USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > Memorial history of Bradford, Mass. > Part 8
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* Palfrey v. III, p. 590.
t Neal's New England, v. II, p. 254.
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BRADFORD.
THIRD PASTORATE.
Joseph Parsons, the third Pastor, was born at Brook- field 1701; graduated at Harvard 1720; ordained at Bradford June 8, 1726 ; died May 4, 1765. He married Frances, daughter of Lieut. Gov. Usher, of New Hamp- shire. He had ten children, of whom Joseph was pastor of the church in Brookfield in this state.
Action was taken by the town in calling the pastor, uniting with the church in the call which had been already voted. The town voted Feb. 18, 1725, to call Rev. Jo- seph Parsons to be "pastor of church and minister of the town." "Voted May 5, 1726, that the town would bear the charge of Rev. Joseph Parsons's ordination by a rate. Capt. Kimball, John Griffin and Lieut. Hasel- tine were chosen to order the affairs of the ordination."
Mr. Parsons had a most difficult task. At the age of twenty-five he succeeded, after an interval of eight months, one of the most brilliant men of the colony. But he was equal to the occasion. He was a man of simple piety, of very earnest spirit and positive charac- ter. He preached the election sermon before the An- cient and Honorable Artillery in 1744, and the election sermon before the General Court in 1759.
At the installation of his successor, Mr. Balch, in the right hand of fellowship, spoke of Parsons as "that great and good man." Mr. Cushing in his charge to the people said of the three previous pastors, "you have had uncommon gifts." He spoke of Parsons, "His praise is in all the churches," "his regard for the oracles of heaven," " his devotion," "wisdom," "prudence," " candor," "charity," were set forth and he concluded with these words, " his doctrine dropped like rain from heaven."
There was a large assembly at the settlement of Mr. Parsons. The council was composed of the following
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BRADFORD.
persons : Rev. Joseph Parsons, of Salisbury, who preached the sermon ; Rev. Moses Hale, of Newbury, who gave the Right Hand; Rev. John Rogers, of Boxford, who gave the Charge; Rev. Samuel Phillips, of South An- dover; Rev. John Tufts, of Newbury, New Town ; Rev. John Barnard, of North Andover ; Rev. John Brown, of Haverhill.
It has been supposed that the churches in this val- ley suffered from false doctrine during the time of the pastorate of Parsons and Williams. It was not true of this church. The pastors were faithful in preaching the truth. Fortunately their own sermons remain to testify for them and the doctrines they taught.
In 1741, Aug. 12, Mr. Parsons preached an installa- tion sermon at Salisbury. It was after the first visit of Whitefield, when charges were very freely made against the spirituality of the clergy. Mr. Parsons chose for his subject, " A minister's care about his life and doctrine,"* I Tim. 4: 16: Take heed unto thyself and unto the doc- trine. The following analysis will show the spirit and sentiment of the sermon.
I. "The need of example, its power, its persuasive- "ness, its service.
II. "The need of giving heed to doctrine, that is "truth, that which makes wise unto salvation. The minis- "ter must seek on his knees to be aided of God that he "may know the truth.
III. "Consider the danger of performing ill. Truth "is unpopular. Satan opposes it. The passions of men "resist it, the tastes of the ungodly are averse to it. It "requires a hero to preach the truth. Truth is not sim- "ply what great men have said. It is what is revealed. "Ministers must not fear the men who support them. "They must not be influenced by the love of novelty, "nor by ambition for fame or applause."
Better advice never was given on such an occasion. * A copy is in the Public Library, Boston.
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BRADFORD.
Plainer truth never was spoken. Mr. Parsons preached a sermon in Bradford on the Respect unto Reward. It was repeated in other places by request, and published .* Text, Heb. 11: 26. He takes issue with those who ad- vocate that "the sinner ought to be willing to be damned." He ought rather with a holy desire seek and long to know how he may glorify God in obedience. " We are to seek the highest joy." "That is found in righteousness." "The aim of the Atonement is the "Glory of God in the re-establishment of a righteous "life in man." The sermon concludes with a tender, forcible appeal to sinners touching the fear of the loss of the soul and of God.
It is said that Parsons opposed Whitefield. He was opposed to the irregularities which attended his min- istries. He smarted under the accusation of "dumb dogs" applied to the ministers of the valley. Very pos- sibly he overestimated the prerogatives of the pulpit. He was one of those who signed a protest to the min- isters of Boston against Whitefield's admission into the pulpits .; The protest is against irregularities and slan- derous suggestions and all those things which had al- ready caused divisions in the churches and threatened to divide them still more. I read in that protest the grief of anxious men who were possibly mistaken, but certainly were not false. They ask, "was there ever such alienation of affection among ministers ? or divisions among churches?"
