USA > Maine > Waldo County > Belfast > History of the city of Belfast in the state of Maine v.I, 1770-1875 > Part 25
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worship of God which you now exhibit, and consider the order and harmony with which you proceeded in your call to me, and the unabated warmth with which you still persist in wishing for my return, I can no longer hesitate what is duty. I accede, there- fore, to the proposals which you made me, and heartily accept your call, trusting and believing that in thus doing I am acting agreeably to the will of the Lord Jesus Christ, the great head of the Church.
I deeply lament the afflictive Providence which prevents my immediate return to you. But I comfort myself with the stead- fast persuasion that the ways of God are all directed by infinite wisdom and goodness. You may rest assured that my absence from you will be no longer than shall be absolutely necessary.
My Christian brethren and friends, solemn and arduous is the work to which you have called me. It will require all my time and the utmost exertion of my talents; and if by these I can render myself useful to your immortal souls, I shall deem them well bestowed. Yet these will be of no avail without the blessing of God. Even Paul may plant, and Apollos water; but, if God give not the increase, there will be none. To him then let each of us look, and let each of us pray for himself and for each other. I feel, sensibly feel, my own insufficiency. Brethren, pray for me, that I may be more and more fitted for the work in which I am engaged. I shall always bear you on my heart before God, beseeching him through the divine and glorious Mediator to guide and prosper you, and to bestow upon you all sorts of need- ful blessings both for time and for eternity.
The attention and kindness which I received from you while I was with you demand my warm acknowledgments of gratitude. It shall be my endeavor to merit and preserve the same.
I rejoice in that general concord which prevails among you, and I pray God that no root of bitterness may spring up to dis- turb it; but that you may continue to grow in love and harmony till you shall all be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
In the connection which is forming between us, I hope that we shall for a long time taste how good and how pleasant a thing it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. God grant that I may so preach and practise, and that you may so hcar me and profit under my ministration, that when I shall be called to give up an account of my stewardship, and you to answer individually for
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yourselves, I may present you to the great Bishop of souls with- out spot or wrinkle or any such thing. Amen.
Your servant in the Lord,
WILLIAM FROTHINGHAM.
Mr. Frothingham was publicly installed July 21, 1819. The Sermon on the occasion was delivered by the Rev. Ezra Ripley, D.D., of Concord, Mass .; the Charge by the Rev. John Allyn, D.D., of Duxbury, Mass. ; the Address to the People by the Rev. Heze- kiah Packard, D.D., of Wiscasset; and the Right Hand of Fellow- ship by the Rev. Silas Warren, of Jackson.1
REV. WILLIAM FROTHINGHAM.
. William Frothingham, a son of William and Mary (Leathers) Frothingham, was born in Cambridge, Mass., March 14, 1777. His parents died when he was quite young, and he passed his early years chiefly under the care of his paternal grandparents, who lived in his native place. He entered Harvard College in 1795, and graduated in 1799, being contemporary with Channing, Buckminster, Tuckerman, Nichols, and other distinguished Uni- tarian clergymen. During his college life he cultivated the muses, and on two occasions was called to deliver poems in public. After graduating, he kept school successively at Lexington, Watertown, and Hingham, Mass., and at Bluehill and Belfast. After prosecuting his theological studies, probably in part, at least, under Dr. Tappan, then Professor of Divinity, he was licensed to preach by "The Association of Ministers in and about Cam- bridge," June 9, 1801. In 1804, he was married to Lois Barrett, of Concord, and on the 26th of September of the same year was ordained pastor of the church in Saugus, Mass. In that place he struggled with the difficulties of an incompetent support for more than twelve years, when he felt constrained to resign his pastoral charge. His first acquaintance with Belfast was made as a mis- sionary in the neighborhood, under the auspices of the Evangelical Missionary Society.
On the 12th of August following the installation of Mr. Froth- ingham, a new church was gathered in the parish, consisting of eight members, including its pastor, to whom were afterwards added, during the twenty-seven years of his ministry, ninety-four ;
1 At the request of a committee, headed by Bohan P. Field, the sermon and other exercises were published in pamphlet form.
