USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Dover > Narrative history : a history of Dover, Massachusetts, as a precinct, parish, district, and town > Part 5
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Second Parish (Norwood). An account of the ordi- nation and the names of these "foundation men " who organized the church cannot be given, as the church records previous to 1812 were lost in the destruction of the Rev. Dr. Sanger's house in 1857.
It will be seen that the parish antedates the church by thirteen years. After the organization of the church the company probably repaired to the meeting- house, where a sermon was preached by the Rev. Mr. Balch. A copy of a "Confession of Faith " and a " Church Covenant " in Mr. Caryl's handwriting were found in the old parsonage a few years since. They may or may not be a copy of those adopted and used by the church, but are given as illustrating the strong Calvinistic doctrine of the time.
CONFESSION OF FAITH.
You believe the mysterious doctrine of the ever-adorable trinity, one eternal God in three persons,- God the Father, who is from everlasting to everlasting, the creator, preserver, and governor of all things visible and invisible; God the Son, the only Saviour and Redeemer of God's elect ; and God the Holy Ghost, the sanctifier, quickener, and comforter of God's children. You believe the persons to be the same in substance, equal in power and glory, as the Scriptures testify. You believe that God the Father sent his son, Jesus Christ, into the world to save sinners, and that the Lord Jesus Christ assumed the human nature into a personal union with his divine, to accomplish the redemption of fallen man. You believe in the death, resurrection, ascension, and intercession of the Lord Jesus Christ. You believe that there is no salvation to be had any other way but in and by the merits and satisfaction of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that in a way of faith, repentance, and gospel obedience, wholly exclusive of self- righteousness. You believe the Scriptures to be the word of God
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THE FIRST MINISTER
given by inspiration, and the gospel to be true and faithful sayings. You believe the certainty of a future state in the other world, that there is a world of inconceivable happiness and glorious rewards for all such as do truly fear God and obey the gospel of his Son, and that there is a world of unspeakable misery for the wicked and ungodly.
You believe that as all men have sinned so they must die or suffer a change equivalent thereto.
You believe in the immortality of the soul and the eternity of heaven's joys and hell's torments.
You believe the doctrine of the resurrection of the body and of the great and awful day of judgment, when the glorious Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, to take vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of God and from the glory of his power, when he shall be glorified in his saints and adored in them that believe. Amen.
THE TERMS OF THE COVENANT.
You are now, in the presence of God, to attend unto this most gracious covenant and by his grace to give your most hearty consent thereto. You do now, in the presence of God, his holy angels, and this assembly, in a most serious and solemn manner, according to the terms and tenor of the new and everlasting covenant, take the only living and true God to be your God, the Lord Jesus Christ to be your Saviour, prophet, priest, and king, and the Holy Spirit to be your teacher, sanctifier, guide, and comforter; and you farther promise, in a solemn manner (through God's assistance), that you will walk sincerely and upright all your days, in obedience to all his holy commandments as they are or shall be made known to you from time to time. You do also give up yourself to this church in the Lord, and, according to the will of God, promising and covenanting to cleave to us and to walk together with us, as an instituted church of Christ, engaging, by his grace, that in the communion
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of the church you will attend upon the ordinance of the gospel, to be there edified in your most holy faith as opportunity may convenience, and as long as God shall please to continue you and the gospel ordinances among us.
You do also promise to walk orderly in time of fellowship and communion with all the church of Christ amongst us according to the rules of the holy order which God hath appointed, that the Lord may be one and his home one in all churches throughout all generations, to his eternal glory in Christ Jesus, our exalted Redeemer.
THIS YOUR PROMISE.
We, then, of this church, do joyfully and charitably receive you unto our holy communion and fellowship; and I do promise unto you, in the name of the church, that we, by the assistance of divine grace, will discharge all duties toward you that are incum- bent on us, that we will pray with and walk toward you in brotherly love and holy, to the mutual building up of one another in the faith and fellowship of the gospel. Amen.
It is worthy of note that the churches of New England have been slowly evolved, from one institu- tion in the early time, into a group of institutions, for the promotion of religion, morality, charity, education, missionary effort, social refinement, literary culture, and civic reform.
