USA > Massachusetts > Franklin County > Ashfield > History of the town of Ashfield, Franklin County, Massachusetts from its settlement in 1742 to 1910 > Part 14
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Rev. Burr Baldwin was installed April 20, 1836, and dismissed September, 1838. The summer he was settled the Sabbath School numbered three hundred and seventy-four. Daniel Forbes was superintendent, Alvan Perry, assistant, with Wait Bement, librarian. The church numbered two hundred and
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nincty-six. In the two ycars Mr. Baldwin was here it dimin- ished seventeen, chiefly by removals west.
In June, 1840, Rev. Sereno D. Clark was installed over the church. Soon after the settlement of Mr. Clark the interior of the church was remodelled and the upper room formed. The event most affecting the church during Mr. Clark's ministry was trouble with the singing. (At the close of a large singing school, choristers were to be chosen to lead the choir. They could not agree upon one man, therefore two were chosen, one for each party. Both choirs were in the singers' gallery Sunday and when the first hymn was given out, each lcader named a different tune, and both choirs started off together. After one verse, the singers from one choir left their seats. Quaint Uncle Isaac Taylor at this, aptly quoted Scripture for the occasion: "This day is the Scripture fulfilled in our ears, the songs of the sanctuary are turned into howling.") The want of harmony was in the dispositions of the choir, not in the voices. It com- menced in the choir and was taken up by the parish and church. The minority seceded and for a while held separate meetings on the Sabbath in the town hall. A council was called in the autumn of 1847 to organize a second church if thought best, but the council thought otherwisc and drew up conditions of agree- ment which were mutually accepted. Mr. Clark resigned his pastorate to accept a call to Lee in April, 1851. (Mr. Clark was accused by each party of favoring the "other side " but evidently endeavored to keep clear of the controversy as far as possible. He was a very able preacher, sound in the doctrines of the day, "viciously orthodox " as one outsider expressed it.)
Rev. Wm. H. Gilbert was installed in December, 1851, and dismissed in August, 1855. The principal event of his pastorate was the division of the church and the formation of the second church in the village.
Mr. Brigham, becoming the pastor just after Mr. Gilbert and after the division, in his discoursc, declines to discuss the causes of the separation but thinks there was really no good reason for it. In 1855, the second church was formed and the next year a
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new house was built. The main cause of the separation was a charge made against the aged treasurer of the society of loose- ness and irregularity in his books. The affair was so conducted that bitter feelings were created between the friends of the accused and his accusers. There were good men on both sides arrayed against each other in this unhappy difference, each believing his side in the right. A strong, broad, liberally minded minister like Dr. Shepard, would very likely have controlled the situation and prevented the separation.
Mr. Brigham resigned the same year he gave his centennial discourse, and Rev. E. C. Ewing began his labors, which con- tinued until 1867. About this time the desirability of a union between the two churches began to be seriously discussed. Mr. Ewing immediately resigned, fearing lest he might be in the way of accomplishing the result. The two churches finally decided to leave the conditions of union to a board of referees, and in 1868 they came together, after a separation of twelve years. Since the union the pastors have been: Webster Wood- bury, 1868-70; James Dingwell, 1872-77; Jonathan Wadhams, 1878-88; Charles B. F. Pease, 1889-93; George H. Bailey, 1893-98; Horace F. Hallett, 1899-1911. In 1886 a chapel and dining room were added to the church, largely through the in- fluence of Mr. Wadhams, and in 1895 the church interior was tastefully remodelled by the generosity of Mrs. Daniel Williams as a memorial to her husband. The present membership of the church is one hundred and seventy-four.
THE EPISCOPAL SOCIETY
Abstract of an Historical Address read in St. John's Church, Ashfield, Mass., by the Rector, the Rev. George Putnam Hunt- ington, Sunday, October 2, 1887:
On the 15th of June, 1820, fourteen of the men of Ashfield put their names to a declaration to the effect that being attached to the doctrines, discipline and worship of the Protestant Epis- copal Church, and in exercise of their constitutional privileges which secure to every person the right of worshiping God agree- ably to the dictates of his own conscience, they formed them- selves into a society by the name of "the Parish of St. John's
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Chureh, in the town of Ashfield." Of the names attached to this document the first is that of Jesse Edson, who was the first senior warden, and who has been justly termed the father of the parish. Then follow the names of Bethucl Lilly, Joseph Hall, and Lemuel and Simeon Phillips, who were suceessively wardens during the following twenty or thirty ycars, and the name of Jonathan Lilly who for twenty-five years was the parish elerk. Simeon Phillips preeeded him as the first parish elcrk. The other names are David Williams, James Phillips, Howard Edson, Albinus Lilly, Bethuel Lilly, Jr., Phillip M. Phillips, Austin Lilly and Chipman Lilly.