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making in all a hundred and two who became members during that period. He had a peaceful and successful ministry. After his pastoral connection with the society was dissolved in 1846, in consequence of the state of his health, as hereafter stated. he con- tinued to supply the pulpit, as far as he was able, till the following spring. His last sermon was preached April 4, 1847. He pre- pared a discourse for the Fast day which occurred during the en- suing week, but was too feeble to deliver it ; and was never able, during the remaining years of his life, to take part in the public exercises of religion. The faculties of his mind, however. remained unimpaired ; and he took constant pleasure in his favorite occupa- tion of reading. The enjoyment he derived from this source, to- gether with his Christian equanimity and patience. gave to the retirement of his last days a serene and tranquil aspect. He died on the 24th of June, 1852, aged seventy-five years. Funeral services took place on the following Sabbath at the church, which was decorated with emblems of mourning. An impressive discourse was delivered on the occasion by the Rev. Cazneau Palfrey.
By his first marriage, Mr. Frothingham had four children. - one son and three daughters, of whom one daughter only is now living. In 1821, he was married to Lydia, daughter of Rev. Caleb Prentiss, of Reading, Mass. By this marriage there were two sons and two daughters, of whom the daughters alone survive.
The tendency of Mr. Frothingham's mind was to historical and literary rather than to philosophical studies. He loved to talk of facts and of books better than to discuss principles, and preferred to select from his extensive reading such opinions as seemed to him most rational and well founded, instead of advancing new or startling theories. Yet he was no mere conservative. He did not fear to quote from Goethe, in his best discourses. The size of his library, large compared with his means, was a proof of his love of books. The carefulness with which its selection had been made showed his catholic taste. His conversation indicated the diligence with which he had read, and the faithfulness with which his memory had retained the results of his reading. In the days of his activity, he was a man of great industry, methodical in all his arrange- ments, and conscientious in the application of all his energies to the work before him. A constitutional diffidence kept himn aloof from social intercourse. more than his people sometimes desired ; but they knew that it proceeded from no deficiency of feeling or
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want of interest in them. Neither, on his part, did it check the sallies of a genial humor,1 of which a pleasant remembrance is still preserved ; nor on theirs did it prevent the formation of a solid attachment.
The sermons of Mr. Frothingham were practical. He sought to strengthen the religious faith of his hearers, and not to suggest doubts. In a clear and elevated style, formed after the models of those excellent masters of English composition which were constantly in his hand, he aimed to explain and illustrate the com- fortable truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. His sermons, though not set forth with imposing oratory, attracted and re- warded attention. They were characterized by great variety, both in the selection of subjects and in the methods by which they were illustrated. They were listened to with interest, and faithfully remembered. He did not confine his efforts to the limits of his own parish and the immediate duties of his minis- terial office. He was ever ready to do good, as opportunity offered, in the community in which he dwelt. At the period when ministers in this region were few and wide apart, he cheer- fully answered the calls that were frequently made upon him, to go to a distance from home to render ministerial services, assuming a duty, which could be claimed of him only on the general ground of obligation to do good to all men as the opportunity offered. He was prompt to encourage and assist all enterprises for pro- moting the moral, social, and intellectual improvement of the town. When popular lectures were, many years ago, introduced here, he was among the first to engage in that service. He labored long and assiduously in that humble but really important
1 An illustrative anecdote is given by an old parishioner. Soon after the separ- ation of Maine from the parent Commonwealth, a person holding different theological views from Mr. Frothingham attempted in a public place to elicit his opinion upon the then much discussed doctrine of total depravity. "Oh, Mr. Frothingham," he re- marked, " do we not live in a dreadful state ?" Not recognizing any propriety in the occasion or inquiry, the latter quietly replied, "I am not aware that it is a worse state than Massachusetts."
That Mr. Frothingham had not entirely renounced the muses, after his settlement here, is evinced by the following marriage notice, communicated by him in 1821 to the Gazette.
"Married in this town, hy Rev. William Frothingham, Mr. Alexander Clark, aged 75, to Miss Anna Cain, aged 25.
"Haply some envious wag may say, This is December wedding May ; But 'tis most natural, we maintain, That age should lean upon a cane."
William Frothingham.
