USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Shirley > History of the town of Shirley, Massachusetts, from its early settlement to A.D. 1882 > Part 25
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The following churches were represented at his ordi- nation :
Church in Groton, Rev. Dudley Phelps, Bro. S. Rockwood; church in Fitchburg, Rev. Ebenezer W. Bul- lard, Bro. Thomas Eaton ; church in Leominster, Rev. O. G. Hubbard, Bro. Jas. Wood ; church in Harvard, Rev. George Fisher, Bro. Samuel Bacon ; church in Lancas- ter, Rev. Charles Packard, Bro. Oliver Studley ; church in Pepperell, Rev. David Andrews, Bro. Jesse Shattuck ; church in Townsend, Rev. L. H. Sheldon, Dea. Daniel Giles.
The public services were after the following order : Invocation and reading the Scriptures by Mr. Andrews ; sermon by Mr. Packard; installing prayer by Mr. Hub- bard ; charge by Mr. Sheldon ; fellowship of the churches by Mr. Bullard; address to the people by Mr. Phelps; closing prayer by Mr. Fisher.
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Upon the settlement of Mr. Eaton, the three religious societies were simultaneously supplied with a resident ministry, an event which had never before occurred. And, although it was a matter of regret that a population of less than twelve hundred souls should be burdened with such a large expenditure for the support of public worship, the harmony that subsisted between the different parishes and their ministers was a source of rejoicing to all lovers of Christian order. As one aptly remarked, at the time,-"If the spiritual good of their flocks shall require the watch of so many shepherds, for generations to come, they cannot more surely evince the purity of their profession than by letting 'brotherly love continue ;' nor can they in any way establish better proof of their fitness for the rewards of the just, which have been prom- ised by the Chief Shepherd when he shall gather his chosen disciples into his fold of rest and salvation."
The ministry of Mr. Eaton continued only about three years, owing to the inability of his society to give him adequate support. He was a person of amiable man- ners and Christian kindness, and he enjoyed the confi- dence and respect of all who knew him. A general regret was expressed that one so well adapted to his place and position should be called to leave so soon to seek another people and to form new relations ; but such has been too frequently the fate of those who in these latter years have chosen the ministry as their profession.
Mr. Eaton left Shirley in the early part of the year 1850. Mr. G. W. Adams was then engaged to minister in his place. He was not settled, but continued to supply the pulpit for two or three years. He had an interesting family, and was himself, professionally, a man of much zeal, though that zeal was not always according to knowledge.
In May, 1853, Mr. B. B. Beardsley, from some part of Connecticut, assumed the duties of pastor. He was not inducted to the pastorship by any ecclesiastical formal- ities, yet remained to lead the public devotions of the
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altar until 1858, when he somewhat reluctantly dissolved his connection with his church and people, and left the town. Mr. Beardsley did not claim extensive acquaint- ance with theological lore, nor did he excel as a pulpit orator ; and yet, in different ways he proved one of the most profitable ministers that the society ever employed. His whole thought and care seemed devoted to the inter- ests of his people, and for their prosperity he made large sacrifices. Being a man of more than common pecuniary substance, he freely contributed to the prudential wants of his parish, and never held back his hand from any general benevolence that was presented to his notice. It was through his efforts that a grevious church debt was cancelled, that the meeting-house was painted and other- wise repaired, and that the church bell first in use was procured. Though he would have been rejoiced to have had a longer ministry with a people to whom he desired to endear himself, he could not but consider it "expedient for them that he should go away."
April 10, 1860, Rev. Daniel H. Babcock, late pastor of the Second Church in Plymouth, preached his first Sunday, and was engaged to supply the pulpit for an in- definite period. He continued his labors for the space of nearly three years. He was, for a portion of this time, one of the school-committee, and endeavored in this and in other ways to render himself useful to the community. Mr. Babcock went from Shirley to live in some part of Vermont, where he has since died.
November Ist, 1863, it was voted that Mr. A. J. Dutton be invited to the pastoral office of the Orthodox Congregational Church, and to that end that he receive the rights of ordination and installation. This vote, passed by the church, was endorsed by a vote of the parish at a meeting holden on the 9th of the same month, at which the salary of Mr. Dutton was fixed at $600 per year.
