USA > Maine > Waldo County > Belfast > History of the city of Belfast in the state of Maine v.I, 1770-1875 > Part 28
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 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88
.
295
BAPTIST CHURCH AND SOCIETY.
provided, however, that in every case of secession every such person shall be held to pay his or her proportion of all parish or society assessments, or other charges in the society from which such person has seceded, being assessed and not paid previous to leaving such society.
SEC. 4. Be it further enacted, That Thomas Whittier, Esq., or either of the justices of the peace, for the county of Hancock, upon application therefor, is hereby authorized to issue a warrant, directed to some one of the members of the said First Baptist Society, requiring him to notify and warn the members thereof to meet at such convenient time and place as shall be expressed in the said warrant, for the choice of such officers. as religious socie- ties are by law empowered to choose at their annual meeting of the parish or society.
In the House of Representatives, Feb. 16, 1811. This Bill, having had three several readings, passed to be enacted.
JOSEPH STORY, Speaker.
In Senate, Feb. 19, 1811. This Bill, having had two several readings, passed to be enacted. H. G. OTIS, Pres.ª
Council Chamber, 21st February, 1811. Approved.
E. GERRY.
Having no regular place for worship, and only occasional preaching, the church remained for several years almost stationary. In 1820, an ecclesiastical council was convened, of which Elder Job Cushman was moderator, and voted that " the church had lost its visibility." A new church was thereupon formed, with seventeen members.1 The records commence April 13, 1820, and continue unbroken to the present time. Elder John Wagg 2 had been preaching here, and remained about two years, until Dec. 25, 1820, when he was dismissed at his own request. His successor was Elder Joshua Eveleth,8 " under whose labors the church en- joyed a pleasing prosperity." Up to this time, meetings were
1 The original members under this organization were John Wagg, John Wagg, Jr., John Clark, James Wagg, John Gilmore, 2d, Daniel McDonald, William Dwelly, George P. Day, John Banks, Edward Wight, Archibald York, Arvida Hayford, Susannah Wagg, Nancy Wagg, Hannah Wagg, Experience Grinnell, and Susannah Davis. John Clark and John Wagg, Jr., were chosen deacons, and John Clark clerk.
2 Elder Wagg died in Hallowell, June 14, 1832, aged sixty-four.
8 He died in Worcester, Mass., in 1829.
296
HISTORY OF BELFAST.
held in the school-houses on each side of the river, but during the summer of 1822 the old west meeting-house was purchased by the society ; and, being removed to Bridge Street, where the house built by the late Benjamin Brown now stands, was converted into a convenient place of public worship. The expense was defrayed by a sale of the pews, which took place Aug. 31, 1822, and by voluntary subscriptions. Mr. Brown purchased the house sixteen years afterwards, and converted it into a stable, for which purpose it is now used.
Elder Noah Hooper, who had been settled at Lisbon, succeeded Mr. Eveleth. His ministry continued from Feb. 6, 1826, to Aug. 11, 1827. For ten years after its close, the church was without a regular pastor. During this period, they were assisted by Elder John Hull,1 of Sydney, N.S., from 1827 to 1829; by Elder John S. White, for a short time in 1831; by Elder Horace Seaver, of Freeport, from Jan. 27, 1832, to April 6, 1833 ; and by Elder H. Kendall in the winters of 1833 and 1834. Elder William Day was employed from Oct. 13, 1835, at the rate of three hundred dollars per year : he remained until June, 1837.
In 1830, when the cause of temperance was beginning to be agitated throughout the country, the church unanimously voted " that it is not consistent with gospel rules to hold a brother in fellowship who is engaged in and persists in dealing out spirituous liquors to his fellow-creatures."
Under the good influences of Elders Day and Kendall, the society increased in numbers and in prosperity. The necessity of a larger place of worship was felt, and in 1836 measures for building a new meeting-house were undertaken. James McCrillis, Philip Gilkey, and Robert Coombs, a committee ap- pointed to select a site, purchased of James and Samuel B. Miller, for $250, the lot where the church now stands, containing one quarter of an acre.
