USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Princeton > The history of Princeton, Worcester county, Mass. from its first settlement; with a sketch of the present religious controversy in that place. Designed for the use of the inhabitants > Part 5
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*This is a small pamphlet of twenty-three pages, entitled " Remarks &c." and purports to be written in reply to some strictures upon a pamphlet pub- lished by the Rev. Mr. Thacher. It is without date or signature, and but few copies probably exist. For the one in my possession I am indebted to the politeness of Charles Mirick, Esq.
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HISTORY OF PRINCETON.
against him. On his refusal the church were on the point of voting in a new moderator, when he dissolved the meeting. In the other instance, he overruled a motion to choose a com- mittee to collect articles of charge against him, remarking, that if any one had any thing against him, he had full liberty to offer it, and in due time it should be laid before the church, but that he would not be active in choosing a committee to hunt up articles against him. In vindication of Mr. Fuller's conduct in this latter respect, I should remark that, up to this time, the ministers claimed the right of negativing any vote of the church which they disliked. This right the church in Bolton about this time disputed, and continued to dispute, until their views were sanctioned by an ecclesiastical council. This will serve to explain Mr. Fuller's objections to certain churches, when selecting a council, of which we shall pres- ently speak, on the ground of their adoption of the "Bolton plan," since as one of the charges against him was the exer- cise of this disputed prerogative, these churches had already prejudged the case.
Such were the charges against Mr. Fuller, and such his reply to them. Of these, the main and exciting one was dis- affection to the cause of his country. For this accusation, at this period of peculiar jealousy, there was undoubtedly some ground. Although his principles, honestly entertained, did not forbid his " offering the petitions of the people for relief," it is extremely questionable whether, such as they were pro- mulgated from his pulpit, they would excite them to seek it in any other way than quiet submission to the powers that were. This was sufficient cause for the total estrangement of the affections of his people. The other charges probably arose " in the rage of a complaining fever," and an uncom- promising determination, on the part of the town, to free themselves of an obnoxious minister. Although we have no sympathy for his political views, we cannot but regard some of the proceedings of the town, in respect to him, as ques- tionable, both in their expediency and justice. The Revolu- tionary enthusiasm, which pervaded at this time all classes, certainly excuses, although it may not justify them.
Having endeavored, as precisely as possible, to state the grounds of dissatisfaction with Mr. Fuller, I proceed to the history of the proceedings thereon. For this, in the absence of church, I have followed the town records. Under date of
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HISTORY OF PRINCETON.
May 24, 1775, is recorded the following vote :- " Voted on reading the paper received from the Congress that the committee of correspondence retire to receive the com- plaint of any person against any one suspected to be unfriend- ly to their country and that they make their report of such persons complained of to the town for their further considera- tion. The committee upon their return reported that the Rev. Mr. Fuller and Lieut. Caleb Mirick are complained of as persons suspected to be unfriendly to their country ; Mr. Fuller for refusing to call a Fast last year, and for his public discourse to the minute company the last Fast as tend- ing to discourage people in defending their rights and liberties, and for taking cattle suspected to be Col. Jones' property ;- Mr. Caleb Mirick for taking cattle suspected to be Col. Jones' and for entertaining tories at sundry times ; which complaint being read the town then voted that Mr. Fuller and Lieut. Caleb Mirick* be inquired of for their conduct touching said complaint." At the adjournment of this meeting on the 2d of June, Mr. Fuller presented a " paper," vindicating himself from the above-mentioned charges. The town, however, voted this unsatisfactory, at the same time voting to hear Mr. Fuller "a fortnight longer in order to inquire further into his late conduct." At the expiration of this time a second paper was presented, which shared a like fate with the first. Nei- ther of these papers are on record, where they should be, in justice to their author. At the meeting June 16th, after rejecting the second "paper," "it was moved to choose a committee to draw up something further for Mr. Fuller to sign as satisfactory to the town and to make report of the same. Accordingly made choice of Messrs. Sadey Mason, Capt. Moore, Dea. Howe, Chas. Brooks and Jos. Eveleth," all active and efficient supporters of the revolution, and, of course, opposed to Mr. Fuller. This committee, at a subse- quent meeting on the 20th of June, reported a paper for Mr. Fuller to sign as satisfactory to the town. "It was then moved, seconded and voted that Mr. Fuller sign the paper before the town act upon it; accordingly agreeable to said vote the paper was signed by Mr. Fuller in presence of the town ; it was then put to see if the town were satisfied with said papers for his past conduct so far as it appeared unfriend-
* With Mr. Mirick nothing more was done. Probably he satisfied the town of the rectitude of his conduct and intentions.
