USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Watertown > Memorial history of the First Baptist Church : Watertown, Massachusetts. 1830-1930. > Part 5
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A Memorial History of the
of piety and devotion, hereby cause this "In Memori- am" to be entered on the records of this church."
Pastor Grant's health, for many years never good, was a serious handicap to him, and May 7, 1905, he resigned to enter business.
During his term of service 238 were welcomed to the membership of the church.
By baptism, 119; by letter, 110; otherwise, 9.
Rev. Charles H. Day. For the first and only time in one hundred years the church sent a special delegation out of the United States in search of a possible succes- sor to a pastor who had resigned. The three repre- sentatives F. E. Crawford, W. H. Pevear and S. H. Coombs visited Nova Scotia to see and hear the min- ister of the First Baptist Church, Kentville and, on the strength of their report and the vote of the Church Pulpit Committee, Dr. Day was called in succession to Rev. James Grant.
For seventeen years, 1905 - 1923, the second longest ministry in the history of the church, he served with rare acceptance. His college and university training, including a year at the University of Berlin, and a three year term as Professor of Modern Languages at Shurtleff College, Illinois, gave him an intellectual equipment that augmented greatly his influence for good. He was a preacher of unusual merit and gave his people the results of his wide reading combined with the experiences of a long and active life. The Men's Class, of the Church School, which he led with tact and success for many years, will never forget the vision and virility of his weekly instruction.
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REV. CHARLES K. COLVER Pastor 1845 to 1850
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Watertown Baptist Church
November 1-5, 1905, the church celebrated its Sev- enty-Fifth Anniversary, Installation of Dr. Day and Annual Roll-Call. The Installation Sermon was preached by Rev. Everett D. Burr, D. D., of the New- ton Centre Baptist Church, the Charge to the Pastor was given by Rev. J. T. Beckley, D. D., Interim Pastor, the Charge to the Church by Rev. James Grant and Rev. F. M. Brooks, Rev. Walter F. Greenman and Rev. Charles W. Holden, local pastors, participated in the exercises.
After the Anniversary Banquet, November 2, in the Dining Hall the Anniversary Exercises were held in the Main Auditorium. A fine musical program was supplemented by a remarkable Historical Sketch writ- ten by Mr. Herbert Bent and by the Oration delivered by Rev. James E. Norcross of the First Baptist Church of Jamaica Plain.
A Reminiscence, Prayer and Conference Night on November 3, and a Reception to the Older People of the church on November 4, brought to a close the week day observances of a notable celebration.
During Dr. Day's term of office several Denomina- tional Leaders were members of the church. Without exception they gave him, when able to be present, hearty and constructive support. It was a signal honor to have such a constituency available for consultation and leadership. Not one of their names should be omitted from this historic record.
Scan the Leadership Roll! Rev. and Mrs. F. B. Haggard, Rev. and Mrs. J. M. Moore, Rev. and Mrs. F. F. Peterson, Rev. and Mrs. J. H. Franklin, Rev.
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and Mrs. Illsley Boone, Mr. and Mrs. H. V. Myer and Mrs. Henry W. Peabody.
When Letters of Dismission were granted to Rev. and Mrs. Peterson, May 2, 1924, this entry appears on the church record : "He has been a source of wonder- ful spiritual help and wise counsel in our midst."
It would be impossible to condense into a few para- graphs the far-reaching influence of these leaders.
The sun never sets on a continent unreached by their prayers. Their time, talent, and treasure were ever held as a sacred trust. Heaven's Audit of their invest- ment in Kingdom values must be gloriously satisfying to these stewards as they kept ever in view, and urged others to do the same, the full completion of Calvary's redemptive work.
The spectre of war has haunted the entire period of American history. Five times the peace of the past one hundred years has been interrupted and two of the conflicts were among the most destructive and blighting of all history.
Upon Dr. Day's shoulders was rolled the burden of guiding the church through the gathering shadows of the recent World War when "Somewhere in France" was freighted with bitter anxiety and the sword pierced more than one mother's heart.
The Honor Roll of the young manhood summoned from the First Baptist Church, Watertown, appears elsewhere in this volume and there we have placed our memorial wreath.
The ministry of Dr. Day will be remembered also as a Mortgage Lifting Ministry. For several years
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church records, calendars, programs, sermons, festivals, wills, and leadership were burdened and dominated by a common impulse and this was the key note: "Go to now, let us discharge all of our accumulated build- ing indebtedness."
