USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > Pittsfield > The history of Pittsfield (Berkshire County), Massachusetts, from the year 1800 to the year 1876 > Part 16
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When, however, opposition to the new faith was awakened by its progress, neither sharp denunciations for heresy, nor the
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unpopularity of its ascetism in morals, proved so great an obsta- cle to its success-and to that of the Baptists as well-as the opinion in community that these denominations were " not respectable," inasmuch as their preachers, with few exceptions, had not received a collegiate education. They replied, to be sure, that "as these were, so were the Apostles." But they gained little by this retort except a new charge of irreverent presump- tion. Nor, with the mass of community, did it avail to do away with this prejudice, that many of the Baptist and Methodist clergy showed themselves, not only eloquent and persuasive exhorters, but able to cope with the best in logical argument and theological learning. Massachusetts laws had from the first required a learned, as well as a pious, clergy, and learning was judged only by the standard of Harvard and Yale. Without that learning duly certified by diploma, the clergymen upon whom the new sects-to which not many learned had yet been called-were obliged to depend, could not reflect " respectability" upon their flocks. It did not matter, that in Massachusetts, at that time, infants almost imbibed theological lore with their mother's milk ; that, at the least, few grew to man's estate with- out listening to innumerable theological lectures, so that many laymen were almost as well versed in matters of belief as the majority of clergymen. Nor did it matter that the chief defi- ciency of the unlearned clergy-inability to consult the Serip- tures in their original tongues-was practically shared by many of those nominally learned, but who had little critical nicety of scholarship. He who lacked collegiate training, or at least a col- legiate diploma, however little it detracted from his ability as a religious teacher, could bestow no respectability upon his people, whatever else he might bestow. Nor was it altogether respecta- ble to belong to any other denomination than that which was favored by the state, and to which most of those distinguished for wealth or place belonged. And as those who could boast but little education themselves, were often most careful to shine in the light of an educated ministry ; so those who were most doubt- fully struggling through the debatable ground of society, always clung in the church, as elsewhere, most pertinaciously to associa- tion with those whose position was assured. The dread of not being classed with " the respectable" was therefore a powerful obstacle to the spread of new sects; and, not only were those
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possessed of an uneasy anxiety regarding their place in society, influenced by this prejudice ; but ardent and impressible youth, who might be touched by the fervid eloquence or convinced by the masculine logic of the new teachers, were sensitive to the ridicule which was sure to fall upon those who avowed themselves converts. This point of respectability was the weapon which Rev. Mr. Hibbard's father used, and for years effectually, to pre- vent his avowal of the Methodist faith. "I wanted to be a Congregationalist and to be respectable," said he in his graphic description of his mental struggles, "but I wanted the love and seriousness of the Methodists."
But, however the Baptist and Methodist preachers may have counted secular learning as of secondary importance in their calling, the greater and best part of them were far from holding it in contempt. If it could have been had without detriment to what they regarded essential gospel-truth, theyfwould, as ardently as any, have desired an educated ministry. Some of those whose native abilities best enabled them to dispense with its aids, most deeply regretted their deficiencies in this respect, and among them was Rev. Mr. Hibbard, the only one of the early Methodist pastors of whom we are able to give a sketch.
Mr. Hibbard was born at Norwich, Connecticut, February 24, 1771, his father being Nathan Hibbard, a tanner and shoemaker. His mother's maiden-name was Mehitable Crosby, He was unfortunately christened, not William, but Billy, a circumstance which, coupled with a certain quaint wit which he manifested in common with most men of mark in his day, has led to an under- estimate of his ability and character. As we have had occasion to observe in other instances, tradition, an inveterate preserver of distorted and misplaced facts, is sure to keep in memory every anecdote of piquant wit and quaint humor which it can lay hold of in the life of a noted individual; leaving them in grotesque prominence when the solid ground-work of his ordinary life and conversation is forgotten. It is far easier to remember a happy retort or a pointed allusion than to retain the logic, or even the conclusions, of a labored discourse. But, fortunately, Mr. Hibbard has left an autobiography distinguished by an evident truthfulness, and told with a simplicity and earnestness, which make it charming reading-at least for those who do not peruse it with a controversial spirit.
