USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Medford > History of the town of Medford, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, from its first settlement in 1630 to 1855 > Part 24
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" You do, in presence of the great God and this Christian assem- bly, profess your belief of the Holy Scriptures; that they were given by the inspiration of God, and are the only sufficient rule of faith and practice.
" You believe the Lord Jesus Christ to be the only Mediator be- tween God and man, and Lord and Head of his church. Convinced that you are a guilty, condemned sinner, you desire to receive and
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submit to him in all those characters and offices with which he is invested for the benefit of the children of men.
" You believe the Holy Spirit of God to be the Author of every spiritual and gracious disposition in the minds of men; the Leader, Sanctifier, and Comforter of his people. Sensible of the depravity of the human heart, your own proneness to sin and inability to that which is good, you promise to seek his divine influence to form you to the temper of the gospel, and to make you meet for the inheritance of the saints in light.
"You desire to give yourself up to God in an everlasting covenant never to be forgotten; to be for him, and none other ; to love, serve, and obey him for ever.
"You acknowledge this to be a true church of our Lord Jesus Christ, and promise to walk with us in a due submission to and attendance upon all the ordinances of the gospel; and that, relying upon Divine aid, you will, in your whole conversation, make it your serious endeavor to conduct agreeably to the rules of our holy reli- gion and the profession you now make. Do you thus profess and promise ? "
The salary paid to Mr. Osgood at first was not increased for many years, except by the annual grant of twenty cords of wood.
Sept. 19, 1796: "Voted not to make him any grant, on account of the high prices of the necessaries of life."
May 5, 1804, the town made the first grant of two hun- dred dollars, under the head of "wood money;" which sum was afterwards voted annually. The utmost, there- fore, which he ever received was $533.33. He made no complaint ; although the number of taxable persons in his parish had more than doubled during his ministry, and their means of payment more than quadrupled.
Dr. Osgood kept a diary beginning Jan. I, 1777, and ending Dec. 5, 1822. Through this long period he re- corded, with marvellous brevity, the salient events of each day. The manuscript is preserved in his family.
From its first settlement to 1823, Medford had been but one parish ; and, for the last hundred years, its two minis- ters experienced neither popular opposition nor social neglect, and the people experienced neither sectarian strife nor clerical domination. Claiming free thought for himself, and encouraging it in his people, Dr. Osgood brought his parish quite up to his standard of liberality and progress. At his death, a large majority of the na- tive inhabitants had quietly taken side with the Unitari- ans; while many citizens, not born in the town, had as quietly taken side with the Trinitarians. That any creed could be written, or any minister elected, to suit these
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opposing parties, was the mistaken conclusion drawn at the time. Both parties were well instructed, both were equally sincere, and both had corresponding rights. By a law of the Commonwealth, any portion of a parish that seceded from the old society resigned and sacrificed its legal rights in that parish by that act. As we shall have several streams of ecclesiastical history to trace after this date, we will begin with that of the First Parish.
REV. EBENZER TURELL.
1
J.A.
1
REV. DAVID OSGOOD.
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HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
CHAPTER X.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY CONTINUED.
THE FIRST PARISH.
AFTER the death of Dr. Osgood, the minds of so many turned to REV. ANDREW BIGELOW as the next pastor, that the town secured his services as a candidate for settlement in the early part of 1823. In less than two months, the town voted to invite him to become the permanent minis- ter, by a vote of ninety-five to seventy, on a salary of eight hundred dollars. Two days later the church voted to concur with the action of the town ; and thus, in due form, Mr. Bigelow was invited to settle over the church in Med- ford as its gospel minister. The last vote stood twenty to three.
On the 14th of June, seven days after said last-named action, Mr. Bigelow accepted this invitation by a long and able letter, properly noticing a condition which, at a sub- sequent meeting, had been coupled with the first vote of the town. The condition was, that either party may dis- solve the connection by giving six months' notice to that effect. Mr. Bigelow in his letter says, " After a painful view of the subject, and a strong internal conflict, my conclusion is to accept the invitation."
