USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Wenham > The history of Wenham : civil and ecclesiastical, from its settlement in 1639, to 1860 > Part 12
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HISTORY OF WENHAM.
The business of building the meeting-house was at length completed, but not till twenty-two town meetings had been held in reference to the subject. A steeple was erected and a bell procured ; but in 1759, we find a vote " to pull down the steeple to the meeting-house, to save the house, and to close up that part of the roof where it stood." In those days, however, when clocks were scarce and the people depended for their time very much on the ringing of the bell, the want of a steeple was much felt; and accordingly we find that after a few years it was voted " to build a steeple twelve feet square, and of a proportional height, and that the committee be empowered to provide a vane to be upon the top of said steeple, according to their discretion." £1351 6s. 8d. were allowed for the labor and materials of this work, but it was obviously in a depreciated currency, since it was three times the sum appropriated twelve years be- fore for building the entire house.
The free seats in the house were afterwards removed, and their place supplied by the old- fashioned square, high backed pews, with their leaning boards and hinge seats ; an arrangement by which a part of the congregation were com- pelled to turn their backs upon the speaker. Provision was made at the west end of the house for separate seats for the negroes, a few of whom were owned by different individuals in town. In 1756, the number of this class increasing, a vote
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HISTORY OF WENHAM.
was passed that these seats should be lengthened. The singing was, for a long time, performed by the whole congregation, one of the deacons reading the hymn line by line, and then often acting as chorister, while every one according to his ability joined by rote, but in time and measure not always the most harmonious. The first innovation upon this ancient practice seems to have been made in 1770, when " the two hind seats on the womens' side, on the lower floor, were turned into a pew to accommodate the singers." This arrangement, however, did not prove satisfactory ; accordingly the next year " the singers' pew was sold, and a seat made for them in the gallery." The advantages of this plan were so obvious that the choir has ever since retained the position then assigned to them.
For more than a hundred years the Bay Psalm Book, containing the ancient and rugged version of Sternhold and Hopkins, continued to be used in the sanctuary. To our ears its measures seem rude and inharmonious, but to the stern old puritan, " the concord of sweet sounds " was altogether a secondary consideration. He looked beyond the mere forms of expression, to the lofty sentiments which they conveyed. Those strains were hallow- ed to his ears by the associations of youth, and by the continued use of his riper years. It is not strange therefore that the introduction of a new version, and the formation of a choir were long
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HISTORY OF WENHAM.
and strenuously resisted. Like all real improve- ments, however, they were at length approv- ed, and Dr. Watts' Psalms and Hymns were, by a vote of the town, May 1771, “ introduced into the congregation to be sung on the Lord's day." We can find but one other vote in reference to sacred music, and that was an appropriation of $30 for this purpose, which was made in 1827. Since then the support of singing has been left to private efforts and contributions.
The steeple to this meeting-house, which had already been once taken down, was destined to cause still further trouble. In 1797, £100 were raised for repairing it, under the superintendence of Capt. Pelatiah Brown, Richard Hood, and Isaac Porter. The next year, $150 were appropriated for the purchase of a new bell, the old bell having been sold, and the money added to the previous sum. But troubles were not to end here. The new built steeple was blown down by a great gale, in the year 1815. Its place was supplied by a square tower of considerably less height, which was thus less exposed to the fury of the winds.
This house continued to stand until Oct., 1843, or a little more than ninty-five years from its erection. In a sermon preached on the occasion of leaving it, by Rev. Daniel Mansfield, he remarked that it had been opened for public worship nearly five thousand Sabbaths, and that more than ten thousand sermons had been preached within its
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HISTORY OF WENHAM.
walls, while all who aided in its erection, and all who first heard the gospel from its desk, had gone the way of all the earth.
The new meeting-house was placed a little in the rear of the place occupied by the previous one, and was rather larger in size, being sixty feet in length by forty-five in width. It was built by Mr. T. P. Dodge, at a cost of $4000. A sermon preached on the occasion of entering the new house by Rev. Mr. Mansfield, was published by the Society.
In consequence of the increase of the popula- tion, it was resolved in 1853, to enlarge the house, which was done by increasing its length fifteen feet. It is now a neat and well proportioned edifice, and will seat a congregation of six hundred quite comfortably. An organ was procured in 1852, by private contribution, which adds greatly to the interest of the performances of the choir.
