USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Winchendon > History of the town of Winchendon (Worcester County, Mass.) from the grant of Ipswich Canada, in 1735, to the present time > Part 29
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The first day of July was devoted to the consecration services by the town, a large number of the people-men, women and children-being present. But before the appointed time, the angel Death had antici- pated the citizens, and consecrated the field by a solemn and impressive event. Mrs. Jane Fifield Mason, wife of Mr. Orlando Mason, was bu- ried here by special permission, a day or two before the Cemetery was formally set apart to be the habitation of the dead. With feelings chas- tened, by this occurrence, the town met on the first day of July, at 1 P. M., and after the adoption of several Rules and Regulations, ad- journed the meeting until after the Ceremonies of the Consecration. These having been performed, the town meeting was called to order. and it was voted " that the fence be painted and sanded."
The Exercises at the Consecration were as follows, under the direc- tion of Capt. Ephraim Murdock, Jr., the Marshal of the day. 1, Sing- ing; 2, Introductory Prayer and Reading of the Scriptures, by Rev. Benjamin F. Clarke, Pastor of the First Congregational Church ; 3. Singing ; +, Address by Rev. Abijah P. Marvin, Pastor of the North
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Congregational Church; 5, Consecrating Prayer, by Rev. William J. Hambleton ; 6, Singing. The Music was furnished by a union of choirs, under the lead of Messrs. Edwin S. Merrill, and William L. Woodcock.
The passages of Scripture read were very appropriate. Besides oth- ers, the following seemed peculiarly fitting to the occasion, indicating as they do, that a rural burial-place is as old as the days of Abraham.
" And the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mam- re, the field and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the borders round about, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his city. And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre."
Whatever improvements,-and they are many-have been made by the Commissioners, or by private persons, since the time of the conse- cration, may be learned from the annual Report of the Board, or by visiting the Cemetery.
THE CATHOLIC CEMETERY.
" Upon the cross were fixed our closing eyes ; The cross here marks our graves ; and when we rise, Our trust will be the Crucified."
SONG OF HOPE.
The inhabitants of Winchendon, previous to 1847, when the railroad reached the place, were, with the exception of a few Canadian French, native Americans. At that time emigrants from Ireland began to take up their abode here. For several years however, they were accustomed to take the remains of their relatives to Fitchburg for burial. To ob- viate the great expense and loss of time which this course laid upon them, they took measures to obtain a suitable burial-place within the limits of the town. The Adams lot, though not used by the town for the purpose for which it was purchased, had not been sold. This lot being very eligible, was desired by the Catholics for a Cemetery. The matter came before the town on the 7th of March, 1864, when it was voted to " give the Adams lot to the Catholics for a Cemetery, provid- ed that all money received for the sale of lots, shall be expended on the land in fitting it up for a burial-ground."
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HISTORY OF WINCHEYDON.
It was found however that the condition was unacceptable, as the bishop, who holds all grounds devoted to burial-purposes in trust, would not accept the offer with restrictions in regard to the use of money de- rived from the sale of lots, beyond fencing the field. Whereupon the town passed the following vote : " that the town Treasurer make a gra- tuitous transfer of the land deeded to the town by Oliver Adams, to T. H. Bowman, or bishop Fitzpatrick, of Boston, in trust, on condition that it be used for burial purposes, and no others. The grantees to make and maintain all fences."
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HISTORY OF WINCHENDON.
CHAPTER XXII. - THE CHURCHES.
"Oh, where are kings and empires now Of old that went and came ? But, Lord, thy church is praying yet, A thousand years the same.
We mark her goodly battlements, And her foundations strong ; We hear within the solemn voice Of her unending song.
For not like kingdoms of the world Thy holy church, O God! Though earthquake shocks are threatening her, And tempests are abroad.
Unshaken as eternal hills, Immovable she stands, A mountain that shall fill the earth, A house not made with hands."
Bp. COXE.
THE FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
As the town was a parish for about sixty years after its incorpora- tion, it was necessary to give its history in that capacity. But the his- tory of the various churches and religious organizations is quite dis- tinct, and demands a separate place in this volume.
As stated already on another page, the Records of the First Congre- gational Church, during the first thirty-eight years of its existence,- from 1762 to 1800-are lost. When the Rev. Joseph Brown, the sec- ond minister, was dismissed, in December, 1799, he retained in his own possession whatever papers and records relating to the history of the Church, had been accumulating from the beginning, in 1762. All ef- forts to induce him to surrender these documents were unavailing, and his family, when applied to in after years, could find no trace of them. Besides a few facts and dates, therefore, there are no authentic mate- rials for the history of the Church previous to the beginning of this cen-
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HISTORY OF WINCHENDON.
tury, except what are found in the town Records. As the town was a parish down to the year 1825, its Records throw some light on the history of the Church. But these belong to the history of the town in its parochial capacity, and have, for the most part, been used in that connection.