Under the caption, "Building a Church and Paying the Debt," the historian has grouped the many frag- mentary references and votes, during three pastorates, covering forty years, that reveal the virtue, virility and victory of Watertown Baptists when their lives are consecrated to a compelling ideal.
The church voted that a Committee of Five be named to compile a history of the erection of the present edi- fice from the time the first money was pledged to the cancellation of the mortgage. W. H. Lucas, W. H. Pevear, W. E. Macurda, F. E. Crawford and W. T. Macurdy were honored with this assignment.
In the "New World Movement Drive," which lifted the tide of Baptist beneficence to the highest level in its history, the Watertown church did not neglect its mis- sionary obligation which it assumed when the church was constituted. Under the skillful direction of Cam- paign Director W. H. Lucas, Mrs. A. F. Pinkham his efficient associate, and the collectors of the fund who gave so much of their time and energy, the church passed the $74,000 mark in pledges for the "Five Year Financial Program". In this splendid way the church faced its obligation with Christian joy and kept in vital touch with an age of great things.
In the face of "Mortgage Raising" and "Missionary Giving" the church did not lose its "Revival Vision"
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during the pastorate of Dr. Day. Special services were held from time to time under the leadership of Mr. Ernest Naftzger of the Chapman-Alexander Party, Rev. Guy Waltz the Singing Evangelist, the Gellatly Brothers, Eva Ryerson Ludgate, and the church threw itself with loyal devotion into the Greater Boston W. A. Sunday Campaign.
Out of these seasons of special pleading with the unsaved the Christian experience of the members was enriched and the records tell the story of many addi- tions to the Baptist constituency in Watertown. Dr. Day's pastorate will be remembered as the "Home Going Period" of several aged and devoted members of the church.
Miss Harriet C. Howes was a loyal supporter of church activities, a devoted worker in all phases of woman's cooperation and a member of the church for fifty-eight years.
Miss Marietta Pevear, whose faithful choir mem- bership and contagious geniality in varied forms of service brighten every page of her long connection with the Watertown church.
Hannah Priest, who was ninety-six years of age at the time of her death and who, for thirty years, main- tained a lively interest in the affairs of the church of which she and her husband, David Priest, were tested disciples.
Hannah Horne, who passed away at the home of her son-in-law, Rev. John W. Ballentine, of West Stafford, Conn. She joined the church in 1840, was a member
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Watertown Baptist Church
for seventy-six years and received her crown at ninety- seven.
In February, 1914, Rev. G. L. Mason, many years a missionary in China and a beloved servant of God, was buried from the chapel of the Watertown church.
James H. and Elizabeth Norcross, both baptized by Father Grafton, and married by Dr. S. F. Smith, were laid to rest during the ministry of Dr. Day. For more than sixty years they were consecrated supporters of all phases of religious service. Mr. Norcross was a member of the Building Committee when the present edifice was erected, while Mrs. Norcross was long a successful teacher of women in the Bible School.
Emma J. Davenport will never be forgotten in the Watertown church. Her untimely death by accident brought sadness to a host of associates. Dr. Day in his eulogy said : "A long life bears witness to the beauty of her spirit and the perfection of her character." In rais- ing the Jubilee Fund, of $100,000, for the Women's American Baptist Foreign Missionary Society, the Watertown women had a share. Over $500 was raised by subscription to be known as the "Emma J. Daven- port Memorial," to be used as a Scholarship Fund for training nurses on the foreign field.
Friday, April 4, 1913, David W. Kinsman, owing to failing health, laid down his office as Moderator. During an unbroken period of thirty-two years he was moderator of both Church and Society, serving in three consecutive administrations. He was interested in every phase of religious life and was a dependable ally. No Sunday school, prayer meeting or church service
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seemed complete without his presence. His was a saintly service. March 3, 1922, "He went over the river and amid the sound of the trumpets entered into the city." His whole life was wrapped up in the Water- town church and his stewardship, for fidelity, was never excelled in the entire history of Watertown Baptists.
