USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Berkley > The Observance of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the organization of the Congregational Church, in Berkley, Mass., November 2, 1887 : containing the historical sermon; an abstract of addresses and other proceedings > Part 2
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It affords us great happiness to be able to say, in conclusion, that the evidence of his personal interest in that Gospel, which it was his delight to make known to others was so satisfactory, that his trust in it to the last was unshaken, and that its consolations shone around in entering 'the valley of the shadow of death,' in undim'd brightness."
You must remember this record which I have read to you was expressive of the estimate in which Mr. Andros was held by life-long associates in the ministry-such men as Fowler of Fall River, Colby of North Middleborough, Barney of Seekonk, Blodgett of Pawtucket, Sanford of Raynham and Cobb, Maltby, Richmond of Taunton. They all, as I am able to assert from personal knowledge, revered, honored and loved the man of whom they re- corded this.
One of these, a co-temporary, who still lives in a "good old age," Rev. Dr. Sanford of Raynham, has devoted more than twenty of the sixty pages of the "History of the Town of Berkley" to reminiscences of this truly remarkable man. I have a list of fifteen sermons by Mr. Andros, which were published by request of the hearers, and four, at least, other publications, in the form of essays and treatises on theological subjects. How a minister, with a whole town for his parish, in charge of its schools, with considerable of a farm to cultivate, and considerable of a family to care for-his children numbering seven- teen-could have found any time, in addition to the pre- paration of sermons and other parish work, for the writing of books, is a marvel to those of later times, who are short of time in which to do much less. He must have risen with the sun, summer and winter and worked nights as
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well as days, without any vacation at mountain or sea- shore, as the custom now is.
Mr. Andros was twice married, (1) to Miss Abigail Cutler of Killingly, Conn., the mother of nine children. (2) To Sophia, the third daughter of Capt. John Sanford of Berkley, the mother of eight children. That I am not mistaken in the number of the children, the following reminiscence from a reliable source assures us. My wife, the daughter of Dea. William Reed of Taunton, remem- bers that on one Sabbath morning, Mr. Andros, on his way to church, on an exchange, stopped at her father's house and shaking hands with her mother, said, "Mrs. Reed, I have this morning been made the happy father of my seventeenth child."
The number made an indelible inpression on the mind of the listening child.
The happy father had read the 127th Psalm : "Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord. As arrows in the hand of a mighty man, so are the children of youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them."
I cannot close a notice, already it may be too long, of the second minister of Berkley, without referring to what must have cheered this minister's heart so much, the large accession to the church in 1807, as shown by the church records of that year-sixty-three in all, forty-four in the month of May and nineteen in the month of June- the fruit of a special work of Grace, to which the pastor makes reference in the records, as follows :
" About the 20th of February, 1807, God began to appear in His glory, to build up Zion in this place, as He never had done before. So general and powerful an awakening and so many souls hopefully brought out of darkness into marvellous light in so short a time, is an event never before experienced in this town. It is most evidently the work of God and to Him be all the glory. From this infinite Fountain of unmerited mercy, we have experienced such a time of refreshing from the presence of the Lord."
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Parents who consecrated themselves to the Lord that year were moved to consecrate their children also, as the venerable Dr. Sanford, to whom I have more than once referred in this discourse, describes a scene, which he was old enough to remember, on a pleasant Sabbath in the month of May, 1807, in the Berkley meeting house, when, the children being gathered round the pastor, he stretched out his hands and repeated the words of Christ, "Suffer the little children to come unto me." The whole assembly was moved to tears, as more than fifty little ones were presented at the baptismal font.
But we must hasten on in our rapid sketch of this church history.
The long pastorates of the first two ministers, covering the first century, were followed by brief ones. The first to accept a call was Rev. Ebenezer Poor in 1835, a native of Danvers, Mass., and a minister of good repute among the churches. The sermons which he delivered were to the edification and profit of his hearers. So much inter- ested were the members of Rev. Mr. Maltby's church in one of his discourses, when he preached in Taunton on exchange, that they requested its publication, and it was printed and widely circulated.
