USA > New Hampshire > Sullivan County > Acworth > History of Acworth, with the proceedings of the centennial anniversary, genealogical records, and register of farms > Part 14
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Lasell Silsby.
1839.
Joel Tracy.
1811-14.
Joel Angier.
1840. *
Jesse Slader.
1815.
Lemuel Lincoln.
1841. David Blanchard.
1816.
Edward Slader.
1842. Joseph G. Silsby.
1817-18.
Gawin Gilmore.
1843-5. Joel Tracy.
1819. Joel Angier.
1846.
Joseph G. Silsby.
1820.
Gawin Gilmore.
1847-8.
John Robb.
1821.
Joel Angier.
1849-50.
Joel Tracy.
1822.
Gawin Gilmore.
1851.
John Robb.
1823-4.
Ithiel Silsby.
1852-3.
Joel Tracy.
1825-6.
Eliphalet Bailey.
1854-8.
J. G. Silsby.
1827.
Joel Angier.
1859-60.
C. R. Vilas.
1828.
Gawin Gilmore.
1861.
Zenas Slader.
1829-30.
Eliphalet Bailey.
1862-3.
J. H. Dickey.
1831.
Jonathan Gove.
1864.
Jesse Slader.
1832.
Ithiel Silsby.
1865-7.
Zenas Slader.
1833-5.
David Blanchard.
1868-9.
William Brooks.
TOWN CLERKS.
1771.
John Rogers.
1817-18.
Elisha Parks.
1772.
Dean Carleton.
1819-20.
Eliphalet Bailey.
1773-80.
Samuel Silsby.
1821-4.
Elisha Parks.
1781.
Peleg Sprague.
1825-30.
Ithiel Silsby.
1782-5.
Isaac Foster.
1831-2.
Eliphalet Bailey.
1786-90.
Lasell Silsby.
1833-4.
Ithiel Silsby.
1791. 1792.
Lasell Silsby.
1837-9.
Joseph G. Silsby.
1793-4.
James Campbell.
1840.
Daniel J. Warner.
1795-6.
James Campbell.
1841-2.
C. M. Woodbury.
1797.
Levi Hayward.
1843-6.
J. H. Dickey.
1798.
James Campbell.
1847.
Joseph Davis.
1799-1801. James Campbell. 1802.
1848-51.
C. M. Woodbury.
1803-6.
Gawin Gilmore.
1855-8.
C. M. Woodbury.
1807-9.
Lemuel Lincoln.
1859-61.
S. S. Vilas.
1810-12. Edward Slader.
1862-5.
C. M. Woodbury.
1813-14.
Levi Hayward.
1866-7.
D. J. Warner.
1815-16.
Lemuel Lincoln.
1868-9.
C. E. Spencer.
TOWN TREASURERS.
1776-7.
Henry Silsby.
1792-7.
James Campbell.
1780. Henry Silshy.
1798-1807. Daniel Nurse.
1781.
Joseph Chatterton.
1808-9.
Amos Keyes.
1782-3.
John Dunean.
1810-11.
1784-5.
Daniel Grout.
1812-15.
Levi Hayward. Lemuel Lincoln. Edward Slader.
1786-8.
Jonathan Silsby.
1816-24.
1789.
Daniel Grout.
1825-27.
Gawin Gilmoro.
1790. James Campbell.
1828-9.
Nathaniel Grout.
1791.
Amos Keyes.
1830-8.
Edward Slader.
Levi Hayward.
1852-4.
J. H. Diekey.
Thomas Slader.
1835-6.
Granville Gilmore.
140
THE HISTORY OF ACWORTHI.
1839-41.
Granville Gilmore.
1861.
William Hayward.
1842-4. Edward Woodbury.
1845-7. David Montgomery.
1848-51. J. H. Diekey.
1852-9. David Montgomery.
1860. N. E. Sargent.
1867-9. N. Warner.
SELECTMEN.
