USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Standard history of Essex county, Massachusetts, embracing a history of the county from its first settlement to the present time, with a history and description of its towns and cities. The Most historic county of America. > Part 117
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The Second Presbyterian Church was organized in 1795, with thirty-three members who had withdrawn from the First Presbyterian, dissatisfied with the settlement of the Rev. Daniel Dana, D.D., who, thirty years later was its pastor, coming from the presidency of Dart- month College at their call. The first pastor was the Rev. John Boddely, of Bristol, England, a graduate of Lady Huntingdon's College ; as was also the Rev. C. W. Milton, of the Fourth Religious Society. He died in 1802, and was succeeded by the Rev. John Giles, also from England, who resigned in 1823. Then follow as pastors, the Rev. William Ford, to 1825 ; the Rev. Daniel Dana, D.D., to 1845 ; the Rev. W. W. Eells, and several others have then followed on short pastorates, to the present pastor, the Rev. J. A. Bartlett, settled in 1877.
First Baptist Church. - As early as 1681, a Baptist Church was formed in Newbury, which applied for assistance to the First Church of Boston, which gave a formal assent to the organization of the New- bury Society, whatever effect that may have had. But there existed a formidable prejudice against the peculiar principles of the new sect, and it seems not to have gained a permanent foothold, at that time, in Newbury, as nothing more is known of it for above a century. In 1804, the society was re-formed, and a school-house in the southern part of Newburyport was procured for a house, and Joshua Chasc engaged as preacher. A large number of baptisms and accessions to the church follows his labors. In 1805 the Rev. John Peak was engaged as pastor, and officiated alternately in the Marlborough Street School-house, and at the Plains, though afterwards a central location was obtained in the "Tabernacle," on Temple Street. In 1809 a brick meeting-house was built on Liberty Street, at the cost of $16,000, but was destroyed two years later in "the Great Fire." The society occupied the court-house for a year, when the house now occupied by the Christian Society, on Congress Street, was erected with funds obtained by Mr. Peak on a soliciting tour. His successors, since 1818, have been Hosea Wheeler, Nathaniel Williams, W. B. Jacobs, Jonathan Aldrich, Albert N. Arnold, afterwards mis- sionary to Greece, Nicholas Medbury. The society has now ceased to exist, the members becoming incorporated with the Second Baptist, and other organizations.
First Baptist Church. - This was organized in 1846, by sixty- seven persons, who withdrew from the First Baptist Church. Nicho- las Medbury, formerly pastor of the First Church, was chosen to officiate over the new society. For two years the meetings were held in Washington and Market Halls, when the church-building in Green Street was erected. In 1852, Mr. Medbury resigned, and John Rich- ardson was settled as his successor in 1853. Others have followed for short periods, and the Rev. J. T. Beckley is now pastor.
First Methodist Church. - A Methodist society was gathered in 1819, by " Reformation John Adams," a member of the New England Conference. It was connected with the Salisbury society till 1825, when it was made a station in charge of Mr. Adams, who, being a preacher of great magnetic power, inaugurated one of the greatest " revivals" known since the days of Whitefield. The meetings were held in a school-house on Marlborough Street till 1825, when a meet- ing-house was built on Purchase Street. In 1826, Bartholomew Otheman was appointed to the station, and has been succeeded by a long list of clergymen, some of them very able men. The changes
are too frequent to enumerate the pastors.
Second Methodist Church. - Mr. Otheman, who had been the min- ister of the First Methodist Church, organized the Second in 1827, and a meeting-house on Liberty Street was dedicated the same year. The society was composed of fifteen members, who withdrew from the First Church, the membership increasing in six years, to 130. In 1834, a "protracted meeting " was held for twenty consecutive days and fifty evenings, and, as a result, 150 " probationers " were admitted to the church. Of late years the parish has been less prosperous.
They have, however, built a new church, at a cost of $12,000, on Washington Street, where they now worship.
The Universalist Church. - The organization of this society, which consisted of eight persons, was effected in 1834. The meeting-house on Middle Street was dedicated in 1840, though the " recognition " of the church was not had till 1842, when the services were performed by the Rev. Sylvanus Cobb. The first minister was Woodbridge M. Fernald ; and his successors have been Darius Forbes, E. A. Eaton, James Shrigley, A. R. Abbot, D. M. Reed, Willard Spaulding, and others, no one having a long pastorate. The Rev. J. H. Hartly now supplies the pulpit.
