USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Medford > History of the town of Medford, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, from its first settlement, in 1630, to the present time, 1855 > Part 25
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" 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."
Jan. 16 : Mr. Stetson accepts the invitation, and on the 28th of February, 1827, was ordained. The council was com- posed of the following clergymen, with their delegates : Rev. Dr. Kirkland and Dr. Ware, Cambridge ; Dr. Holmes, Cambridge ; Dr. Lowell, Boston ; Rev. Aaron Greene, Mal- den ; Rev. Henry Ware, Boston ; Rev. James Walker, Charlestown ; Rev. Convers Francis, Watertown ; Rev. Jo- scph Field, Weston ; Rev. George Ripley, Boston ; Rev. Samuel Ripley, Waltham ; Dr. Fiske, West Cambridge ; Rev. Charles Brooks, Hingham ; Rev. Francis Parkman, Boston ; Dr. Foster, Brighton; Rev. Thomas B. Gannett, Cambridgeport ; Rev. Bernard Whitman, Waltham ; Rev. Charles Briggs, Lexington ; Rev. Edward B. Hall, North- ampton ; Rev. Ira H. T. Blanchard, Harvard.
In the organization of the council, Rev. President Kirkland was chosen Moderator ; and Rev. Charles Brooks, Scribe. After the usual religious services, the council examined the doings of the church and congregation relative to the disso- . lution of the pastoral relation of Rev. Andrew Bigelow, and found them regular. They next examined the doings of the church and congregation relative to the call of Mr. Stetson, and found them satisfactory ; whereupon they voted to pro- cecd to ordination. The services were assigned as follows : Introductory prayer and reading of the Scriptures, by Rev.
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HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
Charles Briggs ; sermon, by Rev. Convers Francis ; ordain- ing prayer, by Dr. Lowell ; 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.
Copies of the within exercises were requested for publica- tion, but were declined.
" 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 discon- tinued 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 mem- bership, 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 for ever be distributed among the poor women of this church."
" April 25, 1827 : The parish voted to raise twelve hundred dol- lars, 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 accord- ingly voted " a formal acceptance of the very generous offer of Dr. Daniel Swan, which they esteem doubly valuable from the amiable and accommodating spirit in which it has been thus promptly made."
The committee chosen to build the house were Messrs. Abner Bartlett, Peter C. Brooks, and Jonathan Brooks, Esqs. It was built immediately, at the cost of $3,824.05, and was acceptable to pastor and people.
Fund. - This subject was a cherished one by a few earnest
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.
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members of the parish ; and, at a public meeting on the 24th of March, 1834, a committee report, " that they find the act incorporating trustees passed the 9th of March, 1827; and it appears that Messrs. Jonathan Brooks, Nathaniel Hall, Turell Tufts, Dudley Hall, Nathan Adams, John Symmes, jun., and Jonathan Porter, were incorporated trustees by the said act."
These originators of the fund performed the duties of trustees with judgment and perseverance ; and the result is, that the fund now amounts to $8,600.
April 17, 1837: The parish voted "to raise $1,400, to pay the minister's salary and other current expenses."
March 11, 1839: A committee of seven was appointed this day to consider the expediency of building a new meet- ing-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 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, Esqrs.
Whether the parish had learned wisdom from former times or not, we cannot tell; but surely the unanimity and hearti- ness seen in these movements evince solid judgment and Christian character. Three judicious and disinterested gentle- men were chosen, from towns adjacent, to apprize the pews in the old meeting-house ; and they performed their duty acceptably, - not awarding over twenty dollars to the best pews. The parish took leave of the old house on Sunday, May 12, 1839; on which occasion the pastor delivered a valedictory discourse from 1 Chron. xvii. 1. This sermon was printed ; and no one, whose early years were associated with that sacred edifice, can read the conclusion of that dis- course without a throbbing heart and a tearful eye.
As soon as the first parish had voted to take down the old meeting-house, the second Congregational Society and the Universalist Society offered the use of their meeting- houses to the first parish at such times as would be mutually convenient. We love to record these acts of Christian cour- tesy ; for they were, in this case, offerings of the heart.
The building-committee were instructed to procure a new organ ; and they say that the donation of $1,000, by the Hon.
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HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
Peter C. Brooks, has helped them to secure a first-rate instru- ment, at the price of $1,650. The cost of the meeting-house and vestry was $12,566.22; of two furnaces, $220; repairs on clock, $224 ; carpets and pulpit trimmings, &c., $591.72; work on the grounds, &c., $195.69; making a sum total of $13,797.63. The parish paid the proprietors of pews in the old meeting-house $1,260, and received for said house $260. That the new house was larger than was needed, was a com- mon impression ; but the time may come when it will be crowded.