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HISTORY OF PRINCETON.
ly to the common cause, and it was voted not satisfactory." A truly singular course of proceeding, the town no little re- sembling a trading Yankee, afraid to set a price until he knows the most his purchaser will give. Nothing was proba- bly wanting to make this paper quite satisfactory, but Mr. Fuller's refusal to sign it. Two or three ineffectual attempts were made to reconsider the last mentioned vote, and, on the 16th of August, a vote to request Mr. Fuller to ask a dismis- sion was passed, and on the 28th a committee chosen, consist- ing of Lieut. Mirick, Dea. Keyes, Mr. Brigham, Mr. Woods, and Abner Howe, " to draw up" the reasons for this request. At the same time, the committee of correspondence made a report on his political conduct, reiterating the charges already made. On the 31st, at the adjournment of this meeting, Mr. Fuller presented a third " paper," in answer to the request of the town. This was equally unsatisfactory with the preced- ing. Oct. 5th, the town voted to request the aid of some of the committees of correspondence, in the neighboring towns, " to advise respecting Mr. Fuller's conduct as a tory." Dec. 26th, it was voted to choose a committee, who, in conjunction with a committee of the church, should prepare allegations against Mr. Fuller, and on the 8th of January following, the town determined to unite with the church in calling a council in case the " advice the town and church committees should obtain should make it appear proper to have a council." This council, consisting of the church in Worcester, West- minster, and the first in Shrewsbury, convened on the 11th of March, at the house of Caleb Mirick, and gave notice of their presence to Mr. Fuller, who communicated through them a letter to the town and church committee, proposing a mutual council on the following terms :- " Ist. To consist of nine churches, four to be chosen by each party, the ninth mutually, and none to be selected from this county, in consequence of the almost universal adoption, in Worcester county, of the
' Bolton plan.' 2nd. Each church to be represented by its pastor and two delegates. 3d. That all articles of grievance be submitted to them. 4th. That each party be served with a copy of these articles at least fourteen days before the set- ting of the Council. 5th. That the Council regulate their own proceedings. 6th. That the number of persons sitting in Council from each church be equal. 7th. That each party choose several churches extraordinary, out of which they may
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supply, if any of the first choice should happen to fail." To these proposals the committee assented, with the exception of seven churches instead of nine, and proceeded, in company with Mr. Fuller, to the selection. They, however, disagreed in the selection of the "extraordinary churches," Mr. Fuller insisting that the committee chose, purposely, those to whom they knew he would object, and they, on the other hand, complaining loudly of the unreasonableness of his objections. The whole plan being thus defeated, the former council, with . the addition of the first church in Dedham and that in Weston, met on the 16th of April, 1776, and requested Mr. Fuller to appear before them, by a letter from their moderator, Mr. Maccarty. This he refused, on the ground that they were an ex parte council, wholly devoted to the interests of his
opposers. The council then proposed to name twelve church- es, from which each party should choose three, mutually agree- ing upon the church in Weston, then present, as the seventh, which should be a council to settle all grievances. To this Mr. Fuller objected that as the whole twelve from which the mutual council was to be selected, were chosen by the sitting council, the proposed one would be, in effect, ex parte. "If my brethren had proposed to choose my judges," says Mr. Fuller, in his reply to the council, " I should not have thought it strange, but that you, gentlemen, should propose, that they should do the same thing by proxy, is a little wonderful." At the same time he proposed again a mutual council, on the same conditions as formerly. This was declined, on account of " the embarrassments thrown in the way," in a former attempt. The council then proceeded to advise Mr. Fuller to ask a dismission. Whereupon he waited on them, proposing a mu- tual council on one of two conditions. 1st. He would " set aside six of the churches which the brethren had chosen, they should set aside as many of the six he would choose," the remaining three, in each case, together with a seventh, mutu- ally selected, to constitute the council. 2d. "I will set aside," says Mr. Fuller, " twenty churches, and the brethren as many more, and then we will each choose three congregational churches, of good standing, any where in the province, no objection on either side; who, together with one mutually agreed upon, shall be a mutual council." Neither of these propositions were acceded to, and the council, on the 19th, advised to Mr. Fuller's dismission, and he was accordingly
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HISTORY OF PRINCETON.
