USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Newburyport > Origin and annals of "The Old south," First Presbyterian church and parish, in Newburyport, Mass., 1746-1896 > Part 9
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That change of 1829 in the edifice was a great event. For a time in our house it put talk of the war of 1812 and its disas- trous results, " French claims" and common business matters, quite aside. When the brazen numbers for the pews reached the town by the mail stage I was highly excited. Those sponge- like ornaments on the ceiling above the chandelier were my fre- quent study.
The ponderous Whitefield monument stands now fixed in my memory. After 1829 our pew was near the pulpit. It was a good pew, but for me too near the coffins under it. The custom of turning round on the singing of one hymn, face to the sing ers, gave opportunity of seeing those who sat behind us, and was compensation for the loss of the old pew. My revered grandfather, Abraham Wheelwright, occupied a pew in front of
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us, and his brother Ebenezer sat two or three pews back of us. Near him (in the pew with him, I think) was Mr. William Bartlet, who did so much for the Andover Seminary. My in- terest in Mr. Bartlet arose from the fact that he had, if my memory fails not, 14 buttons on his waistcoat; a garment now reduced in size and called vest.
Mr. James Caldwell was in the pew behind us ; he was a good man and my Sunday school teacher. In pews near us were Miss Hannah F. Gould, and many other noble women, and men not a few, who were prominent in the town. Mr. George Lunt, Capt. Cushing, Capt. Simpson, Mr. Wills, Mr. Pettingell, Caleb Cushing with his finely cut and thoughtful face. The church was full and seats were occupied in the galleries.
In all my experience I have never seen in any parish a nobler company of women than those who worshipped in the new edi- fice between the years 1830 and 1835. Some of them were real saints; beautiful in their lives and character ; and among them was my precious mother.
The old chapel must not be forgotten. Missionary and other meetings I attended in it, and it fell to me sometimes to count the collections. Spanish coin clipped, perforated, often worn smooth, which my father took home for the missionaries.
Sixty-one years have gone since I left my early home, but now I can truly say that I am thankful that Newburyport was my birthplace, and that my earliest training was so closely connected with the Presbyterian Church on Federal street.
Very truly yours,
GEORGE H. CLARK.
HARTFORD, Conn., March 5th, 1896.
FROM REV. JOHN PIKE, D. D.
To the Committee on Invitation :
Your letter of January 18th saying that the "Old South" Church, of my native city, was to celebrate its 150th anniversary
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and asking me to send a few lines of fraternal greeting has awakened many interesting memories.
I was at once carried back to the early years of the century when, as a very little boy, I ran down Federal street to the church and into the gallery where my father was leader of the choir. He took me in his arms and wrapping me within his cloak held me until the close of the service. The love there be- gotten for the dear old Federal Street Church has grown with every passing year of my life. I was early taken into its fold, and it continued my church home for many years. How vividly come to mind at this time good Deacon Moody and Mary C. Greenleaf-saints of whom the world was not worthy-and a score of others, some of whom were my beloved kindred.
For their blessed memory and that of all the faithful who have won the crown-for your present and for your future, I join with you in giving thanks to God, the giver of all things.
Your brother in Christ,
JOHN PIKE. ROWLEY, March 16, 1896.
FROM REV. ALEXANDER PROUDFIT, D. D.
Beloved Brethren :
I regret that I cannot attend your anniversary celebration. Although my father had ceased to be its pastor when I was born, he was never weary of speaking of the church he loved so well. As often as possible he visited Newburyport, and on several oc- casions took me with him. The names of its older members were familiar to me ; some of them were our guests ; more than once have I enjoyed their hospitality, and spoken in the pulpit beneath which repose the remains of the prince of evangelists. Often, when my father revisited your city, even for a night, word would be passed around, the bell would be rung, and an audience would gather to hear him preach. His friends there were dear
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to him to the close of life, and I doubt not their intercourse has been renewed, never to be broken, in our Father's House on high. The Psalmist says: "Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth." So God perpetuates his people ; so Christ perpetuates his church. May God fulfill this promise to the dear Old First Church in all the generations to come.
Yours in Christ, ALEXANDER PROUDFIT.
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio, April 3rd, 1896.
FROM HON. SARGENT P. STEARNS.
To the Committee on Invitation :
I express my very great regret that it is impossible for me to attend the exercises connected with the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the organization of the "Old South Church."
