USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > Great Barrington > St. James' Parish, Great Barrington, Massachusetts, 1762-1962 > Part 13
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Edward Clarence Moyses Tower was born July 13, 1876, at Water- ville, New York, and attended Shattuck School in Minnesota. He was graduated from the University of Minnesota, and in 1906 from the General Theological Seminary with an S.T.B. degree. He was ordained to the diaconate in June, 1906, and to the priesthood in December, 1906, bv Bishop Edsall. Mr. Tower was at St. John's, Hutchinson, Minn., 1906-07,
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and assistant at St. Michael's, New York City, 1907-1911. During 1911-1912 he was Chaplain at St. Mark's School, Southborough, Mass., and from 1912- 1913 Associate Rector at St. Mark's, Denver. In 1913-1914 he was Curate at the Church of the Incarnation, New York, and Senior Curate of St. Agnes' Chapel of Trinity Parish, New York, 1915-1922. In 1922 he became Rector of St. James' and served for 22 years - the second longest tenure in the history of the parish. In 1944 he retired to New York and recently moved to Bronxville. He is Rector Emeritus of St. James'. During his residence in Great Barrington he was active in town affairs, being in the '20's a di- rector and vice president of the Chamber of Commerce, and president of the Rotary Club during the season 1929-30.
Smith Delancey Townsend was born at North Attleboro, Mass., March 27, 1860, and was graduated from Hobart College in 1880. He re- ceived Holy Orders in 1884 and received a D.D. degree. He was assistant and later Rector of the Church of All Angels in New York from 1887 to 1928, and Rector Emeritus until his death on September 17, 1944. He supplied at St. James' in 1889.
Charles H. B. Tremaine briefly supplied at St. James' in 1875-76.
Roger Viets was born March 9, 1737/8, at East Granby, Conn., and received his A.B. from Yale College in 1758. Admitted to Holy Orders in London in March, 1763, he became the missionary of the Propagation So- ciety in and about Simsbury, Conn., from which he visited 34 settlements in Connecticut, 11 in Massachuetts and two in New York. He remained in New England during the American Revolution, and as a reward for having suffered its rigors, was assigned by the Society in 1786 to Digby, Nova Scotia, where he continued until his death on August 11, 1811. He was an uncle of Bishop Alexander Viets Griswold and was influential in molding the education and character of his nephew. He visited the new Anglican Church in Great Barrington several times during the years 1763-1766, and on one occasion, in January, 1764, was imprisoned for eight days for an in- fringement of certain rules pertaining to the marriage of local citizens. He witnessed the deed by which John Burghardt transferred a quarter-acre of land to the Society for its mission church.
Robert Weeks was born 1838 in New York City and was graduated from Williams College in 1862. He attended the General Theological Seminary and was ordained deacon in 1862 by Bishop H. Potter, and priest in 1863 by Bishop Eastburn. He served churches in North Adams, Mass., and in New York State. He was interim priest at St. James' for six months in 1866 but was never instituted Rector.
John F. Woart was born in 1807 and ordained priest on July 17. 1831. He served churches in California and was Rector of St. James' from 1851 to 1854. He died November 23, 1893.
ORGANIZATION OF THE CHURCH
St. James' Parish and Trinity Parish in the Town of Great Bar- rington, are situated in the Diocese of Western Massachusetts, which is one of seven to constitute the Ist Province, which in turn is one of eight in the continental United States. These, with the Extra-Continental Mis- sionary Districts and the Overseas Missions, are embraced by the Protestant
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Episcopal Church in the United States of America, one of twenty national churches and autonomous Provinces that constitute the Anglican Com- munion.
A Fellowship within the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, of those duly constituted dioceses, provinces, or regional Churches in communion with the See of Canterbury. They uphold and propagate the Catholic and Apostolic faith and order as set forth in the Book of Common Prayer, and are bound together, not by a central legislative and executive authority, but by the mutual loyalty sustained through the common counsel of the bishops in conference at Lambeth.
