USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Taunton > The ministry of Taunton, with incidental notices of other professions > Part 10
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t I have seen the following: " A sermon delivered at Plymouth before the Robinson congregation on the 22d of Dec. 1831," called " a Pilgrim
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CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. TAUNTON GREEN.
has given instruction to several young men in their prep- aration for the Gospel ministry .*
The Congregational Church. Taunton Green.
FOUR members of the original Congregational Church of Taunton, viz : Dea. Robert Luscombe, Israel Deane, Wil- liam Austin and Lydia Harvey with four other new mem- bers, united with the first Parish in Taunton, in calling Mr. John Foster to settle with them in the work of the Gospel ministry .; Mr. Foster was accordingly installed over said church and society the 16th of May, 1792. Mr. Baylies informs us, that Mr. Foster was probably a native of Stafford, Ct., as his father was the minister of that town. The first settlement of the Taunton minister was in Paxton, Ms., where, we are informed, " his general de- portment was not considered sufficiently serious and guard- ed for his station."
The remainder of our notice of this remarkable man is faithfully copied from an historical sketch, ascribed to Hon. Francis Baylies, and originally published in the "Taunton Tri-weekly Gazette " for 1833.
Sermon;" "a sermon delivered at the ordination of Rev. Charles Sim- mons over the Hebron Church and Congregation in Attleboro' and Seekonk, Dec. 26, 1832," and " a sermon preached Sept. 22, 1833. occa- sioned by the death of Mrs. Hannah, wife of Benjamin Walker." He has also written one or more Tracts for the Doctrinal Tract Society, of which Soeicty he has been for several years a Director.
* The names of some of these are James Tisdale; Charles J. Warren; Michael Burdett; Martyn Cushman; David Tilton; and Thomas T. Richmond, Pastor of the church in Medfield, Ms. Mr. Richmond is one of several young men, who have entered the christian ministry from different Evangelical churches in Taunton. The names of others which now occur to me are, Rev. William J. Breed, recently of the High St. Church, Providence; Rev. Cyrus W. Allen, now settled in Coleraine, Ms .; Rev. Robert Carver, present Pastor of Church in Raynham: Rev. James Walker, settled in Bucksport, Me .; Rev. Frederick A. Reed, set- tled in Cohasset, Ms .; Rev. James Tisdale, stated supply at Shutesbery, Ms .; and Rev. Eben Dawes, Jr., still resident in Taunton.
t My authority for this statement is Rev. Alvan Cobb, who has been a minister in Taunton since 1815.
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THE MINISTRY OF TAUNTON.
" Perhaps none of our ministers have been more admir- ed; and yet he owed all his popularity as a preacher, to his voice and solemn manner, together with some original and peculiar qualities ; his education was slight and he had no literary taste. His voice was unequalled, not for melody or sweetness, but for its deep and solemn tones, which were at times almost terrific. He seemed like an ancient Prophet, announcing woes and miseries, and the destruction of cities. Even inanimate matter seemed moved, and the house itself would tremble under his tre- mendous volume of voice. His imagination was not fertile but capable of sublime conceptions. Persons yet remem- ber the deep sublimity of his prayer on the muster-field. Sitting on his horse, with open eyes, in the glare of the sunshine, he commenced : 'Storms, and tempests, earth- quakes, thunder and lightning, are Thy artillery, O Thou great God of battles ! Angels and archangels form Thy phalanx, O Thou dread Lord of Hosts!" He went through his prayer without falling from this exalted tone. Yet his solemnity was all feigned, and his general deportment was light and frivolous, with a strong disposition to banter, and to indulge in sarcasm. His eccentricities, his impruden- ces, and his extravagant language alienated many of his hearers. Some withdrew, and seventeen formal charges against him were laid before the church by Dr. Foster Swift, who then resided here. The hearing was in public. Not satisfied with defending himself, "he carried the war into the enemy's quarter " -used weapons not common among gentlemen, and notwithstanding the grave formality of the charges, succeeded in burlesqueing all, and turned a torrent of ridicule on his accuser.
His salary was small, and he complained of it; 'if the
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JOHN FOSTER.
people of Taunton,' said he ' do not raise my salary, I will serve them a trick the Devil never did -I will leave them, and the Devil never did that.'
In a period of high political excitement, when he ad- dressed the Throne of Grace at the opening of the Su- preme Court in this town, in the presence of the Court, he shot off in a strain like this: 'As Thou, O Lord, has't raised up the Jacobins, as Thou did'st Pharaoh and his impious host for Thy good purposes; as Thou has't per- mitted this great moral evil to afflict us, as Thou dost storms and tempests, and earthquakes, the blight and the mildew, and other physical evils, we pray Thee, when Thy purposes are answered, to strike them from the catalogue of Thy Providence-to put hooks into their noses, and to lead them far away to destruction.'
