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 7
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An obituary notice of him was published, from which the following is an extract, viz. :- " Mr. Tileston was a man of sound mind, and a firm believer in the Orthodox faith, in which he had been reared. His ministry was blessed, es- pecially in the early part of it, by the conversion of many. A paper, found since his death, containing resolutions for the government of his heart and life, written out in the early part of his christian life, evinces a mind deeply impressed with the truths of the gospel and the duties it enjoins. His end was peace." He died with the dropsy, at Galesburg,
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Ill., Feb. 22, 1851, aged 59. Rev. Flavel Bascomb of Galesburg preached his funeral sermon. His ministry in Charlemont was about twelve years.
4. REV. STEPHEN T. ALLEN was ordained as pastor, April 18, 1838, and the sermon was by President Hopkins of Wil- liams College ; and he was dismissed from Charlemont, April 24, 1839. Mr. Allen was born in Heath in 1809; made a profession of religion at thirteen years of age ; graduated at Amherst in 1833; finished the theological course at Ando- ver in 1837 ; installed as pastor in Merrimack, N. H., May 23, 1839; dismissed from Merrimack, Sept. 4, 1850, in con- sequence of failure of health. Since leaving Merrimack, Mr. Allen has been engaged in the publishing and editing department in New York city. He now edits the Mother's Magazine and Merry's Museum, in New York. His minis- try in Charlemont continued only about one year.
5. REV. JOHN D. SMITH was ordained as pastor, Nov. 20, 1839, and the sermon was by Rev. Dr. Packard of Shel- burne ; and he was dismissed, Aug. 11, 1844; and resettled as pastor in Charlemont, over the same church, June 21, 1848, and the sermon was by Rev. Dr. Osgood of Spring- field; and he was dismissed from Charlemont the second time, May 19, 1852. Mr. Smith was born in Hanover, N. H., April 9, 1812 ; graduated at Yale in 1832; studied the- ology at New Haven and at Andover ; supplied one year at Athol, previous to his ordination at Charlemont ; after his first dismission from Charlemont, he pursued medical studies at Baltimore, Md. ; and since his second dismission from Charlemont, he has continued to reside in the town, and has supplied in various places.
The following is from an address occasioned by the death of Nathan Smith, M. D., the father of Rev. J. D. Smith :- "Connected with the last sickness of Dr. Smith, there was one interesting event, to which I cannot forbear to allude. His three elder sons had been educated by him, and intro- duced into the medical profession ; but his younger son
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(John D. Smith) was yet to receive his education. The dying father, under the pressure of poverty, could make no provision for him. That he was poor, after all his toils for the advancement of medical science, and for the alleviation of human misery, is no reproach to his name; for he was not in embarrassed circumstances, as some have been, in consequence of his vices and extravagance. Perhaps he was poor, because he had not a heart to exact his dues from the children of poverty. Perhaps he was poor, because he was liberal and generous. He could not provide for the educa- tion of his youngest son. He had nothing to bequeath him. His own toils and cares were over. Who would be a father and friend to his son ? In this state of solicitude and anxi- ety, the door of his sick chamber was opened, and there stood before him a respectable physician of Boston, (Dr. Shattuck) formerly his pupil ; and he came to tell him to die in peace, because his son should be taken care of. This visit for this object, and as a testimony of affection and re- spect, sent a thrilling stimulating power through his whole palsied frame. His countenance was lighted up with joy. The tongue of the paralytic was loosened, and he spake with distinctness ; and doubtless there was not absent from the gladdened heart a warm emotion of gratitude to God." In accordance with his promise to the dying father, Dr. Shattuck liberally assisted the son in passing through his collegiate and professional course. Mr. Smith was chosen to represent the town of Charlemont in the Legislature of Massachusetts, in 1854.
Of the five pastors of this church, all were dismissed ; one became a Unitarian ; and three are now living ; and the av- erage length of their pastorates is about nine years and a half.