A lot of land had been purchased by the parish so long ago as 1725, for the use of the pastor. A vote of the town passed in 1840, authorized the sale of this lot, the proceeds of which, together with a donation of $500 from Edmund Kimball, Esq., of Newburyport, and other contributions from various individuals, were appropriated to build- ing a parsonage. This house was afterwards found to be inconvenient and not well suited for such a purpose, and was therefore sold. A lot of ground was selected opposite to the church and more
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HISTORY OF WENHAM.
retired from the street, on which the present parsonage was built in 1848, at a cost of $2,500. It is pleasantly located on a little eminence, re- moved from the noise and bustle of the village, and is admirably adapted to be the study and home of a country pastor. The grounds around are set out with trees, which, when they are fully grown, will render the spot truly delightful ; altogether, few parishes have a parsonage so pleasant and in- viting.
Liberty was granted by the town, for the parish to build a vestry on the common, with a lease of the spot for a period of twenty years. A neat one story building was accordingly erected, which previous to building the town house, was used for public meetings, lectures, &c. More recently it has been removed to a spot owned by the parish, on the north side of the church, and elegantly fitted up with settees, &c., adapting it well for evening meetings and other purposes for which it was intended.
The following persons have filled the office of Deacon in this church :
Elected.
James Moulton
Dec. 31, 1674.
William Fisk. .Feb. 27, 1679.
James Friend. Jan. 8, 1703.
Ephraim Kimball
July 18, 1716.
John Friend. Mar. 7, 1718.
Daniel Dodge Feb. 11, 1729.
Wm. Fairfield Sept. 16, 1731.
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HISTORY OF WENHAM.
Elected.
Ebenezer Fisk
May 16, 1739.
Jonathan Kimball
.Nov. 26, 1742.
Ebenezer Fisk.
1751.
Jonathan Kimball.
.Mar., 1758.
Ebenezer Waldron
,Mar. 24, 1758.
Samuel Tarbox
Dec. 26, 1760.
John Friend.
Oct. 30, 1777.
Caleb Kimball.
Oct. 30, 1779.
Stephen Dodge
May 26, 1786.
William Dodge
Oct. 4, 1$05.
John Dodge. April 11, 1806.
Nathaniel Kimball
Nov. 14, 1826.
Moses Foster Jan. 4, 1827.
Abram Patch .. Mar. 27, 1834.
Stephen Dodge
April, 1857.
THE BAPTIST CHURCH.
The history of the Baptist denomination in Massachusetts has been as yet but very imperfect- ly written, and still presents a rich and inviting field for some future historian. Individuals of this denomination appeared in Boston and Salem soon after the foundation of the colony. It was no part of the original design of the Puritans to found an asylum for every sect and opinion. Their great object was to establish a religious commonwealth. The wilderness was as open to others as it had been to them, but in the territory which they occupied, they were not disposed to have their grand experiment interfered with by the presence
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HISTORY OF WENHAM.
or preaching of those of different religious senti- ments. No resource was left to persons of other sects but to return to England, or to found colonies for themselves. Accordingly for more than a century, the Baptists were very much confined to Rhode Island. In later times, they were permitted to reside in Massachusetts, and those who were enrolled as members of their societies, were excused from the tax, which, till 1833, was imposed on the population generally, for the support of the Congregational ministry. Until a recent period, all the churches of the Baptist denomination in New England, were embraced in one Association, and old men still tell of their journeys to its annual meetings, which were usually held in Rhode Island.
Amidst the various changes which have come over the face of society since the Revolution, this denomination has been much increased. Near the close of the last century, Miss Rebecca Gold- smith, a young lady from Haverhill, but connected with some families in this town, was employed as a teacher in the Neck District, and by her zeal and earnestness, persuaded several persons to embrace her religious principles. For several years, they attended the Baptist Society in Danversport, which appears to have been the parent of most of this denomination, in this part of Essex County. A church was formed in Beverly, March 8th, 1801, with which the Baptist families in Wenham, for many years, regularly worshipped. Meetings, how-
18
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HISTORY OF WENHAM.
ever, were often held among themselves, and their numbers gradually increased. In 1826, the town was blessed with a revival, which added con- siderably to their strength, and it was at length resolved to make an effort to organize an inde- pendent society. A new and convenient meeting- house was erected about two miles east of the Con- gregational Church, by Mr. Joseph Edwards. It was fifty-one feet in length by thirty-eight feet in width, and is surmounted by a tower and steeple, with a bell. It presents a neat appearance, and was erected at a cost of about $2000.