The disaffection to Mr. Foster at last became so gener- al, that his dismission became a matter of necessity, and he was accordingly dismissed in 1799. He removed from Taunton to Stonington in Connecticut, and was employed as a Preacher, and a teacher of youth. While there he embraced Universalism. He left Stonington, and went to New-York, where he kept school and preached occasion- ally. There he threw off his religious character altogeth- er, and became an open infidel, the fellow-laborer of Elihu Palmer, the atheist. Although he had not the deadly malignity of Palmer, yet in his warfare on the Christian Religion, he employed weapons full as efficacious as the false logic of the atheist. His hearers were a rabble of profligates, and he entertained them with burlesque disser- tations on the historical parts of the Scriptures, whose authenticity he wholly denied. Palmer, Tom Paine and Foster together, were too much for the city of New-York
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THE MINISTRY OF TAUNTON.
to endure, and Foster was brought into court under an indictment for blasphemy. After that, he resided some years at Athens, on the North River, opposite Hudson, where he taught a school, and prepared young men for College. According to our latest information, he was liv- ing about a year since at Norwich, Ct., still engaged in school-keeping. Mr. Foster had several brothers in the ministry, who were all distinguished for popular talents, and great eccentricity. We have seen one printed ser- mon of his, but it was of little worth."
Thus wrote Mr. Baylies in 1833. It is remarked by another: "He is supposed to have died in New-York at a very advanced age."*
His successor in the Pastoral office was Rev. JOHN PI- PON. We have an interesting account of Mr. Pipon from the pen of Mr. Baylies, an intimate acquaintance, which is of course altogether reliable.
" John Pipon, the successor of John Foster, was de- scended from a family which emigrated from the Island of Jersey, in the British Channel, and was a native of Bos- ton .; He learned the trade of a house-wright, at which he wrought for a short time, and afterwards prepared him- self for College, and was graduated at Cambridge in 1792. He was for a time butler of the University, then officiated as a reader at Christ Church, and resided for a time at Biddeford, in Maine. In 1798, he was at Cambridge, pursuing his studies in Theology, and preaching occasion- ally in different towns. He was a member of the Society of Phi Beta Kappa, once its Vice President, and once its
* This statement is taken from a statistical notice of the "Unitarian Church " prepared, (as the Compiler remarks,) for the " Taunton Direc- tory of 1850," by the Pastor of the Church.
t According to Rev. Mr. Brigham, in the statistical notice, before re- ferred to, "born in 1762."
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JOHN PIPON.
annual orator. In 1799, he came to Taunton, where he received a call the same year, and was ordained in Janu- ary, 1800. President Kirkland, then a minister of Bos- ton, preached the ordination sermon .* The day on which he was ordained seemed ominous of the mildness of the career, on which he was entering, and an emblem of the benignity of his character, for although it was in January, it was the finest winter day, that was ever experienced in New-England.
His attention to his parochial duties was incessant and unremitting. Although his visits to his parishioners were frequent, yet he never entered into their affairs with the officiousness of a meddler, but with the cordiality of a friend, and the interest of a father. He enjoyed the fes- tivities with all the glee and gladness of a child; and in those dark spots, where sorrow wept and refused to be comforted, the consolations of this good man, administered with the tenderest sympathy, came like sunbeams through the gloom. Guile and envy had no place in his heart. The increasing thrift and comforts of his neighbors were to him a source of constant gratification. In this he was not disinterested, for the happiness of others increased his own. He would have banished want and woc and suffer- ing from the whole human race.
When the orthodox minister of Sandwich, harassed with perplexing and acrimonious lawsuits, was in attendance on the courts sitting here, our ' good Samaritan' like him of
* I have a copy of this sermon in my possession. It was preached " the 15th of Jan. 1800, by John Thornton Kirkland, minister of the New South Church, Boston." Text, 1 Cor. 16: 10., "Now if Timothe- us come, see that he may be with you, without fear; for he worketh the work of the Lord." The Discourse is well written, and breathes a good spirit. To it are appended the Charge by the Rev. Mr. Clark of Lex- ington, and the Right Hand of Fellowship, by the Rev. Mr. Clark of Norton.
12
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THE MINISTRY OF TAUNTON.
old, did not 'pass by on the other side,' but attended him with the deepest solicitude for his welfare. His hospital- ity was not ceremonious. He took his clerical brother to his home and to his heart. 'Brother Burr,' said he, 'is in affliction, and it is my duty to comfort him.'
