USA > Maine > Lincoln County > Wiscasset > Wiscasset in Pownalborough; a history of the shire town and the salient historical features of the territory between the Sheepscot and Kennebec rivers > Part 23
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Wiscasset in Pownalborough
The ministrations of the first pastor of this church covered a stormy period, not only in the history of this town and parish, but in the country at large, for a new nation was being formed. The Revolutionary War broke out soon after his settlement, and in a few years the burden of privations resulting therefrom, weighing heavily upon this frontier section of Massa- chusetts, was felt by his parishioners to such an extent that as early as 1778 the parish agreed that he might preach in the north parish, now Alna, which had in the meantime been set off from this, in proportion to the "Back Rearages of Parish Charges" which the north parish might thereafter pay.
The extent of the depreciation of currency is indicated by a vote passed by the parish on January 15, 1783, "that £32 2 shillings and 5 pence be raised to pay the Rev. Thomas Moore, in lieu of eight thousand and thirty paper dollars old emission that now is in the hands of the treasurer for 1781."
Mr. Moore's pastoral relationship to this church and parish terminated on January 26, 1791. He was never resettled in the ministry. The failure of Mr. Moore to keep any record of the gatherings of the church, of admis- sions of new members, of marriages, baptisms and deaths, has long been deplored. Adjoining parishes possess invaluable vital records but this omis- sion was in all probability due to the neglect of the parish to provide him with a record book. The town had such a book, and it is thought that the custom prevailed among clergymen of writing these records on slips of paper and handing them to the town clerk for entry therein. A few such scraps of paper have been found among the town archives.
Thomas Moore married Ann, the daughter of Colonel Kingsbury. Their home was on Langdon Road, then the county road to Sheepscot.
On the north side of the stone wall the cellar hole of his dwelling is still plainly visible, and in a small field on the opposite side of the county road, is his well. The site commands an extensive and picturesque view of town and river.
Mr. Moore was a man of medium stature, square frame, with a dark complexion and good features. He died of an apoplectic seizure while preaching in Pittston whither he had gone with a view to settling in that town. On Saturday, May 16, 1795, he was borne to his grave from the old meeting-house and his funeral services were conducted by Rev. Josiah Winship of Woolwich, who had assisted at his ordination twenty-one years
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earlier. He was buried in the Ancient Cemetery on Federal Street, then called the Central Burying Ground, in or near the Kingsbury lot, but his grave is still unmarked.19
Moses Davis, Esq., records on June 15, 1797, that Ann Moore, the widow of Rev. Thomas Moore, and Jeremiah Dalton were married at his home on Folly Island, "just at sundown."
For short periods immediately following the dismissal of Mr. Moore from his charge, preaching was had here by Rev. Benjamin Rolfe, who afterward became pastor of the church at Parsonsfield.
Among those who supplied the pulpit and were considered candidates for the pastorate of this church, was Rev. Jonathan Gould who having no set- tled charge at this time preached at Wiscasset and its vicinity as the oppor- tunity presented itself.
Mr. Gould was a member of a family for many years resident at New Braintree, Massachusetts. He was one of the group of students which formed the entering class at Rhode Island College when the work of that institution was resumed in the year 1782-after the occupation of its first college building, now University Hall, as barracks and hospital by the com- bined Continental and French troops during the Revolutionary War had been discontinued. One of his classmates was Nicholas Brown, in whose honor the name of the college was changed to Brown University.
The first trace of Mr. Gould in these parts appears at points on the Ken- nebec, at and above the Pownalborough court house, as a school-teacher and occasionally as a preacher. From there his acquaintance extended to the east precinct of Pownalborough, where he became a frequent visitor at the homes of Judge Rice and Rev. Thomas Moore, whose wives were sisters.
Mr. Gould was here during the greater part of 1792 and again in 1793, for in June of that year he preached the first St. John's Day sermon deliv- ered before the members of Lincoln Lodge of Free Masons. The parish had, in March of that year, refused to give him a call to settle here, and his only charge seems to have been that of the church at Standish, in this state, to which he was ordained on September 18, 1793. His death occurred shortly after this event.
19. Since the above account was written the Wiscasset Cemetery Association has placed a suitable slate gravestone to the memory of Rev. Thomas Moore.
