USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Municipal history of Essex County in Massachusetts, Volume I > Part 46
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contributed. While the town was arming for the fray, this meeting- house was the center of the movement in the Upper Parish. Here, on November 24, 1774, the minute-men met. On February 15, 1775, a second meeting of the minute-men took place in this meeting-house. Be- tween 9 and 10 o'clock on April 19 the alarm rang out from the bell of this church, and on that day Reuben Kennison of this parish was killed- the first soldier of Beverly to give his life for his country.
During the period of the Unitarian controversy, this church was greatly weakened by the secession of those who could not accept the new views. Pastor Robinson, by his pronounced Unitarian views, so offended certain members of the church that they either remained at home on the Sabbath or attended some church where they could hear doctrines preached to which they could assent. Thus it came about that the Fourth Congregational Church and Society of Beverly was organized with four male and sixteen female members. This society as such ended its ex- istence in 1866, when the two societies were reunited. Since that time
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the church has remained true to the orthodox wing of Congregational- ism. The church building was repaired in 1865, and rededicated on De- cember 28 of that year, it being the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the church's organization. Not until 1870 did the reunited church formally adopt the name, "The Second Congregational Church in Bev- erly." During the pastorate of Rev. E. Melville Wylie the time of preaching service was changed from afternoon to morning; the dual sys- tem of church and society was also abolished, and the church was duly incorporated in June, 1904.
In 1921 it is possible to say that the church is in a flourishing condi- tion. There are 175 members, and the church is the center of the re- ligious and much of the social life of the community. The services are well attended. Under the capable leadership of Miss Daisy Raymond two choirs render exceptionally good music. The senior choir sits in the choir gallery at the rear of the church, while the members of the junior choir, wearing cassocks and surplices, occupy seats behind the pulpit. On July 22, 1906, was first used the splendid organ which was presented to the church by Mrs. Raynol Bolling. The commodious par- ish house, with auditorium, stage, anterooms, kitchen and modern con- veniences, was erected in 1908, and is in constant demand for parish pur- poses, so that the church edifice is used for nothing but services of wor- ship. The individual communion service, in use since 1906, was given by Mr. Charles Arthur Foster, as a memorial of his mother. The tennis courts are greatly used by the young people during the summer. The expense of preparing these was defrayed by the munificence of Mr. Will- iam Phillips, now American minister to the Netherlands.
The church officials in 1921 are as follows: Clerk, Charles Brown; moderator, Fred Wallis; deacons, George Glines, C. E. Wilson, Solon Lovett; Sunday school superintendent, Sidney N. Tappan; treasurer, Roland A. Stanley ; president Woman's Union, Mrs. Francis A. Brown. The pastorate of Rev. Ralph Ernest Bayes, A. B. (Yankton, 1916), S. T. B. (Andover, 1919), began on March 1, 1919.
Immanuel Congregational Church is situated in the suburb of Bev- erly known as Rialside. It developed originally from a Sunday school, and was served at first by the Beverly pastors alternating in their ser- vices. About the year 1901 it was decided to call a student from An- dover Theological Seminary to preach, Mr. Perley C. Grant, and at the end of two years' service, on November 18, 1903, nineteen persons pledged themselves to form a church, with Mr. Grant as pastor. The church thus formed was undenominational and was called a Union Church. On May 23, 1904, Mr. Packard was called as pastor; November, 1905, D. J. Grose was called, and in May, 1908, R. A. Goodwin was called. Rev. C. M. Harwood was called as pastor in October, 1908, and under his leadership, on February 11, 1910, it was unanimously voted to become a Congregational church and ask to be admitted to the Essex South Confer-
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ence of Congregational Churches. In April, 1910, the church adopted the creed recommended by the Congregational National Council, and was admitted into the Essex South Conference, May 11, 1910. October 31, 1910, the church was incorporated, and called John Esaias as pastor, December 4, 1911. March 24, 1914, voted either to enlarge the present house of worship or build a new one; finally voted, April 10, to build a new church. Dr. J. T. Tarr was called to the pastorate in May, 1914, . and was installed as pastor December 2, 1914.
March 17, 1915, it was decided to build the new church on Bates lots on Bridge street, which is the location of the present house of wor- ship. The corner-stone of the new church was laid November 6, 1915, and the church was dedicated with impressive services, Saturday, March 14, 1916. A call was extended to Rev. Charles C. Keith, December 22, 1918. He was ordained into the ministry in Immanuel Church, October 15, 1919. Thus the church started with so small a membership and car- ried on so faithfully, has prospered gloriously and now has about two hundred members on the roll.