It was solemnly dedicated to the worship of God and the promulgation of Christianity on Wednesday, the 4th of De- cember, 1839. The exercises were : Introductory prayer, by Rev. Nathaniel Hall, of Dorchester ; selection from the Serip- tures, by Rev. Edward B. Hall, of Providence, R.I. ; prayer of dedication, by Rev. Convers Francis, D.D., of Watertown ; sermon, by Rev. Caleb Stetson ; concluding prayer, by Rev. N. L. Frothingham, of Boston. It was the intention of the pastor and people that the original hymns and all the public religious services (except the sermon) should have been fur- nished, as the record says, " by children of this society." It would have been so, had not the writer of this history been absent with his family in Europe.
The preacher took 1 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 sen- tences disclose the central thoughts of the sermon. "The soul that makes an offering is greater than the gift. No sa- crifice 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 a spot sacred to many of our hearts, stands a se- cond temple of the Most High, whose desk, we devoutly hope, will ever be filled with able scholars and true believers ; who, as teachers, shall " preach, not themselves, but the Lord Jesus Christ, so as to make men wise unto salvation ; " and who, as pastors, shall delight " to take the lambs in their arms, and carry them in their bosoms." Especially do we hope that its seats may ever be filled by those who hunger and thirst after God and Christ and truth and righteous-
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ness ; who will labor for temperance, liberty, and peace ; and who will not allow heaven-born, free inquiry to degenerate into licentiousness, nor Christian devotion to freeze into for- malism.
According to the New England usage, the pews were sold at auction, after a committee had apportioned upon them a relative value, sufficient to cover the cost of the house, vestry, &c. Those pews which were leased by the parish paid seven per cent on their apprized value. On the sale of the pews, a premium was given for the right of choice. The amount ac- cruing from the sale of seventy-one pews was $12,397. There were several small items not here noticed. The final balance against the parish was $2,024.47. In the last report of the committee are these words : " Your committee have much pleasure in being able to congratulate the parish on the entire success with which this enterprise has been accom- plished, and the good effects that have resulted from it."
The church has long enjoyed the counsel and services of John Symmes and Nathan Adams, Esqrs., as deacons.
March 4, 1840: "Voted to exchange the hymn-book now in use for Rev. Mr. Greenwood's selection."
There are few parishes in New England which have had no trouble with their Sunday choir. Singers are dangerously sensitive, and not always blamable, as some imagine. Their popularity and success depend very often upon popular taste and fickle fashion ; therefore all their feelers are out to discover what people think of them. The poet and painter, depend- ing measurably on the same principles of taste and fashion, are subjected to similar influences. The conflict between rival singers is peculiarly fierce ; and what committee-man,. who has " had the care of the singing," has not found that he must sometimes deal with the parish choir very much as he must with sick children ? That Medford has had some of these jarring experiences, is most true ; and it is as true that it has enjoyed a general exemption. The first parish has owned generous hearts and sweet voices, who have given their services freely ; and the organ has been played gratui- tously for years by a gentleman of taste and education.
It was customary with our early ancestors to appoint an individual from the church to read the psalm, two lines at a time ; after which reading, the whole congregation sang the two lines. The reading was so commonly done by a deacon, that this mode of announcing the psalm was called " deacon-
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ing " it. The scarcity of psalm-books was the origin of this custom ; and, when they became so common as to be left in the meeting-house through the week, the proposition to dis- continue the " deaconing " of the psalm was made, and it met with quick opposition from the deacons and readers. The habit continued till the Revolution. It is related of the earliest days among us, that one line only was read at a time, but that this custom gave place to the reading of two lines from the following fact. In the psalm, which the cler- gyman had selected to be " deaconed " and sung, occurred these two lines : -
" The Lord will come ; and he will not Keep silence, but speak out."
By making a full stop at the end of the first line, very queer work was made with the sense of the poem. Affirmation and contradiction came solemnly into the same breath ; but even this bewilderment was deepened by reading the second line : " Keep silence, but speak out."
April 27, 1846: The subject of congregational singing was brought before the parish by a committee, who discussed the topic well, and recommended " all the members of the congregation to join the choir." We trust that the intro- duction of music into all our public and private schools will soon restore congregational heart-and-voice singing to our churches (a mode so piously adopted by our fathers) ; and this will put an end to that impious mockery of devotion, now sometimes witnessed, where infidel and licentious opera- singers are hired to conduct this beautiful part of sacred wor- ship.
The antislavery excitement had been conscientiously car- ried into many pulpits, and, in some parishes, had caused durable alienations between minister and people. The first parish in Medford felt somewhat the flux and reflux of the troubled waters. Fiat justitia, ruat colum.
April 19, 1847 : " Voted to raise $1,700, by tax, for the support of public worship and the current expenses of the ensuing year." On the same day, "Voted to raise, in like manner, three hundred dollars, for the reduction of the parish debt."