EARLY HISTORY.
In the " Book of Records belonging to the Church of Christ in Win- chendon, bought in February, A. D. 1802," and containing the Records down to the close of the ministry of the Rev. Eber L. Clark, in the year 1835, there is, on the second page, in the handwriting of the Rev. Levi Pillsbury, the following entry :
" The Church of Christ in Winchendon was first gathered in the year of our Lord 1762, on the 15th of December, at which time the Rev. Daniel Stimp- son, the first minister, was ordained. The Rev. Mr. Stimpson was educated at Harvard College. He departed this life in July, A. D. 1768. His sal- ary was $60 annually, and for settlement 100 acres of land. The Rev. Jo- seph Brown, the second minister, was ordained May 24th, 1769. He was educated at Harvard College. After much difficulty with the Church and people, he was dismissed in December, 1799."
Other items of information have been gathered from different sources, which will be given in the order of time. The Proprietors' Book shows that a Mr. Harvey was here as a preacher, as early as 1758, five or six years after the first permanent settlement, and when there were probably not more than a dozen or fifteen families on the ground. In 1761, Sept. 22, Samuel Hunt, David Goodridge and Richard Day, were chosen a committee to " provide preaching in the Township of Ipswich Canada ;" and at the same time it was voted to raise " tivo dollars on each original Right, to pay for preaching ;" and also, that " the committee be ordered to provide a preacher half the Sabbaths."
The Council which ordained the first minister, on the fifteenth of De- cember, 1762, was called by the Proprietors. The Churches in Wes- ton, Harvard, Lunenburg and Dorchester Canada, were invited to the Council. The Church itself was organized on that day. The manner of proceeding is a matter of conjecture ; but it is probable that the first business of the Council on coming together, was to assist in organizing the Church. Then, we suppose, the Church extended a Call to Mr. Stimpson to settle with them in the Ministry. The way would thus be
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HISTORY OF WINCHENDON.
prepared for the Council to proceed to the examination of the candidate, and if the examination were satisfactory, to engage in the ordination services.
At this time the number of families was from twenty to twenty-five, besides whom there were several young men without families. The number of inhabitants might have been one hundred and fifty.
THE CHURCH COVENANT.
The following document, obligingly furnished by the Hon. Artemas Hale, of Bridgewater, from the papers of his father, Dea. Moses Hale, was the original Covenant of the Church. It is here inserted, with the proviso made for those who became members on the basis of the Half- way Covenant.
" Professing a serious and hearty belief of the Scriptures, you do now, in an everlasting covenant, give up yourselves to God in Jesus Christ, and hum- bly and penitently, ask of God the pardon of all your sins through the blood of Christ. And with all your hearts you desire to accept of Jesus Christ as your Redeemer and only Saviour, as he is offered to poor sinners in the Gos- pel. You do also promise solemnly before God, holy angels, and this assem- bly, that by the help of the Holy Spirit, denying ungodliness and all worldly lusts, you will endeavor to live soberly, righteously and godly, in this present world ; and that you will be working out your salvation with fear and trem- bling, that you will forsake the vanities of this evil world, and approve your- selves disciples of Christ, in all good conscience and conversation, both toward God and toward man. You do also submit and subject yourselves to the gov- ernment of Christ in his Church, and to the rules of his kingdom, and disci- pline regularly administered in this Church. And particularly you promise, as long as God shall continue you among us, to walk in regular communion with the Church of Christ in this place ; together with this people to attend all the holy ordinances and institutions of his house, and to carry it here ac- cording to the rules of the Gospel ; and in all things walk agreeable to what you know, or shall know, to be your duty.
Do you thus covenant and promise ?
I, then, in the name of Jesus Christ, the Great Head of the Church, de- clare you members in full communion with this Church of Christ, and in the name of the Church, promise, that, by the help of the same Divine Spirit, we will carry it towards you as members of the same body with ourselves, watch- ing over you for your good, and that in a spirit of meekness, love and tender- ness, earnestly praying that God would take delight in us, dwell among us, and that his kingdom may be advanced by us. Amen."
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HISTORY OF WINCHENDON.