Some statistics pertaining to units of the American Church follow:
Commun- icants
Clergy
Parishes Missions
Receipts
Trinity Parish
4
0
1
$
867.27
St. James' Parish
396
1
1
34,238.05
Diocese of Western Mass.
21,504
108
70
1,723,936.73
Ist Province
246,409
975
710
18,360,194.58
Continental United States 2,027,671
8,621
7,040
170,692,197.02
P.E.C. in the U.S.A.
2,123,110
9,079
7,657
173,013,803.63
Data from Diocesan report for 1959 and the Episcopal Church Annual for 1960.
PRESIDING BISHOPS OF THE AMERICAN CHURCH
1. William White
1789-1789
2. Samuel Seabury
1789-1792
3. Samuel Provoost
1792-1795
4. William White
1795-1836
5. Alexander Viets Griswold
1836-1843
6. Philander Chase
1843-1852
7. Thomas Church Brownell
1852-1865
8. John Henry Hopkins
1865-1868
10. Alfred Lee
1884-1887
11. John Williams
1887-1899
12. Thomas March Clark
1899-1903
13. Daniel Sylvester Tuttle
1903-1923
14. Alexander Charles Garrett
1923-1924
15. Ethelbert Talbot
1924-1926
16. John Gardner Murray
1926-1929*
17.
Charles Palmerston Anderson
1929-1930°
18. James DeWolf Perry
1930-1937
19. Henry St. George Tucker
1938-1946
20. Henry Knox Sherrill
1947-1958
21. Arthur Carl Lichtenberger
1958-(1970)
DIOCESAN BISHOPS Massachusetts
1. Edward Bass
1797-1803*
2. Samuel Parker
1804-1804°
3. Alexander Viets Griswold
1811-1843º
4. Manton Eastburn
1843-18729
5. Benjamin Henry Paddock
1873-1891*
6. Phillips Brooks
1891-1893°
7. William Lawrence
1893-1927
8. Charles Lewis Slattery
1927-1930°
9. Henry Knox Sherrill
1930-1947
10. Norman Burdett Nash
1947-1956
11. Anson Phelps Stokes, Jr.
1956-
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-
9. Benjamin Bosworth Smith
1868-1884
Western Massachusetts
1. Alexander Hamilton Vinton 1902-1911º
2. Thomas Frederick Davies 1911-1936°
3. William Appleton Lawrence 1937-1957
4. Robert McConnell Hatch 1957-
*Died in office
NOTES and ADDENDA
(1) Thomas Davies' certificate is quoted from Taylor's History of Great Barrington, where he asserts that its original "still exists in the files of the county court at Pittsfield". But upon inquiry at several offices in the County Building in July 1960, I failed to find anyone who knew anything about it. However, I am convinced of its authenticity and hope that some day the document may come to light again. G. C.
(2) The deed, in St. James' archives, is interesting in a number of ways and is quoted exactly, except that the old-style "s" is rendered conventionally :
To all People to whom these Presents shall come Greeting:
Know ye that I John Burgheat of Great Barrington in the County of Berkshire and Province of Massachusetts Bay New England
Gentlemen: for and in consideration of the great regard and good-will which I have and bear to the incorporated Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in foreign Parts and for many other good and weighty Causes and Considerations me thereunto moving: have given, granted, conveyed and confirmed, and do by these Presents give, grant, convey and confirm to the said incorporated Society and their successors for- ever one certain Tract or Parcell of Land containing about a Quarter of an Acre be it more or less, situate, lving and being upon the East Side of the High Way opposite to the House in which I now live, which Tract or Parcell being Land which I bought of Luke Noble, this Tract being a convenient spot upon which to erect a church, and it having been agreed by the Church Wardens and Vestry of Great Barrington that a church should be erected thereupon, and I confiding that the said Society will suffer the same to be erected thereon
To have and to hold the said granted and conveyed premises, with all the Privileges and Appurtenainses to ye same belonging or in any manner appertaining; to the sole and only use, Benefit and behalf of the said Society and their Successors forever. And I the said John Burgheat for myself, my Heirs, Executors and Administors do covenant and grant to and with the said Society and their Successors That I am the true, sole and lawful owner of the above conveyed Prem- ises and have in myself good right, full Power and lawful Authority to convey and confirm the same in manner aforesaid and that the s'd Society and their Successors may and shall forever hereafter bv Force and Virtue of these Presents quietly and peaceably have, hold, use and enjoy the above conveyed Premises without the least Let, Hin- drance or Molestation from me ye s'd John Burgheat or any other Person or Persons whomsoever.