July 9, 1823, the ecclesiastical council, invited by the town and church to install the pastor elect, was composed of the following clergymen, with delegates: President Kirkland, Cambridge; Dr. Abiel Holmes, Cambridge ; Dr. Thaddeus Fiske, West Cambridge; Dr. John Foster, Brighton; Dr. Charles Lowell, Boston; Rev. Francis Parkman, Boston ; Rev. James Walker, Charlestown ; Rev. Aaron Greene, Malden; Dr. Aaron Bancroft, Worces- ter; Dr. Ezra Ripley, Concord; Rev. Convers Francis, Watertown ; and Rev. Charles Brooks, Hingham.
The council met on this day. Rev. Dr. Ripley, moder-
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ator ; and Rev. Mr. Francis, scribe. After all the doings of the town and church relating to the call of Mr. Bigelow had been considered, and all other requisite inquiries had been made and answered, the record says, -
" It was then moved, that the council, being satisfied with the doings of the church and society, and with the literary, moral, and theological qualifications of the Rev. Andrew Bigelow, do now vote that they are ready to proceed to installation. Before this motion was put, some discussion took place relative to the manner in which a dissolution of the pastoral tie (between the minister elect and people), should that event ever occur, should be conducted; and it was objected to by some members of the council, that nothing was provided in the terms of settlement respecting the calling, in the above event, an ecclesiastical council. After this discussion, the original motion was so far modified as to stand as follows : -
"Voted, that though this council deem it expedient, in ordinary cases, that the separation of a minister from a people be the result of an ecclesiastical council, yet they are so far satisfied with the doings of the church and society, and with the qualifications of the candidate, that they are ready to proceed with the installation of the Rev. Andrew Bigelow as pastor of the church and congregation in this town."
The religious exercises were in the following order : Introductory prayer, by Rev. Charles Brooks ; sermon, by Rev. Dr. Bancroft ; prayer of installation, by Rev. Dr. Holmes ; charge, by Rev. Dr. Ripley ; right hand of fel- lowship, by Rev. James Walker; concluding prayer, by Rev. Convers Francis ; benediction, by the pastor.
These several services (the prayers excepted) were pub- lished together by a vote of the parish.
Mr. Bigelow was born in Groton, Mass., May 7, 1795, and graduated at Harvard College 1814. After studying law for a short time, he turned with his whole soul to the study of divinity, and spent some time at Edinburgh, Scotland. May, 1820, he was ordained as an evangelist, and labored with zeal and success at Eastport, Me., and at Gloucester, Mass. ; from which last place he married Miss Amelia Sargent Stanwood.
Coming with reputation and experience to the work of the ministry in Medford, he did all that could be done for making the divided waters mingle in peace ; but, as irrec- oncilable differences of opinion were developed in the con- gregation, it was thought best that the dissentients should quietly withdraw, and provide for themselves a separate and satisfactory ministration of the Word.
We cannot write into this chapter all the facts touching this division. "It was manifest in the time of the settle-
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ment of Dr. Osgood, and it caused more or less ferment during the whole of his pastorate. It arose out of the fact that the primitive church in Medford was the town church. All the freemen of the town had a voice in its manage- ment, and paid a tax to help support its ministrations. But when the time came for an honest difference of re- ligious opinion in the town, those who did not agree with the majority did not wish to pay for preaching that con- flicted with their opinions; and it was evident that the church first organized could not remain, as it had been for nearly two centuries, the only church in Medford. Sepa- ration was inevitable ; and on the 25th of August, 1823, seventeen of the original church united in the following letter : -
" Reverend and Beloved, - It becomes our painful duty, in the providence of God, differing as we do in our views of the essential doctrines of the gospel from what we believe to be the views and preaching of the Rev. Mr. Bigelow, to separate ourselves from the fellowship and communion of the church with which we now stand connected. Under these impressions, dear brethren, we, conscien- tiously and in the fear of God, ask letters or a letter of dismission, for the purpose of forming ourselves, in a regular manner, into a new and separate church.
" And, while we deeply lament the necessity which we think exists for such a measure, we wish to adopt it from the sole desire of enjoy- ing religious instructions which accord with our views of the system of truth laid down in the gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
" Asking your prayers, brethren, that we may be guided into all truth, we subscribe ourselves yours in the gospel,
" GALEN JAMES. JESSE CROSBY. THOMAS JAMESON. GILBERT BLANCHARD. MARY CLAY. HEPZY FITCH.
NANCY S. FITCH.
MARY MAGOUN. MARY BLANCHARD.