Since the dismission of their last pastor this church has been supplied by Rev. Theodore J. Clark, Rev. Edward Clarke, Rev. Levi Packard, and Mr. Samuel Fisk. Between the pastorates of Mr. Allen and Mr. Smith, the church was supplied some time by Professor John Tatlock of Williams College, and Rev. George Lyman.
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THIRD CHURCH. The third church was organized in the east part of the town, Aug. 6, 1845, with forty-three mem- bers. Its first and only Meeting-house was built in 1847. A season of revival was enjoyed in 1848, and twenty-seven were added to the church. A council was called to give ad- vice in a case of difficulty, Aug. 2, 1848. The amount contrib- uted to the cause of benevolence, in 1853, was $63 95. The number in the Sabbath School in 1852, was 120. In 1853 the church numbered SO. Previous to the settlement of their first pastor, the church was supplied by Rev. Na- thaniel A. Keyes, who had been a missionary of the Amer- ican Board to Syria.
Two pastors have been settled over this church. In the eight years and a half since the organization of this church, it has had a settled ministry about five years and a half, and has been destitute of the same about three years.
PASTORS. 1. REV. MOSES H. WILDER was installed as pastor, March 17, 1847, and Rev. Dr. Absalom Peters of Wil- liamstown preached on the occasion ; and he was dismissed from Charlemont, Oct. 3, 1848. Mr. Wilder was born in Winchendon, June 19, 1798; did not graduate at any col- lege ; did not study at any Theological Seminary ; was li- censed to preach in Indiana, Oct. 23, 1831; ordained as an Evangelist at Tamworth, N. H., April 21, 1835, and preached himself on the occasion ; was a pastor at Bath, Ia., three years ; installed pastor at Georgetown, Ohio, April 23, 1840, and the sermon was by Rev. Eleazer Brainard ; dis- missed from Georgetown in April, 1842; installed pastor at Wadsworth, Ohio, in 1843, and the sermon was by Rev. James Shaw ; dismissed from Wadsworth in July, 1845; after leaving Charlemont, was installed at Salem, pastor of the Howard Street Church, and the sermon was by Rev. Dr. Storrs of Braintree ; dismissed from Salem, Oct. 8, 1851; installed pastor at Harwich, Dec. 10, 1851, and the sermon was by Rev. Dr. George W. Blagden of Boston. Mr. Wilder has been employed as an agent of benevolent societies seven
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years ; has been under the Home Missionary Society seven years ; has preached over 3,000 sermons ; is still a pastor in Harwich. Mr. Wilder's pastorate in Charlemont continued about one year and a half.
2. REV. AARON FOSTER was installed pastor, Feb. 13, 1850, and Rev. Samuel Harris preached on the occasion. Mr. Foster was born in Hillsboro', N. H., March 19, 1794, and was trained up among the Quakers. . He graduated at Dartmouth in 1822; finished the theological course at An- dover in 1825; was ordained as an Evangelist at Rutland, Vt., Oct. 19, 1825, and Rev. Phineas Cook, then of Ack- worth, N. H., preached on the occasion ; supplied five years various churches in Laurens, Abbeville, and Pendleton Dis- tricts, in S. C. In. April, 1828, while driving rapidly in a chaise, near Charleston, S. C., his horse was killed by light- ning ; in 1829, he was a member of the Presbyterian General Assembly at Philadelphia ; was installed pastor in Pendleton, S. C. in 1830, and Rev. Anthony Ross preached the ser- mon ; in September, 1833, went to Fort Covington, N. Y., received a call to settle there, but declined it, and continued to supply the church there for several years ; in 1837 went to Constable, N. Y., and preached there till November, 1843; spent some time in an agency for the American Peace Soci- ety in 1844; in November, 1845, began to supply the Rob- inson Church in Plymouth, and continued there till his re- moval to Charlemont. In 1851 he was a delegate to the World's Peace Convention at London. In 1853 he was a delegate from Charlemont to revise the Constitution of Mas- sachusetts. He is still a pastor in Charlemont, in the fourth year of his ministry there.
