USA > Maine > Androscoggin County > Wales > History of Monmouth and Wales, V. 1 > Part 18
USA > Maine > Kennebec County > Monmouth > History of Monmouth and Wales, V. 1 > Part 18
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To Joseph Snelling and Samuel Hillman was com- mitted the care of the local circuit. Mr. Snelling was a native of Boston, and was the first preacher sent out by the Methodists of that city.
Rev. Samuel Hillman was born at Martha's Vine- yard, Mass., in 1769. When nineteen years old, he removed to Livermore, Me., where he was converted four years later. His conversion was not the result of excitement. All alone in the woods, two miles from any human observer, in the midst of a violent thunder
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storm, he sought and found peace with God.
One year later, Jesse Lee came through the wilder- ness bringing the truths of the gospel and the tenets of Methodism. Mr. Hillman heard him preach, recog- nized the similarity of their experience and faith, and accepted Methodism as his creed. "He was married to Miss Jane Norton and removed to Monmouth; joined the Methodist church, and soon received license to preach," says Dr. Allen, in his History of Methodism. The facts are acknowleged, but the sequence ques- tioned. Mr. Hillman's name does not appear on the tax list until 1809, and it is not probable that he made this his permanent home before that time, or that he removed to this place before receiving a license to preach.
There are papers in existence which show that he was licensed as a local preacher in the Methodist church at a quarterly conference held in Monmouth, Sept. 9th, 1796, and that his license was renewed in the same place, June 6th, 1798, and these points have been presented as proofs that he was a resident of Monmouth prior to 1809. Admitting that this is good evidence, a habit of carefully digesting and comparing data, which if formed at an earlier date, would have prevented some slight errors from creeping into the first part of the book, prompts the presentation of the other side of the argument. In those days it was not at all unusual for a man to connect himself with a church several miles distant from his home. It will be remembered by those who read the last chapter care- fully, that Mr. Potter of Litchfield, soon after his con- version, joined the Baptist church at Harpswell, that
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being the nearest organization of the denomination. Monmouth was the banner town (if the expression is allowable in this connection) of Maine Methodism,and it would not be at all singular if Mr. Hillman placed his name with this society, even while residing at Livermore, where a Methodist church was not organ- ized until 1802. This was, undoubtedly, the nearest point which supported a regular organized society, the Methodist converts in Leeds having been "spoiled in the hands of the potter," as Jesse Lee facetiously re- marked, in referring to their being led into the Baptist communion through the influence of Rev. Mr. Potter.
It is hardly conceivable that a man could become a citizen of a town in those days, when the common- wealth was so eager to secure support that even minors were taxed after attaining the age of sixteen years, without having his name placed on the assessors' books.
While the exact date of his selecting Monmouth as his home may be of small moment, except to the stu- dent of history, to whom even trivial events are freight- ed with intense interest, the fact of his becoming a cit- izen of this town is a matter of great value, giving to Monmouth, as it did in his posterity, her idol son and eminent representative.
In 1802, as has already been stated, Mr. Hillman was received on trial at the session of the New Eng- land conference which convened at Capt. Prescott's, ordained travelling deacon by Bishop Whatcoat, and appointed auxiliary to Rev. Joseph Snelling on the Readfield circuit. Subsequently he was ordained trav- elling elder by Bishop Asbury. His later appoint-
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ments were Hallowell, Bristol, Union, Falmouth and Scarboro'. In 1809, or earlier, he purchased a farm in Monmouth, but continued in active itinerant service, having for his field of labor the same year,Poland, and for the two following years, Livermore and Hallowell. His motive for making Monmouth his home during these years of itinerancy, evidently, was to secure for his children the advantages afforded by the academy, which was then an institution of more than local fame. In 1811, the year of his appointment to the Hallowell circuit, his name disappears from the Monmouth rec- ords, and it is probable that he removed his family to Hallowell, where there was another academy. After two years of service on the Hallowell circuit, he was appointed to Pittston, and in 1814 was returned to the Readfield circuit. The following year he was appoint- ed to the Livermore circuit, and in 1816 he located in Monmouth, on the farm now known as the "Kingsbury place," near the brow of Norris hill, where he remained until his decease in 1849.
Mr. Hillman was a man of marked ability. strong. self-reliant, original and of great depth of character. He was highly esteemed by his townsmen, and was in great demand as a preacher, a sermon by "Father Hillman" being considered an intellectual feast. It is stated that he preached in this and other towns, after locating, not far from two hundred funeral sermons.