1771. Henry Silsby, Samuel Harper, William Keyes.
1772. Henry Silsby, Thomas Putnam, John Rogers.
1773. Henry Silsby, Thomas Putnam, Dean Carleton.
1774. Samuel Harper, John Rogers, Samuel Silsby.
1775. Samuel Harper, Thomas Putnam, George Duncan.
1776. Thomas Putnam, Henry Silsby, John Rogers.
1777. Ephraim Keyes, Samuel Silsby, William Clark.
1778. Thomas Putnam, Alexander Houston, Ephraim Keyes.
1779. Daniel Mack, Henry Silsby, James Wallace.
1780. Henry Silsby, John Duncan, Daniel Grout.
1781. Daniel Grout, James Campbell, Jacob Foster.
1782. Joseph Finlay, Henry Silsby, Joseph Chatterton.
1783. William Mitchell, Joseph Finlay, Jonathan Silsby.
1784. Jacob Hayward, Moses Lancaster, Jonathan Silsby.
1785. Jonathan Silsby, Thomas Slader, Amos Ingalls.
1786. John Duncan, Daniel Grout, Thomas Slader.
1787. John Duncan, Thomas Slader, Lasell Silsby.
1788.
John Duncan, Lasell Silsby, Moses Lancaster.
1789. Lasell Silsby, Amos Ingalls, Jonathan Silsby.
1790. Moses Lancaster, Thomas Slader, Lasell Silsby. 1791. Thomas Slader, John Duncan, James Campbell. Lasell Silsby, Daniel Grout, Thomas Slader.
1793.
Isaac Foster, James Campbell, William Grout.
1797.
James Campbell, Isaac Foster, William Grout.
1798. James Campbell, Thomas Slader, William Grout.
1799.
James Campbell, Isaac Foster, William Grout.
1800.
James Campbell, Isaac Foster, Edward Slader.
1801. James Campbell, Moses Lancaster, Edward Slader. 1802. Levi Hayward, Moses Lancaster, Edward Slader.
1803. Gawin Gilmore, Moses Lancaster, Edward Slader.
1804-6. Gawin Gilmore, Amos Keyes, Lemuel Lincoln. Lemuel Lincoln, John Grout, Ebenezer Grout.
1808-9.
Lemuel Lincoln, Ebenezer Grout, Samuel Finlay.
1810.
Edward Slader, Samuel Finlay, Ebenezer Grout.
1811. Edward Slader, Maj. Ebenezer Grout, Elisha Parks.
1812.
Edward Slader, Elisha Parks, Levi Hayward.
1813. Levi Hayward, Gawin Gilmore, Eliphalet Bailey.
1814. Levi Hayward, Elisha Parks, Eliphalet Bailey. 1815. Lemuel Lincoln, James M. Warner, Samuel Slader.
1816. Lemuel Lincoln, Samuel Finlay, Samuel Slader.
1817-8. Elisha Parks, Eliphalet Bailey, Ithiel Silsby.
1819. Eliphalet Bailey, Ithiel Silsby, Jonathan Gove.
1820. Eliphalet Bailey, Jonathan Gove, David Blanchard.
1862-3.
C. M. Woodbury.
1864. William Hayward.
1865.
J. G. Silsby.
1866.
C. M. Woodbury.
1807.
James Campbell, Thomas Slader, Moses Lancaster.
1792.
1794-6.
SELECTMEN-REPRESENTATIVES TO THE LEGISLATURE. 141
1821-4. Elisha Parks, James M. Warner, David Blanchard.
1825-6. Ithiel Silshy, Jonathan Gove, Joel Tracy.
1827-8. Ithiel Silsby, Jesse Slader, Daniel Nourse, Jr.
1829. Ithiel Silsby, Daniel Nourse, Jr., David Montgomery.
1830. Ithiel Silsby, Eliphalet Bailey, David Blanchard.
1831. Eliphalet Bailey, David Blanchard, Joel Tracy.
1832.
Eliphalet Bailey, Joel Tracy, John Robb.
