USA > Maine > Knox County > Union > A history of the town of Union, in the county of Lincoln, Maine : to the middle of the nineteenth century, with a family register of the settlers before the year 1800, and of their descendants > Part 14
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154
FIRST MEETING-HOUSE.
the boys, who sometimes by their improprieties at- tracted the attention of the congregation below. Large holes, where the braces were not closely fitted into the beams, were sometimes occupied by bats, which occa- sionally squealed in the time of divine service. In the garret was a large number of them. The plaster, in one or more places, dropped from the ceiling ; and, soon after it was repaired, its downward tendency would be renewed, to the great annoyance of any who might sit under it.
1814-1823.
Such was the state of things, Jan. 5, 1814, when it was "voted that Capt. Amos Barrett and his asso- ciates be allowed the east and west galleries in the easterly meeting-house, for the purpose of building twenty pews therein to be owned by them ; and, in con- sideration thereof, to finish off the whole of the inside of the house in a neat and workmanlike manner, with- out any expense to the town." This was done. Two ranges of square pews, with an intervening aisle, were built in the east and west galleries, and one range back of the singers' seats, before May 17, 1815; when " the proprietors and owners of the pews in the gal- lery met in said house, and, on examination, found but nineteen pews subscribed for; and they voted, that, if any one or more would pay for the remaining pew, they should have their choice." Rufus Gillmor and Nathaniel Robbins took the remaining pew, selecting No. 9. The other nineteen were disposed of by draft.
Names. No.
Names. No.
Fogler and Little
1
Elisha Bennett
11
Maxcy and Eastman
2
John Drake .
12
Nathaniel Robbins 3
Susman Abrams
13
David Robbins
4
Rufus Gillmor
14
Amos Barrett 5
Robert Foster 15
Ebenezer Alden
6
Joseph Miller 16
Micajah Gleason 17
Nathan Daniels 18
Luce and Hawes 19
Jessa Robbins 10
Hart and Thorndike 20
Mitchell and Mitchell 7
Vaughan and Hart 8
Gillmor and Robbins 9
155
ITS DECAY.
1824-1833.
Nothing more was done to the meeting-house till May 3, 1824, when, from the consideration that it was used as a place to transact town-business, it was voted to shingle it, "to repair the jets and the plaster over- head, and to put it out to the lowest bidder." Voted liberty to lower the roof without expense to the town. Bid off by Nathaniel Robbins at $113, "including repair of jets and plaster."
Jan. 1825, " the first stove was put up," and "some of the men who put it in bound themselves that they would drink no rum for one year."
The house, however, had seen its best days. All efforts afterward to keep it in good condition were un- successful. In the course of time, the steps, which were hewed logs extending the whole length of the porch on each of its three sides, began to decay and settle, so that it was difficult to get into the house and out of it. Parts of the floor became uneven, and exhibited marks of age. The doors were often ajar. The wind rattled the loose windows, and whirled the snow through the crevices. A board was nailed over a part of the pulpit-window to prevent the storms from driving through the broken panes of glass. The carpenter stored lumber and window-sashes in the house, and the saddler found it convenient to dry his hair in the porch. An old horse, which was going at large on the Common, was mischievously led into it by some one, and ranged there and was fed for several days. Some of these evils were removed, and others remedied in part, by the different denominations which occasionally worshipped there. But the improvements were only temporary. Neither the town nor indivi- duals felt interest enough to preserve the building, which was not worth repairing.
1834-1839.
April, 1834, a proposition "to see if the town will sell the Old Meeting-house or purchase the pews of
156
FIRST MEETING-HOUSE.
such pew-owners as may wish to sell the same, or do any thing relative thereto," was dropped; as likewise was an article, April 18, 1836, " to hear the report of a committee upon the Old Meeting-house, and take such further measures as the town may think proper on said report." Nov. 20, 1837, an article " to see if the town will make repairs on the Old Meeting-house " drew out a vote, "that the selectmen make such repairs on the Old Meeting-house as they may think [proper], not to exceed five or six dollars." Several Universalists joined the Congregational Society, and the house was finally demolished in 1838. This act caused some excitement. Sept. 12, 1838, Walter Blake and Nathan Hills were chosen a committee "to ascertain whether the town had any right in the Old Meeting-house, and to report at the next meeting." At the next meeting, Nov. 29, the report was re-com- mitted. Legal counsel was asked of Hon. Samuel E. Smith, ex-governor of Maine, in a communication dated March 28, 1839. The committee mention, as reasons for thinking the house belonged to the town, several circumstances in its history which have already been noticed, and conclude by stating that "the Con- gregational Society never claimed any exclusive right to the house until the year 1838, at which time it was taken down by their authority, after an apprizement of the pews by a committee appointed by the Congrega- tional Society, without notice to the pew-owner or the town." Mr. Smith's opinion bears date April, 1839. In accordance with it, the report to the town, made April 16, states, " Your committee are clearly of opi- nion, that the town, as such, had, at the time the said house was taken down, no title to or interest in the same." The report was laid on the table. This was the end of the house.