Ralph Day and Joseph Haven, two of the most prominent and respected citizens of the parish, were chosen deacons, and continued in the office during their lives.
Deacons, in the early time, had not only regular duties on the Sabbath and special duties at the com- munion service, but also took charge of prudential affairs and looked after the poor of the parish. In
6 I
THE FIRST MINISTER
accordance with custom the two deacons were seated together in the meeting-house. They had charge of the vessels used in the communion service, and usually furnished the sacramental wine, the congregation or members contributing towards its purchase. The com- munion vessels were usually of pewter, and, not being of much value, were kept in the meeting-house. In 1767 the parish voted to build a chest in the pew next to the pulpit on the east side, for the church vessels and cushions. The deacons had general charge of the church, and were expected to take up all contributions.
The next month after his ordination, December 9, 1762, Mr. Caryl married Mrs. Sarah (Messinger) Kelloch, widow of Dr. Cornelius Kelloch, of Wren- tham ; and thus commenced his family and parish life in this community.
Mr. Caryl purchased the home of Daniel Wight, and in 1777 built the parsonage which is still standing on Dedham Street, unchanged except by time. It was doubtless intended that the minister should build on Walpole Street, where eighteen acres and twenty-eight rods of land near the house of Thomas Coughlan had been set apart for a parsonage. To this grant Jere- miah Fisher added two acres; Michael Dwight, two acres ; Henry Dewing, one acre; Samuel Chickering, two acres; Dea. Ephraim Wilson, two acres ; and Na- thaniel Wilson, fifteen rods,- making a total of twenty- seven and one-fourth acres and three rods. This land is now known as the " parish wood-lot."
Mr. Caryl was a man of marked individuality, and must have exerted a strong influence in the develop-
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ment of the parish and in awakening that remarkable patriotism which was manifested during the Revolution. He was modest and retiring in his disposition, and seldom went abroad, spending his whole life in a rare devotion to his people. At a time when religion was at its lowest ebb, Mr. Caryl caused the family altar to be set up in nearly every home, and it is recorded that at one time there were only two prayerless fami- lies in the whole parish. The Revolutionary War seemed for a time to have had a demoralizing effect on the religious life of the people. There was a dread of religion and great hesitation in professing it, yet out of the spirit of independence was born the liberal church of America.
His sermons were largely an exposition of Scripture, and were not of unusual length. One hundred and four persons united with the First Parish Church during his ministry.
Mr. Caryl is said to have been remarkably gifted in prayer. He was an earnest and sincere preacher, but had no general knowledge of literature. His library, it was said by a witty lawyer, " consisted of a Bible, a Concordance, and an old jack-knife." The Dover His- torical Society has recently come into possession of the family Bible used by Mr. Caryl during his entire min- istry. This Bible was doubtless used in the church service. Perhaps at first there was no public reading of the Bible. The neighboring town of Framingham did not have the public reading of the Scriptures until I792.
The Brattle Street Church in Boston was the first Congregational church in New England to introduce
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THE FIRST MINISTER
the reading of the Bible into the church service. Mr. Caryl was connected with his people for forty-nine years, and during the trying times of the Revolution made many personal sacrifices. He took charge of the schools, and fitted the bright boys for college ; and some who had already taken their degrees came to him to study theology.
With little increase in wealth. or population in the parish, Mr. Caryl labored until nearly eighty years of age. During the last few years of his life he was unable to visit his people or even take part in public worship; yet the parish gave him a prompt and gen- erous support to the end of his life, as due to one who had labored so long and faithfully among them. In the fall of 1809 the church elected Mr. John Brewer as a colleague, to be settled with the Rev. Mr. Caryl.
The district concurred with the church in the choice of Mr. Brewer, and January 3, 1810, selected a com- mittee to wait on him and receive any proposition he might wish to make to the parish. He was offered a salary of five hundred and fifty dollars and the use of the church wood-lot. Mr. Brewer considered the invi- tation favorably ; but the destruction of the meeting- house a few weeks later brought this matter to an abrupt ending, as he thought the people in too humble circumstances to build a meeting-house and support a minister at the same time.
The church in Needham and the church in Dover were associated churches ; that is, the pastors preached for each other the lecture previous to communion, and were thus closely associated together.
