USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > Brookline > History of Brookline, formerly Raby, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire : with tables of family records and genealogies > Part 21
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No further action relative to preaching appears to have been taken until the 14th day of March following, when it was voted-"To ordain Rev. Jacob Holt on condition a sufficient subscription should be obtained, and that William S. Crosby, Moses Shattuck, George Daniels, Esq., and William Hall be a committee to draft off the old bond get subscribers and sign a new one with such enlargements as will be thought proper."
225
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF BROOKLINE
The committee commenced its labors, but evidently was not very successful in procuring signatures to the bond. For on the second day of October of the same year, Nathaniel Shattuck, Deacon Eleazer Gilson and Capt. Mathew Wallace were elected as a new committee-"To obtain an additional minister bond."
Dec. 6, 1825, the church, as appears by its records, joined in the call to Mr. Holt.
Dec. 27, 1825, although, as appears by a subsequent town record, the minister's bond had not been completed, the town voted-"To ordain Mr. Jacob Holt to take pastoral care of our church." At the same time with this vote, Thomas Bennett, Ensign Bailey, George Daniels, Esq., William Hall, and Deacon Eleazer Gilson were elected as a committee-"To wait on Mr. Holt and appoint the council and find a place where they can be entertained and appoint a day for his ordination and make provisions for the same."
This committee attended to its duties, and on the 31st day of De- cember, 1826, the Rev. Jacob Holt was ordained as a gospel minister and installed as pastor of the local church.
The Ecclesiastical Council called for the purpose of Mr. Holt's ordi- nation convened at the house of James Parker, 2nd. The council was constituted of pastors and delegates from the churches in the following named towns:
Mason, Rev. Ebenezer Hill,
William B. Flagg.
Hollis,
Rev. Eli Smith,
Ephraim Burge.
Townsend, Mass.,
Rev. David Palmer, Eliot Gowen.
Milford,
Rev. Humphrey Moore,
Daniel Burns.
Pepperell, Mass.,
Rev. James Howe,
Deacon Jonas Parker.
Wilton, Rev. Thomas Bede,
Deacon Ezra Abbott.
Groton, Mass., Rev. Charles Robinson, Calvin Boynton.
The council was organized by choosing the Rev. Ebenezer Hill as moderator, and Rev. James Howe as clerk.
Order of Exercises.
Introductory Prayer,
Rev. David Palmer.
Sermon,
Rev. Humphrey Moore,
Charge,
Rev. Ebenezer Hill.
Ordaining Prayer,
Rev. Eli Smith.
Right hand of fellowship,
Rev. James Howe.
Concluding prayer,
Rev. Charles Robinson.
226
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF BROOKLINE
An interesting part of the proceedings of this council was its action on the following resolution relative to the church in Groton, Mass .:
"Resolved that this council do not consider the transactions of this day as acknowledging the regular standing of the church in Groton, over which the Rev. Charles Robinson is Pastor."
The vote on the resolution was taken by yeas and nays and resulted as follows: Yeas: Smith, Burge, Moore, Burns, Palmer, Gowan, Hill, Flagg, Howe, and Parker; Nays: Bede, Abbott, Robinson, and Boynton.
As to the day's doings outside of the ordination exercises proper, there is little doubt that they were, to say the least, pleasant if not exhilarating. For by a license obtained from the selectmen, John H. Cutter who was then keeping store in this town, on that day "mixed and sold liquors at the dwelling house of Asher Shattuck and Coburn Green's house and shop"; and Lieut. John Smith was licensed-"To mix and sell on the Common."
There were also present "music" from Pepperell; and a "band of singers" from Hollis, concerning which and whom the following items copied from an ancient order book of the town form interesting reading:
"Feb. 26, Luke George Order $6.00 It being in full for the music from Pepperell on ordination day."
"Feb. 7, James Parker, Jr. order for $7.00 it being in full for his find- ing supper and spirit for the Hollis singers on ordination day."
"Capt. Joseph Hall, order $6.91 It being in full for providing the singers on ordination day."