An ecclesiastical council was convened Oct. 12, 1826, by which twenty-five persons, (eleven males and fourteen females) who had been dismissed from the first Baptist Church in Beverly, were constituted into the Baptist Church of Wenham. The names of its orignal members were as follows :
1 .- Dea. Nicholas Dodge,
2 .- Dea. Richard Dodge, 3 .- Nicholas Dodge, Jr., 4 .- Asa B. Edwards,
5 .- Ezra Edwards,
6 .- Benjamin Edwards,
7 .- William Dodge,
8 .- William Dodge, 3rd, 9 .- William P. Dodge,
10 .- David Dodge,
11 .- Richard Dodge, Jr.
1 .- Hannah Dodge,
2 .- Hannah Dodge, 2nd,
3 .- Jerusha Edwards,
4 .- Prudence Langstol,
5 .- Hannah Edwards, 3rd,
6 .- Anna Norris,
7 .- Elizabeth Caswell,
8 .- Lucy Dodge,
9 .- Prudence Dodge, 10 .- Lydia Dodge,
11 .- Sukey Dodge,
12 .- Nancy Dodge,
13 .- Mary Edwards,
14 .- Mary Edwards, 2d.
The same day, the new house was consecrated by solemn and appropriate services to the worship of God. Several persons were about this time
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HISTORY OF WENHAM.
dismissed from the Congregational Society to join the new church, which was increased within a year by letter and by profession to forty-eight members, most of whom resided in the vicinity of the meeting-house.
The first minister of this society was the Rev. Charles Miller, a native of Scotland, who supplied from April 4, 1833, until April 9, 1835. He was succeeded by Rev. Thomas Archibald, whose pastoral relation was dissolved August 3, 1837. He was followed by the Rev. Joel Kenney, a graduate of Bowdoin College, who was ordained June 20, 1838, and was dismissed May 24, 1840. The church was then destitute for more than a year, but at length succeeded in obtaining the services of Rev. George W. Patch, a graduate of Newton Theological Seminary, who was ordained Oct. 20, 1841. He was a young man of talent and energy, and in a short time having received a call by the Baptist church in Marblehead to become their pastor, he was, at his own request, dismissed Feb. 27, 1843.
The church remained without a pastor until 21st of December, when Mr. Josiah Keely, a native of England, but for some years a resident in this country, was ordained over it to the work of the ministry. His pastorate continued for a period of nine years, during which both the church and society enjoyed an unusual degree of peace and prosperity. He was a man of talent, earnestness,
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HISTORY OF WENHAM.
and a truly Christian spirit. His candor, and enlightened views and courteous manners secured him the respect and esteem of many who were not members of his society. As a member and for a while chairman of the School Committee, and as a supporter of every good cause and good work, he was known and esteemed by all the inhabitants of the town. He especially delighted and gloried in the name and office of peace-maker. The prosperity of the society under his charge abundantly proves the advantage of permanency in the pastoral rela- tion. He was dismissed at his own request, Nov. 4, 1852, and removed to Saco, in Maine, where he is now settled.
His place was supplied on the March succeeding by Rev. Isaac Woodbury, a native of Hamilton, whose ministry and labors are too recent and too well remembered to need any description here. After a pastoral connection of a little more than two years, he was dismissed at his own request, Aug. 27, 1855, to remove to the West.
The church did not long remain destitute. On the 1st of January following, Mr. Thomas Womers- ly, a native of England, but a graduate of Newton Theological Seminary, and for many years a resi- dent in this country, accepted the invitation of the society and church to become their pastor, to which office he was ordained, February 20, 1856. The sermon on this occasion was preached by Rev. N. M. Williams, of Somerville ; the ordaining prayer
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HISTORY OF WENHAM.
was made by Rev. Mr. Knight, of Beverly; the charge to the pastor, by Rev. C. W. Redding ; Fel- lowship of the Churches, by Rev. Mr. Chaffin, of Dan- vers. Address to the people by Rev. G. W. Patch, of Marblehead. The exercises were appropriate and solemn, and the occasion one of much interest.