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During the last few years of Mr. Caryl's life the Rev. Stephen Palmer, of Needham, performed parochial duties in Dover, not only in visiting the sick, burying the dead, and performing marriage ceremonies, but also as a frequent preacher. June 16, 1813, the church extended a vote of thanks to Mr. Palmer "for his services and kind attentions."
Mr. Caryl died November 14, 181I, and was buried four days later, just at the entrance of the little burying- ground, which was near the spot where he had given nearly a half century of labor.
" You can see his leaning slate In the graveyard, and thereon Read his name and date."
At the funeral service the Rev. Thomas Thatcher, of West Dedham, made the introductory prayer. The Rev. Dr. Thomas Prentis, of Medfield, preached the sermon, from 2 Cor. iv. 7. The Rev. Jabez Chickering, of South Dedham (Norwood), made the concluding prayer. The History of the Mendon Association of Ministers, published in 1853, thus speaks of him :--
No obituary of Mr. Caryl was ever published. But his report is of a goodly savor. He was greatly beloved by all, and his memory is cherished with affection and respect. All are uniform in testifying that he was a good man and thoroughly orthodox. He was remarkably gifted in prayer. When he delivered his message, the tears were often seen to roll down his cheeks. He kept himself very much at home, seldom attending public meet- ings abroad. He drew as little from books as any man of his time. His sermons were written in a very legible hand, and the style is quite perspicuous. But one of them-a Thanksgiving sermon - was ever published.
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THE FIRST MINISTER
The Rev. Emerson Davis, of New Britain, Conn., in his manuscript History of Congregational Ministers, gives this brief account of Mr. Caryl :-
He was laid aside two and a half years previous to his decease. He is said to have been a man of great firmness, and that such was his zeal for the purity of religion he would have died as a martyr upon the scaffold in defence of it if it had seemed necessary.
At this distance of time, in the absence of all records, few additional facts can be gathered which throw light on the life and work of Mr. Caryl. His intimate friend, the Rev. Mr. Palmer, of Needham, thus spoke of him in his sermon at the dedication of the new meeting-house : -
This excellent man, this firm and unshaken friend of Zion, deserves an honorable mention on this occasion.
It is now more than forty-eight years since he entered upon the duties of the pastoral office. He has therefore been long in the vineyard of Christ, and we feel fully authorized to say that it has been his uniform endeavor to be a faithful laborer.
The piety of his heart, the soundness of his doctrines, and the integrity of his life, who can question, who can impeach ? In him we behold "an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile."
January 2, 1812; was appointed as a day of fasting and prayer throughout the parish in memory of Mr. Caryl.
Public exercises were held in the meeting-house ; and several clergymen of the Norfolk Congregational Asso- ciation of Ministers, of which he was a member, took part. After these exercises, in which the people re- called his faithful labors, his many virtues, his sterling
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t
character, his self-sacrifice in times of trial and danger, and withal his rare devotion to a humble people, they went home to erect affectionately to his memory a stone which bears the following inscription : -
In memory of REV. BENJ. CARYL, who died Nov. 14, 1811. Aged 80 years and in the 50th year of his ministry. " The fathers, where are they ? And the prophets, do they live forever ? "
Erected by the request and at the expense of his society.
CHAPTER VI.
SOCIAL LIFE AND CONDITIONS.
OLD FAMILIES - BOOKS AND NEWSPAPERS - UNCOM-
FORTABLE MEETING-HOUSES - FARM LIFE - QUILT-
ING - FLOWERS-OLD HOUSES - HOUSE-FURNISHINGS - WOODEN PLATES - PRICE OF FARM PRODUCTS - TRAVEL - " BUNDLE HANDKERCHIEFS " - LIFE AMONG THE BOYS AND GIRLS.
" In every virtue lies concealed A latent vice, which might have ruled. In every vice a virtue hides, Which needed only to be schooled."
At the time of the Rev. Mr. Caryl's settlement, in 1762, the parish contained forty-nine houses and three hundred and fifty-two inhabitants, all subjects of King George III. There was no village, or central settle- ment ; and scattered over the entire territory - a charac- teristic which has continued to the present time - were the lonely farms of the Wilsons, the Fullers, the Days, the Richardses, the Wights, the Newells, the Fishers, the Ellises, the Whitings, the Chickerings, the Battles, the Bacons, the Joneses, the Allens, the Masons, the Gays, the Drapers, the Guys, the Cheneys, the Metcalfs, and the Bullards.
