Ould Newbury: historical and biographical sketches, Part 29

Author: Currier, John J. (John James), 1834-1912
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: Boston, Damrell and Upham
Number of Pages: 752


USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Newbury > Ould Newbury: historical and biographical sketches > Part 29


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).


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ST. PAUL'S CHURCH


was removed by an act of parliament ; and Rev. Dr. William White, of Pennsylvania, and Rev. Dr. Samuel Provoost, of New York, were consecrated at Lambeth Chapel Feb. 4, 1787. Some years later Rev. James Madison, D. D., of Virginia, having been elected bishop, was consecrated, Sept. 19, 1790, by the archbishop of Canterbury, the bishop of London, and the bishop of Rochester.


Meanwhile, a convention of the New England churches was held in Boston on the 7th and 8th of September, 1785, for the purpose of considering the proposed changes in the Book of Common Prayer. Rev. Edward Bass was chosen president, and after a full and free discussion many important changes and alterations in the liturgy and ritual of the church were suggested and adopted.


At a meeting of the clergy of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, held at Salem, Mass., June 4, 1789, for the pur- pose of encouraging and promoting the growth of the church in New England, Rev. Edward Bass was nominated and elected to the office of bishop, " to be received as such when canonically consecrated and invested with the Apostolic office."


Sept. 16, 1789, the proprietors of St. Paul's Church elected Hon. Tristram Dalton and Hon. Elbridge Gerry delegates to the general convention, to be held at Philadel- phia Sept. 29, 1789, and appointed Hon. Jonathan Jackson, Dudley Atkins, Esq., and John Tracy, Esq., a committee to draw up a letter of instructions to be forwarded to Messrs. Dalton and Gerry, then in New York. At an adjourned meeting, held two days later, the committee submitted the draft of a letter which was accepted and adopted ; and a copy of the same was entered upon the records of the church.


At the convention, a series of resolutions were adopted in the committee of the whole, requesting the bishops to comply "with the prayer of the clergy of the States of Massachusetts and New Hampshire for the consecration of the Rev. Edward Bass"; but, for prudential reasons, action was delayed until after the death of Rev. Dr. Seabury, of


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Connecticut, who had been consecrated by the non-juring bishops at Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1784. Rev. Mr. Bass re- ceived the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity from the University of Pennsylvania in 1789; and May 7, 1797, he was consecrated in Christ Church, Philadelphia, as bishop of Massachusetts and Rhode Island by Right-Rev. William White, D. D., of Pennsylvania, Bishops Provoost and Claggett being present and assisting.


Jan. 25, 1800, the General Court of Massachusetts passed an act authorizing " the Proprietors of the Episcopal Church in Newburyport to appoint an agent with power to transfer and convey to such persons as the Proprietors shall think proper the building now occupied by them for the upholding of public worship, together with so much of the Proprietors' land under and adjoining the same as shall be covered by a new church which such purchasers may cause to be erected."


At a meeting of the proprietors of St. Paul's Church, held Feb. 26, 1800, John Tracy, Esq., was appointed agent to convey to Edward Rand and others "the present church with all its fixtures, including Bell, Organ, &c." February 28, John Tracy conveyed the building, with a certain portion of the land under and adjoining the same, to the following persons, subscribers to the fund raised for the erection of a new church, namely : Edward Rand, William Farris, Joseph Kent, Tristram Coffin, Samuel Allyne Otis, Abraham Jack- son, James Prince, Joseph Cutler, Samuel Cutler, Nicholas Tracy, William Cutler, Isaac Adams, William Woart, Benja- min Balch, William Welstead Prout, John Pettingal, Abner Wood, William Wyer, Jr., and William Moreland, merchants ; Edward Bass, Doctor in Divinity ; Edward Bass, Jr., painter ; George Jenkins, mariner ; Charles Jackson, gentleman ; Abra- ham Gallishan, sail-maker; Thomas Thomas, gentleman ; Joseph Nowell, tallow chandler ; Thomas Packer, teamster ; Joseph Hooper, gentleman; Gilman Frothingham, leather dresser ; Nathaniel Ash, teamster ; John Akerman, rope- maker ; and Richard Peters, cooper, all of Newburyport ; and Humphrey Morse, yeoman ; Dudley Atkins Tyng, Esq. ; Stephen Hooper, Esq. ; Stephen Toppan, housewright ; Jacob


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ST. PAUL'S CHURCH


Little, merchant ; Amos Atkinson, merchant ; and Joseph Sawyer, husbandman, all of Newbury ; and Joseph Laughton, of Boston.