The first men who settled in Salem and Beverly were Episcopalians, but Roger Conant (who determined to stay on at Salem when almost all his companions had resolved to leave), very wisely determined to yield his preference in church matters for the good and peace of the settlement, and was a tower of strength by his influence and example to the early settlers. The Episcopal church was established in Beverly in July, 1863, when the rector of St. Peter's Church, Salem, established a mission in Beverly. The present church building, St. Peter's, was built in 1864-65, and was consecrated in 1865. There have been eight rectors, including the present one, the Rev. E. J. V. Huiginn. The parish house was built adjoining the church at the close of the last century, and was the first parish house in Beverly. There is a fine rectory, and the parish is a prosperous and growing one.
St. John's Episcopal Church at Beverly Farms was begun by the Rev. Mr. Huiginn in 1900; the church was built in 1902. In 1911 St. Peter's Parish, by unanimous vote, set St. John's Church apart as a sep- arate parish, and the Rev. Nelson Poe Carey was called as first rector. Under his charge the parish has prospered and there are now a fine parish house and a rectory.
The Christian Endeavor Church of Centerville, Beverly, is an evan- gelical church. The first religious services in Centerville were held prior to 1870 in an old schoolhouse on Standley street. Later, pews were placed in the building and a Sunday school was instituted. It is very largely a community church and the center of all activities for the wel- fare of the community. A beautiful village church was planned in 1906, erected, and is now completely out of debt. The church is affiliated with the Baptist denomination, but welcomes all people within its doors. The pastor is the Rev. Rial Benjamin. 1.
Essex-24
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The Dane Street Congregational Church was formed at the time of the Unitarian movement in the Congregational churches in New Eng- land. The Washington Street Congregational Church was formed from the Dane Street Congregational Church.
The first Unitarian church in Beverly, according to the accepted view of the people of the parish, was located near the site of the present church. However, it would seem from documents recently discovered by a well known Beverly citizen that the first meeting-house was located in the vicinity of Gloucester Crossing. Roger Conant, the first settler in Salem, and Thomas Lothrop of Bloody Brook memory, were the chief men in organizing the church body in Beverly, when the Salem church, of which Conant had been a chief founder, gave the Beverly people the right to have their own settled minister and church organization and ordinances.
In September, 1667, the first parish and church in Beverly was or- ganized and Rev. John Hale was invited to be the first minister. The church members for a long time outnumbered the parish members, and the covenant was Trinitarian and Calvinistic until the early days of the nineteenth century. The church since that period has been Unitarian. Altogether, there have been thirteen pastors. Several of these have been noted men, as Hale, Willard, Mckean and Abbott. The present church structure is a noble and dignified building of the well-beloved New Eng- land style of architecture. It has had several men of great influence on its rolls during the more than two centuries and a half of its existence. The parish claims the honor of establishing the first Sunday school in New England, but there was a Sunday school in Rhode Island as early as 1790, and no doubt classes for catechism and teaching the young had been part of the work of the early church from early days. The parish is a strong, active one, and its well-wishers hope for it a future even greater than its past. A fine parish house was built in connection with this church some years ago.
There were Baptists in Beverly as early as 1786, for in that year several persons from this town united with the Baptist church in George- town. Later, in 1793, a Baptist church was organized in Danversport, and some of the members resided in Beverly. The Baptist Society of Beverly was organized September 30, 1800, and the First Baptist Church on March 25, 1801. Fourteen of the nineteen constituent members came by letter from the Danvers church, and the others united by baptism. About 2800 names have been added to the list of members since that time, and the present membership of the church is over 900.
There were Baptists among the teachers of the Union Sunday school which was organized in Beverly in 1810, and when, in 1819, it was de- cided to divide this school, the Baptists organized a separate school, which has had a continuous existence to the present time. The Baptist Bible school has been notably successful, having a present membership of over
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1100, not including the cradle roll and the home department. There are five grades in the active school, besides several organized adult classes, large classes for men being a prominent feature. The present superin- tendent, Mr. Leland H. Cole, is just completing twenty-six years of con- tinuous service in that position. Other important organizations in the church are the Woman's Missionary and Benevolent Society, which had as forerunner the Beverly Baptist Female Mite Society, beginning in 1808; all departments of the Christian Endeavor Society, Young Men's Club, Boy Scouts and Camp Fire Girls.
