History of Cheshire and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire, Part 58

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis
Number of Pages: 1200

USA > New Hampshire > Sullivan County > History of Cheshire and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire > Part 58
USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > History of Cheshire and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire > Part 58

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Like his parishioners, he had his house to build, and that he might support himself and family and keep open house for his people and friends, he was compelled to spend much time in tilling his farm and garden. After a few years his parishioners, some of whom were sharp men, found it not easy to pay the parish dues. A meeting-house had been raised, but the windows were not put in nor the pews sold, when, in 1770, the town raised a committee to confer with Mr. Gay "and advise him to attend public worship more seasonably, and not employ so much of his time in secular employments, so as to hinder his studies and render him unfit and unable to per- form the ministerial function." It appears that the congregation or town was dilatory as well as the minister, as it was not until the November following that the town voted "to build pews in the meeting-house, glaze the house and sell the pews to the highest bidder." This was done. Among others were the following bids : Deacon Evans bid £2 6s. ; Mr. Gay, £4 12s. ; Mr. Jones, £7 10s. ; Jonathan Hunt, £6 18x. ; A. Hunt, £3 10s .; O. Butler, £3 10s .; Thomas Taylor, £4 10s.

There was at times some dissatisfaction with the pastor, as was shown at a meeting when eighteen out of twenty-nine voted that he be continned in the ministry. In 1779 the salary voted was one thousand pounds in the depreci- ated currency of the time. Mr. Gay's connec- tion with the parish was dissolved in 1801, but his ministry continued until about the time of his death, in 1815, under some arrangement with the members of the church and congregation by which he was "to take what they might choose to give him."

361

HINSDALE.

& Co. Some time before 1840 the Congrega- tionalists occupied their church now standing in the village.

Governor Hunt and Dr. Cyrus Washburn, living on the west side of the river, and on the east, Daniel Jones, Seth Hooker and Uriel Evans, were members of the parish at or be- fore the year 1800, giving character and promi- nence to the town and society.

In 1801, Rev. Mr. Gay, for the sake of peace and in consideration of the agreement of the town to pay him five hundred dollars, absolved the town from its covenant with him as the pastor, but continued to supply in Hinsdale and Vernon, on alternate Sundays, for six years ; and later in Hinsdale, as before stated, preach- ing until 1808 in the house first ereeted near the bank of the Connecticut River. Vernon, where the majority of the parishioners resided, having become a separate town, a second church edifice was erected on the summit of the hill on the road now known as Brattleborough Street. Perched on this hill, the steeple could be seen for miles beyond the State line in Northfield, and the bell, donated by Mrs. Marsh, daughter of Governor Hunt, could be heard on all the farms in southern Hinsdale and Vernon. The farmers, at first, were proud of their church as a landmark visible from afar ; but, having felt the burden of paying for it, were not disposed to burden themselves further with the expense necessary for the support of a regular preacher. It was, in fact, twenty-five years after the build- ing was completed before a pastor was settled. This period has been described as the dark ages of the church in Hinsdale. The early fathers had been set off to another parish, or had dis- appeared. The town had ceased to be a little community of farmers, and became a field for the missionary.

After the construction of a road up the Ashuelot Valley from the old ferry below Cooper's Point, great quantities of lumber were hauled to the landing to be rafted, giving employment to a number of raftsmen and

lumbermen, who took up their abode in the town, and many boatmen were called here to aid in taking large boats up the rapids in the Connecticut, between the Ashuelot and West Rivers. In the first half of this century nearly all heavy merchandise was carried on these boats to the towns on or near the river-banks for more than a hundred miles above the State line. In seven miles above the landing in Hinsdale the river falls thirteen feet. From five to ten extra men were required to be taken on at Hins- dale to push one of these boats up the rapids; and, at certain seasons, a number of upward- bound boats arrived at the landing daily to await the arrival of the swift-water men, as they were called. These easy-going, hardy boatmen, and many of the lumbermen, were given to merry-making, drinking and fighting. Their influence was opposed to the church and religion, and they never appeared to feel the need of either ; and the few inhabitants who saw the need of both were not able to support a regular pastor.

After Mr. Gay, the pulpit was unsupplied for some years, except by some neighboring min- ister occasionally, when Rev. Mr. Low and Rev. Mr. Lawson supplied for a time, followed by Rev. Mr. Andrews, a Baptist clergyman, for the five years ending in 1821. In the mean time a Sunday school was organized, which numbered eighty members.

The early church records having been de- stroyed, and the church supplied by ministers of different denominations, a council was held October 8, 1821, "to take into consideration the concerns of the Congregational Church in Hins- dale." The council found only four male and five female members of the original church, and these were reorganized under a confession of faith and covenant. From 1825 to 1832 the Home Missionary Society sent to the church as supplies Rev. Mr. Griswold, Rev. Mr. Smith and Rev. Mr. Longley. Rev. Eliphalet Strong, a graduate of Harvard in 1824, was ordained May 17, 1832, over a church of fifteen men-

362

HISTORY OF CHESHIRE COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

bers, which increased to fifty the next year. He was dismissed in 1835, and for a time was confined in an insane asylum, but recovered, and removed to Illinois. Rev. Joseph Marsh, a graduate of Dartmouth in 1824, was installed May 23, 1835. During his ministry the church occupied its new edifice, erected in the village in 1835, and forty-one were added to the church. He was dismissed the day his successor, the Rev. Gardner S. Brown, a graduate of Dartmouth, was ordained.