That the Church should ever have been established in this hill town is a matter of surprise. It was the first and it still remains the only parish on the hills, in the diocese. Three eauses arc to be found which, under Divine guidanee, lcd to the planting of St. John's Chureh, Ashfield.
The first to be mentioned may rather be termed the oppor- tunity. Dissension had arisen in the Congregational Society over the attempt to settle as their minister, Rev. Sylvester Woodbridge. A determined minority, ineluding the deaeons and a former pastor who still resided in the town, opposed Mr. Woodbridge so vehemently that a eouneil held in January, 1817, unanimously advised against his settlement, but not, as was expressly stated, for any fault either of morals or doetrine. In spite of this aetion of the couneil, the eall was renewed before the end of the same month, but the opposition eontinued to be so strong that the attempt to retain Mr. Woodbridge was aban- doned. This, however, did not bring peace. No minister was settled for some ycars, and when finally a minister was ealled, many of the friends of Mr. Woodbridge determined to withdraw. Under the existing statutes, which were then of reeent date, and the full foree of which was just being understood, the eourse that was open to them was to unite with some religious society already organized. Thus only eould they eseape the obligation to pay taxes for the support of the Congregational Society, which was then, in the cye of the law, the established ehurch. Early in the year 1820, therefore, these men who afterwards organized this parish united themselves with St. James' Chureh, Greenfield, under the Rev. Dr. Strong, who was then the rector. Our town reeords eontain copies of the separate eertifieatcs of each of these men signed by the elerk of the Greenfield parish. In Junc of the same year, this parish of St. John's, Ashfield, was organized, and after that date we find the eertifieates of others who united with the newly formed parish. Among these are the
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familiar names of Levi Cook, Levi Cook, Jr., Seth Hall, Capt. Lot Hall, Joel Lilly, and Joseph Hall, Jr.
It would be most interesting and instructive to know to what extent those who were the originators of this parish had studied into and appreciated the distinctive principles of the Church. If they had suffered from the tyranny of a religious society governed by laymen chosen by a vote of the members, they doubtless welcomed a Church polity in which the administration of spiritual affairs was entrusted solely to a rector and a bishop, i. e., to men educated and trained for the work.
That the founders of this parish had the opportunity of learn- ing the distinctive principles of the Church will appear when we consider what was the second influence which resulted in the organization of this parish, namely, the influence exerted by the rector of St. James' Church, Greenfield, the Rev. Dr. Strong. When the disaffected members of the Congregational Society here looked about for a church of some other denomination with which to unite, the commanding figure of Dr. Strong of Green- field at once attracted their attention. He was a powerful man, full of zeal and devotion, and identified more or less closely with that school in the English Church which recognized a definite meaning and practical application in the words, "I believe in the Holy Catholic Church." We may be sure that very wisely and kindly but very plainly he set forth to these men of Ashfield the distinctive principles not merely of the Protestant Episcopal Church but of the Church Catholic of all time. He taught them, as the records show, the necessity of Holy Baptism and the Holy Communion. The first service in this town of which we know the date was held September 24, 1820, by Dr. Strong, who at that service administered the Holy Communion and baptized eight infants.
Mr. Huntington mentions the influence which Jesse Edson, who came from Bridgewater in 1771, had in the formation of this Church. His ancestors were attached to the Church of England and his son, Howard, was a member of the Episcopal Church in Greenfield as early as 1816. Jesse Edson was the lay reader for many years, followed by Simeon Phillips, Joseph Hall, James Phillips, Jonathan Lilly and Chipman Lilly. The first services were held in private houses, then in the South Ashfield meetinghouse, sometimes in the Steady Lane school- house, and sometimes in the town hall in the old tavern. It was
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in this building that Bishop Griswold first officiated and held confirmation in July, 1821.
