USA > Maine > Waldo County > Belfast > History of the city of Belfast in the state of Maine, Volume II, 1875-1900 > Part 6
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69
32
HISTORY OF BELFAST
1897. Dwelling houses: Frank Whitcomb and John Gorham Aborn, Cedar Street; Henry Clay Marden, Elm Street; Alva S. Redman, Miller Street; and Fred A. Tibbetts, Waldo Avenue. Summer cottages were built by Coombs & Riggs and Elbridge Simmons Pitcher on the Battery lot south of the city on the Bay.
1898. The new houses this year include those of James Sumner Harriman, on Pearl Street; Harry Mellen Prentiss, Court Street; Charles Edward White, Congress Street; Mrs. Sarah E. Brown, Northport Avenue; Charles D. Harriman, Waldo Avenue; large boarding-house by Irving Lawrence Perry, East Belfast; George Washington Frisbee, Congress Street; Thomas G. Small, near Bay View Street.
1899. Eight dwellings were erected this year, viz., by William H. Arnold, Northport Avenue; Leslie F. Harmon, Peach Street; Albee E. Hutchings (two, rebuilt), Union Street; Hiram Michaels, Waldo Avenue; Martin Luther Mitchell, Franklin Street; Samuel Goodell Norton, South Belfast; Leforest L. Robbins, Miller Street; James Freeman Sheldon, at Poor's Mills.
1900. The Court-House extension, begun in 1899, was finished, but the rooms were not occupied. The dwelling on Waldo Avenue, begun in 1899, by Bert L. Davis, was finished. The Crosby Inn property was sold by the Belfast Hotel Company to Mrs. Anne Maria Chenery, a daughter of Governor Crosby, who had the ruins cleared away and the dwelling restored to its former position and condition as nearly as possible. Leonard L. Gentner bought the George G. Wells Building on Phoenix Row, moved it back and built on a new front. The Dinsmore Store at the corner of Main and High streets received a third story and a flat roof. The Thomas Whittier Pitcher store on Main Street was raised one story, the front modernized, and the interior thoroughly renovated. The Moses Warren Frost houses on Bridge Street were rebuilt.
Walter Aldus commenced a dwelling house in East Belfast, and Oliver Anderson one on the Searsport Shore Road.
FIRST PARISH, UNITARIAN CHURCH. ERECTED 1818 PAUL REVERE BELL, HUNG 1819
FIRST PARISH, UNITARIAN CHURCH. INTERIOR IN 1912
CHAPTER V
FIRST PARISH - UNITARIAN
State Confercnee - Chancel - Resignation of Rev. James Thompson Bixby - Bequest of Paul Richard Hazeltine - Settlement of Rev. Edward Crownin- shield - Church Parlor - Presentation of Parsonage - Birth of Channing commemorated - Death of Mr. Crowninshield - Rev. Lindley M. Burring- ton - Installation of Rev. John Arthur Savage - State Conference - Memorial Services on Death of Rev. Dr. Cazneau Palfrey - Bequest of William Henry Burrill - Resignation of Mr. Savage - Installation of Rev. James Monroe Leighton - Celebration of the Seventy-fifth Anniversary of the Settlement of Rev. William Frothingham - Bequest of Mrs. Dana (Mary Emeline Simpson) Southworth - State Convention.
EV. JAMES THOMPSON BIXBY was pastor of the First
R U Parish Church, Belfast, at the commencement of 1875. The following year he delivered a course of lectures before the Lowell Institute, Boston, upon "Physical Theories and Religious Faith," for which he received $1500.
In June, 1876, the annual conference of the Unitarian denomi- nation was held in the church. Rev. Rush R. Shippen, of Bos- ton, delivered a sermon, and Rev. Dr. Thomas Hill, and Rev. David N. Sheldon took part in other exercises.
In the spring of 1878, a chancel, lighted from above, and a new pulpit of black walnut, were added to the church. In December, Mr. Bixby resigned, having accepted a call to Meadville, Penn- sylvania, where he became Professor of Religious Philosophy in the Unitarian Theological School. During his residence in Bel- fast he was much respected for his ability as a preacher, his con- scientious pastoral labors, and his deportment as a citizen. He was a frequent contributor to periodical literature. A list of his publications will be found in the chapter on Bibliography. Mr. Bixby is now settled in Yonkers, New York. The degree of Ph.D. was conferred on him at Leipsic in 1885.