It may be added, that there were many persons in Union who felt regret when it was pulled down. Some were living who had been familiar with all the strug- gles, in the poverty of the town, to have it erected. Others had sat around the Lord's table, not only in the
157
ASSOCIATIONS WITH IT.
best days of the house, but when the beams and rafters and rough boards were in plain sight; happy in having any place, however humble, where they could meet to worship God. They had enjoyed more in this build- ing than many do in splendid cathedrals. Here, too, some had consecrated themselves and their children to God at the baptismal font; and the remains of dear friends and relatives had been placed in front of the pulpit, while the last service was performed before they were committed to their final resting-place. Almost every person in town had some interesting associations with the building.
How many, even in middle life, recollect some of the habits of the time! The husband came to meeting on horseback, with his wife on a pillion behind him, and stopped at a long log, on the west side of the house. One end of this crotched log, which had been cut from a large tree near the canal in Robbins's Meadow, was " canted up," so that the wife could alight without inconvenience ; the other was hewed so thin that she walked ten or twelve feet down an in- clined plane to the ground. The husband, without dismounting, rode away to the withe-and-stake board- fence, in the rear of the house, to tie his horse. One venerable, excellent old man, always at church, though he lived some miles distant, stood during prayer with his arms folded, and face to the wall; while his queue, carefully tied with a leathern string or an eel-skin, pro- jected over his coat-collar, and hung down between his shoulders. The horses-a long row-" were hitched " to the fence during the service. Of vehicles of any kind there were but few. In winter might be seen a light sled, and in summer a light cart, in which a very fleshy woman, drawn by a pair of steers, was generally brought to meeting, as late even as the year 1814. To the close of the last century, while the country was new, there were customs which now would create great sensation. On stormy days, women wore their husbands' hats and great-coats. Mrs. Moses Hawes and Mrs. Snell, not having bonnets, for
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158
FIRST MEETING-HOUSE.
years wore handkerchiefs on their heads. Thomas Daggett, sen., Captain Nicholson, and Ebenezer Dag- gett, consulting their own convenience and comfort, were in the habit, even in meeting, of wearing cotton caps, which rivalled the snow in whiteness. As most of the mothers had nobody to leave their small chil- dren with at home, and were very desirous of going to meeting, they often took them; and sometimes their juvenile concerts attracted more attention than the minister or the music of the choir. In the intermis- sions, before mails were so common and intercourse so easy as they now are, the people usually took a small lunch from their pockets, a few doughnuts, or " fried cakes " as they were ordinarily called, or a few apples, if they had them; and, as they were eating them, col- lected in groups in front of the house to hear and retail the gossip and the news. The women, as now, were grouped in pews in different parts of the house, through which might be heard the pleasant murmur- ing sounds of their happy voices ; while the younger portion of the fair sex stood in the entry or strolled away, three or four at a time, to get a draught of water, or to look at the gravestones in the Old Burying
Ground, or to enjoy the prospect from the summit of the hill. From Thanksgiving Day to Fast Day, when there was but one service on a Sunday, before people had become as effeminate as now, the inhabitants came several miles and sat in the cold, when this, like all meeting-houses of the time, was not provided with fire, and the only protection from the storm and cold without was one thickness of boards and clapboards. If, before or after the season for a single service, a cold day came, the rousing wood-fire at John Little's bar- room, and the warm rooms of the neighbors, were ever ready to give the worshippers welcome; and they went to them as freely as to their own dwellings.
Publishments for marriage, too, are associated with the Old Meeting-house. Very seldom were they posted, as they are now. Occasionally, a very modest couple, or the lady to whom a public annunciation
159
DOGS AND DOG-WHIPPERS.
would be unpleasant, had the intention posted up in the porch. But commonly, just after the benediction by the minister in the forenoon, and sometimes imme- diately before the service in the afternoon, the town- clerk, with the preface "Please to take notice," proclaimed aloud the names of the persons and their intentions.