The places of worship have been as follows: First, a small unfin- ished and unfurnished vestry on Wallis street. The first meeting house was erected in 1801 on Cabot street, corner of Elliott street. This build- ing was enlarged in 1831 and abandoned on completion of the second meeting house in 1837. The second building stood on Cabot street on the site now occupied by the Roman Catholic church. In the records of the church it was noted that this building was constructed without an accident and without the use of intoxicating liquor. It was enlarged in 1854, but, being still inadequate to the needs of the congregation, was succeeded by the present building, corner of Cabot and Abbott streets, which was dedicated in 1869. It was enlarged and improved by the ad- dition of the chapel in 1898. Earlier chapels used by the church have been as follows: the one on Wallis street, which was used until 1805; a building on Central street, which was moved to Vestry street in 1818; the third chapel stood on Essex street in the rear of the church building; the fourth chapel was on Cabot street; it was built in 1864 and enlarged in 1867 and is now occupied by the Grand Army of the Republic and the American Legion.
The church has had seventeen pastors, several of whom continued in service for a long period. The list is as follows: Joshua Young, Sept. 30, 1800-Dec. 1802; Elisha Scott Williams, June 15, 1803-Oct. 7, 1812; Nathaniel West Williams, Aug. 14, 1816-Nov. 7, 1824; Francis Greene Macomber, Nov. 30, 1825-July 1, 1827; Richmond Taggart, Feb. 1, 1829 -Dec. 25, 1829; Jonathan Aldrich, June 30, 1830-May 24, 1833; John Jennings, Sept. 10, 1834-June 20, 1836; Nathaniel West Williams, Aug. 26, 1836-April 17, 1840; Charles Worthen Flanders, Nov. 11, 1840- Sept. 13, 1850; Edwin Barnard Eddy, Feb. 5, 1852-Nov. 16, 1855; Joseph C. Foster, Aug. 7, 1856-Dec. 31, 1872; Elisha Benjamin An- drews, July 2, 1874-Aug. 18, 1875; Dura Pratt Morgan, Dec. 3, 1875- May 1, 1888; Roland Dwight Grant, Sept. 1, 1888-March 6, 1890; Al- bert B. Coats, Jan. 1, 1891-Sept. 30, 1898; Herbert Judson White, Dec. 1, 1899-Nov. 1, 1905; Carey W. Chamberlin, Feb. 1, 1906, now serving the church.
Twenty members of the congregation were soldiers or sailors in the Civil War, and 140 in the Great War. Captain John H. Chipman, for whom G. A. R. Post 89 was named, and Corporal Earle T. Wardell, for
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whom the American Legion Post 12, was named, were both members of this congregation. The centennial of the church was celebrated by a week of notable exercises in September, 1900, and the centennial of the Bible School by equally worthy observances in 1919.
The first believer in the Universalist faith in Beverly was probably Mr. Joseph Woodbury, who moved from North Beverly in 1810, bring- ing letters from the Second Congregational Church to the Old South. He was examined by a committee of which Robert Rantoul, Sr., was a member. It was discovered that he, to quote the committee, "not only holds but freely professes his firm belief of the final salvation of all man- kind, that he disseminates that doctrine among his neighbors as oppor- tunity offers, and that his wife embraces the same sentiments." Though the Old South had grown so liberal that two years earlier the Dane Street Society had been formed by conservative dissenters from its teachings, it could not tolerate a believer in universal salvation, and therefore Mr. Woodbury and his wife were refused membership. The present First Universalist Church is nearly on the site of his old home, which was at the corner of Judson and Cabot streets.
Doubtless many of those who early accepted the Universalist faith were taught directly or indirectly by John Murray, the Father of Uni- versalism in America, who at Gloucester or at Boston was within easy reach of those who were inclined to hear him. Sylvanus Cobb preached the first Universalist sermon ever delivered in Beverly, in the old Briscoe Hall, some time in the fall of 1834. The leader in the movement that terminated a year later in the formation of a working cooperation was Daniel Hildreth, often called Father Hildreth, who seems to have fully earned the title; for to him more than anyone else belongs the credit of establishing this society. With him were associated Benjamin S. Lunt, Stephen Lovett, and Haskett Whitney.