At a meeting of the subscribers to this fund, held March 24, 1800, Joseph Kent, Dudley A. Tyng, Samuel A. Otis, William Farris, and Tristram Coffin were appointed a com- mittee to make the contract for erecting and finishing a new church. On the twenty-fifth day of March this committee agreed with Stephen Toppan "to take down and remove the building called St. Paul's Church," and erect a new one on the same spot, according to specifications, with a vestry-room in the rear, "and a piazza of the Truscan order in front, sup- ported by twelve pillars. ... The Pulpit, Reading Desk and Clerk's Pew shall be finished like those of Trinity Church in Boston, except as to the ornamental part thereof, which shall be decent and as elegant as the said Stephen shall think be- coming." The bell, organ, and altar-piece (reredos) were to be carefully taken down and set up again in the new church. All of this work was to be finished and completed before the fifteenth day of October, 1800.


The corner-stone was laid with Masonic ceremonies by the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts on the twenty-second day of May. Services were held in the Second Presbyterian meet- ing-house, Bishop Bass officiating. Rev. William Bentley, D. D., a Congregational minister of Salem, Mass., delivered the address.


The following letters, written to Rev. Dr. Bentley just before and just after that event, taken from a biographical sketch of that eminent clergyman, prepared by Rev. S. C. Beane, of Newburyport, are exceedingly interesting and suggestive : -


Rev. & Dear Sir ;


NEWBURYPORT, May 17, 1800.


Possibly you may know that the little handful of Episcopalians here are building a new church for our good friend Dr. Bass. The excellent old Gentleman is so delighted with the thing that he must needs have a ceremony in laying the corner-stone. This ceremony is to be per- formed by the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts on Thursday next. I know your affection for the craft, & I avail myself of it to support my


ST. PAUL'S CHURCH, BUILT IN 1800.


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ST. PAUL'S CHURCH


request that you will join us in the business, and particularly that you will make your quarters at my house. . . .


I am, Dear Sir, &c.,


DUDLEY A. TYNG.


NEWBURYPORT, May 31, 1800. My Dear Sir ;


Your heart is benevolent, your head is liberal, but, as your memory may be treacherous, I take the liberty to remind you of the tobacco.


Yours, EDWARD BASS.


Rev. Wm Bentley.


Rev. Dr. Bentley's address was published in full in the Newburyport Herald, May 30, 1800.


At the close of the exercises in the Second Presbyterian meeting-house, a procession was formed, and proceeded to the site of the new church, where under a triumphal arch, on which was written in letters of gold, "HOLINESS TO THE LORD," the corner-stone was laid by Bishop Bass, assisted by his Masonic brethren. The church was consecrated Oct. 8, 1800 ; and the proprietors, at a meeting held Dec. 22, 1800, " voted that the thanks of this meeting be and hereby are presented to the Second Presbyterian Society in Newbury- port for their truly Christian kindness in accommodating us with the use of their Meeting House the past season while our church was rebuilding ; and that Dudley A. Tyng, Esq., Mr Edward Rand and Mr Joseph Kent be committee to com- municate the same."


Since that date the church has remained substantially the same in outward appearance, but some noteworthy changes have been made within. The clerk's pew has long since dis- appeared ; and in place of the old pulpit and reading-desk are more elaborate works of bronze and brass, memorial gifts from friends of the church.


The old bell was broken while being rung on Sunday, Dec. 23, 1810. A new one, cast by Paul Revere, Boston, weigh- ing six hundred and thirty-seven pounds, was placed in the belfry Feb. 14, 1811, and rung for the first time Sunday,


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Feb. 17, 1811. The old organ occupied a prominent position in the front gallery, opposite the chancel, until 1836, when it was sold, and replaced by a new one. In the summer of 1866, another change was made for the accommodation of the choir. The organ was removed from the gallery. Another and larger instrument was purchased, and set up on the lower floor of the church on the northwesterly side of the chancel, where it still remains.


The altar-piece, or reredos, to which reference is made in the contract, resembles in general shape and appearance the altar-piece brought from England in 1714, and set up in St. Michael's Church, Marblehead. The similarity of design indicates that the imported English work was taken as a model by the builders of St. Paul's Church, Newburyport. Some changes and alterations, however, were made at the time; and, when the new church was built in 1800, the panel containing the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, and the Apostles' Creed, was added. The letters are said to have been drawn by William Woart, and painted by Edward Bass, nephew of Bishop Bass.