Mr. Womersly continues to be the faithful, industrious and generally beloved pastor of this people. Under his ministry the church, notwith- standing severe losses by the death of some of its most valued members, has been on the whole prosperous, and its numbers have been considerably increased, although the number of inhabitants in the east part of the town has received but little increase, the church has always maintained a vigorous life, and has doubtless been a blessing to the people among whom it is located. At the present time, it numbers seventy-six members, twenty-three of whom have been added within the last year.
The following letter, addressed by the church to the Salem Baptist Association, and which, by the kindness of the Pastor and Clerk, I am allowed to copy, will indicate better than I could otherwise do, the present state and prospects of this society. It also gives a sketch worthy of preservation of a revival which had been recently experienced.
" To the Salem Baptist Association: DEAR BRETHREN,-
Our last annual letter to you gave no indication of outward prosperity ; it told you that we were desponding, anxious, and fearful ; and yet that we were endeavoring to be faithful in 18*
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HISTORY OF WENHAM.
labors for the descent of God's converting grace. This year we send greetings with thankful and rejoicing hearts, for the Lord hath visited us and greatly blessed us.
The first day of January last, the day set apart by the Association for special prayer for a revival of religion in the churches, was observed by us in the manner suggested ; and it was a day most profitable to us. Previous to that, we had seen cheering evidences of the workings of God's spirit upon the minds of the increased numbers who attended our meetings. But on that day we were permitted not only to see a decided yielding to the Spirit's power on the part of unbelievers, but also to hear from one who had found the pardoning mercy of God. From this time the work of the Lord gradually extended, and converts increased to a greater number than had ever been known in any former revival in the history of our church. Of this number there have already been baptized and added to our church twenty-threc.
But together with this great occasion for encouragement and joy, we have suffered unusual and most serious losses. which have caused us to mourn. Four of our members have died during the past year. Two of these had been of the few real burden-bearers in the church, ever active, deeply interest- ed, and self-sacrificing. May their virtues and usefulness enrich the characters of their children, who yet remain with us.
Our statistics are as follows :-
Baptized. 23
Added by letter 0
Dismissed. 4
Excluded 0
Died 4
Total number 76
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HISTORY OF WENHAM.
We have contributed to benevolent objects as follows :
To the Baptist Missionary Union $16.00
Free Mission Society . 2.75
66 Home Missionary Society . . 8.75
66 American and Foreign Bible Society. 13.75
New England Education Society. 21.75
66 Baptist Church in Rockport. 12.00
66 Baptist Church in Leavenworth, Kansas 5.00
Total. $80.00
Our contribution to the Massachusetts Baptist Charitable Society, is $4.20.
During the past summer we have greatly improved our house of worship by remodeling the pews, papering the walls, and by sundry other improvements.
This letter was adopted by our church, Oct. 10, 1858.
THOMAS WOMERSLY, Pastor,
JOHN W. CURTIS, Clerk."
The Sabbath School, that most essential auxiliary to the church in the religious instruction of the young, has been observed by this society from its foundation. Indeed, before the church was organized, we are informed that the children of the neighborhood were often gathered for instruction in the Scriptures. The School appears at the pre- sent time to be in a flourishing condition. The annual report to the Sabbath School Convention of the Salem Baptist Association, held in June 1859, reports increasing interest in the teachers' meet- ings, and Sunday School Concerts which are regularly observed and regarded as important aids in the great work of religious instruction. The
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HISTORY OF WENHAM.
present number of scholars is one hundred and eight, of teachers fourteen, while fourteen mem- bers of the school have been added to the church during the past year by baptism. The library con- tains a selection of two hundred and ninety-five volumes. The report speaks also of renewed efforts and higher aspirations for the future.
Soon after the formation of the church, the want of a parsonage for the residence of the pastor began to be sensibly felt. A special effort was therefore made, and a neat and comfortable house two stories high, and a little removed from the main road, was erected at a cost of about $1500. It has a quiet and pleasant location, well adapted to be the residence and study of a country clergy- man .*
The following persons have filled the office of Deacon in this society :
Nicholas Dodge . Oct. 26, 1831.
Richard Dodge. Oct. 26, 1831. Benjamin Edwards
* For much of the information contained in the preceding sketch of the Baptist Church and Society, the author has been indebted to Rev. Thomas Womersly its pastor, Mr. J. Choate, and others of the members.
CONCLUSION.