On the day succeeding this call from the parish, an ecclesiastical council was convened to set apart this young
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Levite to his new work by the solemnities of a public con- secration. The following named churches were repre- sented in the council :
From the Massachusetts Home Missionary Society, Rev. H. B. Hooker, D. D .; church in Harvard, Rev. John Dodge, Bro. Benjamin Jewett; church in Leomin- ster, Rev. H. Parker, Bro. William H. Howard; church in Lancaster, Rev. A. E. Lawrence, Bro. David Osgood ; church in Groton, Rev. E. A. Bulkley, Dea. C. Law- rence; church in Townsend, Rev. J. C. Hutchinson ; church in Groveland, Rev. Thomas Daggett; church in Nashua, N. H., Rev. G. D. Pike, Bro. Levi D. Gay ; church in Lowell, Rev. J. E. Raikins, Bro. J. G. But- trick ; church in Ayer, Rev. D. M. Bell, Bro. N. W. Frye ; church in Littleton, Rev. E. Loomis, Bro. S. Hart- well.
The preliminaries in relation to the examination of the candidate in regard to his faith, his scholarship, his purposes in entering the ministry, etc., having been attended to, the council proceeded to the public services of the occasion, which were conducted after the following order: Introductory prayer by Rev. Horace Parker; sermon by Rev. J. E. Raikins ; ordaining prayer by Rev. John Dodge; charge to the pastor by Rev. Thomas Dag- gett ; right-hand of fellowship by Rev. G. D. Pike; charge to the people by Rev. H. B. Hooker, D. D .; con- cluding prayer by Rev. J. C. Hutchinson.
This union of church and pastor, which was formed under apparently favorable auspices, was destined to continue until November 11th, 1869,-six years,-when it was dissolved by mutual consent, and Mr. Dutton found another settlement, in Longmeadow.
Mr. Dutton was young and inexperienced when he entered upon his pastorate in Shirley, yet he was un- wearied in discharging his official duties. The church flourished under his lead, and the people to whom he ministered regarded him as a faithful teacher of divine truth. His departure from the town was a source of regret to the general public.
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A few months only were allowed to pass after the dismissal of Mr. Dutton, before the society and church were prepared to instate another in their vacant pulpit.
Mr. A. H. Lounsbury had come among them as a candidate, and after a very short probation was invited to settle with them in the gospel ministry, on a salary of $700, the use of the parsonage, and an allowance of absence for two Sundays in each year.
The 20th of April, 1870, was appointed for the solemnities of installation. On that day representatives of the neighboring churches assembled in council, and after the usual preliminaries, proceeded to the church for the performance of the public services demanded by the occasion. The following is a programme of those services :
Introductory prayer by Rev. L. Bell ; sermon by Rev. W. J. Batt ; installing prayer by Rev. D. Phillips ; fellow- ship of the churches by Rev. H. Parker; charge to the pastor by Rev. George F. Stanton ; address to the people by Rev. A. J. Dutton ; concluding prayer by Rev. W. H. Dowden.
Mr. Lounsbury wrote very chaste and logical ser- mons, yet they were so spiced with Calvinism, or the Edwards divinity, that the thoughtful hearer was carried back to the days of Puritan ecclesiasticism, when doubt was a part of unbelief, and inconsistency a mystery that it was sacrilege to reject; and yet, there was a charm about his discourses that would well repay careful and attentive listening. Perhaps Mr. Lounsbury was more dogmatical than any preacher, either before or after him, in the same pulpit,-unless it were Mr. Adams, who was one of his predecessors. As he would not himself deny, he was very much given to bigotry. He was never intru- sive of his opinions, however, and possessed in the main such a social character as to make him a welcome visitor in other families beside those of his own parish. He was born in the township of Ovid, county of Scipio, and state of New York, and was the son of a clergyman. He
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remained with his people nearly five years, when his con- nection was dissolved. He has since travelled in Europe, and seen much of the world, and probably has as few enemies as most people of his age, acquirements and standing.
On the first of July, 1875, Mr. Shurtleff was engaged to supply the vacant pulpit, and during the first year of his appointment he seemed to give very general satisfaction ; but before one-half of his second year had expired he found himself in the midst of a growing opposition, which made it convenient and pleasant for him to withdraw.
