USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Weston > History of the town of Weston, Massachusetts, 1630-1890 > Part 2
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First, having perused the Confession of Faith put forth by the last Synod of Churches, held in Boston in New England, we do heartily close in with it for the substance of it, and promise to stand by maintaining, and if need be contend for ye Faith therein delivered to the People of God, and if any one of us shall go about to undermine it we will bear a due testimony against them. We do all combine to walk together as a particular Church of Christ, according to all those Holy rules of ye Gospel prescribed to such a society, so far as God has revealed, or shall reveal his mind to us in this respect. We do accordingly recognize the Covenant of Grace, in which we do professedly acknowledge ourselves bound, rooted to ye fear and service of the only true God our Supreme Lord, and to ye Lord Jesus Christ the High Priest, Prophet and King of his Church unto the conduct of whose Spirit we submit ourselves, and on whom alone we rely for pardon, grace and glory: to whom we bind ourselves in an everlasting Covenant never to be broken. We likewise give up ourselves one unto another in the Lord, resolving by his help to cleave to each other, as fellow-members of one body in brotherly love and holy watchfulness over one another, for mutual edification, and to submit ourselves to all the Holy administrations appointed by him who is the head of the Church, dispensed according to the rules of the Gospel, and to give our constant attendance on all the public ordinances of Christ's Institutions, walking orderly as becometh saints.
We do all acknowledge our Posterity to be included with us in the Gospel Covenant, and blessing God for so rich a favour do promise to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of ye Lord, with greatest care. Further we promise to be careful to ye utmost, to procure the settlement and continuance among us of all ye offices and officers ap- pointed by Christ, the Chief Shepherd, for the edification of his Church: and accordingly to do our duty faithfully for their maintenance and en- couragement, and to carry it towards them as becomes us. Finally we do acknowledge, and promise to preserve communion with the faithful Churches of Christ, for the giving and receiving mutual Counsel and as- sistance, in all cases wherein it shall be needful. Now the good Lord be merciful unto us, and as he hath put it into our hearts thus to devote ourselves to him, let him pity and pardon our frailties, humble us out of all carnal confidence, and keep it for ever more upon our hearts to be
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ECCLESIASTICAL ORIGIN OF THE TOWN
faithful to himself, and one to another, for his praise and our Eternal comfort, for Christ Jesus sake, to whom be Glory for ever and ever. Amen.
A FORM OF YE COVENANT ASSENTED TO BY YE YOUNG PEOPLE, MARCH 12, 1721.
You do thankfully acknowledge ye Divine goodness towards you, that you have been by ye act of your parents dedicated to God in your Baptism and by their pious care educated in ye Christian religion, do now willingly ratify their act, and solemnly choose ye Lord, Father, Son and Holy Ghost into ye profession of whose name you have been baptised, for your God and portion. And professing a serious belief of ye holy Scriptures as ye word of God, you resolve by his grace to take them for ye Rule of your lives: to guide and govern both your faith and practice, renouncing all you know to be contrary to his revealed will. You depend on the Lord Jesus Christ the mediator of ye Covenant for righteousness and strength-that you may be pardoned and accepted with God, and may be enabled to walk in sincere obedience before him. You do also subject yourselves to ye Government of Christ in his Church, and to ye regular administration of it in this Church while his Providence shall continue you here.
In March, 1720, the following young persons owned the cove- nant and became members of the church: Isaac Harrington, Joseph Livermore, Joseph Woolson, Josiah Jones, Robert Allen, John Allen, Ebenezer Felch, Josiah Brewer, John Hastings, Joshua Bigelow, Jonathan Bullard, Benjamin Rand, Isaac Allen, Jonas Allen, Elezebeth Spring, Zedakiah Allen, Benjamin Brown, Jr., Francis Allen, Thankful Harrington, Mary Woolson, Hannah Woolson, Patience Allen, Prudence Allen, Elezebeth Hastings, Mary Livermore, Elezebeth Allen, Ruth Allen, Anna Brown, Mary Spring, Mehitable, wife of Dr. Warren.
