USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Middleborough > Two hundredth anniversary of the First Congregational church in Middleboro, Mass > Part 6
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We may judge something of their identification with the interests of the people from the fact that of the seventy-five men the town furnished for what was called Gov. Drummond's Indian War, from 1720 to 1725, one third were Indians, who cheerfully volunteered for that service, and who were good soldiers.
The second church edifice stood in front of the school-house from the year 1707 to 1746, or thereabout. It was thirty-six by thirty-six feet in size, and sixteen feet high in the walls. It had two ridge poles and four gable ends. In 1745 the roof was taken off and a pitched roof put on. Here worshiped those devout women, Mesdames Thacher and Morton, whose names and memory have come down to us fragrant with all the charms and graces of Christian womanhood. Here, too, came Samuel Prince, Nathan Prince, Samuel Eddy, Nehemiah Ben- net, Ichabod Paddock, Isaac Fuller, Barzillai Thomas, - names historic in the annals of this church, this town, the colony.
This was the place in which Luke Short, when nearly one
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hundred years of age, stood before the great congregation and publicly confessed his sins and took upon himself the solemn vows of your church.
The story of his interesting conversion is fresh in the minds of you all. He was a member of Cromwell's train band ; was present at the execution of Charles I, and, after leading a dis- solute life for more than eighty years, was one day, after he had reached the age of nearly one hundred, hoeing corn in the field adjoining the house where Deacon Tillson used to live. As he approached in his work a large rock (that may be now seen), there suddenly flashed through him the memory of the benediction which he had heard the great Flavel pronounce so many years before ; this so affected him that he gave his heart to God and united with the church, and during the last years of his life was an earnest, devout, Christian man. He died at the great age of one hundred and sixteen years. Yesterday, as I drove past that field and saw that rock there, I could but think that that, as well as those old meeting-houses, was another monument to the power of the same gospel, here preached for two hundred years, in changing the lives and characters of men.
To that old church must have come the men, women, and children of this entire township on the memorable Sabbath of the fall of 1746, to unite with the churches of the colony in prayer for deliverance from the impending calamity that threatened with destruction the entire English colonies. Owing to the protracted disputes between the English and French people, Louis XV had determined, as the most effective blow he could administer to his ancient enemy, to devastate her settlements in New England. Accordingly, the largest fleet that ever sailed from France, consisting of seventy ships, under the command of her most experienced admiral, was sent forth. So confident was the admiral of victory, that he or- lered a huge broom to be hoisted from the mainmast of his flagship, as a symbol that he was to sweep the name of the English from the Atlantic coast. Great was the peril of the colonists. England was not more alarmed by the great .
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Spanish Armada in 1588 than were the colonies at this time. They had no fleet that could resist such a powerful armament, and were without means of defence ; their only hope of de- liverance was from the God that had so often come to their rescue. Accordingly, the people of the colonies met in their respective places of worship to spend a day in fasting and in prayer for their deliverance. The people of Boston assembled in the Old South Church, and spent the entire day in prayer. The next night there came such a storm as was never before known on the Atlantic, and the great French fleet was sepa- rated, most of the vessels broken or destroyed, and but few of the seventy vessels escaped. The admiral, in his chagrin, com- mitted suicide : and Gov. Hutchinson, in his history of these times, said that "pious men saw the immediate hand of Divine Providence in the protection, or rather rescue, of the colonies."
And to this house of God, during the ministry of Rev. Mr. Thacher, came the four hundred and sixty men, women, and children who publicly renounced their sins and professed their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. If they that turn many to righteousness shall shine as the stars forever and ever, what must have been the reward that awaited that godly man as he passed on through the gates into the celestial city !
But perhaps the most interesting associations connected with any of these church edifices cluster about the meeting-house standing upon the site of vonder foundation from about 1745 to 1828. Its form was similar to the churches of that day. It had its high pulpit, its sounding board, and its square pews ; its seats for Negroes and Indians ; its pews for the deaf and for the old men and women : its pew for the distinguished judge and his family ; its place for the tithing man.