dismissed, by vote of the church, on the 20th, and the town, on the 24th. At the same time, Lieut. Caleb Mirick, Dea. Adonijah Howe, Joseph Haynes, Samuel Moseman, Lieut. Joseph Eveleth, James Mirick, and Nathaniel Cutler, were chosen a committee " to keep Mr. Fuller out of the pulpit." This committee attended the duty assigned them, and stand- ing on the pulpit stairs, as the law would have it, " did, on the following Sunday, with force and arms, restrain and keep out of the said pulpit, him the aforesaid Timothy Fuller." Mr. Fuller subsequently called an ex parte council, consisting of Messrs. Howard's church, Boston ; Payson's, Chelsea ; Whitney's, Shirley ; Adams's, Lunenburg ; Barnard's, Salem. The result of this council was, of course, favorable to Mr. Fuller. He also commenced a suit against the town in 1782, for the recovery of his salary from 1775, on the ground of an illegal dismission. This case was argued at Salem in Nov. 1783, by the late Judge Parsons for the plaintiff, and Messrs. Sullivan and Lincoln for the defendants. A verdict was found for the defendants, and thus ended the controversy with the Rev. Mr. Fuller .*
CHAPTER V.
Invitations to Mr. Litchfield and Mr. Hubbard to settle in the ministry. Settle- ment of Mr. Crafts. His Letter to the Town and their Reply .- Dismission. Call to Mr. Goodrich. Erection of a new Meeting-house. Mr, Russell's Settle- ment. His Letter to the Town and Dismission. Settlement and Dismission of Dr. Murdock. Troubles at the Settlement of Mr. Clarke. Separation in con- sequence of it. Mr. Clarke's Letter.
FOR ten years subsequent to Mr. Fuller's dismission, in 1776, no church records exist. It appears, however, from those of the town, that during this period, in which they were destitute of a settled minister, the pulpit was supplied by preachers hired during those parts of the year, most favorable for a general attendance upon public worship. The sacra- ment was administered at stated intervals by some one of the neighboring clergymen. During this time two unsuccessful
* A sketch of Mr. Fuller, as well as the other ministers mentioned in this and the succeeding chapters, will be given under another head.
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HISTORY OF PRINCETON.
efforts were made to settle a minister. The first of these was in 1778, when the town voted "to concur with the church in their choice of Mr. Litchfield for their pastor," at the same time offering him 600l. as a settlement, and a salary of 70l., one half payable in the fluctuating currency of the time, and the remainder " in money equivalant to Indian corn at four shillings a bushel." For some reason the town at a subse- quent meeting so far reconsidered this as to vote, " that there be paid to Mr. Paul Litchfield each and every year during his continuance in the ministry among us, seventy pounds, as followeth : twenty-three pounds, six shillings, eight pence, at the Rate of Indian Corn at three shillings per bushel. 237. 6s. 8d. at the Rate of Beef at twenty shillings per hun- dred ; and 23l. 6s. 8d. in Cash of the Present currency." Mr. Litchfield declined this invitation, which was renewed in 1779 with the " settlement"' increased to 1200l., and the same sal- ary, only 17l. 10s. however, being payable in the then cur- rency. This was also declined.
In 1780 an invitation was given to a Mr. Ebenezer Hub- bard to settle in the place, and a salary of 73l. offered him, payable " at the rate of Indian Corn at 3s. Rye at four shil- lings a bushel, beef at 20 shillings per hundred, and pork at three and a half pence per pound."* Thirty cords of wood, annually, were subsequently added to this salary. Mr. Hub- bard, however, declined the invitation, and no further at- tempts to settle a minister were made until 1786, when the Rev. Thomas Crafts received and accepted an invitation from the church and town to become their pastor. He was ordain- ed on the 28th of June, 1786.+ The churches present on this occasion, were the Fourth in Bridgewater, the church in Brattle-street Boston, in Roxbury, Brookline, Shrewsbury, Rutland, Holden, and Sterling.
Mr. Crafts continued minister of the town until 1791, when, at the instance of the following letter, he received a dismission from the pastoral relation :-
* It is hardly necessary to observe this as well as similar provisions in the preceding proposals to Mr. Litchfield was an expedient to avoid the fluctuations of the currency of the time.
t No little display would seem to have been had on this occasion, if we may judge from the following account, which I accidentally came across, among a mass of loose papers in the Town Clerk's office, and which speaks loud for the multitude present, or the poverty of the town. The people of
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HISTORY OF PRINCETON.