In January, 1715, at a church meeting it was voted that on communion day the contributions, or collection, shall in future be made previous to the blessing. Also voted that each com- municant contribute a sum not less than ten cents at each com- munion.
On March 30, 1710, money was granted to finish the meeting- house, by which we learn that the small meeting-house, thirty feet square, in Parkhurst Meadow, begun in 1695, had not been
10
HISTORY OF WESTON
completed in fifteen years. In 1718 a motion was brought for- ward to build a new meeting-house, but the matter was then deferred. However, it was probably begun soon after, as, by a record extant of a town meeting held October 23, 1721, it was voted "to appropriate their proportion of the bills of credit issued by the General Court, and that they will forthwith proceed to cover and close in ye meeting house with the materials that are provided by the Committee." This committee consisted of Benjamin Brown, Benoni Gearfield, Ebenezer Allen, Joseph Allen, and James Jones. At this meeting it was also "Voted to grant the Rev. Mr. William Williams ye sum of seventy and four Pounds for his salary, for his labor in the Gospel Ministry amongst us for the present year, and six pounds for cutting and carting his fire wood ye present year." The location of the new church was upon that ground now called the Common, and not upon the land granted to the church by Nathaniel Coolidge in 1715.
In what year the new church was completed is not recorded. It is probable that at the time of Mr. Williams's pastorate there were no pews in the church, only benches, the men ranged on one side, the women on the other, the boys being kept by themselves, in charge of a constable. Pews were introduced much later, and were built one or two at a time, at the expense of individuals, upon obtaining permission from the Selectmen or more frequently by a vote in town meeting.
Mr. Williams continued in the ministry in this church until Oc- tober, 1750, covering a period of forty-one years, and was then dismissed by a mutual council. No reasons are given on the par- ish records for this action. He remained a parishioner after his dismissal, assisted his successors, and for a time was school- master of the town. He died in Weston, March 6, 1760, aged seventy-two years, and lies buried in our old burying-ground. Mr. Williams's wife, Hannah Williams, died in Weston, Sun- day, December 29, 1745, aged fifty-eight years. Mr. Williams preached her funeral sermon, which is still extant. Four of Mr. Williams's sermons were published in book form as early as 1741. One of these, on "The Nature of Saving Faith," de- livered in Mr. John Cotton's church in Newton, is still preserved. One of his sermons, on "The Prodigal Daughter," is illustrated,
·
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ECCLESIASTICAL ORIGIN OF THE TOWN
· and is a most extraordinary production. In this publication is given what is supposed to be a picture of Mr. Williams delivering the sermon from the pulpit. Altogether it would seem that Mr. Williams was a man of no ordinary ability and energy.
At a meeting of the church held April 27, 1726, it was voted as the general sentiment that "turning ye back towards the minister to gaze abroad, and laying down ye head upon ye arms, in a sleepy position, in ye time of public worship, are postures irreverent and indecent, and which ought to be reformed where any are faulty therein, and carefully avoided."
In 1800 the church of 1721 underwent thorough repair. A steeple and two porches were added, and a new bell procured of Paul Revere, for which the sum of $443.12 was paid by subscrip- tion of the people. Mr. Kendal makes no mention of the orig- inal bell in his centennial sermon. It weighed only one hundred and sixty-four pounds, and was probably brought down from Canada in one of the expeditions against the French and Indians. It was.a bell probably belonging to some chapel or convent. Mr. Revere purchased the bell at the time he sold the new bell, and paid $72.88 for it. The history of this old bell would be interest- ing to us to-day. There are persons still living who can remem- ber the old church with its high-backed pews, sounding-board, and pulpit. There was an air of solemn dignity, an emphasis of religious fervor, which this old church typified, that impressed the beholder with a reverence its successor never succeeded in doing. The destruction of this old landmark, built of solid oak, and re- placed by a monstrosity which only a nineteenth-century archi- tect could devise, shows both lack of reverence and the decay of faith,-a marked trait of our times. When this church of 1721 was taken down in 1840, it was one hundred and eighteen years old. The church of 1840 was erected a little east of the old one, on land given for that purpose by Mrs. Clarissa Smith.
