USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Taunton > The ministry of Taunton, with incidental notices of other professions > Part 19
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assisting were, Mr. Billings, Mr. Fisher, Mr. Fessenden, and Mr. Wales. Mr. Wales having Prayed, Mr. Fessenden Preached an excellent sermon from these words in the 2d Coloss. 5, Joying and beholding your order ; after which Mr. Billings gave me the Charge, Mr. Fisher ye Right Hand. All performed to good acceptance."
* Ruth Tobey, a grand-daughter of the minister, informs me that her grand-father was one of eleven children, and that his wife was daughter of Timothy Crocker of Barnstable. She was probably related to Rev. Josiah Crocker of Taunton.
+ His "house " was north-east of the "Berkley common." The meeting-house was on the south side of the "common." The first Con- gregational Society are occupying their third house on the same site.
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ye clock. Aletheia, our eighth child, born March ye 3d, 1754, on ye Sabbath, about 5 of ye clock, P. M. Sept. yo 9th, 1756, my ninth child born on Thursday at about 4 of ye clock in ye afternoon, called Bathsheba. Feb'ry ye 4th, 1759, my tenth child was born about 5 of ye clock on Sabbath morning, called Abigail : Died Nov. 29, 1778. Sept. ye 6th, 1761, my wife was delivered of two sons ; ye first was born about nine of ye clock, Sabbath Day night, ye second about ten of ye clock, viz : Paul and Silas,
Nov'br 29th, 1778, Nabby died in ye Twentieth year of her age."
Of the above children, Celia mar. Abial Deane of Asso- net Neck. Timothy mar. Mary Holloway. Nathaniel mar. Abigail, daughter of Stephen Burt of Berkley. Isaac mar. (1) Lydia, daughter of Col. George Williams, (2) Deborah, daughter of Benjamin Williams, Esq .; Enoch mar. Rebecca Littlefield, of Newport, R. I .; Ale- theia mar. Edward Paull of Taunton ; Bathsheba mar. Gideon Babbitt of Dighton ; Paul mar. Betsey Parker of Barre, Mass ; Silas died single at Port au Prince, W. I .; Samuel, the oldest son who lived, mar. Experience Paull of Berkley (according to the record of his father, who performed the service) " Sept. ye 6th, 1768." This son became one of the most eminent and influential citizens of Berkley. He filled many offices of public trust, and was honored with a seat on the Bench of the Court of Common Pleas. He had ten children, viz: Achsah, who married Roger French of Berkley, and is yet living in Barnard, Vt .; Apollos, who married Hannah Crane of Berkley : Ruth, who still lives, and leads a single life ; Betsey, who mar. Tisdale Porter, of Berkley ; Samuel, who died young ; Enoch, who mar. Sally Barnaby of Freetown ; Peddy,
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THE MINISTRY OF TAUNTON.
who mar. Thomas Richmond, M. D., of Dighton, whose son Rev. Thomas Richmond is now settled in Medfield, Mass. ; Bathsheba, who mar. Rev. Abraham Gushe of Dighton ; Rowena, who died single ; Silas, who mar. Betsey, daugh- ter of Dr. Jabez Fuller of Kingston.
It is not known that Rev. Mr. Tobey ever committed any production to the press. Nor have we been able to obtain possession of any of his manuscripts. They have probably been destroyed.
Rev. THOMAS ANDROS succeeded Mr. Tobey in the pastoral office in Berkley. The following interesting no- tice of Mr. Andros has been furnished me by one of his sons, Richard S. Storrs Andros, Esq.
