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 132
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St. Peter's Church was erected on "Prison Lane" in 1733, on
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HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.
land given by Philip English and his connections. and was consecrated June 25, 1734. It was the fourth church in Salem. The first Epis- copal preacher was the Rev. John Lyford, who came with Conant in 1626. At the end of a year he accepted an invitation to preach in Virginia. There was Episcopal preaching. from time to time, after Lyford's departure. but no movement to form a church organization until 1733. The Rev. Charles Brockwell was the first rector of St. Peter's Church. He graduated at Cambridge. Eng .. was settled May 9, 1739, resigned in 1746. and died April 20, 1755. aged fifty-nine. In 1833, the first edifice was succeeded by the present Gothic stone structure. Mr. Brockwell was succeeded by the Rev. William Me- Gilchrist, who was born in 1707, settled in 1747. and died April 19, 1780. The Rev. Robert B. Nichols and Nathaniel Fisher followed. The Rev. Thomas Carlile, a famous divine of his day. was the fifth rector. He was born at Providence, R. I., in 1792; graduated at Brown University in 1809. was settled in 1814, resigned Oct. 6, 1822, died March 28, 1824. The rectors succeeding Mr. Carlile, in the order of their ministry, have been the Revs. Ilenry Ducachet. D. D., Thomas W. Coit, D. D., Alexander V. Griswold, D. D., John A. Vaughan. Charles Mason, William R. Babcock, George Leeds, Wil- liam Rawlins Pickman, James O. Scripture, E. M. Gushee, and Charles Arey, D. D. The church became unpopular during the Revolution, and was closed for a time, owing to the violence of its opponents. The building was badly damaged. . It was finally re- opened under a warrant issued by William Wetmore.
The Tabernacle Church resulted from a division of sentiment among the members of the First Church. In 1735, the Rev. Samnel Fisk was pastor of the First Church. On the 27th of April of that year, according to a record kept by himself, he and his supporters, or, as he states it, " the First Church," were driven from the public meet- ing-house by their opponents, and were obliged to hold their services in the dwelling-house of Joseph Orne. Mr. Fisk claims that he car- ried the majority of the church with him, and that they were of right the First Church ; aud there followed a long and bitter controversy between the two parties. Mr. Fisk carried the church book, contain- ing the records with him, and continued to use it in the new church, refusing to give it up to those who stayed behind. It was not until 1811 that the book was recovered from the heirs of Mr. Fisk. Dr. Bentley says, " Mr. Fisk was dismissed from the First Church in 1735, and accepted a new house provided by his friends in the same street, westward on the north side of the street." The late Samuel M. Worcester states, that " for twenty years, the present Tabernacle Church alone was called the First Church." The minority of the First Church, by the aid of a Council and the Legislature, dismissed Mr. Fisk, the pastor, on the 18th of April (O. S:), 1735. Having held together aud hired preaching for about a year, they were duly organ- ized as a church in 1736, under the style of " the Church and Parish of the Confederate Society in Salem." More briefly, they were called the " Confederate Church," while their brethren, who had been sepa- rated from them, were called by others " the First Church of Christ in Salem." The records of the First Church show that Mr. Fisk departed from the ancient usages and customs, and introduced many innovations which caused the separation. The present Tabernacle Church was the result of this separation, and in 1762 surrendered the title of First Church. The new society took the name of the " Third Church of Christ in Salem." The designation of Tabernacle formally appears in the church records of 1786. The new house was built in 1735, according to Bentley, on the same street, a little " farther to the west ward, on the north side of the street." It stood for nearly forty years, until burned down on the night of the 6th of October, 1774. The ancient site of this meeting-house was probably that of the pres- eut "King " building.