What was the life of this scattered settlement ? We know little of the neighborly feeling that existed among them. They were in some respects like one large family, visiting, helping, co-operating with one another,
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HISTORY OF DOVER
especially in seasons of sickness, bereavement, or fes- tivity. In those days there was only one newspaper in New England, and it was quite unlike the newspapers of to-day. It had a very small circulation, and probably had not a reader or subscriber in the Springfield Parish of Dedham.
This was the age of pamphlets, when Paine, Jeffer- son, and Franklin issued their wonderful productions, which did so much to foster and stimulate the spirit of independence.
Books were scarce; but the few read were good, as only books of great literary merit were brought across the Atlantic. The Bible was in every home, and read above all other books. The catechism, Watts's Hymns, and the almanac, were next in importance. There were no daily newspapers. The first daily newspaper was published in London in 1702, and the first attempt in the United States was made some ninety years later. The Boston Daily Advertiser, although not the first newspaper published in America, is, nevertheless, one of the oldest newspapers in the country. Weekly papers were issued previous to this time, but had a limited circulation. During Mr. Caryl's time a news- paper was a rarity, much talked about and carefully treasured. What would our modern life be without a daily newspaper ? It is no longer a luxury, but a necessity, guiding and inspiring nations as well as individuals.
Farmers gathered at the tavern to get the news from those who, returning from Boston, tarried to get a mug of flip or blackstrap and to relate whatever of interest they had learned at the metropolis. Before the day of
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ARTICLES USED IN THE HOME LIFE OF A PAST GENERATION,
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SOCIAL LIFE AND CONDITIONS
newspapers and magazines the minister was a person of vast and controlling influence in every community.
The Sunday sermon, for the most part, was all the people had to think about during the week.
The people of the Springfield Parish were fortunate in living near Boston, the center of civilization in New England.
Seated in the comfortable churches of to-day, we cannot realize the discomforts of the church service of a hundred and fifty years ago in the unheated meeting-house in bitter weather, which grew colder and colder as the season advanced. The women tried to make the service endurable by means of little metal foot-stoves, encased in a frame and filled with live coals, which gave forth a little heat ; but, strange as it may seem, there was strong opposition to the introduction of stoves into the meeting-house, and it was only after various attempts that the Dover Parish voted to intro- duce them. The first Sunday on which stoves were placed in the meeting-house Major Burridge did not return to the afternoon service because, he said, the heat gave him a headache. Imagine his surprise, how- ever, when he learned that on that occasion no fire was kindled in them.
Before the introduction of stoves into the meeting- house it was customary to have the "noon house," where the members of the congregation who lived at a distance could spend the noon hour and eat their lunch, which usually consisted of rye bread, cheese, and cider gingerbread. Here the women replenished their foot-stoves for the afternoon service, and all engaged in the idle gossip of the neighborhood. The
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men gathered around the blazing fire in the bar-room of Newell's inn, and ate gingerbread and cheese. In summer the women strolled through the burying- ground, and read on the gravestones, year by year, the added names of neighbors and friends.
The farmers of this parish were a happy people, who owned the humble homes they lived in and the land they 'cultivated for a support. Their linen was made from the garden flax, and their clothes from cloth of . which the material was spun, woven, and dyed by the hands of the busy housewife. The cutting of ship- timber, the burning of charcoal, the clearing and tilling of the land, kept busy the happy yeomen. In winter they were engaged in ox-teaming from Dover to Boston. Here they found a sale for their timber, as Boston, then a city of less than twenty thousand population, was largely engaged in ship-building and had many sails upon the water,-
" The men of yore were stout and poor, And sailed for bread to every shore."
A hundred years ago farmers were very careful of wood, fearing the supply would be exhausted. One resident of Strawberry Hill said, "Wood would be awful high when it was all gone."