Rev. Samuel Woodward succeeded Mr. Williams, Septem- ber 25, 1751, and died October 5, 1782, at the age of fifty-six years and in the thirty-first year of his ministry. He was greatly beloved by his people and his brethren of the clergy. His com- pany was sought and enjoyed by all classes, old and young, the serious and the gay.
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HISTORY OF WESTON
At a town meeting held February 24, 1783, Rev. Dr. Samuel Kendal received forty-three votes against nineteen opposing votes for his settlement in the gospel ministry as successor to Mr. Woodward. It was also voted "to grant £200 as an encour- agement for his settling with us." And at an adjourned meeting held August 11, 1783, Mr. Kendal's answer was received and read in open town meeting. Mr. Kendal's letter is a long one and somewhat peculiar. His acceptance is conditioned upon an increase in the salary offered (£80), and the town voted him an additional £10 and an additional five cords of wood. The letter will be found interesting, and can be found in full in Appendix I. Mr. Kendal was ordained November 5, 1783. It is rather curious in this connection to note that eleven of those who voted adversely to the settlement of Mr. Kendal entered a protest against the proceedings which led to his settlement. The protest was placed on the records, but received no other attention. Mr. Kendal continued as pastor of the church for thirty years, and during this long period was kept from his pulpit but one Sunday, either by sickness or inclemency of the weather ..
It is to Mr. Kendal's centennial sermon, delivered in 1812, that we owe what little we have of the past history of the town from the time of its incorporation. The loss of all the precinct and town records down to 1754 renders this sermon a most valu- able document. Three ministers ordained in Weston had filled the pastoral office for over a century. Including the first eighteen years of the parish, 694 persons had been admitted to church fellowship,-namely, 425 under Mr. Williams, 163 under Mr. Woodward, 106 under Dr. Kendal. There were 2,569 baptisms, -1,082 in Mr. Williams's time, 18 between his dismissal and Mr. Woodward's ordination, 922 by Mr. Woodward, 15 between his decease and Mr. Kendal's induction to office, and 532 by Mr. Kendal. Ten deacons were chosen, as follows: Captain Josiah Jones, 1710; John Parkhurst, 1710; Benjamin Brown, 1715; Ensign John Warren, 1733; Thomas Upham, 1767; Thomas Russell, 1767; Samuel Fiske, 1780; Isaac Hobbs, 1780; Nathan Warren, 1808; Thomas Bigelow, 1808.
The population of the town was a little over 1,000. In 1895
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ECCLESIASTICAL ORIGIN OF THE TOWN
it was 1,710 .* Mr. Kendal gives the bill of mortality for thirty years, from 1783 to 1812. Before that time there were no means of computing. During these thirty years there were 396 deaths, making the annual average 13.5, or 66 in five years. Of the 396 who died, 90 arrived at the age of seventy and up- wards. Out of the 90 that lived to this age, 52 attained to their eightieth year, giving more than 1 in 8 that reached fourscore years. Of the 52 that arrived at this age, 27 lived to be eighty- seven and upwards, giving 1 in 1423 that attained to advanced years. Twelve lived to be ninety and upwards, making 1 in 33 of this very great age. Three lived to be ninety-five and up- wards, giving 1 in 132. One lived to be a hundred and two years old. This was Mary Hastings, widow of Mr. John Hast- ings, who died at the age of eighty-eight years. This bill of mortality shows Weston to be as healthy a spot as any in the world.
