USA > New Hampshire > Rockingham County > Hampstead > A memorial history of Hampstead, New Hampshire, Congregational Church 1752-1902, Volume II > Part 21
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Please accept the cordial congratulations of the parent church, which, as the years have passed, has become rather an older sister. May grace, mercy and peace be multiplied to you abundantly.
Hon. Lyman Dewey Stevens of Concord, N. H., spoke as follows in response to No. 15 of the programme, "Greetings from Friends " :-
Brethren and Friends : --
Your programme has assigned to me the pleasant duty of bringing to the church the greetings of friends. Among that company I feel that I may properly claim a place, and the greetings I offer in their behalf are most cordial and heartfelt.
Here was the home of my ancestors, one of whom was a member of this church, and their remains now rest in the ancient cemetery of this town. My father, in his early boy- hood, migrated from Hampstead, with the family of my grandfather, to the northern part of the state, there to spend the remainder of his life.
I should be destitute of filial affection and a due respect for my progenitors, did I not feel a deep interest in Hamp- stead, my ancestral home, and especially in its church, the corner-stone on which its advancement and growth rest.
On an occasion like this it is necessary to compare the past with the present, in order to get a correct and full un- derstanding of the day we celebrate, and note carefully the changes which the lapse of years has wrought.
On whichever side we look it is our happiness to see a
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better husbandry, a higher standard of domestic life and comfort, a longer term of life and better health, by reason of improved sanitation : better schools, the establishment of public libraries, and a more general interest in popular edu- cation-in short, all the conditions of life have been charac- terized by such a vast improvement that the subject is not easy of comprehension.
The church has kept step in this grand march of progress. If we take a retrospect of the last one hundred and fifty years, their history informs us that the original home, cold, uncomfortable, possessing none of the appointments of a modern house of worship, and bearing no resemblance to the gate of heaven, except in the sublime faith, the undoubting trust and seal of the worshippers who gathered there.
To-day we find this same church installed in this beautiful and commodious edifice, with its sweet-toned organ and trained choir, and appointments for comfort. We rejoice and are happy over its increase of numbers and the noble work and blessed influence it has contributed to make possi- ble the Hampstead of to-day.
All friends of this church give thanks to God as they contemplate the blessings which his gracious hand has bestowed upon it, while they offer congratulations and pray for its continued growth and enlarged usefulness.
This joyous day is not a celebration of the conclusion of a noble Christian work, but rather to mark and emphasize its progress, and to gather inspiration from the consideration of its past to achieve greater work and more extensive use- fulness in the years to come.
It is the ardent desire of all friends of this church who have assembled here to congratulate its members and to rejoice in the prosperity of its past, that when those who shall participate in the three hundredth anniversary of its formation, they shall behold a progress far greater, and a standard of piety and Christian service far higher than the present, gratifying as that surely is.
I can close in no better way than by quoting this senti- ment, which is worthy to be held in perpetual remembrance : " To preserve the institutions of our holy religion is a duty which we owe to ourselves who enjoy them, to our pious ancestors who transmitted them down, and to our posterity
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who will require at our hands these, the noblest gift and the best birthright of mankind."
The congregation joined in the singing of the "Song of the Day," after which Mrs. Frank W. Emerson, organist, rendered an organ postlude, "Polish Serenade," the closing number of the afternoon exercises.
SONG
Written for the occasion by James H. Taylor. Tune, " Marching Through Georgia.'
Come, ye happy people, come, and let your voices ring Loud in jubilation as a praise offering ;
Sing in faith and courage as our fathers used to sing- Filled with a hope everlasting.
CHORUS.
Rejoice, be glad this is our natal day,
Our friends are here to swell the cheerful lay,
Coming from the hills and valleys, many miles away,- Back to the old church in Hampstead.
Sing of how the joy of life outweighs the grief and tears ; Sing of all the triumph that on memory's page appears ; Sing our church's record, born of three times fifty years ; Who would forbid us of praising ?
CHORUS-
Dear familiar faces once again we welcome here -- Pastors we have parted with in sorrowing sincere- Voices long unheard we now with deepest pleasure hear. This is a happy occasion. CHORUS-
Builded like the church of old, upon the solid rock, Riven by the tempest oft, yet rising from the shock ; Still the goodly shelter of a persevering flock ---
Ever the way mark to Glory.
