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 4
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The following notice of Mr. Wright is from the pen of Hon. S. C. Allen, and was published in the Greenfield Mercury, Nov. 16, 1833, viz. : " I loved Mr. Wright for the simplicity of his manners, and his high intellectual attain- ments, combined in so great a degree with the christian character and conduct. It always afforded me a feast to hear that good old man converse. He was very sociable, and his mind was well stored with correct and useful ideas of men and things, which he communicated to others with
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a great deal of ease and pleasure. The talents and useful- ness of Mr. Wright were much underrated by his cotempora- ries, the inhabitants of Bernardston."
Mr. Wright died in Bernardston, Jan. 24, 1823, aged 85. The following obituary notice of him is from the Franklin Herald, Greenfield, Mass., of Feb. 4, 1823 : " At an early age he received the honors of Yale College, and soon after settled in the ministry at Bernardston. Here he continued serving God in the gospel of his Son more than twenty years, when, circumstances rendering it expedient in his view to request a dissolution of the pastoral connection, he was honorably dismissed by an ecclesiastical council. From this period he chose retirement, and, to the end of life, sustained a consistent and irreproachable character. He was a man of quick apprehension and strong powers of mind. Courteous, affable, and instructive, none could fail to be pleased with his society. To his family and particular friends he was greatly endeared. His religion was of a pure and elevated character, and he ardently wished the diffusion of the spirit of the gospel. To him it would have been cause of great joy to see a union of all who are in pursuit of virtue, holiness, and heaven. During a long and distressing sickness, his faith and charity did not fail. Though he de- sired to depart and be with Christ, he prayed for patience, and, by divine grace, was enabled to wait with patience his appointed time." His ministry in Bernardston was about twenty-one years.
3 .* REV. AMASA COOK was settled as pastor, as appears by the letters missive convening the ordaining council, Nov. 12, 1783, and Rev. Dr. Hopkins, of Hadley, preached the ser- mon. He was born in Hadley in 1750; graduated at Brown in 1776 ; studied theology with Rev. Dr. Hopkins, of Had- ley ; was licensed Aug. 2, 1780, by Hampshire Association ; preached for a time at Rowe, before his settlement in Ber- nardston ; was dismissed from his charge in B., after a min- istry of about twenty-two years, in May, 1805, on account
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of difficulties relative to his moral character and conduct. Hon. R. E. Newcomb and Hon. G. Bliss were the advo- cates before the council by which his case was tried. He was never settled as a pastor in any other place, but lived in B. till his death, and died there, June 11, 1816, in his 66th year. The following is the epitaph on his gravestone, in the North burial yard, in B., viz. :
" If all my life I tried in vain to save, Hear, oh hear me, speaking from the grave."
The next pastor of this church, after Mr. Cook, was Rev. Timothy F. Rogers, who was of the Unitarian denomination. This church becoming Unitarian, for a further notice of it and its other pastors, see the account of that denomination in Bernardston. Just previous to Mr. Rogers' settlement, Rev. Elisha Rockwood supplied the church for a time. The three pastors of this church, during its continuance in the Orthodox connection, were dismissed ; two of them died in the town ; and the average length of their pastorates was about fifteen years and a half, and none of them are living. In the 68 years from the organization of this church till the settlement of its first Unitarian pastor, it has had a settled ministry about 46 years, and has been destitute of the same about 22 years.
SECOND CHURCH. The second Congregational church was organized Jan. 13, 1824, with fifteen members. The most of this number were members of the first Congregational church, and withdrew from it after it became Unitarian. Two Meeting-houses have been built by this church and society ; the first was erected in 1831, chiefly at the expense of Hon. Job Goodale ; the second was built on the site of the first, in 1846. Previous to the erection of their first house of worship, this church held their meetings in the Baptist house of worship, for a considerable period-the two denominations occupying the house alternate sabbaths. Two
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revivals have been enjoyed ; one in 1841, and forty-one were admitted to the church during the year; one in 1852, and eleven were added. In 1839 an accession was made to the church of members from Gill. No council has ever been called to settle difficulties in this church. A council was called, April 18, 1849, to grant the request of the pastor for a dismission, but they refused to do it. The amount con- tributed to the cause of benevolence in 1853 was $190 52. The number in the Sabbath School in 1852 was 65. In 1853 the church numbered 63. This church has received missionary aid for thirteen years, amounting to $1,170. Previous to the settlement of its first pastor, it was supplied, among others, by Revs. Samuel Taggart, Ezekiel Rich, William K. Talbot, Aretas Loomis, Dr. Packard, T. Packard, Jr., and Joseph Haven. This church has existed about 30 years, and has had a settled ministry about 18 years, and been destitute of the same about 12 years. This church has had four pastors.