The Rev. Mr. Fisk became the pastor in 1735, and so continned until 1744. The Rev. Dudley Leavitt, his successor, was ordained Oct. 23, 1745, and died Feb. 7, 1762. The Rev. John Huntington was ordained Sept. 28, 1763, and died May 30, 1766. The Rev. Nathaniel Whitaker, D. D., the fourth pastor, was installed July 28, 1769. Previous to his installation, the church unanimously voted, to adopt " his plan of Church government," which was Presbyterian. The government of the church was by an eldership or session, of which the pastor was moderator, and member ex officio. April 27, 1772, some forty or fifty families, being offeuded, withdrew to form a new church.
On Nov. 27, 1773, a majority of the church requested the pastor to join with them in applying to the Boston Presbytery, "to take the Church under their watch and care." This action was taken in accord- anee with the conditions of Dr. Whitaker's settlement. The church
was accordingly received in May, 1774. The church voted, Feb. 11, 1784, to reassume the congregational mode of church government. The relation with Dr. Whitaker was dissolved Feb. 26. 1784. Dr. Whitaker was endowed with great energy and determination. He was the first to introduce Presbyterian doctrines in Salem, and in so doing encountered great opposition. His ministry was not altogether harmonious. His congregation, although agreeing to become Pres- byterian, in 1769, was not formally so until June, 1774. Upon the destruction of the first meeting-house, the doctor at onee set about the construction of a tabernacle in the form of a tent, a rectangular parallelogram, and pryamidal in roof, - on the model of Whitefield's Church in London. The society was much crippled by the with- drawal in 1772. Of the £536 subscribed for the new house, £238 came from abroad. The house was raised in 1776, and opened for public worship in 1777. It was not finished at this time. The honse stood in a large field, in a somewhat unsettled neighborhood, on abont the present site. From the time of the buruing of the first house, Dr. Whitaker had no fixed salary. Collections were taken every Sun- day for his support. He was an ardent patriot through the Revolu- tion, but he became very unpopular with his congregation. and the feeling against him continued to grow stronger, until it culminated in his dismission in 1784.
The Rev. Joshua Spaulding was ordained Oct 26, 1785, and was dismissed April 23, 1802. During his ministry, the church, built by Dr. Whitaker, was greatly improved. It was not until 1794, twenty years after it was undertaken, that this house was decently and toler- ably finished. In 1804, the dome and belfry were carried away entire in a gale, and landed in an adjoining garden. A steeple was raised in 1805, at the front of the church, and in its improved form the church remained until demolished, March 9, 1854. Chief among the many associations hovering around this old tabernacle, is the fact that it was the cradle of the Massachusetts Missionary Society and of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. It was in this church, Feb. 6, 1812, that the first foreign missionaries to India were ordained. The Rev. Samuel Worcester, D. D., was installed April 20, 1803. He was born in Hollis, N. H., Nov. 1, 1770, and died June 7, 1821. He graduated at Dartmonth, 1795, and was installed as pastor of the Tabernacle Church April 20, 1803, after a five years' ministry in'Fitchburg. The Rev. Elias Cornelius was settled as his associate July 21, 1819. The Rev. Mr. Cornelius was dismissed Sept. 29, 1826. The Rev. John P. Cleaveland. D. D., was ordained Feb. 14, 1827 ; dismissed April 23, 1834. The Rev. Samuel M. Worcester, D. D., installed Dec. 3, 1834, was born at Fitchburg, Sept. 4, 1801 : he graduated at Harvard in 1822 ; studied at Audover Theological School, and was assistant teacher at Phillips Academy in Latin and Greek ; professor of rhetoric and oratory at Aniherst Col- lege from 1823 to 1834; pastor of the Tabernacle Church for a quar- ter of a century, until Dee. 3, 1859. He represented the town of Amherst in the General Court ; was a member of the State Senate, and a representative from Salem in 1866. He died at Salem Aug. 16, 1866. Dr. Worcester was a man of remarkable talents, and an able preacher. The present church edifice was erected in 1854, dur- ing Dr. Worcester's pastorate. The corner-stone was laid April 26th, and the building was dedicated and opened December 3d of that year. The Rev. Charles Ray Palmer was ordained Aug 29, 1860, and was dismissed June 13, 1872. The Rev. Hiram B. Putnam was installed Dec. 31, 1873, and was dismissed, at his own request, March 15, 1877. The Rev. De Witt Scoville Clark, the present pastor, accepted the call to the pastoraite Nov. 17, 1878.