When solicited for relief or charity, he never shared the contents of his purse with the applicant, but if he had any thing, he gave the whole .*
After some severe taunts, and rebukes from the late Prof. Pearson, he expressed no resentment, but great commiseration, because the Professor was afflicted with a bad temper.
On another occasion, a person repeated to him some se- vere remarks upon his ministerial character, by a young clergyman of the vicinity : 'oh,' said Mr. P. in his pecu- liarly mild tone, ' brother is only a colt yet.'
His general benevolence lost none of its strength by diffusion. He loved the whole human race, but he could concentrate his affections on individuals. While he loved some well, he loved others better. The good he reverenc- ed, the bad he pitied. Like Henry Goldsmith,
* The generous impulse of Mr. Pipon is remembered with admira- tion, by all who knew him. On a recent visit to Easton, the excellent lady of Rev. Mr. Sheldon related an incident in the life of the Taunton minister which much interested me. He was there on some religious occasion. when a very destitute child called at the door for charity. Few visitors, in a strange place, would have been attracted by such a case. But Mr. Pipon had learned of the "man of Uz," and the cause which he knew not, he "searched out." He called the boy in, inquired into his condition. formed the plan at once of taking him upon his horse, on his return to Taunton, and securing for him a home amongst some of his friends. He was however dissuaded from carrying out his plan ; and Mrs. S. said, she had often thought, what a singular figure Mr. Pi- pon would have made, riding into town, with that ragged boy at his back. I could wish that the humane purpose of the noble hearted Pi- pon had prevailed; and who can tell what a bright future might have opened up before the lad, who, like many others, was perhaps left to himself -to lie down in rags and ruin.
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JOHN PIPON.
' He quite forgot their vices in their woes,
' Careless their merits or their faults to scan,
' His pity gave, cre charity began.
' Thus to relieve the wretched was his pride,
' And c'en his feelings lean'd to virtue's side;
'But in his duty prompt at every call,
' Hc watch'd, and wept, he pray'd and felt for all.'
No monk was ever more devoted to the interest of his order, than he was to the interests of Harvard College. He delighted to call up all the reminiscences connected with its history-to look into the dusky recesses of the past-to rejoice in the present, and to exult in the pros- pects of the future. To him, Cambridge was Rome, and President Kirkland the Pope, and he almost believed in his infallibility. He reverenced the ancient fathers of the New-England Churches, the Wilsons, the Cottons, the Mathers, the Chaunceys, and the Mayhews of former days.
Within his own sphere of influence, he endeavored with all his soul, and with all his strength, to promote the inter- ests of education, to improve the course of discipline and instruction in the schools, and to elevate the character of our Academy.
In genuine simplicity of character, he was unrivalled ; even the imaginary Vicar of Wakefield was no peer to the Taunton minister. It was estimated that he had lost more than one thousand dollars in the exchange of ordinary horses. His credulity was incurable, and his good nature, though often imposed upon, was rarely overcome. Some- times, however, he found vexation in his path, and his equanimity was not proof against the teasing irritations of petty troubles. On one occasion, trying to his patience, he ' wished that Gen. - was present to swear for him,' but correcting himself instantly, ' I don't mean profanely,' said he.
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THE MINISTRY OF TAUNTON.
When in a hurry to be shaved, that he might seasonably attend an ordination, and vexed by the interminable stories of Tim. Ingraham, the barber; 'Timothy,' said the Par- son, ' why don't you get a parrot, and hang him up in your shop ; the parrot could talk to your customers, whilst you shaved them.'
His social qualities were of a high order, and his social affections highly cultivated. He delighted to witness the liveliness and cheerfulness of his friends. He delighted to sit at the festive board. He delighted in Commence- ment, Phi Beta Kappa, Ordination, Association, Court, Academy, and Fourth of July dinners, for then it was that a part at least of the human race were enjoying the bounties of God's Providence with lively hearts. In these genial moments, he was exceedingly interesting, and his conversation was enlivened with humorous and original remarks. The late lamented Buckminster, and President Kirkland desired no better companion than the country minister. All men of wit and humor loved his society. The late Mr. Sproat, Mr. Tillinghast, and Mr. Holmes of Rochester, found him no ordinary competitor in the war- fare of wit. His humor, though quaint, was neither coarse, nor offensive. He had a strong sense of the ridic- ulous, and a strong relish for every species of originality.
Speaking of some bombastic Fourth of July oration, he said, ' he should be afraid to cross a ferry within hear- ing distance of the speaker, lest his hard words should knock him overboard.'