PASTORS. 1 .* REV. VINSON GOULD was installed pastor Oct. 30, 1833, and the sermon on the occasion was by Rev. Artemas Boise. He was born in Sharon, Ct., 1771 ; gradu- ated at Williams in 1797; was a tutor two years at Wil- liams ; studied divinity with Dr. Backus, of Somers, Ct., and was settled at Southampton Aug. 21, 1801, and Dr. Backus preached on the occasion ; dismissed from South- ampton Jan. 5, 1832 ; in 1804, during his pastorate at S., he performed a mission in Maine of twenty weeks ; dismissed from Bernardston Dec. 21, 1836 ; afterwards lived in South- ampton. While a pastor in S., about thirty young men from the town received a collegiate education, and became min- isters of the gospel, chiefly through his influence. His wife, the daughter of Dr. Sylvester Woodbridge, of S., died in 1837. One of his daughters married Rev. Alexander McClure. Mr. Gould died at Southampton April 4, 1841, aged 68. His ministry in Bernardston was about three years. The follow- ing obituary account of Mr. Gould was prepared by the late
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Rev. Dr. Bela B. Edwards, and was published in the Boston Recorder :-
" Vinson Gould was born in Sharon, Litchfield County, Ct., on the first of August, 1773. He was the eldest son of a large and highly respectable family. His youngest brother, Rev. Wm. R. Gould, is pastor of a Presbyterian church in Gallipolis, Ohio. His parents were persons of intelligence and of eminent piety. They lived to an advanced age, and died greatly lamented. Their prayers, and the remembrance of their instructions, are an invaluable legacy to their chil- dren, and their children's children. Their eldest son, when not more than five or six years of age, received religious im- pressions which were never erased from his memory. These were occasioned by his mother's reading to him the story of the sufferings and death of Christ. His childhood and youth were passed much as those of others of like age are. When he was between fourteen and seventeen years of age, he was the subject of many serious impressions. He often prayed, read the Scriptures, and attended religious meetings, and be- came very solicitous respecting the condition of his soul. For two or three years subsequently, his religious views appear to have been vacillating between Arminianism, Uni- versalism, and Deism. He read many books advocating the latter doctrine, even down to Paine's Age of Reason. This, of course, caused much grief to his anxious friends. His universalist tendencies, however, were soon checked by an incident which occurred in his presence. A number of his acquaintance, men of respectability, and somewhat advanced in life, and who were regarded as Universalists, in conver- sation together, not only confessed deistic sentiments, but denied the existence of God. The hypocrisy and impiety of this course, filled him with fear and astonishment. He left them, and never after associated with any that were called Universalists.
" In the year 1795, Mr. Gould entered the sophomore class in Williams College. He was still solicitous respect-
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ing his salvation. ' In view of my state and danger,' he remarks, 'I was often alone on my knees and in tears .. used at times to think that there was no mercy for me, that I was wholly given up of God, and that my own destruction was sealed. I was led to this idea by considering that, not- withstanding all my cries and tears, I was still in an uncon- verted state. I thought I had done almost as much as any person ever did, before he was converted ; and that if God meant to give me a new heart, he would have done it before this time. So I continued through my college life, except that I changed my religious sentiments (in respect to Armin- ianism.) Sometimes I was encouraged to hope for mercy, and then I was again discouraged, but still persevered in my round of duties. In my senior year, I established the prac- tice of prayers in my room at 8 o'clock in the evening, when, by invitation, several serious scholars came in and took part. I had all along attended conferences in college every Satur- day evening, and now I sometimes lead in the exercises. I did not consider myself a christian, though, I believe, some others did.' Subsequently he says, 'I saw that I was in the hands of a sovereign God, who had a right to do with me as he pleased. In short, I found I was a poor, depraved, and perishing creature.' These convictions terminated, as there is every reason to believe, though the precise time was not known, in personal piety, in the possession of that good hope which ever afterwards sustained him.