Christian Society. - This church and society had its origin in meetings held at Belleville, in 1838, by the Rev. Daniel P. Pike, pastor of the Christian Society at Salisbury Point. The attendance con- stantly increased ; and, in 1840, a hall was dedicated in Brown's Square, which was soon crowded to its utmost capacity. About this time the church was organized, and Mr. Pike settled. In 1845, a church edifice was built and dedicated on Court Street, which has recently been sold to the Catholics, the Christian Society at pres- ent occupying the meeting-house (formerly Baptist) on Congress Street.
Second Advent Church. - The origin of this church may be traced to the preaching of William Miller, in 1841, that the second coming of Christ was at hand. Those who embraced his views joined a society, and sustained meetings till 1843, when, the date for the fulfilment of the expected event having passed, the meetings were discontinued. In 1848, they re-organized under the Rev. John Pearson, Jr., as pas- tor, and established a distinct church, Sunday school, and Bible class. They met for several years in Washington Hall; but have now a handsome meeting-honse in Charter Street, II. Canfield, pastor. The doctrine of this church, as at present taught, differs in no essen- tial particular from those of the so-called evangelical churches, though it is claimed that Christ's second coming will be personal and visible, and that the earth renewed will be the saint's inheritance.
The Whitford Congregational Church was organized Jan. 1, 1850, regular preaching having been maintained for over a year previous in Market Hall, John E. Emerson, a native of Newburyport, officiating. On the organization of the church, he was ordained pastor, but died in a little more than a year after his settlement. The Rev. Samuel J. Spaulding, D. D., is his successor and the present minister. The meeting-house on State Street was built in 1852.
The Roman Catholic Church, organized in 1848, has had wonderful growth. Previous to that time worship had been held in private dwellings ; but, then, as a missionary station, it was given in charge of a priest at Dover, N. H., and a chapel was had on Charles Street. Afterwards, at the same place, the Rev. John O'Brien served them. Next, about 1848, the Rev. Henry Lennon became their pastor ; and, four years later, in 1852, they were able to crect the Church of the Immaculate Conception, on Green Street, which is the largest and finest church in the city. In 1872, they purchased the Christian Church on Court Strect, which is used as a chapel. Since that, they have consecrated a beautiful cemetery at the Plains, and are now making preparations for a parochial school. The people constitute nearly a third of the population ; and even their two churches would not now accommodate them without a succession of services in the same house for different congregations on Sunday. Mr. Lennon died in 1872, lamented by all who knew him; and was succeeded by the Rev. A. J. Teeling, who is assisted by the Rev. J. J. McNulty. They arc very devoted and efficient, manifesting the zeal of the early Chris- tian Fathers.
CHAPTER IX.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
If, in previous chapters, we have done scanty justice in treating of the distinguished persons of Newburyport, we are now in danger of coming to an almost absolute failure. We could scarcely give the bare names of the men and women eminent as anthors, poets, jurists, divines, physicians, reformers, artists, scientists, mechanics, inventors, statesmen, and warriors on land and sea. We are obliged to pass without special notice Tristram Dalton, the first senator in Congress, Judge Livermore, and Jeremiah Nelson, representatives ; soldiers like Gen. John Boyd, an officer distinguished in Hindostan, and likewise at home in our war of 1812 ; Capt. Moses Brown, of the United States
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navy ; Col. Edward Wigglesworth, of Revolutionary fame : the Lunts, -Ezra, of Bunker Hill; Paul, under Arnold at Quebee ; Henry and Cutting, of Paul Jones's fleet ; Daniel, of Mill Prison memory ; and Micajah, of the Penobscot expedition : the Titeombs,-Col. Moses, of Louisburg ; and Gens. Enoch and Jonathan, who served under Sulli- van. Nothing ean we say of the Crosses, Stephen and Ralph-him of Lake George, and him who was at the capture of Burgoyne ; of the Tyngs, the Springs, the Danas, the Morses, the Clarks, the Chases, and a host of other clergymen; of the Hoopers, Hodges, Tracys, Marquands, Farrises, Stockers, Browns, Coffins, Willses, Cushings, Bayleys, and other merchants ; of such physicians as the Hales, Vergenises, Swetts, Noyeses, Prescotts, Bradstreets, Sawyers, Per- kinses, and Spoffords; of the Pikes and Walshes, mathematicians ; of judges like Simon Greenleaf, Theophilus Bradbury, the Lowells, Wilde, Thatcher, Greenleaf, White, and others; of manufacturers like the Jacksons, Lowells, James Horton, Charles H. Coffin, and others ; of the Blunts and such book publishers ; of Isaiah Thomas, Ephraim Allen, Joseph B. Morss, Albert Pike, Ben : Perley Poore, journalists ; of the poets, George Lunt, Hannah F. Gould, Wm. H. Caldwell, Harriet Prescott Spofford. A mere catalogue would make a volume of names ; nor should we omit some other ladies, like Mrs. E. Vale Smith, Mrs. George Lec, daughter of Dr. Micajah Sawyer, Anna Cabot Lowell, Mrs. Jane Greenleaf, Mrs. Mary B. Crocker, Mrs. Ann E. Porter, Sarah A. Emery, and others, whose writings are admired. It must suffice for us if we take persons as types of jurists, statesmen, reformers, merchants, and mechanics.