A contract having been made with Calvin Ryder, now an architect in Cambridge, Mass., the frame of the new structure was raised July 17, 1837. On the 17th of November fol- lowing the bell arrived, and on the 20th of December the house was dedicated. The dedicatory services were as follows : Invocation by Rev. Stephen Thurston, of Prospect; Sermon
' Elder Hull died in Livermore, Sept. 16, 1829, aged thirty-one.
297
BAPTIST CHURCH AND SOCIETY.
by Rev. Samuel F. Smith, of Waterville; Reading of the Scriptures by Rev. William Frothingham; Prayer by Rev. Silas McKeen ; Benediction by Rev. J. C. Aspenwall, all of Bel-
BAPTIST CHURCH. BUILT 1837, REMODELLED 1869.
fast. On the following Saturday, the pews were disposed of at public auction. They had been appraised and marked at their estimated value : the first choice sold for about forty dollars. The vestry, in the basement of the church, was not completed until the following year.
In April, 1838, the Rev. Sylvanus G. Sargent, a graduate of Waterville College in the class of 1834, accepted a call to become pastor of the society, at a salary of $400, and was publicly or- dained June 13, 1838. The exercises on the occasion were as follows: Invocation by Rev. Amariah Kalloch, of Thomaston ; Sermon by Rev. James Gilpatrick, of Bluehill ; Right Hand of Fellowship by Rev. J. W. Sargent; Charge by Rev. Mr. Kalloch.
In 1839, the church voted to accept a constitution for a tem- perance organization, to be called the Baptist Church Temperance Society, and chose Deacon James McCrillis president.
298
HISTORY OF BELFAST.
In August, 1840, it was voted that the request for a branch church in the eastern part of the town, which is now comprised in the limits of Searsport, be granted ; and forty members were dismissed for that purpose. Philip Gilkey, Jr., was chosen deacon of the new organization, and Ebenezer Whitcomb clerk. The Rev. Charles G. Porter, a licentiate of the church in Calais, preached during the winter of 1840, and until the close of 1841.
Mr. Sargent requested and received a dismissal in 1844. " Under his labors," remarks the author of the History of Baptists in Maine, "the church had many refreshing seasons. In 1840, a very pleasing revival was enjoyed, and three years after a still more general work." The number of communicants, after the branch church separated, was one hundred and seventy- four.
Consequent to the contemplated annexation of Texas, the slavery question assumed a prominent subject of discussion in 1845. On the 1st of February of that year, the church passed the following resolution : --
Resolved, That we, the members of the First Baptist Church in Belfast, deem it inconsistent with our Christian duty to aid in sending slaveholders as religious teachers to enlighten the heathen.
The Rev. Edward D. Very succeeded Mr. Sargent, his pastorate commencing in July, 1845, and terminating at the close of the following year. He was a native of Salem, Mass., and graduated at Dartmouth College in 1837. He studied divinity, and was first settled in Salem. After leaving here, he took charge of a church at Portland, N. B., editing at the same time a religious newspaper at St. John. On the 8th of June, 1852, while on his return from an excursion to Cape Blomidon, where he had been with Professor Chipman and four students of Acadia College, for the purpose of obtaining minerals, their boat was swamped in the Bay of Fundy, and all of the party were drowned, ex- cept one boatman. Mr. Very was thirty-eight years of age, and married.
The Rev. Joseph Ricker, a graduate of Waterville College in the class of 1839, succeeded Mr. Very, and remained until January, 1853, when he accepted a call from Woburn, Mass. He afterwards returned to Maine, and now resides in Augusta. The honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred on him by his Alma Mater in 1868. During the pastorate of Mr. Ricker, the church
299
BAPTIST CHURCH AND SOCIETY.
obtained a new communion service, and voted to give the old set to the church in Patten.
The Maine Baptist Convention commenced an annual session of three days with the church here, on the 15th of June, 1852. The attendance was large, more than one hundred clergymen being present. The Rev. Samuel Cole, of Beverly, was ordained pastor of the church, July 27, 1853, with the following order of exercises : 1. Invocation by Rev. A. Dunbar, of Knox ; 2. Sing- ing ; 3. Reading of Scripture ; 4. Prayer by Rev. S. W. Avery, of Searsport ; 5. Singing; 6. Sermon by Rev. E. B. Eddy, of Beverly, Mass .; 7. Ordaining Prayer by Rev. W. O. Thomas, of Rockland ; 8. Hand of Fellowship by Rev. I. S. Kalloch, of Rockland ; 9. Charge to Candidate by Rev. S. L. Caldwell, of Bangor ; 10. Address to Church and Congregation by Rev. C. G. Porter, of Bangor ; 11. Closing Prayer; 12. Anthem ; 13. Benediction.