Of the two pastors of this church, one was dismissed ; both are now living ; and the average length of their pastorates is about two years and a half.
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OF CHARLEMONT.
CONGREGATIONAL MINISTERS WHO ORIGINATED FROM CHARLEMONT.
1. Rev. James Ballard was born in Charlemont in 1805 ; graduated at Williams in 1827 ; instructed in the Academy at Bennington, Vt., for ten years, till 1837, having had charge of more than five hundred different scholars, and having pre- pared more than forty for college ; studied theology with Rev. Dr. Beman of Troy, N. Y. ; was licensed by the Con- gregational Association, in New York city, in 1837 ; re- moved, in 1837, to Ohio, and preached in the vicinity of Columbus till 1838 ; then removed to Grand Rapids, Mich., and preached there and at Grandville for several years ; or- dained as an Evangelist in 1839, at Galesburg, Mich., and the sermon was by Rev. Stephen Mason of Marshall, Mich. ; while supplying the church at Grand Rapids, he bought, for the benefit of that church, of Louis Campau, a Catholic house of worship for $3,700, for the payment of which he collected of the New England churches $2,800. The bal- ance has nearly been paid by the church, and they now enjoy a large and commodious house of worship. In 1847 he retired from the ministry at Grand Rapids to a farm in the vicinity. In 1850 he was invited to take charge of a large Union School in Grand Rapids. He is now in charge of that school, and preaches to a neighboring church.
2. Rev. Roswell Hawks was born in Charlemont in 1788 ; graduated at Williams in 1811 ; studied theology with Rev. Dr. Packard of Shelburne ; ordained pastor in Peru, Oct. S, 1815, and dismissed from there in April, 1823; installed pastor in Cummington, April 20, 1825, and the sermon was by Rev. Dr. Humphrey, then President of Amherst College ; since his dismission from Cummington, for the most part, he has been general agent and steward for the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, and resides at South Hadley, and preaches occasionally.
3. Rev. Theron M. Hawks was born in Charlemont, Oct.
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24, 1821; in 1835 changed his place of residence from Charlemont to Buckland ; graduated at Williams in 1844; finished the theological course at Union Theological Semi- nary, New York city, in 1851 ; since then has been em- ployed chiefly in teaching in that Seminary.
4. Rev. Lemuel Leonard was born in Charlemont, of Baptist parents, Nov. 23, 1812 ; pursued preparatory studies in Heath, and, in 1830, united with the Congregational church in that place ; was a member of Amherst College from 1830 to 1832, and then left college on account of ill health, and did not graduate ; studied with various instruc- tors, and completed the theological course in the East Wind- sor Hill Seminary in 1839 ; was licensed by Franklin Asso- ciation in 1838 ; ordained at Portageville, N. Y., as pastor, Oct. 30, 1839, and the sermon was preached by Rev. Wales Tileston, then of Nunda Valley, N. Y. ; dismissed from Portageville, Aug. 19, 1849, and has since preached as a stated supply at Moscow, N. Y. Mr. Leonard married a daughter of Rev. Moses Miller, formerly of Heath.
5. Rev. Daniel Rice was born in Conway, Oct. 13, 1816 ; at one year and a half of age removed to Charlemont, where he lived till manhood ; united with the church at thirteen years of age ; graduated at Amherst in 1837 ; was principal of the Academy in Hancock, N. H., two years ; pursued theological study for a time at Andover, and finished his theological course at Lane Seminary, Ohio, in 1842 ; was settled as pastor at Troy, Ohio, in 1842, and the sermon was preached by Rev. Dr. John W. Hall of Dayton, Ohio. Three seasons of revival have been enjoyed during Mr. Rice's ministry at Troy, and, in 1843, between forty and fifty were added to his church. Mr. Rice is still a pastor at Troy, Ohio.
