population in 1850 was 792. Two churches have been organized in this town, viz., one Congregational and one Baptist.
CONGREGATIONALISTS.
CHURCH. The records of the church were kept for a long time on the same books with the town records, and were quite defective. Portions of them have been transcribed to constitute the proper, separate church records. The fourth
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pastor, Rev. Asa Lyon, when he left Sunderland, in 1793, took the church records with him. They were sent for, but were not all recovered. For these reasons the early history of this church cannot be learned so definitely and accurately as is desirable. The church was organized, probably, Jan. 1, 1718. While the town records give an account of what was done to build a Meeting-house, to hire preaching, and to provide a parsonage, they give no account of the ex- istence of a church in the town previous to the settle- ment of the first pastor. Likewise, it was not an unfre- quent practice in the early history of the settlement of the towns in this vicinity, when the difficulty of convening councils was far greater than it now is, for the same council to organize the church and settle the first pastor on the same occasion. This was the case in Bernardston, Greenfield and Shutesbury. It is therefore not unlikely that this church was constituted at the time of the settlement of its first pastor, which was Jan. 1, 1718.
In 1716 it was voted to build a Meeting-house, 30 feet by 45. The house appears to have been built the next year, in 1717, and was the first house of worship in the town. The second meeting-house was built in 1793. The third and present house of worship was built near the site of the sec- ond house, in 1836. In 1717 the house now occupied by William Delano, Esq., was built as a parsonage. Revivals have been enjoyed by this people as follows, viz. : in 1783, and 17 added to the church; in 1799, and 23 added; in 1813, and 30 added; in 1816, and 77 added ; in 1831, and 40 added ; in 1832, and 70 or 80 added; in 1833, and 25 added ; in 1838, and 67 added ; in 1843, and 20 added ; in 1848, and 13 added ; and in 1849, and 60 added. Councils have been called to settle difficulties in this church, in 1755, in 1772, in 1787, in 1793, and in 1817. The amount con- tributed by this church and people for the cause of christian benevolence, in 1853, was $620 63. The number in the Sabbath School, in 1852, was 250. The church, in 1853, numbered 230.
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OF SUNDERLAND.
The following ministers, who have not been settled as pastors in Sunderland, have supplied this people more or less, viz. :- Rev. Warham Williams, son of Rev. John Wil- liams of Deerfield, in 1722; Rev. Thomas Lewis, from 1745 to 1747; Rev. Mr. Mills, in 1785; Rev. Mr. Aikins, in 1786 and 1787; Rev. Joseph Strong, Rev. Mr. Spaulding, and Rev. Hendrick Dow, in 1788; Rev. John Miner, a portion of the time from 1787 to 1792; Rev. Nathan Holman, in 1799; Rev. Ochus G. Hubbard, in 1831; and Rev. Ezekiel Russell, in 1836. The church has also invited the follow- ing ministers to settle as pastors, who were not settled, viz. : Rev. John Miner, at some time between 1787 and 1792; Rev. Nathan Holman, in 1799; Rev. Ochus G. Hubbard, in 1831; Rev. Ezekiel Russell, in 1836. In the 136 years, during which the church has probably been organized, it has been supplied with settled pastors about 106 years, and has been destitute of a settled ministry about 30 years. This church has had eleven pastors.
PASTORS. 1 .* REV. JOSEPH WILLARD was settled as the first pastor of this church, Jan. 1, 1718. His name has been erroneously written Josiah in the town records of Sunder- land and in the American Quarterly Register, and elsewhere. He was a son of Captain Samuel Willard of Saybrook, Ct., and a grandson of Josiah Willard, and a great-grandson of Major Simon Willard of Lancaster, who was " the common ancestor of most of the name in this country." His grand- father was brother of Rev. Samuel Willard, who settled in Groton, then in the Old South Church in Boston, and was then Vice President of Harvard College. The sermon preached at the ordination of Mr. Willard in Sunderland, appears to have been published, and is said to be in the Li- brary of the Antiquarian Society at Worcester. In 1717 the people in Sunderland voted to send a committee of two to Harvard College to obtain a minister to settle with them ; and if they were unsuccessful, to have the committee return by way of Norwich, Ct., and call on Mr. Willard, and bring him along with them if possible.