1833.
Joel Tracy, Jesse Slader, David Montgomery.
1834. Joel Tracy, David Montgomery, Ithiel Silsby.
1835. David Montgomery, Winslow Copeland, Eliphalet Parks.
1836. Eliphalet Bailey, Joel Tracy, Thomas Ball.
1837. David Blanchard, Joel Tracy, John Robb.
1838. David Blanchard, John Robb, Zenas Slader.
1839. John Robb, Joel Tracy, Edward Woodbury.
1840. Zenas Slader, Edward Woodbury, Hugh Finlay.
1841.
Edward Woodbury, David Blanchard, David Morrill.
1842.
Joseph G. Silsby, Daniel Robinson, Granville Gilmore.
1844.
Joseph G. Silsby, David Buss, Nathaniel Merrill.
1845. David Buss, Nathaniel Merrill, J. H. Dickey.
1846. Joseph G. Silsby, Barnet C. Finlay, Joel Tracy.
1847. Joel Tracy. Samuel McLure, William Hayward.
1848. David Montgomery, Joseph Ball, William Hayward.
1849. Jesse Slader, Hugh Finlay, C. K. Brooks.
1850-1. Joseph G. Silsby, Harvey Howard, Roswell Walker.
1852. Joseph G. Silsby, Daniel Robinson, C. K. Brooks.
1853-4. Daniel Robinson, Adna Keyes, Ebenezer Grout.
1855.
Adna Keyes, Harvey Howard, Daniel Gay.
1856. Daniel Robinson, J. H. Dickey, David Buss.
1857. J. H. Dickey, William Hayward, Samuel McKeen, Jr.
1858. J. H. Dickey, Jehiel Gowing, Rufus Hilliard.
1859.
Wm. Hayward, Thomas Slader, 2d, Samuel McKeen, Jr.
1860.
C. K. Brooks, Thomas Slader, 2d, Samuel McKeen, Jr. .
1861.
C. K. Brooks, Freeland Hemphill, Theron Duncan.
1862-3.
J. H. Dickey, John F. Dickey, C. J. Davis.
1864. Zenas Slader, John F. Dickey, C. J. Davis.
1865. John F. Dickey, J. H. Dickey, Joab N. Davis.
1866. Zenas Slader, J. H. Dickey, Joab N. Davis.
1867. Zenas Slader, Charles B. Cummings, J. F. D. Murdough.
1868. Zenas Slader, J. F. D. Murdough, James A. Wood.
1869. Joab N. Davis, Oliver Chapin, Lyman Buswell.
REPRESENTATIVES TO LEGISLATURE.
1794-1801. Capt. William Grout. 1803. Thomas Slader.
1821-2. Elisha Parks.
1823-4. James M. Warner.
1804-6. Gawin Gilmore.
1825-6. David Blanchard. 1827-8. Daniel Robinson. 1829-30. Stephen Carleton.
1809. 1810. 1811-13. Ebenezer Grout.
Gawin Gilmore. 1831-2. Jonathan Gove.
1833-4. Eliphalet Bailey.
1814. William Grout, Esq.
1835-6. Joel Tracy.
1815-16. Edward Slader.
1837. David Montgomery.
1817-20. Ithiel Silsby.
1838.
Samuel McClure.
1807-8. William Grout.
Thomas Slader.
142
THE HISTORY OF ACWORTH.
1839. David Montgomery.
1840-1. Joseph G. Silsby.
1842-3. Edward Woodbury.
1859-60. Daniel J. Warner.
1844-5. Joel Tracy.
1861-2. Zenas Slader.
1846-7. William Warner.
1863. C. M. Woodbury.
1848-9. Granville Gilmore.
1864-6. Levi Prentiss.
1850-1. James Wallace.
1867-8. William Hayward.
1852-3. Joseph G. Silsby.