Those who know how easily birch-bark kindles, and how difficult it is to burn green birch-wood, on account of the great amount of sap it holds, will appreciate the following : A Dover farmer took a load of green birch- wood to market. A purchaser appeared who asked what kind of wood it was. "Well," said the farmer, "it will light the quickest and last the longest of any
7I
SOCIAL LIFE AND CONDITIONS
wood you ever bought." Thinking these desirable qual- ities, the customer immediately closed the bargain ; and the wood was delivered. He did not fail, however, to call on the farmer the next time he was in town, and confirm the truth of the recommendation.
On another occasion a farmer took a load of poplar- wood to Boston. Struck by the straightness of the grain and the whiteness of the wood, a customer was prompted to ask if it was walnut, to which question the farmer replied that it was not walnut. " Knot walnut ?" said the man, " I never heard of that kind before "; and, learning the price, which the shrewd farmer placed a little above ordinary walnut, he immediately engaged the load, and ordered it delivered at his door.
The process of filtering cider through sand was called " running it through sand." A farmer supplied Boston market with cider "run through sand" by merely running his horses over the sandy road between Dover and Needham.
The same farmer, having a quantity of strong vine- gar, extended it with an equal quantity of water. A customer tested it, and remarked, " It seems to me this vinegar is watered." "Well," said the farmer, "if it contains one drop of water, it is half water." Failing to realize that it could be watered to such an extent, it was purchased at the full market price.
In the busy season there was little to break the monotony of daily life, but in the winter-time there was much visiting among the neighbors. The women gave many tea-parties, to which the men were usually invited in the evening ; and these parties did much to lighten labor and privation. The women early sought the co-
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operation of their neighbors in quilting-parties. At odd times small pieces of calico were cut in various shapes and sewed together. This work furnished an opportu- nity for the display of taste; and these quilts, when completed, were often quite beautiful and artistic. The women acquired great skill in the use of the needle, and found time to embroider dainty articles and to put into home-made linen such tiny stitches as would almost defy the skill of seamstresses of to-day.
The early settlers found ample occupation for the employment of their time in supplying the necessaries of life. Nevertheless, they did not wholly ignore the æsthetic part of their natures. The love of flowers is one of the most spontaneous of emotions. They were first cultivated in the vicinity by Indians ; and the beau- tiful roses which grew on the "Indian farm," just across the line in Natick, were especially sought and admired. It is a touching fact that in the hard and stern life of our fathers time and a place were found for the flower-garden, which was the special care of the women of the household, and was the only pleasure-ground of the estate.
How anxiously the women watched the little slip or cutting, which by skilful hand was rooted into plant or flower ! Alice Morse Earle says, " A garden was cer- tainly the greatest refreshment to the spirit of a woman in the colonial days and the purest of her pleasures, too often her only pleasure."
How carefully they cultivated such herbs as were used for "physick," - bloodwort, wormwood, savory, thyme, sage, spearmint, rue, pennyroyal, fennel, cori- ander, dill, tansy, and anise !
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" They hold a cure for every ill, A balm for every woe, When gathered in the morning dew, --- The herbs of long ago."
With what pains they grew the fragrant lavender, which, when dried, was put among their linen! With what symmetry the box border was placed beside the path in the front yard, and the lilac-bush, the flowering currant, and the blush rose, the white rose, and the cinnamon rose were arranged upon the grounds !
What a succession of hardy flowers appeared dur- ing the spring and autumn,-the white and yellow daffy, the tulip, the peony, honeysuckle, fleur-de-lis, lady's-delight, canterbury-bell, French pinks, larkspur, tiger-lily, verbena, hollyhock, yellow marigold, sweet- william, phlox, petunia, portulacca, candytuft, gilly- flower, sun-flower, polianthus, poppy, lupine, balsam, stock, aster, bachelor's-button, chrysanthemum, and cockscomb! Even the English leek was planted on the rocks, and sad, indeed, was the fate of that house- hold when a leek was allowed to blossom; for, in the vernacular of their superstition, it was set down as a sure indication of a death in the family. Who can esti- mate the pleasure, the æsthetic value, and the impor- tance of the flower-garden in their humble lives ?
Some curious customs prevailed. On Candlemas Day they ate rye pancakes, in the belief that whoever did so would not want for money during the year. The custom was largely observed and is still kept up by some families in remembrance of a past generation.
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