Some other Congregational ministers have spent a short portion of their early life in this town, who are not num- bered in this sketch among the sons of Charlemont. Rev.' Jedediah Bushnell, who died pastor of the church in Corn-
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wall, Vt., Aug. 2, 1846, aged 77, spent three years in Char- lemont, to learn the trades of shoemaker and tanner. Rev. Noah Cressey, now of Portland, Me., removed to Charlemont when about eighteen years of age, and resided there till he began to prepare for the ministry ; but, as he lived for a longer period in early life in Rowe, a notice of him is given in the account of ministers who originated from that town.
Of the five Congregational ministers here reckoned as sons of Charlemont, four were born in that town; four were graduates ; and all are now living.
OTHER DENOMINATIONS.
BAPTISTS. The Baptist church in Charlemont was formed about 1791. The following preachers have supplied it with preaching, viz., Revs. John Green, Mr. Wheeler, Mr. Palmer, Ebenezer Hall, Samuel Carpenter, Nathaniel Rice, Mr. Mc- Cullock, James M. Coley, Darius Dunbar, David Pease, Ben- jamin F. Remington, R. P. Hartley, S. Bently, M. J. Kelley, James Parker, and Hervey Crowley in 1853. This church, in 1853, had 67 members. One Baptist minister originated from Charlemont, viz., Rev. Philander Hartwell.
METHODISTS. Methodism seems to have been introduced into the town about 1806 or 1807 ; classes were formed in 1828 and 1831, and, for some time, the Methodists in this place were connected with those in Rowe. Nothing definite can be learned respecting the origin of the present Methodist church in Charlemont. Preaching has been supplied by Revs. Samuel Eigmy, John Nixon, A. Hulin, E. Andrews, J. B. Husted, E. Crawford, J. C. Bonticou, S. W. Sizer, William Todd, O. C. Bosworth, Windsor Ward, Horace Moulton, E. P. Stephens, Samuel Heath, D. K. Bannister, William Kimball, C. Hayward, W. Wilicutt, Lyman Wing, J. W. Lewis, W. Taylor, E. Bugbee, E. K. Avery, C. C. Barnes, Proctor Marsh, L. Frost, Porter R. Sawyer, David Mason, G. W. Green, Moses Palmer, William Bordwell, E.
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A. Manning, Ichabod Marcy, Amasa Taylor, A. A. Cook, David K. Merrill, and William Pentecost in 1853. Method- ist preachers originating from Charlemont : Revs. Daniel Graves, Philo Hawks, David L. Winslow, Otis Legate and William Legate.
UNITARIANS. The Unitarian church in Charlemont was formed about 1830, and has been supplied with preaching by Revs. Joseph Field, C. Nightingale, William Cushing, Benjamin Parsons, George F. Clarke, Mr. Hervey, and R. Bacon. They have had but little preaching for some time past. They never had a settled pastor.
UNIVERSALISTS. Two Universalist preachers, Revs. Joseph Barber and William Barber, originated from Charlemont.
SUMMARY of Preachers originating from Charlemont : Con- gregationalists, 5 ; Baptists, 1 ; Methodists, 5 ; Universal- ists, 2. Total, 13.
COLERAINE.
This township was granted in 1736, and for a time was called Boston Township. Settlements began as early as the year 1742, for the people that year " voted about calling a pious Orthodox minister to settle with them," and applied to Boston Presbytery, April 16, 1745, for preaching. The early settlers were chiefly Scotch-Irish, and generally Presbyteri- ans. In the town four garrisons were maintained, one of which was the dwelling-house of the first minister, Mr. Mc- Dowell. Several of the inhabitants were killed and some captured by the Indians. The town was incorporated June 30, 1761, and received its name in honor of Lord Coleraine of Ireland. Tradition says that he " was so well pleased with the honor done him, that he sent the inhabitants a fine bell, but, through the unfaithfulness of the agent to whom it was intrusted, it never reached them. It is believed to be still in existence, and used in one of the churches in Bos- ton." See Barber's Historical Collections relating to Massa-
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chusetts, page 242. The population of Coleraine in 1850 was 1785. Four churches have been organized in Coleraine, viz., one Presbyterian, which, after about sixty years, was changed to Congregational ; two Baptist and one Methodist, all of which are in existence, having meeting-houses and preaching.