By this order book it also appears that James Parker, Jr., also pro- vided the entertainment for the members of the council at a cost of thirty- one dollars.
Mr. Holt's pastorate, which extended over a period of about four years, appears to have been quiet and uneventful. Tradition has pre- served no information concerning it and, after his ordination, the only entry relative to him to be found in the town records is under date of March 13, 1829; when it was voted-"To appoint a committee to assist Mr. Holt to collect money of those who signed his bond."
But this entry is a significant one for, from it, it is fair to draw the inference that the failure of his parishioners to comply with their obliga- tions under the terms of their bond securing the payment of his salary was the cause which finally led him to sever the bonds by which he was bound to them; which, in 1831, he did. He went from Brookline to Ipswich, Mass.
227
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF BROOKLINE
The following sketch of Mr. Holt's life is taken from a liistorical discourse delivered before the Hollis Association of Ministers, May 6, 1862, at Hollis, by Rev. A. W. Burnham, D. D., of Rindge. :
REV. JACOB HOLT. "Very little is on record respecting Mr. Holt. He was born in Andover, Mass., in 1780,-graduated at Dartmouth College in 1803,-became the second pastor of the church in Brookline, N. H., in 1827,-resigned in 1831,-passing the remainder of his life in Ipswich, Mass., where he died, probably about 1851 *- 52. Quiet and retiring in his habits, a sincere Christian, he was evangelical in his re- ligious faith, and cordially devoted to his work as a minister of the gospel."
It may be well at this point to mention the fact that, after the ex- piration of Mr. Wadsworth's pastorate, the word "settlement," referring to the town's contract with its ministers, does not again appear on its records. In the case of Mr. Holt, Mr. Wadsworth's successor, although he was engaged by the town, the payment of his salary appears to have been guaranteed by a bond signed by individual citizens; and it is prob- able that the same arrangement prevailed in the case of Rev. Mr. East- man, the town's third minister. Nevertheless, the town doubtless con- tinued to contribute to the support of preaching during the years covered by the pastorates of the first three of its ministers. For the "minister tax," which was assessed for the first time in 1790, continued to be as- sessed and collected, as the records show, year by year, until as late as 1843, when it appears on the book for the last time.
For the four years next succeeding that of Mr. Holt's resignation the town and church were without a settled pastor. During this period the sentiment in favor of a more liberal interpretation of the Scriptures and a broader expansion and freer expression of religious thought, which had manifested itself in the attempt, in 1821, to establish in town a "Chris- tian Society," again came to the surface.
This sentiment, although vigorously opposed by the Congregation- alists, gained in strength so that in 1831, at a town meeting holden on the Sth day of March, its advocates were sufficiently strong in numbers to carry a vote-"That the Meeting-house may be occupied by different denominations."
By that vote, religious tolerance, so far as the use of the Meeting- house was concerned, was established in Brookline; and from that day to the present time the house has been open to the use of any and all relig- ious denominations whose adherents profess to worship God in spirit and in truth, and according to the dictates of their own consciences.
* Mr. Holt died in 1847, aged 66 years .- [Ed.]
228
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF BROOKLINE
That vote was really the beginning of the end of the support by the town, as such, of what the records term "gospel preaching."
The Pastorate of Rev. Henry E. Eastman.
Mr. Eastman was called to the pastorate of the Congregational Church on the 15th day of September, 1835. He was called by the Church and Society. There is no record of the town's joining in the call. Indeed, as a matter of fact, the town's records make no mention of him whatever, except in connection with his holding, in 1837, the position of superin- tending school committee. But from the fact that during his pastorate the minister's tax continued to be assessed, it is probable that the town contributed toward his support.
Mr. Eastman was ordained Dec. 9, 1835. His ordination council was constituted of pastor and delegates from the Congregational churches in Mason, Milford, Pepperell, Mass., Hollis, Amherst, and Townsend, Mass.
Order of Exercises.
Introductory Prayer
Rev. David Palmer.
Sermon,
Rev. James Howe.