Figures are poor indications of spirituality, but they have somewhat of value. It is supposed that the bless- ing of God rested specially on those men who favored Whitefield. It was the accusation brought against those
* Copy in Public Library, Boston.
t The protest is signed by Cushing, of Salisbury ; Lowell, Newbury- port : Odlin, Amesbury ; Webster, Salisbury ; Parsons, Bradford ; Balch, Groveland ; Johnson, West Newbury ; Cushing, West Boxford ; Barnard, West Newbury ; Barnard, Haverhill. A copy is in the Boston Atheneum Library.
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BRADFORD.
men who opposed the New Divinity that they were not spiritual. Five ministers stood opposed to Parsons. The churches over which they were settled, received, during the next twenty years, respectively, 27, 61, 37, 53 and 9 members ; on an average, 39 members. But the Bradford church received, in the same time, one hundred members, and more than any other one of them, and with one exception more members than any other church in the association.
I confess to great joy in beholding the true history of Parsons. Character is never destroyed by the fiat of a human will. It is a subtle force in the world, abiding long years, after cruel words have been spoken. It may sometimes hide itself in the dusty alcoves of the li- braries, and after a whole century has passed, come forth to meet the approval of men. I love to think of this godly man holding on his way through controversy, against the odds of increasing sin and worldliness, his " doctrine dropping like the rain from heaven," called to preach before the General Court, called to preach or- dination sermons in all the churches round about, and beholding the blessing of God on his labors through the long thirty-nine years. Forty added to his church the first year of his ministry ; twenty-six the next year. Pre- cious revivals at other times adding 268 to the com- munion. The Lord forbid that I should say ought against the good of the Whitefield preaching. The Lord forbid also that I should fail to discover the good in that man who resisted the anathemas and invectives of arrogant selfishness under the garb of devotion ; who, a plain country minister, bearing the burden of his work with life-long devotion, even though he had not the elocutionary art to " make men weep by the pronuncia- tion of Mesopotamia," had the learning and consecration and fidelity and devotion to God, which received the recognition of heaven, in the great host he gathered into the kingdom of righteousness.
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BRADFORD.
His people wept for him when he went to heaven, and they wrote on the stone, which they raised over him in the old cemetery, these words :
This stone is placed over the dust of Rev. Joseph Parsons, A. M., Pas- tor of the First Church in Bradford, as a testimony of the esteem and re- gard his flock bore to him, as an excellent minister and a christian, prepared for the better world. He was favored with a quick and easy dis- mission from this, May 4, 1765, in the 63d year of his age, and the 39th of his ministry.
THE FIRST COLONY.
The time has come for a division. There is no con- troversy. The people are of one mind, but the num- bers have increased ; the distance from the meeting-house is very great for those who have settled on the hights which overlook the river below the island, and on the fertile lands towards Newbury and Rowley. The inter- val between two pastorates was considered a favorable time to make any needful changes. The East Precinct, in Bradford, now the church in Groveland, was incor- porated, June 17, 1726, and the church organized June 7, 1727. One hundred and one members were dis- missed from the mother church to form its first colony. This included both the deacons. The names are as follows :
William Balch,
Samuel Jewett,
Samuel Tenney,
William Hardy,
Richard Bailey,
Francis Walker,
William Savory,
Ebenezer Kimball,
Samuel Hale,
Moses Worster, Thomas Stickney,
John Hutchens,
Daniel Hardy, Ezra Rolf,
Benjamin Hardy,
Thomas Savory,
Thomas Hardy, Isaac Hardy,
James Bailey,
Jacob Hardy, Jr., .
Thomas Hardy, Jr.,
Caleb Hopkinson, Abraham Parker, Jr.,
Samuel Hale, Jr.,
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BRADFORD.
Francis Jewett,
Joseph Hardy, Jr.,
Joseph Worster,
James Hardy,
William Hardy,
David Tenney,
John Pemberton,
Edward Hardy,
Jacob Hardy,
Timothy Hardy,
Joseph Hardy,
Jonathan Hale,
Richard Hardy,
Jonathan Tenney,
Thomas Bailey,
Joseph Bailey,
Ebenezer Burbank,
Joshua Richardson,
Samuel Palmer,
Thomas Hardy, 3d,
Edward Wood,
Robert Savory,
Samuel Hardy, Jonas Platts.