" In his literary standing, he took a very high rank in his class. Among the members of it-(ten in all, the third which graduated at Williams College, ) were Asa Burbank, M. D., Professor in the Berkshire Medical Institution; the excellent Rev. Jedediah Bushnell, of Cornwall, Vt .; and Elijah H. Mills, LL.D., an eminent Senator in Congress from Massachusetts. Mr. Gould, as is understood, particu- larly excelled in the department of the languages.
" Immediately on leaving college, September, 1797, Mr. Gould commenced teaching an academy in his native town.
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At the end of thirteen months he closed his connection with it, and commenced the study of divinity with the Rev. Charles Backus, D. D., of Somers, Ct., a minister of distin- guished piety and theological attainment, who guided one of those private schools of divinity, which has honorably as- sociated his name with those of Bellamy, Smalley, Hooker, Burton, Emmons, and others.
" Mr. Gould was licensed to preach the gospel in June, 1799. From that time until September, he supplied the pulpit in New Marlborough, Mass. In October he took charge of a class in Williams College, as tutor. Here he re- mained-highly respected, able and faithful in the discharge of his duties -- till April, 1801, when he went to Southamp- ton, to preach as a candidate for settlement in the ministry. He was ordained on the 21st of August, 1801, as colleague pastor with the aged and venerable Jonathan Judd, the first minister of the town. There was a singular unanimity in the invitation tendered to him, which was the more remarka- ble, as many candidates for the place had supplied the pulpit before him, and several parties in the church and congrega- tion had been formed in consequence. His ordination ser- mon was preached by Dr. Backus. He appears to have en- tered on his work in a spirit of deep self-abasement, and with earnest prayers that he might fulfil the ministry which he had received of the Lord Jesus. His spiritual fitness for his duties was obviously increased by the death of Miss Anna Collins, daughter of the Rev. Mr. Collins of Lanesboro,' a young lady of great worth of character, with whom he ex- pected to enter into the marriage relation. A brief diary, which he kept, showed that her death made the deepest im- pression on his feelings for a long time.
" Mr. Gould's ministry continued till the 5th of January, 1832, a period of thirty-one years. The town, containing at the time of his dismission about 1300 inhabitants, had all been included in one ecclesiastical society. For almost a century from the settlement of the place, the whole popula-
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tion, with a very few exceptions, were Congregationalists, and cordially attached to the ministry that was placed over them in the Lord. The original settlers were eminently pious people, nearly all of whom received a dismission from the church in Northampton, in the early part of the great revival of religion, under President Edwards. Their chil- dren were brought up in the faith and practice of the parents, and, as a church, furnished excellent materials for the pas- toral labors of their youthful watchman.
" Mr. Gould possessed several qualifications for his work in an uncommon degree.
" His religious belief was thoroughly evangelical. The system of doctrines, commonly called Calvinistic, accorded not only with his intellectual convictions, but appeared to be identified with the most sacred feelings of his heart. In fact, his earliest impressions of religion, the long struggles which he went through before he attained the stability of the christian hope, were vitally connected with the great points which are at issue between the Calvinist and the Ar- minian. He thought that he had a personal and experi- mental proof that the creed of the first was in accordance with the Bible, while that of the last was not. In his ser- mons, particularly in the introductory years of his ministry, he gave great prominence to the doctrines of total depravity, the supreme divinity of our Lord, the perfect atonement ac- complished by his sufferings and death, the absolute and holy sovereignty of God, election, the necessity of regener- ation by the special influences of the Holy Spirit, and their kindred truths. These great themes were the life of his preaching, and the life of his soul. He exhibited them fear- lessly in his sermons, in his extempore lectures, and in his conversation. In revivals of religion, he did not disguise them, lest they should prove unpalatable, and mar the work. He felt that at such a time, they ought to be preached with unwonted earnestness. In the latter part of his life, his in- terest in them revived. He steadfastly opposed all specula- 6
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tions, which in his opinion tended to rob them of their virtue, and to ruin the souls of men.