Consecration Prayer,
Rev. Ebenezer Hill.
Charge, Right Hand of Fellowship,
Rev. Silas Aiken.
Rev. David Perry.
Address to the people,
Rev. Humphrey Moore.
Concluding Prayer,
Rev. David Perry.
In the meantime, from the date of the town's vote in 1831 to open the meeting-house to all denominations, the "Christians" had been en- joying its use in conjunction with the Congregationalists. But just prior to, or soon after, Mr. Eastman's ordination, this joint occupancy ceased. The Congregationalists, who viewed with apprehension and alarm the growth in town of the spirit of liberalism, and who were dis- satisfied in being compelled to share with a society whose creed was, in their judgment, fraught with so much danger to the welfare, both here and hereafter, of the citizens of the town, in the use of a house of worship of which for so many years they had held undisputed possession, resolved to abandon the old meeting-house as a place of worship, and did so. For a few years succeeding their abandonment of the old meeting-house they held their meetings in the schoolhouses.
229
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF BROOKLINE
It has been claimed by some people in the past, that the Congrega- tionalists were compelled to leave the old meeting-house by action on part of the town, and that the town formed, or authorized the formation, of a "Christian" church, with the understanding that its ministers should exchange puplits with the Universalists and Unitarians. But so far as the records of the town are concerned they do not contain a particle of evi- dence of any such action on its part; except it be found in the vote of 1831, which opened the house to the use of all religious denominations. For from that date onward, the records contain no mention of any vote, or action of any description, on the part of the town relative to hiring or engaging the services of a minister of any denomination whatever, not even of Mr. Eastman. Nor that the citizens in any way changed their dictum, as expressed in the vote of 1831, relative to the occupancy of the meeting-house.
That the Congregationalists abandoned the house is true; and that they abandoned it voluntarily, and for the reasons herein before stated, and not because they were compelled to do so by any action upon the part of the town, is probably equally true.
Mr. Eastman held his pastorate until the fall of 1837 when he was released at his own request and by the society, as appears by the following entries in its records:
"Oct. 28, 1837; voted, to grant the request of Rev. Henry E. East- man in dissolving his pastoral relations now existing between him and the Society. Voted to grant his request so that he may leave immediately."
The following sketch of Mr. Eastman's life was written by the Rev. Daniel Goodwin, late of Mason, deceased.
"REV. HENRY E. EASTMAN was for a short time a member of the Hollis Association. He was born in Granby, Mass .; was graduated at Amherst College in 1832, and at Andover in 1835; was married to Miss Minerva Nash, of Conway, Mass., 1836; was ordained in Brookline, Dec. 9, 1835. He remained there two years. Afterwards preaching in Tolland, Mass., for a time, when he went to the West under the direction of the Home Missionary Society, and had been located four years in Somerset, Hinsdale County, Michigan, when his master called him home.
He died of typhoid fever in September, 1852. In his last sickness, it is said, he was remarkably peaceful, though strongly desirous of recover- ing for the good of others. For himself, he felt it would be sweet to rest in the bosom of Jesus. He left a widow and two sons, to whom he spoke words of hope and counsel, saying: 'Do not be troubled; the Lord will
230
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF BROOKLINE
provide.' When asked, in his last moments, how he was, he replied, 'Happy in the Saviour.'
Mr. Eastman is represented as a conscientious man, a faithful min- ister, distinguished for his amiable and inoffensive traits of character. In a resolution passed by the Presbytery of Marshall, he is spoken of --- 'As a brother beloved in the Lord; intelligent, earnest, and faithful, and as an example of single hearted devotedness to the cause of Christ.'"
CONGREGATIONAL MEETING-HOUSE-1839
231
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF BROOKLINE
CHAPTER XIV.
Ecclesiastical History, Continued.
1837-1912.