His intellectual strength was supplemented by a grand physique and a commanding presence, which augmented, in no small degree, his popularity. He was formed much like his grandson, Rev. J. R. Day; his height-six feet and seven inches-being greater,
Samuel Hillman
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but holding the same well-moulded proportions. His sermons were able productions, logical, pointed and unsparing, and were delivered with absolute freedom from sensational and oratorical artifice. In fact, utter disregard of conventionalities was the one thing that prevented his rising to the level of a pulpit orator. When he became thoroughly enthusiastic in his dis- course, nearly every phrase was punctuated by draw- ing in his breath with a suck, as if to bring into place an erratic false tooth, and every point that required ad- ditional force was emphasized by rising on tiptoe, an attitude which, considering his natural height, attracted as much attention to the preacher as to the point he desired to enforce.
He was strong in his decisions and bold in his man- ner of speech. This boldness was not confined to his pulpit utterances. Whatever he said, in public or private, came straight-cut and square-edged. This trait was not due to a brusque disposition, as some might be led to suppose, but was a result of his une- quivocal honesty.
His cogency in argument were transmitted in a marked degree to his descendant. On one occasion, at least, he was floored by one of his children.
His son, Samuel, yielding to a boyish impulse, had thrown a thistle against the bare ankles of a spinster who was working at her wheel. She complained of the disrespectful act to the lad's father, who immediately instituted a court of inquiry. The defendant was found guilty and ordered to apologize. He attempted to evade the humiliating obligation by claiming that he did not know what to say. The father gave him a
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form of words which he repeated in a very indifferent and unsatisfactory manner. "Samuel," said the punc- tilious judge, "I am afraid that that is not a very sin- cere confession." "It is one of your own make, sir," was the startling and irresistible reply.
"Mr. Hillman," says Allen's History of Methodism, "was a decided republican. While preaching on the Hallowell circuit, in 1811 and 1812, the people were divided in politics. The embargo and the declaration of war with great Britain were subjects of bitter con- troversy. It was not easy for a preacher of such de- cided opinions as Mr. Hillman to be silent on the ex- citing questions of the times. Some of his hearers were federalists and were not a little offended that their preacher should meddle with politics. His con- gregations were considerably thinned by his strong ut- terances. The Congregationalist minister at Augusta, being invited to preach before a company of soldiers quartered at that place, had given great offence by preaching from the following words of Scripture, .This year shalt thou die, because thou hast rebelled against the Lord.' The indignant soldiers sent for the Meth- odist preacher (Mr. Hillman), who cheered on the band of soldiers, rousing them to the highest pitch of enthusiasm by a spirited discourse from the words, 'Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Isreal from the hands of the Midianites. Have not I sent thee?'"
Mr. Hillman was strongly attached to the Scriptures. and the Bible was his constant companion. When he was well advanced in life he received a fall which frac- tured a limb. Thus disabled, he improved his time by studying the Bible, and finished reading it in course
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eighty-eight times.
Nothing noteworthy is found in the history of the church until 1809, except the final visit of Jesse Lee in August, 1808. His journey through the scenes of his former labors was "a continuous ovation." Arriving at Monmouth, he preached in the meeting house at half- past ten, Sunday, Aug. 7. with uncommon power. In the afternoon he preached again from James 1 : 12 to a congregation so large that many were obliged to stand out doors. In the evening, he met the people at Caleb Fogg's in a social service. Taking an affectionate leave at the close of this meeting, he departed never to re- turn. His mission on Readfield circuit had been well fulfilled. Like Paul parting with the elders at Ephe- sus, he could say, "I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God."
In 1809 the New England conference again convened at Monmouth. No account of the proceedings have been preserved except a few lines in Bishop Asbury's journal. The bishop was rapidly succumbing to the inevitable laws of Nature and required a traveling com- panion to assist him in his work. He says, "We pa-sed through Berwick. Monday morning, and continuing on. stopped and supped with one Wells. We were here two years ago. We then prayed earnestly for, and with, the kind family. It was not a forlorn hope it seems; the young woman who waited on us was brought out last August. We rode on through Kennebunk to Saco. Lodging in a tavern we were opposed, but per- sisted in having prayers night and morning. Asa Heath gave us our breakfast, and we pushed on to New
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Gloucester, making about eighty-four miles in two days. On Thursday we opened our conference and sat closely at work. Sunday, July 18, I preached to about three thousand deeply attentive people from Isaiah 44:23, 'Sing, O ye heavens,' etc. It was an open season."