" Thomas Andros, the youngest of three brothers, was born at Norwich, Conn., on the 1st of May, 1759. While he was yet in childhood, his father, who was a merchant, died, leaving his family in comparatively straitened cir- cumstances. His mother, who by this event, had im- posed upon her the responsibility of the rearing and edu- cation of four children, and who seems to have been a woman of more than ordinary strong sense and energy of character, subsequently removed with her charge, to Plain- field, where, and in the vicinity, her immediate relatives and friends resided. Limited as in that day were the means of education, - that noblest of all our institutions, the com- mon school, by which the ability to acquire knowledge is now placed within the reach of every New-England child, having then, hardly an existence - it may well be suppos- ed that the subject of this sketch, deficient as he was in pecuniary means, enjoyed in his youth but few advantages of mental cultivation. Indeed, he was early inured to bodily labor, and his younger years were divided between
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the farm and the work-shop. At the breaking out of the Revolutionary war, in 1775, though but a youth of 16, he was among the first to enrol himself as a soldier in the Continental service, and shortly after joined the Ameri- can Army, then encamped at Cambridge. On the evacu- ation of Boston, he accompanied the army to New-York, where he was engaged in the battles of Long Island and White Plains. At the expiration of his term of service, he returned to his home in Connecticut. He subsequently, however, entered the service again, and attached to the division sent against Rhode Island under Gen. Sullivan, was engaged in the conflict at Butt's Hill. He also serv- ed in the militia of his native State, at several periods, during the war, when not in the Continental service, until 1781, in which year he enlisted on board a private-armed vessel, fitted out at New-London, and proceeded to sea. His cruise, however, was not a long one. Detailed as one of the crew to take a prize into port, he was captured by an English frigate, and a few days afterwards, he found himself, with his fellow seamen, a prisoner of war, on board the old Jersey prison-ship, in New-York harbor. Here, for some months, he remained, with no prospect but that of death before him. After a confinement of several months, however, he succeeded in a manner singularly providential, in effecting his escape, and after suffering almost incredible hardships and innumerable perils, finally reached the house of his mother. A narrative of this epi- sode in the life of Mr. Andros was published by him seve- ral years previous to his death, and to this we refer the reader for a more particular account of his sufferings and dangers. A severe sickness prostrated him for many months after his self-restoration to liberty and home, his
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recovery from which was esteemed by himself and his friends as well nigh miraculous. It was probably this near approach to death, by which the doors of the future world were, as it were, opened wide before him, that fixed his subsequent career, and led him to dedicate the remainder of his life to the work of his Redeemer. As soon as his health had become in a measure restored, he applied him- self to study, and by perseverance and untiring assiduity, with no instruction but such as was occasionally afforded him by some kind and more fortunate friend, he soon ac- quired such an education as enabled him to undertake the instruction of others. Devoting his days to school, and his nights to his own improvement he soon became so far advanced as to enter upon the preparation for his profes- sion. To a profound knowledge of his own language he speedily united a thorough acquaintance with the ancient languages, acquirements which proved of eminent value to him in his after life, in enabling him to eke out the slender support afforded him by his compensation, by the preparation of candidates for the University, whose privi- leges, though not its honors, had been denied to himself. He at length entered upon the study of Divinity under the care of the Rev. Dr. Benedict, of Plainfield, Conn., a - man of enlarged mind and profound piety, of whom he was through life accustomed to speak with the utmost veneration as a Theologian and Christian. Having com- pleted his clerical studies he was invited to accept the pas- toral charge of the church and parish in Berkley, then recently left vacant by the death of the Rev. Samuel Tobey. Accepting the call, he was ordained on the 19th of March, 1788. It was here that his labors as a minis- ter of the Gospel commenced, and it was here, fifty-seven
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years afterwards, that they closed. To give a history of those labors, running year by year, through that long pe- riod, would require more space than the design of this work allows us. For it was not in the pulpit alone that his energies were employed : it was not to the preparation of discourses and parochial visitations only, that his time was devoted. At the date of Mr. Andros' settlement in Berkley, but a single school existed within the limits of the town. He immediately turned his attention to the impor- tant subject of popular education, and by his exertions succeeded in awakening an interest in the cause, and im- parting a direction to it, which, it is not too much to say, conferred a general and permanent benefit. Nor did he confine himself to precept in this matter ; he became an in- structor himself, and through the whole course of his long life continued such, laboring with a zeal which would do honor to many a professional teacher, and with a fidelity and untiring devotion which many now living, and moving in spheres of usefulness and distinction, can attest, and to which they will cheerfully acknowledge their obligations. Like many, indeed most, of the country clergy of the last generation, Mr. Andros was obliged to look to sources other and aside from his stipend, for the means of support to himself and family. The salaries of country ministers, now not too liberal, were at the time of his settlement, perhaps by the comparative poverty of the people necessa- rily, restricted within very narrow limits. His annual sti- pend was fixed at £80, and during the whole period of his ministry it was not increased beyond this amount, unless we except a small addition, made near the commencement of the present century, to equalize the relative values of money and commodities, which had become changed as the
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former increased in supply. A part of his support, in consequence, had to be drawn from the cultivation of the soil, and there were few days which did not find Mr. An- dros actively engaged, in addition to his other duties, in the labors of the farm. Yet amid these diverse avocations he was never neglectful of the interests of the great work to which he had been set apart. At all times and at all seasons, regardless of personal exposure and danger, he was at his post. Every enterprise of benevolence com- manded his sympathies, and every movement, having for its object the advancement of human happiness and pros- perity, found in him an earnest advocate and an indefati- gable friend. Thus he pursued the tenor of his way from 1778 to 1834 .* In the month of June of the last named year, - admonished by his advanced age that the time for his retirement had arrived, and actuated also by an ear- nest desire to put a final period to difficulties which had sprung up in his church and society - difficulties from which we have no desire to withdraw the veil of oblivion, he requested and received a formal dismission from his pastoral charge, and on the fifteenth day of that month took his leave " as a public minister of Christ," to use his own words, "of that congregation before whom he had gone in and out through a period of forty-seven years." But though he had no longer a regular charge, his remain- ing years were not passed in idleness. Twice afterwards he was elected to represent his town in the Legislature, and to the close of his life, he continued to take the deep-
In a note appended to the " Articles of Faith," printed in 1826, it is said : " There have been several partial revivals, in which numbers have been added to the Church; but the most general was in 1807, when between 80 and 90 were constrained to make a public profession of Re- ligion."