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Wiscasset in Pownalborough
Rev. Alden Bradford
The Rev. Alden Bradford, son of Gamaliel, a soldier of the French and Revolutionary Wars, and Sarah (Alden) Bradford of Duxbury, was of Pilgrim ancestry, being a descendant of Gov. William Bradford of the Plymouth Colony. He was born in Duxbury, November 19, 1765, and graduated from Harvard College in 1786. He became a tutor in that col- lege from 1791 to 1793, in which year the voters of this parish gave him a call to settle here. The following is his reply, made upon the occasion of his being present here in the Parish:
To the Christian Church and Society of the East Parish in Pownalboro'
My Christian brethren and friends of this church & Society-
The Invitation which I receiv'd from you, to the important, the honorable, the sacred office of a Gospel Minister, met my immediate attention, my serious considera- tion.
After consulting with myself upon the nature of the office sacred in itself, & difficult properly to fulfill; & asking direction from above, I have determined to accept it-
Separated from my natural relations, and from friends, who are endeared to me by a thousand instances of mutual kindness, & whose wishes I have opposed, by my re- moval to this place, I can reconcile myself to the situation & expect happiness only upon the assurance of your affection, your friendship & your prayers, & with the hope of be- ing enabled faithfully to discharge the duties of a Minister of the Gospel.
But should my conduct ever be inconsistent with the sacred Character of a Gospel Minister; Oh distressing tho't! I must not expect for I shou'd not deserve your affec- tion or esteem.
Join, my Brethren, your prayers with mine to the God of all Grace, who strengthens us in Christ Jesus his son, that I may be sincere & faithful-that I may be instrumental in the increase of your faith, Christian Charity & true holiness & that we all may be pre- pared by the dispensations of Providence towards us, for that future world, where trials and corrections will be unnecessary, where our virtue will be confirmed & our bliss complete.
ALDEN BRADFORD.
Pownalboro' October 14th, 1793-
This reply having been received and read in parish meeting on the day of its date, Esquires Henry Hodge, Abiel Wood and David Silvester were ap- pointed a committee to provide for the council to assist in the ordination of Mr. Bradford on the tenth of November, at which ordination the sermon was delivered by Rev. John Allyn, a minister from Mr. Bradford's native town of Duxbury. That sermon and the charge delivered by the Rev. Josiah
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Winship of Woolwich, who had assisted in the ordination of the first pastor of this church twenty years before, and the remarks made by the Rev. Alexander McLean, pastor of the Presbyterian Society at Bristol, were printed by Samuel Hall in Boston, in 1794.
Within a year Mr. Bradford purchased of Judge Rice an acre of land situated on the opposite side of the road from the latter's residence and be- gan the construction of his house. In the summer of 1795, he married Mar- garet Stephenson, of Waltham, Massachusetts, a woman of exemplary char- acter, in every way suited to be his help-mate.
A year later the Rev. Paul Coffin wrote in his journal that, on his return from a missionary pilgrimage in Maine, he arrived at Wiscasset near the end of the week, that here Mr. Bradford had
an elegant house, finished and richly furnished; an agreeable wife and sister, and a pretty, retired situation. Agreed to tarry the Sabbath and preach for him, as he was obliged to supply the pulpit of Brother Johnson, of Freeport.
Sabbath. Preached from Mark 13:24, and Ist Timothy 1 : 19.
Mr. Coffin gives also a description of the Point in 1796: There were then
Eight or ten majestic houses, and many two story size, covered the Point. Three streets running north and south, as the harbor lay, viz: Fore, Middle and Back streets, and at right angles Federal street crossed them, leading to the Court House and Meeting House, were avenues of travel. The edifice of Lawyer Lee, was noted as a noble orna- ment; and the first house built at the Point was standing. It was of hewn timber and owned by Wyman Bradbury. The Point was environed with pretty wharves and flourishing; the church attendance was large and gaily dressed.
Upon Mr. Bradford's settlement here the parish fixed his salary at £130 per year, being then equivalent to about $430. This was one of the last acts of the parish under the old precinct form of parish government, for in the following year the old town of Pownalborough was rent asunder, and in the division that part known as the east precinct, was left as a town by itself, and thereafter during Mr. Bradford's ministry the affairs of the parish were transacted in the town meetings.