1869. C. K. Brooks.
LIST OF THE SONS OF ACWORTH, WHO HAVE BEEN REPRESENT- ATIVES OF OTHER TOWNS TO STATE LEGISLATURES. Perley Keyes, Watertown, N. Y .; also State Senator. Amos Stebbins, State Senator, N. Y. Charles C. Gove, Nashua. Alexander Graham, Claremont. Milon C. McClure, Claremont. Rufus Blanchard, Vershire, Vt. Hiram Blanchard, Bradford. Joseph Carleton, Vershire, Vt. Roswell Carleton, Whitefield. William Nourse, Newport. Shepherd L. Bowers, Newport. Joseph Davis, Hancock.
Morris Clark, Whitefield. John M. Gove, Whitefield. Thomas Montgomery, Whitefield.
Calvin Clark, Mooretown, Vt. Paul Mason, Mooretown, Vt.
Andrew Mitchell, Lincoln, Vt. Horace Duncan, Lyman.
Alexander H. Gilmore, Fairlee, Vt. John B. Mayo, Dover, Me. Edward A. Slader, Nashua.
Joseph Copeland, Unity. Ransom Severns, Unity. Nedom L. Angier ; also State Treas. urer, Atlanta, Ga. Chapin K. Brooks, Lunenburg, Vt. Charles C. Mathewson, Mound Prai- rie, Ill.
JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.
Thomas Putnam, HIenry Silsby, Mathew Wallace, Daniel Grout, James Campbell, John Duncan, Thomas Slader, William Grout, Gawin Gilmore, Edward Slader, Samuel Finlay, Elisha Parks, Daniel Robinson, Jonathan Gove, Eliphalet Bailey,
Ithiel Silsby, David Blanchard, David Montgomery, Jesse Slader, John Robb, Joel Tracy, Edward Woodbury, Joseph G. Silsby, Granville Gilmore, Chapin K. Brooks, J. Harvey Diekey, Erastus Hemphill, Nathaniel Merrill, Joseph Ball,
1854-5. J. H. Dickey.
1856-8. Adna Keyes.
Samuel L. Slader, Langdon.
Robert Clark, William Warner, Zenas Slader, A. J. Cummings, David Buss, Adna Keyes, Jacob B. Richardson, Daniel Robinson, 2d, Hezekiah Copeland, 2d, Harvey Howard, Daniel J. Warner, Joseph S. Bowers, James A. Wood, N. E. Sargent.
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THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENCX TILUAN CHUMA ATION
CHAPTER II.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.
SKETCH OF THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
BEFORE proceeding to sketch the history of the Congregational Church, some account of the building of the first meeting-house may be proper. At the second town-meeting held three years af- ter the first settler built his log cabin, it was voted " that the meet- ing-house be set on ten acres of land taken from the adjoining cor- ners of lots 10 and 11, ranges 5 and 6, in a square form." But the troubles of the Revolutionary struggle coming on, nothing was done until 1779. The size of the house was then determined, 50 feet by 40. They had the same difficulty in agreeing upon a site that is so often experienced by communities now. Upon appli- cation a committee was sent by the Court, which selected substan- tially the same site originally agreed upon by the town. So com- plicated had meeting-house affairs become, that in 1782 all former votes were rescinded, and they started anew. When the materials were nearly gathered for raising the frame the difficulty again arose of determining the exact site. A committee of citizens of the neighboring towns by request fixed the site for the house. Rev. Eleazer Beckwith, the Baptist minister in Marlow, was a member of this committee. The meeting-house was raised in 1784. In 1787, while the lumber of the future pews was still flourishing in the forest, they were sold at auction. In 1789 the house became ready to use, though the pews were not all finished for some time after. There are those still living, who remember sitting upon benches of the rudest kind in the unfinished meeting-house, during Mr. Archibald's ministry. This house was a frame building of nearly a square form, and had entrances at the south, east and west sides, adorned with porches. The pulpit was at the northern end. The pews were about five feet square. There was a row of them all around the walls of the house, and an aisle ran around just in- side of this row. There was also a middle aisle with two rows of
144
THE HISTORY OF ACWORTH.
pews on each side. The deacons' seats were benches immedi- ately in front of the body pews. The gallery ran around three sides of the house, having as below, a row of pews next to the "wall, and also a second row on the front end. Space was thus left, on the cast and west sides, for the singing-seats. The leader of the singing, with two assistants, was allowed to sit in the dea- cons' seats below, by vote of the town, by which vote also the leader was chosen. In calling up the old house in imagination we must not forget the sounding-board over the pulpit.