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THOMAS ANDROS.
est interest in all the great reformatory movements of the day. Mr. Andros' last sermon was preached on Sunday, the 5th of October, 1845, and, as it would seem by provi- dential direction, from the same sacred desk at which he had so often stood. On that day, he walked from his res- idence to the Church, a distance of two miles, uttered the admonitions which proved to be his last, and returned on foot. His manner was animated, and he spoke with all the force and fervor of other years. Shortly after this his health began sensibly to fail, and he suffered more and more frequently and severely from attacks of an apoplec- tic character, to which he had been occasionally subject for some years. His mind, however, retained all its clearness, and there appeared to be no cause for immediate appre- hension, until the 8th of December, when he was suddenly prostrated by an attack of the malady just alluded to. He shortly rallied, however, from the first effects, but his hour had come. The remedies of the medical attendants prov- ed unavailing. His strength gradually failed and the vital energies day by day exhausted themselves. Disturbed apparently by no suffering bodily or mental, his faith grow- ing stronger and brighter as the bonds which bound his spirit to the flesh, became weaker, he lingered until the evening of December 30th. His departure from the world was tranquil and beautiful as the departure of
" The morning star, which goes Not down behind the darkened west, or hides
Obscured amid the tempests of the sky, But fades away into the light of Heaven."
Mr. Andros was twice married. (1) To Miss Abigail Cutler, of Killingly Ct., May 18, 1784 ; (2) to Miss Sophia
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Sanford, of Berkley, Feb. 7, 1799, whom he survived only three years .*
As a man, Mr. Andros was distinguished for the deep interest which he took in everything that related to his race, and for the entire singleness of purpose, sincerity and hon- esty which characterized his intercourse and dealings with his fellow-men. The wealth of worlds would not have tempted him to the commission of a dishonest act, and the individual never existed who could justly complain of hav- ing been over-reached by him in his business tranactions, which at one period of his life, were many and large. In his opinions of public policy, he was decided, and in the expression of them open, independent and fearless.
As a Theologian and Preacher - I leave this part of his character to be drawn by a more skillful and experienced hand."
The limits of this work would not allow " a more skill- ful hand " (could it be found) to give an extended account of the theological views and ministerial character of Mr. Andros. The former were generally embraced by his peo- ple, and the minister of Berkley, hardly less than the min- ister of Franklin, most thoroughly and effectually indoctri- nated his hearers, and " taught the people knowledge." As a consequence, it is believed, there is to this day great-
* In both these connections he was fortunate and happy. The first named died in 1798. The discourse preached at her funeral by the Rev. Mr. Smith, then minister of Dighton, bears strong testimony to her many virtues. The family record bears the following affecting memori- al in his own hand, to the character of his second wife : "Sophia San- ford Andros, my second wife departed this life between midnight and one o'clock on the morning of Lord's day, Feb. 13, 1843, having blessed her family with the most active love and constant affection for a period of forty-three years and five days."
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er uniformity of religious faith in the towns of Berkley and Franklin, than in most of the towns in the Common- wealth - a very fair inference from the fact, that in these towns as yet there is only one religious denomination reg- ularly organized, known to exist.
Mr. Andros was regarded not only in Berkley but in all the region, where he was best known, as an able theo- logian, and an instructive, faithful preacher.