The North Church is the sixth religious society in point of age in Salem. Its first proprietors, ou account of a division among the mem- bers of the First Parish in regard to the settlement of a colleague pas- tor in 1770, separated from that parish, and on the 14th of February, 1772, purchased land for a church-site on the corner of North and Lynde streets. This estate is now occupied by the Hon. Otis P. Lord. This separation was harmonious, and the relations between the churches continued to be of the most friendly character. There were forty-two associates in the purchase, and John Nuttig, who sold them the land, was the forty-third proprietor. March 3d, fol- lowing, the proprietors of this land met at the town hall, and organ- ized the society kuown as " The Proprietors of the North Meeting House," popularly called " the North Society." William Browne, Ed- ward Augustus Holyoke, Joseph Blaney, Samuel Curwen, JJohn Felt, Richard Ward, and Clark Gayton Pickman were chosen a committee to superintend the building of a church. The foundation of the house was laid May 11, 1772, and the building was opened for public wor- ship, Aug. 23, 1772. The structure was of wood, with a tower and
HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.
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spire, on Lynde Street. In 1796, the spire, being deemed unsafe, was taken down, and replaced by a cupola and dome. This house was known as " the large new meeting=house," and was frequently used for civic celebrations. It continued to be used as a house of worship for sixty-four years, until the erection of the present stone edifice on Essex Street. The building passed from the hands of the society in 1836, and remained standing for many years, being used for manu- facturing purposes. It was last used as a manufactory of floor oil- cloths.
On the 16th of May, 1772, fifty-two brethren and sisters were dis- missed from the First Church, at their own request, to form the new soci- ety ; and July 19th, this company met at the Pickman house, opposite St. Peter's Street, still standing on Essex Street, in the rear of the stores. numbered 167 to 171, and proceeded to effect a church organization. The covenant of the First Church was adopted as that of the new church ; and twenty to thirty more members were added, prior to the ordination of the minister. It was voted, Aug. 20th, that this should be called the North Church. On the same day, Thomas Barnard, Jr., was chosen pastor. Dr. Barnard was ordained Jan. 13, 1773. His ministry continued until Oct. 1, 1814, the date of his death, a period of nearly forty-two years. He was peculiarly fitted for his high call- ing. A little more than two years after his ordination, came that memorable Sabbath afternoon in February, 1775, when Col. 'Leslie, with a battalion of the British 64th, marched past his church, through Lynde and North streets, on the way to the North Bridge to seize can- non supposed to be concealed thereabouts. An account of the stir- ring scenes that took place there, and the part performed by Mr. Bar- nard, have been recounted in a preceding chapter. Dr. Barnard was born in Newbury, Feb. 5, 1748; graduated from Harvard in 1766; studied theology with Dr. Williams of Bradford, and received the de- gree of Doctor of Divinity from the Universities of Edinburgh and Providence, in 1794. His father, an uncle, a grandfather, and a great- grandfather were all ministers. He died suddenly, on the 1st of Octo- ber, 1814. Dr. Barnard was a fine scholar, and delivered the Dudleian lecture at Cambridge, in 1795 ; and a discourse at Salem, upon the death of Washington, in 1799, which was printed " by desire of the town." John Emery Abbott, Dr. Barnard's successor, was born at Exeter, N. H., Aug. 6, 1793; graduated at Bowdoin in 1810; studied for the ministry at Cambridge University, and also with the Rev. W. E. Chan- ning ; was ordained pastor of the North Church, April 20, 1815; and died at Exeter, N. H., on the 7th of October, 1819. He was the son of Dr. Benjamin Abbott, for more than half a century the principal of Phillips Academy at Exeter. John Brazer, the third pastor, was born at Worcester, Mass., Sept. 21, 1789; graduated from Harvard in 1813 ; tutor of Greek at Harvard, 1815 to 1817 ; professor of Latin, 1817 to 1820 ; ordained pastor of the North Church, Nov. 14, 1820; delivered Dudleian lecture at Harvard in 1836, and received the de- gree of Doctor of Divinity in the same year ; died, Feb. 26, 1846, at Huger plantation, Cooper River, near Charleston, S. C. During Dr. Brazer's ministry, the present stone church was erected. It was dedicated June 22, 1836. Octavius B. Frothingham succeeded Dr. Brazer, and was ordained March 10, 1847. He resigned April 9, 1855, to accept a pastorate in Jersey City, N. J. The Rev. Charles Lowe was installed pastor, Sept. 27, 1855, and resigned July 28, 1857. The Rev. Edmund B. Willson, the present pastor, was installed June 5,1859.