CONGREGATIONALISTS.
CHURCH. The present Congregational church was origi- nally Presbyterian, and, as its early records, even down to 1819, are not to be found, it is not known definitely when the church was organized. In 1745 the inhabitants of the town sent a letter to Boston Presbytery, putting themselves under their care, and asking for a preacher. "June 5, 1750, the Presbytery appointed Rev. Mr. Abercrombie of Pelham to ordain elders among them, and prepare the way for the administration of the Lord's Supper." The church was probably formed not long after this, in 1750. April 29, 1819, the church made request to have its connection with the Presbytery dissolved, and it was changed in its organi- zation to a Congregational church, Dec. 9, 1819. Four Meeting-houses have been built among this people ; the first was commenced about 1742, and located about a mile south- east of the present one, but the pulpit and pews were not finished before 1769, and, in October, 1764, it was voted to color the Meeting-house blue; the second was built in 1795, about a quarter of a mile north of the present one; the third was built by a disaffected party in 1795, about two miles south-east of the present one ; the fourth was built in 1834, and was remodelled in 1853. The two houses built in 1795 were for many years occupied alternately on the Sabbath by the church and people. A revival occurred in 1831 in con- nection with a protracted religious meeting, and about fifty were added to the church. An interesting account of it was published in the Greenfield Gazette, Aug. 1, 1831. Rev. Mr. Taggart, in his published farewell sermon to the people of his charge in Coleraine, in 1819, says : " Our church has
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been uniformly small, as we have never seen any remarkable ingathering time." The amount contributed to the cause of benevolence, in 1852, was $14 55; the Sabbath School, in 1852, numbered 50; and the number in the church, in 1853, was 42.
Previous to the settlement of a pastor, Rev. Mr. Aber- crombie of Pelham supplied occasionally ; Rev. Daniel Mitchell, from Ireland, supplied in 1749, 1750, and 1751, to whom the people gave a call to settle, but the Presbytery, Aug. 13, 1751, refused to have him settle as pastor. After Mr. McDowell's death the people, in 1763, sent for Rev. Mr. Thompson in Nassau Hall, N. J., and for Rev. Mr. Paine on Long Island ; in 1764 Rev. Mr. Kinkead supplied them ; in 1766 they voted to have Rev. Jonathan Leavitt preach for them ; April 13, 1767, they voted to call Rev. Simeon Miller to settle as pastor. This church has had six pastors, three Presbyterian and three Congregational.
PASTORS. 1 .* REV. ALEXANDER McDOWELL was ordained as pastor, according to the records of the Boston Presbytery, of which he was a member, Sept. 28, 1753 ; and the Pres- bytery appointed Revs. Messrs. Parsons of Amesbury, Aber- crombie of Pelham, and Prentice of Easton, to perform the ordination. He is represented to have been born in Ireland ; he graduated at Harvard in 1751; was licensed by Boston Presbytery, March 18, 1752, and supplied Coleraine for some time before his settlement there. He preached before the Presbytery according to their appointment, at Newbury, Aug. 14, 1752, and the Presbytery say they "found his dis- course to be censurable to a high degree ;" whereupon he made a written acknowledgment that he " had used hard, bitter, and injurious reflections ;" and Presbytery then voted that he should be " solemnly rebuked, and, upon his submis- sion, restored." He was dismissed from his charge in Cole- raine, and according to tradition on account of intemperance, sometime between March and August, 1761, and died in Coleraine sometime between January and October, 1762,
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leaving a widow, a son and daughter. He was buried in the old burial yard near the first meeting-house, near the graves of Hugh Riddell's family, but no stone marks the spot. Rev. Mr. McDowell and Rev. Edward Billings of Green- field are the only pastors buried in Franklin County, at whose graves no stones are erected, or are in progress of erection. As the ministerial lot in Coleraine fell to Mr. Me- Dowell as the first minister, and descended to his widow, she was censured by the people for not providing stones for his grave. The town, May 9, 1768, " voted not to get grave stones for Mr. McDowell's grave." His family long since removed from this part of the country. Mr. McDow- ell's ministry in Coleraine was about eight years.