The " Taunton Association " of ministers, of which, at its organization in 1826, "father Andros," as he was gen- erally called, was the oldest member, expressed their feel- ings on the occasion of his death in the following terms :
" It is with most unaffected grief that the Association place upon the Records, a note of that solemn Providence, by which our venerable father in the ministry, Rev. Thom- as Andros, of Berkley has been removed from earth to his final account.
"He departed this life, Dec. 30th, 1845, aged 86 years, and 8 months. His funeral obsequies were attended by a large number of his townsmen, and several clergymen from the vicinity ; and a sermon was preached on the oc- casion, by Rev. E. Gay, of Bridgewater, then supplying the pulpit in Berkley.
" We enter his name on our Records, as one of precious memory, in testimony of the high veneration, with which we regard the man, whose heart was warm, whose hands were pure, and whose life exemplified the doctrines, which he delighted to commend to others.
" Mr. Andros was an eminent example of self-taught men, a warm patron of education, and a deeply interested friend of the rising generation. As a preacher, he held a high rank ; as a pastor, he was affectionate, laborious and untir-
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THE MINISTRY OF TAUNTON.
ing in interest both for the spiritual and temporal weltare of his people, to whom he ministered more than forty years. As an author, his merit will not suffer in comparison with many, whose works are much more voluminous. His sermon entitled " Trial of the Spirits," and his tract enti- tled, "Letter to a friend" should be mentioned with par- ticular consideration.
" It affords us great happiness to be able to say in conclu - sion, that the evidence of his personal interest in that Gospel, which it was his delight to make known to others, was so satisfactory, that his trust in it to the last, was un- shaken, and that its consolations shone around in entering " the valley of the shadow of death," in undim'd bright- ness."
The published productions* of Mr. Andros were numer-
* I have just received the following list of the published writings of Mr Andros, so far as they have been discovered.
"Light to the Upright, in Darkness," - a sermon occasioned by the death of Capt. John Crane. - 1795.
" A Reference, not only of the Good, but of the Evil, that befalls us in Life, to the hand of God, an essential principle of Piety " - a sermon occasioned by the death of Mrs. Andros. - 1798.
" A Thanksgiving Sermon," delivered before the Congregational So- cicty in Berkley. - 1808.
" The Criminality of restraining Prayer,"- a sermon, 1808.
" Foreign Influence," - a Thanksgiving Sermon, 1812.
" Bible News of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, as reported by the Rev. Noah Worcester, not correct."-1813.
" Seasonable Thoughts on Human Creeds or Articles of Faith, by an orthodox clergyman, shewn to be very unreasonable Thoughts." - 1814.
" Truth in Opinion the only foundation of Piety," a sermon delivered at the ordination of the Rev. Benj. Whittemore, Tiverton, R. I. 1815.
" Modern Philosophical Mixtures, degrading the character and defeat- ing the moral influence of the Gospel, detected," -a sermon. 1819.
" An Essay in which the Doctrine of a positive divine Efficiency, ex- citing the will of men to sin, is candidly discussed, and shewn to be un- philosophical," &c. 1~20.
" Sermons" on various subjects, embracing six discourses. 1823.
" The Memory of the Just is blessed," a sermon preached at the fune- ral of the Hon. Samuel Tobey. 1823.
" The Temperance Society vindicated and Recommended," a sermon. 1830,
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ous. Besides the thrilling narrative of his sufferings " on board the Old Jersey Prison-Ship, in 1781," he published in 1814, a pamphlet styled " Seasonable thoughts on hu- man Creeds, or articles of faith, by an orthodox clergyman, shown to be very unreasonable thoughts, in a letter to a friend;" also, " an Essay, in which the doctrine of a posi- tive divine efficiency exciting the will of men to sin, as held by some modern ministers, is candidly considered ;" also, "a volume of sermons adapted to the particular be- nevolent operations of the day, in 1817." A little later, he published a volume of "doctrinal essays," and at dif- ferent periods of his ministry, various occasional discourses, which prove their author to have been no ordinary man.
Of the several sermons in MS. which have been submit- ted for examination, the one which follows has been select- ed, as probably a fair specimen of Mr. Andros' ordinary style of preaching.
HOSEA, XII. 8.
" In all my labours they shall find none iniquity in me that were sin."