Rev. Lot Jones was the first resident minister, coming here in September, 1823. The parish felt at this time strong enough to build a church, and a disinterested committee was chosen to fix the location. Mr. Levi Cook had offered to present them a lot on the corner but there was a desire to place the church on the hill and the vote to accept the donation of Mr. Cook was only six to five. This donation was made on the condition that if the services should be interrupted for the space of three years, the land should revert to the original owner. Mr. Jones, the min- ister, went into the woods and gave the final blow which felled the first tree for the building. Jonathan Lilly, the clerk, was the master builder. There were delays in the building and it was not ready for occupation until December, 1827. Twenty- seven men purchased pews at an annual rate of $117. After Mr. Jones went away, Mr. Withington officiated for a year. After this, Dr. Strong acted as rector, giving one-third of his time until September, 1830, when Rev. Silas Blaisdale became rector. In 1831, hc reports that his chief reliance for support was his salary as a teacher in Sanderson Academy which had bcen closed for some time, but the next year he says he has given up the work as it interfered with his parish work and yielded an insufficient incomc. In 1833, he reports that forty-five families take pews, and that they attempt to raise a salary of $250. In 1834 an organ was procured. In 1835 Mr. Blaisdale reports that, "The church furnishes means of grace to a part of the community driven from their accustomed places of worship by the intolerance and restlessness of the times." Dr. Huntington says, "We learn from other sources that during these years the community was greatly excited by the Temperance agitation which met with bitter and determined opposition, and then over the angry persecution of one of the resident physicians, who was an outspoken unbeliever." In July, 1836, Rev. Jacob Pearson became rector. A Sunday School had been organized, probably by Mr. Blaisdale, and the number of scholars reported for fifteen years varied from twenty to sixty. In 1844, with the help of Levi Cook, Esq., the church was painted.
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It was about this time that the parish was first assisted by the Board of Missions of the Diocese. At first, $75 was appro- priated, and this was increased soon to $100. In 1846, Mr. Pearson became disabled by bodily infirmities, and resigned the parish. In August, 1847, Rev. J. A. Stone took charge and was rector for about two years, followed in 1850 by Rev. William Withington who thus became rector for the second time. It was during this time that the parish raised money to purchase the present rectory, and the lot of land containing seven-eighths of an acre. The cost was $850. The number of communicants was steadily declining. caused by emigration from the town. Of the seventy-five families who attended the church in 1835, by far the greater number eventually left the town. In 1853, Rev. Charles Cleveland became rector and remained in office five years. He was a relative of President Cleveland and was a man loved and respected. In 1860, Rev. C. H. Gardner took charge and it was during his pastorate that the present organ was secured, at a cost of $800, the money being raised in the parish. Mr. Gardner resigned in November, 1861, and on June 13, 1862, Rev. Thomas Brinton Flower became rector, and after a faithful pastorate of twelve months he died, and was buried before the altar of the church June 25, 1863.
The Rev. Lewis Green began his long pastorate of nineteen years, in October, 1864. So long a connection with the parish, thrice the length of any of the other pastorates, has identified for a whole generation, his name with that of this parish. He remained until the autumn of 1883, when, his failing health obliging him to retire from active labor, he resigned after a pastorate of nineteen years, with keen sorrow at leaving a people endeared to him by years of unremitting kindness to himself and family. The circumstances of his death on the sixteenth of last June need not be dwelt upon. His body was laid in the family lot in the cemetery in Lowell, after the service in that same church in which, in early life, he had been con- firmed, ordained deacon, and married. During his long resi- dence in Ashfield, Mr. Green won the esteem and respect of the entire community, and he was called to fill many places of public trust in the town. As a member of the School Committee, as one of the trustees of Sanderson Academy, and as President of
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the Library Association he labored most diligently, faithfully, and ably. In the town meetings his voice was often hcard, and his words had great weight. Hc had occasion more than once to take the unpopular side in town matters, and he was a man who had the courage of his convictions. One of the most touch- ing and interesting proofs of Mr. Green's devotion and fidelity to the people of his parish and their spiritual welfare is the pastoral letter which he had printed and sent to all the members of the parish when he was staying at Greenfield a few months before he finally resigned his charge, in closing which he says, "In the good providence of God your pastor is for a time sepa- rated from you; but none of the flock are forgotten. His heart goes out to every one, both old and young, and for you, as well as for all your town's folk and neighbors, his prayers are made." These are among his last formal words to his parishioners here, and how closely he did bear them in his heart, those who stood by his bed in his last short illness have testified.