Under the will of Paul Richard Hazeltine, the parish received a legacy of the income of ten thousand dollars annually forever, to be permanently invested and held in trust, one half of said in- come to be paid for the support of Unitarian preaching in said society, and the other half to be paid to assist the deserving poor
34
HISTORY OF BELFAST
of the city during the winter and spring months of each year, to prevent their being forced on the city for support; the bequest to be forfeited if diverted from these objects.
The successor of Mr. Bixby was the Rev. Edward Crownin- shield, of West Dedham, Massachusetts, who, in April, 1879, accepted a unanimous invitation to become pastor. This year, the room over the entrance hall was fitted and furnished by the ladies as a church parlor. The church bell, which has hung in the belfry now (1913) for nearly a century, was made by Paul Revere, and bears the makers' name, "Paul Revere & Son," cast into it; it weighs half a ton.1 See Vol. I, p. 260.
In 1880, the parsonage on Church Street was purchased by the Young Ladies' Sewing Society, principally from money accrued from fairs, and presented to the parish upon the condi- tions set forth in the following correspondence : -
To the members of the First (Unitarian) Parish of Belfast.
With this you will find a deed of gift of the Unitarian Parsonage, which I am, as the secretary of the Young Ladies' Sewing Society, in- structed to deliver, and in their behalf to present to you for the use of the Parish and Society, the property which this deed conveys, for your acceptance and care as Parish property.
This property was generously offered to us by the shareholders of the Parsonage, at a sum which placed it within our power to purchase, with the funds of our Sewing Society that had accumulated in years past; and at a meeting of the ladies it was decided to purchase the same, and give it to the Parish, on the conditions, that it should be forever main- tained as a parsonage for the use of the minister of the Parish; that it should be kept insured in a reasonable sum; and if these conditions should not be complied with, the property should be forfeited, and revert to the donors.
In accordance with their wishes and instructions, this deed has been made with these conditions, and I take pleasure in placing the same in your hands, requesting that this letter, and the accompanying list of members donating the property, shall form a part of the transfer, and be recorded upon the records of the Parish.
Very respectfully,
For the Young Ladies' Sewing Society,
MRS. JAMES WOODBURY FREDERICK, Sec'y. BELFAST, May 3d, 1880.
1 Two hundred and twenty bells, cast by Paul Revere have up to the present time (1913), been authentically traced. On the old "stock-book" of Paul Re- vere & Son, the above bell is number 219, and its weight is given as twelve hundred and sixty pounds. The date of the entry is 17 February, 1820, and its location was to be Belfast, Maine. See Revere Bells, by Arthur Nichols, M.D., Boston, Mass., 1911.
35
FIRST PARISH - UNITARIAN
Mrs. William Colburn Marshall.
Mrs. Emily Tilden Marshall.
Mrs. John Haraden Quimby.
Mrs. Lucius Franklin MeDonald.
Mrs. Horace Eugene MeDonald.
Mrs. Frank Billings Knowlton.
Mrs. William Henry Mclellan.
Annie Maria Bean.
Mrs. Henry S. Parker.
Sophia M. Jones.
Mrs. William Williams Castle.
Abbie Haraden Faunee.
Mrs. Robert Hudson Coombs.
Mary Estelle Faunee.
Ada Elizabeth Hervey.
Mrs. Hartwell Leon Woodeock.
Mrs. William Henry Fogler.
Mrs. Fred Barker.
Susan Maria Colburn.
Charlotte White Colburn.
Annie Jane White.
Ellen Frances Chase.
BELFAST, May 7, 1880.
Mrs. James Woodbury Frederick,
MADAM: - At a meeting of the First Parish of Belfast (Unitarian), on the third inst., on which occasion the Young Ladies' Sewing Society of said Parish tendered to the Parish a deed of the Unitarian Parson- age, - a committee was designated to convey to the members of the Sewing Society their thanks for the generous and munificent gift. As constituting such committee, I take great pleasure in conveying to you, and through you to your associates, and to those who have aided the work, the heartfelt thanks of the Society. It is but one more of the many recorded instances in which the hand of woman has sustained and upheld those who labor for Christianity, and the realization of the hopes that the cross symbolizes. Yourself and associates have made practical the commendations of one of the wisest of men - "She con- sidereth a field and buyeth it; with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard." The increase of that field and the fruit of that vineyard will keep green the memories of the donors through long years of com- ing time.