Building of the Congregational Meeting-house, 1837-1839-Rev. Daniel Goodwin Called to the Pulpit-Mr. Goodwin's Ordination and Dedication of the New Meeting-house-Presentation of Commun- ion Service by Deacon Thomas Bennett-A Feud in the Church and the Society, and the Resulting Unhappy Effects-Mr. Good- win Severs His Connection with the Church and Society-Bio- graphical Sketch of Rev. Daniel Goodwin-The Pastorate of Rev. Theophilus Parsons Sawin-Services at His Installation-Sketch of His Life-Pastorate of Rev. John H. Manning-Pastorate of Rev. Francis D. Sargent-Revised Articles of Faith and Covenant, 1871-The James H. Hall Bequest to the Church and Society- Repairing and Remodeling of the Meeting-house in 1875-The Mary F. Peabody Bequest-The Gift of the Clock on the Church Tower-Dedication of the Remodeled Meeting-house-The Gift of a New Church Bell by Edward T. Hall-The James N. Tucker Bequest to the Church and Society-The Wilkes W. Corey Bequest to the Church and Society-Rev. Mr. Sargent's Resignation as Pastor, Biographical Sketch of Rev. F. D. Sargent's Life-Pas- torate of Rev. George L. Todd-Sketch of Rev. Mr. Todd's Life- Pastorate of Rev. Fred E. Winn and Sketch of His Life-The Pas- torate of Rev. J. Alphonse Belanger, and Sketch of His Life- Centennial Year of the Organization of the Congregational Church and the Church's Celebration of the Same in 1895-Address at the Celebration by Rev. Frank D. Sargent-Original Centennial Poem by Edward E. Parker-The Pastorate of Rev. John Thorpe -Sketch of Mr. Thorpe's Life-Pastorate of Rev. George A. Ben- nett, and Sketch of His Life-Meeting-house Repaired and Re- dedicated in 1906-Pastorate of Rev. Warren L. Noyes, and Sketch of His Life-List of Deacons of the Congregational Church from 1795 to 1912 Inclusive-Clerks of the Congregational Church from 1795 to 1912 Inclusive.
232
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF BROOKLINE
In the preceding chapter Rev. Mr. Eastman's resignation is recorded as having been accepted Oct. 28, 1837. On the 23rd day of December following, the members of the Congregational Society met at the dwelling house of Asher Shattuck and, having elected Thomas Bennett as moder- ator and James Parker, Jr., as clerk of the meeting, after a lengthy dis- cussion, resolved that "it was expedient to build a new meeting-house"; and voted that the said new house should be located-"On the east side of the Milford road on the hill near to Mr. Benjamin Wheeler's shoe- maker's shop on land owned by Mr. Albert George, provided the land could be purchased of Mr. George for that purpose."
At an adjourned meeting on the 27th day of the same month, Horace Warner, James Parker, Jr., and Asa Betterly were elected as a building committee. Jan. 15, 1838, William Gilson was appointed as a committee of one-"To take a deed of a piece of land Suitable to set said meeting- house on." On the 16th day of February, 1838, Albert George of Boston, Mass., by his deed of that date, in consideration of sixty dollars to him paid, conveyed to the Congregational Society of Brookline the land on which its meeting-house now stands.
At a meeting of the society on the 25th day of February, it was voted-"To build the meeting-house agreeably to a plan drawn by Horace Warner, the dimensions of which on the ground is fifty feet by forty." At a subsequent meeting in the same month, the society voted -"To build a vestry in the roof of the house."
At a meeting of the "stockholders" on the 18th day of March, 1839, James Parker, Jr., and Asa Betterly were elected a committee-"To sell pews, and to let such pews as remain unsold until there is an opporutnity of selling the same."
The foregoing meeting was holden in the "new meeting-house"; and as the last recorded meeting prior to it was holden at the dwelling house of Capt. Nathan Dunphee on the 5th day of June, 1838, it is evident that at some time between these two last mentioned dates the house was so far completed as to be ready for occupancy.
As to the methods employed in building the new meeting-house, the records show that they were similar to those employed in building the old. Every member of the society contributed to its construction, according to his means or disposition, either by donations of money or building mate- rials, or both; and the deficits in the amount necessary to defray the ex- penses was made up from the sum realized by the sale of the pews.