South Church. - When the old " Third Church " meeting-house was burned, Oct. 6, 1774, the greater portion of the society, on ac- count of dissatisfaction felt with the pastor, the Rev. Dr. Whitaker, purchased the old Assembly House, on Cambridge Street, as their place of worship. This society claimed to be the "Third Church," just as Dr. Whitaker's church had claimed to be the First Church when it left the parent society with the Rev. Samnel Fisk. On Dec. 19, 1774, it was voted that the new mecting-house should be called the " South Meeting House"; but the name Third Congregational Society was retained until the subscribers to the purchase of the Assembly House were incorporated as " The Proprietors of the New South Meet- ing House in Salem," March 15, 1805. The corporate name was changed to the South Church by an Act passed April 14, 1838. The present edifice was erected in 1804, on the present site, adjoining the old Assembly House, which stood where the vestry does now. Its
dimensions were 66 by 80 feet, and it had a spire 166 feet high. Its architect was Samuel Mackintire. The first spire was blown over by the violent gale of September, 1804, but was replaced by the present symmetrical and beautiful piece of architecture surmounting the build- ing. The church was dedicated Jan. 1, 1805, and was remodelled in 1860.
The Rev. Daniel Hopkins was the first-settled pastor, and he was ordained Nov. 18, 1778. He was born in Waterbury, Conn., Oct. 16, 1734; graduated from Yale College in 1758; he came to Salem in 1766, and preached in the Third Church for a time, after the death of Dr. Huntington. In 1775, he became a member of the Provincial Congress, which position he accepted at the urgent demands of his townsmen, and to the detriment of his private interests. He was chosen pastor of the South Church, March 15, 1776 ; but his duties as Congressman prevented his ordination until Nov. 18, 1778, and con- tinued in the ministry until his death, Dec. 14, 1814. The Rev. Brown Emerson was ordained as Dr. Hopkins's colleague, April 24, 1805. He was born in Ashby, Mass., Jan. 8, 1778 ; he graduated at Dartmouth College in 1802 ; and was licensed to preach in February, 1804, by the Essex North Association. Dr. Emerson celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of his pastorate in 1855, and retained his connec- tion with the church until his death. The Rev. Israel E. Dwinell was ordained as colleague pastor to Dr. Emerson, Nov. 22, 1849. He was born in East Calais, Vt., Oct. 24, 1820, and graduated at the University of Vermont, in 1843. He resigned his pastorate in 1863, and was succeeded by the Rev. E. S. Atwood, the present pastor, who was installed Oct. 13, 1864.
The First Baptist Society was organized in 1804, in a vestry erected near the site of the present meeting-house, on Federal Street. The church was regularly constituted, Dec. 24, 1804, with sixteen mem- bers. The society was incorporated in 1806. A new church was dedicated Jan. 1, 1806. It was remodelled in 1868; partially de- stroyed by fire, Oct. 31, 1877, and restored and repaired in 1878.