He hinted pleasantly to Mr. B-, that he did not at- tend public worship so often as he ought. 'Why,' said Mr. B., 'I take cold in the meeting-house, and you know that a cold is a severe thing with me.' 'Yes,' said he,
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JOHN PIPON.
'I know that it is uncomfortable to sit in a meeting-house, without a stove, in cold weather, but in summer you surely might do it without exposure.' 'But,' said Mr. B., ' what you get out of me, Parson, is clear gain ; I am not of your sect.' 'Indeed,' said the Parson, 'and pray, of what sect are you ?' 'By hereditary descent,' said Mr. B., ' I am an Episcopalian.' 'Now, Francis,' said the Parson, 'you always wear a fashionable coat, why will you throw it off, and put on one that is out of fashion ?'
A short time previous to delivering his oration before the Phi Beta Kappa, passing Julien's in Boston, he looked at the sign, 'Restorator.' ' Good !' said he-' Rest Orator. I'll go in.'
Some one advised him to marry. 'No,' says he, 'my salary can't carry double.'
His sermons were sound, and never doctrinal. The topics of dispute which divided the religious community were carefully avoided, and no offence given to tender consciences. His delivery and voice were bad. There was no exciting power in his elocution, and he was seldom animated. His simplicity sometimes bordered on the lu- dicrous. Once, after a long series of excellent and pious remarks, he closed by observing: 'All these truths you will find in your Bibles. When you go home, look. Now, do !'
In prayer he was affecting and pathetic. He poured forth the ardent emotions -the deep devotion of his soul, in language which sometimes approached the Oriental sim- plicity of the Scriptures. The passages which he quoted from the Holy Writings were strikingly appropriate. His words came forth with a glow, a fervor and a freshness, which indicated a disposition to love the human race, and
12*
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THE MINISTRY OF TAUNTON.
to reverence the Great Being whom he addressed. He entreated Him as a father to pardon and to spare his err- ing children. Strangers delighted with the eloquence of his prayers, were generally disappointed. His sermons did not answer the expectations, which his prayers had raised, as they were generally dull and uninteresting.
His useful and quiet life was quietly terminated. After preaching on the Sabbath he retired to his bed in the eve- ning, apparently in good health. About midnight, he died, after a labor in the ministry of twenty-one years. He was subject to the Angina Pectoris, and it is supposed, that a sudden attack of that disease took him from a world which he loved, to one which he loved better.
His death occurred in the month of January, 1821. His remains repose among his people .* His age, at the time of his death, was upwards of sixty. He was never married. ; Nothing of his has issued from the press (which we have seen) excepting a Charge delivered at an ordination in New-Bedford."
Mr. Pipon was succeeded by Rev. LUTHER HAMILTON. "He was born in Conway, in 1798, was graduated at Williams College in 1817, was ordained in Taunton in 1821, and resigned in 1832." The above facts were communicated through the " Taunton Directory of 1850,"
* Mr. Pipon was interred in the tomb of John West, Esq., at the " Plain," from which he has never been removed. Would it not be well, if the many, who remember him should honor his memory by the trans- fer of his remains to "Mount Pleasant Cemetery," and the erection of a suitable monument ?
t Although unmarried, Mr. Pipon purchased the house and adjoin- ing grounds owned and occupied by his predecessor, John Foster. They are pleasantly situated on High Street, bordering also on Mill river, and a narrow street leading from High Street to Weir Street. The proper- ty has passed successively into the hands, first of Dea. William Reed, of Taunton, next of Theophilus Parsons, Esq., of Boston, and lastly of William Baylies, Esq., of Bridgewater. The "old Parsonage " has given place to a beautiful structure occupied by A. E. Swasey, Esq.
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ANDREW BIGELOW, D. D.
by Rev. Mr. Brigham, a successor in the ministry. Mr. Hamilton has been variously employed, since his dismis- sion. He has more recently held a place in the Custom House, Boston, in the vicinity of which city he resides. Mr. Baylies states that "Luther is a son of Dr. Hamilton, formerly of Greenfield, and that he married a daughter of Dr. Williams of Deerfield. His printed productions are : an Address delivered before King David's Lodge, in Taunton, June, 1825. " Reasons for the Unitarian Be- lief," a series of Lectures published in 1830. " A ser- mon preached at the Dedication of the Church* of the First Congregational Society, in Taunton, November, 1830."