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sphere of usefulness, the school committee, and freely gave his time and efforts and thoughts to the duties of that sphere, when those labors were purely labors of love, unrequited by any other compensation than the consciousness of having done good. And he bequeathed to his people the legacy of his example, the in- fluence of his long, consistent, blameless life. During his settle- ment, he saw the little village grow up around him into a large town, and a whole generation came and passed away. The breath even of polemical censure has never touched his character: one uniform testimony is borne to the purity and excellence of his life. His memory is universally cherished with respect and love.
In stature, Mr. Frothingham was somewhat below the average height. His complexion was light, and his eyes of a clear blue. In his latter years, especially, his appearance was in the highest degree venerable and impressive. Still, at times, the gracious countenance gave indication of that quiet sense of humor which was native to him, and in which he occasionally indulged.1 The heliotype given herewith is reduced from a portrait, painted about 1830. A lithograph, taken in 1842 from a drawing, was not re- garded as a good likeness.
Soon after his settlement here, he purchased a portion of the James Miller farm, extending from High Street to the shore, then beyond the outskirts of the village. This he diligently cultivated for many years, and lived to see it come into demand for building lots, as the town increased. The house which he so long occu- pied, and with it the larger share of his library, were destroyed in the great fire of 1873. An engraving of this house, as it appeared in his lifetime, is given in another chapter.
In the early part of the present century, many of the Orthodox Congregational Churches of New England began to be indoctri- nated with Unitarian sentiments, although controversy upon the subject was seldom introduced into the pulpit. Many, having ceased to hear the doctrine of a Triune God maintained, embraced that of the Unity, often without any distinct consciousness of the fact.2 At the time of Mr. Frothingham's installation, a sharp and distinct line between the two parties was beginning to be drawn, and the question came up of the rights of churches and parishes in the settlement of a minister. Although the Church had joined in
1 Sprague's Annals of the American Pulpit, 8, 357. Funeral Discourse by Rev. Caz- neau Palfrey.
2 Rev. Dr. Lamson, in Unitarian Tracts, First Series, No. 202.
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extending a call to Mr. Frothingham, most of its members were not satisfied with his views upon the Trinity, and separated from the Parish, taking no part in the exercises of installation. The seceders formed a new religious society, under the name of "The Congregational Society associated with the First Church in Bel- fast."1 A new church in connection with the old or first parish was organized Sept. 19, 1819.
Notwithstanding the withdrawal of many persons from the first parish, it maintained a vigorous growth. Mr. Frothing- ham's salary, originally six hundred dollars, was subsequently increased. He adhered closely to the old Congregational polity and forms of worship. For several years after his settlement, the "Thursday lecture "2 was regularly maintained by him. In 1822, a committee was appointed by the parish, "to ascertain the expense of a sounding-board,8 by which to aid the speaker." No report appears to have been made. A bass-viol, or violoncello, was the first musical instrument used, being played upon by William Moody, and from 1822 to 1835 by William Quimby.4 In May, 1835, an organ was contracted for in Newburyport, but was lost on the passage.5 A second one was purchased of Henry Urban, of Boston, at an expense of seven hundred and ten dollars, raised by subscription, and was first used in July of the same year. In 1848, it gave place to the present one, which was made by George Stevens, of Boston, and cost thirteen hundred dollars, the old instrument selling for four hundred dollars. Watts's Selection was the first hymn-book used in the new meeting-house. "Sacred Poetry, selected by the Rev. Jeremy Belknap, D.D.," was intro- duced in 1821. It was superseded in 1840 by the Cambridge Selection of Hymns and Psalms, compiled by the Rev. J. P. Dab- ney. This gave place in 1848 to " Christian Hymns." The book now used succeeded it in 1868. Vocal music was afforded by
1 Parish records.
2 The Thursday Lecture was established in 1633 by Rev. John Cotton, the first minister of Boston, and with some intermissions has been kept up until the present generation. Drake's Hist. of Boston, 167.
3 This is a board or structure suspended over the pulpit, to diffuse the sound of the speaker's voice through the church.
4 William Quinby.
5 The schooner "New Packet," in which the organ was shipped, went ashore, June 5th, at Franklin Island, near the mouth of Penobscot Bay, and became a total loss. The crew and passengers reached the shore with difficulty. Among the latter was Colonel James W. Webster. The organ was not to be paid for until delivery. Journal.