WILLIAM HENRY SIMPSON, For the Parish.
The right of women to participate in parish affairs being uncer- tain, a vote at the annual meeting to ask legislative action upon the matter, resulted in the passage of a bill empowering, for the first time in Maine, persons of either sex, of lawful age, to become members of any religious society.
The one hundredth anniversary of the birth of William Ellery Channing, which occurred April 7, 1880, was appropriately observed, the church being decorated. Above the chancel were,
Mrs. Lewis Warrington Pendleton.
Mrs. Samuel A. Howes.
Mrs. Asa Abbott Howes.
Mrs. George O. Bailey. Mrs. L. D. Woodward.
Mrs. George Washington Cottrell.
Lavinia Hathaway Angier.
Lydia Ann Spring.
Isabella White.
Caroline Elsie White.
Carrie Abbott.
Susan Elizabeth Bean.
Mrs. Robert T. Emery.
36
HISTORY OF BELFAST
"1780, Channing, 1880," and a quotation from his words, "Speak the Truth in Love."
After an illness of several weeks, the death of Mr. Crownin- shield took place at the parsonage, 6 February, 1883, at the age of forty-two years. He was born in Marblehead, Massachusetts, and graduated at Harvard Divinity School, in 1870. His first charge was at Exeter, New Hampshire, where he remained a few years, when he became settled in West Dedham, Massachusetts. He was a man of fascinating manner, an eloquent preacher, and was much beloved by his society. The funeral took place from the church, which was draped with emblems of mourning. His remains were interred in Marblehead.
For several months in 1883 and 1884, Rev. Lindley M. Bur- rington occupied the pulpit, but was not permanently engaged. His last settlement was in St. Paul, Minnesota.
On August 1, 1884, Rev. John Arthur Savage, a graduate at the Meadville Theological School, in the class of 1878, was in- stalled as pastor. He was then about thirty-seven years old, and had been settled at Nantucket.
A catalogue of the Sunday School Library books was pub- lished in 1886.
The Maine Conference of Unitarian Churches met here on September 29, 1888, sermons being delivered by Rev. James Thompson Bixby, the former pastor, Rev. Grindall Reynolds, and Rev. Samuel C. Beane.
On Sunday, March 16, 1888, memorial services were held on the death of the Rev. Cazneau Palfrey, D.D., which took place at Cambridge, March 12, at the age of eighty-three years. An appropriate sermon was preached by Rev. Mr. Savage, and at its close the following resolutions were read by Hon. William Colburn Marshall, and unanimously adopted: -
Resolved - That it is with feelings of sorrow and personal bereave- ment we have received the intelligence of the death a few days since at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, of Dr. Palfrey, our pastor for twenty-three years, and endeared to us all by his Christian ministra- tions and kindly offices through that long period of usefulness; but recognizing the fact that he had lived to a ripe old age and had finished his work, we are moved by feelings of thankfulness and gratitude that God had spared him to us so long.
Resolved - That we tender to Mrs. Palfrey and other members of his family our deepest sympathy, and assure them that we shall always
37
FIRST PARISH - UNITARIAN
cherish the memory of our former pastor and friend, and that the influ- ence of his pure life, beneficent acts, and comforting counsels will ever abide in this parish where the greater portion of his mature years was spent.
Resolved - That these resolutions be entered upon the records of the parish and transmitted to Mrs. Palfrey.
In the summer of 1889, the interior of the church edifice was renovated, and the gallery pews removed.
Mr. Savage resigned in 1891, but by unanimous request con- tinued his pastorate for another year, when he accepted a call to Medfield, Massachusetts, which is his present residence (1900). He died 18 May, 1913, at Plainfield, New Jersey.
Rev. James Monroe Leighton, the present pastor (1900), was settled in 1893, and came here to reside in May of that year. He is a native of Waterboro, Maine, and graduated at the Meadville Theological School in 1876. He was ordained over the Unitarian Church at Fairhaven, Massachusetts, in 1878, and remained there until October, 1881, when he accepted a call at Wolfeboro New Hampshire.