My father was its pastor when the hundredth anniversary was celebrated fifty years ago, and I wish I could be present now to renew the many tender memories and associations the occasion will suggest, and in his name and speaking as I know he would do if he were living, attempt to express something of the affec- tion, and interest, and pride he felt in the Church and its people to the last days of his life, and the wish and confident hope that the prosperity and usefulness which have made the Old South Church so conspicuous among the churches of New England may broaden and deepen and grow more beneficent through the coming century.
I would like to have told them on my own account that I have never ceased, no one of my father's blood can ever cease, to appreciate and be grateful for the touching tribute they so spontaneously and generously paid to my father's memory at the time of his death.
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Trusting that the celebration may be, as I doubt not it will, a great success, and with assurance of my kindest regards, believe me
Very truly yours, SARGENT P. STEARNS.
WASHINGTON, D. C., April 5th, 1896.
FROM REV. J. D. KINGSBURY, D. D.
To the Committee on Invitation :
I deeply regret that my duties are such that it is not possible for me to accept the kind invitation to attend the most interesting anniversary of the First Presbyterian Church.
I rejoice that you will remember together all the way the good Lord has led you through these centuries.
The early history of the Church was marked by the wonder- ful baptism of the Holy Ghost, and the story of the years that have followed has been the story of the love of God.
I love to think of the noble line of godly men who have served in the pastorate.
I take great delight in the memory of the vast number of men and women who have walked together in love and who have served the kingdom of God and have now entered into rest.
I have large hope for the years to come.
The benedictions of the past will rest on the church. The good Father in heaven will still bless and keep his children. Under the wise leadership of the present pastor the church is to accomplish great good.
Heaven bless you dear brother and the church of your love.
Affectionately ever.
J. D. KINGSBURY.
BRADFORD. Mass., April 4, IS96.
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FROM DR. WISHARD, OF UTAH.
Dear Classmate and Brother :
Greeting to the noble Church of which you are the honored Pastor, and to which I am greatly indebted, through one of its Christian women, to whom, next to my own mother, I owe more than to any other person. Her name was Miss Maria Titcomb, the daughter of an old ship-builder, and away back in the forties, she married an Andover student named P. S. Cleland. In those days Andover had a reputation for solid things as far west as our Hoosier state. It then belonged to the Church on earth, and had not attained its present etherial altitude. The young minister, with the treasure Newburyport gave him, mi- grated to Indiana, and did mission work at Greenwood, without the aid of any Home Missionary Board.
My introduction to them was when I put a load of hay in the mow for the missionary's horse. The kindly words of the Yankee woman so touched the heart of the farmer-boy that it nearly thumped the buttons off his jacket. A little later she loaned me books that gave tone to my Christian life in its earliest development. At the right moment she put in my hands Dr. Plumer's "Call to the Ministry," and it was indeed a call, and I said, "Here am I, send me."
I can recall another touch from your seashore city, when plodding my way through Wabash College. I was boarding myself at the rate of forty cents a week, and had given my last "fip-penny bit" into the contribution-box, and was wondering whence the next would come ; when a letter arrived from Mrs. Cleland with ten dollars as a gift from a friend in Newburyport, a maiden lady, and that made my fortune to the end of the term with the help of your father's woodpile and saw-buck. At the close of my middle year at Lane Seminary, I had occasion to go to Boston with Mrs. Cleland, who was on her way to visit her aged father, and under her escort I visited your church and city, not suspecting that my classmate would now be ministering
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where Whitefield preached, while I am out here in Utah ham- mering away on the infamous system of Mormonism.
Let me congratulate your people on their long and noble his- tory, and on the noble stand for truth which they have ever maintained. Not less are they to be congratulated on the noble men and women whom they have given to the West. The faces that greet me every morning, as I arise and go forth for service, are those of the once Miss Titcomb and her husband, Dr. Cle- land. Last autumn I picked an evergreen sprig from their graves at Topeka, Kansas.
May I also congratulate you, my classmate, on the blessed fact that your life has been spared through the years of toil the Master has permitted you to enjoy. Our paths have diverged, yet the divergence has been only seemingly, for the roads travelled by all believers lead to the City of God, where I trust we may meet again.
Yours as ever, SAMUEL E. WISHARD. OGDEN, Utah, March 24, 1896.
FROM DR. LITTLE, OF TEXAS.