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select choirs until 1864, since which congregational singing has been substituted.1
1 The thirtieth anniversary of Colonel James W. Webster's connection with the choir was observed on the evening of Feb. 6, 1852, by presenting him with a silver pitcher, the gift of the members of the Society, at the vestry, in the presence of a large andience. The presentation address was made by the Rev. Caznean Palfrey.
Addressing Colonel Webster, Mr. Palfrey remarked that he had taken upon himself, with the deepest pleasure, the duty assigned by the Society, of becoming their agent in making a formal avowal of their appreciation of his services; and the more cheerfully did he act in that capacity, since he most heartily and sincerely shared in those feelings which had prompted the present demonstration. For thirty years, Colonel Webster had generously and faithfully labored to supply the Society with music, and had suc- ceeded most happily. To his exertions was in a great measure to be attributed the development of the fine musical powers of many of his associates in the choir. Mr. P., here, paid some well-deserved compliments to Misses Pauline M. and Caroline E. Web- ster, and to Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Frederick.
Mr. Palfrey said that, on attending church in other places, and in many where facil- ities for acquiring musical skill were far superior to those in our own vicinity, he re- curred with pleasure to the sweet strains of his own choir that lingered in his memory, and felt proud in the belief that he had not heard them equalled. Many members of the Society had shared these feelings, and many strangers who had listened to this music had echoed similar sentiments.
The beautiful pitcher which he was now about to present, in behalf of the donors, was a sincere tribute to Colonel Webster's services and abilities, and the speaker hoped that he might long live to enjoy their esteem and respect.
Colonel Webster listened with much emotion to Mr. Palfrey's address, and, laboring under the varied feelings that would naturally arise in a high and sensitive mind, re- plied nearly as follows : -
To say that he did not deeply and sensibly feel the motives that had induced the present occasion would be a slander to the emotions pent up within his bosom, and would exhibit an ingratitude, and a want of appreciation of the respect of his fellow parishioners, that were foreign to his heart. Thirty years was a long time in expec- tancy, but in the realization it was nothing. He had experienced all the emotions pecul- iar to the one and the other ; and as he stood here reviewing the past, particularly as connected with the Unitarian choir, he could scarcely control his feelings. It is true that, in reviewing the past, much that was pleasurable would arise, yet a tinge of melan- choly pervaded the whole. He stood, as it were, the sole monument of the happy com- munion of kindred spirits now departed; and on the present occasion he could not but look back through tearful eyes.
His first connection with the choir dated back to 1822. Then, the leading soprano was Miss Eliza Watson ; tenor chorister, William Moody, Esq. ; the leader of the bass, Dr. Herman Abbot. These were the foremost members at that time, and they were now all dead. With them were associated Miss Caroline Frothingham, Miss Mary Elizabeth Moody, and Dr. Hollis Monroe. Immediately succeeding this choir, some six months after, Mr. Isaac Dunham was chosen chorister. Mr. Moody then returned to his violin, and was assisted by Dr. J. P. Alden, Messrs. Job White, H. N. Palmer, and Wm. Quimby, the latter playing the violoncello. At this time, James White, Esq., was leader of the bass, Miss Grace Ulmer leader of the soprano, and Miss Alice Towle of the alto. Subsequently, in 1825, Mr. Oliver A. Washburn, now of Bridgewater, was elected chorister ; and under his superintendence the choir remained, as previously organized, until 1827, when he (Col. W.) was elected chorister, in which position he had remained until the present time, with the exception of a few months in 1841, when
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In 1836, the parish gave permission to place a town clock in the steeple. The church was heated with coal in 1837. As the he was prevented hy sickness from attending to his duties, and amid all the changes that had transpired during that period had never left his post.
The choir, during this period of his superintendence, had been graced by numerous superior and distinguished singers, among whom, until the year 1842, in the female department, were Mrs. J. P. Alden, Mrs. Hannab Cushman, Miss Sarah E. Whittier, and Miss Harriet S. Osborn; in the male department, Messrs. H. N. Lancaster, T. H. Greeley, W. O. Poor, Joseph Wheeler, and Albert Bingham, Esq. From 1843 to the present time, the choir, for the most part, had been composed of his daughters, Pauline as first soprano, and Caroline as alto, Mrs. W. H. Dutton, and more recently Miss Mary L. Hanson. The bass had been ably sustained by Mr. J. W. Frederick, and lately by Mr. Charles R. Thombs.