The women were not admitted at the organization. but at the subsequent meeting, July 28. Their names are as follows :
Widow Bailey,
Eunice Foster,
Widow Hopkinson,
Rebecca Savory,
Hannah Tenney,
Mercie Worster,
Hannah Bailey,
Sarah Hardy,
Wife of Thos. Hardy, Sen,
Martha Leason,
Martha Hopkinson,
Deborah llardy,
Sarah Worster,
Mary Stickney,
Eunice Bailey,
Elizabeth Palmer, Sarah Burbank,
Elizabeth Hutchins,
Wife of Richard Hardy,
Wife of Joseph Hardy,
Wife of John Tenney,
Wife of James Hardy,
Deborah Wallingford,
Dorothy Tenney, Elizabeth Worster,
Hannah Hardy,
Abigail Bailey,
IIannah Smith,
Mary Hardy,
Sarah Tenney,
Martha Pemberton, Anna Platts,
Rebecca Hardy,
Hannah Hardy,
Abigail Worster,
Bethiah Hutchins,
Hannah Richardson,
Wife of Thos. Hardy, Jr., Mary Wood, Widow Hardy,
Esther Hardy, Sarah Jewett,
Mehitable Hardy, Jane Harriman, Wife of Sam'l Hardy,
Hannah Savory,
Hannah Kimball,
Martha Hardy,
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BRADFORD.
Elisabeth Parker, Joanna Bailey,
Anna Jewett,
Mary Bailey,
Ruth Jewett,
.
Thirty-three of the members bore the honorable name of Hardy. In 1736, the church in West Boxford was organized and a majority of its members were dismissed from the Bradford church. This division removed from the church one deacon and one ruling elder. This was a great loss to the church. Mr. Samuel Tenney was both elder and deacon, and was a man long remembered for his sanctity of life and the peculiar sweetness and grace of christian character. He wrote shorthand, took down the sermons, spent the interval on sabbath days between morning and afternoon services at the " warm- ing-house," sometimes reading from these sermons to the people, and giving kind counsel. He was a delightful singer, led the "Service of Song" for twenty-five years. The younger Symmes speaks of him tenderly as " of beloved memory." Mr. Tenney's house was "just be- low Mr. Nathaniel Wallingford's."*
FOURTH PASTORATE.
The fourth Pastor was Rev. Samuel Williams, son of Rev. Wareham Williams, of Waltham, and grandson of Rev. John Williams, of Deerfield, who was a man of note in civil and ecclesiastical affairs, carried captive by the Indians, his wife slain on the march, his little son Wareham walking by his side through the wilderness three hundred miles. Samuel was born in Waltham, April 23, 1743, graduated at Harvard 1761, selected the same year to go with Prof. Winthrop to Newfoundland to observe the transit of Venus. He was ordained at Bradford Nov. 20, 1765. The following ministers were present at the ordination : Rev. William Balch of East * Perry's Historical Discourse, p. 65.
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BRADFORD.
Bradford, Rev. Mr. Flagg, of Chester, N. H., Rev. Mr. Sargent, of Methuen, Rev. William Johnson, of New- bury, who offered prayer, - Cushing, of Boxford, Rev. Edward Barnard, of Haverhill, Rev. Mr. Bailey, of New Salem, N. H., Rev. Mr. Parker, of Haverhill, Tucker, of Newbury, Rev. Jacob Cushing, of Waltham, Woodward, of Weston, Holyoke, of Boxford, Symmes, of Andover, *Parsons, of Brookfield, Eames, of Newton.
Rev. Jacob Cushing, of Waltham, preached the ser- mon, Eph. iv: 11-14. At the close of the sermon, after a very solemn and tender personal address to the Pas- tor elect, he addressed these words to the church : " And now to you, dearly beloved, the first Church and Congre- gation of Bradford: When we consider the Pastors with which you have been favored, Mr. Symmes, the Father and the Son, and the late excellent Mr. Parsons, we are ready to allude to what was predicted of the Com- fort and Glory of the Church, and say that you have been favored with uncommon gifts from heaven, that " this and that man" has dwelt among you, and "the Highest himself" has hitherto established you. No doubt you still retain a grateful sense of the favor you enjoyed in your Pastor, who was lately taken from you. His praise was in the Churches, and his Name, I trust, you will always remember with Respect. You well re- member his Regard to the Oracles of Heaven ; with what Devotion have you seen him address his Maker, with what Wisdom and Prudence did he rule the House of God. His Candor, his Charity ! 'His Doctrine dropt like the Rain' from the Sacred Desk! But he rests from his labors."
The charge to the pastor was given by Rev. Mr. Balch, of East Bradford. The Right Hand of Fellow- ship was given by Rev. Mr. Barnard, of Haverhill. At the close Mr. Barnard turned to the congregation with
* Rev. Mr. Parsons, of Brookfield, was son of the third Pastor of Brad- ford, and married the sister of Rev. Samuel Williams, the fourth Pastor.