Theophilus Parsous, chief justice, son of the Rev. Moses Parsons, of Byfield, comes first, and is identified with us by residence, mar- riage, and the attainment of eminence in law while here. Ile grad- uated at Harvard, read law with Judge Bradbury, and after short prac- tice at Portland, then Falmouth, opened an office here in 1777, when twenty-seven years old. He married the daughter of Judge Greenleaf, who lived on Washington Street, and built and lived in the house now the residence of Mrs. Charles Wills, on Green Street. His fame soon became national, and his opinions are quoted as precedents in all the courts where English law obtains. He moved to Boston early in this century, and with such a reputation, that when Chief Justice Dana retired, in 1806, nobody was thought of for his successor but The- ophilus Parsons. He accepted the place, though the salary was but one-quarter of the value of his law income, and so did he fill the place that ever since he has been known as the Great Chief Jus- tice.
Mr. Parsons's fame, while here, drew around him law students of the best families, and the highest character, some of whom rivalled their great teacher, and one in honors excelled him. Among them was John Quincy Adams, the sixth president, who never forgot the happy years he passed on the banks of the Merrimae, where he made friends among the ladies as well as gentlemen, as is indicated by his poem, " The Vision," written here in 1792. Another was Rufus King, who won the honors of Harvard where he graduated, and so far identified him- self with our town that he was a warden of St. Paul's Church, and one year represented Newburyport in the legislature, where he was the leading member. He afterwards, as a resident of New York, filled high position in the government. A third was Robert Treat Paine, the poet-orator ; a fourth Samuel L. Knapp, the learned lawyer and graceful writer; and a fifth Charles Jackson, who became judge on the supreme bench. No other man here ever drew around him such a circle of young men. And it was not from his personal man- ners or social habits, for he was disorderly in his apparel, and fre- quently absent-minded ; but, when no responsibilities pressed him, he was playful, and sparkling with wit. The exceeding vigor of his mind, of course, imparted interest to every thing he said.
But no less was Judge Parsons a maker of law than an expounder. This appeared in 1778. A constitution had been rejected by the people by four to one. In town meeting Mr. Parsons submitted a series of resolutions, inviting the selectmen to send letters to the other towns of Essex County for a delegated convention, which was afterwards held at Ipswich. The town not only adopted the resolution, but at once chose their delegates : Theophilus Parsons, Tristram Dalton, Jonathan Jackson, Jonathan Greenleaf, and Ralph Cross. Some towns declined to send ; others accepted the invitation; and in the convention Mr. Parsons was placed at the head of a committee to as- certain the true principles of government, and draw up the outline of a constitution. That task fell upon the hands and brains of Theo- philus Parsons ; and the " Essex Result," as it was called, - of little interest now, but much then, - was reported, and upon its princi- ples the " Essex Junto " rested, Mr. Parsons being its real head and
spirit. He was the most influential member of the convention which framed the constitution of the State.
Next, in 1788, we find him in the convention for the adoption of the Federal Constitution, which had been in doubt. Theophilus Parsons moved its adoption, and was the author of the " conciliatory resolu- tions," as they were termed, moved by John Hancock, and seconded by Samuel Adams, whereby that adoption was secured ; a result which filled the land with joy, and, as some said, " saved the nation." Mr. Parsons died in Boston, in 1813, at the age of sixty-three. He left a son of the same name, who was law professor at Harvard, and has written many volumes on law, of the highest merit.
Caleb Cushing is the only other name in our history comparing with that of the chief justice, and he more represents the statesman than the jurist; though, like Parsons, he is recognized everywhere as profound in the law. Hle is from a family of judges. We may recall as many as ten names, beginning with John Cushing, of our Supreme Court, and his son William, chief justice of that court, whom Washington elevated to the supreme bench of the United States, and coming down to Caleb himself, who performed the duties of justice of our highest court with marked ability.