Five years after his ordination he appears to have requested a dismission, for at a town meeting held September 24, 1798, Joseph Christophers, Esq., Mr. Nymphas Stacy, and John Hues, Esq., were appointed a committee to confer with him upon that subject, and the committee's report being re- ceived by the town in town meeting it was voted to add thirty pounds to the
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minister's salary yearly, and to give him fifteen cords of wood annually in addition to what he had hitherto received. A few years later, being over- taken by ill-health, the town at a meeting held August 13, 1801, voted:
That the Rev. Mr. Bradford be excused from discharging the duties of his Ministry in this Town until the end of the present Year of his settlement on Account of his ill state of Health and if at that time he shall not have recovered his health so as to be able to perform the duties of his Office as Minister the Town will then Grant him a Dismis- sion if he requests it.
And the selectmen were directed to procure preaching in this town during his indisposition. The indisposition so suffered by Mr. Bradford prevented him from resuming his duties as minister and his retirement virtually dated from August, 1801.
Soon after the relinquishment of his office in this church, Mr. Bradford, continuing to reside here, was appointed to the offices of clerk of the courts and register of probate, positions which he filled until his removal from town upon his appointment as secretary of the Commonwealth of Massa- chusetts.
At the time of his removal from Wiscasset, Mr. Bradford, having since his original purchase of Judge Rice, acquired additional land adjacent there- to, transferred the ownership of all the land and buildings held by him by sale to John Boynton of this town. And so passed from his possession the house where his children were born and where he and his accomplished wife had experienced so keen an enjoyment in entertaining visitors from far and near.
Subsequent changes in its title finally brought the ownership of the Brad- ford property into the hands of the late Samuel Peters Baker, who made it his home from the year 1842 until his death in 1875 after which the Baker heirs sold that ancient homestead to Augustus Snell, whose daughter still retains its title.
The settlement of Mr. Bradford occurred at a propitious moment. The town had recovered from the depression incident to the losses and hardships of the Revolutionary War; the vexing questions which had arisen as to titles and boundaries hereabouts, which this community experienced as did many another in this region, had recently been adjusted on a satisfactory basis, and with the auspicious conditions of trade and commerce, the indus- try, enterprise and experience of its business men and shipmasters, together
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with the removal here of the courts, the parish enjoyed a remarkable growth and the town became-and long remained-the center of civil, com- mercial and judicial life of the county.
Upon his arrival here Mr. Bradford found the churches of the county of the "standing order" as those of the Congregational form were known, were one at Georgetown, where the Rev. Ezekiel Emerson, then known as Father Emerson, had been its pastor since 1765; one at Woolwich, where the Rev. Josiah Winship had been settled since 1764; and one at Bristol, which was of Presbyterian polity in charge, for many years past, of the Rev. Alexander McLean.
The pulpits of the churches at Newcastle, Boothbay, Warren, Bath, Edgecomb and that of the north parish of Pownalborough, were without incumbents. The fact that all of these pulpits became filled during the brief pastorate of Mr. Bradford indicated that this region shared generally in the increase of prosperity and population.
In 1795, the Rev. Hugh Wallis was given charge of the church at Bath, and the Rev. Jonathan Huse was ordained over that at Warren. In 1796, Rev. Jonathan Sawyer was ordained at Boothbay and the Rev. John Ward was ordained at New Milford, now Alna, and formerly the old north par- ish of Pownalborough. In 1797, the Rev. Kiah Bailey was ordained over the church at Newcastle. According to the diary of Moses Davis, Esq., one Mr. Pickles had frequently preached to the people in the town house at Edge- comb, but it was not until 1801 that a regular settled pastor, the Rev. Ben- jamin Chapman, was employed there; and in the same year a church was formed in Dresden and the Rev. Freeman Parker was settled in charge of the same.
Alden Bradford, at the time of his arrival here late in the eighteenth cen- tury, found still living in the village some of the early settlers under the resettlement of the district, prominent among whom were Capt. Jonathan Williamson, the Lamberts, Foyes, and Seveys. Many other of the familiar names of the settlers of that early period were also represented: Blackledge, Boyington, Baker, Blagdon, Coffin, Chapman, Decker, Frizel, Groves, Greenleaf, Gray, Hilton, Hamilton, Holbrook, Jackson, Kincaid, Kings- bury, Langdon, Lowell, McKenney, Munsey, Nutter, Nason, Nute, Place, Pottle, Parsons, Pressey, Rice, Rundlet, Silvester, Smith, Tucker, Whittier, Wood, and Young.