CHORUS-
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Hampstead should for character be strongly underlined. Nowhere else are people raised so generally kind.
No place where the pastors stay so long you'd ever find
If you should search the world over.
CHORUS-
Love and loyalty to God : Oh, may these never cease. Goodwill unto all mankind, here let it not decrease
Till the glory-morning ushers in the day of peace,
Day of a righteous dominion.
FINAL CHORUS.
All praise to Him who saw the church begun-
Who viewed the work through many seasons run ;
Grant that all may hear some day the Saviour's glad "Well done,"
Welcoming us home to Glory.
The audience room and kitchen of the vestry which had been draped with crepe paper of delicate tints in artistic designs, served as a banquet hall, where three hundred in- vited guests repaired to enjoy a lunch and social hour, until the organ prelude, "Sunset Glow," at 7.30 o'clock, an- nounced the opening of the evening entertainment. A large company filled the church. The singing of the anthem, " Praise ye the Lord," by the chorus, was followed by in- vocation, by Rev. George Hale Scott, pastor of the Congre- gational church, Atkinson.
By request, Miss Harriette E. Noyes read the following letter from Rev. George B. Spalding, D. D., pastor, First Presbyterian church, Syracuse, N. Y.
" To the Congregational Church, Hampstead, N. H.
Greeting :- It is a matter of great regret to me that I am unable to be present at the celebration of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the Congregational Church at Hampstead.
This church, beyond all others, is precious to me, because of the three generations of my ancesters who were connected
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with it. My great-grandfather, Hezekiah Hutchens, and his wife, Anna Merrill, daughter of Deacon John Merrill, of Newbury, Mass., came to Hampstead about ten years after the organization of the church. Captain Hutchens, when a boy of seventeen years, was a soldier at the capture of Louisburg, June 17, 1745. He won his title of captain by active service in every Indian war from that date to the breaking out of the war of the Revolution.
Here, on the ground before the old church building, he mustered the largest company of soldiers that took part in the great battle at Bunker Hill on June 17th, and as captain of a New Hampshire company he was present at the not less famous battle which ended in the surrender of Burgoyne.
Within the walls of the old church, now your well pre- served Town Hall, the old warrior worshipped until with reverent hand his fellow citizens and soldiers laid him away in the cemetery close by, where the pines above his own and wife's graves seem to whisper their ceaseless requiems.
Here in the old homestead, still known as the " Hutchens Tavern," was born my grandmother Patty, whose name as " Polly Hutchens " stands in the baptismal list of the church. I remember her as "grandma " all through my childhood years in her home in Montpelier, Vt. Her virtues of wis- dom and large-hearted charity and clear-eyed faith were admired by a large circle of old people, but better to us younger ones were her virtues of constant cheerfulness and sweet laughter and ever-brooding love.
It is a supreme grace of heaven which makes old age lovable to children.
Here in the old church, or more probably in the old tav- ern, Thomas Reed of Uxbridge, Mass., made this " Polly " his wife. On the hillside now owned by Mr. Tristram Little they made their home. Here my mother was born a cen- tury ago. Here she began a growth which matured into a remarkable beauty of person and mingled sweetness and strength of character, and lofty ambition and faith which children and children's children recall with constant praise.
Before my grandfather, Thomas Reed, went from Hamp- stead to live at Montpelier, he performed a service for the old church which in my visits here, I regard with utmost pleas- ure and pride.
He was a carpenter and cabinet worker, and he it was who
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designed and built the porch and the graceful steeple of the meeting house,-the town hall of to-day.
Pardon me, if in my appreciation of my grandfather's work during his brief sojourn here in Hampstead, I look at this structure of his hands as a monument to his worthy memory, and breathe the prayer that by your preserving care and that of heaven, it may endure in its integrity and beauty through coming generations.
Dear friends of the old church, these fathers and mothers have bequeathed to you a noble heritage in their characters, sacrifices, their prayers, in their clear vision of the surpass- ing worth of spiritual things over the material.
These last, which we so unduly magnify, they held subor- dinate. They endured "seeing the invisible."
