USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Malden > Memorial of the celebration of the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the incorporation of the town of Malden, Massachusetts, May, 1899 > Part 7
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31
It has been quite customary in modern times for a certain class of writers and speakers, when wishing to give the public some account of Michael Wigglesworth, to quote from The Day of Doom only a single stanza, and that the one which describes in very realistic lan- guage the sufferings of the lost, thus making upon uninformed minds the impression that Mr. Wigglesworth not only held most revolting beliefs, but also was himself possessed of a most offensive character. The untruthfulness and unfairness of this representation are indicated by the fact that the distinguished scholar and writer, Rev. Andrew P. Peabody, D.D., although himself a Unitarian and an opponent of many of Mr. Wigglesworth's religious beliefs, was yet honest and honorable enough to make careful examination of the life and char- acter of Mr. Wigglesworth, and then to affirm that he " was a man of the beatitudes, a physician to the bodies no less than to the souls of his parishioners, genial and devotedly kind in the relations and duties
CENTRAL SQUARE AND PLEASANT STREET
65
RECEPTION AT THE FIRST CHURCH
of his social and professional life, and distinguished - even in those days of abounding sanctity - for the singleness and purity of heart that characterized his whole walk and conversation."
In view of such biographical facts and testimonies as these, this church may well be proud to have had among its early ministers the distinguished Michael Wigglesworth.
Passing by Mr. Wigglesworth's three colleagues and his imme- diate successor, Rev. David Parsons, we come to the Rev. Joseph Emerson, the seventh minister of this church. He was a notable man, and has some notable descendants. His pastorate began Octo- ber 31, 1721, and continued to his death, - forty-five years. He was born April 20, 1700, in Chelmsford, Mass., son of Edward and Rebecca (Waldo) Emerson of Newbury. He was a precocious child ; entered Harvard College at the age of thirteen ; graduated at the age of seventeen ; began to preach at the age of eighteen ; and at the age of twenty-one he was ordained pastor of the Church of Christ in Malden. He married, December 27, 1721, Miss Mary Moody, daughter of Mr. Samuel Moody, the famous and eccentric minister of York, Me. They had thirteen children, nine sons and four daughters. Their second son, William, entered the ministry and settled at Con- cord, Mass., and his son, the Rev. William Emerson, Jr., was the father of Ralph Waldo Emerson, the celebrated philosopher and poet of Concord, who obviously was the great-grandson of the Rev. Joseph Emerson of Malden.
Joseph Emerson was an able, learned, and godly man. He be- longed to the best type of early New England ministers. A studious scholar, he read his Latin and Greek classics to the last days of his life. A stanch Puritan in faith and character, he was an earnest and impressive preacher, never hesitated to rebuke sin when there was an occasion to rebuke it, yet was truly affectionate towards all his people, and full of tenderness and sympathy for any who were in trouble. He had the pastoral instinct and great executive ability. During his ministry, a fierce conflict was waged in the parish upon the question of locating a new meeting-house. The parish, as well as the town, then included the present territories of Everett and Mel- rose. The people of South Malden wished the new meeting-house to be erected on the old site near Bell Rock. The people of North Malden and those of Malden Centre wished the new house to be erected in the village, on the site of the present Universalist Church. The conflict was long and bitter. The judicial courts and even the General Court were called upon to interpose. Yet through all the heat and strife of parties, the pastor, the Rev. Joseph Emerson, carried a level head and an even hand, often rebuking on either side wrong speech and action, and uttering only words that made for 5
66
TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY
peace. Although another meeting-house was eventually erected in South Malden, the minister appears to have accomplished the won- derful feat of passing through the entire conflict without losing the confidence or respect of either party. His moral and religious devel- opment from his infancy, it would seem, was productive of unusual fullness and symmetry of character. Such development may have been caused by his hearty acceptance of the whole Bible (and not simply some fragments of it) as the Word of God. It takes the whole Bible to make a whole man. Such a man, God, in his ap- pointed way through His spirit and holy word, prepared and gave to this church to guide it through one of the most perilous passages in all its history. And this church, on this anniversary day, may well thank God for the gift of such a minister at such a critical time.