March 12, 1773, was observed as a day of fasting by Henry Silsby, Bethiah Silsby, Thomas Putnam, Rachel Putnam, Samuel Silsby, Elizabeth Silsby, Dean Carleton and Anna Cross, and by the assistance of Rev. Bulkley Olcott, of Charlestown, and Rev. George Wheaton of Claremont, they were organized as a church, by subscribing to a covenant. This church, organized by these eight persons, has received to its communion 800 members. It has thus increased a hundred fold. The four men above named were leaders in the town, and thus from the very first religion took the prominent position it has always held. Religious services, as ministers could be obtained, were held at the house of Henry Silsby.
August 8, 1774, the town gave Mr. George Gilmore a call to become the pastor of this church, after having heard him preach for some time, promising him thirty pounds the first year, and agreeing to add four pounds annually until it should amount to fifty ' pounds a year. Afterwards six pounds more were added to en- courage Mr. Gilmore to give his answer in the affirmative. But he never was settled as pastor, probably owing to the unsettled state of affairs in the country at that time. But they were not without preaching during the war, as we find that the town pays Rev. David Goodale sixteen pounds for preaching during 1778, and at the annual town meeting in 1779, they vote to raise one hundred and thirty pounds for preaching during the year, and we find that Isaiah Kilburn preached in town during that year. In 1781 a committee of the town was chosen to secure a minister on pro- bation, and also a committee to draw up instructions as to the way the money voted for preaching should be spent. They reported it " to be most agreeable to order and to the Word of God, to ap- ply to the Presbytery, or an association of ministers so-called, for a candidate, and to admit no person that had not been licensed by them, to preach." This action resulted in hiring Mr. Goodale to preach on probation, and in November of that year, a call was voted
145
SKETCH OF THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
him, offering him £50 settlement money, and £40 the first year, and ££5 to be added every year until it amounted to £60. This, however, for some reason, did not result in set- tling Mr. Goodale. Previous to giving him a call, a more definite plan of church government was adopted. The church as first formed was purely Congregational in its government, but many of the first settlers of the town coming from London- derry, N. H., it became necessary to so modify the form of gov- ernment that they could conscientiously .and heartily unite with their brethren in the church. Therefore, Henry Silsby, Samuel Slader, Dean Carleton and Daniel Grout, who were Congrega- tionalists, and Robert McClure, Joseph Finlay, John Duncan, Daniel Mack and Alexander Houston, who had been Presbyte- rians, were chosen a committee to revise the plan of government, assisted by Rev. Mr. Olcott and Rev. Mr. Goodale. This plan of government provided for the election " of a number of the most wise, grave and respectable persons under the title and denomina- tion of Ruling Elders." These elders were to examine all candi- dates for admission to the church, but the candidates could only be admitted by vote of the whole church. In cases of discipline, the trial was had before the elders, unless the party interested should elect to have his case brought before the whole church as- sembled. In case of trouble, the party aggrieved might choose to make application either to a Presbytery, or to a council of Con- gregational Churches. The only change that has been made in the plan of government, of any consequence, was made in 1815, to prevent the baptism of children under the "half-way covenant," as it was termed.