This was one of the churches in which the great Whitefield preached during his visit to America. Here worshiped Judge Oliver, the most eminent man in the colony prior to the break- ing out of the Revolution, to whose stately residence, situated on the brow of Muttock Hill, came the most distinguished men who visited the colonies. His family attended this church
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during thirty years, and for most of that period he was leader of the singing. One of the good ladies disaffected with the new order of things being introduced into the church, in dis- paragement thereof wrote to one of her friends that "even the judge of the land was bawling in the gallery with the boys."
It was in this church that Benjamin Franklin, during his visit to the eminent Dr. Clark, worshiped, and during the intermission between the morning and afternoon services gave that interesting conversation, remembered not only by those who heard it, but the traditions of which still linger among us.
Here worshiped Gov. Bowdoin while a resident of our town. Here came Gov. Hutchinson and his family when passing their summers at Muttock. Here came to worship Sir William Temple while visiting the colony, and others equally eminent in English history. Here was to be found, in his boyhood, Thomas Prince, the eminent pastor of the Old South Church of Boston.
As I wandered last evening about yonder church-yard, I lingered with awe and reverence about the stone erected in memory of Mr. Conant, the fourth pastor of this church. From the high pulpit in that grand old meeting-house, which some of you remember to have seen, he, in his most elo- quent and forcible utterances, urged his people to resist the atrocities that were being perpetrated during the French and Indian War. With burning words he fearlessly advised resist- ance to the oppression of the mother country, to the odious Stamp Act, the unjust tax upon tea, the bloody massacre on State Street in the town of Boston, and went out as chaplain of one of the regiments of the Old Colony that he might stay up the hands and support the feeble knees of those of this church and this town who were standing and fighting upon the battle- fields of the Revolution. It was by his stirring, patriotic words that Joshua Eddy, one of the deacons of this church, with thirty-five others of its members and many more from this town, were induced to enlist and then cheered on and encour- aged to take the glorious part they did in that fearful struggle
L. Eddy
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for liberty and for an independent nation. Among this num- ber were officers of distinction and private soldiers of unsur- passed valor. Some of them were at Lexington and Bunker Hill : some were at Saratoga and saw the surrender of Bur- goyne ; some in Rhode Island and New York ; some bravely endured the hardships and privations of Monmouth and Prince- ton ; and the survivors, at the close of the war for independ- ence, here came to unite in the prayers of thanksgiving of this church for the deliverance which Almighty God had seen fit to grant to the nation. "The sacramental hosts were not all wasted by these tribulations."
Time does not permit me to name the prominent men of the town and colony who found that old edifice a place for spirit- ual refreshment, where they gained strength and courage that enabled them so manfully to meet and so bravely to endure the hardships, struggles, and sacrifices of the French and Indian War and the fiercer struggles of the Revolution. It was one of the historic spots of the country, and, whatever may be the interest attached to other localities, that old church, with what it had seen and what had transpired within its walls, was certainly among the places long to be remem- bered in the history of New England.
And what shall I say of the associations connected with this house, which linger in the recollection of some of you as among the most precious memories of your lives? It was designed by one of the best architects of that day, Deacon Ebenezer Sproat. It was built in 1828, and dedicated the next year. Well might Daniel Webster have said, as he rode past it soon after its dedication, that it was the finest church edifice in New England.