On the 3rd day of January, 1838, the pews were sold at public auction. The conditions of the sale appear to have been to sell to the highest bidder
233
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF BROOKLINE
the privilege of selecting by number the pew which he desired, and for which, when so selected, he paid its price as already fixed by the committee on the sale of the pews.
The following record of the sale is given here not only because it gives the names of those who purchased the pews and the price paid by each, but also because it establishes the identity of some, at least, of those who were then members of the society.
"Pews Sold at Auction
No. 8 to Timothy Wright;
choice money, $9.
price
$64.00 57.00 67.00
" 13 " Nathaniel W. Colburn;
.
7.
..
10.
66 75.00
66 9 " James H. Hall;
12.
77.00
7 " E. Sawtell;
66
S. 8.
S.
66 63.00
66 27 " Nathan Dunphee;
6.
S.
68.00
5 " William Gilson;
66
7.
66
67.00
10 " John Burge;
3.
58.00
31
" James Parker;
66
5.
66
70.00
33 " Thomas Bennett;
66
2.
67.00
66
20 " David Harris;
3.
38.00 46.00
66
19 " Leonard French;
1.
66
36.00
66
36 " John Hutchinson;
66
2.
66
47.00 58.00
66 18 " Waldo Wallace;
66
1. .
66
51.00
66
6 " Francis A. Peterson;
1.
46.00
2 " William Gilson;
1.
66
51.00
32 " Thomas Bennett;
66
55.00
16 " Abel Foster;
66
40 " Eli Sawtell;
39 " Thomas Bennett;
50.00
12 " Artemas Wright;
66
50.00
25 " Franklin McDonald;
55.00
66 14 " Asher Shattuck;
66
1.
46.00
30 " Jonas Hobart;
50.00
66
73.00 73.00
29 " Horace Warner;
15 " W. W. Corey;
17 " Robert Seaver;
66
2.
47.00
66
23 " Stephen Perkins;
..
1.
3.
66
34 " Timothy Wright, Jr .;
50.00 50.00
" 1 " Asa Betterly;
7.
" 11 " C. Farley;
234
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF BROOKLINE
No. 3 " John S. Daniels;
Price 60.00
60.00
35 " William Gilson;
35.00
22 " Isaac and Joseph Sawtell;
24 66 60
45.00
28 “
50.00
130.00
The Amount of Pews Sold
1825.00
$1955.00"
The average price per year, at this date, for pew rental was three dollars.
In the summer of 1849 the new meeting-house was remodeled, and underwent some changes, the nature of which are not definitely known. Prior to making these alterations, however, the authorities took the pre- caution to secure from the owners of the pews the following receipt:
"Brookline, August 9th, 1849.
We the undersigned, Pew holders in the Congregational Meeting house in Brookline before the Altering and Remodeling of Said house Do Hereby Acknowledge that wee have Received Payments in full of the Congregational Society for all Pews by us owned Before the Alteration of Said House.
William Gilson, James H. Hall, Robert Seaver, Horace Warner, Eldad Sawtell, John S. Daniels, Thomas Bennett, John Burge, Calvin R. Shed, Louisa Spaulding, Deverd C. Parker, Joseph Hall, David Hobart, Asa Betterly, Nathan Dunphee, Franklin McDonald, Isaac Sawtelle, Joseph Sawtell, N. W. Colburn, F. A. Peterson, Asher Shattuck, Wilkes W. Corey, Artemas Wright."
The interior arrangements of the new meeting-house as it was origin- ally constructed, were very similar to those in it at the present time. The pulpit was located at the back part of the house, and in very nearly the same position as that occupied by the present pulpit. Behind the pulpit, built out from the church walls, was an alcove, in which were lo- cated the chairs, and, at a later period, the sofa, designed for the use of the minister and his visiting clerical friends. The seats for the congrega- tion faced the pulpit, and were constructed so as to be at right angles with the side walls of the house. The gallery over the vestibule at the front of the building was for many years used as a choir loft; so that, whenever, during that part of the devotional exercises devoted to singing,
235
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF BROOKLINE
the congregation arose and remained standing, in order to face the music it had to right about face.