" To the Inhabitants of Princeton, to be communicated :
My Friends and Brethren,-In consequence of my ill state of health, I requested the Selectmen some time since, to in- sert in their warrant for March meeting, an article respecting my dismission, which I suppose will this Day be laid before you .- My reasons for submitting the matter to the town at this time, I view weighty and important .- They are these.
Ist. There being no present prospect of my recovering such a degree of Health, as to be able to carry on the work of the Ministry.
2nd. An inability to supply my Pulpit any longer.
3d. An unwillingness to embarrass my People, or to be the means of the pulpit's being unsupplied.
My request therefore is, That the relation in which I now stand to the Church and Congregation in this place, as your Minister, may be dissolved .- My Friends,-it is a painful seperation to me,-but it is the will of God, and therefore I acquiesce .- Permit me to return you my warmest thanks for all those numerous and pointed marks of attention, respect, and generosity, which I have received from you .- And do me the justice to believe that I shall ever retain them in grateful remembrance. I assure you, that your Interest will ever be near my heart, and that I shall ever entertain a high esteem, and feel an ardent affection for my Brethren of Princeton, till the hand that writes this shall moulder in the dust. Com- mending you to God and the riches of his grace, and entreat-
Princeton would be the last to let such an occasion pass wanting in a single one of the " good things of this life," which usually load the groaning ta- bles of an ordination day.
" The town of Princeton to me debtor.
For going to Hardwick, to carry Mr. Crafts the call of the - 0900 town,
Also for fetching cider, plates and dishes from Shrewsbury, and carrying them back again, - 0600 For going to Westminster for knives and forks, and for a horse to carry one of the cooks home, - 0760
For nine dozen of eggs for the Council, 0600
1860
Princeton, June 30, 1786."
ADONIJAH HOWE.
I also find, about this time,-
" The Town of Princeton to Samuel Dadman, Dr.
For one leg of bacon, 16 3-4 lbs. - -
- 0 13 11 2"
which, it is no unfounded conjecture to suppose, went the way of the " nine dozen of eggs for the Council."
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HISTORY OF PRINCETON.
ing him to make you perfect in every good work-I bid you a long and affectionate farewell.
Yours respectfully
THOMAS CRAFTS. Princeton, March 14, 1791."
Of the love and esteem in which Mr. Crafts was held by the people of his charge, the following letter, sent him on the occasion of his dismission, is ample and unsolicited testimony.
" Revd. Sir,-The Church and Congregation in Princeton having this day, according to your request, voted your dismis- sion from your Pastoral Relation, solely on the account of your ill state of health and little prospect of your future use- fulness in that work ; We the Church and Congregation in this place declare that it is with reluctance that we are constrained to part with you under these considerations ;- that it has been with pleasure and much satisfaction that we have sat under your ministry ;- that we sincerely sympathize with you under these (your) afflictions ; that we ardently wish Almighty God would take you and your family under his Gracious Protection, and if it be his pleasure, to give you a confirmed state of health, and make you yet useful in your public character, and long continue you a blessing to the world.
We ask an interest in your Prayers, and subscribe,
Your affectionate Friends and Brethren,
MOSES GILL, Moderator.
Signed at the request of the town in town meeting assembly. To the Rev. Mr. Thos. Crafts."
After Mr. Crafts's dismissal, the Rev. Hezekiah Goodrich, subsequently the minister of Rutland, supplied the pulpit for some time, and in November, 1791, it was voted, that " Mr. Hezekiah Goodrich's late preaching has been acceptable to the town, and that the committee be instructed to apply to him to preach six sabbaths upon probation." He however re- ceived no invitation from the church or town, to become their pastor. He probably declined preaching " upon probation." The town were again destitute of a settled minister, from 1791 until 1796.
During this interval, however, measures were taken for erecting a new house of worship, and on the 9th of March,
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HISTORY OF PRINCETON.
