USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Charlestown > Records of the First church in Charlestown, Massachusetts, 1632-1789 > Part 19
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* generally to go to Boston on the Lord's day to hear the word and enjoy the sacraments, before they could be otherwise supplied." Hubbard (Chapter xxv.) ex- presses this passage of history as follows :-
" Those who at first planted on each side of Charles river, at the bottom of the bay, made but one congregation for the present. unto whom Mr. Wilson was minister at the first. But he going to England the next spring, and not returning with his family until the year 1632, those of the north side called one Mr. James to be their pastor, and named their town, from the river it was seated upon. Charlestown ; as those on the other side, being now become a distinct town of themselves, and retaining Mr. Wilson for their minister, afterward called their plantation Boston."
. Few men who lived in New-England before 1700, had more adequate opportunity or capacity to know and understand the status of the early churches " on the Bay." than did Cotton Mather, both by his acquaintance with the chief men of his time and with many of the early settlers. and also with one of the three largest and best libraries of New-England history formed in the country before the Revolution-that gathered by his own family. Math- er in his Magnalia (Book I., Chapter v., $6, ed. 1702). atter stating that the Massachusetts colonists of 1630 "left the Fleet ahnost, as the Family of Noah did the Ark, having a whole world before them to be peopled"-con- tinues. describing the settlements they formed. " First," he states, " There was a Church thus gathered at Charles-Town." *
* * " After the gath- ering of the Church at Charles-Town there quickly followed another at the Town of Dorchester. And after Dorchester there followed another at the Town of Boston, which Issued out of Charles-Town : one Mr. James took the Care of the Church at Charles-Town, and Mr. Wilson went over to Bos- ton, where they that formerly belonged unto Charles-Town, with Universal Approbation, became a distinct Church of themselves." The opinion of Cotton Mather-one of the most fully informed ministers of Boston, is, in a church matter like this. of certainly considerable valuc.
Gov. Hutchinson, whose collections and publications relating to Massa- chusetts have never been surpassed in value, and whose ancestors, he states in the preface to his history ( London. 1760), "for four successive genera- tions, had been principal actors in public affairs " of the Colony. has related (Vol. I., p. 22.) that. at the period being considered, " Mr. Nowell and some of his friends made their pitch [at Charlestown], but considered themselves and Boston, at first, as but one settlement and one church, with Mr. Wilson for their minister."
In Emerson's history of the First Church, Boston ( Boston. Svo. 1812) we find his account (as its historian ) of the same period. In a sermon delivered to that church July 17, 1808, (p. 238), he states that :- "The covenant which was signed at Charlestown, on the twenty-seventh of August. 1630, was renewed in Boston. on the sixteenth day of October, 1632. It was then that this ecclesiastal establishment was begun. In that year was built the first edifice, which was ever reared for public worship in the town of Boston." On page 12th of the same work, Dr. Emerson, after giving the covenant and date (1630), states that " probably sixty-four men and half as many women immediately signed this religious obligation." These. with the four very prominent men who signed July 30. and the five signers Aug. 1st., made the whole number who were admitted, before the end of the lat- ter month, to this church in Charlestown, over one hundred. Dr. Emerson
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states also (p. 17), that August 6th. 1633 (about nine months after re-orgau- ization of the Charlestown church). the whole unmber of communicants of the Boston church was probably not " more than a hundred," or no more than were in the original church at Charlestown before any change was made in its localization.