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From his earliest years, almost from infancy, he was distin- guished by the most unqualified faith in the Holy Scriptures, implicit reliance upon the efficacy of prayer, and a painfully-sen- sitive conscience. But, unqualified as was his faith, it was not unquestioning ; and, even before he had heard or known of doubts concerning any of the articles of the Congregational faith, in which he had been educated, he had reasoned out for himself a creed very similar to the Methodist. In his autobiography the conflict in his mind between old and new ideas is described with much power, and is often deeply interesting; for whatever the reader may think of their grounds, to him his fears of eternal misery were a vivid reality, and his remorse for sin was appar- ently as bitter as it was in the nature of man to endure. Some of the incidents of this early experience were also amusing to himself in his later days. And all is told with simplicity. From his childhood, too, he was visited by remarkable dreams, and evidently put considerable faith in them, as in other similar modes of communication from the Deity. When he was four years old the revolutionary war began, and his father and four uncles went to take part in it, as soldiers. For years they were absent in the field, and nightly he united his infant-voice in prayer for their safety, with that of his tearful step-mother. He was encouraged in these prayers by a dream. While he was yet a child, his father removed to Hinsdale-about nine miles east of Pittsfield, where his religious experiences were continued and occupied a great part of his attention, although he endeavored to conceal them. His visions continued and were not confined to his sleeping-hours. The doctrine of predestination oppressed him with fearful power. On one occasion, as he was riding, it so affected him that he nearly fell from his horse. "As soon as I had gained strength," said he, "I cried most earnestly to the Lord in these words : ' O Lord, does everybody believe so ?' That moment an answer was suggested to my mind, as plain as it could have been spoken to my outward ears: 'No! There is a people in England that teach clearly from the Scriptures, that any poor sinner, who has not committed the unpardonable sin, may be saved if he will repent and turn to the Lord in the time of his probation and day of grace; which God gives to every man. But, if he will not obey the calls of God's Spirit, but resists and grieves him by the sin he willingly commits, then he ought to be damned.' "?
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" This was good news to my mind. I knew it was power from the Lord. * I then cried unto the Lord to spare my life until I should find this people." At this time he had never heard of the Methodists or their doctrines. At least such was his recollection in his later years. Soon afterwards, while still a youth. he received in the same manner a promise that the love of God should inspire him, and that he should be called to preach, and, if faithful, be the instrument of the conversion of many souls. Hle feared that this whispering came from the devil, espe- cially as he had heard his father say that he did not intend to send any of his sons to college. Then, in answer to his prayer for a sign, came " the sweet impression : that the people I should find did not consider a college education as the essential qualifi- cation for a minister ; yet that all who ministered must study to know the Scriptures, and other books, whereby they may have knowledge of men and things sufficient to teach men the will of God."
There were many visions of this sort vouchsafed him, on which it is not our place here to pass judgment; as we also do not upon any of the views in theology held by him or others of whom we here speak. There are, however, we suppose, but few men who have thought deeply and anxiously upon any subject, and espe- cially upon religion, but who have found impressed upon their mind thoughts, often seemingly expressed in words, coming from with- ont themselves. Mr. Hibbard did not doubt that they had a divine origin. It was some time after this, that a Methodist itinerant preacher came to his father's house, and young Hibbard first heard of the sect. By consent of Mr. Hibbard, senior, the preacher held service, and the son exerted himself to gather an audience. From this time his destiny seemed to be fixed-that he should become a preacher of that order-although it was not fulfilled until after many struggles which are vividly depicted in his autobiography. Finally it was settled in a characteristic way, by an appeal to the Divine oracle. The "impression " came upon him powerfully while he was at work in the field. We omit many simply and powerfully told descriptions of the soul's conflicts with itself, as not within our province, but quote Mr. Hibbard's account of the method by which he finally decided upon his line of duty, because it is illustrative of the simplicity of heart and earnest belief in direct communication with the
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Deity, which characterized the members of the new sects, as well as some of those who adhered to Congregationalism. He writes :