Let no generation of such ancestors in all their magnificent progress in earthly things forget or miss the heavenly reali- ties for which these fathers and mothers so bravely strug- gled and which now they forever more possess.
Sincerely and cordially your friend,
GEORGE B. SPALDING.
The double male quartette sung " He knows it All," after which Rev. W. T. Bartley recited the " Poem of the Day," as follows :-
" No pompous deeds of heroes known to fame, No fulsome eulogies to-day we frame,
But rather humbly thank the Father, God, For faithful ones that beneath the sod
Repose ; and with them those who still Abide, and do the Heavenly Father's will.
The world esteems the conquering warriors great, And bows before the men of princely state ;
Yet far above his name, in heaven's roll, Is that of him who hath a noble soul. " The short and simple annals of the poor " In God's esteem will often times endure.
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Till more pretentious records, carved on brass Or sculptured stone, from recollection pass ; And when " the noiseless tenor of their way " The faithful keep, nor from their duty stray,
They shall not be as flowers that blush unseen, But after death their memory shall be green. With honor deep we turn the backward page, And with the past our chastened thoughts engage.
Those early saints who kindled heavenly light, That whosoever would might walk aright And happy-hearted tread the toilsome road, Laborious life relieved of half its load.
These were the benefactors of the land : Their names beside the patriots should stand Who freed us from the cruel foreign yoke, Or to the slave the great deliverance spoke.
If he who freed the body labored well, Then he who freed the spirit from the spell Of evil, better still performed his part, His work unmatched by any human art
We honor them to-day, the men of old, Who prayed that every name might be enrolled Within the book of life, and praying, reared A sanctuary fit for those who feared
" The Lord of earth and sky, and sealed the bond That holds the Christian with affection fond In that fraternal love and warm accord Enjoyed by all that know and love the Lord.
We honor, too, the generations five Who sacrificed, to keep the flame alive Upon the sacred altar : all their fears, Their toils laborious and their anxious tears,
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Their contest with the evil one, their deeds That showed how Christ within supplied their needs, Their prayers at home, their virtues known to men, We kindle, and our hearts are warm again,
As retrospection brings their worth to light, And we acknowledge that their day was bright. A happy church at Hampstead long has stood, Harmonious, strong, and hospitable, good.
With goodness as a crowning grace of all, For that which pleases heaven cannot fall To utter ruin. Had celestial fire In flame this temple swathed from lofty spire
To stone beneath, or in titantie play Its solid timbers splintered in a day, Lamented havoc, still would He who keeps And cheers His people form those dreadful heaps,
Have helped once more the edifice to rise, And point another spire to the skies. Harmonious church, thy people well content With several pastors several years have spent.
And they who ministered have loved the spot And thanked the Father for their earthly lot, An honor both to shepherd and to sheep That loved each other with affection deep.
Nor looked for failings with too keen a gaze, But rather trained their kindly lips to praise. Could I those faithful shepherds call by name, And into lines poetic fitly frame,
The dissyllabic titles that you've known, As Kelly, Bartley, Gardner and your own, From Bath, imported Woodsum, and to that Should add a Watson, and a genial Pratt.
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Brief monosyllables, of sort unique Among its rivals, man of spirit meek ; And heroes of the faith in earlier days, Your voice would blend with mine in words of praise.
If faults they had, the faults were well concealed, And many virtues to the eye revealed. A part have passed from earth, and some remain, Have you forgotten him whose heart and brain
Combined their efforts, or the cordial hold Of loving hand, or ringing voice that rolled From pulpit up to organ ? He was known All trials to lament except his own.
Another, rich in sparkling mother wit, Holds honored record here. How oft he hit The point with language choice, or stirred The drowsy listener with a mirthful word.
Nor lacks he skill in parliamentry law, And outlines methods fit without a flaw. On him who now the sacred office fills We seek the blessing of the Lord who wills
That all men holy be. The spirit's might Explaining things divine, and making bright The shaded life, in him abideth strong, Abides in all that after goodness long.
Alone in power the church has striven apace, Nor yet been called to show forgiving grace To proselyting sects who fain would found Another church upon pre-empted ground.