For a number of years after moving into the new meeting-house, or until the house was remodeled in 1875, the choir continued the practice, which had been established during the latter part of its sojourn in the old, of using violins, violoncellos and, occasionally, a cornet, as accom- paniments and aids to its singing. But in the latter part of the fifties a seraphine, an instrument then just coming into general use, was installed in the choir loft; and with its installation, the fiddles and cornets were gradually relegated back to the dance-halls and military bands, where, in the opinion of many of the congregation, they properly belonged.
Pastorate of Rev. Daniel Goodwin.
In 1839, the new meeting-house having been practically completed, the church and society decided to call a pastor to fill the pulpit which had been vacant ever since the resignation of the Rev. Mr. Eastman in 1837.
After due deliberation, on the 10th day of January, 1839, a call was extended to Rev. Daniel Goodwin. The call was signed on the part of the church by Deacon Thomas Bennett, Eldad Sawtell and Timothy Wright; on the part of the society by Nathaniel W. Colburn, John Burge and Robert Seaver. By its terms Mr. Goodwin's salary was fixed at four hundred dollars per annum, to be paid semi-annually, and he was to be allowed-"Four Sabbaths in a year for himself."
Mr. Goodwin accepted the call and, on the 27th day of February, 1839, he was ordained in the new meeting-house; and at the same time the house was dedicated with appropriate ceremonies to the service of the Lord.
Exercises Attendant upon the Dedication of the New Meeting- house and the Ordination of Rev. Daniel Goodwin, Feb. 17, 1849.
The council was composed of the following pastors and delegates: Mason; Rev. Ebenezer Hill and Rev. A. H. Reed, Moses Merriam, Del.
Merrimack;
Rev. H. Moore, Eli Sawtell, Del.
Townsend, Mass .;
Rev. David Stowell and Rev. David Palmer.
Pepperell, Mass .; Rev. James Howe and Deacon Jonas Parker.
Milford;
Rev. Abner Warren, Richard Williams, Del.
236
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF BROOKLINE
Hollis; Rev. David Perry, Thomas Cummings, Del.
Derry; Rev. E. L. Parker.
Rev. Ebenezer Hill was elected moderator and Rev. David Perry scribe of the Council.
The dedicatory exercises occurred first, and were conducted as fol- lows:
Invocation and reading of the Scriptures,
Prayer, Sermon, Concluding Prayer,
Rev. Abner Warren.
Rev. H. Moore.
Rev. Ebenezer Hill.
Rev. David Stowell.
Ordination Exercises.
Introductory prayer,
Rev. Abner Warren.
Sermon,
Rev. E. L. Parker.
Charge to the pastor,
Rev. H. Moore.
Ordination Prayer,
Rev. David Stowell.
Right hand of fellowship,
Rev. David Perry.
Address to the people,
Rev. A. H. Reed.
Concluding prayer,
Rev. James Howe.
Mr. Goodwin was the fourth in order of succession of the pastors of the church. At the time of his taking charge as pastor of its people, the church was still suffering from the demoralizing conditions occasioned by its abandonment of its original place of worship. But it was still the church of the fathers, and was recognized as such by the townspeople, the majority of whom continued to worship within its walls.
Mr. Goodwin, who was a young man, a recent graduate of Andover, and well equipped for the work in which he was about to engage, came into his charge with a full knowledge of the situation in which the church was then placed; and doubtless entered into the performance of his pastoral duties with a firm determination to work for its upbuilding; to be zealous in season and out of season in doing all things necessary and proper for the promotion of peace and harmony between it and the citizens and for the advancement of the cause of Christ.
He was from the beginning successful in his efforts. A thorough be- liever in the principles of Christianity, his emphatic and unreserved ad- vocacy of those principles, as well as his consistent Christian life, soon imbued the minds of his fellow citizens with a belief in the sincerity of his
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