Mr. Emerson was succeeded by another gifted minister, the Rev. Peter Thacher, who, at the age of only eighteen years, was ordained, September 19, 1770, the eighth pastor of this First Church. He was born in Milton, Mass., March 21, 1752, and was the son of Oxen- bridge Thacher, an eminent lawyer. Graduating at Harvard in 1769, at the age of seventeen, he was soon ready for his life-work in the Christian ministry. He was young, but was possessed in a remark- able degree of the gift of eloquence. George Whitefield is said to have called him " the young Elijah," and to have esteemed him " the ablest preacher in America." Hon. Harrison Gray Otis affirms that Mr. Thacher, after his settlement in Malden, " soon came to be re- garded as a model of the pulpit orator." It was while he was pastor of this church that Mr. Thacher wrote those immortal Instructions, burning with the fire of patriotic sentiment, which the town of Malden gave to her representatives as she sent them to the General Court and to the Continental Congress. The effect of those words was electrical. They thrilled the country like a war-cry. Those words of a Malden minister were the morning guns of the Revolution. Mr. Thacher continued in his Malden pastorate fourteen years, or until 1784, when he accepted a call to the Brattle Street Church in Boston.
Such were some of the earlier ministers of the First Church of Christ in Malden. Rev. Michael Wigglesworth, the famous Puritan poet of New England ; Rev. Joseph Emerson, the classical scholar and model pastor; and the Rev. Peter Thacher, D.D., the great preacher, - these are names of historic men, who were eminent in their day, and whose fame will go down the ages. Two of them were never pastors of any other church than this, and their graves are with us to this day.
In later years, likewise, this church has been blessed with the services of some able and distinguished ministers, of whom I might properly speak if there were time. Nor should the deacons of this
67
RECEPTION AT THE FIRST CHURCH
church be forgotten. There has been a large number of them along these two hundred and fifty years. They deserve to be honored. The office of deacon in the Church of Christ is as truly of divine ap- pointment and authority as is the office of pastor and teacher. Had biographical sketches of all the deacons of former years in this ancient church been preserved, they would furnish information which would now be of abounding interest.
Of the later ministers, I must mention one, the Rev. Alexander Wilson McClure, D.D. He had two pastorates here, one of ten years, beginning in 1832, and another of four years, ending in 1852. His first pastorate covered the latter part of a very critical period in the history of this church. The church had been deprived of its meeting-house and of all its material treasures. Its very existence had been threatened. Mr. McClure when called to Malden was young, yet he was wise and brave. He was a brilliant writer and preacher. Thoroughly evangelical in faith, he was a man of ready and forceful speech. Few opponents were willing to meet him a second time in public debate. He proved to be the man for the place and time, and soon brought the church into the joy of renewed faitlı and hope. He had little patience with wrong-doers. Even his best friends thought that sometimes he used too severe language in rebuk- ing sin. Deacon Thomas Sargent, the senior deacon at the time I began my pastorate here, who is still remembered in our church with great respect and affection, once told me a good story illustrative of Dr. McClure's genius and wit.
One Sabbath the Doctor, in his sermon, in rebuking some wrong- doing used his sharp tongue rather too freely, as some of his hearers thoughit. Good Deacon Sargent himself was troubled. He feared such severity of language would drive some people away from the church. Finally he concluded he must speak to his pastor and entreat him to lessen somewhat the sharpness of his rebukes. It so happened that Dr. McClure soon called upon his deacon, and the latter improved his opportunity faithfully. He repeated some of the hard language which his minister had used the preceding Sabbath, and gently requested him to be more moderate in his words. Dr. McClure received the admonition in the spirit in which it was given. Indeed, he confessed that, perhaps, he had been too hard upon the sinners in Malden. He said he would think the matter over, and try to do better. In fact, he seemed so subdued and penitent that the deacon was almost sorry he had mentioned the matter to him.
The next Sabbath Dr. McClure went into the pulpit and for the first hymn to be sung, gave out, from Watts's Psalms and Hymns, the thirty-ninth Psalm, common metre, first part. The subject of the hymn was the use of the tongue. There were four stanzas in it, the
68
TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY
first three of which were confessional and very penitential, while the fourth stanza was of a decidedly different character. The first three verses Dr. McClure read slowly with bended form and bowed head, in low, distressed, penitential tones, as if he were about to break into tears. Good Deacon Sargent, as he listened, was sorry enough that he had said a word to his pastor about his severe language. Those three stanzas were as follows : -
" Thus I resolved before the Lord, ' Now will I watch my tongue, Lest I let slip one sinful word, Or do my neighbor wrong.'
" If I am e'er constrained to stay With men of lives profane, I'll set a double guard that day, Nor let my talk be vain.
" I'll scarce allow my lips to speak The pious thoughts I feel, Lest scoffers should th' occasion take To mock my holy zeal."