" Among his qualifications for sermonizing, was a remark- able power for illustration. Very few ministers made more pertinent use of passing events. The leading characteristic of his mind was quickness of apprehension. He seized, with the rapidity of instinct or intuition, upon any casual inci- dent, which could throw light upon the subject in hand. If he did not possess that power of patient investigation en- joyed by some, he appeared to need it less. An apt quota- tion, an unexpected allusion, a vivid description, gave the truth which he handled a lodgment in the memory or in the affections, which no exact analysis or cogent argumentation could have done. The attention of many a thoughtless hearer was arrested by a felicitous metaphor, or a happily applied providential event.
" The trait to which we have just alluded, laid the foun- dation, with other things, for an excellent pastoral charac- ter. At a religious conference in a school-house, in conver- sation with children, in introducing unwelcome topics to the irreligious, at the bed of the sick and dying, Mr. Gould was exceedingly apt. He fitted his remarks with wonderful skill. A single observation sometimes sunk like lead into the heart of the profane scoffer, or the thoughtless sinner. If there was an avenue to the conscience, he would find it. If a kind of holy adroitness, of sacred archery, could be of avail, it was at his command.
" In addition to this power of apposite and vivid illustra- tion, Mr. Gould was endued with great susceptibility of emotion. There seemed to be a perfect correspondence be- tween the activity of his intellectual powers and the excita- bility of his feelings. There was no sluggishness in the movement of any faculty. The ardor of his passions was an admirable auxiliary in his pastoral labors. Few ministers ever excelled him in the chamber of sickness. There was no affectation of sympathy ; there were no cold words. He
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carried a brother's heart to the pillow of the dying. His sympathy was instant and most consoling. Some of the prayers which he offered, as the spirit of a dear friend was departing, will never be forgotten. He did not shrink, on such occasions, from the presentation of plain truth. But his heart was full of tenderness, as the tones of his voice were of sympathy and love.
"Mr. Gould's success in the ministry, through the accom- panying influences of the Holy Spirit, was great. During the summer and autumn of the year in which he was or- dained, about 20 persons entertained a hope of eternal life, and united with the church. In the year 1805 there was a most signal manifestation of the grace of the Holy Spirit. God then appeared in his glory in building up Zion. About 100 were supposed to be the fruits of this awakening. Eighty were added to the church. In 1812 and 1813, there was a marked attention to the concerns of the soul. In 1815 and 1816, a still more powerful revival of religion was en- joyed. In the latter year, the church was increased by an addition of 46 members. At several subsequent periods, the same Divine influence was conspicuously manifest. In 1822 and 1823 particularly, many individuals are supposed to have commenced a religious life. In such favored seasons, Mr. Gould's mode of dispensing religious truth was singularly plain and solemn, and sometimes very affecting. The num- ber of members that united with the church, while he was pastor, was 715.
" Forty-six individuals, natives of Southampton, have ac- quired a collegiate education. Thirty-seven of these are now living, and thirty-two are, or have been, ministers of the gospel. The question has often been asked, why a small town, containing a little more than 1000 inhabitants, should afford the advantages of a public education to so many of its sons ? In reply, it may be said with truth, that the principal cause was the efficient agency of Mr. Gould. He made it one of the leading objects of his ministry. The youthful
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parishioner who had promising talents, and a desire to preach the gospel, or to be useful in some other profession, he took by the hand and steadily encouraged. If necessary, he kind- ly removed the difficulties which might be felt by parents and other friends. The studies preparatory for college were, in many cases, superintended by him, or by his accomplished lady, and not seldom as an entire gratuity. Being himself a good classical scholar, he took a personal satisfaction in con- ducting the studies of his young friends. As a teacher, he possessed kindness and promptitude, ever ready to appreciate difficulties, while he had the firmness to require that the pupil should be master of his lessons. In this way, Mr. Gould exerted an extensive and very happy influence. He was thus the means, indirectly, of proclaiming the messages of life to thousands, and of guiding multitudes to the man- sions of eternal rest. Indeed, the good accomplished by him, mediately, was, doubtless, greater than that which was the fruit of his direct exertions.