Pray why this peace ? This undisturbed career ? A twin response I'll whisper in your ear. The first, surrounding churches have been kind ; The second, never could their eyes be blind
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To life and consecrated vigor lent To God by earnest souls obedient. The field was bravely fortified ; the shot At Satan's ramparts was seemily hot,
The captain and the warriors stood their ground, And needless interruption never found. The world unites to glorify the wise, And views inventions with astonished eyes ;
It praises him who journeys towards the pole, And steers 'mid icebergs with courageous soul, Reveres the name of him who braved the worst, To penetrate the Afric jungle first.
Yet equal honors, and as fine a prize, And exaltation to the very skies Await the foe of sin, the friend of man, Who aids the soul of God's appointed plan.
The Christian church's dignity and worth Are unsurpassed to any on the earth. The worth and dignity of those who teach A higher life, and by example preach.
There's none but God their value can appraise, Enduring work is theirs, and richly pays. May God perpetuate these altar fires, And may the sons inherit from their sires
The love of all things good, and may they strive To keep a true religion here alive, And let thy blessings on the people rest, O, Father. Thus we voice our heart's request.
The solo by Mrs. Albert H. Little, " The Land of Home," was well enjoyed, and although the people had listened to address after address for more than five hours in the after-
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noon, they proved their appreciation by their rapt attention to the discourse from the text, " Upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it," by Rev. Burton W. Lockhart, D. D., pastor of the Franklin Congregational Church, Manchester.
The anthem by the chorus. " Ye that stand in the House of the Lord," a short prayer, followed by the anniversary hymn, sang by the congregation, the benediction by the pas- tor, and the organist with her beautiful " Organ Postlude," closed the exercises of the one hundred and fiftieth anniver- sary of the founding of the church in town, which will be remembered by its members and friends as one of the happi- est days in the life of the church.
ANNIVERSARY HYMN.
Written for the occasion by James H. Taylor.
Tune, " Uxbridge."
Great God, from whose almighty hand The centuries roll like grains of sand, Thy power through varying scenes we see Changeless in glorious majesty.
We praise Thee for our native land ; This hallowed ground on which we stand ; Thy care that watches year by year The church that Thou hast planted here.
Loved preachers of Thy work and word Have toiled within Thy vineyard, Lord ; Entreating men to turn and see The Christ who died on Calvary.
New followers stand where old have stood, A tribute to redeeming blood ; The same forgiving love to share, One voice in praise, one heart in prayer.
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Like as the branches to the vine May we subsist on food divine- Through Thy blest Bible, freely given, The light of earth, the guide to Heaven.
Thanks be to Thee for all the past, Proteet, support us to the last, When we to earthly being lost, Shall join the everlasting host. Amen.
Letters were received as follows :-
METHUCHEN, NEW JERSEY, June 9, 1902.
REV. W. H. WOODSUM :
My Dear Sir :- Your letter is before me. While I would gladly be with you on July 2d, I have not the courage to under- take the journey. I am in good health, and lead an active life for a man of eighty years, but I do not like to leave my pleas- ant home to incur the fatigues of travel.
I was never a member of the church in Hampstead, but I used to attend the Sabbath meetings in the old meeting house (now the town hall), under the Rev. John Kelly's pastorate, and in the first new house, Rev. J. M. C. Bartley, pastor.
In 1849 I sailed for Valparaiso, Chile, where I resided about ten years, teaching. I became interested in religion, and united with the Congregational Church, Rev. David Trumbull, pastor, in 1852. Returning from Chile in 1859, I moved to Kingston, N. Y., and then to Methuchen in 1866, where I still reside.
I have all these years been in Sunday school work as teacher or superintendent. I have now an adult Bible class, and find great pleasure in the work. I rejoice in the prosperity of the church at Hampstead, and I am sure it has been a power for good in all these years.
I have had eight children. Four have passed on to the better land ; four are doing good work in church and society. All were members of the church.
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HAMPSTEAD, NEW HAMPSHIRE.
All or nearly all of those whom I knew in boyhood have gone, and the work which they were doing has fallen to other hands.
I trust you will have a grand time JJuly 2d, and that it will be a prelude to a great spiritual awakening. These are not church reminiscences, but perhaps there may be a few remaining who will be interested to hear from an old resident who has not forgotten the home of his childhood.
I am very truly yours, A. W. MARSHALL (See 424).