[After the resignation of Rev. Lewis Green, the Rev. George P. Huntington, son of Bishop F. D. Huntington of central New York, was elected rector of St. John's church. He came from Malden, Mass. During Mr. Huntington's stay the church prospered in every way. The rectory was repaired, a new barn was built, a bell was put on the church and the church was put in good condition. Mr. Huntington was here seven years- coming in 1884, and going to Hanover, N. H., in 1891. He died on the same day as his father, Bishop Huntington, and they were buried at Hadley on the same day, July 14, 1904.
Mr. Huntington was followed by Rev. George Fisher who came from Milford, Mass. He had charge also of the church at Shelburne Falls and lived there. He was pastor of the church here from 1892 till 1899 and went to Woods Hole, Mass., after doing a great deal of good work here. He was followed by Rev. J. Hugo Klarcn, who came from Worcester in 1899 and was minister in charge until 1902, when he gave up this parish going to live at Shelburne Falls. Rev. David Sprague of Amherst acted as minister in charge from October, 1903, to December, 1904, though Dr. Robert Ellis Jones, formerly president of Hobart College preached from June to December, 1904. Rev. W. H. Robinson from Calais, Maine, was minister in charge of both Ashfield and Shelburne Falls from 1904 to 1906 when he removed to Rouse's Point, New York, and was followed in 1906
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by Rev. W. J. Erhard of New York who went in the fall of 1908 to Brownsville, Texas. The present minister. Dr. F. C. H. Wendell, came from Haddam, Conn., in October, 1908.]
C. A. H.
UNIVERSALIST CHURCH
From a book. "Records of the First Universalist Church in Ashfield," now preserved in the town clerk's office we gather the following :
Ashfield, September 23, 1840.
Met according to legal notice and formed ourselves into a Religious Society to be called The First Universalist Society of Ashfield.
Over sixty names are signed below the Articles of Faith, Constitution and By-Laws. The principal secretaries were Nelson Gardner, Earl Guilford and John Sprague. Busi- ness meetings of the society were held mostly at the houses of the different members and at the store of Gardner & Guilford. Preaching services were held at the Baptist meetinghouse in South Ashfield. In March, 1844, it was "Voted, That we take the South Baptist meeting house at the appraisal of the com- mittee." March 5, 1846, Vote "That we raise money for preaching half the time and that the standing committee con- tract with Earl Guilford to preach the year ensuing." For four or five years the committee was instructed to contract with Rev. Earl Guilford. In 1852 it was voted that John A. Simpson be sexton and that he have charge of seating strangers and others. The next year it was voted "That the Society accept the Bass Viol presented by the Ladies' Sewing Society, and Eugene Gardner have the care of the Bass Viol to keep it in repair." Also, "That the thanks of this Society be tendered to the Ladies' Society for the Bass Viol and that H. A. Field be a committee to tender the thanks to the Ladies' Sewing So- ciety." In 1860, Voted "That the committee dispose of the Bass Viol at their discretion if any one should wish to purchase."
In March, 1867, "voted that the standing committee make all necessary repairs, and that John Sprague be a committee to procure speakers if there is money raised for that purpose."
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In April, 1868, is the last entry in the book which simply records that they met according to notice and voted to adjourn for one year.
Among the preachers employed werc Revs. A. W. Mason, Hosea F. Ballou, Earl Guilford, J. A. Kinney, J. Gifford and a Mr. Morton.
The building which they bought of the Baptists and in which they held their mectings is now the South Ashfield Village Hall.
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METHODISTS
Many years ago a Methodist Chapel was built in the south part of the town near Chapel Falls. It stood on the corner where the guide board and watering trough now are. It was evidently built jointly by the Methodists and the school dis- trict, as there were two rooms, with folding doors between, which could be thrown open on Sunday. Here Alvan Clark, the future astronomer and telescope maker, attended the district school and listened to the ministrations from the Methodist pulpit on Sunday.