In the meantime, ton new preachers had served on the circuit-Thomas Perry, as associate with Joseph Snelling, in 1803; Joseph Baker, in 1804; Aaron Hum- phrey, William Goodhue and John Williamson, 1805; Dyer Burge and Benj. F. Lambard, 1806; David Batch- elder and Henry Martin, in 1807, and Ebenezer Fair- banks with James Spaulding, in 1808. From this time up to 1827. when Monmouth was set off from Read- field circuit having Leeds and Wayne as class towns. we have a list of eighteen preachers. In 1809, David Kilburn was the preacher in charge. The next y ar Caleb Fogg was placed over the circuit with E. Hyde, assistant. Zachariah Gibson came in 1812, with T. F. Norris for a helper. The next year brought Cy- rus Cummings to the field, with David Hutchinson as an auxiliary. David Hutchinson was at this time a re- markable figure in the church. Fresh from the sea, which he had followed as captain of a ship, without any training, he plunged immediately into the work of the ministry, yielding to a conviction which had followed him ever since his conversion two years before. He was a trifle above thirty years of age, stalwart and com- manding in manner, a natural consequence of his for- mer vocation, and the possessor of a clear and logical mind.
In 1814, Samuel Hillman, formerly a colleague of
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Joseph Snelling, and now a resident of the town, w:1s placed at the head of the circuit. Following him, came Daniel Wentworth, E. W. Coffin and Ebenezer T. Newell. In 1817 Daniel Wentworth was returned. and after him came Philip Munger. Mr. Munger's home while in town was a small house that stood in the heater-piece south-east of the residence of Fred K. Blake, in the eastern part of the town. Two of his sons, Cyrus and Charles C., became able ministers of the gospel, and John W. is a member of the Cumberland bar. While living in Monmouth, a servant girl became enraged at some childish prank of the latter and threw him into the open fire-place. Although terribly burned, he recovered, but has ever since borne the marks of that terrible moment. As if this unfortunate episode was not sufficient to keep Monmouth ever fresh in Mr. Munger's memory, another of his children was killed during his stay here by the fall of an old-fashioned clock.
In 1821, Aaron Fuller, who the same year was taken into the Conference on trial, supplied the circuit. Mr. Munger had it the next year with Gilman Moody, and for the next two years Caleb Fogg had the pastoral charge. Then came successively. Eleazer Wells, 1824; Benjamin Burnham, 1825 and Aaron Sanderson, 1826.
Aaron Sanderson was a member of a ministerial family. His father was Stephen Sanderson, who re- moved from Littleton, N. H., and settled in 1788, in Waterford, Me., where Aaron was born, Oct. 4, 1802 Of his seven brothers and sisters, Stephen and Moses became, like himself, Methodist preachers, and Sarah,
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the wife of a Methodist preacher. Aaron was educated in the district schools, where, meagre though his ad- vantages may have been, he secured an education that, coupled with his strong native genius, gave him eminent standing among the preachers of his generation. At the age of sixteen he was converted, and six years later he received license to preach, Durham circuit being as- signed as his first pastorate. In 1828, he married Cath- arine Howard of Winthrop, a lady whose noble charac- ter and steadfast piety especially fitted her for the life- companion of a Christian minister.
Mr. Sanderson was appointed presiding elder of the Augusta district in 1844, and at the close of a term of three years, was appointed to a similar position in the Gardiner district. In 1850 he rented a place in Mon- mouth to which he removed his family. The next year he was appointed pastor of Chestnut St. Church. of Portland, and in 1852 was placed at the head of the Portland district. His subsequent apponitments were Saco, 1856-7 and Augusta 1858-9. For the three years following 1864, he presided over the Readfield district. and from 1867 to 1870, over the Gardiner district. On being returned to the Gardiner district, he purchased the Norris stand on Norris Hill and again became a resident of Monmouth. He sold the farm to Geo. W. Norris in 1875, his appointments being such that the location which had been a very central and desirable one, was not at all suited to the requirements of his work. In 1878, on account of failing health, he re- ceived a superannuated relation, and removed to Mon- mouth, where he remained until his decease, which oc- curred Feb. 9, 1886.