Rev. ANDREW BIGELOW, D. D., succeeded Mr. Hamil- ton in the Pastoral charge of this society. He was born in Groton, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in 1795. " His father, the Hon. Timothy Bigelow, an eminent law- yer and statesman, was the son of Col. Timothy Bigelow, of the Revolutionary army, who went with Arnold to Que- bec, and afterwards commanded the 16th Regiment. His mother was a daughter of the Hon. Oliver Prescott, the brother of Col. William Prescott, the hero of Bunker Hill -an eminent Physician, a distinguished patriot of the Revolution, a Brigadier General in active command at its commencement, and a member of the Executive Revolu- tionary Council of the Commonwealth."+
Mr. Bigelow graduated at Cambridge in 1814, and was once settled at Medford, as the successor of Rev. Dr. Osgood. He was installed in Taunton, April, 1833, re- signed his charge in 1842, and for the most part, since
* The elegant Stone Church, which the Society now occupy near the Town Hall.
+ F. Baylies, in the Tri-Weekly Gazette of 1833.
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THE MINISTRY OF TAUNTON.
that time, has officiated as minister at large in Boston. Mr. Bigelow is brother-in-law of Hon. Abbott Lawrence, distinguished as a leading manufacturer and merchant of that city, and more recently, as Minister of this country to England.
Mr. Bigelow has travelled much, and in 1821, publish- ed " Leaves from a Journal in North-Britain and Ireland ;" in 1831, "Travels in Malta and Sicily, with Sketches of Gibraltar in 1827." Beside these volumes, he has com- mitted to the press, a " Sermon at the Dedication of the First Congregational Meeting-house in Eastport, Maine, in 1820;" a "farewell sermon " preached at the same place in 1821; a "memoir of Gov. Brooks," published in the Christian Examiner, in 1825; two sermons preached in Chelsea, in 1827; a sermon on the "Signs of the times," preached in Reading, in 1828 ; a sermon on "Pas- toral responsibility," preached in Washington, D. C., in 1828 ; a sermon on "Paul at Athens," first printed in the " Liberal Preacher" in 1829; a "Communion Lecture " at Framingham, in 1830 ; a sermon on "Christian Liber- ty," at Derry, N. H., in 1832; a sermon preached in Norton, at the interment of Rev. Pitt Clarke, February 15th, 1835. There may have been still other publications which have escaped our notice.
Rev. CHARLES H. BRIGHAM is the present Pastor of this society. He was born in Boston in 1820, was grad- uated at Harvard in 1839, and ordained in Taunton, March 27th, 1844. The number of families belonging to his society in 1850, was one hundred and eighty-two.
The next religious organization in town, to be noticed, if we follow the order of time, is
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SIX PRINCIPLE BAPTIST CHURCH.
The Six Principle Baptist Church.
It was organized in Rehoboth, April 4, 1789. Its first Pastors were Rev. Aaron Wheeler, and Rev. Sylvester Round, who were ordained Elders, April 20, 1789. It was at this time denominated the "North Rehoboth Church." Elder Wheeler is pronounced by Rev. Mr. Horton, who has furnished me with these facts, "a man of good parts, and a sound, able and pious minister." He died March 19, 1800, in the seventy-eighth year of his age. "Elder Round continued to preside over and feed the flock for many years. He was a very gifted, eloquent preacher, and faithfully labored with this church until his death, Oct. 26, 1824, in the sixty-fourth year of his age.
This church were then destitute of a Pastor, and only occasionally supplied from abroad. The result was, that the church became weak and scattered ; a Methodist church was gathered on the same ground, and some of the Bap- tist church united with them. The remainder, only about twelve or thirteen, commenced holding their meetings in a school-house in the west part of Taunton, and were sup- plied from abroad. This was the condition of things until 1840, when Josephus W. Horton, a young man from Re- hoboth, came among them and commenced preaching. The church called for his ordination ; and he was ordained the Thursday preceding the second Sabbath in October. This church has since built them a small Meeting-house, which is well filled on the Sabbath. Its present number of members is thirty-eight."
Since the above narrative was prepared, Mr. Horton has relinquished his charge of the people, connected him- self with another denomination, and is at present laboring
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THE MINISTRY OF TAUNTON.
as a Calvinist Baptist Preacher in another part of the State. His place is not yet supplied.
The Taunton Green Baptist Church* (Calvinistic)
was organized, June 16, 1819.
Rev. Silas Hall, its first Pastor, a native of Raynham, graduated at Brown University, in 1809, was settled in November, 1826, and resigned March 6, 1830.
Rev. B. C. Grafton, second Pastor, a native of Provi- dence, R. I., graduated at Waterville, was settled June 7, 1831, and resigned May 26, 1834.
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