Dec. 7, 1847 : Rev. Mr. Stetson having fallen from the sidewalk in Main Street, and much injured himself, the parish met, and passed the following vote : " To take measures
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for the supply of his pulpit during his confinement, without trouble or expense to him."
The parish expenses were as follows : In 1825, $1,208.16 ; in 1830, $1,235.35 ; in 1840, $1,701.24 ; in 1845, $2,348.01 ; in 1850, $1,523.21.
The change of the law in Massachusetts respecting the support of ministers, and the consequent change of action in some parishes, had produced fatal results. One statute pro- vides thus : " No person shall hereafter be made a member of any parish or religious society without his consent in writing." The inhabitants of Medford were not exempt from the operation of these and similar causes. The Committee of the first parish saw their activity ; and when Mr. Stetson resigned his office of pastor, March 24, 1848, they say, in reply to his short and touching letter, that the parish, " under this state of things, must very soon become impotent for the fulfilment of its original contract by any legal form of taxa- tion." They do not separate from their beloved minister without expressing their deep gratitude for his long and ac- ceptable services. Their letter to him ends with these words :
" With such impressions of the character of your great ministry, accept, dear sir, assurances of our affectionate regard and sincere wishes for the happiness and prosperity of yourself and family."
During his ministry of twenty-one years, Mr. Stetson bap- tized 210 persons ; married 143 couples ; admitted to the church 106 communicants ; and officiated at 304 funerals.
He was very soon invited to settle as the minister of the Unitarian Society in South Scituate, near Kingston, his native town in the Old Colony ; and as he is there now laboring, with his warm heart and ready hand, the time to speak of his character has not yet come. May it be far distant ! But, when society shall lose him, there will not be wanting pens to note his various learning, to describe his brilliant conver- sation, to honor his large philanthropy, and record his mini- sterial faithfulness.
The time had now come, as it was thought, to abandon the former mode of raising parish taxes by assessments on polls and property. After much conference and reflection, the parish resort to the system of voluntary contributions ! A paper, therefore, is offered to each individual, annually, with the following preamble and obligation : -
"We, the subscribers, in order to testify our wisli to be consi-
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HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
dered members of the first parish in Medford for the present year, do hereby agree to pay to the collector of said parish the sum of money which is set against our names, towards the support of pub- lic worship in said parish the present year."
This temporary and precarious provision for the support of God's worship and the spread of Christianity does not sound much like those iron-bound resolves of our pious ancestors, wherein life and property were for ever dedicated to God and to his church. Whether "the voluntary system," as adopted in New England, is or is not a failure, is with some no longer a question.
April 9, 1849 : " Voted, unanimously, to give Rev. George W. Briggs, of Plymouth, an invitation to settle with us as our minister in the gospel." $1,200 salary. April 15, Mr. Briggs communicated his refusal in a short and satisfactory letter.
" June 11, 1849: Voted that the parish vote by yeas and nays on the motion to extend an invitation to the Rev. John Pierpont to settle with them in the ministry for one year, with a salary of one thousand dollars, - provided the con- nection be dissolved on either side by giving a previous notice of six months. Yeas, 25; nays, 24."
June 25, 1849: The above vote was amended so as to read as follows : -
"That this parish do extend to the Rev. John Pierpont an invi- tation to become its pastor on a salary of one thousand dollars a year, - payable by quarterly yearly payments, - and with the understanding and agreement that either of said parties may put an end to the connection by giving to the other party six months' notice, in writing, of his or their intention so to do."
July 9, 1849: At a meeting of the parish this day, the following was introduced and voted : -
" Resolved, that, in view of the history of this parish, its present condition, and its future prospects, it is regarded as inexpedient, and hazardous to our best interests as a Christian church, for our pastor to preach any political abolition sermons or discourses in our pulpit on the sabbath."
This vote was interpreted by some as "limiting the topics upon which the pastor is to be at liberty to treat in the pul- pit." This, however, was disclaimed by the friends of the resolution. On the 23d of July, the vote was unanimously
1
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rescinded. Then other resolutions were introduced, but no final action had upon them.
Finding the parish so nearly divided in their vote of invi- tation, the friends of the pastor elect began to collect the sig- natures of those members of the parish who were not present when the vote was taken, and who were in favor of giving the call. Twenty-six legal voters signed ; twenty-one refused to act, and therefore are not counted on either side ; ten per- sons, not legal voters, who considered themselves as belong- ing to the parish, subscribed ; and four of those who voted in the negative. After anxious and patient weighing of the whole matter, with the assistance of friends, Mr. Pierpont accepted the invitation, July 5, 1849.