There are those before me who remember the vast audience that used to gather here for years after it was dedicated. As I stand here, there come before me the men and their families who occupied these pews in my earliest boyhood. Such men and such women ! It was at that time often said by strangers that there was no such congregation, outside of Boston, in the
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State. There could not have been found a better representa- tion of the sturdy, intelligent, well-to-do yeomanry of that day than used to gather in this house, or higher ideals of manhood and womanhood of fifty and sixty years ago than those who then occupied these pews. One and another, yea, a seore and more, of those men seem to come up before me - men well known and respected all over the country, represent- ing the various industries and occupations of life. I recal thirteen successful merchants, four eminent physicians, law- yers whose reputations extended all over this Commonwealth, a dozen skilful mechanics, of each of whom Longfellow's delightful poem, "The Village Blacksmith," was more than true ; and manufacturers whose wares were sent all over the country, and whose enterprise was not to be excelled by any in the country. There were men here in the church and soci- ety of wide political influence, who filled important positions in the town, county, and State. There were men and women here well versed in literature, whose pens were a power in the world of thought and letters. There were those who could cope with the ablest in the subtle questions of law, of the- ology, and of history. Here were poets and artists of national fame. There was one, often the guest of Jefferson and Chief Justice Marshall. There were men here, widely known in civil and military circles, - one the intimate friend of the elder and the younger Adams. Who of us can ever forget that long roll that might be called of dignified, intelligent, strong, well-to-do farmers, with their large families, that in those days occupied so many of these pews ?
There were here, too, strong, earnest, devout Christian men and women. The great objects of Christian charity and benev- olence, to ameliorate and make better our humanity, that then were just coming before the world, received their fullest and most cordial sympathy and support. The streams of Christian charity that flowed from these pews have made glad the dark places of our world.
Who of us who remember those days can ever forget the
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large choir that crowded these galleries, the skilful players on instruments, their earnest leader, or, after the afternoon ser- vice, those long lines of carriages that radiated from this sacred center to the many neighborhoods of this large parish ?
There are memories that crowd upon us as we sit here to-day that are sweet to some of us, and which time cannot obliterate.
What records are here ! of what unwritten history am I tell- ing, and how much more than I tell do you recal !
" O, many the thoughts of the heart, As we stand by this temple of God And think of the worshipers, vanished and gone, Who up to its courts have trod !
" They came in the joy of their souls, Or they came with their burdens to bear, In the sunlight of youth, in the evening of age, In hope, or in grief and despair.
"O, strong is the tie that entwines, And subtle the mystical cord
That binds human souls, with their sorrows and sins, To the altar and house of the Lord." 1
And what shall I say more? Time would fail me to tell of the pastors of this church ; of the saintly Fuller : of the erring but repentant Palmer; of the faithful, godly Thacher; of the kind, earnest, and patriotic Conant; of the pious, Christian statesman, Barker; of the gentle, earnest Paine; of the schol- arly Eaton ; of the devout, winning, able Putnam, who
". . . watched and wept, he prayed and felt for all ; And, as a bird each fond endearment tries, To tempt his new-fledged offspring to the skies, He tried each art, reproved each dull delay, Allured to brighter worlds, and led the way "; 2
and of Sawyer, Hidden, and Sawin, whose memories are still fragrant with their piety, their goodness and zeal in the work of their Master, - all " who through faith subdued kingdoms,
1 From Rev. Increase N. Tarbox, D.D., poem, " The Country Church." 2 Goldsmith, " The Deserted Village."
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wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens."
I can see those before me who might have known men and women who had talked with the founders of this church. We have stood to-day where they stood; have walked in paths that were familiar to them ; have had pass before us scenes which were eventful in their lives, and have stood with un- covered heads beside their last resting place - one life between us and them. What thoughts crowd upon the mind on an occasion like this, as we span the distance between us and them ; what records have been made in the world's history since the records which we have perused to-day ; what progress among the nations; what changes have these two hundred years wrought ; what advance in art, in science, in literature ; what marvelous inventions ; what magnificent charities ; what progress in government, in liberty, in human rights; what gigantic strides in overcoming the darkness of the heathen world ! and yet all of this is the story of what they and their children and their children's children contributed in their day and generation, which has taken root and grown into the mar- velous proportions we witness to-day.