On the Tenth Anniversary of Dr. Day's eventful pas- torate the church passed the following resolution: Re- solved : "That this First Baptist Church of Watertown, on this seventh day of November, 1915, on this the oc- casion of the tenth anniversary of the pastorate of Rev- erend Charles Hoben Day, D. D., place on record our gratitude for the faithful, efficient labors of the pastor, our appreciation of his great gifts as a preacher, and our love for him as a friend and brother. That we ex- press the hope that the ties which bind pastor and peo- ple together many remain unbroken for many years to come. That we renew our pledge of hearty, loyal, prayerful support in his work, and
That we seal all our resolves with the prayer that to him and his family and to this church God may con- tinue to grant His richest blessings :
That these resolutions, when adopted, be spread upon the records of the church, a copy be given to Dr. Day, and that suitable reference thereto and to this occasion be made in our Baptist papers.
Unanimously adopted by the church assembled for worship Sunday, November Seven, Nineteen Hundred and Fifteen.
Signed E. KINGSBURY BACON, Church Clerk.
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Watertown Baptist Church
During the ministry of Dr. Day, six hundred and fifty-four were welcomed into the fellowship of the Watertown church, the largest number in any pastorate during the entire history of Watertown Baptists. Of this number three hundred and fifty-one came by bap- tism; two hundred and eighty-five by letter, and eighteen otherwise.
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CHAPTER VI
CONTRIBUTION OF THE CHURCH TO THE CENTURY.
B UILDINGS. During the one hundred years of its existence the church has built three houses of worship and enlarged the first structure to meet an insistant demand for more room. In the erection of these buildings and the modernizing of their equipment the Building Com- mittees have ever kept abreast of the times. They were forward-looking, sacrificial Baptists who built for God in Watertown.
On the threshold of a new century the present Gothic Temple of worship suffers nothing by comparison with the best structures in this or any other town in the Com- monwealth. The last word has not been spoken by Watertown Baptists with reference to their plant, and its adaptation to the demands of the new century, but what they have thus far put into visible form is a dis- tinct contribution to the mental health, power and pleasure of the whole community.
AN INTERESTING COMPARISON
The first Baptist Meeting House in Watertown was erected before the church was constituted.
It was made possible by a few leaders like John Coolidge, Josiah Stone and George Lawton, who bought the land, erected the building and paid the bills. John Coolidge was the moving spirit and most gener- ous contributor. The building was dedicated August 19, 1830. According to the report made May 18, 1831, the total cost of the meeting house, land, fence, trim- mings and other expenses was $5,508.62.
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Watertown Baptist Church
The Second Meeting House. "March 11, 1857, it was voted to erect a new house of worship at an ex- pense of $12,000, the same to be raised by voluntary subscription. Ten per cent to be paid when the build- ing is commenced, the balance in three equal parts, the last payment three years from commencement."
July 22, 1857, voted to sell the old meeting house at private sale and a committee was appointed to ap- praise the pews. August 3, 1857, it was reported that the lowest estimate for the erection of the new build- ing exceeded the amount specified by $795. It was voted to reconsider the action of a former meeting not to exceed $13,000 and the committee was authorized to proceed with the building program. The contractor was Captain Joseph Sanger, well known in Baptist cir- cles. The Building Committee was composed of Jesse A. Locke, Jeremiah Russell, Royal Gilkey, Charles Davenport, Newell Brown, Samuel Noyes and Antipas Jackson.
The building was dedicated September 30, 1858. The Report of the Treasurer of the society, April 9, 1860, contains a statement of the cost of the new building. March 16, 1863, it was voted to levy a tax upon the polls and estates of the members to pay the unliquid- ated debt, the same to be paid within five years.
March 21, 1865, the committee reported that the whole amount had been subscribed and paid. The committee was discharged with a hearty vote of thanks.
The third church building cost in round numbers $90,000 and the appended story of its erection and free- dom from debt is a sort of spiritual classic to all who shared in its creation and consummation.
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BUILDING A CHURCH AND PAYING THE DEBT.
The First Baptist Church, Watertown, had a pas- tor once who kept repeating: "We must have a new church building in order to do our best work for the Lord." These repetitions were given gently, firmly, tactfully and always in warm christian love.
The building then in use was a better building than the original White Meeting House. It had an audi- torium, vestry, kitchen and baptistry adapted to the de- mands of 1858.
In 1877 the kitchen was a sort of breakfast nook for a church family of three hundred. The baptistry, minus robing rooms, was a travesty on the beautiful ad- ministration of a New Testament rite. While the hous- ing of the Sunday School, on each Lord's day, was like life on the ocean in the old-time steerage.
So the pastor kept repeating with consecrated per- sistency : "We must have a new church building in or- der to do our best work for the Lord."