He was followed by Rev. E. J. Moore, who had the appearance of a man that might soon win public confi- dence ; he was appointed one of the school-committee of the town as soon as he could legally hold that position, and it was a remark of wonder by outsiders that he should be so soon required to vacate his place in the church. His term of ministry was one year and four months, dating from January 1, 1879, to May 1, 1880.
On the 7th of June, 1881, Mr. Albert F. Norcross, then a member of the Divinity School at Andover, received an invitation to settle with the Orthodox Congre- gational Society, which he accepted. He was ordained August 31st, 1881.
Mr. Norcross was born in Rindge, N. H., April 11th, 1853 ; graduated from Dartmouth College in June, 1878, and from Andover Theological Seminary, June 30th, 1881.
It is now fifty-one years since this church settled its first minister, and during that time the pulpit has had twelve different incumbents,-men of average ability and of more than average goodness; and yet their average term of pastorship has been little more than four years ! The thoughtful man who looks upon the ecclesiastical history of New England, past and present, will be tempted to ask, "Why are these things so?" Our fathers believed that the success of the church and the progress of religion depended largely upon the permanency of the ministerial relation as originally established ; and it was a
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rare thing, until the beginning of the present century, to find a minister who had the temerity to take the first step in a movement that looked toward a dissolution with a people over whom he had been regularly ordained. The excitement which follows a change of religious teachers is not always of a healthy character ; and even if it were so, it is far from compensating the loss sustained by the departure of a long-tried and faithful spiritual instructor, adviser and sympathiser, whose heart is bound with those to whom he ministers by ties of affection, and by a love that many waters cannot quench. It was once considered the strongest tie except that contained in the marriage covenant. A short connection will not produce the desired result, and when the union is cut short by other than the absolute necessities of the case, both parties become sufferers from the change.
A few months after Mr. Brown-first pastor of the Orthodox church-had left town, that church was called to sustain a severe loss in the death of Miss Jenny Little. She was one of its founders, and had devoted her thought and interest to its care and support. She was most sin- cerely and devotedly attached to its first minister, believ- ing him adapted to the place, and that God, through his labors, had wrought a good work in the town. By the wisdom of her counsel, her personal influence, and the aid of her friends, she succeeded for a time, to dispel the murmurs of discontent that broke forth, here and there, concerning the inefficiency of the minister and the neces- sity of his dismission in order to facilitate the growth, if not to preserve the life, of the society. Miss Little took a more comprehensive view of the subject, and from her point of observation was led to entertain a different con- clusion. She was persuaded that nothing was so condu- cive of the spiritual interests of a religious community as permanency in the pastoral relation. But her efforts were not always availing, and the minister of her choice deemed it expedient to take his departure from the endear- ing scenes of his early and more mature ministry. Upon
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his removal to his distant home she took what proved her final earthly leave of her beloved spiritual leader, with whom she had so long taken sweet counsel, and whom she hoped would remain near her unto the end.
Although her hopes were disappointed by the de- cision of a majority of her fellow-worshippers, she continued her connection with her church until her death. In her last will and testament, she bequeathed a large portion of her estate to general purposes of religious charity, but left the objects of its appropriation to the choice of the Ministerial Association with which her
church was connected. Whereupon that association decreed that her real estate in town-valued at eighteen hundred dollars-should remain a perpetual fund for the support of the Orthodox society, so long as that society should have a stated ministry ; and this decree was subse- quently confirmed by a decision of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts.
The church has had other liberal benefactors and benefactions, without which, as its own members have in their gratitude declared, it could not have been preserved in existence. The Home Missionary Society aided its funds from year to year, during a long period of its his- tory, and thus there has been an annual encouragement of hearts and hands that would have fainted and been para- lyzed under the entire burden of the duties they had con- scientiously assumed.