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After a ministry of about three years in Sunderland, Mr. Willard was dismissed in 1721; and was invited, July 12, 1721, by the people in Rutland to come and preach to them. "He accepted," says Joseph Willard, Esq., of Boston, a rela- tive of his ; "purchased an estate in that town, and preached there for two years. Rutland was then an infant settlement and a frontier town, peculiarly subject to apprehensions from the Indians, and for this cause mainly his installation was deferred till the fall of 1723. But before the arrival of that period, he was killed by the Indians, who made an attack upon the town. He fought with great bravery for his life. He was personally brave. He was attacked by two Indians, one of whom he wounded, and closed with the other, whom he probably would have overcome, had not three more of the enemy rushed to the rescue of their companion. After a protracted struggle, Mr. Willard was killed and his scalp was carried to Canada. His library was valued at 38 pounds, three shillings and four pence-an uncommon sum for the country at that day." The following account is from Whit- ney's History of Worcester County, quoted in Barber's His- tory of Massachusetts, in his account of Rutland, viz. :- "We have said the settlers, in 1721, invited the Rev. Joseph Willard to settle with them, which invitation he accepted. This Mr. Willard had been ordained a minister of Sunder- land, in the county of Hampshire, but continued a very little time with them before he was dismissed. After he had ac- cepted the invitation to settle with the people of Rutland, he met with many and great discouragements, and particularly by reason of the fears and dangers arising from the Indians ; so that an appointment of his installation was deferred. However, at length a day was fixed upon for his solemn separation to the work of the ministry in that place in the fall of the year 1723; but he lived not to see the day, being cut off by the enemy, as shall be now related. As Deacon Joseph Stevens and four of his sons were making hay in a meadow at Rutland, a little north of the place where the
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meeting-house now stands, Aug. 14, 1723, they were sur- prised by five Indians. The father escaped in the bushes ; two of his sons were then and there slain; the other two (Phineas the eldest, and Isaac the youngest,) were made prisoners. Two of the five Indians waylaid Mr. Davis and son, who that afternoon were making hay in a meadow not far off, but weary of waiting, they were returning to the others, and met Mr. Willard in their way, who was armed. One of the Indian's guns missed fire ; the others did no exe- cution. Mr. Willard returned the fire, and wounded one of them, it is said mortally ; the other closed in with Mr. Wil- lard, but he would have been more than a match for him, had not the other three come to his assistance ; and it was some considerable time before they killed Mr. Willard. This account Phineas Stevens gave upon his return from captiv- ity, who was a spectator of some part of the tragedy. The Indians having killed and scalped Mr. Willard, and taken some of his clothes, went off to Canada, with the two cap- tives abovenamed. They were redeemed in about a year."
He was born in Saybrook, Ct., about 1692 ; graduated at Yale in 1714; received the honorary degree of A. M. from Harvard College, the year of his death, in 1723; was chosen unanimously to be the minister of Rutland; and at his death, Aug. 14, 1723, was about 31.
2 .* REV. WILLIAM RAND Was settled as the second pastor of this church, May 20, 1724, and after a ministry of about twenty years in Sunderland, was dismissed in the latter part of 1745. Mr. Rand was afterwards settled in Kingston, and died there ; and Rev. Augustus R. Pope, a successor of his at Kingston, has published the following account of him :- " Rev. William Rand, the third minister of Kingston, was born in Charlestown, on the 24th of March, 1700; gradu- ated at Harvard College in 1721, and was requested to supply the pulpit for one month, after the 6th of January, 1746. On the 24th of January, the church gave him a call, in which the parish concurred on the 13th of February.
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His answer was given on the 14th of March, when a com- mittee was appointed to make all necessary arrangements for the installation. Mr. Rand had been previously settled at Sunderland, on the Connecticut River, about twenty years. * * * Rev. Mr. Rand continued in the ministry here thirty-four years. He died of apoplexy on the 14th of March, 1779, aged seventy-nine years. The town, on the 15th, appointed a committee to make all the arrangements for his funeral at the town's expense; and subsequently chose a committee to procure gravestones to be placed at his grave." Mr. Pope says in a letter to the author, " Mr. Rand was quite a learned man, but a very dull preacher, unless tradition is false."
Rev. Zephaniah Willis, another successor of Mr. Rand at Kingston, has thus described him: " He was of middling stature, very spare habit, dark complexion, and strong con- stitution, of few words, disciplined in the school of affliction by the death of children, and the consequent derangement of his wife's intellect. He was liberal in opinions and doc- trines, plain and unornamented in his discourses, pleasing to judicious and discerning, rather than to warm and superficial hearers. He was a scholar highly esteemed by the learned and informed in the province, with whom he had an exten- sive acquaintance. Several of his sermons are in print which contribute to his honor."
Rev. Dr. Chauncy wrote thus to Rev. Dr. Stiles : "I have been in long friendship and intimacy with Rev. Mr. Rand of Kingston, and Rev. Mr. Gay of Hingham, but I suppose you know neither of them ; and shall only say, that they are both as valuable and great men as almost any amongst us. I could mention more names, and of my acquaintance too, but those I have mentioned are the most worthy of notice. I know of none. I have a higher opinion of."