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"During the last eight years of his life." says Dr. f Allen, in his History of Methodism, "Bro. Sanderson was unable to take work, and made his home with his children in Monmouth. His health continued to de- cline. On the 25th of Oct., 1884, the great sorrow of his life came to him in the death of his wife; this was a crushing blow.
The nature of his disease led to seasons of mental depression, which, however, were succeeded by radiant hope. His last utterance was a few lines of a favorite hymn:
'Lord Jesus be our constant guide, And when the word is given, Bid death's cold flood its waves divide, And land us safe in heaven.'
*** * Bro. Sanderson was of spotless life and con- versation, popular on every charge and faithful to ev- ery trust. He had a modest estimate of himself, a high sense of honor, and a remarkably buoyant and cheer- ful disposition; a delightful companion and a true Christian gentleman.
As a preacher he was animated, ready, accurate in quoting Scriptures and hymns, and apt in illustration, and remarkable for point and brevity.
He was thoroughly orthodox in doctrine, strongly conservative in his views of church polity and deeply interested to aid the enterprises of the church. He was greatly beloved by his brethren in the Conference, and by his neighbors."
Mr. Sanderson remained on the circuit only one year following his appointment in 1826, and the next year his brother, Moses Sanderson, who was his senior by
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three years was placed in charge.
Moses Sanderson was the first settled preacher on the Monmouth circuit. This circuit, formed in 1827, included. as has been intimated, the towns of Wayne and Leeds. The history of Mr. Sanderson's life is confined to the Conference minutes, in which we find him registered first in Monmouth, then in Gray and Friendship sucessively, and in 1830 transferred to the New Hampshire Conference. Late in life, he removed to Wisconsin. His widow, Jane Randall Sanderson, died in Glidden, Iowa, Dec. 30, 1892, at the advanced age of ninety-one years. A grandson, through whom the information came,is studying for the ministry, which demonstrates that the religious vitality of the family is not yet exhausted.
O. Bent came in 1828, and was returned in 1832. D. Crockett came in 1829, and was followed by Rev. D. Clarke whose name appears later in the minutes of the Fast Maine Conference. Rev. M. Davis had been in service at two appointments in Oxford county, be- fore his pastorate here in 1831. He died four years later.
Mr. Tripp preached here a portion of the year 1832. Rev. D. Stimpson came the next year and Rev. B. Bryant took the charge in 1834. Rev. E. Withee. who came in 1836, was a man of marked genius, broad versality and unlimited eccentricity. "I don't believe in giving the devil all the best tunes," said he at his first prayer-meeting, and starting a lively air, he rat- tled the demi-semi quavers in around the unwilling syllables of one of Charles Wesley's hymns in a way that would have caused that sedate personage to throw
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up his hands in holy horror. It was, without question, an innovation for which he could claim the whole credit. It amused the young folks, aroused the sleepy ones, and caused the fathers and the mothers of the church to shrink and writhe like rushes in the northern blast. Remonstrances and rebukes availed nothing. Sometimes a good sister on the alert to vindicate the honor of the old hymnology, would get a chance to sandwich old "Turner" or a particular minor in between "old Zip Coon" and "Hail Columbia," but usually Withee led off, and such a shaking up as those aston- ished old "pennyrials" got in his hands! If any one questioned his allegiance to the institutions and doc- trines of the church, he soon established it. The plain costume worn by the primitive Methodists had been abandoned by the women of the society. and one more in conformity with the idea of the times substituted. Mr. Withee proceeded at once to bring them back to the less agreeable customs of former days. With the skill of a professional milliner he constructed bonnets of the old standard type, and enforced their use. The old meeting-house still remained in an unfinished state. The rough beams, festooned with fantastic cobwebs of many an ancient day, were an eye-sore to the whimsi- cal pastor. Selecting a rainy day for the application of the text, he preached to them from Haggai 1: 4 "Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your ceiled houses, and this house lie waste?' The monied men of the congregation flinched a little at this thrust, and they flinched still more as volley after volley of untrimmed oratory came pouring down from the pulpit. The rain commenced to dr'p through the leaky roof; mix-
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ing with the dust of the cobwebs, it formed dirty little puddles on the seats, and played with indiscriminate fondness on many a polished shirt-front. "You might have the droppings of the sanctuary instead of this dir- ty water," cried the preacher, as his congregation commenced to huddle up into the dry places He had taken sure aim. The church was repaired without de- lay.