The Covenant, as thus given, was for " those who make no reserve, but can come immediately to the Table of the Lord." In the case of " those who make a reserve through doubts and fears, and are afraid to come to the Table of the Lord," the arrangement was to leave out all after the words -" And particularly you promise,"-and use the following formula :
" And that we will, by earnest prayer, seek for those further qualifications which we judge necessary to a worthy approach to the Table of the Lord, so that we may walk in regular communion with the Church of Christ in this place ; together with this people attend all the holy ordinances and institutions of his house, and to carry it here according to the rules of the Gospel, and in all things walk agreeable to what we know, or shall know, to be our duty.
Do you heartily consent to this Covenant ?
As you have thus solemnly covenanted with God and his Church, be care- ful to fulfill your covenant obligations, and perform your vows."
There was an ancient rule of the Church, perhaps adopted in Mr. Stimpson's day, " that persons stand propounded three Sabbaths as can- didates for communion."
There is no list extant of the members of the Church during the set- tlement of Mr. Stimpson. Thero is no tradition in regard to the num- ber relative to the whole population. It is known that some of the prin- cipal inhabitants, like Dea. Day, David Goodridge and others, were members. It is supposed that some joined on the " half-way" plan, in Mr. Stimpson's time. In relation to these points, the following lines from Dr. Whiton, who had means of information, not found in existing Records, will be of some value. In his pastorate of six years, " fifteen persons had been added to the little Church, and a larger number had " owned the Covenant,' a phrase hardly intelligible at this day, but then in familiar use to signify the admission of persons to the privilege of baptism for their children, without binding themselves to the observ- ance of the Lord's Supper, till their scruples in relation to their own moral fitness for this Christian ordinance should be removed." It is probable that the fifteen added to the Church in Mr. Stimpson's pas- torate, were in addition to the original members. Richard Day was the first Deacon, and was chosen to that ofice on the 24th of March, 1763. It was voted at that meeting to have the sacrament of the Lord's Supper administered on the first Sabbath of the following May. Dea.
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HISTORY OF WINCHENDON.
Day appears to have had no colleague till November 12, 1767, when Abel Wilder was elected.
DEATH AND CHARACTER OF ME. STIMPSON.
In July, 1768, Mr. Stimpson was seized with a "malignant putrid fever," and died after a few days' sickness, on the 20th day of the month. He was born in Weston, in the year 1731, and was therefore thirty-seven years of age. He was a graduate of Harvard, of the Class of 1759, a class-mate of the second Governor Trumbull, of Connecticut, and of Judge Wingate, of New Hampshire. "Though," says Dr. Whiton, " not a man of vigorous intellect or showy talent, he was yet a respectable character, and though diffident and retiring, enjoyed the confidence of his people. He is said to have destroyed his manuscript sermons at the commencement of his last sickness." The Boston Chron- icle of August 27, 1768, contained the following notice of his decease : " We hear from Winchendon, that on the 20th died, and on the 22d was decently interred, the Rev. Mr. Daniel Stimpson, Pastor of the Church in that place, in the 37th year of his age."
As stated in another place, his wife and two little children died be- fore him. He left two other little children, a son named Luther, and a daughter, Sarah, to be reared by others. Sarah became the wife of Bemsly Lord, and afterwards of a Mr. Brown. She removed from town. Luther, after arriving at manhood, married a daughter of James McElwain, and left children. One of his daughters was the second wife of Mr. John Poor. His sons were Daniel, Luther and Levi. Two of his grand-sons, great-grand-sons of the minister, are clergymen, and have preached in this town. One of these is the Rev. Samuel Stimp- son, Baptist, of Terre Haute, Ind .; the other is the Rev. Levi Stimpson, . Episcopal, of Wilton, Conn.
An amusing incident has been handed down, which illustrates the primitive simplicity of the times, in contrast with Mr. Stimpson's bet- ter knowledge of the proprieties. One evening the supper was pud- ding and milk. While he was partaking of his bowl, the hired girl, who had partly eaten the contents of her basin, finding there was more than she wished, without ceremony poured the residue into the minister's basin, that he might eat it, and none be lost. Not exactly relishing such a contribution to his allowance, Mr. Stimpson quietly withdrew from the table, leaving the rest of his pudding and milk untouched.
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HISTORY OF WISCHENDON.