It has been said in some quarters, that Rev. Mr. Rand was opposed to Rev. George Whitfield and his preaching and re- ligious movements ; and that his opposition resulted in his
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OF SUNDERLAND.
dismission from Sunderland. The following epitaph is on Mr. Rand's gravestone in Kingston :-
"Here's one who long had run the christian race ; Kindly reliev'd reclines his hoary head, And sweetly slumb'ring in this dark embrace, Listens the welcome sound, ' Arise ye dead.'"
3 .* REV. JOSEPH ASHLEY was installed as the third pastor of this church in 1747, and, after a ministry of thirty-seven years, " he desisted from the exercise of his pastoral office in December, 1784, by advice of an ecclesiastical council called to consult of matters of difficulty between him and his people. He held his office in his church till his death."
He was born in Westfield, Oct. 11, 1709, and was a great- grandson of "Robert Ashley, the only male bearing the name of Ashley that came from the mother country, settled in Springfield in 1639." He was also the great-grandfather of Hon. Chester Ashley, the United States Senator from Arkansas, who died in Washington, April, 1848, aged 57. He graduated at Yale in 1730 ; was settled as pastor in Win- chester, N. H., Nov. 12, 1736, and dismissed on account of troubles by the Indians in 1745. He was married to Miss Anna Dewey of Westfield in 1736, and had five children, viz., Joseph, Jr., who died in New York during the Revolu- tion, a tory ; Stephen, who was the grandfather of Hon. Chester Ashley ; Anna, who married Jonathan Russell ; Sarah, who married Jonathan Dickinson ; and Gideon, who married Mary Russell, and lived and died in Sunderland. He lived in Sunderland till his death. He died there, Feb. 8, 1797, in his 88th year. On his monument is inscribed the following epitaph, viz. : " Sound in judgment, meek in spirit, exemplary in life, a friend of peace, a steady believer in the doctrines of grace, respected by his people, and es- teemed by his brethren in the ministry. 'They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament ; and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars forever
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and ever.' " Mr. Ashley's death occurred while the Ministe- rial Association to which he belonged was holding its session in Deerfield ; and the intelligence was brought to the Asso- ciation, and Rev. Dr. Newton was designated to offer a prayer specially in reference to the event. Mr. Ashley was on the famous council convened at Northampton in the case of President Edwards.
4 .* REV. ASA LYON was ordained as the fourth pastor of this church, Oct. 24, 1792, and after a ministry of about one year he was dismissed, Sept. 23, 1793; and the dismissing council, at the same time, withdrew from him their ministe- rial fellowship. As Mr. Lyon was a remarkable man in some respects, liberty is taken to give a more full account of him than is given of most other ministers noticed in this work.
The following extracts are from a manuscript memoir of himself, which he wrote within a year of his death : " Asa Lyon was born at Pomfret, Abington Parish, [Ct.,] Dec. 31, 1763. He was the youngest but one of seventeen children. His father's name was Jonathan. His mother, a second wife, was Rebecca Maxley, from Brandon, in Ireland. Of his paternal ancestors no information remains further than this, they came from England to Roxbury at an early period of the settlement of New England. His grandfather re- moved from Roxbury to Pomfret, when that town was new. His name was Abiel. Rebecca Maxley embarked with her parents and sisters for this country when she was but twelve years of age. Her father died on the passage. The survi- vors resided for several years at Stonington, [Ct.] The family of Jonathan Lyon was always poor, but, by their in- dustry and economy they were able to support those who depended upon them, and to give them a common school education. Asa was early under religious impressions, deep, but for many years transitory. His parents were members of the Congregational church, and constantly attended on the duties of that profession. His pious mother carefully
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OF SUNDERLAND.
instructed her children in the Assembly's Catechism every Sunday evening. This scriptural system was taught in the village school every Saturday, and once at least by the minister of the place in every village school during its continuance in winter. So attentive to this Catechism was the subject of this sketch, that he several times, at the ap- pointment of the master, gave the questions to the members of the school and corrected their answers without any re- currence to his book. While busied with this religious in- struction, at a certain time his views of his desert of misery became so full, as to exclude almost every ray of hope. Of the justice of his condemnation he had no doubt, and its certainty was almost as real. He retired to a secluded place at the remotest corner of the farm, and besought the Lord for mercy. When he arose from his suppliant posture, he took from his pocket Erskine's musical version of the Song of Solomon, and cast his eye upon these words : 'Eat, O friends ; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.' In an instant, such a view of the fulness and freeness of gospel salvation flashed upon his mind, as he never had perceived before. Of his own particular interest in it he had no per- ception at the time ; but of its reality and certainty to every penitent, he even now doubts whether he can have a clearer view till he comes to where he shall ' know even as also he is known.' His opposition to the gospel from that moment ceased, and his objections to its doctrines, which had been strong, were gradually silenced. Of the day and year of this occurrence he has long since lost the remembrance ; but the fact, the place, the circumstances and the effect, he thinks he can never forget, while reason is continued.