Rev. Mr. Poor remained only two years, although installed and dismissed by council, and Rev. J. U. Parsons who was an earnest, faithful pastor and preacher, as I remember him, was his successor, installed by council, in which my church in Taunton bore a part, March 14, 1838. Rev. Mr. Parsons evidently felt the need of a reviving for himself and church from the quickening presence of the Lord, and so March 28, soon after his installation, accord- ing to the records, "the church took into consideration their past unfaithfulness in the service of their Divine Lord and were sensible that they owed to one another and the congregation a confession of their sins. Appointed
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Dea. B. Crane and Bro. J. Fox a committee with the pastor to draw up such a confession." This was done and April 5, on the day of State Fast, "at the close of public services," the confession of the church, which had been adopted and signed by the church, was read to the con- gregation " with good effect." Rev. Mr. Parsons, whom I well remember and whom I was permitted to assist in special religious services, was a zealous, persistent worker for his Master. He was not satisfied with sabbath work, but went from house to house during the week and held neighborhood meetings, which were largely attended and accomplished much good. Some of the precious fruit of these labors of christian love must remain, I think, unto this present time, although I am speaking of what tran- spired half a century ago.
The council to dissolve the pastoral relation of Rey. Mr. Parsons to this church convened Feb. 5, 1840. An eastern field was not large enough for this untiring toiler in the Lord's vineyard. He went west and I can see him now, as he stopped at my house in Taunton, in a driving rain storm, with his wife and children in a large wagon, which was to be their home for weeks, on their long western trip, and I can hear his cheery voice, as, after lunch, a psalm of praise and prayer, about to part, he said, "Brother Emery, may we meet on the bank of the Miss- issippi," and sure enough, (who would have thought it then) twenty years afterward, at Quincy, Illinois, "on the bank of the Mississippi," my door bell rang, before the sun was up, and there stood J. U. Parsons, the same wide- awake, earnest, zealous man, who toiled on, year after year, till perhaps five years since, his wife and children gone before, he heard the Master say, "Child, come home," and so he entered into the rest, the joy of his Lord.
It was March 8, 1842, when the Berkley Church called for its third pastor, since the long ministry of Rev. Messrs.
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Tobey and Andros, Rev. Charles Chamberlain, who united with the church by letter from the Spring Street Church, New York City, his wife also bringing a letter from the Richmond Street Church, Providence. This pastorate was encouraged by an accession to the church in 1842, of forty-five. It was terminated, however, by act of Council, Aug. 14, 1844. The result of this Council, as spread out on the records, is long and elaborate, " unani- mously adopted." It seeks to explain the short pastorates and frequent calling of Councils to settle and unsettle the Berkley ministry. It closes with the best of advice to the ministry and the people, arguing in favor of the old- time permanency in the pastoral relation.
In April, 1845, Rev. Ebenezer Gay of Bridgewater, was invited to supply the pulpit one year, which he did, to good acceptance.
At the close of his supply, Rev. Lucius R. Eastman was called to the work of the ministry, May 8, 1846, and his services continued till the 1st of April, 1848, when some members of the church organized as the Trinitarian (or second) Congregational Church in Berkley, ministered to by Rev. Mr. Eastman for a time, and afterward by Rev. Mr. Roberts, and now known as the Methodist Episcopal Church of Berkley.
Rev. Nathaniel Richardson was the stated supply of the mother church from Sept. 1st, 1848, till he left for the care of a newly organized church in East Taunton, in 1853.
His labors in Berkely brought forth good fruit as an addition of twenty-seven to the church in January of 1850 indicates.
There is nothing in the records to make it certain who preached for the church, or for what length of time, after Mr. Richardson left ; but I find the names of Rev. Messrs. Merrill, Smith, Woodbury, Lothrop, Davis and
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Babcock mentioned as moderating meetings or serving as delegates from 1853 to 1869, and these six ministers are supposed to have been the supplies for these sixteen years.
In 1859, thirty-two were received to the church, and in 1864, nine.
The beginning of the year 1869 witnessed a scene in this church, upon which the angels of light must have looked down with interest and delight-after prayer, the unanimous reconsideration and withdrawal of a vote of censure and a hearty restoration to Christian fellowship, of those, who went out from them twenty years before.
And now, in 1870, I am delighted to find the name of my old friend, Rev. James O. Barney, so long of Seekonk, as the supply of this church. His name is of precious memory in this part of our Zion.
Following him, were Rev. Messrs. Samuel Fairley, Wm. H. Teel, Wm. A. Chamberlain, Leonard S. Parker and John E. M. Wright, down to the present time.