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BRADFORD.
a solemn charge as follows: "We congratulate you, my " Brethren of this Church and Congregation upon the " Event of this day ; that the Loss of that great and good " man, who for many Years stood before you, is so hap- "pily supplied. While a gracious God is causing you "to put off your sackcloth, and girding you with Gladness, "rejoice in him. Rejoicing in him you will be con- " cerned, that he is not dishonored by any violation of " the law of sobriety this evening, and to discounten- "ance every Excess. This I mention as the wisest and " best among us bitterly complain, that our Days of " Ordination are Seasons of growing Licentiousness, and "as it lays very much with a people in whose circle such " a solemnity is transacted to prevent many Irregular- " ties."
This word of admonition refers to the custom of the times which had changed religious solemnities into oc- casions of revelry. Not infrequently an ordination was followed by a night of mirth and jollify at the Tavern when all the people joined in dancing and drinking, and sometimes the night ended in a kind of mad carousal. The old ways were not always the best ways. There has been some progress. The church does not close its solemn festivities now-a-days with revelry at the public house.
Mr. Williams was eminently useful and acceptable as a minister. The character of the man is discovered by his influence on other minds. He was an educator; Dr. Barnard and Dr. Prince of Salem were his private pu- pils. They fitted for the ministry under him.
During his residence in Bradford, before the war, he had living in his family a young man, a student of Phi- losophy under him, Benjamin Thompson. This young man had a remarkable history. He married Mrs. Rolfe, of Concord, N. H. ; was made major in the militia of N. H. by the royal governor; by reason of the jealousy of the older officers over whose heads the young man
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BRADFORD.
was placed, he was charged with disaffection to the col- onies, driven from his home and from his step-father's house in Woburn. He became a tory and associated with Gen. Gage and other British officers. He carried over to England the news of the capture of Boston by the continental army. Then he was appointed the under Secretary of State for the colonies. Returning to Amer- ica he formed a regiment of Dragoons, and held the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.
After the war he visited Europe, entered the service of the Kingdom of Bavaria, with permission of England, received the honor of knighthood, reorganized the entire military establishment of Bavaria. He introduced meas- ures in the kingdom which broke up the profession of beggary. He established at Munich a public park out of an old hunting ground, and in that park the people erected a monument to his memory. He had successive- ly the rank of Major General, Member of Council of State, Lieut. General, Commander-in-Chief of the General Staff, Minister of War, and Count of the Holy Roman Empire. For this last he chose as his title the old name of Concord, and became the Count of Rumford.
Returning to England he received much attention ; published essays on Philosophy ; invented and put into use contrivances to relieve the smoky chimnies of Lon- don, and the grate and cooking range now in use for burning English coal. Revisiting Bavaria in time of threatened war he was appointed head of the council of Regency. He was made Minister Plenipotentiary to the Court of St. James, but his nationality coming into question he could not act in this office. He received an invitation from the United States to revisit his native land. While in England he was largely concerned in the or -. ganization of the Royal Institution for the education of 'the people in true philosophy and other objects. He was the real founder of this Institution, and was among the first to endow it. He founded the Professorship in
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BRADFORD.
Harvard University which is devoted to the Application of Science to the Art of Living. He was undoubtedly a life-long correspondent of Rev. Dr. Williams, while he was pastor at Bradford and Professor at Harvard.
The tory principle of the Count did not come from his teacher in philosophy. Mr. Williams was a thor- oughly loyal man. The times were stormy ; the difficul- ties between the colonies and the mother country in- creased ; the "Stamp Act " was already passed ; the colony rang with the cry "No taxation without repre- sentation" ; the American congress was gathered ; the " declaration of rights" followed, and the repeal of the "Stamp Act." The trouble did not cease. The colonies were oppressed and they evaded and resisted. Then came force and the " writs of assistance," when James Otis ap- peared with matchless eloquence, a flame of fire, and John Adams said that during his speaking " American liberty was born." The people wore homespun. They drank tea made of " four-leaved loose strife" (Primulacece L. Quadrifolia). The cargo of tea was destroyed in Bos- ton harbor. King George was angry, abolished the town meetings in Boston, ordered culprits to be tried by English judges, compelled the colonists to submit to the foreign rule. All the while there was a growing pur- pose in the minds of the people to free themselves from this foreign power. The town of Bradford voted to in- struct the deputy to the general court to represent be- fore that body that the people of this township feel un- easy at the encroachments of English power. This was the feeling through the colony. The home government claimed the right to judge in all cases of transgression ; English governors ; English judges ; English sheriffs and jail keepers, and an occasional word from the throne about a larger liberty for the English church. The Puri- tan blood grew hot ; the old King's arms were put in order ; the sturdy yeomanry, believing in the justice of their cause. and thrilled with the desire for a larger
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BRADFORD.
freedom, and conscious of power, were ready for any duty which might come to them in the providence of God.