To the said Society and their Successors I the said John Burgheat do for myself, my Heirs, Executors and Administrators convenant and promise, by these Presents, forever to secure, warrant and defend the Premises afores'd.
In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my Hand and Seal this fourteenth Dav of December in the Year of our Lord 1763, and in the fourth Year of his Majesty's Reign George the third of Great Brittain King etc.
Signed, sealed and delivered in Presence of us Jonth Read Roger Viets
John Borghard
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---
(3) A post card view of their first church was supplied by Christ Church, Stratford, Connecticut, from which the drawing was adapted by Elisabeth Lawton Ridout (Mrs. Orlando Ridout 4th) of Annapolis, Maryland.
(4) From Gideon Bostwick's MS "Notitia Parochialis" come the names of the towns he visited for baptisms, marriages and burials:
Massachusetts - Great Barrington, Lanesborough, Williamstown, San- disfield, Sheffield, Stockbridge, West Stockbridge, Tyringham, Egremont, Partridgefield (now Peru), Lenox, New Ashford, Hartwood (now Wash- ington), Alford, Adams, Taconick Mountain (now Mount Washington), New Marlborough, Pittsfield, Bethlehem (now part of Otis), Lee;
New York - Nobletown (now Hillsdale), New Concord, New Canaan, Spencertown, Burnetville, New Lebanon, Stone Arabia, King's District, Albany, Kinderhook, Hudson, Claverack, Catskill, Ballstown, Pine Plains, Kingsbury;
Connecticut - Canaan, Litchfield, New Milford, Norfolk, Cornwall, Salisbury;
Vermont - Manchester, Arlington, Tinmouth, Pawlet, Bennington.
The articles that Bostwick carried in his saddle-bags with which to administer Communion on his missionary journeys are preserved in St. John's Church, Manchester, Vermont, and consist of chalice, paten and surplice.
(5) The incorporation of the parish in Great Barrington is found in Chapter 14 of the Acts of 1791:
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
In the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety one. An Act incorporating certain religious Societies herein named, in the Town of Great Barrington in the County of Berkshire.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled & by the authority of the same, that Thomas Ingersoll, Elijah Egleston, David Wainwright, Samuel Whiting, William Barns, Walter Pynchon, Andrew Robinson, Lambert Burghardt, Andrew Burghardt, John Van Deusen, William Van Deusen, Garrit Burghardt, Hendrick Burghardt, Clement Leman, Jacob Van Deusen, Abraham Van Deusen, Jacob Van Deusen 2nd, John Burghardt 3rd, Medad Parsons, Amos Olds, Benjamin Cahoon, John Church, Jacob Johnson, Andrew Loomis, James Hewit, Josiah Church, John Church junr., Oliver Young- love, Jonathan Younglove, William Davis, John Stewart, Peter Burg- hardt, Daniel Ferguson, John Burghardt, John Burghardt 2nd, Moses Orcutt, Elijah Dwight, Elizur Demming, Martin Houcke, Isaac Perre, Ebenezer Smith, Caleb Hill, William Whiting, William Whiting 3rd, Abraham H. Whiting, Eliphalet Gregory, Azel Sprague, Thomas Huxford, Isaac Van Deusen, Isaac Van Deusen 3rd, Isaac Van Deusen junr., John Van Deusen junr., Abraham Van Deusen junr., John Farnam, John Williams, Nicholas Bulklev, Emanuel Hodgit, Ralph Adams, William Hamly, John O'Brian, William O'Brian, and Peter Eslen, all of Great Barrington in the County of Berkshire together with their families, Polls and Estates, be, and they are hereby incorporated into a Parish bv the name of the Protestant Episcopal Society of Great Barrington, with all the privileges, powers and immunities which other Parishes within this Commonwealth are intitled to by Law. And it is further enacted by the authority aforcsaid, that all and singular the other persons with their Estates, within the said Town of Great Barrington, shall continue and remain a religious Society by the name of the Protestant Congre- gational Society in Great Barrington, with all the privileges, powers and immunities which other Parishes in this Commonwealth are entitled to