To the Committee on Invitation :
I am heartily glad of your anniversary. In 1640 George Little settled in Newburyport. His son Tristram was the father of Enoch, and my grandfather was Enoch's son. Enoch married, June 5th, 1759, Hannah, daughter of Samuel and Mary Hovey. It is not vain to have in one's veins a vane with such a pointing, nor is it vain to be proud of such veins, and to strive to make them vanes indicating a useful life. There was something pro- phetic in the conversion of Enoch Little, as he clung to the rail- ing of the pulpit of your church. He was eleven years old, and Whitefield was preaching. Most of his descendents were con- verted in childhood, and received a revival type of piety. My
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father and uncle Jacob when they spent their last day to- gether counted over their nephews and nieces, forty-four in all. Two of them were not Christians. They spent a day in prayer for those two, and they were converted. Afterwards my father, a man of practical faith told me, "And there was one more that we forgot, what a pity !" It was a voice from out the old-time church. Henry Ward Beecher drilled his voice in a valley where there were three echoes, and so your grand old Church drilled its piety under conditions of great formalism, but its im- pression belts the globe. My greetings to your pastor, of whom I am a former pupil and a life-long friend, and to the aged church of which he has the pastoral care.
HENRY S. LITTLE,
DENNISON, Texas, Feb. 29th 1896.
FROM OTHER FRIENDS.
Rev. William A. McCorkle, D. D., of Detroit, Mich., and formerly pastor of the Springfield Street Presbyterian Church of Boston, sent a message of congratulation to the Church, and of affectionate greeting to the pastor, reminding Dr. Hovey of the time when he, as a boy, was in Dr. McCorkle's Sunday school class at Crawfordsville, Indiana. He spoke also of some of the features of controversy between Old School and New School Presbyterianism. His letter was made peculiarly touching by the fact that it was among the last he ever penned ; his death occurring about a fortnight later.
His Honor, Andrew R. Curtis, the Mayor of the city, conveyed to us his regrets at not being able to accept our invita- tion to take some part in the social festivities and to enjoy the public exercises.
Three of the city pastors who had been invited to fill places on the program, were unable to do so and sent their regrets, namely Rev. John W. Ward, of the People's Methodist Episcopal
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Church, Rev. R. E, Bisbee, of the Washington Street Methodist Episcopal Church and Rev. H. II. Churchill, of the Advent Church.
Among the distinguished guests present was Mrs. Octavia W. Richardson, and messages came from Mrs. Durfee, Mrs. Newell and Mrs. Wallace, ladies whose husbands were formerly pastors of this church. Ilon. George F. Stone, of Chicago, Capt. Moses J. Mulliken, Mrs. Eliza A. Merchant, Miss Marga- ret M. Stone, Miss Sarah M. Stone, and Mrs. Waldo B. Smith, all of this city, and all descendents of Rev. Jonathan Parsons, the first pastor of our Church, sent greetings and also attended the exercises. Mrs. Lydia C. Tucker and Miss Ada N. Tucker, daughter and great grand-daughter of Dr. Daniel Dana, another honored pastor, were among the guests of the occasion, being also members of this Church.
Thus every pastor, from the very first, except Mr. Murray and Mr. Williams, was in some manner represented at our Anniversary.
Numerous absent members of this Church remembered the occasion and sent their messages of affectionate salutation.
Greetings were likewise received from the following persons :
Professor Edwards A. Park, D. D., the veteran theologian of Andover Seminary, a classmate of the pastor's father.
Ex-President Joseph F. Tuttle, D. D., and President George S. Burroughs, D. D., of Wabash College, Indiana.
Rev. Henry A. Davenport, D. D., pastor of the First Pres- byterian Church, of Bridgeport, Conn.
Rev. Luther H. Angier, D. D., of Boston.
Rev. W. R. Cochrane, D. D., of Antrim, N. H.
Rev. James Mitchell, Ph.D., of South Framingham, Mass.
Rev. A. J. Arrick, pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Mount Sterling, Kentucky, that has just celebrated its centennial.
Rev. Edwin Charles Haskell, of Sigourney, Iowa.
Mr. William H. Baldwin, President of the Boston Young Men's Christian Union.
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Mr. John Ward Dean, secretary of the New England His- torical Society.
Mr. Anthony S. Morse, Charlestown. Mass.
Mr. George Whitefield Betts, Englewood, N. J.
Mr. Charles G. Blatchley and family, Wayne, Penn.
Mr. Lucius L. Day and family, Wayne, Penn.