In 1774, Dec. 15, Mr. Williams preached a thanks- giving sermon on Love of our Country, Ps. 137: 5, 6. The heads of discourse are, 1. What are we to understand by Love of Country. 2. The obligations we are under to this duty. 3. What particular motives we have to engage in it. The sermon is a masterly argument in favor of loy- alty. But it is evident that the preacher foresaw the trouble which could not be averted, and which led to the disruption between the colonies and the mother coun- try. He says, " We seem to be on the eve of some great and unusual events, events which it is not im- probable may form a new era, and give a new turn to human affairs." "It is the cause of Self Defence, of Public Faith, and of the Liberties of Mankind, that Amer- ica is engaged in," and we have everything that is dear, valuable and precious to attach us to it." The sermon was printed and widely distributed. It breathed no spirit of defiance. It counselled peace. It was uttered in tenderness and in grief and under the apprehension that great evil would soon come. The sermon proved a pro- phecy. Three years later Mr. Williams read from the same pulpit the Declaration of American Independence .* The American congress sent copies to every church re- quiring the Declaration to be read, and directed that the copy should be then placed in the archives of the town as a perpetual memorial.
There is abundant testimony to the fidelity and evan- gelical character of the preaching of this Pastor. In his early ministry he delivered two sermons which were the key note of his preaching. . The doctrine of the sermons gives a very good symbol of his pastorate. The subject was regeneration. He set forth the importance of sal-
* The identical copy which was read by Mr. Williams was shown to tho people at the Two Hundredth Anniversary Dec. 27, 1882.
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BRADFORD.
vation. The lost condition in sin. The utter inability of the sinner. The necessity of change by the grace of God. Lastly, the blessedness of that change as seen in love to God ; love of Holiness ; love to man, and love of duty as crowning all. He was dismissed June 14, 1780, to accept the Professorship of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy in Harvard College. He received the degree of LL. D. from the University of Edinburgh and from Yale College. He was Hon. Member of the Me- teorological Soc, of Manheim, Germany, and of the Phi- losophical Society of Philadelphia and of the Academy of Arts and Sciences of Massachusetts. The latter part of his life he spent in Rutland, Vermont, where he con- tributed largely to the cause of education in the State University. He published historical and scientific works of great value. His children and grandchildren have filled the highest offices in church and state.
SOCIAL LIFE IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. ยท
The names on the roll of the church suggest a few customs which have disappeared ; prominent among these is the fact of human slavery. The "Body of Liberties" was written by Nathaniel Ward, pastor of the first church in Ipswich, father of John, the first minister of Haverhill, and adopted by the General Court in 1641. The con- ditions of bondage are these : " There shall never be any bond-slavery, villanage, or captivity amongst us, unless it be lawful captives, taken in just wars, and such strangers as willingly sell themselves or are sold to us." Following the letter of this enactment many servants were brought from the Bermudas and sold in the colonies. Indian captives were sold as slaves .* In 1676 " there were not above two hundred slaves in (Mass.) Colony, and those were brought from Guinea and Madagascar."t The
* Palfrey III. p. 221.
+ Felt III. p. 298.
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BRADFORD.
price in Boston was "ten, fifteen, and twenty pounds apiece." Scotch and Irish prisoners were sold as ser- vants .* The son of King Philip was sold into perpet- ual slavery at Bermuda, because he was the son of a " notorious rebel and murderer."; This was approved by Increase Mather, Cotton of Plymouth, and Arnold of Marshfield .. The existence of slavery in Haverhill is shown plainly by Mr. Chase,# who quotes from original bills of sale, this among others :
" Haverhill, June 16, 1740
" To all peopell to Home this shall Come
" Know ye yt I Benjamin Emerson of Haverhill In ye County of Essex " & Province of ye Mashittusetts Bay In New England-yeoman-for and " in Consideration of one Hundred pounds In Iland paid to me by Nathll "Cogswell of Haverhill aford Trader do make over and sell convey to Him " my negro Boy seser In all Respts as fully and absolutely as He was Con- " veyed to me In ye face of this Bill of sale-furthermore I do warrant and " defend Him from all parties whatsoever to the above Named Nathll " Cogswell, During his Natural life as Witness my hand ye day and " year above written.
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