Rev. Mr. Packard gives a list of twenty-eight ministers who originated from Ashfield, also sketches of the lives of quite a number. Since the publication of his book, two Baptist preachers have gone out from here, Revs. George F. Williams and Wilbur F. Rice. Mr. Packard's book is in the town library, also in a number of private libraries in town. He does not men- tion Mr. Zachariah Howes, who with his sister, the wife of the Rev. Elijah Bardwell of Goshen, in 1820 went on a mission to the Choctaws and Cherokee Indians. Mr. Howes died in 1837. Rev. William M. Ferry was an early teacher in Sanderson Academy. He married Amanda White, daughter of Thomas White, Esq., and in 1823 he and his wife went as missionaries to northern Michigan. Hc was superintendent of a very suc- cessful Indian mission school on the island of Mackinac for ten years. Their son, Thomas White Ferry, was state representa- tive and senator and for ten years United States senator from Michigan. Mrs. Amanda Hall, now living in town at the age of eighty-three, was the daughter of Rev. William M. Ferry and
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was born on Mackinac Island. Noah Henry Ferry, another son, and brother of Mrs. Hall, was a major in a Michigan regiment, and was killed at the battle of Gettysburg, July 3, 1863.
Horace Jenkins, D. D., educated at Colgate University, was born at Spruce Corner, December 13, 1832, went out as mis- sionary from the American Baptist Missionary Union to China in 1859 and continued there for fifty years, until his death in 1909. He translated the Bible into Chinese and was esteemed a faithful and conscientious worker.
Rev. Henry Perry, son of Alvan Perry, Esq., went out in 1866 as missionary to Asiatic Turkey and with the exception of an interim of five years spent in the care of his mother here, has been in constant service up to the present year. Mr. Perry was instructor in a theological seminary there for several years. Miss Sarah Sears, daughter of Rev. Oliver Sears, went to the same country as missionary in 1874. She married Rev. Mr. Smith, an American missionary, who afterwards died. She has been a teacher in the girls' school at Mardin, also was connected with a college at Anatolia. She is still in service. Rev. Robert Hall is noticed in the sketch of the Hall family.
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CHAPTER X
SCHOOLS
The first action of the Proprietors relating to schools was the drawing of lot No. 54 for the school. This lot, as has been noted, was southwest from the village, beginning on the side hill where Mr. Belding's peach orchard now is and extending south to the Hiram Warren mowing, 160 rods long and 50 wide, the north- east corner being the northwest corner of the Henry Smith pasture.
In the second division of lots in 1763, the hundred acre lot No. 1 was drawn for the school. The northeast corner of this lot is an oak stump near the stream a few rods from what is now E. W. Blakeslee's mill.
The first recorded action by the town of Ashfield relating to schools was in the next year after it was incorporated, when at a town meeting "Held March 31, 1766, By Vartu of a warrant from the Selectmen of sd town it was Voted for the use of the scool 4 pounds." This "Scool" was in Baptist Corner, although we do not know its exact locality. In 1768-9, money was raised for the "School," showing that only one was recognized by the town at that time, but in 1772, it was "Voted: 1, To divide into three school districts. 2, To build thrce School Houses. 3, That Timothy Lewis, Samuel Belding and Aron Lyon be a committee to build sd houses."
No lines were drawn defining the exact limits of the district until many years after. Previous to about 1800, a vote to divide into, or form new districts, simply meant that so many additional schools be kept with the town's money in certain neighborhoods. The additional schools were probably for the settlers in what is now South Ashfield, "Round School" and the Plain. No notice of the report of this committee appears until five years after, when at a meeting in 1777, it was "Voted, To accept the report of ye Committee that was appointed to divide the town into Districts for Schooling be according to the former
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Division without any Alteration saving only that Capt. Cran- ston's corner of the town Including Six families be a District by itself." "Capt. Cranston's corner of the town" was Spruce Corner.
In 1782, another committec was chosen to superintend the further division of the town into districts, and between that time and 1790, five more were formed, making nine in all. The new ones formed were "Steady Lane," "Briar Hill" including "Chapel" neighborhood, "Capc Street," "Northwest," and "Wardville" or the William Gray neighborhood. Thesc dis- tricts were organized by the proper officers, and in due time schoolhouses were built. Usually, for a time, schools were kept in private houses. To show how the business was done we quote from some old papers kindly furnished by the Yeomans des- cendants.
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