All these have I known during these my last eleven years in Taunton. They have wrought well in this their field of labor for the little time allowed them. Bro. Fairley, of bright intellect and versatile powers came, as you remember, to a sudden, sad death, by drowning, when laboring elsewhere. And the excellent Chamberlain, whom you all loved, has died, with his harness on, in his western field of labor.
The ministry of your present pastor has already re- ceived Heaven's approval in a rich baptism of the Spirit, which has gently descended on your households, a baptis- mal benediction from the Presence of the Lord, to abide with you, we will hope, forever.
My rapid review of the history of this church has treated mainly of its pastors. I wish there were time to speak particularly of its membership. Its deacons have
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been Gershom Crane, Daniel Axtell, Jacob French, John Paull, Samuel Tubbs, Ebenezer Crane, Ebenezer Winslow. Samuel Tobey, George Sanford, Luther Crane, Tisdale Briggs, Barzilla Crane, Thomas C. Dean, James Hathaway, Isaac Babbitt, Rollin H. Babbitt-sixteen.
An interesting document has just come into my hands-" the last will and testament of Elijah Briggs, made the 29th day of Nov. 1791, copied by Asa W. Briggs of Potsdam, N. Y., the 17th of Sept., 1879, for Mrs. Eliza J. Dean of Glenwood, Iowa, and re-copied by her the 20th of Oct., 1887."
After remembering his son, two daughters and a niece in his will, he adds :
"I give and bequeath to ye Congregational Society of Berkley in ye county of Bristol Four hundred dollars, to be a fund forever, the anual interest thereof to be appropriated and applied towards supporting and maintaining a good, sound, orthodox Gospel minister. who shall settle amonxt them of the Congregational denomination, in sd town of Berkley, to teach and instruct the sd society in the princi- ples of the holy christian religion, as they are taught and revealed in the Holy Scriptures of Divine Inspiration of the old and new Testa- ments. And do, by this my will and testament, constitute and appoint the elders and deacons of the Congregational Society in sd town of Berkley aforesd, to be my trustees and to have ye full power and author- ity of ye loan aforesd, to ye intent and purpose that ye anual interest thereof may be applied faithfully and anualy towards supporting a good, sound, orthodox Gospel minister in sd town of Berkley (who shall be settled amonxt them) of ye Congregational denomination, to teach and instruct ye sd Congregational Society as a faithful minister in ye sacred Scriptures of truth."
Mr. Briggs also bequeathed one hundred dollars to "the town of Berkley to be a fund forever, the anual interest thereof to be appropriated and applied toward the supporting of an English Grammar schoolmaster of a good moral character to teach and instruct the youth,"- and the selectmen of the town were made its trustees.
He also bequeathed to the Congregational minister of Berkley and to his successors in office Matthew Henry's
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1
Exposition of the Bible and other books, maps, magazines and papers which might be of use to them.
Judge Samuel Tobey was associated with his son Ephraim in administering on his estate.
There is no question but Elijah Briggs intended this estate should provide for the support of the Gospel min- istry in Berkley not only during his life time, but in all the generations to come after, so long as the town ex- isted.
Music has much to do with the worship of God's people and some mention should be made of it in connec- tion with this parish. It is generally reported and believed that Bishop Berkley, once a resident in this country, for the most part at Newport, and giving his name to this town, sent the church an organ, which they declined to accept, not desiring instrumental music ; and it is said a church in Newport (the Trinity) was glad to have it. John Paull is named as the first chorister of this parish, who led the congregation in the use of such tunes as Mear, St. Martin's and Old Hundred, which are good tunes still-and when John Paull was too old to lead, then came Shadrach Burt, Nathaniel Haskins and Simeon Burt, followed in due time by Azael Hathaway, James Babbitt, Henry Crane, Dea. George Sanford and Col. Adoniramı Crane-the last two named being, as some of you may know, not only singers, but skilled teachers of music.
Several ministers of the Gospel have gone out from this church, among whom may be named Alvan Tobey, James, John, Enoch and Baalis Sanford, James Barnaby, Silas A. Crane, Wm. M. Cornell, Daniel C. Burt, Thomas T. Richmond, four of whom are still living and some of whom may be heard from, in the way of reminiscence, to- day. Several others, among them, three sons of Rev. Mr. Andros, have received a collegiate education and attained
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to considerable eminence as teachers or in professional life.