On one occasion, the town-clerk, being called away, requested his son to put up in the porch a written no- tification for a marriage. The lad, fifteen or sixteen years old, feeling confidence in his ability to perform the duty according to the common mode, assumed the responsibility of deviating from his father's instruc- tions, and, with some degree of animation and gesti- culation, but without any other preface than what was used by his father, amused some and distressed others by crying the intention aloud.
There is another interesting association with the Old Meeting-house. In those days, dogs were no- wise remarkable for good manners. Occasionally, they would intrude into the aisles, and trot round the meeting-house during public worship. Two men, David Robbins and Jessa Robbins, who had long whips, and who sat in convenient pews, were by the town chosen dog-whippers.1 Considerable skill was necessary on their part to discharge their duty effec- tually, and in such a way that their constituents, or at least all those who were at the meeting, should have ample auricular evidence from the dogs themselves that the dog-whippers were faithful guardians of the rights and privileges of the people who came to wor- ship. Accordingly, when a dog, following the praise- worthy example of his master, walked into the house, one of the dog-whippers, generally David Robbins, whose pew was about half-way from the door to the pulpit, would get up with the stillness and caution of an old hunter, carefully raise his whip, holding it so
1 Dog-reeves, March 3, 1800, Amariah Mero, David Robbins, Rufus Dyer; March 2, 1801, David Robbins, Rufus Dyer, Jessa Robbins, Daniel McCurdy.
160
FIRST MEETING-HOUSE.
that it would have free sweep along the broad aisle, watch his opportunity as the dog was passing, and bring it down upon him with unmerciful energy. The yelping was unmusical, awakened undevout feelings through the congregation, and disturbed
" Both mongrel, puppy, whelp, and hound, And curs of low degree,"
everywhere on the Common, and set them all to bark- ing. Even when David Robbins was old and infirm, his zeal and fidelity did not abate. Not being able, without great pain, to rise from his seat, he would then strike and pommel the dogs with his crutches.
The preceding statements do not all apply exclu- sively to Union. They illustrate the customs and habits of people in new settlements. The contrast at the pre- sent day is so striking, that it is hard to believe some of them could have been true here, even so late as half a century since. The Old Meeting-house, around which are clustered a multitude of early associations, has been demolished. The old pew and the seat among the singers are gone. The locks of the vene- rable man who spake the words of warning and of exhortation have become silvery white, and he dwells far from the place of his pastoral labors. But, on many persons, impressions were made which can never be forgotten or effaced. Peace to the departed spirits who were wont to gather within the walls of the old house! The time will soon come when it will be said that "no one is living who saw the Old Meeting- house, which was erected with many prayers, strug- gles, and sacrifices."
161
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.
CHAPTER XVIII.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY, 1779-1806.
Going to Meeting at St. George's. - John Urquhart. - Isaac Case. - Nine Pounds raised for Preaching. - William Riddel called. - Aaron Humphrey. - Two hundred Dollars raised. - Mode of dividing the Money. - Abraham Gushee called. - Jabez Pond Fisher called. - Jonathan Gilmore. - Henry True called and settled.
1779-1781.
" SUNDAY, May 30, 1779, went to meeting at George's, and heard Rev. Mr. Auherd [ Urquhart] 1 hold forth. ... Sunday, July 11, 1779, I went to meeting, and heard the Scotch minister preach. ... Sunday, Sept. 17, 1780, Mr. Adams, Mr. Ware, and Mrs. Jemima Rob- bins, are gone to meeting this day .... Sunday, Sept. 16 [1781], Mr. Adams and his wife are gone to meeting ; likewise Mr. Ware and Hills." These no- tices, taken from the old account-book of Matthias Hawes, are the earliest relating to attendance on pub- lic worship. Mr. Hawes makes similar memoranda respecting himself and his neighbors three times during the following two years. To go down the
1 According to Greenleaf's " Sketches," the Rev. John Urquhart, a Presbyterian, came to this country in 1774, and was soon employed to preach at Warren. He was regularly removed from his charge there by the Presbytery convened at Salem, Mass., in Septem- ber, 1783. The people were more desirous to get rid of him than he was to go. In the autumn of 1784, he was preaching at Ellsworth, and in the summer of 1785 at Topsham. In the fall of 1785, he com- menced his labors at Union River; but was dismissed early in 1790. The name is sometimes pronounced Urcutt, and sometimes Orcutt. When he was at Union, Messrs. Jessa Robbins and Jacob Robbins say their father requested him to write his name. He wrote it Auqu- hart, with a piece of chalk over the fireplace, where it was legible for many years. He spelt and pronounced it with the broad Scotch accent ; A-u-awe, q-u-a-awe, h-a-awe, r-t, thus giving the sound awe three times in spelling it.