" From his childhood he had a taste for learning ; math- ematical studies were his delight; and he often imitated the clergyman in all parts of his ministerial duties. Obliged to depend on himself for property, he early became a teacher in a common school. He also hired himself to different per-
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sons, to labor in the field for two months in harvest in each year. While engaged in these services, his leisure hours were employed in studying almost all the books which he could obtain. He gained so much knowledge of astronomy without any assistance he calculated an almanac, which was published in Boston. Among the books which he purchased in Boston, was a Greek lexicon, which excited a desire to understand the classics. As he was returning with his books in his knapsack, he was noticed by the Rev. Walter Lyon, the minister of his native place, who said to him, 'Though you cannot obtain a public education, you may make such progress in study as to fit you for public usefulness.' En- couraged by this remark, he soon commenced the Latin grammar, under the kind tuition of Mr. Lyon. Having made some progress in his preparatory studies, in addition to a large English school which he taught during the winter months, he undertook the instruction of two scholars in Latin. At the commencement of Dartmouth Col- lege in 1787, he presented himself for examination, and was permitted to enter the Sophomore class. While a member of college he was allowed to teach a school each winter. Hav- ing graduated, he entered, Jan. 3, 1791, upon the study of divinity with the Rev. Charles Backus of Somers, [Ct.] With him he continued till the Association convened at Gilead, Oct. 4, 1791, when he received a license to preach the gospel. He preached his first sermon at Somers, Oct. 9, 1791. As licentiate he preached at Litchfield, N. H., at Pelham and Sunderland, Mass., and at Farmington, Ct. ; and was ordained at Sunderland, Oct. 24, 1792. There he re- mained till January, 1794, when he came to Vermont. After tarrying a few weeks at Essex, he was employed at South Hero. There he continued preaching till, on the 12th day of January, 1795, he formed a church, consisting of seven persons, who had been members of other churches. At the invitation of this church, Dec. 21, 1802, he took the
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OF SUNDERLAND.
charge thereof as pastor, and continued the administration of its special ordinances and duties till sickness prevented, March 15, 1840."
His son, Newell Lyon, Esq., of Burlington, Vt., gives the following account of his death : " On the day of his death, about six o'clock, P. M., he inquired of his daughter, ' What time is it ?' She looked at the clock and replied, 'Six.' He then asked, 'What day is it ? Is it the Sabbath ?' (which were his last words.) She answered, ' Yes, father, it is the Sabbath.' He then, after drinking some water, looked at his finger nails, under which the blood was settling, slowly and solemnly raised his eyes, as he always was wont to do be- fore prayer, then closed them, and died without a strug- gle."
His funeral sermon was preached by Rev. James Dough- erty, and a portion of it was published in the Burlington Free Press, for April 23, 1841, from which the following is taken : " Of his personal appearance all here have a distinct recollection ; on this, therefore, a word only need be said. Large of stature and powerfully muscular, his deportment was venerable, and his countenance full of dignity and intel- ligence. But passing from this topic, I would dwell a mo- ment on the qualities of his mind. This, like his body, was large. His native powers, which were very great, he culti- vated to the highest degree, by the most unremitting appli- cation to study. Knowledge, for its own sake, was pre- eminently the object of his research and toil, which he applied, as occasion required, to the duties of his profession, and to the business of life. Hence it was often observed of him that he was at home in all the professions, and on any topic of science or literature. He distinguished himself as a statesman and as a political writer. His speeches in the State and National Legislatures, and his orations and odes, written for the anniversaries of the nation's freedom, show him great in these departments of knowledge. As a divine, his discourses prove him to be exalted. His sermon on the
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' Depravity and Misery of Man,' delivered before the Ver- mont Domestic Missionary Society in 1815, is itself a mon- ument of knowledge, truth, and power.
" As a writer, he was chaste, clear, classic, removed alike from the diffusive and the dry. Method, beauty, strength, were prominent characteristics. He never wrote carelessly, yet never under constraint. Hugh Blair he evidently studied, whom he equalled in graces of style and language, and excelled in strength. Virgil, Cicero, and Homer were favorites with him in the classics. Indeed, those best quali- fied to judge of his intellectual capacity, yielded him the tribute of a profound mind and great learning.
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