Mr. Horace W. Hovey, Independence, Iowa.
Miss Mary Freeman Hovey, Crawfordsville, Indiana.
Rev. and Mrs. Henry F. Ellinwood, Victor, N. Y.
Edmund Otis Hovey, Ph. D., and Mrs. Hovey. New York City.
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ADDITIONAL POEMS.
Spontaneous poctical offerings, mentioned on page 134 as to appear in an Appendix, seem to be preferably in place along with the other reminders of friendship from the absent admirers of the Old South Church; and as tokens of affection they have a value of their own that calls for suitable recogni- tion. They are the following:
FROM THE AGES PAST.
BY MR. EDWARD D. PRITCHARD.
From the early days, members of the Pritchard family have done faithful work in the Church, the Parish and the Sabbath School, and those of the present generation have good cause for recalling with gratitude the memories awakened by these lines.)
The echoes re-echoed through the ages past Are prolonged by their rolling while time shall last ; And we hear the song of the angels again- " To God be the glory, and good will to men."
Our fathers builded on this as foundation For all that they wished for home and the nation ; And they placed on their church the heaven-pointing spire But proved by holy living their lofty desire.
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Their works do follow, though the fathers are gone, .As fragrance the flowers the tempest has strewn ; Or, like the bold ship which the mad waves defied, They come gracefully in with the evening tide.
We are proud of their names, and boast noble blood. And ask for the talents-so faithfully used- To establish throughout this sin-stricken world Temples of freedom for the glory of God.
They beckon us on from the evergreen shore, But only the faithful have right to go o'er ; So we'll work while 'tis day, till the night shall conie, And we hear from the angels the glad " Come home !"
God of our fathers! Grant to each ere we part, The most precious of blessings, a God-touched heart, And we'll give thee now, and we hope evermore, All glory and honor, dominion and power!
"WHEN I AM WEAK, THEN AM I STRONG."
BY DELEVAN KNIGHT CARTER, ESQ.
The author of these lines, a relative of the pastor, and one who loves and honors the Old South Church for its history and for the good it has done, claims nothing but leave to say so in his own way.)
I'd write a verse-I would rehearse Hlad I that in me which Could pen a line or make a rhyme Devoutly true or rich, To tell your virtues and your might, Your honored ways to speak ; But I cannot, though my love is great ; My words fail-I am weak.
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My words are weak, and I am weak. My thoughts I can't declare ; For you, ()ld Church, to me are grand ! There's nothing to compare In me, or mine, or in my rhyme ; My words are worse than Greek ; For while I love you, dear Old Church, To word it, I'm too weak.
But yet 1 write with true delight, .And labor to set forth My love for you in all you do, Your past and present worth. .And through the Power that moves the world To grace, we all may seek A home with God, who built this Church ; For God saves-though we're weak.
"THE FATHERS THAT PLANTED SO WELL.
From Rev. W. R. Cochrane, D D., of Antrim, N. II., longest settled pastor in Bostor Presbytery.
Ilow I'd love to be with you my Brother, today, As you tell of the toils and the tears, - As you gather the garlands that bloomed by the way Of the hundred and fifty years.
We know not the fathers that planted so well In the times of troubles and fears ; But the seed has borne fruit as we all can tell. For a hundred and fifty years.
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Then George the Second was having his round- That "snuffy old drone," it appears,
When the fathers joined hands on this holy ground. Back a hundred and fifty years.
I doubt not their names are spoken above, And many an Angel hears,
While we tell of their faith and their Christian love, Back a hundred and fifty years.
Oh, children in wonder, Oh, parents in prayer, Now gone to the radiant spheres- Here centered their worship, and love and care, Back a hundred and fifty years.
llere Whitefield, speaking the burning word, And others whom love endears, In whispers out of the past are heard For a hundred and fifty years.
Oh stand, old Church, while time shall last! Be spoken, () Word that cheers ! May the light shine clear, as it has in the past, These hundred and fifty years.
Oh, the good for which they toiled and wept, And the Faith, which our heart reveres- May we keep it as true as our fathers have kept. These hundred and fifty years.
Till we meet them all where the blessed are met. Where heaven its portal rears, And the saints in their endless joy forget The centuries and the years !
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FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
THE BANQUET.