Then the minister, straightening up his bended form, and flinging his bowed head aloft, with flashing eye, and in thunderous, threatening tones, read the fourth stanza, which was as follows : -
" Yet, if some proper hour appear, I'll not be over-awed ; But let the scoffing sinners hear That I can speak for God."
Deacon Sargent added that when the dramatic reading of the whole hymn was concluded, he had grave doubts whether his pastor was so very penitent after all.
ADDRESS BY THE REV. CHARLES H. POPE, PASTOR OF THE FIRST PARISH CHURCH, CHARLESTOWN,
[The Mother Church.]
IT is a great privilege to present the congratulations of the old First Parish Church of Charlestown to so matronly a daughter. Let me ask you to go back with me to the time when the Malden church arose. Recall the very men who were then on this ground. See, first, the Rev. Francis Bright, the first person definitely engaged to do ministerial service in New England, who was called from his parish at Rayleigh, in Essex, February 2, 1628-9, by The Massachusetts Bay
69
RECEPTION AT THE FIRST CHURCH
Company in England, to go to their plantation and preach to the company's servants. He was a passenger in the "Lyon's Whelp," arriving at Salem May 11, 1629, and came soon to this region, we may believe. Here, doubtless, the Sprague brothers heard his sermons to the workinen who were laying out Charlestown's first streets and erecting the " Great House," which was to be the execu- tive mansion of the coming governor. Mr. Bright steps back into obscurity ; and we see the Rev. John Wilson, another of the men selected in England for pastoral work here, who came in the fleet with Winthrop, Dudley, and Johnson, began to preach July 10, and joined with those three leaders, July 30, 1630, in the covenant of the First Church. Under the famous oak-tree he preached many a good sermon, says Roger Clap. Within rifle-shot of that tree, on all sides of what we now call City Square, were the members of that church domiciled, some resting in tents, to be sure ; and our First Parish Church, which greets you to-night, was a fact of history. To be sure, the thirst of some of the officials and people led them over the bay ; and the Rev. John Blackstone's invitation to ampler supplies of drink induced the majority to move to the hills and dales of Shawmut ; by which means the First Church of Charlestown took the name of the First Church of Boston. But those who still resided on the north bank of the Charles were a valuable portion of the congregation, and steadfastly attended services and bore their part in building and sup- porting, till, after two hard winters of ferrying across ice-covered waters, they said, " Hold."
Then came the dismission of a good party, and a reorganization on the old spot, November 2, 1632. A third minister now appears, the Rev. Thomas James, who did faithful service three years ; but he was displaced by his colleague, the Rev. Zechariah Symmes, after some months of melancholy and jealous experience, and some vain efforts of neighboring " elders " at the adjustment of personal differ- ences. But the good man knew enough to sacrifice himself to the good of the church ; and he went back to an English parish, dying at Needham Market, in 1683. And then our fathers' God sent over a choice spirit to take the place left vacant in Charlestown ; one of the sons of an honest butcher of old Southwark, well-educated, refined, devoted, came with his bride to live by the Charles and Mystic. John Harvard, a minister of high abilities, but already under the grasp of consumption, it would seem, preached a few months, as his strength would allow, and then entered into rest. Among his cares was the duty of aiding in the deliberations over the embryonic " colledge ; " for the General Court had voted that the teaching elders of the six nearest churches should be the overseers of that institution. Without doubt it was this circumstance which led him to devote a moiety of
70
TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY
his estate to the college, anticipating the wide importance of the work of educating the youth of the land. He died less than thirty-one years of age ; but his counsels for a year and his gift in perpetuo mark his life as one of the most useful careers of all the pioneers of Massachusetts.
Before a year had gone, his widow and his parish had become the portion of the Rev. Thomas Allen, who came to assist Mr. Symmes. It was during their joint pastorate that the dwellers at Mystic Side asked to be allowed to withdraw from the congregation at Charlestown, as they had now developed into a distinct settlement. The same motives which led to the reorganization at Charlestown, in 1632, were impelling them to this step. They were desirous to worship in a way that would be convenient for their families. One of the men, Lieut. Ralph Sprague, for example, had been a member of all three of the bands of worshippers. He had been a parishioner of Mr. Bright and of Mr. Wilson in 1629 and 1630 ; he had then gone faithfully over to Boston, carrying at least one of his babes thither for the sweet rite of christening. He had written his name with the band who covenanted the second time at Charlestown, and had carried other little ones the long miles that lay between his Mystic Side home and the shore near the old oak. Now it was time that Mrs. Sprague and the coming Spragues should be considered. But not only did personal motives like this enter into the affair. The cause of Christ could be advanced better by extending the bounds of Zion. New churches are a part of the life of the great Holy Catholic Church.