This year, the Unity Club, a social society, was organized. A new furnace was placed in the church.
The seventy-fifth anniversary of the installation of the Rev. William Frothingham as the first pastor of the parish was ob- served on Wednesday evening, July 18, 1894, by a reception in the church parlor, a supper in the galleries, and by services, according to the following programme, which included exercises of installing Mr. Leighton: -
1819.
1894. COMMEMORATIVE SERVICES
Seventy-fifth Anniversary of the Installation of Rev. William Frothingham as Minister of the First Parish, Belfast, Maine July the eighteenth Eighteen Hundred and Ninety-Four At 7 o'clock P.M.
38
HISTORY OF BELFAST ORDER OF SERVICES
PART I
1. Organ Voluntary
2. Anthem - The King of love my Shepherd is Shelley
3. Responsive Reading
4. Hymn - Original Mrs. James Woodbury Frederick
Tune: Manoah
5. Prayer
6. Contralto Solo - I alone the Cross must bear White
Mrs. John Haraden Quimby
7. Historical Address Joseph Williamson
8. Soprano Solo - As a tale that is told Sudds
Miss Charlotte Colburn
PART II
Installation
1. Soprano Solo Mrs. Ralph Henry Howes
2. Address to Pastor on behalf of the Parish
William Colburn Marshall
3. Prayer of Installation
4. Solo - Hear us, O Father Millard
Mrs. William Rhodes Marshall
5. Address to the Parish
Rev. D. M. Wilson
6. Hymn - Original Tune: Hamburg
7. Benediction Mrs. James Monroe Leighton.
Pastor
The address to the pastor was published in the "Republican Journal" and the "Progressive Age" of the following week.
In 1896, the parish received a bequest of $3000 under the will of Mrs. Dana (Mary Emeline Simpson) Southworth, without any specific directions for its use.
On June 15, 1897, the Unitarian State Convention met here. About one hundred delegates attended. An excursion was made to Castine, and the closing exercises took place there.
REV. WOOSTER PARKER 1807-1884
CHAPTER VI
FIRST CONGREGATIONAL, NORTHI CHURCHI
Services in Memory of Rev. Dr. Edward Francis Cutter and Deacon Beaman -
Death of Rev. Wooster Parker - Resignation of Rev. John Alexander Ross - Installation of Rev. Rollin Thurman Hack - Christian Endeavor Society - Lecture Room and Church Parlor built - Memorial Windows - New Steeple - Resignation of Rev. Rollin Thurman Hack - Settlement of Rev. George Sherman Mills - Centennial Celebration of the Formation of the Church - State Conference - Rev. Dr. Field's Sunday-School Reminis- cences - Church Statistics - Bequest from the Late Dr. George Warren Field.
R EV. JOHN ALEXANDER ROSS, who was installed two years before, continued as pastor of the North Church, Bel- fast, in 1875. A church manual was published this year.
On April 11, 1880, appropriate services in memory of Rev. Edward Francis Cutter, pastor of the church from 1846 to 1856, who died February 27, and of Edwin Beaman, who had been a deacon for many years, were held. (For a biographical sketch of Mr. Cutter, see Necrology, p. 402.)
In 1883, Mr. Ross made a European tour. His return was wel- comed by a supper and reception at the vestry.
January 24, 1884, Rev. Wooster Parker, pastor from 1856 to 1870, died, aged seventy-six. After his resignation he did not settle elsewhere, but occasionally officiated in neighboring towns. He was a man of large ability and thoroughly Evangelical in his views; clear, incisive, original, and instructive as a preacher, and beloved as a pastor and a friend. He had a great fund of humor, and at his best was a most effective platform speaker. A sermon upon his life and character was preached by Rev. John Alexander Ross on the Sunday after his death.
August 31, 1886. A council met to act on the resignation of Rev. John Alexander Ross, which was formally accepted. He went from here to Hampton, New Hampshire, where he now resides.