One day, when at work clearing up my fallow ground for a crop, having, as in days past, no strength to work, I thought, ' this will never do. I cannot work, and I am not happy in it as in former days. I ought to be submissive to the will of God. If the Lord does call me to preach, I ought to be submissive to the will of God. If the Lord does call me to preach I ought to say, ' Here, Lord, am I, send me.' But how shall I know that this is of the Lord and not a delusion?' It was then suggested to my mind, 'You have fasted and prayed, but you have not opened the Bible, and asked for direction from the Word of God.' Then I kneeled down and prayed that the Lord would direct me by his word; that if my impressions to preach were from Him, I might open the Bible on some text clearly expressing the duty of one .called of God to preach. But if not, that I might open on a text expressing the danger of running before I was sent. I then went to my house to open my Bible solemnly ; but, I must confess, with a secret desire that I might be delivered from the impression to preach. When I took up my Bible I shut my eyes and said in my heart, 'Now, Lord, let it be a fair lot.' I opened and found my finger on Ezekiel iii. 17, 18, ' Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth and give them warning from me. When I say unto the wicked, thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at thine hand.' I read no further, but shut up the book and left the house in haste, blaming myself for taking this measure, because now I had less ground to excuse myself than before. I got to my field again, but a gloomy horror overspread my mind more than ever. I sat down and wept, and wished the Lord would take my life. For two hours I was but a little from distraction. How can I discharge my duty and be a minister? I must pay for my farm and get something for my wife and children to subsist upon, or it will be said, I am worse than an infidel, if I provide not for my own household. But to feel as I do, I cannot work. I fear, if I preach, I shall not do my duty ; and I fear, if I do not, I shall be damned after all. O, if Calvinism were true, that I could not fall from grace, I would easily overcome this distress by leaving all to the irresistible grace of God, and say, ' Once in grace always in grace.' But I am torn and racked in every way.
Thus I struggled, until, exhausted with fatigue, I went and lay down on the damp ground, praying the Lord to take my life and have mercy on my soul. I was in hopes I should take cold and die. I dared
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not go into the house, lest my wife should ask me what was the matter, and I should have to tell her my exercises. I slept about an hour and a half on the damp ground, and awoke much refreshed in body; and. like a child that had been whipped, more soft and docile in temper. I prayed, and begged the Lord to forgive my refractory temper. I felt ashamed of what I had done. I went to my work, but I could not work ; then I again prayed; and at this time I resolved to go to the house and ask my wife to open the Bible with her eyes shnt, and put in hier finger, and read the verse her finger was npon, and if it was a call to the work of the ministry, I would receive it; I would no more resist, nor, Jonah-like, run from the Lord. I went in and informed her of my distress, the first time I had ever spoken to her about it, and how I had resisted the impression until, like Jonah, 'I was in misery and could do no work. I have fasted and prayed for an answer that would solve the doubt, and now I have come in to have you open the Bible, shut- ting your eyes until you place your finger on a text, and read the text your finger is on.'
She took the Bible and opened it in a hurry, without shutting her eyes, on John x : 13, and read, 'The hireling fleeth because he is a hire- ling, and careth not for the sheep.' I said, . My dear, you knew where that text was, and you opened it to reproach me for not having yielded to my duty; besides, you did not shut your eyes, and it is not a fair lot.'
She smiled to see me so earnest. I said, 'How dare you smile so before God? Why, this is an awful solemn time-you ought not to smile.' I took the Bible and said, 'Now let there be a fair lot; shut your eyes.' She did so, and opened on Luke ix: 60, and read, Jesus said unto him, let the dead bury their dead; bnt go thou and preach the kingdom of God.' I said, ' Why, my dear, there is no such text in the Bible; you have made it.' She burst into tears, reaching me the Bible, saying, 'There, read it.' While I was reading it, to my ntter amazement, she said : 'I kuew yon would have to preach; I have given you up a long time ago.' I said, " Well, this is of God; let us pray.' So we kneeled down, and all my horror of mind was gone in a moment -my soul was now again happy in God; though I mourned that I should have been unyielding to the impressions that had so long fol- lowed me. I prayed the Lord to forgive the stubborness I had been so long guilty of. I said I will preach as well as I can; I will not refuse again if I am called upon.