July 9, seven gentlemen were appointed a committee " to communicate with Mr. Pierpont on the subject of his settle- ment, and for conducting and making arrangements for his installation." . This committee report, April 8, 1850, as fol- lows : -
" At a meeting of the special committee of the first parish of Medford, appointed, July 9, 1849, to make arrangements with the Rev. John Pierpont for the commencement of his pastoral labors in its pulpit, on conference with the pastor and with his concurrence, -
" Voted to dispense with the ceremony of an ecclesiastical coun- cil for the installation of our pastor.
" Voted that the committee hereby ordain the Rev. John Pier: pont to become the pastor of the first parish of Medford, and install him in that office.
" Voted that the term of his engagement commence on the first day of August, 1849, and his salary be paid to him from that date, quarterly, as provided in the terms of the vote of his election to the office of pastor of this parish.
"Voted to accept the report of the committee."
Having thus brought down the ecclesiastical history of the first parish, through all its changes, to the ministry of its present pastor, common usage requires that I here take leave of it. It has been my constant endeavor to record the impor- tant events in each ministry as I found them in the records of the town and parish. That some representative facts may have escaped my notice, is quite possible; and that undue stress is laid upon some of the facts which I have noted, is equally possible. I can only say, that I have wished to give a perfect daguerreotype likeness of every feature of the his- tory.
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HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
In looking back through two hundred years, I can safely say, that Medford has not had more than its share of religious trials ; and that, under them, it has borne itself with intelli- gence, dignity, and moderation. If the troubles of two cen- turies be gathered into the mind in one cluster, they seem to be many and great ; but, when historically distributed over so long a period, they are few and far between. The ques- tions in Medford which excited the deepest interest, and sometimes called out the warmest words, were those relating to the location of a new meeting-house; the terms of the minister's settlement, and the amount of his salary ; the assessment of taxes ; the changing value of money, aud the modes of raising it; the alteration of a creed ; and the freedom of the pulpit. Of all these I felt myself called upon to be recorder, and not judge; and therefore have given the facts, without obtruding my private opinion.
A few words concerning Sunday schools, and this particu- lar history closes. Since 1820, Sunday schools have multiplied greatly in New England, and books and manuals for them have abounded. The first parish early followed the auspi- cious good examples, and established a school, which had its superintendent ; also a teacher to each six children ; and a juvenile library, accessible to all the pupils. This school has had the best instructors ; and so deep has grown the interest in Sunday schools and in the other schools of New England, that ours is called the " children's age." It was believed they were needed, because parents did not sufficiently inculcate Christian doctrine and morals in their families, nor did the ministers communicate much juvenile instruction, nor could the public schools. There are no scales that can weigh moral effects ; but there can be no doubt that the salutary influences of Sunday schools have been immense. The whole force of the common-school system being directed to unfold and sharpen the intellect mainly, moral culture in them is only incidental. A consequence is, a most dispro- portionate development of mere intellect; as if the aim of life was to empower a child to gain money and secure office. The consequence of this is, that the community becomes filled with men whose extensive knowledge, acute reason, boundless ambition, and unscrupulous selfishness, make them leaders in public plunder and commercial infidelity. The more enlightened the intellect becomes, unguided by con- science, the more adroit it makes the villain. Mere secular
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instruction is no security against crime ; therefore the Sun- day school came to the relief and rescue of society when it maintained that something more was necessary to make men good than to make them intelligent. It taught that the affec- tions are the source of happiness ; and it endeavored to develop the moral powers, so as to introduce God and Christ and truth and heaven as permanent occupants of the soul. If it be true that the acquisition of mere science and litera- ture imparts no adequate power to subdue vicious habit or restrain criminal passion, but often gives keenness to their edge and certainty to their aim, it follows, as a solemn conse- quence, that every patriot, philanthropist, and Christian, is sacredly bound to patronize the Sunday school.
The " communion plate " belonging to the First Church has its history, which is as follows : -
Two silver cups, bought by the church in 1719.
One
" gift of Mrs. Sarah Ward, 1725.
One " "
" Deacon Thomas Willis.
Two " " " Mr. Francis Leathe, 1742.
One " " " Thomas Brooks, Esq., 1759.
One large silver tankard, with a cover,-gift of Rev. Ebenezer Turell, 1760.
One smaller silver tankard, with a cover, - gift of Francis and Mary Whitmore, 1761.
One large, open, silver can, - gift of Hon. Isaac Royal, 1781. One silver dish, - gift of Hon. Isaac Royal, 1789.
One " " " Deacon Richard Hall, 1814.
Two
" cups, " Mr. William Wyman, 1815.
Two flagons, " Hon. P. C. Brooks, 1823.
One " dish, " Mr. David Bucknam, 1824.
One antique silver cup ; donor and date unknown. One silver spoon ;
" " " "
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