ELIZABETH BAYLEY. HANNAH G. ROGERS. ANN CLAY.
MARY R. JAEMS. MARY BLANCHARD.
NANCY JAMESON. HANNAH CROSBY. MARY KIDDER."
The church received this short and respectful letter in the spirit in which it was written, and chose a committee of three to prepare a reply. The reply is long, argument- ative, and affectionate; and concluded, with expressions of deepest regret, that they should be required to accede to the wishes of the petitioners if they still continued to desire separation. Their reply showed that the request had been made after mature deliberation, and they were accordingly released from all connection with the primitive
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HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
church of Medford. The withdrawal of many members of the congregation, to join the new society, occasioned a less amount of complaint, exasperation, and controversy on both sides, than might have been anticipated.
We may not doubt that both parties had justice and charity in view, and wished to display the Christian graces in their important acts. To suppose that the strong ties resulting from long-continued church-membership could be sundered without some sharp words and angry impulses, would be unreasonable: but, in the case under considera- tion, there were no violent manifestations of the stormy passions ; and the agitation that was seen and felt purified the social atmosphere, and resulted in a more abundant religious fruitage. But the action had by those who with- drew made necessary a new organization for those who remained.
"In the early history of New England, the town and parish were identical. But the Supreme Court of the State have repeatedly decided, in many similar cases, that when a second parish, or religious society, was formed in a town, the identity of the town and parish was ended, and all that portion of the inhabitants who did not unite with the new society became, by the very act of separation and formation of a new parish, the First Parish, and as such became, without any further pro- ceedings, the owner of all that portion of the town property which had been appropriated to parochial use. All that was required on their part was a formal organization according to law, and for this purpose."
On the 31st of March, 1824, ten male members of the "Original Parish " applied to James Russell, Esq., justice of the peace, to issue his warrant directing some one of the petitioners to notify all the legal voters of said parish to meet in their meeting-house, April 12, 1824, at two o'clock, P.M., for the purpose of electing officers, raising money, and doing all other necessary acts. The warrant was issued, and the first meeting held at the time speci- fied ; and Abner Bartlett, Esq., was chosen clerk ; Messrs. Jonathan Brooks, John Symmes, Darius Wait, Nathan Adams, jun., and John King, parish committee ; Messrs. J. Richardson, John Howe, and Ebenezer Hall, jun., assessors ; William Ward, Esq., treasurer.
Thus the First Parish on this day became a separate body, under a legal organization, and was so named.
On this day also, " Voted to raise the sum of one thou- sand dollars, to discharge the minister's salary and other incidental expenses, the ensuing year."
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HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
The following items from the First Parish records may be interesting to the reader : -
"July 27, 1823 : The Hon. Peter C. Brooks presented to the church two silver flagons; for which thanks were voted."
Sept. 3, 1824: The subject of a fund for the support of the gospel ministry was brought up and discussed by the church, and the wish expressed that one may be gathered.
July 3, 1825 : The proposition to print the church cove- nant, and the covenant for baptism, brought up the con- sideration of that adopted Feb. 11, 1713, and that of March 15, 1782 ; and the result was a vote by the church, that they " do not find it needful to propose any alterations in their confessions of faith, either in their articles or terms. They conceive that the church-covenant especially com- bines the qualities of a true Protestant as well as gospel confession.'
Dr. Osgood gave by will some valuable books to the church, "for the use of his successors in the ministry ;" and these are added to those received from his predecessor.
Aug. 7, 1825 : The pastor, Rev. Mr. Bigelow, proposed the formation of a parish and social library, and began with a donation.
Sept. 4 : The proposition above was accepted, and a com- mittee of five brethren of the church and six members of the congregation was chosen to collect subscriptions and receive donations.
Nov. 1, 1825 : The parish voted to procure an organ, if four hundred and fifty dollars can be raised by subscription for that purpose. Committee to procure subscriptions : Messrs. George W. Porter, Turell Tufts, and Darius Wait. The organ was purchased for the amount, and gave satis- faction.
Jan. 2, 1826: Voted, that the money received from the sale of the new pews to be built in the gallery be the be- ginning of a permanent fund for the support of the ministry in said parish.
In April of this year, the question arose respecting the right of the town to hold town-meetings in the meeting- house of the First Parish ; the selectmen contending for the right, the parish against it; and the Supreme Court decided that upon the formation of the Second Parish, all rights of the town in property that had been held for parochial purposes vested in the First Parish alone.