The title of the church was the "Reformed Church of Ac- worth," a title applicable to any Protestant Church, not Lutheran, thus avoiding the decision of the question, to which denomination the church belonged. Rev. Tilly Howe preached as a candidate in 1787. Rev. Thomas Archibald, of Londonderry, N. H., who graduated at Dartmouth College in 1783, was ordained to the work of the gospel ministry on the second Tuesday of November, 1789; thus a minister and a meeting-house' were obtained the same year. His call was signed by the selectmen for the town. The town voted him " £50 settlement money, one-fourth in gold or silver, the remainder equal to beef at 20s. per hundred, or wheat at 5s. per bushel, or rye at 3s. 6d. per bushel, flax 7d. per pound, butter 7d. per pound; the gold and silver to be paid immediately ;
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146
THE HISTORY OF ACWORTH.
the remainder in three months." The town also voted him £50 in merchandize at the same rate, as a salary, and £5 to be added yearly until it should reach £60.
This ordination was a great event in Acworth. The town chose Joseph Finlay, Daniel Grout, James Campbell, Eliphaz Silsby and Joseph Chatterton, to attend upon and provide for the minis- ters, and other gentlemen ; and also chose Thomas Slader, John Duncan and Amos Ingalls, "to keep order and good regulation" during the ordination. .
The minister's salary was raised by a special tax upon the town, from which all were exempted who furnished evidence that they paid a minister's tax to another society. Several members of the Baptist Society in Marlow were so relieved.
The relation, however, between Mr. Archibald and this church continued only till June 14, 1794. Mr. Archibald, at a meeting of the elders at his house, February 10, 1794, complained of him- self as being guilty of a misdemeanor "in allowing his passion to get above his reason, in attempting to strike James Wallace." The elders thought "that as the offense had been public, his con- fession ought to be made before the church and congregation, but to this Mr. Archibald demurred. Thereupon a joint committee of the church and town brought charges against him before a mutual council. As to the results of the council we only know that it is- sued in the dissolution of the pastoral relation. Mr. Archibald confessed the charges brought against him, and was received to the fellowship and communion of the church, and was then dis- missed to the church in Alstead. The ministry of Mr. Archibald was not successful ; only ten united with the church while he was here. He is remembered as a man of harsh and irascible temper. The son of an eye-witness relates the following incident : " I recol- lect to have heard my father say that Mr. Archibald engaged in trade with Hugh Henry, furnishing goods, and acting as a silent partner. Henry undertook to take advantage of the pastor, locked up the store and closed the blinds, and commenced taking an account of stock. Learning what was going on, Mr. Archibald took an axe, walked deliberately down to the store, smashed the door in pieces, rushed in, seized Henry by the throat and choked him until he bellowed like a calf and begged for mercy. The parson, having got satisfaction, and his temper having cooled off, put on his black coat, for he had divested himself of his clerical robes, and, as my father who saw the whole affair expressed it,
147
SKETCH OF THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
sneaked away to his home, and never entered the pulpit or preached afterwards." Mr. Archibald died in 1812, aged fifty- seven years.
For three years the church was without a settled pastor. But on the 14th of June, 1797, Rev. John Kimball of Littleton, Mass., was ordained and installed pastor over the church. His call promised £100 settlement money, and £102 salary for five years, and then £80 as long as he should remain their pastor. Having remained pastor for nearly sixteen years, he was dismissed, at his own request, upon the plea of bodily indisposition. He returned to his native town, Littleton, Mass., and spent the remainder of his days. More than sixty were added to the church during his ministry. He was a bachelor, with some eccentricities. Tradition says it was sometimes difficult for him to keep the run of the days of the week. He appeared at the store one Sabbath morning to purchase a darning-needle, and when told it was Sunday was very nervous as to his pulpit preparations. At another time he was surprised that the district school-teacher, who boarded where he did, was not starting to school as usual. Upon inquiry, he was amazed to find it was the Sabbath. His naturally nervous disposition was greatly disturbed by the fatal ravages of the "spotted fever " in the town during the last year of his ministry, so that he hardly dared to attend funerals, much less visit the sick. Tradition says this neglect of duty led to a decrease of salary, which, doubtless, increased the " indisposition " that led him to ask a dismissal.