But I must stay my pen and relieve you, when I have read you a letter of interest, sent me by a member of this church :
"REV. MR. EMERY,
Dear Sir,-Perhaps you will be interested to know that in connec- tion with the church in Berkley, a Woman's Missionary Society was formed in the year 1810, called the "Female Cent Society," its members agreeing to give one cent a week to the cause of missions. It still exists, and is doing work for the Master. Among the receipts kept in a quaint looking pocket-book, made probably by some one of the Grand " Mothers in Israel"' is one bearing the date of Jan. 1816, acknowledging the sum of twenty-one dollars to the Massachusetts Missionary Society, and signed by Jeremiah Evarts.
Many of these receipts have been lost, but there are enough of them to show that nearly one thousand dollars have been contributed from its treasury to the A. B. C. F. M. Some of them show that the money has sometimes been used in Home Charities, and there is one acknowledging money paid to the American Bible Society " to con- stitute Rev. Thomas Andros a life member."
This is only a rill emptying into the stream which shall "make glad the city of our God," and perhaps you will not deem it of much importance. You are at liberty to use these facts in connection with your work or not, as you think best.
Berkley, Oct. 1887.
Respectfully Yours.
I may say, in closing, that I do deem this informa- tion, which comes to me from an unknown source, "of much importance," and may the " Woman's Missionary Society of Berkley," organized in 1810, and so fruitful in good works, abide forever, or at least, until the Lord come, ushering in the millenial day, of a thousand years, when " they shall teach no more every man his neighbour and every man his brother, saying, know the Lord, for they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the great- est of them, saith the Lord." The Lord hasten His coming on this wise, in this land and in all lands-on the land and on the sea.
AMEN, AND AMEN.
APPENDIX,
The second of November, 1887, was a perfect autum- nal day and, in response to a cordial invitation from the church in Berkley, a large number of natives of the town and others interested in the occasion, came from far and near, and promptly gathered in the meeting house for morning services at 10.30 a, m., which, under the direction of the pastor of the church, Rev. J. E. M. Wright, were conducted in the following order :
ORGAN VOLUNTARY and DOXOLOGY. INVOCATION by Rev. E. DAWES, of Lakeville. ANTHEM.
SCRIPTURE SELECTIONS by Rev. J. E. M. Wright, of Berkley. HYMN 964, SPIRITUAL SONGS. PRAYER by Rev. Thomas T. Richmond, of Taunton. ORIGINAL HYMN by Rev. J. E. M. Wright, pastor of the church. HISTORICAL SERMON by Rev. S. H. Emery, of Taunton. PRAYER by Rev. L. Parker, former pastor of the church. HYMN SOS, SPIRITUAL SONGS. BENEDICTION, by the pastor.
The sermon was preceded by the singing, with great earnestness by the congregation, led by the choir, of the following appropriate anniversary hymn by the pastor, Rev. J. E. M. Wright :
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Tune :- America.
O God in tender love, Look on us from above, And bless us now. Our fathers' God we praise, Our glad thanksgivings raise, In true and hallowed lays. As here we bow.
Those holy men of old Bore burdens all untold, From love to God. Rallying round the cross, All else they counted loss And reckoned only dross, For Christ their Lord.
Gone are those great and good, Who firm and faithful stood For truth and right. They from their labors rest, We by their faith are blest, Which long has stood the test Of later light.
What shall we render, Lord, To thee, our fathers' God, For blessings past ? Thy name we will adore, Recount thy mercies o'er, And praise thee evermore, While life shall last.
This sacred trust we hold, Thy church planted of old, Dear as our breath. Unsullied to the end Thy truth we will defend, On sovereign grace depend. Faithful till death,
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The ladies of the church provided a most excellent repast for visiting friends in the basement of the church at noon, which gave opportunity for the re-union of old acquaintances and friends, who had not met for many years and the most delightful social intercourse.
At 2 p. m. the audience room of the church was com- pletely filled for further interesting exercises :
ORGAN VOLUNTARY. ANTHEM BY THE CHOIR.