I have thus endeavored to trace the history of the town from its rude beginnings in 1639, to the present time. The materials for this purpose have been very imperfect, and have required to be gathered from various and diverse sources. Much that would have been exceedingly interesting has been lost. It is possible that some existing sources of information may have been over-looked, but it is believed that no important facts have been omitted. The path has been through a thick and tangled wilderness, and where no previous pioneers have traversed the ground to clear up the under- brush and prepare the way. In many cases it has been possible only to give the merest outline of events as they occurred, leaving the filling up of the picture to the reader's imagination. Those who have ever engaged in similar researches will appreciate the results of such labors; and no others are competent to judge of the wearisome toil of ransacking musty archives, decyphering scarcely legible manuscripts, digging and delving through heaps of decaying fragments to gather here and there a gem from the accumulated rubbish of ages.
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HISTORY OF WENHAM.
In reviewing the centuries which are past, we cannot fail to be struck with the changes that have come over the state of society, as well as the face of external nature. The primeval forest no long- er spreads its dense and interminable shadows. The scarcely traceable footpatlı has give place to numerous and well constructed highways ; where late the wolf howled and the wild deer bounded, the iron horse now screams and snorts along his narrow track. The rude huts of the early settlers have been replaced by neat and elegant dwellings, the abodes of comfort and even luxury, while fruit- ful fields and blooming gardens have sprung up as by magic, where two hundred years ago was only a waste and desolate wilderness.
Nor less marked has been the change in the world of life. The Indian, whose canoe once skimmed these placid lakes, whose war-whoop and death song once echoed through these forests, has long since disappeared. The early settlers, those fearless men, whose strong arms and sturdy blows hewed down the forests and planted beside their homes the church and the school-house, as auguries of a brighter coming day-
" Now all beneath the turf are laid, Whereon they lived and toiled and prayed."
Seven generations have cultivated these fields, and made their homes upon these hills and beside these streams ; have here lived out their little span, and then gone to their final rest. In the long and
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HISTORY OF WENHAM.
tedious struggle with an inhospitable climate and a barren soil ; in the desperate and bloody conflicts with the Indians ; in the contest for freedom and independence ; in the rise and progress of our present national prosperity and happiness; through- out all these scenes of trial, misfortune, discourage- ment and final triumph, they have nobly and man- fully performed their part. They have left us the fair inheritance which we now enjoy, and examples of patience, fortitude and heroism, of which any nation might well be proud.
The errors of the Puritans have been often made the subjects of unmerited ridicule and censure. We do not approve, nor even wish to apologize for all their acts. We admit the absurdity of much in their manners, and the gloomy appearance of their domestic habits. We acknowledge that they were sometimes bigoted, intolerant, and superstitious. But these were the faults of their age, increased, perhaps, by the peculiar circumstances in which they were placed. Their heroism was nursed in frost and famine, and in frequent struggles with the unscrupulous and ever watchful savages. Hence the severe discipline of their lives and the austerity and precision of their manners. Stern wrestlers with the powers of nature and the dark forms of evil, they scorned to indulge in the refine- ments and luxuries of life. The elegancies and courtesies of the drawing-room could scarcely be expected of men struggling for a bare subsistence in the inhospitable wilderness.
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HISTORY OF WENHAM.
It has often been made a matter of reproach that while they were themselves fugitives from persecution in England, they in their turn scourged and imprisoned heretics and quakers in this coun- try. In partial apology, it may be urged that the conduct of the latter was often such as would pro- voke, even in our day, at least a strait jacket, and the restaints of a lunatic asylum. When men and women entered the sanctuary without a vestige of clothing (as some of the quakers did) under the pretence of testifying against the spiritual naked- ness of the people, we cannot wonder that severe measures were taken to check and restrain them.
The bigotry and intolerance of the Puritans arose from the intensity of their religious convic- tions. They were in earnest in seeking the salva- tion of their souls. And when they beheld the propagation of doctrines which they conceived to be false and pernicious, they felt it to be their duty to interpose the strong arm of power. In this course they erred, for thought cannot be fettered, and the attempt to do it only provokes renewed rebellion. But they acted sincerely according to the light they had, and should be judged according to the spirit and opinion of their times. Their faults were the faults of their age ; their virtues were all their own. Believing as they did in the existence and power of evil spirits, it is not strange that their sombre imaginations should have peopled the dark recesses of the forest with their presence and
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