Caleb was the eldest son of Capt. John N. Cushing, a ship-master and merchant; was graduated at Harvard at the early age of seven- teen, and then held such a position in college that he was the chosen orator to make the welcome address to President Monroe, and, for two years suceceding, he was a tutor in that college. In the mean- time, he pursued his law studies, and was admitted to the bar, and commenced practice in this town, at twenty-two; at twenty-five he was a representative, and at twenty-six a State senator. The same year he was a candidate for Congress, when, after a heated canvass, and a number of ballotings, - a majority being required, and three candidates in the field, - he was defeated. This, perhaps, was fortu- nate, for it gave needed leisure for the pursuit of his studies and a tour of Europe, during which he wrote several volumes, historical and political, which increased his reputation as a thinker and a scholar.
In 1833, he had returned, and resumed politics, again representing the town in the Legislature ; the people then and ever since gladly bestowing on him all the honors in their gift. Never for a day did he lose their entire confidence. But a brighter career was opening In 1835, he took his seat in Congress, as a Whig, when that party was in its vigor ; Webster, Clay, Crittenden, being its chiefs. He served by successive elections, for eight sessions, till the disruption of the party in the administration of President Tyler. During these years, not a young man in Congress appeared to better advantage ; not one was more industrious ; not one more attentive to public duties, and not one more distinguished for learning, eloquence, and parliamentary accomplishments in the performance of his duties. His influence was felt in the Legislature of the country, and his abilities lauded in all parts of the Union.
In adhering to President Tyler, he separated from the Whig party ; but the President at once appointed him minister to China, where he negotiated our first treaty with that empire. He went on his mission by the ancient route to the Indies, via the Mediterranean Sea, and, having perfected his work, returned via the Pacific Ocean and Mexico. This was his first service as a diplomat. In less than eighteen months, he had circumnavigated the globe, and made his treaty so favorably, that it attracted the attention and the envy of emperors.
Once more he represented Newburyport in the Legislature, where he earnestly advocated the Mexican. War, to which the State was as earnestly opposed. But his words he was willing to support with his purse or his life. When the Legislature refused means to equip the Massachusetts regiment, he furnished the money ; and when the troops were ready to leave, he had volunteered and was elected their colonel ; and shortly after, while with Gen. Taylor on the Rio Grande, he was appointed brigadier-general. The Democratic party, in appreciation of his patriotism, themselves helpless and hopeless, made him their candidate for governor, which was all they could do. After that, so long as he remained in politics, Gen. Cushing acted with that party. The parties had changed by the incoming of the Anti- Slavery issue, and the Whig party had really passed away.
In 1850, for the sixth time, he was a member of the Legislature, from the town of Newbury; but, by the annexation of a portion of that town, he again became a citizen of Newburyport, and, on its being incorporated as a city, he was elected its first mayor, without opposition. Two years later, in 1852, he was appointed to the supreme bench by Gov. Boutwell, and carried to its duties the same vigor which always marked his action. In 1853, he was made attor- ney-general in the cabinet of President Pierce; which was, perhaps,
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the strongest cabinet the country ever had, himself second to no man in it, and it remained unbroken to 1857. This was the period of Mr. Cushing's greatest power ; physically and mentally he was in the per- fection of his manhood. The government was perplexed by many questions, upon which he gave written opinions, which covered more ground than those of any of his predecessors or successors, and con- stitute three of the twenty-one volumes of the printed opinions of the attorney-generals of the United States. In administrative action, these opinions have stood as law ever since.
Mr. Cushing returned home, again to be elected to the Legislatures of 1857, 1858, and 1859 ; making in all nine elections to the General Court between 1825 and 1860. It has been the rule of his life, not to accept a place the duties of which he could not perform, or to decline one, to which the people elected him, if in his power to accept. Especially has he held himself subject to the call of his townsmen, even when obliged to defer what was apparently more important to himself; but it has been noticeable that in returning near to the people, he has ever gathered strength for higher action.
In 1860, he was president of the National Democratic convention at Charleston, S. C. ; and, though he was the favorite of that body, he re- turned dispirited and melancholy at the rupture in its ranks, portend- ing the rupture of the Union, and the distraction and fraternal blood to follow. This was indicated in his addresses and letters ; they were full of forebodings and warnings. He fully understood the situation and proclaimed the results. Most freely did he unbosom himself to his own townsmen and neighbors, in a speech running through two hours of three successive days, which has passed into the history of that crisis, and now reads almost as prophecy. It was delivered, not in passion, but in the deepest sorrow ; for most earnestly sought he to have that cup pass from the Republic. But soon afterwards, at the request of President Buchanan, he proceeded to Charleston for the purpose of endeavoring to prevent the secession of South Carolina, and arrived there to find that her act of secession had been passed on the same day by the Assembly in Charleston.