*
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HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
About this time subscriptions were commenced for the "Congregational Ministerial Fund for the First Parish in the Town of Medford." The trustees of this fund were afterwards incorporated, and now hold a fund amounting to about twenty thousand dollars. By the provisions of the Act of Incorporation, when the income reached three hundred dollars a year, two hundred dollars were to be appropriated to the payment of the salary of the "regu- larly settled and ordained minister," and the surplus to be added to the principal, and so on, adding to the principal each year not less than a hundred dollars, nor more than two hundred dollars, until the income reached a thousand dollars, when the whole income might be so applied.
On the 9th of July and the 29th of October, 1826, the Rev. Andrew Bigelow preached sermons containing his reasons for giving the six-months' notice previous to his dissolving his pastoral relations. Nov. 6, of the same year, he wrote a letter to his parish repeating, -
"That it was from no decay of attachment to the people of his charge, or of earnestness of desire to be instrumen- tal in promoting the interests of piety and vital religion among them," that he had taken this step. And he said, -
" But being about to leave this country on a distant voyage, in the hope of fully re-establishing my health, I should be pleased to know the mind of the parish in respect to the mode of supplying the pulpit, and to obtain their concurrence to my proposed absence, prior to the expiration of the time of my connection with them as pastor. . . . And, should they come together, I beg you to present them the renewed assurances of my most grateful recollection of their past favors to me, along with my fervent aspirations that grace, mercy, and peace may be multiplied to them all."
His request was immediately granted ; whereupon a reply was sent to him by the unanimous vote of the parish, in which his relinquishment of office was regretted, and these were some of its words : -
" We bear you witness, that, with true Christian forbearance and professional integrity, you have had your walk and conversation among us from the beginning, and that you have been the minister of much good to this people. . .. In taking leave of you, Rev. Sir, we would most heartily reciprocate the sentiments expressed in your farewell discourse for our future prosperity and happiness."
" Voted, that the Committee be directed to request of Mr. Bigelow a copy of the two discourses mentioned in his communication, as delivered on the 9th of July and 29th of October last, to be deposited among the parish records."
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HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
Mr. Bigelow's connection with the parish legally ceased Jan. 9, 1827. Returning from Europe with recovered health, he became the minister of the Unitarian society in Taunton, Mass., April 10, 1833, where he labored for many years.
His successor in Medford wrote of him as follows : -
" My regard to his feelings need not prevent my bearing testimony to the deep regret of his people that any circumstances should, in his opinion, have made a separation from them desirable. He left behind him many aching hearts, and many warm friends, who will not forget how he labored among them as 'a good minister of Jesus Christ' in all faithfulness and love."
Mr. Bigelow baptized 66 persons ; married 37 couples ; officiated at 105 funerals ; and admitted 26 communicants to the church.
In November or December, 1826, the parish committee engaged Mr. Caleb Stetson, a graduate of Harvard Col- lege in 1822, to preach five Sundays as a candidate. Jan. 8, 1827, the following record was made by the clerk of the parish : -
"Voted unanimously to give Mr. Caleb Stetson an invitation to settle with us as our minister in the gospel.
"Voted unanimously to give Mr. Stetson one thousand dollars salary.
"Voted to give Mr. Stetson one thousand dollars over and above his salary, to be paid on the day of his settlement with us; which sum has been raised by subscription for that purpose."
SETTLEMENT OF MR. CALEB STETSON.
Jan. 16 Mr. Stetson accepted the invitation, and on the 28th of February, 1827, was ordained.
In the organization of the council, Rev. President Kirk- land was chosen moderator; and Rev. Charles Brooks, scribe. After the usual religious services, the council examined the doings of the church and congregation rela- tive to the dissolution of the pastoral relation of Rev. Andrew Bigelow, and found them regular. They next examined the doings of the church and congregation rela- tive to the call of Mr. Stetson, and found them satisfac- tory ; whereupon they voted to proceed to ordination. The services were assigned as follows : Introductory prayer and reading of the Scriptures, by Rev. Charles Briggs ; sermon, by Rev. Convers Francis ; ordaining prayer, by Dr. Lowell ;
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HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
charge, by Dr. Kirkland ; right hand of fellowship, by Rev. George Ripley ; address to the people, by Rev. Henry Ware, jun .; concluding prayer, by Rev. B. Whitman ; benediction, by the pastor.