Something of a man may be learned from his books. The inventory of Mr. Stimpson's library, amounted to £12, 18, 3, or about forty dol- lars. Old books are cheap. The library contained about fifty volumes. besides pamphlets. These are some of the volumes : " Mr. Henry up- on the Bible, in 6 vols .; " that is, Matthew Henry's incomparable Com- mentary. "Dr. Tillotson's 5th vol. of Sermons, octavo ;" " Derham's Demonstration of the Attributes of God ;" "Hervey's Meditations ;" " Pictetus' Christian Divinity ;" and several works of Watts, Baxter, Willard, Mather, Clark, Rogers, Williams, &c. There is a volume of Winthrop on Earthquakes ; Smith's Rhetoric, and Brattle's Logick. He had an English Dictionary, by Bailey ; Latin Dictionary ; Virgil's Works ; Tully's Orations; Greek Lexicon; Greek Testament ; Latin Testament and Grammar ; Greek Grammar ; Hebrew Grammar : Psal- ter and Bible. The Lexicons and Grammars opened to him the Bible in the original tongues, and the other books were valuable ; but more were needed, especially when the minister could resort to no public li- brary this side of Cambridge.
Mr. Stimpson left quite a handsome property for those times. His salary was $60 yearly ; he had a settlement of $60 ; and the Proprie- tors gave him, as the first minister, one hundred acres of land. The inventory of his estate furnishes some items of interest. First. the real estate, as follows :
" Lot No. 1, in ye South Divition, containing 90 acres, £120, £120, 0. 0 North Divition, containing 100 acres, £100, 100. 0. 0 The House at £5, the Barn at 226, 31, 0, 0
Lot No. 65, contains 80 acres, £16, 16. 0. 0
** 74, " 66 25, 25, 0, 0
The total valuation was £292.0.0
Among the items of personal estate were the following :
Ten tous of Hay in the barn, at £1, 12s. per ton, £16. 00. 00
Rye, Corn, Beans, Potatoes and Flax amounted to over 8. 00. 00 Wearing Apparel, including one Peruke, five pairs white Gloves, three Neck Banda, Silver Shoe, neck and knee Buckles, Watch and Pocket Compass, 23. 02. 02
Woman's Apparel, including among other things, Stone Jewels, Stone Buttons, three Gold Rings, Shoe Buckles, and Silk Damask Gown, 8, 18, 00
Logs and Slitwork at ye Mill,
1, 02, 00
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HISTORY OF WINCHENDOY.
In Notes, £39,01,08
Interest on the Notes,
6, 07, 04
On Book and accompts,
30, 18, 08
Stock, and Household Goods, more than
70, 00, 00
Arrearage of Salary, .
41, 19, 01
Making a total of
£538,06,09."
There were other items, including " tobacco tongs," but these com- prise the bulk of the estate. Mr. Stimpson was quite a business man, carrying on a farm, selling timber, and letting horse and oxen for work and journeys. Moses Hale, when he first came to town, was a hired man in his family. The house of Mr. Stimpson, valued at " £5," stood near where Mr. Vose now resides, and it is pleasant to add, that the great elm there was planted by him. But enough of these details, which have been given simply as illustrative of " ye olden time."
SETTLEMENT OF REV. JOSEPHI BROWN.
The ordination of Mr. Brown took place on the 24th day of May, 1769. The terms of settlement belong to the account of the town as a parish ; but the reply to the invitation to settle, finds its proper place here. It was as follows :
" To the Church of Christ, and other inhabitants in Winchendon :
BELOVED :- You having sometime since given me an unanimous invitation to settle with you in the Gospel Ministry ; having taken this your invitation into serious consideration, and after seeking direction from Heaven, and ask- ing the advice of my friends and relations, I have come to this conclusion, namely, to comply with this your invitation to settle with you, and accept of your offers annexed to your invitation.
Seriously entreating your fervent prayers to God for me that I may more and more be endowed with such gifts and graces as are necessary for so great and important a work, and that I may faithfully and successfully perform it, I am your sincere and affectionate friend and servant,
JOSEPH BROWN.
Winchendon, March 18th, 1769."
The settlement of a minister was effected with deliberation by the fathers. Mr. Brown was here in the autumn of 1768; he accepted the invitation to settle in the following March, and was settled in May. At this time, the Rev. Mr. Rice was settled in Westminster, Mr. Spar-
* It is supposed that " Logs and Slitwork at ye mill," were intended for a new house.
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HISTORY OF WINCHENDOY.
hawk in Templeton, and Mr. Humphrey in Athol. It is not improbable that they were members of the Council ; but if so, they took no part in the services. The following extract from the Boston " Post Boy," of May 29, 1769, supplies the lack of Records. It was kindly sent by Frederic Kidder, Esq.
" On the 24th of May, 1769, was ordained at Winchendon, the Rev. MIr. Joseph Brown. . The Rev. Mr. Gardner of Leominster began the solemnity with prayer ; the Rev. Mr. Clark of Lexington preached a sermon well adapt- ed to the occasion, from 1 Thess. 2: 4; the Rev. MIr. Lawrence of Lincoln prayed and gave the charge ; the Rev. Mr. Woodward of Weston prayed af- ter the charge, and the Rev. Mr. Cushing of Waltham gave the right hand of fellowship. The whole was attended upon with great seriousness and decency."