2 .* REV. DANIEL MCCLELLAN's salary as pastor commenced June 1, 1769. He was constituted pastor of the church some time previously at Philadelphia, Penn., by the New Castle Presbytery, to which he belonged. He received the call from Coleraine, Oct. 20, 1768, and was dismissed from the Pres- bytery to go to Coleraine some time subsequently. He was born in Pennsylvania about 1737 ; received his education in Edinburgh, Scotland, and in Ireland ; was ordained in Ire- land by the Reformed Presbytery, or Covenanters ; came back to this country about 1766 ; preached two years in the connection of the Covenanters ; was then deposed by them for owning the government of the Presbyterian Synod of New York and Philadelphia ; was then examined and re- ceived to the New Castle Presbytery in 1768; and died pastor at Coleraine, April 21, 1773, in his 36th year. Tra- dition says that Coleraine church twice sent a man to Phila- delphia to obtain him ; and also, that Mr. McClellan, having received another call, and being undecided which to accept, said he would set up a stick of wood perpendicularly, and let it fall, and to whichever of the two places towards which it should fall he would go; and the stick falling towards Coleraine, he went there. Mr. Hugh Bolton went for him, and accompanied him and his wife and their three colored
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servants. From Troy, N. Y., they were obliged to go on horseback. From Charlemont to Coleraine it was then a wilderness. He is represented as having been a man of abilities, a good scholar, a respectable divine, and, what then was considered rather extraordinary among the neighboring ministers here, a Hebrician. His Hebrew Bible, published in 1609, is now in the possession of Rev. J. McGee, who married his grand-daughter. His grave is in the old burial yard, near that of his successor, Rev. Mr. Taggart. The epitaph on his grave stone is as follows, viz. : " In memory of the Rev. Mr. Daniel McClellan, the faithful and beloved pastor of the church of Christ in Coleraine. He departed this life April 21, 1773, in the 36th year of his age." " Write, blessed are the dead who die in the Lord, &c. Rev. xiv. 13." Mr. McClellan's ministry in Coleraine was about four years.
3 .* REV. SAMUEL TAGGART was ordained pastor, Feb. 19, 1777 ; was dismissed from his pastoral charge by the Lon- donderry Presbytery at their meeting, Oct. 28, 1818 ; preach- ed his farewell sermon to his people, Jan. 3, 1819, which was published ; and he died in Coleraine, April 24, 1825, aged 71. Mr. Taggart was born in Londonderry, N. H., March 24, 1754. His parents were emigrants from the North of Ireland. His father was a ruling elder in the second church in Londonderry. His family were religiously educated. Rev. Mr. Taggart graduated at Dartmouth in 1774; studied theology with Rev. David McGregore of Londonderry, N. H. ; and was licensed by the Presbytery of Boston, June 1, 1776. Being a member of that Presbytery, and, without consulting them, having conferred with the Associate Presbytery of New York in relation to uniting with them, he was sum- moned before the Boston Presbytery as an offender, and, after a long discussion, correspondence and delay, he was dismissed June 2, 1785, with a general recommendation. It appears that he subsequently joined the Londonderry Pres- bytery. That Presbytery, when they dismissed him from
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Coleraine church, say, in their records, "We most cordially recommend him to the christian public as an eminently able and faithful minister of the gospel of Christ."
Mr. Taggart's first wife died in 1815. On returning from Congress, after an absence of five months, he found her in her coffin, and several of his children on sick beds. By his first wife he had fourteen children, six of whom are living. By his second wife, who was from Washington, D. C., and who lives in Guilford, Vt., he had three children, who are living.
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