PRAYER by Rev. E. Dawes, of Lakeville. HYMN 758, SPIRITUAL SONGS. SCRIPTURE SELECTIONS, by Rev. G. F. Walker, of Freetown. ADDRESS by Rev. Thomas T. Richmond, of Taunton, who spoke as follows :
Mr. Emery, in his historical discourse, has done his work thoroughly, as he always does. He has gone over the whole ground for 150 years, and on the way has dwelt some time on the ministry of the first two pastors of this church. He has given us much that is interesting and what is new to most of us. This Bro. Wright expected, but as he knew he could not embrace every thing of interest in one discourse, he wrote me as a descendant of the first minister and a young parishioner for 16 years of the second, to say something I might have heard of the one and personally knew of the other. I cheerfully com- ply with his request. But as there are a number here who will, or ought to speak on the same subject, I shall endeavor to be brief. The early life of Mr. Tobey, as stated to me by a grand-daughter of his, evinced that he had a tender conscience and a due regard to parental authority, and that he was religiously educated. When quite a boy he was in the habit of driving his father's cows to pasture. One Sabbath morning he discovered a flock of wild geese in a pond where they had spent the night. Having a heavy stick in his hand, he threw it into their midst, and as they rose to fly, two of them remained with their necks broken by the blow. He took them from
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the water and left them, went home and rested the Sab- bath day according to the commandment.
The next day he went to the pasture to take them home, but found they were not fit for use. He then told the family of success the morning before and his great disappointment in not furnishing them with a good dinner. They inquired why he did not bring them when he killed them, he replied he was afraid of being punished for breaking the Sabbath.
His early taste for study. preparation for college, honorable graduation, youthful ministry and settlement as pastor of this church, have been duly noticed.
There was not so much required of a minister then as now, but all that was demanded he cheerfully complied with. He prepared his sermons with much care, was methodical and exact, attended the preparatory lectures and visited the people as their circumstances required. The American Quarterly Register, No. 12, page 139, says of him: "He was a very respectable man, an orthodox and worthy minister of the gospel, generous, given to hospitality, affectionate to his people, ever ready to ad- minister to their temporal and spiritual wants-and by them was much beloved."
He always manifested the gentleman and the Chris- tian. He reproved the ignorant and them that were out of the way. At one time it is said his neighbors were assisting him in breaking up a piece of rough ground. He had a strong team and a strong man they called Sargent Harvey holding the plow. He would at times drink too much strong liquor and use profane language. He was now under the influence of drink, which provoked to profanity, when the instrument he had hold of sent him hither and thither. Mr. Tobey tried to check him, but to no purpose. Finally he told him, he could take the plow around the field without swearing. Harvey resigned the plow into his hands and followed to see the end. The plow was no respecter of persons and used Mr. Tobey as it did Sargent Harvey. But his expression was "I never see the like; I never see the like." When the task was performed, he said, " There, I have been the whole round and have not made use of the language you did."
-
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" True," Harvey replied, " but which is the greater sin, to swear a little or lie as you did, a number of times. For you said, you never see the like, when you knew you had a great many times."
Mr. Tobey's views of religious doctrine and measures to promote the cause of Christ, appear in his assent to the doings of a convention held in Boston, in May and July 1743, while Whitefield and others were laboring as Evan- gelists among the New England churches. A general interest was awakened in the churches. There was a gen- eral stirring up, producing an excitement which some thought was seriously injuring the cause of vital religion. The great question was, whether the work was genuine, produced by the Divine Spirit or mere human excitement. It was discussed at several meetings, and in July 7, 1743, a result was reached.
The document is too long to be read here, but after giving wise counsel to guard against rash measures and teaching for doctrines the commandments of men, and exhorting both ministers and christians, as far as it is consistent with truth and holiness, to follow the things which make for peace, it proceeds to say, " we would most earnestly warn all sorts of persons not to despise these out-pourings of the Spirit and would call on every one to improve this remarkable season of grace and put in for a share of the heavenly blessing so liberally bestowed." This result was signed by 68 ministers, one of whom was the Rev. Samuel Tobey, pastor of the church in Berkley. His valuable life was closed suddenly as has been stated by Mr. Emery.
My earliest recollections of Mr. Andros are when he visited at my grandfather's, Judge Tobey's, to consult on matters relating to church and state. One of his earliest acts, which I remember, was the mark he made on my arm, not impressing me very favorably. The virus he pricked in my skin produced a sensation that did not har- monize with my idea of kindness. Yet he was kind and this was a lesser evil to prevent a greater. All through life he wounded to heal. On the. sabbath, he generally spent the hours of intermission at our house. A luncheon of pie and cheese, bread and butter, and a mug of cider
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