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by Law, to which shall belong the estates of the nonresident pro- prietors in the said Town. And it is further enacted, that all monies which by virtue of this act shall be assessed and collected by the said Congregational Society, upon the estates of non-resident proprietors within said Town shall be equally divided between said Episcopal and Congregational Societies; and the Treasurer of said Congregational Society, as often as any sum or sums of money shall be assessed and collected in manner aforesaid, on estates of non-resident proprietors, upon demand made by the Treasurer of said Episcopal Society, shall pay over to the said last-mentioned Treasurer the one-half of said sum or sums of money which shall have been as aforesaid assessed and col- lected. And it is further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that any inhabitants of the said Town of Great Barrington shall at all times forever hereafter have full liberty to join themselves with their families and estates to either of the parishes in said Town: provided they shall some time in the month of March signify in writing under their hands to the Clerk of said Town, their determination of belonging to the parish to which they may join themselves as aforesaid. And it is further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that Elijah Dwight Esq., be and he is hereby authorized to issue his several Warrants, directed to some principal member of each of said Societies, requiring him to wam the members of said Societies respectively, qualified to vote in parish affairs, to assem- ble at some suitable time and place in the said Town, to be expressed in such Warrant, to choose such Officers as Parishes are by Law required to choose in the month of March or April annually and to transact all matters and things necessary to be done in the said Parishes, respectively. In the House of Representatives June 18th 1791
This Bill having had three several readings passed to be enacted
David Cobb, Speaker.
In Senate June 18th 1791
This Bill having had two several readings passed to be enacted
Samuel Phillips, President.
Approved John Hancock
(6) Special Law 3-498, relative to membership in the Episcopal Church in Great Barrington, is transcribed here:
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
In the Year of Our Lord, One thousand eight hundred and five An Act incorporating sundry persons residing in the towns of Sheffield, West Stockbridge, and Stockbridge, into the Protestant Episcopal Society of Great Barrington ---
Sec. 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives, in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, that Job Westover, Joseph Wilcox, Zachariah Spalding, and Stephen Stevens of Sheffield; Ezekiel Stone, Silas Stone, and Elijah Andrews of West Stockbridge; and Clark Baldwin of Stockbridge, in the County of Berk- shire, together with their families, polls and estates, be, and they hereby are incorporated into the Protestant Episcopal Society of Great Barring- ton- -
Sec. 2. Be it further enacted, That any person belonging to either of the said towns of Sheffield or West Stockbridge, being of the Episcopal denomination, and who shall unite in religious worship with said Society, and shall within one year from the passing of this act, leave a Certificate, signed by the Minister or Clerk thereof, with the Clerk of the town to which he belongs, that he is regularly attendant upon public worship in the said Society, and shall also lodge a notification in writing, under his hand, in the office of the Clerk of the said Episcopal Society, signifying his having joined the same; such person shall, from and after
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.