Abundant hospitality was afforded for all guests. Those from out of town were entertained by the Re- ception Committee, at the Wolfe Tavern, or pri- vately at the homes of members of the congregation. A fine banquet was spread in the chapel, Wednesday evening, previous to Dr. Vermilye's historical ad- dress in the main audience room. The arrangements for this social feast were ably cared for by the spe- cial committee appointed for the purpose, of which Mr. Charles C. Donnell was the chairman, aided by Mr. Edgar J. Batchelder, and the chairman of the General Committee, with other members of the congregation. As some two hundred and fifty guests were to be provided for, and the space was limited, it was neces- sary to admit only by ticket. A hearty welcome was given by the pastor, who introduced Rev. Peter M. MacDonald. D. D., of Boston, as the presiding officer for the occasion. In the absence of Dr. Angier, who was to have invoked the divine blessing, that was
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done by Rev. Dr. Fiske of Belleville, after which began the discussion of the viands sumptuously pre- pared by Messrs. Fowle and Johnston of the Wolfe Tavern. the well-known caterers.
When the repast was finished, the post-prandial eloquence was begun by Dr. MacDonald in a felici- tous speech. He glorified Presbyterianism in general, tracing it down from Adam and Moses to the present time, showing that nearly everything good in this world was due to its direct or indirect agency: and then in the happiest manner complimented the Old South Church on what he termed its "magnificent history," and on the style in which its great anniver- sary was being celebrated. .He referred to the his- torical addresses in terms of the warmest praise. and congratulated the pastor, the session, the General Committee, and all the special committees on the rare ability shown in their plans and arrangements.
What followed was wholly impromptu, no set or- der of speech-making having been provided. Dr. David Foss spoke briefly and earnestly on behalf of the parish, of whose standing committee he is the chairman. Elder Charles M. Pritchard made an ef- fective speech. as a representative of the session, very justly claiming that, on these historic occasions the rank and file of the army should be honored.
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without whom the officers could do but little. He referred to the generous and loyal laymen and sup- porters of the church, whose names should be had in loving remembrance. Mr. Charles W. Jacoby was called on to speak for the young people, and did so in excellent terms of eulogy, paying also a tribute to the aged. Nathaniel Appleton, Esquire, editor of the Herald, spoke on behalf of the press, without whose labors such anniversaries would hardly be so successful, and between which and the religious community there ought to be the most intimate
friendship. Mr. Prentiss H. Reed, secretary of the General Committee, was called on for a few remarks, butoffered as a substitute one of Whittier's poems referring to the Old South Church, which was im- pressively read by his daughter, Miss Tula M. Reed. Speeches were made by Rev. L. A. Pope, pastor of the Baptist church, and by Rev. C. P. Mills, pastor of the North Congregational Church, neither of which had been closely related historically with our church, but both of which had many interests allied to ours, and had always watched with gratification the growth and success of their Presbyterian sister. Mr. Mills enlivened his address by witty points and telling anecdotes. Mr. William Little. President of the Historical Society, reviewed at considerable
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length the historic facts bearing on the final recon- ciliation of the Oldtown church and the Old South, and which he thought should be recalled with pleas- ure at such a time as this. Other speakers would have been gladly heard, but the hour had arrived for the evening service, and after closing words and a prayer by Dr. Vermilye, the company adjourned to the main audience room.
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THE EVENING SERVICES.
The historical addresses, on Tuesday evening by the pastor, and on Wednesday evening by Dr. Ver- milye, appear in full in the first part of this volume; and all that need be said concerning them here is that everybody was delighted with the accuracy, ability, pains-taking fidelity and eloquence with which these ministers of the Gospel accomplished their agreeable task. The result as now embodied in this memorial volume will be appreciated as a valuable addition to the local and colonial treasures of histor- ical literature. The supplementary reminiscences of the Rev. John R. Thurston, who for ten years was the pastor of the First Church of Old Newbury, were fraught with eloquence and fervor, and were heard with breathless attention. It is a matter of regret that, as they were wholly extempore, it has not been found practicable to reproduce them for this volume.
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Among the most attractive features of all the ser- vices must be mentioned the instrumental and vocal music, as indicated on the program. The organ vol- untaries and accompaniments were rendered with great skill and in excellent taste. The solos by Miss Adams were beautiful and were impressively sung. Each of the vocalists was in the best possible mood, and entered into the spirit of the grand selections given from the works of the great masters of sacred harmony. The congregational singing was remarka- bly fine, and every soul seemed to pour itself out in song with "the General Assembly and church of the first-born, whose names are written in Heaven," as they joined in the familiar hymn,
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