Mr. Cole graduated at Waterville College in 1850, and pursned a theological course at Rochester, N. Y. On the 11th of No- vember, 1854, he died of typhoid fever, after a sickness of four weeks, at his father's house in Beverly. The duties of his pastorate here were discharged with acceptance and fidelity, and by his untimely death, not only the church, but the community, sustained a great loss. By request of his parishioners, a sermon appropriate to the event was preached by Rev. Isaac S. Kalloch, of Rockland, on the 17th of December.
For a year following the death of Mr. Cole, no regular preaching was maintained. When ministers from abroad were not in town, sermons were read on the Sabbath by different laymen.
The Rev. Cyrus Tibbetts, of Farmington, labored here during the year 1856, on a salary of $800. Receiving a call to Plaistow, N. H., he was succeeded by Rev. Eli Dewhurst, of Hampden, who remained from March, 1857, to March, 1859. The Rev. William Read, from Raynham, Mass., occupied the pulpit during 1860, and the Rev. Harvey Hawes 1 during a portion of 1862.
The Rev. Winslow O. Thomas, an energetic, practical man, commenced his labors as pastor in May, 1864, and continued until June, 1872, when he was forced to ask a dismissal on account of ill-health. He is now settled over the Baptist Church in Gardiner. Through his persevering efforts, the society renovated
1 Mr. Hawes removed to Monmouth, where he died of heart disease, Sept. 26, 1868.
300
HISTORY OF BELFAST.
their church edifice, in 1869-70. The building was raised suffi- ciently to allow a basement of about twelve feet in height, which contains a large lecture room, also a pastor's room and small vestry. A front projection affords room for the main entrance, from each side of which stairs lead to the auditorium. Upon this projection rests the spire, one hundred and fifty-nine feet high, surmounted by a cross. The auditorium contains seventy-two pews. The front of the building is finished in block-work, and
BAPTIST CHURCH. REMODELLED 1870.
the whole structure is an ornament to the city. The cost of the modification was about $6,000. On the 2d of October, 1872, the bell, which for so many years had done service, was sold to a society in Dexter, and removed. One of larger size and of finer tone is to take its place. The auditorium was not completed until after the other repairs were made, services being held mean- while in the lecture room. On Tuesday, June 24, 1873, the church was rededicated to the worship of God by the following exercises : 1. Invocation, Rev. O. R. Hunt ; 2. Anthem ; 3. Read- ing Scriptures, Rev. S. G. Sargent ; 4. Introductory Prayer, Rev.
301
BAPTIST CHURCH AND SOCIETY.
F. B. Robinson; 5. Hymn; 6. Sermon, Rev. J. Ricker, D.D .; 7. Original Hymn, W. O. Thomas; 8. Dedicatory Prayer, Rev. W. O. Thomas ; 9. Anthem ; 10. Benediction, Rev. F. S. Fish.
Since the resignation of Mr. Thomas, the pulpit has been supplied by the Rev. F. S. Fish, the Rev. H. W. Tilden, now of Augusta, and others.
·
302
HISTORY OF BELFAST.
CHAPTER XX.
METHODIST CHURCH AND SOCIETY.
Methodism in Maine. - Elder Jesse Lee. - First Methodist Sermon in Belfast. - Rev. Joshua Hall. - His Extensive Circuit. - Persecutions. - Class formed by Rev. John Williamson. - School-house refused for Meetings. - Robert Miller becomes dis- affected. - Rev. Gershom F. Cox. - The Chapel. - Description. - Centenary Meeting. - Revival. - First Donation Party. - Division of the Conference. - Camp- meetings. - New Church. - Corner-stone laid. - Exercises. - Efforts of Rev. William J. Wilson. - Vestry finished. - Church completed. - Dedication. - Description. - Engraving. - Melodeon. - Session of the Conference. - Bell pre- sented by Hon. Jacob Sleeper. - Second Session of the Conference. - List of Preach- ers from 1795 to 1875.