leaving such certificate, and lodging such certification, as aforesaid, be considered, to all intents and purposes, together with his family, polls and estate, as belonging to the said Episcopal Society. Provided, how- ever, that such person shall be liable to pay his proportion of all assessments which may have been legally made upon inhabitants of the town to which he belongs, prior to his joining the said Society- - Sec. 3. Be it further enacted, That the persons so incorporated into the said Society, with their families, polls and estates, shall be wholly exempt from any and all assessments, other than those legally imposed by said Society, except as hereinbefore provided, for any religious pur- pose whatever; that they shall be subject to the assessment and collection of all taxes legally granted and agreed upon by the said Society; that it shall be lawful for the assessors and collectors of the said Society, for the time being, respectively, to assess and collect the same; that it shall be the duty of the said Collector, or other warning Officers of the said Society, to warn the said persons to attend all Society meetings; and that the said persons shall enjoy all the privileges and immunities and be subject to all the duties and restrictions of members of the said Society in the same manner they would or might if resident in the said town of Great Barrington.
In the House of Representatives, Feby. 21, 1805. This bill having had three several readings, passed to be Enacted. H. G. Otis, Speaker. In Senate, February 22, 1805. This bill having had two several readings, passed to be Enacted. David Cobb, President
February 23, 1805
By the Governor Approved Caleb Strong
(7) The Diocesan Seal is described in the following resolution: RESOLVED: That the arms of the Diocese of Western Massachusetts be established in accordance with the following blazon: Argent on a chevron sable between three fountains proper five escallops of the field: a bordure engrailed azure. The shield ensigned with a mitre and resting on a key and crozier in saltire.
And that the seal of the Diocese shall contain the arms as above within a vesica form: on a border the following inscription: Seal of the Diocese of Western Massachusetts A.D. MDCCCCI.
Bishop Vinton described the meaning of the arms as follows: The engrailed bordure is azure, the same color as the shield of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, within which the Diocese of Western Massachusetts is contained. The argent field of the diocesan arms can signify the field white, already to harvest, wherein are the wells of springing waters of Springfield. The five counties of the Diocese are displayed in the five escallop shells, symbols not only of pilgrimage from mother country, but also of the Church in the five counties baptizing in waters that spring throughout the diocesan field.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Taylor, Charles J., History of Great Barrington, Mass. (Great Barrington, 1882) MacLean, George Edwin, Extension of above to 1922 (Great Barrington, 1928) Birdsall, Richard D., Berkshire County; A Cultural History (New Haven, Conn., 1959)
American Guide Series: Massachusetts (Boston, 1937)
Smith, Chard Powers, The Housatonic: Puritan River (New York, 1946)
The Columbia Encyclopedia, 2nd Ed. (New York, 1950)
Encyclopedia Britannica
Alexander, the Rev. Donald Nelson, The Diocese of Western Massachusetts, 1901-1951 (Springfield, 1951)
Taylor, Robert J., Western Massachusetts in the Revolution (Providence, R. I., 1954)
Newcomer, Lee Nathaniel, The Embattled Farmers (New York, 1953)
Barber, John Warner, Historical Collections: History and Antiquities of Every Town in Massachusetts (Worcester, 1841)
Eaton, Walter Prichard, Two Hundred and Fifty Years of History in the Berk- shires; in The Berkshire Hills, ed. by Roderick Peattie (New York, 1958) Conn, the Rev. Howard J., First Congregational Church of Great Barrington, 1743-1943 (Great Barrington, 1943)
History of Berkshire County, Mass., Vol. II (New York, 1885)
A History of the County of Berkshire, in two vols. (Pittfield, 1829).