When repairs were made upon the church in 1842, the eagle, for some reason unknown, was taken from its place above the altar, and after an absence of nearly forty years, during which time it occupied a conspicuous place in front of engine house No. 3, on Congress Street, Newburyport, and afterward in front of the store of T. H. & A. W. Lord on Market Square, it was rescued and restored through the efforts of Ben : Perley Poore, Esq., and Mr. Charles W. Moseley, to its former position in the church,- a worthy and appropriate memorial and symbol of the everlasting gospel, bearing its message of peace and good will to every tribe and tongue and people.


This eagle, though long associated with the church, did not form a part of the ancient altar-piece, and probably dates its existence from the year 1800. Among the items charged in the account of Samuel A. Otis, who was clerk of the com- mittee appointed to superintend the building of the new church, is the sum of twenty-five dollars, " Paid Wilson for


INTERIOR OF ST. PAUL'S CHURCH.


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carving eagle." There is also in the same account a charge of nine dollars "for carving mitre & small eggle." The mitre, carved in wood, was placed above the belfry as an emblem of the office of the first bishop of Massachusetts and Rhode Island ; but how or when the " small eggle " was used is at the present time unknown.


Bishop Bass was twice married. His first wife, Sarah (Beck) Bass, died in May, 1789, leaving no children. For his second wife he married Miss Mercy Phillips, who survived him many years .* He died Sept. 10, 1803, in the seventy- sixth year of his age, and was buried in the churchyard on the thirteenth day of the month, Rev. Dr. Parker, of Boston, preaching the sermon on that occasion and reading the com- mittal service at the grave.


Rev. Dr. Bentley, in his diary under date of May 23, 1804, writes as follows : --


I received from Newburyport a catalogue of Bishop Bass' library which is to be sold on Friday next. ... The catalogue contained 46 Folios & 240 volumes besides, including all sorts found in his hands. This would not be a considerable library in Europe, but it is greater than is commonly found among our prominent divines in America, & is more of a Theological cast than I have seen, except the library of the Mathers, Dr. Mather Byles, Chauncy, & Cooper, or, in other words, than ever I have seen out of Boston, no one excepted.


I could not help noticing, in going over the catalogue, I did not find the least notice of a Greek Testament ... no modern or late com- mentary even of his own church. . .. The same inattention to American history.


Rev. James Morss, born in Newburyport Oct. 25, 1779, graduated at Harvard College in 1800, was admitted to the order of deacons in the Episcopal Church by Right-Rev. Edward Bass, D. D., on the third day of July, 1803. On the nineteenth day of October, of the same year, he was invited to take charge of St. Paul's parish. June II, 1804, he was ordained priest by Bishop Moore in the French Church du St. Esprit, in the city of New York ; and for nearly thirty-nine years he continued the work of the ministry in


* Mrs. Mercy Bass died Jan. 13, 1842, aged eighty-seven.


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Newburyport. In the records of the church soon after he became rector, he wrote as follows : -


On the 6th of August, 1805, a fast was kept at Mr. Dana's Meeting House on account of the long drought ; but two most beautiful showers, occurring about three days previous, occasioned no small embarrass- ment. A proposal made by myself to convert the fast into a day of thanksgiving was not favorably received.


Princeton College, N. J., conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity in 1826. On Sunday, Dec. 31, 1837, he preached in St. Paul's Church, Newburyport, two historical discourses that were afterward published in pam- phlet form, from which many of the facts for this sketch are taken. He died April 26, 1842. Arrangements for the funeral were made by a committee appointed by the wardens and vestrymen of the church. Rev. Daniel Dana, Rev. John Andrews, Rev. Leonard Withington, Rev. Jonathan F. Stearns, Rev. Luther F. Dimmick, Rev. Randolph Campbell, Rev. Thomas B. Fox, and Rev. John C. March, clergymen in Newburyport, were invited to act as pall-bearers. Rev. Mr. Searle, chaplain of the United States navy, read the sen- tences on entering the church. Rev. Mr. Watson, of Trinity Church, Boston, read the selections from the Psalms. Rev. Thomas M. Clark, of Grace Church, Boston, read the lesson. Right-Rev. Alexander V. Griswold, bishop of the Eastern diocese, read the other parts of the burial service. Rev. Charles Burroughs, D. D., of Portsmouth, N. H., preached a sermon from Psalm xii., I,-" Help, Lord, for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of- men." The committal service was read at the grave, in the churchyard adjoining ; and subsequently an appropriate monu- ment was erected to his memory by order of the parish.


In the spring of 1843, Rev. John S. Davenport, of Stam- ford, Conn., a graduate of Yale College, was invited to officiate in the church. He preached his first sermon March 5, 1843. During the summer the church was closed for repairs, and services were held in the court-house on Bartlett Mall. Rev. John S. Davenport was ordained priest and


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instituted rector of St. Paul's Church in December, 1843. In consequence of some disagreement he resigned his position Nov. 12, 1844.