What is the forming of a new church but the growth of a bud on a branch of a vine? The Lord Jesus, as He has said, is The Vine ; those that love and trust Him are the branches. Three kinds of buds spring from living branches : those which are to expand into leaves, - the graces and pleasures of religion ; those which will develop into fruit, - the practical benefits which Christianity confers upon the world ; and those that are to extend as branches, along which the life of the Vine may pass to other lives, till the world is filled with salvation.
Now a vine may lean upon a trellis sometimes. Governments, organizations, human constructions have often seemed to be of value to the church. But when they have assumed to direct, to control, to dictate the course of the church, all has gone awry. The trellis must not rule the vine. When the Winthrop government, here in Massa- chusetts, undertook to swhy the churches, to stop some organizations, punish members for disobedience to church rules, and hold Mystic Side Christians back till the boundaries of the towns should be settled before worship could take its natural course, all was wrong. But the life within impelled to the advance step.
71
JUBILEE ENTERTAINMENT
In Christ, for Christ, and to the glory of the Adorable Lord, your founders covenanted together ; and the "mother church " was all cheerful in helping forward the movement, no doubt. The centuries have approved the wisdom, the divine leading, which was in the move- ment. May centuries to come witness the continued growth, fruitage, and new branching of this Malden church, which has borne so much fruit and given birth to so many branches in the two hundred and fifty years of her life.
Other addresses were made by the Rev. D. Augustine Newton, of the First Congregational Church of Winchester, who spoke in behalf of the Woburn Conference, and by the Rev. James F. Albion, of the First Parish (Universalist). At the conclusion of the addresses in the church, the audience repaired to the vestry, where refreshments were served and a second season of social intercourse was enjoyed. The reception committee, of which Deacon Joseph W. Chadwick was chairman, comprised forty-two ladies and gentlemen. Deacon Clarence O. Walker was chairman of the refreshment committee.
JUBILEE ENTERTAINMENT.
THE events of Saturday were brought to a close by the largest and best minstrel show that has ever been given in Malden, which, though not a part of the official celebration, attracted an audience that filled the Anniversary Building to its utmost capacity. This was presented under the auspices of the Malden Club and the Kernwood Club, by a committee of which Fred. C. Sanborn of the former club was chair- man, and a company of one hundred and twenty-seven performers of Malden and vicinity, under the management of William O. Lovell, a favorite and successful amateur manager of many local entertainments, with Milan F. Bennett as musical director. The end-men were D. W. Deshon, R. A. Perkins, H. M. Flanders, F. A. Swain, and F. G. Barnard, as Bones, and William Knollin, R. B. Wiggin, John A. Robertson, W. A. Hastings, and H. L. Aldridge, as Tambos. Frank R. Sircom, Howard E. Whiting, and E. Thatcher Clark were soloists ; and Ephraim L. Hadaway, favorably known as the author of several popular society entertainments, was the interlocutor and furnished the ode, which was sung to the tune of Fuir Harvard as the first number of the program. Then followed an olio of coon songs, sketches, and local jests of side-splitting quality, in rapid suc- cession. The jokes were original and keen, and almost every promi- nent politician received some witty attention. The entertainment
72
TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY
closed with a prize cake walk, in which Otis C. Putnam was the master of ceremonies, and L. B. Fletcher and J. H. Cullen won the cake. The program was as follows: -
PART I.
ODE -- (COMPANY). E. L. Hadaway. - Air, Fair Harvard.
To Malden we offer our tribute to-night, As we picture with pleasure and pride The events changing cycles of time in their flight Have beheld in our fair Mystic Side. All hail to the many illustrious ones, Who with credit her name have sustained - To the honors achieved by her daughters and sons, Who renown and distinction have gained !
OVERTURE. The Fortune Teller (BENNETT'S ORCHESTRA) Herbert.
1 OPENING CHORUS (COMPANY). Arranged by Mr. Milan F. Bennett.
2 " My Ann Eliza " ( Mr. ROBERT A. PERKINS). Williams.
3 "Gipsy John " (Mr. FRANK R. SIRCOM). Clay.
4 " Riding on the Golden Bike " (Mr. WILLIAM KNOLLIN). Reed.
5 " I wonder what is dat Coon's game " (Mr. DANIEL W. DESHON). Cole & Johnson. .
6 "Soldiers in the Park " (Mr. HOWARD E. WHITING). Monckton.
7 " When you ain't got no money you need n't come around " (Mr. RUSSELL B. WIGGIN). Sloane.