THE terms on which the Great Ruler of the Universe offers Life to man, are in themselves most reasonable and easy. For what is more easy than to confess our fault, when we have done wrong ? and certainly, nothing can be more reasonable. Yet this is the sum of all that God re- quires of sinful men as the condition of Eternal Life : - " If we confess our sins " (says John) " he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all un- righteousness." But easy and reasonable as are the terms
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of Life, there is nothing to which the pride of men is more opposed. When their iniquities are set in order before them, in the ministration of the Divine Word, instead of an honest confession, they are disposed to reply to God, " Wherein have we done so much against thee ?" and they are very ingenious and industrious to invent palliations and excuses for every offence they commit. But in some particular cases they imagine the ground on which they are blamed to be peculiarly unreasonable. For example, they find in themselves a strong bias to that which is evil, and aversion to that which is holy. And this disposition, they plead, was born in them. They had no agency in giving it existence in their own hearts. And now, say they, as we did not give ourselves these corrupt propensities, what if our hearts be fully set in us to do evil ? What if out of it proceed all manner of evil thoughts and inclinations, and crimes ? As all these offences proceed from an inward powerful propensity to evil, which we did not implant in our hearts, how hard it is that we should be condemned and punished for them, or that we should suffer anything in consequence of the conduct to which they prompt us.
Now what we purpose, in this discourse, is to examine the validity of this plea. It was, in all probability, on this ground that Ephraim justified himself in our text, and af- firmed that they could find no sin in him, though he loved oppression, and the balances of deceit and fraud were in his hand, as God testified of him. In the execution of this design we shall proceed by the following steps :
I. We admit the fact, that men do come into life with hearts prone to that which is evil. The testimony of the Scriptures confirms it, and this testimony is not to be dis- credited. In consequence of the disobedience of our first
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Parents, their posterity now come into existence with proud, selfish, and rebellious dispositions. So Paul says, "by the offence of one, many were made sinners." And, says the Psalmist, " Behold I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me." And who has not observed that the earliest moral feelings and propensities which chil- dren manifest in their first visible conduct, are selfishness, impatience of just restraint, anger and revenge towards those who cross their inclinations. We certainly cannot pretend, on any legitimate ground, that man comes into being with holy dispositions. Neither can we say that we come into existence with no dispositions or inclinations or passions at all. If therefore, he has any moral feelings or passions, they must be corrupt, though not to that degree in which they appear in the aged sinner, whose character is that of finished impiety and wickedness. To silence the plea under consideration, we cannot deny the native cor- ruption of the human heart. Man is in very deed born the subject of many depraved propensities and inclina- tions.
II. We will admit for the moment, that as man did not infuse these evil principles or desires and propensities into his own heart, no moral blame can attach to them, or to the actions to which they prompt him. Still it does not nec- essarily follow from this concession that it would be wrong to inflict punishment upon him or even to destroy him on account of them. There are several reasons why it is just and justifiable that creatures, who possess evil or injurious propensities, should be subjected to punishment, or destroy- ed, so that they may do no more outrage. One reason is, they are intelligent creatures, and know better than to con- duct in an unjust or wicked manner. If a person has rea-
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son, to perceive the nature of the rule of duty and the great obligations of truth, justice and mercy, and will not obey, but prefers to live in all manner of injustice, cruelty and violence towards his neighbors, it is reasonable that he should be restrained and punished or put to death to pre- vent his continuance in wrong doing and crime. He de- serves this on the ground of moral demerit. But suppose a creature, who is thus injurious and dangerous, has none of the reason, understanding and freedom of an account- able agent, would it follow that he ought therefore to suf- fer no evil for the mischief he inflicts ? The tiger has none of the faculties of an intelligent agent. But he pos- sesses a most ferocious nature. He delights in blood and carnage. The natural disposition, which he received in his first creation makes him most dangerous to man, as well as other animals. Now because he did not give himself these bloody inclinations and appetites, and has no reason or moral power to control them, shall he be allowed to glut himself with blood with entire impunity ? Where is the tongue that would plead the injustice or the wrong of destroying him ? All would agree in pronouncing it suit- able and right to hunt him down and shed his blood. Nay, the man who had it in his power to destroy him, and yet turned him loose to prey upon the unwary and defenceless, would himself be chargeable with murder. It would be no apology for the poor irrational brute to say that God gave him these ferocious and bloody inclinations, or that he possessed them by nature and did not implant them in his own heart. It could not indeed be said he was a mor- al agent and deserved to be punished as such. But it would be said, and said justly, that he ought to be des- troyed on account of his mischievous and bloody nature.
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