Rev. Edward A. Washburn, born in Boston in 1819, gradu- ated at Harvard College in 1838, was invited, March 4, 1845, to become rector of St. Paul's Church. He accepted the in- vitation, and after a delay of some months was admitted to priest's orders. He remained in charge of the parish until Aug. 3, 1851, when he tendered his resignation, in order that he might have opportunity to travel in the Holy Land.


Rev. William Horton, D. D., was the next rector. He was born in Newburyport March 14, 1805, graduated at Harvard College in 1824, and entered upon his duties as rector of St. Paul's Church Sept. 1, 1853. In November, 1861, Rev. Dr. Horton submitted to the wardens and vestrymen a pro- posal to build at his own expense, on the westerly side of the church, a stone chapel in memory of a beloved daughter re- cently deceased. The building was erected during the year 1862, and consecrated May 23, 1863. Rev. Dr. Horton died Oct. 29, 1863. Funeral services were held in the church October 31, Right-Rev. Bishop Eastburn officiating.


Rev. John C. White was invited to become associate rector with Rev. Dr. Horton Jan. 19, 1863. He accepted the invi- tation, and, after the death of Rev. Dr. Horton, remained in charge of the parish for seven years. May 20, 1865, the old parsonage house-the gift of Mrs. Mercy Bass, widow of Bishop Bass, to the church - was, by order of the supreme court, held at Salem in the month of April preceding, sold at auction, and the proceeds added to the Bass fund, in charge of the trustees of donations to the Episcopal church in Massachusetts.


Rev. John C. White resigned as rector of St. Paul's Church April 18, 1870 ; and Oct. 24, 1870, Rev. George D. Johnson was invited to take charge of the vacant pulpit. He entered upon his duties Nov. 1, 1870, and remained rector until Oct. 5, 1875.


His successor, Rev. E. L. Drown, held the office from May 3, 1876, to Dec. 20, 1883, and was followed by Rev. J. H. Van Buren from Nov. 20, 1884, to July 1, 1890.


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ST. PAUL'S CHURCH


The present rector, Rev. William C. Richardson, was in- vited to take charge of the parish Sept. 1, 1890. He entered upon the duties of his office Sept. 15, 1890.


In the churchyard are many interesting monuments erected to the memory of men and women prominent in the early history of Newbury and Newburyport.


Rev. Matthias Plant, in his record of deaths and burials, says : " Elizabeth, Dater of Ambrose Davis & Margaret, was ye first corpse interred in ye new church yard by ye water side July 17, 1742, aged 17 months." The oldest stone now standing there marks the grave of Sarah Atkins, daughter of William and Abigail Atkins, who died July 19, 1742.


The oldest person buried within this enclosure was Joseph Atkins, who died Jan. 21, 1773, aged ninety-nine. The oldest woman was Miss Margaret Morris Jenkins, who died Sept. 27, 1865, aged ninety-six years and four months. The total number of inscriptions on gravestones now standing is two hundred and eighty, and twenty-five of them relate to men and women who were at least eighty years of age at the time of their decease.


In the list of worthy and distinguished citizens who now rest from their labors in this old churchyard are the names of Michael Dalton, Anthony Gwynn, Joseph Atkins, Patrick Tracy, Thomas Thomas, Bishop Bass, Rev. James Morse, D. D., Dudley Atkins Tyng, John Tracy, Tristram Dalton, William Moreland, and Edward S. Rand.


THE DEVIL'S DEN.


-


THE DEVIL'S DEN.


In 1697, the discovery of limestone "within half a mile of the navigable part of Little river" created great excite- ment in the town of Newbury. Previous to this date all the lime used for house-building purposes was obtained from oyster and clam shells. Mortar made from this lime was very durable, and came, in process of time, to be almost as hard as granite. When the first house on Kent's Island was erected, the chimney inside the house was made of clay, while the portion projecting above the roof was built of brick laid in mortar, made from the lime of oyster shells. A cen- tury later, when the old house was taken down to give place to a new one, the brick chimney top, still solid and firm, was raised from the clay with heavy iron bars, and is said to have rolled down the steep roof and fallen to the ground without starting a brick.


Alonzo Lewis, the historian of Lynn, states that in 1696 a large quantity of clams were thrown upon the Lynn and Nahant beaches during the severe storms of that year. " The people were permitted, by a vote of the town, to dig and gather as many as they wished for their own use, but no more; and no person was allowed to carry any out of the town, on a penalty of twenty shillings. The shells were gathered in cartloads on the beach, and manufactured into lime."