After the retirement of Mr. Ross, services were conducted by clergymen from abroad, until the fall of 1887, when Rev. Rollin Thurman Hack received an invitation as minister, and was
40
HISTORY OF BELFAST
ordained and installed as pastor on the 1st of October, the church being decorated with flowers for the occasion. The exercises were as follows: Invocation, by Mr. Charles Harbutt, of Bangor Theological Seminary; sermon, by Professor Lewis G. Stearns, and prayer by Professor Denio, both of that institution; right hand of fellowship, by Rev. Robert G. Harbutt, of Searsport; charge, by Professor John S. Sewall, D.D., of Bangor; prayer, by Rev. J. P. Cushman, of Castine; benediction, by the pastor.
In 1888, a catalogue of the books in the Sunday-School Library, 478 in number, was printed. On the 9th of Novem- ber, the Young Peoples' Society of Christian Endeavor was formed.
During the summer of 1889 an extension to the church edifice, containing a large lecture room and parlor, was completed. The walls and ceiling of the main building were frescoed, and eight windows of stained glass were substituted for the old ones. These were placed as follows: By Rev. George Warren Field, of Bangor, in memory of his mother, Abigail Davis Field; by Mrs. Cutter, in memory of her husband, Rev. Dr. Edward Francis Cutter; by Ralph Cross Johnson, of Washington, D.C., in mem- ory of his mother, Sarah Winslow Cushing Johnson; by the children of Lemuel Rich Palmer, in memory of their parents; by the Sibley brothers, in memory of their mother, Hannah Cutter Sibley; by Mr. and Mrs. Marshall Davis and Mrs. Cyrus James Hall, in memory of Deacon Edwin Beaman; by Miss Agnes Craig, of Boston, in memory of her mother, Elizabeth Murray Craig; and by Mrs. James Gammans in memory of her daughter, Mary Abbott Gammans. The annex was dedicated on Sunday evening, September 29. Including repairs, the cost was $4075; the memorial windows cost $600.
In July, 1890, the extension of the church was painted, and a new stceple, duplicating the old one, was built.
Rev. Rollin Thurman Hack resigned on the 16th of Septem- ber, 1894, and soon afterwards was installed pastor of the Payson Memorial Church in Portland, Maine, where he continues. Dur- ing his residence in Belfast of seven years, there was a growth in membership in church, parish, and Sunday School, and much effective mission work was done.
At the National Convention at Cleveland, Ohio, this year, the society was represented by Miss Charlotte Thorndike Sibley.
41
FIRST CONGREGATIONAL, NORTII CIIURCH
The successor of Mr. Hack was the Rev. George Sherman Mills. Services of his ordination and installation were held July 24, 1895. Council consisted of Professor George Harris, D.D., of Andover Seminary; Rev. George A. Mills, of Dennys- ville, Maine, father of the candidate; Rev. Robert G. Harbutt, of Searsport; Rev. F. S. Dolliff, of Jackson; Rev. Rollin Thurman Hack, of Portland; Rev. R. H. Abercrombie, of North Belfast; and Rev. B. A. Lucas, of Sandypoint. The sermon was by Professor Harris; ordaining prayer, by Rev. George A. Mills; charge to pastor, by Mr. Harbutt; hand of fellowship, by Mr. Dolliff; and address to the people, by Mr. Hack.
George Sherman Mills was born in Copake, New York, 24 February, 1868, son of Rev. George A. and Sarah W. Mills; fitted for college at Albany, New York Military Academy, and Schuy- lerville, New York High School; graduated from Dartmouth College in 1890, with degree of A.B. (A.M. in 1892), Phi Beta Kappa; head of English Department, Colgate Academy, Hamil- ton, New York, 1890-93; graduated from Andover Theological Seminary, 1895; called to pastorate of North Church, Belfast, ordained and installed, 24 July, 1895; married Kate Gage Vose, of Calais, Maine, 5 September, 1895; two children, born in Bel- fast, Charles Sherman, 6 April, 1897, and Alice Goodnow, 29 Sep- tember, 1899; resigned pastorate 17 January, 1904, to accept call to Second Congregational Church, Bennington, Vermont, where he still remains (1913).
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
On Tuesday afternoon and evening, December 29, 1896, was held the celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of the organization of the First Congregational Church (now called the North Church) at Belfast, Maine.