162
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.
river by water, and attend divine service a few times in a year at Warren or Cushing, -for Mr. Urquhart preached alternately in those places, - was as much as could reasonably be expected.
1782-1784.
Feb. 6, 1782, Mr. Hawes writes, “ The Rev. Mr. Ur- quhart preached a sermon at Mr. Philip Robbins's." This was undoubtedly the first sermon ever preached in this town. Before Mr. Hawes moved to Stirling- ton, there were not people enough to make a congre- gation ; and, as he was in the habit of noting events, particularly those that were of a religious nature, there is no good reason to doubt that he recorded the first meeting ever held in the place. There seems not to have been any more preaching till Mr. Hawes writes : " March 7, 1784. Last week, Mr. Case1 was in this place, preaching with us." This is all that is known about the public worship before the town was incor- porated.
1787-1791.
At the April town-meetings in 1787 and 1788, there were unsuccessful attempts to obtain a vote to hire preaching. March 30, 1789, the town voted to raise nine pounds to hire preaching part of the year. Samuel Hills, David Woodcock, and Abijah Hawes, were chosen a committee to hire the preachers and lay out the money. April 5, 1790, fifteen pounds were voted, and Thomas Daggett, Philip Robbins, and Josiah Robbins, were chosen the committee; but the vote was re-considered Jan. 10, 1791. With the exception of the nine pounds in 1789, it is not probable that any ministerial money was raised by the town for nearly twenty-five years from the time of the occupancy by the Anderson party.
1 Rev. Isaac Case, then a young Baptist preacher at Thomaston, was lately living at Monmouth, and occasionally preaching, though probably more than ninety years old.
163
WILLIAM RIDDEL.
1796.
The inhabitants had been putting forth their ener- gies to build a meeting-house. They were too poor to be doing much for the support of public worship. The next allusion to preaching is an article in the town-warrant for March 7, 1796, "to see if the town will hire Mr. Riddel to preach the ensuing summer ; whereupon it was voted to hire him, if the committee could agree with him." The committee chosen were Thomas Daggett, Philip Robbins, Amos Barrett, Josiah Maxcy, and Edward Jones. The further con- sideration of the subject was deferred till April 4, when it was voted, 31 to 4, to give Mr. Riddel a call to set- tle in the ministry, with an annual salary of two hun- dred and fifty dollars, to be increased five pounds yearly till it amounted to one hundred pounds. The town-record states, that "the committee went to see him and give him a call; but he would not accept, and so went away and left us to take care of our own souls." The matter was brought to a close, May 5, by a vote to raise money to pay him 1 for his past services, and to pay his board ; but not to raise any for preach- ing the ensuing summer.
1 The Rev. William Riddel was born at Coleraine, Mass., Feb. 4, 1768, and graduated at Dartmouth College in 1793. He studied divi- nity a short time with Dr. Burton, of Thetford, Vt. ; and afterwards pursued the study with the Rev. Dr. Emmons, of Franklin, Mass. He was ordained colleague-pastor with the Rev. Alexander McLean, of Bristol, Maine, in June, 1796, and was dismissed in the summer of 1804. He then labored some time in the employment of the Massa- chusetts Missionary Society in the State of New York, - the Western Home Missionary field at that time. He was afterwards twice settled in Vermont. He spent the last years of his life at South Deerfield, Mass., where he died Oct. 24, 1849. Sept. 4, 1797, he married Lucy, daughter of the Rev. Samuel Hopkins, D.D. of Hadley, Mass. : she died in December, 1813. They had three sons and four daughters. Two of the daughters and two of the sons died in infancy. The other son is the late Secretary of the American Education Society. - Ame- rican Quarterly Register, xiii. 253, 259 ; S. H. Riddel's MS. Memoranda.
The same day on which his call was voted, the town "voted the committee be instructed to procure a lot of land of Messrs. Amorys for a ministerial lot ; if they will give it, to accept it thankfully ; if not, to purchase, if they can, on reasonable terms."
164
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.
1797-1801.