The Rev. Roger Williams, third pastor of the First Church, from 1633 to 1636, is claimed as the first Baptist preacher in New Eng- land. The first pastor of the first Baptist Church was the Rev. Lucius Bolles, D.D., who was born Sept. 25, 1779; graduated at Brown University in 1801 ; was settled over the First Baptist Church, Jan. 0, 1805 ; resigned, Aug. 6, 1834; died in Boston, Jan. 5, 1844. His succcessors, in the order of their pastorates, have been the Revs. Ru- fus Babcock, John Wayland, Thomas D. Anderson, Robert C. Mills, D.D., for twenty-five years ; and George E. Merrill, the present pas- tor.
The Howard Street or " Branch Church," as it was originally called, was organized Dec. 29, 1803, its members being a number who left the Tabernacle Church on account of dissatisfaction felt at the dis- missal of the pastor, the Rev. Joshua Spaulding. After nniting with the church at Rowley for a time, the disaffected members held services in Salem, in Jacob Lord's house, Carpenter Street ; then in a vestry, built in 1802, on Baptist Hill, and, in 1804, a meeting-house was built on Howard Street, and Mr. Spaulding settled, but not without some opposi- tion. Aug. 23, 1813, the bodies of Capt. James Lawrence and Lieut. Augustus C. Ludlow, who had been killed on board the frigate " Chesapeake," in her engagement with the "Shannon," were buried from this church, Judge Story delivering a eulogy. Dr. Spaulding left Salem, and moved to South-East, in New York. He died Sept. 26, 1825. 'The Rev. Henry Blatchford was the next regular pastor, and he was followed by the Rev. William Williams, the Rev. John Todd, the Rev. George B. Cheever, the Rev. Charles T. Torrey, the Rev. Joel Mann, the Rev. M. II. Wilder, the Rev. E. W. Allen, the Rev. C. C. Beaman. The church changed from Congregational to Presbyterian, March 25, 1815, and was restored to the original faith, June 4, 1828. The church several times suffered from depres- sions, and finally, Oct. 2, 1864, its pastor, Mr. Beaman, resigned, and the society quietly passed into history. The church was let for a time to the New Jerusalem Society, and by authority of the Legislature, granted by request of the proprietors, the church prop- erty was sold, at auction, June 28, 1867. The proceeds of the sale of the communion plate were divided among those members of the church who remained in its fellowship at the time of sale.
The Freewill Baptists, sometimes called Christians, formed a society in Salem, in the year 1806, with the Rev. John Rand as its pastor. A meeting-house was erected for this society, on English Street, in 1807. In 1819, a second house was erected at the corner of Essex and Carlton streets. In 1828, the third house was built on Herbert Street. In 1840, the latter house passed into the hands of the Seaman's Society, and the Freewill Baptists became extinet as an organization. A portion of them continued with the Free Church or Campbell wing until 1850. Mr. Rand's successors in the ministry were, the Revs. Abner Jones, Samuel Rand, Moses How, Abner George W. Kelton, William Andrews, William Coe, and Christopher Martin.
The Universalist Church dates its organization from Feb. 5, 1810.
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HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.
Universalism was first preached in Salem, by the Rev. Samuel Smith, in 1804. From this time meetings were held in private houses by the leaders of the infant church : Ballou, Murray, Turner, Jones, and Barnes. The corner-stone of a church edifice was laid August, 1808, and the building was dedicated June 22, 1809, the Rev. George Richards being the preacher of the sermon. The succession of clergy- men has been Edward Turner, June, 1809, to June, 1814 : Hosca Ballou, Sept., 1815, to Oct., 1817; Joshua Flagg, Dec., 1817, to March, 1820; Barzillai Streeter, June, 1820, to Ang .. 1824; Seth Stetson, June, 1825, to March, 1828; Lemuel Willis, Dec., 1828, to May, 1837; Matthew H. Smith, Nov., 1837, to April, 1840; Linus S. Everett, May, 1841, to April, 1846; Eben Fisher, May, 1847, to Oct. , 1853 ; Sumner Ellis, Jan., 1854, to Sept. , 1858 ; Willard Spauld ing, March, 1860, to Dec., 1869 ; Edwin C. Bolles (the present pastor), June, 1871. Of these the six last mentioned are living.