The committee in charge of the celebration was as follows: George Sherman Mills, Augustine Oliver Stoddard, James Pat- tee, Augustus Perry, Charles Craig, William Russell Howard, Horatio Palmer Thompson, Ami Cutter Sibley, Mrs. Henry Atherton Starrett, Mrs. Edward Sibley, Mrs. Clarence Osgood Poor, Miss Elizabeth Maltby Pond, Miss Charlotte Thorndike Sibley.
Invitations to be present were widely extended, and the per- fect winter day found the edifice, which had been appropri-
42
HISTORY OF BELFAST
ately decorated with greenery emblematic of the Pine Tree State, crowded at both the afternoon and evening sessions.
The ceremonies of the occasion are fully described, and the addresses given in whole, or in part, in the pamphlet entitled "One Hundredth Anniversary, First Congregational Church, Belfast, Maine, 1796-1896," and printed at the time (1897) by the Belfast Age Publishing Company, Belfast, Maine. The re- miniscences of Augustus Perry, Esq., Belfast's "Grand Old Man," who died December 28, 1912, in his ninety-eighth year, are particularly noteworthy.
The following is the afternoon programme, which was listened to throughout with unabated interest: -
Organ Voluntary
Doxology
Reading of Scripture. Deut. 32: 7-12; Ps. 103.
Rev. F. S. Dolliff
Anthem Quartette
Prayer
Rev. J. G. Merrill
Address: - "Our Church To-day" Rev. George Sherman Mills Hymn No. 885 ("I Love thy Kingdom, Lord")
Reminiscences Mr. Augustus Perry
Greetings: -
Churches of the City Rev. John F. Tilton
Congregational Churches of Waldo County Conference
Rev. Robert G. Harbutt
Other addresses
Letters from absent friends
Hymn No. 339 Stanzas 1, 2, 5, 6 ("Coronation")
In the evening a fine congregation filled the church to listen with an almost breathless interest to the historical address of Rev. George Warren Field, D.D., of Bangor. The order of exer- cises was as follows: -
Organ Voluntary
Anthem: "Praise ye the Father" (Gounod)
Chorus
Responsive Reading - Selections 17 and 21
Prayer Rev. J. P. Cushman
Anthem: "Lovely Appear" - "Redemption" (Gounod) Chorus Historical Address Rev. Geo. Warren Field, D.D. Original Hymn Congregation Benediction
The day closed with the singing of the following hymn, writ- ten by Mrs. Charles (Annie Atherton Starrett) Craig, grand- daughter of Rev. Edward Francis Cutter: -
43
FIRST CONGREGATIONAL, NORTH CHURCH
CENTENNIAL HYMN
(Portuguese Hymn)
"Do this in remembrance of me," said the Christ: Disciples of old heard and heeded the call; And so there was formed the first Church of our Lord, Obedient to Him who is Saviour of all.
And down through the ages Christ's call has been heard, And brave men and true men his word have obeyed.
Oh, thank him to-night for the faith of the past;
Oh, thank him for conquests our fathers have made.
Give thanks for our own Church - a century old, With honor and love we would greet her to-night: A century long she has stood in the world, And striven to show that in Christ is found light.
This past shall now teach us the goodness of God; His manifold mercies let every one sing.
We turn from the past - and the present is here,
Demanding allegiance to Christ our great King.
The past is forever beyond our recall; The present God gives us to use for him still; With love and with loyalty so let us work That each one shall daily be doing his will.
1897. The State Conference of Congregational Churches was held in Belfast this year.
1898. The Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor celebrated its tenth anniversary this year.
At a Sunday-School rally, held on the 15th of October, 1899, letters were read from former pastors and residents. One written by Rev. George Warren Field, of Bangor, gave interesting remi- niscences of the Sunday School of his boyhood days. The follow- ing are extracts: -
I am sorry that owing to absence from the city and other causes I have very little time to comply with the request which has come to me that I would give you some reminiscences regarding your Sabbath School as it used to be in my childhood. I could be more sorry, only I have very few such reminiscences - since a large part of my childhood was passed away from Belfast. But such memories as I do have are of a rather stern and sorrowful kind - such as impress themselves very strongly on the mind of a child and are not easily forgotten by him. The Sunday School of seventy or eighty years ago was not the pleasant and cheerful thing which the Sunday School of to-day is. Our little souls were often
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.