M ETHODISM acquired a foothold in Maine during 1794, when Elder Jesse Lee, of Virginia, who has been called the apostle of the sect, made an eastern tour of several months, "surveying the region of the coast from Portsmouth to Castine." 1 The first Methodist sermon preached here was by the Rev. Joshua Hall, in August, 1795, in the James Miller house.2 Mr. Hall was the third preacher sent to the district, and the first who labored on the Penobscot, after Lee. There were then two church members only in all this region ; viz., Abner Curtis and wife, of Bucksport, who came from the British provinces.3 The circuit of Mr. Hall extended from Union to Orono. His first visit here was from Lincolnville, through a path designated by spotted trees ; and on his way to Bucksport his horse reached the opposite side of the river by swimming. His Sabbath appoint- ments were Hampden, Orrington, Buckstown (Bucksport), Frank- fort, Belfast, and Union, each of which he visited once in six weeks. Bangor and other towns on his extensive route were supplied by lectures on week-days. People went in canoes or boats from ten to twenty miles to hear him. Not a single horse except his was then owned on the Penobscot.+
1 Stevens's Memorials of Methodism, 225.
2 Locke's Sketches.
8 Stevens's Mem. 308.
4 Communication of Henry Little, in "Bangor Jeffersonian," Nov. 23, 1852. Father Hall was horn in Lewistown, Del., Oct. 22, 1768, and died at Frankfort, Dec. 25, 1862,
303
METHODIST CHURCH AND SOCIETY.
The denomination made slow progress in this vicinity. Meeting with constant persecutions 1 and contending with the traditional theology of New England, many years elapsed before it assumed the confidence or certainty of permanent success. Although itinerant ministers and missionaries continued to visit Belfast, no efforts towards establishing a church were made until 1809, when the Rev. John Williamson, a preacher stationed at Union, formed a class, of which Robert Miller became the leader. Meetings were at first held in the village school-house, until its use was refused by a vote of the district. The houses of Miller and of Robert Patterson were then used. Miller appears to have been the most influential and liberal member of the society ; but in 1821, in consequence of an injudicious sermon of the Rev. Ben- jamin Jones, urging him to sell all that he had for the benefit of the church, he became disaffected, and withdrew.
In 1821, the society received a new impulse from the exertions of Gershom F. Cox,2 who came here from Hallowell, and kept an apothecary store in a building at the corner of High and Market Streets. He was an influential speaker, and, in the absence of the regular circuit preacher, conducted services in the school-house, which, having been granted to the Baptists for religious exercises, was no longer denied to the Methodists. Meetings were also held in the house of Josiah Bean. Through the efforts of Mr. Cox, aided by those of William Durham (who gave the land), Jacob Sleeper, now of Boston, Ziba Hall, William Beckett, and Peter Winslow, the chapel, at the corner of Miller and Cross Streets, was erected in 1823, at an expense of thirteen hundred dollars. Dedicatory exercises took place the same year, a sermon being preached by Rev. S. Lovell, from Isaiah Ix. 7 : " I will glorify the house of my glory." The edifice was about forty feet long by thirty in width, and was two stories high. A gallery extended
aged ninety-four. He occupied several public stations, and in 1830, while president of the Maine Senate, for a few days acted as Governor. At the Fort Point centennial cele- bration in 1859, he officiated as president, and made an effective prayer. It is believed that he preached longer than any other minister of the denomination in the country, having commenced itinerant service when only nineteen years old.
1 In 1800, " one of its hardy lahorers, the devoted Joshua Taylor, was mobbed and drummed with tin kettles out of Castine." Stevens's Mem. (Second Series), 14.
2 Mr. Cox continued to occasionally supply the pulpit of the chapel until his removal from here in 1826. In 1824, he had a religious controversy with Rev. William A. Drew, the Universalist minister. Each preached a sermon from the same text to large audiences. Mr. Cox entered the ministry in 1830, and became quite a noted member of the Massachusetts Conference.