Next, after his doubts whether his call to preach was of God or a delusion of Satan, the obstacle to his becoming a traveling preacher which most affected Mr. Hibbard was the consideration of his duty to provide for his family. "The economy of the Methodists," he writes, "left all in entire uncertainty respecting
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the support of their preachers. The utmost that was promised was a bare supply of necessaries, and this uncertain; so that I must reconcile myself to be poor all the days of my life, without the least prospect of ever obtaining the conveniences of this life." But, his wife assenting, he took up the burden which he believed God had imposed upon him; and, although his " difficulties were many, by reason of ignorance and poverty, left all," and, by direc- tion of the presiding elder, in 1797, went with Rev. Mr. Stebbins on to the Pittsfield circuit, where he continued until June of the following year. In 1813, he was again stationed on this circuit, and met the trouble with the "Reformed Methodists " which has already been recounted. In 1814, being strongly in sympathy with the government, he volunteered to supply preaching for the army, and when a regiment of militia were called from Berkshire for the defense of Boston, Colonel Chamberlain appointed him his chaplain. On his return to Pittsfield he visited the prisoners at the Cantonment. After a long service in the cause which he had chosen, he died Angust 17, 1849, at Canaan, N. Y.
We have given a somewhat prolonged sketch of Mr. Hibbard, believing him to have been a representative man of his denomi- nation in its earliest days in Pittsfield, and that a better idea would thus be presented of its state and struggles, than by any general statement regarding it as a whole. It is not often that a man reveals himself so fully to the reader as Mr. Hibbard evi- dently does in his memoirs.
The Methodists, as we have seen, were ardently zealous in the reprobation of those amusements and indulgences which they believed, in however remote a degree, to tend to excite the pas- sions or to dissipate " serious" thought ; the terms " serious " and "truly religious " being with them synonymous. In this they agreed with the Congregationalists of Puritanic days, and to a great degree with those of more recent times. But the members of the "standing-order " in the beginning of the nineteenth cen- tury held that there was a time to dance, and to be merry. In their views of social amusements, they did not widely, if at all, differ from the churches which are usually styled liberal.
But the Congregationalists, as a body and as individuals, were keenly alive to the irreligious, demoralizing and disorganizing tendencies of the age, which it must be remembered was that of the French republic, and of the scarcely less corrupt empire.
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And no one would suspect the Congregational churches of Massa- chusetts of being lukewarm in their oppugnation of any sin which found its root in that soil. There were minds indeed - even among those who professed themselves members of the church- whose faith had been deeply undermined. But, as a mass, the community, which-so slight was the dissenting element in num- bers-might be characterized as Congregational, had by no means lost its respect for religion either as the conservator of whatever is good in this life, or as the only true foundation for hope with regard to that life which is to come. Doubtless many of the clergy and the more serious minded of the church, held with the Methodists in regard to amusements ; and, if the majority viewed them with a more lenient eye, it was from a sincere belief that they were not inconsistent with a religious life. It was no proof that all were not zealous in the performance of their duty as they understood it. To what degree that zeal extended may be judged by the action of the Association of Ministers in the county of Berkshire and the Northern Presbytery in the state of New York, at a joint meeting of those bodies, held in Berkshire county in the year 1800, when they recommended a plan for the better inculcation of religious truth upon the young.
This plan was in substance as follows : The Association and Presbytery advised that each of their ministers, and, where the churches were destitute of ministers, the deacons or some other meet persons selected for the purpose, should collect the children and youth, in a body or in divisions, as local circumstances might dictate, as often as he might judge expedient, and impress upon them the serious and weighty things of eternity by catechising, instruction and counsel; beginning and closing with prayer. The shorter Westminster catechism was recommended for use, as containing " a compendium of all the leading and most import- ant doctrines and duties of religion, expressed in an easy and plain manner, sanctioned by long custom, and, by people in gen- eral, best known and understood."
A significant recommendation was that ministers and " serious " people should use their influence to have the catechism taught in schools ; " a practice which of late had grown into great disuse ; " and also that the Holy Scriptures might be read, at least once a day, in the schools.
It was also recommended that the family-concert of catechising
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and prayer, already suggested to some churches and congrega- tions by individual members of the Association and Presbytery, should be warmly supported.
There were some further suggestions as to the methods of car- rying the plan into effect, and that a report of its operation should be made by each minister to the body to which he belonged at the first meeting after September 1, 1801.