LINCOLN, MASS., June 19, 1902. My Dear Mrs. Eastman :-
Your very kind remembrance of me with an invitation to at- tend the exercises celebrating the one hundred and fiftieth anni- versary of the Hampstead Church I appreciate very much. I should enjoy exceedingly attending the celebration, but I am intending to attend the Harvard Summer School of Theology in Cambridge from July 1st to 18th, and I am making so much effort to attend these lectures, in addition to carrying on my regular work, that I feel that I must forego the pleasure of going to Hampstead.
I hope most sincerely that the exercises will pass off success- fully, and that the result of the celebration will be to endear the church yet more to those who love it, and to exalt it in the community.
With sincere regard to you and all who may remember me,
I remain, very truly yours, EDW. E. BRADLEY (658).
" ELMHURST," BROOKLINE, MASS., July 1st, 1902.
My Dear Mrs. Eastman :-
May the one hundred and fifty roses and one hundred and fifty carnations, and many other bright flowers, express to you and other members of the committee of arrangements the sincere and united interest and sympathy of my sisters, Mrs. Coaker, Mrs. Jackson, and Mrs. Hitchcock, with my own, on this festal
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day that you celebrate, and our mutual regret that we are unable to personally rejoice with the many who will gather at the his- toric church.
It is a glorious thing that, through all the changes of the one hundred and fifty years, that this ancient church has not changed except for the better.
My hope and prayer is that God's presence may continue to bless and ever maintain its high standard through this twentieth century.
With sincere and affectionate greetings, ELLEN DANFORTH WHITE (421).
2261 GORDON AVE., ST. PAUL, MINN., June 12, 1902.
REV. WALTER H. WOODSUM :
Dear Brother :- I thank you for the invitation received from you, as chairman of the executive committee, to attend the celebration of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the organization of the Hampstead Congregational Church. I thank you, also, for your invitation to speak on that occasion.
It would give both Mrs. Pressey and myself great and sincere pleasure to be present at that time, but it will be impossible to do so.
Let me say in behalf of both of us, that we remember the old home with a great deal of affection.
Those who have been away from Hampstead nearly all the time for twenty years, as we have, will of course think of the church as it was years ago, more than of it now. We remember very distinctly the days when we were in the Hampstead High School, and attended the various services of the church, and had some part in its different activities.
Mrs. Pressey played the organ for a long time, and I used to teach a class of boys, nearly of my own age, in the Sunday school. It was along in these days that the season of great revival of religious interest came to the church, in the early part of the ministry of the Rev. Albert Watson. It was then that a great many new names were added to the roll of membership, and new forces were added to the working power of the church.
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The earnest, emphatic, sometimes severe, more often tender, words of Deacon Sanborn ; the rapid, whole-hearted testimonies of Joseph Brown ; the whole-souled, deep and helpful talks of Mr. Dickey, and the influence of many others, abide with us still.
Very many of those whose voices were heard in the meetings at that time have gone to their reward. Earnest, humble, yes, human and imperfect, too, they yet set in motion influences that will never cease.
Mr. Watson's clear and searching preaching, his business-like methods and his spiritual fervor, had a great and lasting effect, greater and more lasting than many, perhaps, who sat under his ministrations realize even yet.
Others will tell of the great work of the church during the past decade or two, and they will have many good things to relate. By and by those who are children now will speak to one another about the good work of the first decade of the twentieth century, for Hampstead church is very much alive, and its beneficent activities will be continued by new generations.
Very cordially yours, EDWIN S. PRESSEY (518). WEST HARTFORD, VT., June 18, 1902.
REV. W. H. WOODSUM, HAMPSTEAD, N. H. :
My Dear Sir :- Your esteemed favor of the 5th instant is at hand. I thank you for your kind invitation to be present at the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the organization of the Congregational Church and to speak of "personal reminis- cences."
Hampstead is the home of my boyhood, and the Congrega- tional Church there is the birthplace of my Christian experi- ence. Nearly two-thirds of my life has been spent in Hamp- stead as my home, hence I have a feeling of gratitude for what the Congregational Church there has accomplished for me spir- itually.
I regret that I cannot be with you, but I wish you Godspeed, and congratulate you on the advent of this birthday.
Most cordially yours, J. W. WATSON (651).
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