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During his pastorate there were many important accessions to the church and to the parish. The Andersons, John-the father of Governor Hugh Johnson Anderson-and his brother Francis, Thomas McCrate, William Taylor and John Taylor, Sr., Dr. Samuel Adams, Judge Jeremiah Bailey, Capt. William M. Boyd and Thomas Boyd, Orchard Cook, Moses Carlton, Jr., John Merrill, Jr., Capt. Samuel Miller, William Nickels, David Otis, William Pike, Col. Edward Wigglesworth of Revolutionary fame, and John Stuart, all of whom were to leave an impress upon the business, civil, and social life of the community.
Rev. Hezekiah Packard
Hezekiah Packard, a valued friend of Mr. Bradford, succeeded him in the ministerial office,20 and in 1802 became the third settled pastor of the east parish of Wiscasset, for the name of Pownalborough was changed to Wiscasset within a few days of his arrival here.
Upon the first incumbent had devolved the absorbing task of organizing a new parish. Scarcely had he brought order out of chaos when he was called upon to lead his little flock through the hardships of the Revolution- ary War, the struggle which gave birth to our nation. Many of the soldiers who had answered the call of their country were obliged to leave behind them wives and children without adequate means of support, and they for the time being had become town charges, thereby increasing his perplexities, until relief measures could be adopted. When the war ceased, ideals changed, government changed, the old order gave place to the new and money depreciated until Poverty stalked like a spectre on the Eastern Frontier.
With the second pastor had come returning prosperity; industries were resumed; shipbuilding flourished enriching the hamlet; houses were erected and a general recovery took place; but with the coming of the third pastor Fortune frowned. During his sojourn in Wiscasset of nearly three decades, the longest pastorate on record in the Congregational church, Hezekiah Packard encountered in those eventful, stormy years, difficulties and trials
20. A printed copy of the sermon delivered at Wiscasset in the District of Maine, at the installa- tion of the Rev. Hezekiah Packard to the pastoral office in that place, by David Tappan, D.D., Hollis Professor of Divinity in Harvard College, is now in possession of Miss Packard of Saranac Lake.
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which would have broken a man possessed of a spirit less strong or a sense of duty less enduring.
When he came to Wiscasset the entire town constituted his parish; when he left there were four separate religious societies, three of which had drawn from and depleted his own. In reviewing the pressure of the times it will be seen that he was here during the Embargo of 1807, "whose murderous pol- icy dismantled every American vessel," bringing sorrow and ruin to many of the prominent ship-owners; in less than nine short years after his ordina- tion his church was rent asunder by schism which resulted in the formation of a Second Religious Society in Wiscasset, whose bead roll numbered al- most all of the freeholders in town; the next year came the War of 1812, when the town was heavily garrisoned with soldiers in daily anticipation of a British attack; there was the terrible pestilence of 1814, when so many of "those we could not spare" succumbed to spotted fever, while for weeks the weather-vane never swerved from the northeast and a chill fog wrapped the village as in a winding sheet; then came a reorganization of the church when its legal title became the First Parish of Wiscasset; and in another seven years there was the Great Revival. With this emotional upheaval Packard must have held as little sympathy as would be felt by a conserva- tive investor with a get-rich-quick-scheme. That same year came the second rupture in his church and a Second Congregational Church was formed, which deprived Mr. Packard of nearly all of his parishioners. This condi- tion of affairs made it evident to him that his resignation would be best for all so, after a ministry of twenty-eight years, he asked to be released from his charge. His request was acceded to, and his connection with the church was severed in 1830. After his resignation under the guidance of Rev. Ed- ward Hooker, his successor, they all returned, realizing the futility of try- ing, in so small a place, to maintain two Congregational Societies.
Hezekiah Packard lived to see the church he loved torn down by vandal hands and the village gathering place, which had housed impartially wor- shippers, schools and courts, become naught but a revered memory. So passed the old meeting-house of the east precinct of Pownalborough.
This venerable divine, in addition to his arduous parochial duties, kept a boarding-school at his house21 for the purpose of fitting boys for college, and from this work at least, he had the satisfaction of reaping ample fruit
21. He lived on the county road and owned the estate now in possession of Mrs. Mary Sewall Metcalf.
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of his labor. The first school taught by him in the village was kept in the second story of the little building on Main Street, where, on the lower floor, Francis Cook had the first custom house. It was this modest school which formed the nucleus of Wiscasset Academy.