Such appear to have been both the general history, 1680-2. of this church founded at Charlestown, and opinions respecting it beld until quite re- cently. Hon. James Savage, by a uote, Vol. i. p. 113. in his very valuable edition of Winthrop's Journal. expresses an entirely different estimate of these facts and styles it a " strange obliquity of judgment " to argue prere- deney of the first church, Charlestown, to the first at Bostou, or even to date the former earlier than 1632. We might, however, with due respect to this distinguished editor, think that a church founded at Charlestown July 30, 1630, by a large community, " the greatest unmber " of which were "intending nothing more than settling in this town " [Town Records ]-a church that in a month numbered over 100 members, and was thus established before Bo-ton was settled or even named-was then, Hardly a Boston church : and indeed. that it hardly appears to have been distinctly a Boston church until about two years had passed. Mr. Savage wrote ( Winthrop I. 113) that " the pastor aud the flock, rather than the place of their assembly, ought surely to eutitle any society of worshippers to be thought the same, aud not another." Acunit- ting this statement to be correct. we find that Mr. Wilson, the " pastor " in question, parted with his eongregation March 29, 1631, and sailed from Salem April 1, for England, whence he arrived in Boston May 26, 1632, consequently during nearly all the time while the Charlestown people at- tended serviee in Boston the " pastor" was abroad (mostly in London). so that his localization should have little effect in determining that of this church. Iu regard to the " flock " in question, we find that inhabitants of Charlestown not only engaged iu founding the church July 80, 1630, and in appointing the " pastor," but also retained position in it, and appear to have contributed their proportion of current maintenance. aud of funds for build- ing the first meeting-house. Settlers remained in Charlestown after the re- movals to Boston that have been mentioned. Of those who subseribed the Covenant Nov. 2, 1632. Abraham Palmer, and Ralph and Riehard Sprague were original settlers of 1629. The names of four others on this Covenant appear on the town records among those settlers of 1630 who " stayed and became inhabitants of this town" when the many removed to Boston-Increase Nowell, Esq., Edward Couvers, Rice Cole, Ezekiel Riche- son. The first of these four signed the Covenant August 1, 1630. imme- diately after the four chief men whose names were affixed July 30, his being thus the fifth. He was appointed ruling elder of the church, and held that office until a few months before the Covenant of Nov. 2d, 1632 was signed. The church members settled in Boston renewed their Covenant October 16, 1632, two days after the Charlestown members were "dismissed," and the date, says Mr. Emerson-historian of the First Church, Boston-when that establishment was begun. Previous to this time the worship in Boston had been in private houses or under trees, and not in any definable place : and only at about this time was a meeting-house built, a structure with mud walls and thatched roof, that stood (as already stated) on the site of Brazier's Bloek, near the head of State street. When these chureli members divided, there was not only no change of faith but an almost exaet copying of the substanee of the Covenant of July 30, and the parting (according to suudry evidence in Prince's annals) was peaceful. Furthermore, there appears no
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evidence or a reasonable doubt, that, with ruling elder Nowell living in Charlestown, and the pastor long absent from the country, and ministers not superabundant, that public services of some sort were not from time to time nmaintained in Charlestown. and necessarily on or around the Town Hill, where the settlement existed.
Gov. Winthrop simply states in regard to this division of the church, that " those of Charlestown, who had formerly been joined to Boston congrega- tion," were " dismissed from the congregation of Boston."
It appears, accordingly, that this church was, from July 80, 1630, to Nov. 2 (O. S.) 1632 a joint or united church, and that Charlestown should share with Boston in the honor of identification with a church originating with the four noble men who, dwelling on Charlestown ground, first signed the Covenant of 1630, and that the ancient first church in Charlestown -- during nearly one hundred and eighty years the only established, recognized reli- gious organization of its people, and yet maintained-is the rightful repre- sentative of Charlestown heir-hip to this historic honor. And the distin- guished character of the existing First Church, Boston, neither can be int- proved by claim or attribute not clearly and wholly its own, or impaired by any accordance of whatever is due to Charlestown. Indeed, the common origin, the united worship during nearly two years, and the original identity of covenant. suggest that, notwithstanding changes produced by time, or thoughit, or belief. there can exist unity of effort towards attainment of the ends of faith. of covenants, of Christian labors: and common ascription of respect and affection towards those true followers of the great Master who founded the church. that Hubbard tells us (ch. xxxviii.) " some have been heard to say, they believed " " the most glorious church in the world."
Review of Charlestown history, during the period 1628-32, thus shows the beginning of the story of this American Shrine, and the earlier associa- tions with which we may invest it. Since that period, its story, that may now be briefly sketched, is continuous and undisputed, and not unworthy of a noble introduction.
The old Town Hill in Charlestown, to which this story relates, always small in area. is now of slight elevation. It is composed of gravel or drift, much of which has from time to time been removed, particularly about the year 1782. Its original height must have been much greater than it is at present.
The first place of worship of the church. as already described, was under the " Charlestown Oak," that grew upon this hill, and the second was the " Great House " at the base of the hill. After the re-organization of the church in 1632 the " Great House " was bonght for £10, fitted up and used as the meeting-house of the town, apparently until the summer of 1636, when there is some reason to suppose that a new place of worship was built "between the town and the neck." 1
This third place of worship could not have been far from the "Town Hill," around which most of the settlers lived. In 1639. however (the town records show), there was " a new meeting-house, newly built in the town. on the south side of the Town Hill." and the former house was sold for £100- that were used in payment for this new house.