By and by some of the leaders began to say "ditto" every time the pastor rendered his "Church Aria." Fin- ally a "Ditto Chorus" sang harps from willows, shekels from wallets and success from the storehouse of Bap- tist stewards.
First there was a long discussion over a new loca- tion for the new building. Many sites were proposed by many men of many minds.
These varied from the site of Graham's Funeral Home on Riverside Street to the corner of Mt. Auburn and Walnut Streets.
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Finally an agreement was reached to purchase the plot of ground on the corner of Mt. Auburn and Com- mon Streets. This was occupied by three houses, one of which was torn down and the other two removed to Barnard Road and Columbia Street. After the pur- chase of a new church lot there was a temporary cessa- tion of activities, but the pastor never allowed his vision to grow dim or his song to lose its melody.
Finally in 1897 a Finance Committee and a Build- ing Committee were appointed as follows :
Finance Committee
Building Committee
Rev. E. A. Capen
F. E. Crawford, Chairman
Deacon W. E. Macurda
W. H. Pevear, Secretary
Deacon W. J. Macurdy
J. H. Norcross
J. H. L. Coon
Dr. G. W. Pope Mr. D .W. Kinsman
F. H. Edgcomb
Moses Whiting
October 4, 1897, these two groups held a joint meet- ing at the home of W. E. Macurda, Marion Road, and reached this agreement: "The Finance Committee was to begin to raise funds for construction, but no actual building would be considered until $50,000 was sub- scribed."
That was a good Finance Committee; a bunch of Baptist Busy Bees, and soon the bell, in the old church tower by the railroad track, was pealing the glad news that the financial goal had been reached.
The Building Committee then sought plans for the new meeting house and after much deliberation and many meetings the plan of Mr. Charles B. Dunham was accepted, but this acceptance was not the "close of a perfect day." The Building Committee soon found,
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after calling for builders' estimates, that the accepted plan could not be built for $50,000. That precipitated a dilemma - more money must be raised or a structure erected of wood.
The Finance Committee objected strongly to a wooden suggestion : nothing but stone or brick would meet with their approval, so they accepted the new challenge, raised more money and notified the Build- ing Committee to go ahead.
The contract was awarded to Mr. A. B. Murdough, of Watertown, for $50,450, the building to be erected of Weymouth, seam-faced granite with Nova Scotia sandstone trimmings. This contract did not include heating, ventilation, plumbing, painting, glazing, or- gan, pews, architect fee, and all other furnishings and extras. The entire cost, including land, was in round numbers, $90,000. The corner stone, taken from the old meeting-house, was laid Sunday, September 24, 1899, and the church was dedicated December 9, 1900.
The Building Committee deserves grateful, historic recognition for their untiring fidelity.
In a nutshell we outline their task: To select a plan that would appeal to the greatest number; place con- tracts with a builder and engineers of various sorts ; to be alert against extravagant extras and undependable workmanship; to keep a sure indebtedness at the mini- mum level; to draw legal papers that involved careful preparation ; to hasten construction; to care for the old property by the railroad, and its disposal, with its many complications - this program rolled a heavy respon- sibility upon Chairman Crawford and his colleagues.
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OLD TOWN LANDING Where baptisms were held until 1858.
Watertown Baptist Church
Through the skill and generosity of the chairman of the Committee the church was saved all legal costs.
In another nutshell we outline the fluctuations of the debt from its placement to the burning of the mortgage note.
The mortgage given the Watertown Savings Bank was $46,000 - $40,000 on the meeting house and $6,000 on the old church lot. This called for the payment of $1,035 every six months, 41/2% interest payable semi- annually.
For seven years nothing was paid on the principal; only the interest and a $4,000 floating debt.
January 1, 1906. $1,000, the first payment on the principal was made.
May 4, 1906, a legacy of $500 from Miss Anna Coolidge.
January 4, 1909, a legacy of $752 from Miss Ann Norcross.
November 16, 1910, a legacy of $1,000 from Mrs. Ellen E. Otis.
January 13, 1911, the City of Cambridge paid $5000 for a strip of land for their aqueduct.
April 23, 1912. The sale of the old church lot to the Watertown Associates wiped out the $6000 mort- gage on the lot and cleared off $4000 more of the debt. April 23, 1912, the church owed the Watertown Savings Bank $24,000.
November 1, 1912 the First Mite Box Collection taken at the Roll Call, added to the Home Department Collection, netted $1000 additional for reduction pur- poses.
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Then followed the generous legacy of $5000 from the Estate of Angeline Crawford, the largest legacy received.