" March 14, 1827 : In the church, voted, first, that the ceremony of owning the covenant, on the admission of members, shall, in future, be before the church only at the communion. Second, that the fourth paragraph of the present covenant be hereafter discontinued in the admission of members. Third, that the pastor have discretionary authority to admit members from other churches, of whose Christian standing he is satisfied, without any public act."
" Dec. 2, 1827: The church voted that the Lord's Supper should be celebrated on the first sabbath of every other month."
"June 11, 1832: The church voted that the pastor, at his discre- tion, be authorized to receive persons into this church at a private interview ; and that no public act shall be necessary to their member- ship, except propounding them in the usual form."
",1827: Deacon Richard Hall bequeathed to this church the sum of seven hundred dollars, the interest of which should forever be distributed among the poor of this church."
"April 25, 1827: The parish voted to raise twelve hundred dollars, to pay the minister's salary and other current expenses."
At the same meeting, voted to introduce the " Cambridge Collection " of hymns in place of Dr. Watts's.
April 30, 1832 : The subject of building a parsonage- house was discussed in a parish-meeting ; and resolutions to build were passed, and three thousand dollars voted as the highest sum to be raised on the credit of the parish. After plans and wishes on both sides had been proposed and argued, that Christian benefactor, who "does good by stealth, and blushes to find it fame," offered a piece of land, as a gift to the parish, for the site of a parsonage. The parish accordingly voted "a formal acceptance of the very generous offer of Dr. Daniel Swan, which they esteem doubly valuable from the amiable and accommo- dating spirit in which it has been thus promptly made."
The house was built at a cost of $3,824.05, and was acceptable to pastor and people.
April 17, 1837: The parish voted "to raise $1,400, to pay the minister's salary and other current expenses."
March II, 1839: A committee of seven was appointed this day to consider the expediency of building a new meeting-house, and to procure plans and estimates. They finally recommended the erection of a wooden house ; and on the 2d of April, 1839, the parish passed the following vote : " That the present house be taken down, and a new
UNITARIAN CHURCH,
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HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
one built on the same spot in its stead, not to exceed in cost the sum of $12,000." The building-committee were Messrs. Samuel P. Heywood, Andrew Blanchard, jun., George W. Porter, Samuel Lapham, and Milton James, Esqs. They were instructed by the parish to procure a new organ, and subsequently reported that "a donation of $1,000 by the Hon. Peter C. Brooks " had enabled them to secure a first-rate instrument at the cost of $1,650. The cost of the meeting-house and vestry was $12,566.22; of two furnaces, $220.00; repairs on clock, $224.00; carpets and pulpit-trimmings, etc., $591.72 ; work on the grounds, etc, $ 195.69, - making a sum total of $13,797.63.
It was solemnly dedicated to the worship of God and the promulgation of Christianity, on Wednesday the 4th of December, 1839. The exercises were : Introductory prayer, by Rev. Nathaniel Hall of Dorchester ; selection from the Scriptures, by Rev. Edward B. Hall of Provi- dence, R.I. ; prayer of dedication, by Rev. Convers Fran- cis, D.D., of Watertown ; sermon, by Rev. Caleb Stetson ; concluding prayer, by Rev. N. L. Frothingham of Boston.
The preacher took I Cor. iii. 16 for his text. Worship was his subject, and it was discussed with the power and beauty peculiar to the speaker. The opening sentences disclose the central thoughts of the sermon. "The soul that makes an offering is greater than the gift. No sacri- fice is so noble as the spirit that hallows it; no house built by human hands, for the service of God, is so holy as that which he hath chosen and sanctified for himself in every pure heart."
"O Thou that dost prefer Before all temples the upright heart and pure."
Thus on the spot long sacred to the worship of the "living and true God," this zealous and devoted people reared another temple, in which to gather for instruction, praise, and prayer ; in which to consecrate .their children, and in which to
" Teach the young mind to look above, And the young knee to bend in prayer."
One fact of great interest should be recorded in this place, as a Christian example to all churches.
As soon as the First Parish had voted to take down the old meeting-house, the Second Congregational Society and
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