304
HISTORY OF BELFAST.
around three sides, and the pulpit stood between the two exterior doors. The pews were of the old-fashioned style, with doors and high backs. In 1843, during the ministry of Rev. Theodore Hill, the interior was modernized. After the occupation of the new church, the chapel was converted into a dwelling-house, and perished in the great fire of 1873. Another dwelling-house now stands upon its site.
On the 25th of October, 1839, a centenary meeting was held in the chapel, commencing at sunrise, and continuing during the day.
In January, 1843, an extensive religious revival commenced in the church, and extended to all the societies here. Prayer and conference meetings were held in the chapel every evening for several months, and an universal solemnity pervaded all classes of the community.
On the 23d of March, 1843, the first donation party to a minister, ever given here, took place at the house of Rev. Theo- dore Hill, pastor of the society.
Upon the division of the Maine Conference in 1848, the churches on the Penobscot belonging to the East Maine Confer- ence adopted measures for an annual camp-meeting, which was held that year in Islesboro'. In September, 1849, the grove in Northport was first occupied for the purpose.
In 1851, the project of a new church was first seriously agi- tated, but with no result except to obtain the refusal of a lot. The sum of twenty-four hundred dollars was subscribed soon after. In 1858, by the perseverance of Rev. William J. Wilson, a suffi- cient amount to warrant the commencement of operations having been secured, ground was formally broken on the morning of June 15. On the afternoon of August 25, the south-easterly corner-stone of the present edifice was laid with appropriate cere- monies. A cavity prepared for the purpose received a tin box, eight inches square by four deep, containing the following arti- cles : Methodist hymn-book, Bible, church reports, copies of the local and other newspapers ; a historical sketch of the Methodist church in Belfast, prepared by John L. Locke ; and several miscel- laneous pamphlets. The exercises were conducted according to the ritual, by the Rev. F. A. Soule, presiding elder of the dis. trict. Owing to the intense heat, an address from the Rev. Ben- jamin F. Tefft, D.D., was postponed until evening, when it was delivered in the Unitarian Church. A History of Methodism in Belfast, written and read by Mr. John L. Locke, followed.
305
METHODIST CHURCH AND SOCIETY.
Through the indefatigable efforts of Mr. Wilson, who himself performed manual labor, the walls were soon raised and covered. An unexpected pecuniary gift from the Hon. Jacob Sleeper, of Boston, and the proceeds of a levee, furnished material aid. At the camp-meeting, Mr. Wilson solicited assistance at every tent, cordially receiving even the smallest mite with the remark that each cent given would purchase a brick.1 On the last day of the year 1858, the vestry, in the basement, a room sixty feet by forty- eight, was completed and dedicated. The sermon was preached from Hebrews x. 23-25, by Rev. F. A. Soule. A watch meeting took place in the evening.
The church was completed during the following year, and dedi- cated on the 11th of October, by a sermon from John xvii. 17,
METHODIST CHURCH. ERECTED 1858.
by the Rev. E. O. Haven, D.D., of Boston. In the afternoon, thirty-five pews were sold. The highest price paid was $187. The cost of the church edifice was $9,800.2
1 Rev. John L. Locke. At the close of the labors of Mr. Wilson here, in 1859, he received a pecuniary testimonial to his success in securing the erection of the church.
2 Progressive Age, in which the dedicatory sermon is published.
20
306
HISTORY OF BELFAST.
The edifice is handsome in appearance, and is substantially con- structed. Its dimensions are : length, eighty-five feet; width, fifty feet ; height of spire from the ground, one hundred and fifty-eight feet. There are eighty pews.
A melodeon, costing one hundred and fifty dollars, was placed in the church the year after its completion.
On the 12th of April, 1860, the East Maine Conference assem- bled here. Bishop Jones presided. About one hundred clergy- men were present.
In 1869, the Hon. Jacob Sleeper increased the debt of gratitude from the society, by presenting a fine toned bell,1 weighing fifteen hundred and one pounds, manufactured by William Blake & Co., of Boston. It arrived on the 19th of March, and was imme- diately placed in the belfry. An engraved plate was afterwards affixed to the balance-wheel, bearing this inscription : -
" Received March 20, 1869. The gift of Hon. Jacob Sleeper, of Boston."