War breaking out, he hastened to Massachusetts, to which first he owed fealty, and at once tendered his services to Gov. Andrew ; but they were declined for political reasons. From that date Mr. Cushing ceased to be a partisan. It was his whole country he loved ; and all parties he would serve. He retired from the rostrum to the forum ; from politics to law. His time and his talents he had given to the public service ; his very life he had staked in the war with Mexico, and offered to do so again for the flag and the Union. He had not aggrandized himself; he retired from politics poorer than he had en- tered ; and no one of his family or personal friends, in all the long years of his publie career, had been enriched by place or contract. Now his clients called, and he at once entered upon a very large and lucrative practice, which has continued to this day. Chiefly his win- ters have been spent in Washington, in cousequence of President Lin- coln having invited him to go there to take charge of the British and American commission on the claims of the Hudson Bay Company. So it happened that for a series of years, under the successive adminis- trations of Lincoln, Johnson, and Grant, he was engaged more or less in the legal and diplomatic business of the government. Thus he was employed in a diplomatic mission to Bogata, in the United States of Colombia ; also as counsel before the American and Mexican mixed commission, the Spanish American commission, and the tribunal of arbitration at Geneva, in execution of the Washington Treaty, which has peculiar significance and importance as showing how international disputes can be settled without blood. His familiar acquaintance with the languages, laws, literature and politics of Europe, especially fitted him for these duties. Later, most honorable to him was the endeavor of President Grant to make him chief justice of the Federal Supreme Court, when he had already passed the age when the judges may retire under the law. His next and last appointment was minis- ter to Spain, when complicated questions were pending. Having performed the duties of that mission to the entire satisfaction of our own and the Spanish government, he requested a recall and returned to his home - to the friends of his youth and his manhood.
Personally, Mr. Cushing is well-formed, athletic and vigorous, to the present, showing few signs of age ; younger he was an exceedingly handsome man. With a finely-cut profile, black hair, and black eyes, he would be noticed in any assemblage as no ordinary person. In religion he has followed his fathers in the orthodoxy of Protest- autism ; and morally he has kept himself above reproach. Never a whisper has been breathed against his integrity. Those who have known him best have most respected him; those most intimate have most loved him ; and, without son or daughter to survive him, he will
leave a record unsullied and honorable - a legacy to the town which is his home.
William Lloyd Garrison, the Liberator, is a son of Newburyport, with a biography unwritten, which posterity will delight to read. He had no family back of him to be remembered. His parents were poor immigrants, dritting from the British Provinces ; and he was born in the house on School Street nearest the Old South Church. On one side was the pulpit beneath which George Whitefield, the famous revivalist, and Jonathan Parsons, the patriot pastor, were sleeping ; on the other side, the house in which Whitefield died ; and in front the school-house-the elevator of the races. No unfit place for such a man as Garrison first to see the light.
When, however, anybody conceives of Mr. Garrison as the first Abolitionist, they mistake : he was only the first man who devoted his life to that cause, as Luther was the first to successfully organize the Protestants against the Catholic Church. Slavery had existed originally in all the States, as is witnessed in the wills and sales and records of the early times ; in the graveyards, where headstones attest the fact, as on Burying Hill, one reads : "To Pompey, the faithful servant ; erected by Tristram Dalton "; and the census of 1755 returned fifty slaves, negrocs and Indians, thirty-four males and sixteen females, in the town of Newbury. The evil of chattelism did not pass unno- ticed and unrebuked ; and very singularly there appear to have been more Abolitionists in Newbury than anywhere else. The first pam- phlet against slavery was by Judge Sewall of Newbury. The first dis- cussion of the legality of slavery, before any learned body, was at Harvard College, by two Newbury students, Theodore Parsons and Eliphalet Pearson. The first slave recovering damages from his master was Cæsar, of Richard Greenleaf, in Newburyport, whose suit was brought by John Lowell, afterwards Judge, and £18 with costs obtained. The first newspaper discussion of the question in this coun- try was between the Rev. Moses Parsons, of Byfield, and his deacon, Benjamin Colman, who was a thorough and immediate Abolitionist, and was suspended from the church for calling his pastor a man- thief. When slavery was abolished in Massachusetts, it was done by Judge John Lowell, who, at the convention to form a constitution, in- serted the declaration of equality in the bill of rights, as he declared for that express purpose. When its entire abolition was needed, Wil- liam Lloyd Garrison appeared ; and when the New England Anti- Slavery Society was formed, three of its twelve members were na- tives of this " old Newbury." It was in this very town that the battle against slavery commenced, and by her sons that it was carried on to final victory. None the less honor to Mr. Garrison, who nobly con- tended, that others had been in the same contest.
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