In 1835, an organ was purchased by the Society, and was played the first year by Mr. Frederick N. Palmer; subsequently, for four years, hy Miss Anrelia A. Quimby ; then, by Mr. A. H. Townley till 1843, when Miss Martha A. Bradbury, then but six- teen years of age, assumed the responsible station, the duties of which she had admira - bly performed until within two months, when she committed her trust to Miss Caroline E. Webster.
From 1823 to 1835, the choir had been assisted by many occasional members, among whom were Major P. R. Hazeltine, Messrs. James P. White, Sherburne Sleeper, E. T. Morrill, Daniel Haraden, and Albert G. Jewett, Esq .; and, among the ladies, Misses Mary Palmer, Eunice E. Edmunds, Eliza and Susan S. Kimball, and others who do not now recur to memory. From 1835 to 1843, the choir was assisted by many different per- sons, among the most prominent of whom were Mrs. Kendall, Miss Elizabeth Bean, and Miss Caroline Sleeper, who in 1842 took a place in the choir, and held it until the time of her death. Since 1843, the choir has been aided by the assistance of Misses Mary A. and Susan J. White, the Misses Wetherbee, and more recently by Mrs. Thomas W. Huse, Mrs. L. W. Howes, Miss Sarah Howes, Miss Lucy M. Hanson, Mr. Franklin B. Frederick, and some others.
Col. W. concluded by remarking that he should receive the elegant gift with feel- ings of the most profound gratitude. He believed it was a sincere token of esteem, and he should ever prize it as such ; for, although valuable in itself, it was this which gave it its principal value to him. The present was to him a proud and happy moment: he could not do justice to the emotions that thronged his breast hy any expression he might utter ; he could not better proclaim his feelings than by pronouncing from the depths of his heart a simple, yet fervid, "I thank you."
Upon the suggestion of Mr. Palfrey, the venerable tune of Old Hundred was sung by the audience, which afterwards retired.
The pitcher is of large size, of the purest silver, antique in style, and beautifully orna- mented with richly embossed grape-vines, on each side and on the handle, loaded with fruit.
In front, on a plain surface, is the following inscription, engraved in the best style of art: -
PRESENTED TO COL. JAMES W. WEBSTER, BY THE Members of the First Congregational Society ( Unitarian) IN BELFAST, As a Testimonial of his Voluntary Services as LEADER OF THE CHOIR For the last Thirty Years. January 1st, 1852. State Signal.
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use of that article of fuel had not become common, a quantity was procured specially for the purpose, and brought from Boston in the packet " Comet." For a few years after the church was occu- pied, no means of warming it existed ; and old residents remember that in the winter Mr. Frothingham frequently preached in mittens. A vote of the parish, in 1843, authorized the use of the land in the rear of the church for a vestry, by any one who would erect it ; and Oakes Angier at his own expense built the edifice, which in 1859 was removed to Bridge Street, and has since been occupied as a school-house. For several months after its comple- tion, Sunday evening services, which were maintained during the revival season of 1843, in private houses, were held there. Dur- ing the same year, the church was for the first time carpeted, and the pews painted.
After a ministry of twenty-seven years, age and increasing infirmities compelled the Rev. Mr. Frothingham to ask his dis- missal. In acceding to this request, on the fifth day of June, 1846, the Parish adopted the following resolves : -
Whereas, the Rev. William Frothingham having signified a desire that his ministerial relation to this Parish should be dis- solved :
Resolved, That his long-continued and laborious services in our behalf require at our hands a prompt and ready compliance with his request, and that therefore the relation existing between us at this time shall terminate at the close of the present parochial year.
Resolved, That the untiring fidelity with which he has for so long a time discharged his duty as our spiritual adviser and guide merits and receives our unfeigned gratitude and thanks ; and that, although the relation between us of Pastor and flock may ter- minate, we are happy to tender to him the assurance that he still retains our undiminished friendship and esteem.
Resolved, That it is our united prayer to that Being whom he has so long taught us to love and obey, through Jesus Christ whose faithful minister he has so long been to us, that the evening of his life may be as calm, peaceful, and happy as in the provi- dence of God ever follows " a life well spent." 1
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