Aug. 28, 1797, it was voted "to hire a Methodist preacher, and to raise one hundred dollars by tax, agreeable to law, to pay said preacher, - none to pay but such as are willing." Edward Jones, Amos Bar- rett, and Matthias Hawes, were chosen the committee ; and they continued in office in 1798. Aaron Hum- phrey 1 was employed. July 16, 1798, the town voted to hear him another year, if the committee could agree with him " for half the time as heretofore."
April 1, 1799, an article proposing to re-hire Mr. Humphrey, and another to hire a Congregational preacher, were both dropped; as likewise was an arti- cle, May 20, to grant money for preaching.
In 1801, no money for preaching was granted. April 6, it was voted that the Congregational part of the town have the meeting-house half the time.
1802, 1803.
Feb. 8, 1802, Moses Hawes, Thomas Mitchell, and Samuel Hills, were chosen a committee "to procure a candidate to preach two or three sabbaths, to be paid by contribution." April 5, it was voted to hire preach- ing the ensuing summer, and to raise two hundred dollars by a tax, and that every man might pay his money for the support of preachers of his own reli- gious sect or denomination. A ministerial committee to procure preaching was chosen, consisting of Stephen March, Rufus Gillmor, and Nathan Blake, Congrega- tionalists ; and Edward Jones, Joel Adams, and Chris- topher Butler, Methodists. The method of distributing the money agreeably to the spirit of the foregoing vote was acted upon in town-meeting, Nov. 1, and is re- corded in the following words : -
1 Rev. Aaron Humphrey subsequently joined the Episcopalians. He was preaching at Gardner in 1812. It is supposed he afterwards preached in Vermont and New York, and subsequently in Wisconsin. It may be added, in illustration of the religious spirit of the times, that Mr. Humphrey made a prayer at the raising of Mr. Cashman's barn.
165
ABRAHAM GUSHEE.
" Voted to accept Mr. Blake's motion, as made in writing, respecting the division of money granted to hire preaching, viz. : In order that the money granted for ministerial use the present year may be distributed agreeable to the spirit and intention of the vote which made the grant, it is mo- tioned that the following mode be adopted to effect the purpose, viz. : That the denomination of Christians called Methodist deliver to the selectmen a certificate in the words following (and signed by all who wish to have their money applied agreeable to said vote) : -
"' This may certify, that we, the subscribers, do approve of and embrace the doctrine and church-discipline of the de- nomination of Christians called Methodist, and are of that sect.' And, as soon as the selectmen shall be notified by the Methodist Society, in writing, that any specific sum of money is due to any of their public preachers, it shall be the duty of the selectmen to order the same to such preacher, pro- vided those who certify they are Methodist have paid the collector so much money of the grant for ministerial use. And any person or persons certifying to the selectmen in writing, that he or they embrace the doctrine and discipline of the Baptist Society, and certify that the money they are taxed in said grant is due to a public teacher of their deno- mination, the selectmen may order it accordingly, provided the same is paid to the collector.
" And whatever sum of money is due to Mr. Abraham Gushee for preaching, or others for boarding him, and certi- fied to the selectmen in writing by such committee as the town may appoint for that purpose, may be ordered out of the above-said grant.
" And if any description of persons may think themselves aggrieved by this method of distributing the money, they may have opportunity to lay their case before the town for redress."
It seems, however, that this mode of proceeding did not give universal satisfaction; for, March 7, 1803, there was an unsuccessful attempt to re-consider part of the vote.
In the meantime the pulpit had been supplied by Mr. Abraham Gushee. He came to Union, July 3, 1802, and began his labors on the following day. July 29, a proposition to hire him to preach for two
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166
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.
months was referred to the ministerial committee. Nov. 1, the day on which Mr. Blake's motion was ac- cepted, it was voted to hire him on probation until after the March town-meeting. A change was made in the committee, which appears to have consisted subsequently of the three Congregational members only. March 7, 1803, the town voted to invite Mr. Gushee to settle in the ministry. At the same time it was -
" Voted to accept a motion made by Mr. Nathan Blake, which was expressed in the following words, viz. : Agree- ably to the 16th article in the warrant, it is proposed to the town to invite Mr. Abraham Gushee to settle here as a minister of the gospel, and pastor of the Congregational Church which is now contemplated to be formed in this town; and that the town offer Mr. Gushee for his support an annual salary of $334, so long as he shall continue to be the minister of this town, and to commence on the day of ordination.
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