Holland, Josiah Gilbert, History of Western Massachusetts, in two vols. (Spring- field, 1855)
Child, Hamilton, Gazetteer of Berkshire County, Vol. I: 1725-1885 (Syracuse, N. Y., 1885)
Hooper, the Rev. Joseph, The Protestant Episcopal Church in Berkshire; in Collections of the Berkshire Historical and Scientific Society (Pittsfield, 1894)
Douglas, Edward M., Boundaries . . . of the Several States; Geological Survey Bulletin No. 817 (Washington, D. C., 1939)
von Sahler, L. Hasbrouck, St. James' Church Records; in Putnam's Historical Magazine, Vols. 7 & 8, 1899-1900.
Hayden, Irving N., and Grove, Lawrence R., A Manual for the use of the General Court (Boston, 1955)
Nash, the Rt. Rev. Norman B., History of the Diocese of Massachusetts; in The Church Militant, Vol. LXIII, No. 5 (Boston, 1960)
Jessett, the Rev. Thomas E., Planting the Prayer Book in Massachusetts, in His- torical Magazine of the Protestant Episcopal Church, Vol. 21, No. 3 (New Brunswick, N. J. 1952).
St. James' Church, Great Barrington, Mass .; in Witness and Advocate, Vol. 10, No. 8 (Boston, 1843)
Biographical Sketch of the Rev. Thomas Davies, A.M. (New Haven, 1843)
Benedict, A. J., Bits of Berkshire (Gt. Barrington & Pittsfield, 1898)
The Berkshire Courier, Great Barrington, Massachusetts
Berry, Joseph Breed, History of the Diocese of Massachusetts 1810-1872 (Boston, 1959)
Cameron, the Rev. Kenneth W., editor, The Historiographer, of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut, No. 36 (Hartford, May 1961).
Episcopal Church Annual (New York, 1961)
Daily newspapers; clippings from Berkshire Eagle, Springfield Union, New York Sun.
The Pastoral Staff, of the Diocese of Western Massachusetts
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
My removal from Great Barrington during the early stages of this work prevented my visiting the Diocesan libraries at Boston, Spring- field and Hartford. Accordingly, my information came in considerable part through the courtesy and cooperation of correspondents, foremost among them was Miss Gladys H. McCafferty, Librarian of the Diocese of Massa- chusetts, to whom I am indebted for almost numberless facts and trans- criptions which she supplied promptly, graciously and cheerfully. Dr. Vir- ginia Nelle Bellamy, Archivist of the Church Historical Society, Austin, Texas, also furnished much information; and the Rev. Kenneth W. Cameron, Archivist and Historiographer of the Diocese of Connecticut, furnished the documentation relative to "Christ Church".
The Rev. Edward C. M. Tower, Bronxville, N. Y., and Mrs. Joseph R. Lynes, Great Barrington, both drew upon their recollections of the years they devoted to St. James', to supply important information. Particularly useful was the transcript from the Convention Journals of the Diocese of Massachusetts furnished to both St. James' and Trinity Parishes in 1958 by Mr. William J. Cartwright, Williamstown. Mrs. Graham D. Wilcox, Curator of the Historical Room of the Stockbridge Library, produced some pre- viously unknown material and allowed me to borrow restricted books.
Although I was unable to pursue the leads they generously gave me, Prof. Richard D. Birdsall of Connecticut College and Prof. Robert W. Shoe- maker, formerly of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, suggested avenues of approach to the identification of those who fled Great Barrington during the Revolution to become United Empire Loyalists in Canada; and I hope that someone may some day complete this interesting aspects of our history.
Mr. Hubbel S. Andrews supplied a treatise on contemporary church finances: Mrs. Marsh B. Giddings Sr. answered questions of identification and helped to establish the fact of "Christ Church"; Mrs. John L. Robbins gave some facts relative to Gideon Bostwick; Mrs. Edward C. McCormick of the Mason Library produced the booklet which raised the question of "Christ Church"; and my wife, Mrs. Alice R. Chapman, transcribed a long newspaper story of a century ago.
The cooperation of all these persons, my collaborators, is grate- fully acknowledged.
Gerard Chapman
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