A session of the East Maine Conference commenced here on the 6th of May, 1874, and continued five days. Bishop E. S. Jones, of New York, presided. On the Sabbath, all the pulpits in the city were occupied by members of the conference, or by clergymen from abroad in attendance.
LIST OF METHODIST MINISTERS STATIONED AT BELFAST.2
1795. Joshua Hall. 1796. Enoch Mudge.8 1797. and Timo-
1804. William Goodhue.
1805. Levi Walker.
1806. Samuel Hillman and thy Merritt. Jonas Weston. 4 1798. Enoch Mudge and John 1807. David Stimson. Finnegan. 1799. John Merrick.
1800. John Gove.
1801. Joseph Baker.
1802. Asa Pattee.
1803. C. Munger and Samuel Thompson.
1808. John Williamson. 1809. and Ben- jamin Jones. 1810. David Stimson and George Gray. 1811. Nathan R. Ashcraft. 1812. Amasa Taylor.
1 It was accidentally cracked in 1875, and recast in December of that year.
2 Owing to frequent changes in the limits of circuits, perfect accuracy in the names of preachers is not possible. But the foregoing list is believed to be as correct as the conference minutes and traditions will admit of.
8 Elias Hull was appointed to the circuit this year, but exchanged places with Enoch Mudge, who had been sent to Bath. Stevens's Memorials, First Series, 189, 190.
4 It is uncertain whether Messrs. Hillman and Weston or William Hunt preached here this year.
307
METHODIST CHURCH AND SOCIETY.
1813. John Jewett. 1814. Jonathan Chaney and Joseph B. White. 1815. Benjamin Jones. 1816. ", and Daniel Wentworth. 1817. William McGray. 1818. Henry True. 1819. " 1820. John Briggs.
1821. Ebenezer F. Newell.
1822. " 1823. Stephen Lovell. 1824. " 1825-26. Ezra Kellogg and William H. Norris. 1826-27. Philip Munger and Gree- lief Greeley. 1828. Richard E. Schermerhorn.
1829. Elijah Crooker.
1830. Caleb Fuller.
1831. Francis Messure.
1832. Joshua Hall.
1833-34. Phineas Higgins and Joseph H. Jenne. 1835. Phineas Higgins.
1836. Benjamin Jones.
1837. Mark Trafton.
1838. J. C. Aspinwall.
1839. J. W. Dunn.
1840. Benjamin F. Sprague.
1841. Seavey W. Partridge. 1842, E. Pinder. 1843-44. Theodore Hill.
1844-45. John Atwell.
1846-47. James Thurston.
1848-49. Daniel H. Mansfield.
1850-51. Abial Foster.
1852-53. Ephraim H. Small.
1854. Cyrus M. Freeman.
1855. Albert H. Hall.
1856. John C. Prince and Edwin Johnson. 1857-58. William J. Wilson. 1859. Joel A. Steele and Leander S. Coan. 1860-61. Lorenzo D. Wardwell.
1862-63. Thomas B. Tupper.
1864-65. William J. Robinson.
1866-67. True P. Adams.
1868-70. Luther P. French.
1871-73. William L. Brown. 1874. George Pratt.
1
308
HISTORY OF BELFAST.
CHAPTER XXI.
UNIVERSALIST CHURCH AND SOCIETY.
First Universalist Sermon. - Society organized. - Rev. William A. Drew. - Monthly Newspaper. - Intolerance .- Town Hall refused for Services .- Formation of a Parish. - Members. - Church Edifice erected. - Engraving. - Dedication. - Rev. Andrew Pingree. - Installation of Rev. Darius Forbes. - Rev. F. A. Hodsdon settled. - Biographical Sketch. - Rev. Nathan C. Fletcher. - Organ. - Bell. - State Conven- tion. - Rev. J. H. Farnsworth. - Parsonage Proprietary. - Owners of Meeting-house incorporated. - Rev. S. C. Hayford. - Advocates Spiritualism, and dismissed. - Resolutions. - Rev. Giles Bailey. - Church Edifice modernized. - Rededicated. - Rev. F. Stanley Bacon settled. - His Sudden Death.
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.