All these ministers were from towns in the neighborhood of MIr. Brown's early home, which fact accounts for their presence on this oc- casion. Not long after, Mr. Lee was settled in Royalston, and Mr., afterwards Dr. Cushing, father of the founder of the Cushing Academy, was settled in Ashburnham. And thus all the towns in the vicinity were supplied with the stated means of grace.
The congregation must have comfortably filled the meeting-house at the time of Mr. Brown's settlement. It is supposed there were about sixty families in the town, and not far from three hundred and fifty souls, the larger part of whom were generally found in the house of God on the Sabbath.
In due time, the minister was married-his wife, says tradition, rid- ing into town on an ox-cart-and engaged in the duties of his calling. Where he resided at first, is not known, but sometime after the death of Dea. Day, which occurred in 1774, he came into possession of the old Day house which he occupied for several years. He was the own- er of the house near the meeting-house, for a time, and probably occu- pied it. At that time, according to Dr. Whiton, and we can easily be- lieve it,
" The day of straitened circumstances and occasional scanty fare had not gone by. Mrs. Brown used to say years afterwards, that when she first came to Winchendon, she found the people on and near the Common, " poor as poverty, but merry as grigs," so little is happiness dependent on external circumstances. Many families found it difficult, at certain seasons of the year, to procure meat, but subsisted on bread and milk and vegetables ; and of these even the supply was often scanty. It was difficult to rear sheep on account
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HISTORY OF WINCHENDON.
of the ravages of the wolves ; and the cattle were too few to furnish. many for slaughter. One of the most respectable women of that day often remarked, that sometimes she became (to use her own words) ' so meat hungry,' that could she have procured a piece of meat to boil with her potatoes and turnips, to season them with the flesh relish, she could have been pretty well satisfied, even though not permitted to taste the meat itself. Few fruit trees had then come into bearing condition."
CHURCH MEMBERSHIP IN 1774-7.
Though there is no list of the members of the Church previous to the time of Mr. Pillsbury, yet the author has fortunately found, among the papers of Hon. Abel Wilder, a manuscript, which among many other things of great interest, contains an " Account of money contributed at the Sacrament," on several occasions, in the years 1774, 6, and 7. The names follow in the order of their dates, the spelling of the man- uscript being copied exactly ..
1774.
Ruth Darling, Hannah Parmenter,
Thaddeus Bowman,
Hannah Beal,
Hannah Biglow,
David Brown, John Cheney,
Mrs. David Goodridge,.
John Day, Theo's Mansfield,
Richard Pearson, Prudence Sawyer,
Rev. Joseph Brown,
Capt. Warner,
Francis Bridge, Eben'r Sherwin, Amos Merriam,
Widow Oak,
Levi Nichols, Ruth Day,
Bill Hancock,
Phillips Sweetzer,
Capt. Boynton,
Prudence Wheelock,
Elizabeth Oak,
Deborah Murdock, Miles Putnam,
Mrs. Eben'r Smith,.
David Winch,
David Goodridge,
Ezra Hide.
Eliphalet Goodridge;
1776.
Capt. J. Wilder, Joseph Rugg.
Releaf Oak, Oliv Bradstreet,
Benjamin Brown,
To these should be added, Dea. Abel Wilder, and Dea Richard Day, as the latter was alive in the beginning of 1774.
There are forty-two names in the above list, besides which there are various contributions under the heads " Loos money," " In the Peace
Widow Bates.
1777.
Mary Warner,
Daniel Goodridge.
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HISTORY OF WINCHENDON.
of an Almanac," " In a peace of a pin paper," " one shilling Bill with- out a Name," &c., showing that others contributed besides those whose names are recorded. In approximating the actual number of members of the Church, it is necessary to remember that in many cases a male member pays for wife, and daughter, and perhaps mother and sister. In but a few instances in the above list, could husband and wife both have paid. That is, the women who paid are not wives or daughters of the men who paid. It is probable that the male members, twenty- six in number, represented a female membership more numerous than themselves. On that supposition, the whole number was, at least, equal to seventy. Take another method of estimating. There are generally. in evangelical Churches, twice as many female as male members. To twenty-six males, add fifty-two females, and the number will be seven- ty-eight. In round numbers, there were probably eighty members of the Church, in full communion, at the opening of the Revolution. To these must be added those who joined on the " half-way" plan, since they did not attend the Communion, and therefore did not contribute on that occasion.
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