Among the special contributors to their casual wants the name of Mrs. N. C. Munson stands prominent. During the comparatively few years that she has been an inhabitant of Shirley her name has been blended with improvements, of a prudential nature, that have from time to time been required by the pecuniary necessities that have arisen. In 1868 the church needed to be supplied with a bell, to replace one which had been broken, and Mrs. Munson contributed to that object the sum of one hundred and fifty dollars. Previously she had furnished an organ, at a cost of five hundred dollars. In addition
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to many minor appropriations, she contributed towards the repairs and embellishments of the church in 1872, one thousand and thirty dollars. Can her fellow-worshippers and an appreciative community refrain to say, "Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all?"
The following legacies have been bequeathed, the most of which were devised to constitute a standing fund, the income of which should be annually appropriated for the support of public worship, viz :- Mrs. Nancy A. Kingsbury, $2,000; Mr. Noah Adams of Townsend, $1,000; Dea. Jacob Harrington, $400; Miss Nancy Damon, $100.
The present amount of the parish fund is $3,100. The reader will hereby perceive a fulfilment of the proverb, "God will help those who first help themselves."
The Orthodox people have taken great interest in the religious instruction of the rising generation. Their Sunday-school has received the sympathy and support of old and young. All the children of their several families have been members of this institution, first as pupils, and then, many of them, as teachers; and from the ranks of spiritual learners which this institution has successively produced, the church has found its richest recruits.
The history of this little religious community, which has gone through hardships and discouragements sufficient to balk the stoutest natures in any secular enterprise, shows what principle united with perseverance will effect. It has proved the willingness of its adherents to bear an earthly cross to secure the hope of a heavenly inheritance. And though the glory of all such enterprises is more or less sullied by sectarian bigotry, especially in the outset of their career, in time they become so consolidated in well-doing as to shed a quickening light over their own pathway ; a light which is often made to reflect on the course of other communities, divergent from their own yet tending to the same goal with themselves.
CHAPTER VIII.
Baptist Church - Organization - Chapel - Ministers- Too Many Churches for the Population-Conclusion of Ecclesiastical History-Moral Reflections.
The Orthodox society had occupied its new house of worship, in the South Village, only about two years when it was doomed to suffer a severe loss by the secession of several of its prominent members, who were attached to the Baptist communion and who wished to worship accord- ing to the creed of that denomination. The ministers of the Baptist faith in the neighboring towns had enjoyed a free intercourse with the clergymen of the Orthodox church in Shirley ; yet the people of the Baptist persua- sion could not, with their peculiar views, commune with any who did not regard immersion as the only scriptural mode of baptism. They could accept the teaching of the Orthodox Congregational pulpit and be edified, but they could not join in the ordinances without defilement of conscience. Whereupon they felt moved to set up, for their own use, a distinct altar.
The first sermon that was preached to this newly con- stituted body was upon the nineteenth of April, 1852, by Rev. Mr. Seaver of Salem. A church was formed Feb- ruary 28th, 1853, and was publicly recognized on the sixth day of the following April,-on which occasion a sermon was preached by Rev. John Jennings of Fitchburg. During the thirty years since its organization this church has experienced several interesting occasions of special interest, and, for such feeble beginnings and prospects,
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has maintained its course with a good degree of success, and creditably sustained its part in the ecclesiastical move- ments of the town. The present number of its communi- cants, though many of them are not resident members, is about forty.
A Sunday-school, organized in 1854, has ever received the fostering care of the church, and has effected a salutary influence upon the rising generation in each of its families. This school has received the benefit of a juvenile library, which was commenced with a hundred volumes ..
In 1853 this society erected a plain and neat chapel, at a cost of $1,400. It has a singers' gallery between the doors of entrance, opposite which is the pulpit; and the floor was originally supplied with movable seats or settees. It was dedicated on the last day of the year, on which occasion a sermon was preached by Rev. A. M. Swain of Leominster.
From the erection of the chapel to the year 1866 the pulpit was regularly supplied most of the time, but a debt had been contracted which became somewhat onerous, and which compelled the suspension of all religious ser- vices for several years. The chapel was opened for various secular purposes, such as lectures, concerts, ly- ceums, and shows of different kinds, by the income of which the interest of the church debt was from year to year cancelled.
In 1866 a Mr. Skinner, who was temporarily supply- ing the Baptist pulpit in South Groton (now Ayer), gratuitously gave the Shirley Baptists a religious lecture on each Sunday evening for several months; and he exerted himself in other places to raise contributions, whereby the society was redeemed from debt and enabled to resume active operations.