Only the colossal patience and perseverance shown by Packard both in precept and example, in school and church matters could have resulted in the establishment of educational facilities of such an advanced grade. The high standard of the Wiscasset schools to which he gave the first impetus, and which has ever since been maintained, is a monument more lasting than marble, and a tribute to his zeal and altruism more enduring than words.
His tombstone in Evergreen Cemetery records the fact that he was a Revolutionary soldier. Truly he fought the fight and kept the faith.
Reorganization
Under a call of freeholders, August 19, 1819, Joseph T. Wood, Wil- mot Wood, Esq., Thomas McCrate, Nathaniel Coffin, David Payson, Zebe- diah Thayer, E. P. Theobald, Warren Rice, William M. Boyd, John Brooks, Seth Tinkham, Ezekiel Cutter, Ebenezer Hilton, Henry Whitney, Daniel Hilton, James Harriman, William Stacy, John Elliot, John H. Sheppard, John Babson, Moses Hilton, Jr., Joshua Damon, Nymphas Stacy, Darius Wilder, Silas Payson, Elisha J. Taylor, Edmund Dana, mem- bers of the east parish of Pownalborough, were organized into the first par- ish of Wiscasset. At that time what had been the east precinct of Pownal- borough, as a territorial parish, ceased to exist, and the first parish was le- gally constituted.
The records of 1820 show the effects of the act in the questions which arose regarding individuals who sought to evade the parish tax by "polling off." Other religious societies were formed and many of the former mem- bers of the east precinct identified themselves with the new order and never returned to this church.
Meanwhile the women of the Church had made an attempt to lessen the discomfort of the draughty old meeting-house. An article in the warrant for a stove in April, 1820, had been dismissed. Eighty women of the parish had in January, 1822, brought votive offerings to the church, to "contribute to the comfort of those who meet to worship God in the Meeting House,
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Church History
also designing a freewill offering to God in his Temple" (as they expressed it in the preamble to their organization), united to form an association of a social and benevolent nature, whose first contributions were used to purchase a stove for the church which was set up on March twentieth of that year. This was the beginning of the Organ Society, which in its one hundred and tenth year, continues to function for the benefit of church and community.
The parish subsequently voted thanks to the ladies for their gift, the names of the donors were placed on record, and the stove was a gift never to be forgotten.
The organ purchased by the Ladies' Organ Society was put up in the First Parish Church November 24, 1827.22
The Second Congregational Church
The Second Congregational Church was formed toward the end of the Great Revival. This offshoot of the First Parish Church of Wiscasset must not be confounded with the Second Religious Society of Wiscasset which existed from 1811 to 1821.
Some of his parishioners thought the Unitarian tendencies of Doctor Packard not sufficiently orthodox for a Congregational church with its leanings toward Presbyterianism and an open rupture eventually took place.
The Second Congregational Church of Wiscasset was formed and ac- knowledged October 29, 1828. They adopted six Articles of the Faith and a Covenant, and seven rules for Church government. The Articles were the following:
Article 1. The unity and Fatherhood of God.
Article 2. Both old and new testaments were inspired.
Article 3. Man created holy and fell.
Article 4. Salvation through Christ alone.
Article 5. Regeneration through repentance.
Article 6. Resurrection of the dead.
On the accession of his successor, Rev. Edward Hooker, the members of the Second Congregational Church, realizing the futility of trying to sup- port two Congregational societies in so small a town, returned to the First Parish Church, and the fusion has ever since endured.
22. See R. K. Sewall, The Old Meeting House.
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Records of the Second Congregational Church 23
Wednesday, Jan. 12, 1831. Rev. Mr. Babcock 24 with his Lady left Wiscasset in the stage for Thetford; he commenced preaching for us Jan. 17, (the Sabbath) 1829 the last Sabbath completed his two year's labors.
Recorded by the Scribe
July 3, 1831 .- On this day being the Sabbath the Union of the two Churches was con- summated in the manner which had been agreed upon, and the records of the Second Church are herewith closed.
Attest NATHANIEL COFFIN, Clerk. Marriages in the Second Congregational Church & Society.
Mr. Samuel Page to Miss Sarah Louisa Sheppard, Feb. 5, 1829. Both of Wiscasset. Rev. Edward Beecher, Pastor of Park Street Church in Boston, to Miss Isabella P. Jones of Wiscasset. Oct. 28, 1829.
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