The little colonies have grown to the great nation of the United States of America, with its sixty-five million of inhabi- tants ; from the Atlantic to the Pacific there are homes of peace and plenty ; and a government has grown from the little town meeting of the colonies to the great government of the United States that secures to the humblest citizen life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
When the foundations of this church were laid there was scarcely a missionary society in the world, and to-day the in- fant is living that in all human probability will see the spread of the same gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ so dear to our fathers throughout the length and breadth of the world. Such marvelous results, such wonderful achievements,
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such magnificent success, were of their planting, their nurturing, and their training, that we might enjoy the fruits thereof !
These two hundred years have witnessed the overthrow of the French power in the new world and the establishment and successful maintenance of the independence from the mother country of the thirteen original colonies, the success- ful resistance to her encroachments in 1812, and, grander than all, the wiping out of that relic of barbarism in our own coun- try that had come down from the dark past, all at such cost of treasures of life and of property. As I stand in this place and cast my eyes over this large audience, I see the seat and recal the face of one and another and another of those who started life with me, but who are not with us to-day - one, from exposure in the swamps of Chickamauga, lingered for months, and then his life went on beyond; another fell at Antietam ; another, climbing the breastworks of Fredericks- burg, was pierced with a dozen rebel bullets; another died from wounds at Cold Harbor; and another, whose bones are resting in a nameless grave under the shades at Arlington. No greater service was rendered by our fathers in the forma- tion of our institutions and government than was rendered by those brave men, the companions of my boyhood, who gave their lives in defending what our fathers builded so well.
Brethren, amid all the changes of successive generations, as they come and go, we, the children of those who two hundred years ago here worshiped the true and living God, must never forget the credit due to this ancient and honored church for the lives that have been here lived, for the characters of those men and women, for the good they exerted, and for all they helped to accomplish. Their faith, their principles, are our crown jewels ; see to it that they are ever sacredly guarded.
And so to-day we " walk about Zion, and go round about her : tell the towers thereof. Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following. For this God is our God for ever and ever : he will be our guide even unto death."
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At the end of Mr. Weston's oration a bass song, "The breaking waves dashed high " ( Mrs. Hemans), music by Brown, was sung by Messrs. G. A. Cox and H. F. Wood.
It had been planned that the Governor of the Commonwealth for which the Pilgrim churches did so much, the Hon. Frederic T. Greenhalge, might speak on this occasion, but there was a misunderstanding as to the date, and his Excellency was not present.
The following letter was read : -
EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, Aug. 16, 1894.
My Dear Sir, - The President directs me to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 9th inst., in which you invite him to attend the celebration of the two hundredth anniversary of the First Congregational Church of Middleboro, and to express his regrets that it will be impossi- ble both for Mrs. Cleveland and for him to attend the interesting exer- cises which you have prepared for the occasion. The President asks me to thank you for the thoughtfulness and consideration of which your courteous invitation is an evidence.
Very truly yours,
HENRY T. THURBER, Private Secretary.
REV. GEORGE W. STEARNS, Middleboro, Mass.
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Chas W. Grove
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THE PRESIDENT OF THE DAY. - It has been our lot often to bless other churches by dismissing to them with loving re- luctanee our own highly prized members. Numbers of these have come back to their old mother church for these two days of anniversary joy. It is said that when wild winds, one summer day in 1822, suddenly assaulted and overwhelmed the boat in which sat the gifted though sadly wayward young poet, Shelley, friends on the Italian shore, near which the tragedy occurred, burned to ashes the mortal remains of the almost peerless singer, except his heart, which was borne rever- ently away, pathetically poor treasure though it was, to repose in his native England. Our next speaker, who enlisted here in Christ's sublime service more than a half century ago, is one whose name indeed we have lost from our roll of present mem- bers, but whose heart, never lost, is still ours. I have the privilege of presenting one venerated and beloved by us all, our reverend brother, Charles W. Wood.
THE OLD MEETING-HOUSE
ADDRESS OF REV. CHARLES W. WOOD !