The church edifice of brick is one of the oldest in the city, the Sonth and the First Baptist only exceeding it in age. It has several times been remodelled,-in 1840, 1855, and 1878. At the last date, as well as in 1857, extensive changes were made in the outside of the building or its surroundings, as also in its interior arrangement and decoration. Its pews have sittings for one thousand people. Over three hundred families are connected with the parish ; and its Sun- day school, organized in 1829, numbers nearly six hundred mem- bers.
In this parish was formed, in 1832, the Female Samaritan Society, one of the most efficient charities of Salem. During the war, 1861-64, this society sent more than two hundred young men to the ranks of the United States Army. The church celebrated its fiftieth anniver- sary in 1859, and, with the published proceedings of that occasion, may be found much historical and biographical material relating to its early years.
A Roman Catholic Church was organized in Salem, in 1811. The first Roman Catholic services in Salem were held in 1806, by the Rt. Rev. John Cheverus, Bishop of Boston ; and were subsequently held in the intervening years, until 1811, by the bishop and Father Matig- non. In the latter year, a church was organized in a school-house on Hardy Street, by the Rev. Dr. O'Brien, who officiated as its priest for two years. From 1813 to 1819, services were held occasionally by Matignon and Cheverus. The meetings were of a missionary character. The Rev. Paul McQuade was the settled pastor from 1818 to 1822. During his pastorate, the St. Mary's Catholic Church, a wooden edifice, was erected in 1821, at the corner of Mall and Bridge Streets, on land deeded for the purpose, in 1810, by Simon Forrester, an Irishman by birth, and a successful merchant. The land was to be used only for Catholic religious purposes forever. In 1826, the Rev. John Mahoney was settled as pastor, and from his time the succession has been unbroken. In 1842, the church was enlarged, and the first Catholic parochial school was taught in this city. In 1849, the congregation at St. Mary's having greatly increased, the St. James Church, on Federal Street, was built, and the "upper parish " organized. St. Mary's Church continued to be occupied until 1857, when the Church of the Immaculate Conception was erected on Walnut Street, and the old edifice abandoned. It remained standing, unused, for twenty years longer, when it was torn down, in 1877, as unsafe.
A Methodist Episcopal Church was first organized in Salem, in 1821. In 1823, the wooden church in Sewall Street (now Wesley Chapel) was built by the Rev. Jesse Fillmore, the first pastor. His ownership of the property caused dissension in the society, and its early history was stormy and troubled. The Rev. Mr. Fillmore was settled in 1822, and remained for a period of ten years, the church not then being a member of the General Conference. It did not unite with the latter until Feb., 1835. In March, 1841, a second Methodist Society was formed by a withdrawal from the first; the Rev. N. S. Spaulding was its first pastor. A new house of wor- ship was erected in Union Street. The second society continued to occupy this meeting-house, until 1851, the members of the first church gradually joining with it, until the two societies were merged in 1844, and the house in Sewall Street passed into the hands of the Second Universalist Society.
In 1851, a new and larger house was deemed necessary, and the present house, at the corner of Lafayette and Harbor streets, was dedicated Jan. 5, 1853. The pastors are changed every three years. The present pastor is the Rev. Daniel D. Steele, D. D.
In 1872, the first old meeting-house, in Sewall Street, was repur- chased, and consecrated as " Wesley Chapel." It is occupied by a Methodist Society, formed by the withdrawal of members from the
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