In 1838, Daniel Hildreth, Stephen Lovett, Jeremiah Wallis, John Bell, Benjamin Lunt, Benjamin Grant and possibly one or two others, met in Mr. Lunt's tinshop and organized formally for the support of Univer- salist preaching. Father Hildreth was chosen treasurer and collector, and Joseph Porter clerk. After two years, in 1840, a call was issued under the warrant of Stephen Baker, justice of the peace, for the forma- tion of a legal parish organization. The utmost sum able to be raised during the first year was $154, which supported occasional preaching. In 1843 the organization had increased enough to talk of building a chapel and securing a regular preacher. The first minister, the Rev. Charles Webster, a student under Rev. Mr. Everett, of Salem, was called at a salary of $300. During his pastorate the Sunday school and Ladies' Aid Society were organized, and have continued unbroken since that time.
Under the next pastor, the Rev. William Cambridge, likewise a stu- dent, and who remained two years, $3,725 were raised for the erection of a church building. This was completed in 1846, the building standing
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on the lot directly back of the present City Hall, on Thorndike street. In this year of 1846, the Rev. John L. Stevens was ordained and installed at a salary of $400, and on June 18th of the same year the church build- ing was dedicated, Rev. Sylvanus Cobb, who had preached the first Uni- versalist sermon in Beverly, giving the sermon on this occasion also. Mr. Stevens shortly left to join James G. Blaine in editing a newspaper. In 1847 the Rev. Ira Washburn became pastor, but was forced to resign on account of ill health; and, dying soon after, was buried in the Hale Street cemetery. The next ministers were Rev. Stillman Bardon and Rev. D. W. Coffin. For a year following Mr. Coffin, there was no settled pastor and, things going badly, a meeting was called to discuss selling the prop- erty, but other counsels prevailed. Rev. John Nichols was called in 1856, and in 1858 the church (the religious organization in connection with the society) was formed, with Daniel Hildreth, Jeremiah Wallis and Ephraim Hathaway as deacons.
In 1863 the original proprietors turned the property over to the parish, which undertook important improvements. Meantime, in 1867, the pastorate of Mr. Nichols came to a tragic close, he being stricken with paralysis while in the pulpit, and dying the same evening. The next pastor was Rev. George Whitney, 1867-72, during which period a pipe organ was installed. He was followed in 1872 by Rev. J. W. Emery, who continued in office for ten years, and in turn was followed by Rev. E. W. Preble, two years; Rev. C. S. Nickerson, one year; Rev. A. J. Aubrey, two years. He was succeeded in 1891 by Rev. Harold Marshall, during whose pastorate of seven years the old building was sold and the present building on Judson street erected, the dedication taking place Thursday, March 22, 1894, Rev. A. A. Miner, D.D., preaching the sermon. Then followed the pastorates of Rev. Edward M. Barney, 1898-1901; Rev. Oliver M. Fisher, 1901-02; Rev. Arthur A. Blair, 1902-04; Rev. Ezra A. Hoyt, 1905-08; Rev. Paul Harris Drake, 1909-11; Rev. James D. Tilling- hast, 1912-17, during whose term the church celebrated its seventy-fifth anniversary (Oct. 18, 1915) ffi Axel Gerhard Dehly, 1918-19. The present pastor is Rev. Harold W. Haynes, who assumed charge in April, 1920.
Among the subsidiary organizations are the Ladies' Aid, Sunday School, Mission Circle, Y. P. C. U., Men's Club, Woman's Club, Camp- fire Girls, Bluebirds, as well as the organized classes-the Hathaway Class for men, and the Ballou Class for women.
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX. TILDEN FOUNDATIONS
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Above, Lynn Shore Drive, looking west. Nahant at left, with Boulevard separating the Ocean from Lynn Harbor. Below, Goldfish Pond, Lafay- ette Park, Lynn. Stone tablet marks approximately site of home of Edmund Ingalls, Lynn's first settler
CHAPTER XXXIV.
CITY OF LYNN
The history of the settlement, growth and development of Lynn can- not be complete without some allusion to the conditions before the com- ing of the white settlers in 1629, and to the environs and the environ- ment under which the great work of colonization was undertaken.
As showing the desirability of the land comprising the present ter- ritory of Greater Lynn, and also its habitability, it is quite sufficient to point out that the greater part of the territory settled under the Char- ter of the Colony of the Massachusetts Bay in New England was possessed and occupied by a powerful tribe of Indians known as the Paw- tuckets. The domain of the Pawtuckets extended from the Charles river to the Piscatiqua on the ocean front and northward as far as Pen- nacook, now Concord. This great territory was penetrated by the Merrimac river, and the name of the Indian nation is perpetuated in Pawtucket Falls at Lowell.