When Mr. Kendal was called to this parish, he made a condi- tion that he should receive £100 a year. Mr. Woodward had re- ceived £80, and Mr. Williams £74. It was represented to him that the times were very hard, as indeed they were, there being no money in the country and the Continental money hardly worth the paper it was printed on. Although the people had added £10 and five cords of wood to the salary paid Mr. Woodward, Mr. Kendal wrote them a letter addressed as follows :-
My Christian Fathers, Brothers and Friends, ... As the times are pe- culiarly difficult by reason of very heavy taxes, I do freely give up what you have now added for three years, so that until after three years are expired I shall expect no more than £80 and fifteen cords of wood an- nually. [Mr. Kendal well says] that since our ancestors landed on these shores, the wilderness has bloomed as the rose, and the desert become a fruitful field. The haunts of wild beasts or of savage tribes have become populous cities, villages or towns. Where nothing met the eye but nat- ure in her rudest dress, where nothing saluted the ear but the yell of savages and the howling of beasts of prey, these spacious temples are erected to the living God, and the blessings of civilization enjoyed.
Mr. Kendal gives a list of the young men, natives of the town, who had received a collegiate education,-20 at Cambridge and 1 at Providence at the close of the centennial period: William *Cf. p. 20, line 3.
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HISTORY OF WESTON
Williams, 1729; Nathan Fiske, 1754; Daniel Jones, 1759; Phineas Whitney, 1759; Daniel Stimpson, 1759; Ephraim Woolson, 1760; Samuel Savage, 1766; Isaac Bigelow, 1769; Stephen Jones, 1775; Samuel Woodward, 1776; Abraham Bigelow, 1782; Thaddeus Fiske, 1785; Ebenezer Starr, 1789; Silas Warren, 1795; Isaac Allen, 1798; Isaac Fiske, 1798; Charles Train, 1805; Benjamin Rand, 1808; Alpheus Bigelow, 1810; Abraham Harrington, 1812; Isaac Fiske, 1812 (Providence).
Mr. Kendal married Abigail, daughter of Rev. Samuel Wood- ward, in 1786. She died in 1793, and he married her sister Miranda Woodward in 1794. A newspaper of the day speaks of the marriage, "and the mark of joy and approbation at this alliance manifested by the people of the town, rarely incidental to such an event." Mr. Kendal purchased for £490 3d. the es- tate of Mr. Benjamin Peirce, who before his death kept a tavern on the site now owned by Mr. Francis B. Sears. In 1791 the house was destroyed by fire, the family moving into the house of the widow Woodward, now that of Mrs. Dickson, which house Mr. Woodward built in 1753. Young collegians who were suspended for a longer or shorter term for breaches of college discipline were sent to rusticate with Dr. Kendal, who kept them up in their studies and classes, imparting moral stamina as well. Many men who have become famous in the different walks of life passed terms of rustication under Dr. Kendal's roof, among these the venerable Dr. Bigelow, who was one of the most noted physicians of his day. His name may still be seen on a pane of window glass in one of the rooms. Dr. Kendal prepared young Alvan Lamson for college, who later became a noted divine. In 1814 Dr. Kendal died. A long notice of his death appeared at the time in a Boston paper :-
On the 15th inst. departed this life the Rev. Samuel Kendal, pastor of the church in Weston. A man highly esteemed in life, and deeply lamented in death. Few characters, more deserving of respectful atten- tion, have been found and exhibited in our country. In 1782 he re- ceived the honors of Harvard University and becoming settled as pastor over the respectable town of Weston he became at once the guide and father of his people. The degree of Doctor of Divinity was bestowed upon him by the University of New Haven in 1806.
THE ELLIS PLACE, CENTRAL AVENUE.
Formerly owned and occupied by Hon. James Lloyd, at one time United States senator from Massachusetts. In 1822 it was bought and occupied by John Mark Gourgas, of a notable Huguenot family. It is now owned by the heirs of Mrs. Lucinda A. Ellis.
THE OLD DR. KENDAL HOUSE, CENTRAL AVENUE.
Built by Rev. Dr. Samuel Kendal in 1795 from hand-hewn timber, given by Dr. Kendal's parishioners, and hand-made nails. Later Mr. Alpheus Cutter owned the place, and it is claimed that here he made the first cotton batting in this country, and then cotton cloth, later moving to Waltham and starting the industry there. Mr. Luke Brooks bought the place about 1840 and remodelled the house. In 1861 it was sold to Mr. George Spar- hawk, and is still owned by his daughter, Mrs. Francis B. Sears. The house was de- stroyed by fire February 25, 1906.