A legacy of $1000 from W. A. Macurda a member of the original Building Committee. From the Estate of Charles F. Jackson $500 and several $500 gifts from the United Workers and the Ladies' Aid Society.
April 1, 1917, the balance due on the mortgage was $12,500 the church having paid the Watertown Savings Bank in interest, in eighteen years, the sum of $28,- 389.60. This is more than half the original contract price of the building.
Then came "God's Fullness of Time". Moved by the Divine Spirit, Deacon W. E. Macurda offered to duplicate all gifts in Liberty Bonds for wiping out the total indebtedness of the church. A Liberty Bond Com- mittee was promptly appointed consisting of H. A. Thurlow, G. R. Wright, E. L. Stone, W. H. Lucas, W. W. Rugg, T. S. Richardson, Mrs. E. M. Vivian and Mrs. S. P. March and they finished their work nobly, having reached the heartening result of $7,300 in pledges.
The Roll Call on October 10, 1918 was a memorable occasion. It was great in the matter of attendance, happy social intercourse, the financial reports by Breth- ren Thurlow, Rugg and Pevear and the address by former pastor James Grant.
At the conclusion of these financial statements the mortgage was placed in the hands of Deacon W. E. Macurda, by Treasurer W. H. Pevear, and the mort- gage burning exercises were carried out. The emo-
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tions of all were deeply stirred as each member added his match to the mortgage pyre and watched the smoke ascend carrying with it the shadow that had rested for eighteen years on all hearts. It was no formal thing when a free church broke forth in the Doxology : "Praise God from whom all blessings flow."
Those who built the church and those who paid the debt rejoiced together. Those who read the story need never fear to meet the challenge of Christian Oppor- tunity.
Pastoral Leadership. For one hundred years, from Chase to Seasholes, including Interim Ministers, the church has had superb leadership. Its prophets have been men manifestly sent from God. Watertown Baptists have sought the aid of God's Spirit both in selection and cooperation and the spirit has helped them to produce an unbroken line of religious mosaics.
The historian does not find one hundred years of absolute perfection in successive leadership, but he does record one hundred years of high moral charac- ter presented by fifteen different types of leaders. Mis- takes have been few and none of them costly and the prophets have carried to their eternal reward a stain- less escutcheon.
In a century of enlarging life, swift transitions, radi- cal reforms, startling inventions, five wars, subtle worldliness and moral testing this is a remarkable record.
Such a note of sincerity falls like a Benediction on an age clamoring for the investigation of everybody
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and everything. What a contribution to the moral health of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries!
The Recording Angel must have loved his Water- town Baptist Ministerial Assignment!
Temperance. There was so much pauperism and general demoralization at the close of the War of 1812 that people became alarmed and began to inquire the cause.
Investigating Committees reported that drinking was the most fruitful source of the evil. Everybody drank - ministers, doctors, merchants, laborers, and even women and children. An occasion was never wanting; at funerals, weddings, dinners, and wherever friends met, the social glass flowed.
As late as 1842 these articles appear in the "War- rant for the Annual Town Meeting:" "To know if the town will pass any order in regard to furnishing the paupers with ardent spirits." "To Know if the town will pass any order in regard to furnishing refresh- ments for the firemen at fires." "Refreshments" did not mean sandwiches and coffee.
In 1824 there began in Boston a great national move- ment which swept through the union. Its principle was abstinence from strong drink. By 1830, a thousand temperance societies had been formed, and hundreds of merchants had given up the sale of liquor. Tem- perance Societies increased in number and influence saving hundreds of thousands of men from the curse of the drinking habit.
From that time the cause of temperance has steadily gained ground. The progress has often been slow: it
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THE FIRST CHURCH BUILDING, 1830 Located on site of the present post office, Mt. Auburn Street, near railroad crossing.
Watertown Baptist Church
has ever faced titanic odds; the methods of warfare adopted by its enemies have been little short of fiend- ish; and the fight is still on in 1930. But every sane, economic and spiritual factor are linked with God in the far-flung battle for world deliverance from the de- vastating curse of strong drink.
From its inception the alignment of the Watertown Baptist Church has been on the side of temperance. One of its first deacons, Jesse Wheeler, was a thorough business man; he ran branch stores in Newton and Watertown during decades cursed by social drinking; but he would not stultify his conscience for trade. He was the only merchant in Middlesex County who dared to run country stores without selling rum.
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