This latter-the fourth place of worship-stood on the side, or slope of the hill, facing the " Square," and between the present City Hall and the beginning of Main street. According to Mr. Frothingham (p. 95) 110
1 Budington, Hist. First Church ; Frothingham, Hist. town, p. 95.
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description of it is extant. It was sundry thmnes enlarged or repaired. and existed 77 years, when it was succeeded by another-the fifth place of worship.
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This tifth place of worship, according to the town records, was "as near the old one as can be," and was a framed building . 72 feet long, 52 feet wide" (F. Ilist. 248) aud 84 feet (three stories) high, with a steeple. The writer does not find other description of it. It stood until June 17, 1775, when, with the whole town, it was burued by the British. In this general conflagration apparently also disappeared the " Great House," that has been supposed to have stood, undergoing various vicissitudes, until that date. After having been used as a place of worship (until 1636) it became the Tavern, or Ordinary (as called in early times), and as such was kept, during three-quarters of a century, by Robert Long or his sons-being "known as . The Two Cranes' from its sign." In 1683 it contained, "among other rooms, a great lower room, a great chamber, a kitchen, and a wine cellar ; and then, or later, a brew-house was attached. As early as 1712 it was called " The Okdl Tavern." ( Frothinghamn Ifist. p. 96.)
The sixth place of worship was on the top of the Town Hill, at the re- occupation of the town (in 1777), after the British evacuated Boston. In two documents among the records of the First Parish, Charlestown, appear the following statements in regard to this sixth place of worship.
" In the year 1777, after the destruction of the town, the returning inhabi- tants in their then distressed situations, did make it one of their first objeets to provide a honse to re-establish the public worship of God in this town. * * * We found no other or better place in which to worship than an old block-house left by the British troops." This "old block-house, left by the British army in 1776, was appropriated as a school-room, a meeting-house, and for other necessary purposes." It stood, as already stated, upon " Town Hill," and continued to be the place of worship for about six years.
In 1783, the seventh place of worship, on about the same site (the top of the Town Hill) was prepared. It was a well-built wooden editice, 72 feet long, 52 feet wide, and 27 feet high to the eaves. In 1804 it was widened to 84 feet. It had " a large tower and elegant steeple." designed by Charles Bulfinch ; a bell, weighing 1300 pounds. "presented by Champion, Dicka- son and Burgis-merchants of London"; and a handsome clock, presented by Hon. Thomas Russell. An excellent view of this editice is given by Mr. Frothingliam, in his history of Charlestown, and a description in Dr. Josiah Bartlett's "sketeli of Charlestown," 1813 (published in Coll. Mass. Ilist. Soc., 2d ser. vol. 2. p. 170). The writer has in keeping the original eleva- tions and sections of this edifice. Extensive renewals became necessary, and in 1832-4, this wooden structure was taken down, and a substantial one of brick was erected on its site.
The walls and roof of this latter-the eiglith place of worship-now remain in good condition. The interior and parts of the exterior were re- modelled, and a brick tower in Norman style was built in 1852. Soon after, the meeting-house that had hitherto been exposed on all sides, was surround- ed by an iron fence and ornamental grounds. In 1868 the Ohl Bell ( from London)-then recast a third time, and the "Harris Chime " of sixteen bells-gift of Charlotte Harris of Boston (whose ancestors long worshipped here), were placed in the tower, constituting, at the time of erection ( April. 1868), the largest collection of bells in use in New-England, and the largest in number and second in weight then in the United States.
Thus it appears that the first place of worship of the First Church,
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Charlestown, was beneath the " Charlestown Oak," that grew upon the slope of the Town Hill, and that all the various subsequent places of worship have been either upon the top of the same hill. or (during 186 years before the great conflagration ) only about seventy yards therefrom on one of the slopes, or, when in the " Great House." only about one hundred yards from the sum- mit; that all these sites, indeed, occupied by the church pertain to this spot. But church history, important as it is, is not all that is associated with the Town Hill.