15
ECCLESIASTICAL ORIGIN OF THE TOWN
After the death of Dr. Kendal, Joseph Allen, a student at Cambridge under the elder Ware, was invited to fill the vacant pulpit as a candidate for a settlement; but he declined, and the town voted on December 27, 1814, to give Mr. Joseph Field, Jr., an invitation to settle in the ministry (three only voting against him), and "that his sallary shall be $800 annually." Mr. Field's answer to the invitation was read in town meeting January 9, 1815, and will be found in Appendix II. These letters of the several pastors require no apology for their insertion in these pages. When we consider that the pastorate of this church has been held for nearly two centuries by only four ministers, and that Mr. Field held the position for over half a century, we see that he cannot but have left in the memory of the inhabitants a grateful sense of his many virtues and his marked ability. Mr. Field was ordained February 1, 1815, President Kirkland of Harvard College preaching the sermon. The thermometer on that day was eight degrees below zero, and the refreshments provided for the occasion by the people froze on the tables, the fruit being hard as stones. In 1865, at the completion of the half-century of his pastorate, his age and increasing infirmities compelled him to relinquish his duties. In compliance, how- ever, with the wishes of his parishioners he continued to remain their senior pastor. He held this position at the time of his death, which occurred November 5, 1869, at the age of eighty-one years. The semi-centennial anniversary of Mr. Field, just alluded to, was attended by a large concourse of his brethren of the clergy throughout the county, as well as by others to the number of about three hundred souls. He delivered a vale- dictory discourse from Acts vi. 4, "The Ministry of the Word." His remarks were made with great feeling and with that peculiar emphasis which those who sat under him in earlier days will recall. Many were moved to tears as their aged pastor rehearsed his life and Christian ministry among them. The deacons chosen since his ordination in 1815 were as follows: Mr. Isaac Hobbs, Mr. Abraham Hews, Mr. Samuel Hews, Mr. Marshall Hews. He stated that he had solemnized over 200 marriages and 180 baptisms. Over 100 had been admitted to the church, and 480 deaths had occurred, many of those who had died being very
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HISTORY OF WESTON
aged. He stated that the venerable father of Dr. Kendal, his predecessor, lived to the age of ninety-nine years. Rev. Dr. Sears followed Dr. Field in an address to the people. The hospi- talities tendered the guests on this occasion were of that liberal character for which the town has always been celebrated. With Dr. Field, it may be said, was first introduced into this parish what is now styled Unitarianism, in contradistinction to the old- time Congregationalism of the early fathers.
Rev. Dr. Edmund H. Sears succeeded Dr. Field in the pastorate of this church from 1865 to the time of his death in 1876.
This was a period of great importance for the town and its inhabitants. The Civil War had not ended when Dr. Sears suc- ceeded Dr. Field, and the trying time of reconstruction came within his ministry. Questions of internal improvement became prominent. In all these matters he gave wise and practical counsel, and served the town in many and varied ways. He re- vised the covenant of the church and increased its membership. At his initiative and urgency the parish in 1874 built a new vestry with Sunday-school rooms. It was during his ministry that he wrote his greatest literary work, entitled, "The Fourth Gospel- The Heart of Christ," a book of ripe scholarship and research and pure diction, which made a profound impression upon the relig- ious public. In many hymnals are included his well-known Christmas lyrics, "It came upon the Midnight Clear" and "Calm on the Listening Ear of Night." But most of all, by his devout and conscientious ministry, by his lovely and refining personality, by his eloquent preaching and his inspired pen, he gave impetus and sanction and power to the best in the com- munity, and, dying, added to the list of the town's worthy min- isters a most illustrious name.
Rev. Francis B. Hornbrooke succeeded Mr. Sears, and was installed October 18, 1876, and resigned in October, 1879, to take charge of a larger congregation at Newton.