The chapel was then repaired and furnished with pews, which were handsomely carpeted and tastefully supplied with upholstery. The expense of this change was nearly $300.
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In 1873 it underwent another still more important renovation. Its somewhat cumbrous singers' gallery was supplied with a front balustrade, composed of choice wood, with neatly ornamented balusters and substantial caps ;- all of which was wrought and put in place by the hand of O. F. Lawrence, the junior deacon of the church. The pulpit was newly constructed, consisting of a plat- form, open at the sides but surmounted in front by a curiously formed desk made of black walnut, of elegant texture. This rich and highly ornamental structure was devised, made and stationed, solely by the hand of Oliver Barrett, the senior deacon of the church, who numbered over eighty years of age when the "cunning work" was set up ! Long will it remain an evidence of the artistic skill of its builder, when he shall have ceased from his worship in earthly temples. The interior of the chapel is painted in rich fresco, and is supplied with fixture lamps, given by the Baptist Society of Leominster. The expense attendant upon this change was $800. A new organ was supplied, mainly at the expense of N. C. Munson, Esq. ; -and his honored mother, Madam Munson, of more than four score years of age, (who is a member of the Baptist communion, ) contributed $500 towards the cost of this refitment of the chapel.
After the chapel, in its original state, was made ready for use, Rev. G. W. Butler, late of Tyngsboro', was hired to supply the pulpit for one year. He resided in town, was a member of the school-committee a portion of the time, and was a useful citizen. Subsequently Rev. Eze- kiel Robbins, a resident of Shirley, preached about nine months, and the fruits of this short ministry was the addi- tion of sixteen persons to the communion of the church. Mr. Robbins still resides in town, and is much skilled as a horticulturist. His efforts for the social and moral ad- vancement of his fellow-citizens have entitled him to much credit. Rev. George Carlton preached for the Baptists two years, yet resided in town during no part of the time.
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In 1859 the church extended a call to Mr. John Ran- dolph, a young licentiate from some part of the state of Illinois, to become its pastor and religious teacher. Mr. Randolph was ordained, March 24 of that year. The sermon on the occasion was preached by Rev. Mr. Wake- field of Feltonville, now Hudson. The charge was by Rev. Kendall Brooks of Fitchburg. The fellowship of the churches was by the Rev. Mr. Grow of South Groton, now Ayer. The address to the society was by the Rev. Mr. Smith of Groton, and the concluding prayer was offered by Mr. Beardsley, of the Orthodox church in Shir- ley. Owing to ill-health, occasioned by living in an uncongenial latitude, Mr. Randolph, after a brief ministry of one year, was obliged to dissolve his connection with his church, and seek a clime better adapted to his physi- cal requirements.
Then followed the long vacation of six years, alluded to on a previous page, when the house of God was changed into a house of merchandise. At the expiration of this time (in 1866) a Mr. Sumner Latham was engaged to preach for a season to the Baptist congregation. This appointment was continued for the greater part of two years, when the preacher left for other spheres of labor. In social intercourse Mr. Latham was easy and agreeable of manner, but in the pulpit he was exceedingly sensa- tional, and sought to move the feelings rather than affect the heart-to arouse the fears, rather than convince the judgment, of his hearers; and the result was an excite- ment of very questionable religious or moral utility.
From the departure of Mr. Latham in 1868, until 1870, the pulpit was variously supplied by transient minis- ters, whose services were secured at slight expense. On the 7th of November of the last-named year Mr. Thomas Atwood of Plymouth, a man of years and experience, was employed to occupy the pulpit of the Baptists, and he con- tinued in their service until January 1, 1872. On the 30th of October of this year Mr. E. H. Watrous, from Fitzwil- liam, N. H., came to Shirley, and supplied the society
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with preaching until March, 1874. It now has no stated minister, and will not re-settle until its prudential affairs shall have assumed a basis that shall warrant the outlay of a resident pastorate. This is a wise decision of a careful and considerate people. Its pulpit is, however, regularly supplied with preaching, chiefly by undergraduates from the Newton Theological Seminary, who can attend to this duty for a nominal compensation.
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