As early as 1629, when the shore of the " Bay of Massachusetts" was an almost unbroken wilderness, the strongest settlement yet made throughout that region was gathered around this hill, and on its summit was built, under direction of Mr. Graves, a defensive work called the " Hill Fort." " with pallisadoes and flankers"-during more than forty years the chief building on the hill. and one necessary for the protection of the settlers. Again, in 1675-6, during " Philip's war." the most trying in which Colonial Massa- chusetts engaged, and when hostilities were committed by Indians within a few miles distance, this " Fort " appears to have been again put in defensive order. The first burial-place of the town, where, as has already been stated in this article, many of the earliest settlers were interred, was for several years, also, on the hill, until after 1610, when the yet existing " Old Burial Gronnd," about an eighth of a mile distant, was used. In 1635. Robert Hawkins built a mill upon the hill. and hence it was. for a long time, called " Windmill Hill." In 1648 appears the earliest date of record (extant) re- specting a town school-house, and that is associated with this height, for then " one was ordered to be built on . Windmill Hill,' and paid for by a 'gen- eral rate.' " Since that date a public school has been maintained almost uninterruptedly on the Town Hill. providing education for practice of civil government, the local seat of which has been from the very beginning of civilization on " the Bay," almost continuously at the base of it. The time while both educational and political institutions were removed. was when the town, desolate trom the conflagration on June 17th, 1775, became the first great sacrifice for American Independence. And as the town grew to existence around this hill, so also, around the same old spot, it arose from ruin to new life.
And such, briefly sketched. is a part of the story of this American Shrine- the Town Hill in Charlestown. No other spot on the shores of New- England is invested with a more venerable or more continuous series of associations so definitely and so concentratedly localized.
No other New-England hill. except the hallowed Burial Hill at Plymouth, has a history so long or so suggestive, none has one more varied. And these two hills have peculiar historie resemblance. Each bore the first permanent and important civilized settlement on its respective bay. On both was a fortification necessary for defence against Indians, during many years after the beginning of colonization upon and around them. On both were buried some of the earliest settlers in their respective regions. At the base of both, the Puritan faith was long maintained in churches founded by numbers of its earliest arrived representatives.
Another resemblance is also suggested, imperfect though striking-one between the aspect of the " Market Square " of Charlestown, with its sur- roundings during nearly a hundred years, and the market-place of that ancient Boston in Lincolnshire, so well known to many of the first settlers at Plymouth and at " the Bay." One may now (or could very recently) look from the Peacock Inn at old Boston, across the town market-place --
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large and open-as one might have done from the also ornithologically named " Two Cranes" at Charlestown. From both these iuns, across such a place, would appear the great house of worship of the town-in old Boston, St. Botolph's majestic church-both houses of worship facing the river on which its respective town is built -- both contiguous to ancient burial-places.
Certainly, if in America there are few spots that have become invested with long continuous, and varied and interesting historical associations, we may be permitted to feel that this hill is one of the spots thus ennobled. In "the forest primeval" of oaks that grew on it, the first Christian settlers, throughout a wide region, made homes. On its summit they built a fort of defence against savage tribes close around them. On its slopes they gather- ed in prayer and thanksgiving and fasting, and there they showed that strength of material resource should join with devotion of soul, and, in the new world, establish for Christ a uation, a corner-stone of whose broad foundations they laid on that soil. And in that stern drift, when their griefs and their labors were ended, were lain their mortal remains to await the up- building on earth of the city not made with human hands. True, indeed, " were they in their time, and * * * God them defended." And those who, in later time, enter upon the precious inheritance their endeavors secured, and who can see and enjoy the blessings it brings, may well guard and honor this ground that bears consecration by them and by virtues of long genera- tions ; for its history is not alone of one local body, of one small town, or of one great sect, but a history rendering this low mound of earth, now cov- ered by works and by homes of domestic life, one of the memorial spots of a mighty nation.
With reverence we visit the old English Canterbury, or Scottish Iona, or Roman Janiculan or Capitoline Mount, sites where the Christianity of na- tious was, by a chosen few, founded in sorrow, and yet in hope, to grow and spread through great communities that gradually gathered around them.
And this time- and historically-honored Town Hill is truly a Canterbury, an Iona, not alone of the "church of God in Charltown," but of the greater church of the wide American republic. And both of church and of civil institutions, and of varied history and of noble virtues and labors, we well may name it and esteem it, an American Shrine.
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