1795, it was voted " to build a new meeting-house, agreeable to the petition of Capt. Sam'l Hastings and others," and a committee chosen to estimate the expense. This committee reported, at a subsequent meeting, the probable expense at 17997. 8s. and the probable amount arising from the sale of pews, the old house, &c. at 1875l. Whereupon a committee, consisting of Hon. Moses Gill, Capt. Samuel Hastings, Lieut. Amos Merriam, David Brooks, and William Whitaker, was chosen to superintend the erection. This house was com- pleted in the following year, and is the one at present occu- pied by the congregational society. Its dimensions are seventy by fifty-five feet. It contains seventy-five ground, and twenty- six gallery pews. The committee were widely mistaken in their estimate of its cost. By the town records, I find this to have been, exclusive of the bell, which was subsequently pur- chased for $470, and the painting, for which $320 was afterwards raised, 2273l. 3s. 5d. and the receipts from the sale of the pews,* &c. 1728l. 3s. 1d. leaving a deficit of 545l. Os. 4d. which was raised by a general tax.
This house, after withstanding the severity of forty winters in the bleakest and most exposed situation (the top of Wachu- sett alone excepted) in the town, has become so dilapidated as to be unsuitable for the objects of its erection. It is no little amusing to witness the furious contest which is continu- ally going on of a windy day,; between the preacher's voice and the rattling windows and clapboards, each being alter- nately in the ascendant, while the latter is invariably the more efficient in inculcating the solemn truth, "The Lord terri- ble reigneth." Why it should ever have occupied its present location, is a question soluble only by supposing it emblemat- ical of the heavenly way, indicating it to be upward and somewhat toilsome and difficult. Or perhaps its builders may have been actuated by a slight remnant of Catholic su- perstition, and intended to impose a kind of penance on the worshippers here. Whatever may have been the object, it is certain, it is a peculiarly happy expedient to test the strength of the people's devotion.
* The highest sum obtained for any pew in this house was 36l. which was paid by Michael Gill, Esq. for No. 66.
t The new church, now in process of erection, will relieve the preacher from this unequal contest.
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HISTORY OF PRINCETON.
Before the completion of this house, the Rev. Joseph Rus- sell received and accepted an invitation from the church and town to settle over them in the work of the ministry. On the 7th of December, 1795, the town voted unanimously to concur with the church in their "call " to Mr. Russell, at the same time voting to dispense with "the usual mode of giving a settlement in the case, and that the sum of four hundred thirty-three dollars and one third of a dollar be paid him year- ly, during his continuance in the ministry. It was also sub- sequently voted to " furnish Mr. Russell with twenty-five cords of good merchantable wood annually, delivered to him at his dwelling-house, so long as he shall continue our minis- ter, and the price of staple commodities remain as they now are ; but when the capital articles of consumption shall revert back to their former standard, that is to say, when the price of Beef shall be reduced from thirty-six to twenty-four shil- lings per hundred ; Pork from six to four pence per pound ; Rye from six to four shillings per bushel ; Indian Corn from four and sixpence to three shillings per bushel ; then the whole expense of the wood, be it more or less, shall be de- ducted from the hundred and thirty pounds already voted by the town, and so in a less proportion as the price of those commodities shall gradually decrease."
Mr. Russell was ordained March 16, 1796. The churches present were that in Somers and Brookline, Ct. that in Brattle Street, Boston, in Charlestown, Brookline, Carlisle, Shrews- bury, Paxton, Holden, Rutland, Hubbardston, Westminster, and Sterling. Dr. Morse of Charlestown made the introduc- tory, Dr. Thacher of Boston the ordaining, and Dr. Sumner of Shrewsbury the concluding, prayer. Mr. Jackson of Brook- line gave the charge, and Mr. Hubbard of Sterling the right hand of fellowship. Mr. Backus of Somers preached from Matthew, xvi. 26-" For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul ?"
Mr. Russell continued the minister of the town for six years, until 1801, when he asked a dismission in a letter to the town, of which the following extract contains all of ma- terial importance :- " Convinced, from several years experi- ence, that application to study is injurious to me, and finding myself unable to pursue a studious life with that degree of assiduity, which my present engagements indispensably re-
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HISTORY OF PRINCETON.
quire, and having no reason to expect that my situation will be altered for the better should a further experiment be made, I beg leave, gentlemen, to come forward in friendship and candidly express my desire that the town concur with the church in consenting to my dismission. As six years have been witness to the peace and good understanding which have invariably existed between us, it is my earnest wish, now that a separation is become necessary, that we may part in peace, and that every individual will be so liberal in sentiment and so candid in acting as to cheerfully comply with my re- quest with the same freedom and readiness which in a change of circumstances they might desire to have exercised towards them."
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