"In this connection, it may be stated, that he gave much time and thought in promoting the interests of the common schools. His peculiar talents had here a fine opportunity for employment. The ease, the perfect facility, with which he could adapt his remarks to the capacities of those whom he addressed, have been acknowledged by all who were familiar with the circumstances. He assisted in the examination of the teachers. He visited the schools two or three times in a year, attentively listened to the recitations, and made re- marks and closed with prayers, to which the most heedless youth could not but attend. The same interest in children was manifest in the annual catechetical instruction which he superintended. In the summer of every year, nearly all the children and youth in the place, between the ages of six and sixteen years, assembled in two parallel rows in the aisles of the meeting-house, and recited to the pastor, in the hearing of many of the congregation, in four or five successive Sabbaths, the whole of the Assembly's Shorter Catechism.
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The considerateness with which Mr. Gould put the more dif- ficult questions to the trembling catechumen, so that he might not miss, will long be remembered. Well would it be for our churches if this venerable compend were still taught in the same manner.
" The more general interests of philanthropy and benevo- lence were promoted by Mr. Gould in an effectual manner. Early in his ministry, he labored for some months with good success as a missionary in the destitute portions of Maine. When it was proposed to remove Williams College to North- ampton, Mr. Gould acted with gratifying success as an agent in raising the large fund which the trustees of the college named as a condition of the removal. Of the old and very useful Hampshire Missionary Society he was a trustee and active friend. The Hampshire Education Society also found in him an intelligent and warm supporter. The dawn of the foreign missionary enterprise, in 1810, he hailed as the indication of a brighter era to the church. Of the property which God had given him (larger than most clergymen are favored with) he was a liberal almoner. At a day when comparatively few christians were awake to their great duty of laboring for the conversion of the world, he entered with characteristic ardor into the various plans of benevolence.
" In 1808 Mr. Gould was married to Miss Mindwell Wood- bridge, only daughter of Sylvester Woodbridge, M. D., an eminent physician in Southampton. Mrs. G. died in No- vember, 1837. She was a lady of strong, original powers of mind, which had been highly cultivated. Her social and domestic character were also very attractive, to which were added the crowning graces of intelligent and un- affected piety. They had six children, all of whom are living. Their house was ever the abode of hospitality, of great intelligence, and of pure and christian affection.
" After his dismission from the church in Southampton, in 1832, Mr. Gould taught a High School in South Hadley. He subsequently preached for some time in Bernardston.
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He then returned, with his family, to his house in South- ampton, continuing to preach, as occasion offered, in the neighboring towns, and still feeling the deepest interest in the progress of the Redeemer's kingdom. In the course of the year 1840, indications began to appear that he was af- fected by a threatening internal disorder. Towards the close of the year the symptoms became decided, and all hope of his recovery was abandoned. Here, however, we may say, ' behold the faith and patience of the saint.' Amid the bit- ter pains of his inexorable malady, the great truths, which he had so long preached, had power to afford him effectual consolations. Some particulars of his conversation, noted down at the time by the affectionate friends at his bed-side, may be interesting.
" When informed of the nature of his disease, in Novem- ber, 1840, he manifested the most perfect composure. From that time he gave up all hope of living beyond a few months. He had the full use of his reason, and seemed to look upon another world as a reality which he was soon to meet. Leaving this world, to use his own language, was 'like passing from one room to another.' One night, after retiring, he was heard to say, 'This earthly tabernacle is evidently dissolving ; nature is giving way ; I am fast approaching the swelling of Jordan.' Yet he remained in cheerful spirits to the last. He made every necessary worldly arrangement for his departure, and continued to be interested in whatever interested his friends. His sufferings were unintermitted, ex- cept when he slept, and at times excruciating. In great agony, he could be heard praying, 'Deal gently with me, O Lord, I pray thee. Almighty Father, let me not murmur. May I be still, and know that thou art God. What grace, what triumphant grace, does it require to be perfectly patient under bodily anguish.' In his devotions he would give thanks that his pains had been no greater, and would add that this is indeed a small thing when compared with mer- cies which he received.
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