Rev. Hobart Clark succeeded Mr. Hornbrooke in March, 1880, and resigned in February, 1882, and removed to England.
Rev. Charles F. Russell followed Mr. Clark in November, 1882, the interval being filled by Rev. Chandler Robbins, who
17
ECCLESIASTICAL ORIGIN OF THE TOWN
became a resident of Weston after resigning from the Second Church in Boston.
From the settlement of Mr. Mors in 1702 to the death of Dr. Sears in 1876, a period of one hundred and seventy-four years, there had been but six ministers over this church. They are buried in the town within a short distance of each other, with the exception of Mr. Mors, who, after leaving Weston, was settled in what is now Canton, where he died.
It has been necessary to dwell at unusual length on the his- tory of the church in Weston, as its history is that of the early settlement and the Farmers' Precinct. In those early days there was but one church, but one congregation, around which the settlers gathered, and paid their tithes for the support of the gospel. All things pertaining to the church were voted at town meeting, and that down to a very late period,-as solid a union of Church and State, while it lasted, as ever existed in the old country. As the town and precinct records are all lost, the history of the Weston church is the history of the town down to 1746 and 1754.
II.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION AND MILITARY ORGANIZATION.
In 1711/12 the Precinct of Weston, called the Farmers' Dis- trict, assembled and drew up a petition to the Great and General Court, praying that the precinct be incorporated as a town, and chose a committee of three to carry their petition to the legisla- ture. This petition was presented by Captain Francis Fulham, Lieutenant Josiah Jones, and Mr. Daniel Eastabroke. A peti- tion was also presented to the town of Watertown, that the Farmers' Precinct be allowed to form a separate town. "The Town of Watertown by a free vote manifested their willingness that the said precinct should be a township, according to their former bounds," with proviso and conditions, viz .:-
1. That the Farmers continue to pay a due share of the ex- pense of maintaining the great bridge over Charles River.
2. That they pay their full and due share of the debts now due by the town. (This second proviso does not seem to have been insisted upon.)
3. That they do not in any way infringe the rights of proprie- tors having land, but not residing among the Farmers. (The petition of the precinct to the legislature cannot be found.)
The following Act of Incorporation of the Town of Weston is copied from the Court Record of Acts and Resolves, vol. ix. p. 216, in the State Library :-
THURSDAY
Present in Council.
January 1st, 1712/13.
His Excellency Joseph Dudley, Esqr Governor. The Hon. William Tayler Esq., Lieut. Governor.
Elisha Hutchinson
Joseph Lynde Edward Bromfield
Samuel Sewall
Eliakim Hutchinson
Ephraim Hunt
John Phillips Esqr
Penn Townsend Esqr
Isaac Winslow Esqr
Peter Sergeant
Andrew Belcher
Daniel Epes.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION AND MILITARY ORGANIZATION 19
Upon reading a Petition of Francis Fulham, Josiah Jones, and Daniel Eastabroke, a Committee of the West Precinct in Watertown, commonly called the Farms, Praying that (Having the Consent of the Town therefor) They be granted to be a distinct Township, to enjoy the Privileges and Immunities which other Towns do and may by Law enjoy-Ordered, that the Prayer of the Petition be granted, and that the West Precinct in Watertown, commonly called the Farms, be erected and made into a Township, to contain all the Lands and Farms within the boundaries following: That is to say, To extend from Charles River to Stony Brook Bridge, and from the said Bridge up the Brook Northerly to Robert Harrington's Farm; and the brook to be the Boundary; In- cluding the said Farm, and comprehending all the Farms and Farm Lands to the lines of Cambridge and Concord; and from thence all Water- town lands to their utmost Southward and Westward Bounds, The town to be named Weston, subject nevertheless to the Reservations and Savings made by the Town of Watertown in their setting off the said Lands-And further granted that the Inhabitants of Weston have use and exercise all such Powers, Privileges and Immunities as other Towns have and do by Law use and enjoy, as to the Choice of Town officers, al- lotting out Lands, Raising of Taxes and for ordering of other Town affairs.
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