It was originally, like the old yellow meeting-house on the common, a two-storied building. In the forty years that had elapsed since it was erected, church architecture had undergone a marked change. The high pulpit from which the minister looked down on the heads of his congregation like a hawk preparing to descend on a brood of chickens, was no longer consid- ered an essential feature, and with this removed, there was no call for the immense height which was a leading point in the construction of all churches built in the last century. A cutting-down process, by which it lost at least one-third of its altitude, reduced the building to about the proportions of a modern church structure.
After Mr. Withee, came a man equally as eccentric, though of an entirely different turn-"Campmeeting John" Allen-a sketch of whose life it would be super- fluons to give. He had then just entered on his work in the Christian ministry. Obadiah Huse followed him with this as his first pastorate. He was transferred to the East Maine Conference, and died in 1887. S. S. Hunt came next. For unknown reasons he was removed, and Rev. I. Downing supplied the rest of his term and was retained the following year. Richard H.
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Ford was next in turn, and 1840 found Ezekiel Robin- son the father of Mrs. Dr. Torsey on the charge.
In 1842 David Hutchinson, the sailor prea her, who came as an auxiliary to Mr. Cummings in 1813, re- turned, now a venerable man twice honored with the office of presiding elder, and bearing the culture which an association of nearly thirty years with educated people must bring. Marcus Wight took the charge the next year. He was an honest, blunt preacher, holding a very modest estimate of his own abilities. but forcible and fluent, and, above all, thoroughly com- mitted to his work. The church was destroyed by fire this year and for the two years following, meet- ings were held in private houses. Just how the fire caught will never be known. A singing school was held in the building the night before it was burned, and it is supposed by some that a stick of wood, which for some reason was taken from the stove and placed under a bench in the back part of the house, committed the mischief. Rev. J. Higgins came in 1844, and re- mained two years. In the first year of his pastorate a new meeting-house was built on the lot now owned by Mr. Wheeler at the juncture of Main and High streets. This building was removed in 1866, with considerable oppos. con or the part of some of the pew holders. to a site near the Center. Rev. B. Foster, a preacher of considerable merit, afterward transferred to the East Maine Conference, Feld the pastorate in 1846-7. He was relieved by Rev. Rufus Day, who married a daughter of Dr. James Cochran, and who is the father of Rev. J. W. Day, for many years presiding el- der in the East Maine Conference. From the year
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IS50, the pastors have been: S. P. Blake, 1850; I. Lord, 1851 ; R. H. Stinchfield, 1852-3; S. M. Emerson, 1854; J. Mitchell, 1855-6; Dudley B. Holt, 1857-8; E. Martin, 1859-60; W. B. Bartlett. 1861-2; N. Hob- art, 1863-4; J. C. Perry, 1865-6; D. B. Randall, 1867-8; P. Hoyt, 1869; (Mr. Hoyt died Sept., 1869.) ; J. O. Thompson, 1869-70; E. K. Colby, 1871-2; F. Grosvenor, 1873-4; D. Waterhouse, 1875-6; R. H. Kimball, 1877-8; True Whittier, 1879-80; O. S. Pills- bury, 1881-3;G. D. Holmes, 1884-6; E. Hewitt, 1877- 8; J. H. Roberts, 1879-91; F. W. Smith, 1892 and W. B. Eldridge, 1893.
About 1858, a parsonage was purchased at Mon- mouth Center. The house now owned by Mrs. Al- mira Prescott having been used as a parsonage sever- al years. Through the effort of Rev. F. Grosvenor a vestry was erected south of the church in 1874, and during the pastorate of Rev. O. S. Pillsbury, the audi- torium was frescoed and a fine-toned bell hung in the tower.
1
The First Methodist Meeting-house. ERECTED IN 1795; DESTROYED BY FIRE IN 1843.
CHAPTER XI.
THE CLOSE OF A CENTURY.
The period from 1793 to the close of the century, although one of continued growth, was, aside from the occurrences connected with the religious reformation. uneventful and devoid of marked historic interest.
New families continued to pour in; hardly a month passing without an increase in the number.
On the 28th of April, 1794, Nathaniel Smith sold his clearing and lands in the vicinity of Ellis Corner to David Marston of North Hampton, N. H.
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