The church, after the dismissal of Mr. Kimball, was in a critical position. Mr. Kimball knew nothing experimentally of a change of heart, and his predecessor, to say the least, was not a spiritually- minded man. A lady who came here to reside from a neighboring town, remarked afterwards that she could not find a single person to sympathize with her in her religious experience. Persons who came to Mr. Kimball to know what they should do to be saved, were advised to lay aside their fears, and give themselves no trouble. All the forms of religion, however, were greatly re- spected, and generally observed. This state of things was not peculiar to Acworth. Mr. Cooke writes: "From my infancy to manhood, I never heard of a person professing to have met with a change of heart, although additions were frequently made to the church."
Mr. Cooke's religious experience was entirely different from
148
THE HISTORY OF ACWORTH.
that of his predecessors. Born in Hadley, Mass., October 9, 1781, he felt from infancy the influence of pious parents. By this influ- ence, under God, he was shielded from the licentious infidelity of the times while in college. He graduated from Williams College in 1803, in a class of twenty-eight, with only one professor of religion. His parents desired him to enter the ministry; but though it was the custom of the times, and even advised by good men, he could not think of entering upon that sacred office without knowing the power of religion in his own heart. He, therefore, entered a law office in Keene in 1804. He was not, however, satisfied with the practice of law. After a very marked and thorough religious experience, he united with the church in Keene in 1811, and soon began to pursue the study of theology without a teacher or an adequate library. But his early training in the Westminster Catechism and his religious experience assisted him greatly. In October, 1812, he was licensed by the Monad- nock Association. In July, 1813, he was invited to preach in Acworth. His very first sermon discovered a marked peculiarity of his-the exact adaptation of his text and discourse to the occasion. It also showed great courage on the part of a candi- date. The text was Mark x. 21: "One thing thou lackest;" and he proceeded to dislodge the prevailing Arminian sentiments from the minds of his hearers. Even one of the officers of the church shook his head, and remarked, " We never heard such doctrine as that before." But the people were in affliction. There was hardly a house where there was not one dead. Mr. Cooke administered religious consolation, as he went from house to house, as only one with a warm heart and deep piety could. This turned the hearts of the people toward him, and he soon received a call, with but one dissenting vote on the part of the church, and thirty-three on the part of the town. Thus the town of Acworth probably owes it to that fatal scourge, the " spotted fever," that she has had, for nearly half a century, a succession of pions men to break the bread of life to her children. The opposition to Mr. Cooke was partly on account of a political speech which he made while a lawyer in Keene, but mostly on account of a growing feeling that it was not right to tax the town to support preaching. Mr. Cooke declined the call at first-not on account of the opposition in town meeting, but because of trouble in the church. One Monday morning he rode away from Acworth, as he supposed, not to return, having;
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SKETCH OF THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
preached the Sabbath before from II. Cor. xiii. 11: "Finally, brethren, farewell." Col. Duncan had spent a sleepless night, feeling that he could not have it thus. In the morning he fol- lowed Mr. Cooke, and brought him back. On the next Sabbath, his text was Acts x. 29: " Therefore, came I unto you without gainsaying as soon as I was sent for. I ask, therefore, for what intent ye have sent for me." Difficulties were adjusted, and Mr. Cooke was ordained September 7, 1814. More than 2,500 per- sons were present at the ordination services. Dr. Seth Payson of Rindge, doubtless referring to the opposition, preached from the words, Gal. iv. 16: "Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth." Rev. Mr. Lankton of East Alstead made the ordaining prayer, of which Mr. Cooke remarked, " If the place was not shaken on which we stood, I shook." It may be a matter of interest to know that upon such occasions, in those days, clergymen wore gown and bands. In order to provide Mr. Cooke with a gown, the ladies bought nineteen yards of heavy black silk, which Miss Sally Nesmith, now Mrs. Wilson, fashioned into a clerical gown, and Mr. Cooke was obliged to send for her to help him to put it on.
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