The plan was printed at Stockbridge in 1800, together with an address full of pious and fervent exhortation regarding the duty of parents and ministers towards the young. They say that many of the pious lament the growing neglect of catechising and instructing the rising generation ; but after a strong presenta- tion, according to the manner of that day of the fearful conse- quences of the neglect by parents of the souls of their children, they add : "It is now a time in which God is pouring out His Spirit in plentiful showers. Awake, and attend to your children. There is a shaking in the tops of the mulberry trees. God has gone forth. Bestir yourselves. Many people, some old, some young, have been brought into Christ's Church. * *
Should the present favorable moment be neglected, the opportu- nity in a measure may be lost. Say not that nothing can be done. Attempts, with the blessing of God, may be followed by great and good consequences."
And, with other pious and eloquent exhortation and encourage- ment to faithfulness, the address closes.
The authors of this address will not be suspected of lukewarm- ness in their Master's cause.
CHAPTER VIII .-
EARLY WOOLEN MANUFACTURES.
[1800-1812.]
State of American manufactures in 1800-First woolen mills in America- Arthur Scholfield-Birth, parentage and education-Emigrates to Amer- ica-Commences business at Byfield-Removes to Pittsfield-Makes broadcloths, carding-machines, spinning-jennies and looms - The first Pittsfield factory - James Strandring's manufacture of comb-plates - Elkanah Watson's efforts for Berkshire woolen manufactures-Statement of his manufacture of broadcloth from his own merino wool-A woolen manufacturing company formed-It fails-Scholfield establishes a woolen manufactory-His difficulties-The Pittsfield Sun's statement of mannfac- tures in 1803-Close of Arthur Scholfield's life.
P ERHAPS the most galling grievances which Great Britain inflicted upon her American colonies - saving the blows aimed at the foundation of constitutional government-were the crippling restrictions imposed upon their manufactures, avow- edly designed to crush them out of existence. And, in pro- portion as this injustice was bitterly felt by the colonists, was their desire to exercise their long-pent-up energies, and develop their natural resources, ardent and hopeful when independence made them masters of themselves and their country.
This desire was, however, not gratified until the new states had been taught by painful experience that internal dissensions, self- ish rivalries, and enactments by which each little legislature sought, witli unwise cunning, to obtain advantage over its neigh- bor, were even more fatal to their common-and not less to their individual-industrial interests, than it was possible for the most jealous foreign domination to be.
With the organization of the federal government in 1789, this experience terminated, and a brighter era dawned. Under the fostering action of the first congress, and the grand financial
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policy of Hamilton, manufactures began to thrive; commerce received new vigor ; and agriculture, which-from an overplus of production in proportion to the consumers of her products-had grown poor in the midst of her abundance, once more received an adequate reward for her labors.
The branches of manufacture to which attention was first directed were those described in a previous chapter, in which material that cumbered the fields, the hides left by the beef- packers, and other waste raw material, were transmuted into arti- cles for which commerce offered a profitable market. But the oppor- tunity to utilize otherwise valueless and incumbering substances was not the only circumstance which led to the large production in America, of iron, potash, leather and similar articles; while as yet the making of woolen cloth was confined to the narrow hand- loom ; and cotton, which had little or no place, found a substitute in home-made linen. The difference was farther, and perhaps chiefly, accounted for by the comparative simplicity of the proc- esses and machinery required by the branches of manufacture first prosecuted; the cheapness of the raw material rendering possible a profitable return from work every way wasteful, while, for the manufacture of fine woolen and cotton goods, skilled labor, delicate machinery and a refined fleece-neither of which was yet possible in America-were indispensable. The laws of Great Britain jealously prohibited the emigration of artisans and the exportation of machinery. The penalties for the infringe- ment of these statutes had been greatly increased at the close of the revolutionary war; and they were executed with a success which seems less surprising when we remember that the agents of the government were aided, and their vigilance stimulated, by a rich and powerful body of men striving to retain a monopoly of the world's most lucrative trade. For years it proved impossible to obtain correct models of the great inventions by which Har- greave and Arkwright had given to England almost the exclusive manufacture of cotton. Nor did it prove less difficult to obtain proper machinery for the profitable manufacture of the higher classes of woolen goods. Possibly ship-owners and ship-masters trading to English ports, intimidated by severe penalties incurred by a violation of the statutes alluded to, and fearful of disturbing the commerce in which they were absorbed, aided in the enforce- ment of the laws against smuggling out machinery and machin-
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