The highest point on the Plymouth & Middleboro Railroad is very near the house built and occupied by the late Dr. Sturtevant, and opposite that house can now be seen the out- lines of the first church which was erected by the settlers of Middleboro. The elevation of land in this vicinity probably determined its selection as the center of the town. The resi- dence of the first minister was only a few rods from this meeting-house.
This house was sold, 1701, for £5, 2s.
The second house of worship was located near the school house, opposite the present parsonage. It was thirty-six by thirty, sixteen feet stud. It had two ridge-poles and four
1 The lamented death of Rev. Charles W. Wood occurred at his home in Middleboro, March 3, 1895. He was born in this town, June 20, 1814, and united with the church on confession of faith in 1837, being numbered 948 in the descriptive catalog.
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gable ends. It at first had no pews. Rev. Mr. Thacher was the first person to whom consent was given by the parish to build a pew in some convenient place for the use of his family, and not long afterwards nineteen other persons were permitted to erect pews at their own expense.
Before this time the seats were probably, like those in most of the meeting-houses in the neighboring towns, long, narrow, uncomfortable benches, without any support for the back. This house was at one time considerably enlarged to accommo- date the increasing number of worshipers; its roof was re- moved, and a modern one substituted, and other changes were made in its general appearance. In consequence of unhappy differences arising from the controversy between the "old lights " and the "new lights," which then agitated the churches, two societies existed here for a while, and a new meeting-house was erected in 1745. This division was soon healed, and the old meeting-house was sold, and the parish was united again for worship in the new house.
The meeting-house built in 1745 stood but a few rods from where we now are, and remained until 1829. Of that house I have quite a distinct recollection. I remember with clear- ness sitting upon my mother's foot-stove, and resting my head in her lap; and I can almost feel now the weariness with which I looked into her face, and asked, "Isn't he almost done?" I referred to the minister, who was Rev. Mr. Paine. I see him as he stands in the lofty pulpit, with his long cloak, and with black gloves upon his hands, from which the finger tips had been cut off that he might more easily turn the leaves of the Bible or his sermon.
The body of the house, as I remember it, was somewhat longer north and south than it was east and west, of sufficient hight to admit of two rows of windows, one above the other, filled with a great number of small panes of glass. From the eastern side an ample portico extended, upon which was a steeple containing a large belfry, in which, however, a bell never swung. Large doors opened from the eastern side into
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a vestibule, upon whose walls were many notices, especially of intended marriages, which all were eager to read before entering upon public worship or at the noon recess. From the north and also from the south, side doors opened immediately into the audience room.
The interior of the church presented to youthful eyes a somewhat magnificent appearance, with its lofty ceiling over- head, its deep galleries upon three sides, and an imposing pul- pit occupying a large portion of the fourth side.
The pulpit was of dizzy hight, overshadowed by a widely extended sounding-board. A few feet below the top of the pulpit was a large enclosure, capable of holding a considerable number of persons who, on account of deafness, wished to be seated near the preacher, and below this was an extended seat for the deacons, of whom, I think, there were four, and before this seat was suspended on hinges the communion table, to be raised at the communion service.
In these primitive meeting-houses, it was no uncommon thing for the snows of winter to penetrate, especially around the large window at the rear of the pulpit, so that the minister often found his place more than usually uncomfortable from his snowy surroundings. I recollect to have heard, many years ago, of an amusing event which was said to have occurred in Middleboro or in some neighboring town.
The preacher found the top of his pulpit well covered with snow. He stood up and with his right hand brushed a portion of it off, not minding where it went. He observed a smile upon the faces of people. He looked over to see what he had done, and discovered that he had sent a cold shower upon the head of the solitary person who was seated in the deaf seat below. He then brushed with his left hand the remaining snow in an opposite direction. He observed that his audience were more amused than before. He looked down again upon the seat below, and fond that the man he had so seriously annoyed had moved, and in consequence had received another cold chill from his thoughtless minister.
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