In the generation previous to the coming of the white settlers to this region, the Pawtuckets were ruled by Nanpashemet, one of the most powerful of the Indian leaders of that period. His home, in peace times at least, was on that low bluff-like eminence extending along the present ocean front of Lynn from about the junction of Newhall and Washington streets to near the Swampscott line, and set forth on the oldest local maps as Sagamore Hill. Nanapashemet, or the New Moon, was one of the most powerful Sachems of his time. He had an immediate fighting strength, according to Gookin, of three thousand warriors in the days before the pestilence of 1617 swept away such great numbers of the natives along these shores. His influence was far-reaching among the Indian tribes, and was potent even among the Nipmucs of the upper Connecticut Valley.
When Captain John Smith, in 1614, passed along these shores on a voyage of trade and exploration, he recorded many interesting facts concerning the country and its people. Of this section of the coast he says: "The Sea Coast as you pass, shows all along large corne fields, and great troupes of well proportioned people." He further says: "We found the people of those parts verie kinde; but in their furie no less valient."
Nearest in contact with the Pawtuckets, and occupying the ter- ritory south and west of the Charles river, was a tribe known as the Massachusetts, a name derived from the Blue Hills of Milton, according to Roger Williams, and signifying "a hill in the form of an arrow" in the Indian vocabulary of Josiah Cotton. This tribe was governed by Chickataubut, whose village was on the Neponset river, and while occupying less extensive territory than the Pawtuckets, the Massachu-
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setts were about their equal in fighting strength. Smith, in 1614, speaks of their territory as "the Paradise of all those parts"; and refers to the "many Isles planted with corn, groues, mulberries, saluage gardens and good harbors." Weymouth and Canton seem to have been the southern bounds of this tribe.
The Wampanoags occupied the country around Plymouth from Cape Cod to Narragansett Bay. They were governed by Massasoit, who ruled over 32 tribes. He was one of the most powerful of the Sachems and could have readily called three thousand warriors into the field, yet he was a peaceful man and proved a strong friend of the Pilgrims. For more than forty years he kept his people from war and in tranquility. Stronger than any of the before-mentioned nations, the Narragansetts inhabited the region to the west of the Narragansett Bay in Rhode Is- land, and were governed by two Sachems, Canonicus and his nephew, Miantonomo. Their fighting strength was about five thousand war- riors. The Narragansetts were for many years bitter enemies of the Pequots, against whom they joined with the white settlers in 1637.
The Pequots occupied territory in Connecticut adjacent to that of the Narragansetts, and their sachem was Sassacus, who commanded four thousand men, and who lived at the present location of New London. The Pequots were a warlike people, and the name of Sassacus was one to spread terror wherever it was known.
In the region constituting the present interior of Massachusetts dwelt the Nipmucks. This tribe was without a great leader, but was inclined to listen to the council of Nanapashemet.
To the eastward of the Pawtuckets, and occupying the territory from the Piscatiqua to the Penobscot, were (according to Lewis) the Chur-Churs, who were governed by a mighty chieftain called a Bashaba. An old map of this region from Palfrey's History of New England (Map of New England, 1628 to 1651) indicates that the Abanaquis occupied a part of this territory.
Occupying the land east of the Penobscot were the Tarratines, a very turbulent people, frequently at war, and travelling hundreds of miles to carry on their depredations. Their great Sachem was Nulton- anit, and their expeditions frequently led them into the territory of the Pawtuckets. Bradford, in speaking of the Massachusetts, says: "They were much afraid of the Tarratines, a people to the eastward, which used to come at harvest time and take away their corn, and many times kill their persons." So great was the apprehension of an attack from the Tarratines that, we are told, a watch was constantly kept on Beacon Hill to guard against surprise by them. Coming along the coast in their war canoes, it was necessary for them to go ashore at night, and the smoke of their camp-fires was recognized as a "wireless" warning of danger.
Of these great Indian nations (not to mention several smaller
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tribes) who, according to Gookin, had a fighting strength of twenty-five thousand warriors, the Tarratines in the far east and the Pequots in the southwest were the warring Indians that were constantly at war with the other tribes, and were the great source of trouble to the settlers in later years. To these must be added the Mohawks, who, although chiefly outside the limits of New England, were never out of mind of its inhabitants. They have left the evidence of their incursions into this territory in the "Mohawk Trail," which was their gateway to the Connecticut Valley and points farther east, where we find that the In- dians of the Saco Valley early employed carpenters from the white set- tlements to help to build forts for protection against them.
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