The same author says, in the year 1712, " all the shells which came upon the Nahant beaches were sold by the town to Daniel Brown and William Gray for thirty shillings. They were not to sell the shells for more than eight shillings a load, containing forty-eight bushels, heaped measure. The people were permitted to dig and gather the clams as before,


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and leave the shells. The house in which I was born was plastered with lime made from these shells."


Concerning the great discovery in Newbury, Judge Sewall says in his diary, under date of Sept. 8, 1697, volume 5, page 458 :-


Col. Pierce gave an account of the Body of Lime-Stone discovered at Newbury, and the order of the Selectmen published by James Brown, Deputy Sheriff, to prohibit any persons from carrying any more away under the penalty of twenty shillings. It seems they have begun to come with Teams by 30 in a day. The Town will have a meeting, and bring it to some Regulation. Our Mumford saith 'tis good Marble. Ens. James Noyes found it out.


Coffin, in his History of Newbury, says that the town chose Sept. 22, 1697, "Major Daniel Davison, Corporal George March, and ensign James Noyes, as a committee, who shall inspect into all matters concerning the limestones in any of the undivided lands in the town, who shall have the sole ordering, disposing, and importing said limestones for the town's use in what way and manner they shall judg shall most conduce to the benefit of the town." This com- mittee were required to keep a strict and accurate account of all receipts and expenditures, to be reported to the town every six months, and all persons were prohibited from taking any of this limestone for their own personal use under a penalty of twenty shillings for each and every hogshead so taken.


The town also voted that "the kiln for burning said lime shall be built at or near the end of Muzzie's lane, next the Merrimack river." This kiln, located at the foot of what is now known as Marlborough Street, was used exclusively for the burning of lime by the committee appointed on the part of the town, to attend to that duty.


Other kilns, however, were constructed within the limits of Newbury by private individuals, and limestone was pur- chased from the town at a fixed rate, and manufactured into lime at a good profit. In 1698, the town "voted that four shillings per ton shall be paid for lime stones for transporta-


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tion, and that no more shall be sold out of the towne till further order." Jan. 5, 1704, "the town voted that two shillings and six pence per ton shall be paid for lime stone, provided that they buy them, dig them, and burn them in Newbury."


Meanwhile, another quarry had been discovered on the road leading to Kent's Island; and the work of drilling, blasting, and removing limestone, was carried on simulta- neously in both places. For many years the business con- tinued prosperous and lucrative ; but, at length, the discovery of a superior quality of stone in other parts of New England lessened the demand for the product of the Newbury quarries, and they gradually fell into disuse, and finally were abandoned altogether.


Cushing, in his History of Newburyport, published in 1826, describing these limestone pits, says : -


The excavations are still regarded with interest on account of the number of minerals to be found there, some of which are of rare occur- rence. The limestone rock is intersected with strata of serpentine of various shades, from the light green to the darkest variety, of a fine grain, and susceptible of the most beautiful polish. The serpentine again is frequently traversed by thin veins of asbestos of a short but very delicate and glossy fibre. Tremolite, also, is found there in abun- dance, with iron pyrites, sometimes of a large size; and occasionally garnets and other more common minerals.


Long after these quarries had ceased to have a commercial value, pleasure parties were accustomed, during the summer months, to seek rest and recreation there, beguiling the time with marvelous stories in which the Prince of Darkness was given a conspicuous place. In later years the young and credulous found traces of his Satanic Majesty's footsteps in the solid rock, and discovered other unmistakable signs of his presence in that locality ; and ever since the Devil's Den, the Devil's Basin, and the Devil's Pulpit have been objects of peculiar interest to every native of old Newbury.


OLD ELM OF NEWBURY.


THE OLD ELM OF NEWBURY.


The American elm is not a very long-lived tree. It grows with vigor for seventy-five or one hundred years, but begins to show signs of decay long before it is two centuries old. Very few elms reach the age of two hundred and fifty ; and seldom, if ever, is one seen three hundred years old.


The Newbury elm, on Parker Street, was probably set out in the year 1713, and therefore is now one hundred and eighty-three years old. At that date, Richard Jaques, born Jan. 6, 1684, is said to have brought the young and slender tree to his father's house, and planted it there. Slowly at first, but afterward taking firm hold on the soil, it threw its branches outward and upward into the sunlight, and year by year added to its height and circumference.


Richard Jaques married Feb. 25, 1713-4, Elizabeth, daugh- ter of Joseph and Deborah Knight. In March, 1760-1, Richard Jaques and his wife Elizabeth both died of small-pox, and were buried on land belonging to the estate, almost di- rectly opposite the old homestead where they had lived for nearly fifty years.




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