8 FINALE (Solo by Mr. E. THATCHER CLARK). Arranged by Mr. Milan F. Bennett.
PART II.
9 COMMEMORATION MARCH (ORCHESTRA). Composed for this occasion by O. S. Tonks.
10 IRISH MUSICAL SKETCH (Mr. W. B. C. Fox and Mr. E. STANLEY NICHOLS).
11 JUBILEE MANDOLIN, GUITAR, AND BANJO CLUB.
12 A QUEEN AND A JACK.
Queen Maybe of R. K. D., W. C. MASON.
Sir Anitas, her Prime Minister, F. W. BAILEY.
13 GRAND PRIZE CAKE WALK, Arranged by Mr. John J. Coleman. Mr. L. B. FLETCHER. Mr. J. T. MCDONALD.
Mr. J. H. CULLEN. Mr. W. B. C. Fox.
Mr. W. I. SWASEY. Mr. L. A. PICKERING.
Mr. F. F. SNOW. Mr. C. B. WATERMAN.
Master of Ceremonies, Mr. OTIS CHANDLER PUTNAM. Bearer of Cake, Master LEON MATTHEWS.
PROGRAM. SUNDAY, MAY 21, 1899.
10.30 A.M. COMMEMORATIVE SERVICES AT THE SEVERAL CHURCHES.
3.00 P.M. EXERCISES BY THE FREE CATHOLIC SCHOOLS. In Anniversary Building.
7.30 P.M. UNITED RELIGIOUS SERVICE. In Anniversary Building.
ADDRESS BY THE RIGHT REV. WILLIAM LAWRENCE. SINGING BY THE ANNIVERSARY CHORUS.
·
OBSERVANCES OF SUNDAY
THE FIRST CHURCH.
REV. HENRY HUGH FRENCH, D.D., Pastor.
T HE celebration of the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the gathering of the First Church, which was begun by the reception and exercises of Saturday evening, was continued on Sun- day. The clouds and rain of the morning had no effect upon the attendance, and the church was filled with an interested and sym- pathetic congregation. Many past members of the church, who had been drawn to their old home, were present and added to the interest of the occasion.
The musical exercises preceding the Scripture lesson were as follows : -
VOLUNTARY. Selected. CHORUS. - Sing, O Daughter of Zion. Page.
CHORUS. -- I will lift mine eyes unto the hills. Baldwin. QUARTET. - Earth and Heaven. Mercadante.
After the offertory and preceding the sermon, the following orig- inal hymn was sung by the choir : -
ANNIVERSARY HYMN. BY JOHN LANGDON SULLIVAN, M.D. Tune, Duke Street. What firmer faith, since Abraham's day, What holier trust have mortals shown, Than when our fathers clove their way Through wintry seas to shores unknown?
Behold, to worship unrestrained By monarch's code or bigot's ban - The birthright their devotion gained Is made the heritage of man.
75
76
TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY
Behold, in Freedom's garnered sheaf Of States - our Nation's priceless dower - The seed the exiles brought in grief And sowed in weakness - raised in power.
Lord, keep us in the love and fear Of Thee that in their hearts abode, And make us worthier year by year Of all Thy grace through them bestowed.
The sermon preached upon this occasion was delivered by the Rev. Dr. Wellman, a former pastor and a present member of the church, in accordance with the action of a committee of the church in June, 1898, upon which action the following invitation was extended. The sermon itself was replete with historical statements and deductions, that were heard with marked interest by the large congregation.
MALDEN, June 15, 1898.
Rev. J. W. Wellman, D.D. - At a meeting held yesterday by the committee appointed by the First Church to arrange for the celebration of the two hun- dred and fiftieth anniversary of the church next year, it was voted unani- mously that you be invited to deliver an historical address or discourse on Sunday the first day of the week of the celebration, to be held probably in the late spring or early summer of next year.
Very truly yours,
ARTHUR T. TUFTS, Secretary.
HISTORICAL SERMON. BY THE REV. JOSHUA WYMAN WELLMAN, D.D. PASTOR, 1874-1883.
DEUT. xxxii. 7. Remember the days of old, consider the years of many gener- ations : ask thy father, and he will shew thee ; thy elders, and they will tell thee.
THIS Scriptural mandate comes to us in one of the great songs of Moses. We are told in the Revelation of John the Divine that in the upper Sanctuary " they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb," which seems to indicate that even in heaven they rehearse in rapturous song the marvellous historic tri- umphs of redeeming grace, which have been achieved on earth under both the old and the new covenants.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.