Mr. Brown entered on his ministry with much enthusiasm. A young man, with a good voice, and other attractive personal qualities, he would have made an impression in any place. He seemed to feel sincerely what he often said in his pulpit with characteristic force, " Woe be unto me if I preach not the gospel !" At the outset he filled the pews with listeners, who were moved and impressed with his teachings, and many came to the fold, while the influence of the church for the first time in many years be- came the leading influence of the town. But the change was not all due to the preacher. The water-powers in the Ashuelot had called here a number of new men and families, which wrought a great change in the character of the place. Among these were Caleb Todd, who first began in this town the manufacture of woolen fabrics, and Pardon H. and Pliny Mer- rill, who constructed the canal and improved the upper falls, Colonel Levi Green, Jonathan Brown, William Haile, Dr. F. Boyden, Deacon Windsor Bowker and others, all of whom were business men of intelligence and character, young, or in the prime of life, desirous of bring- ing their homes under the influence that good schools and the church only can give. Besides these, Deacon A. Shattuck, Henry Hooker, William and Lewis Taylor and others, natives of the town, were active members of this church. All those who are named above, whether natives or not, took active parts in the affairs of the society and town, speaking in the evening meet- ings, in which the pastor encouraged them, until

they acquired the art of speaking well, and there came to be less of exhortation than debate or discussion, more spirited than is usual on such occasions. The pastor was in the habit of pre- siding, never hesitating to criticise a speaker, or to stop him if he talked too long. At one of these meetings the Universalist minister at- tempted to speak, saying, "In the peace of God there is liberty-" "No liberty for you, sir, here," roared Pastor Brown, before another word could be uttered.

The interest in religion could not, under the circumstances, long be confined to one society. Good men protested against what they called the insolence of the young pastor and the doc- trine of eternal punishment, which, they said, he made the principal part of his sermons and creed. Talk upon religious subjects prevailed in stores, shops and wherever men were in the habit of meeting, as well as in vestry meetings. The result was that the Universalist Church, organized a few years before, and until then languishing, had just lived, all at once revived. It began its new life by expelling an original member who was alleged to have used profane and abusive language, and averred that "he joined the society to bother a brother member," and, gathering in many converts, it completed, in 1840, the edifice the church now occupies.

At this time there was a class of men-vil- lagers and farmers of much influence in the town-who were in the habit of spending their evenings in the post-office and stores. Some of these men were quite intelligent and sensible, and, withal, very good talkers. They discussed, in little groups, politics, religion and local topics with much pleasantry, and often with a good deal of spirit. Among these, the man listened to with the most amusement was John Stearns, a tall, swarthy young farmer, who lived on his farm two miles out of the village, where the original Shattuck built his fort. There was no end to his sallies and stories, and he could make sport of a loco-foco or a backslider without of- fending his victims. There were others like

363

HINSDALE.

him who were never found inside of a church, yet were not scoffers, but sought to make the most of life with little thought of the hereafter. When a church-member faltered, or did aught amiss, they discovered and published it. This probably led the churches to undue vigilance. At all events, cases of discipline were very com- mon, and for causes which would now not be deemed to warrant it.

In the hard-cider Presidential campaign in 1840 the vestry-meetings were nearly deserted for the gatherings in the stores and other public places, where Mr. Stearns talked to little groups which gathered about him, laughing at his political jokes and comments on current events, which were, perhaps, as good as the best in the newspapers of the present time.

During this campaign a controversy arose be- tween Caleb Todd and the church, which ended, if it has yet ended, only upon the death of Mr. Todd more than thirty years afterward. The church record shows that Brother Todd made charges against Deacon Windsor Bowker. At a hearing before the church Deacon Bowker made no defense, and the church having decided against Brother Todd, and the latter having re- fused to abide by the decision, a council of pas- tors and delegates was called to consider the grievances between him and the church, and be- tween him and Deacon Bowker. Before the council assembled Deacon Bowker brought charges against Brother Todd, declaring "he had taken the gospel steps with him and had received no satisfaction." This matter was also referred to the council. The record shows that an ecclesiastical council assembled November 3, 1840, but what action was taken in relation to any of the charges does not appear. But it does appear from the record that at a church-meeting, held February 3, 1841, charges were presented against Caleb Todd, on which he was excom- municated. What the charges were does not appear from the record, which only shows that charges and grievances were made or existed.

If the charges were preserved or extended

on the record, the real mutiny which led to the excommunication would not probably be disclosed. It has never been believed or sug- gested that the charges were for disgraceful conduct, or for any cause which might not be the result of some misunderstanding. Be that as it may, the excommunication did not affect his standing as an upright citizen whose chiar- acter and integrity were such that he would readily have been admitted into any church of the same faith, except that by which he was expelled. It may be that he could not yield to the pastor, whom he had antagonized, and the brethren who expelled him sincerely believed that there could be no harmony in the society while he remained. He bitterly complained of his excommunication as a personal disgrace, and obtained much sympathy in and out of the society. To the end of his life he begged to be taken back, but could never be brought to acknowledge that he had done wrong, nor could the brethren who expelled him; and both remained steadfast in the belief that they were right, until he died, in 1871, outside the pale of the church.

The controversy after the excommunication continued, and it was aggravated with other causes of dissension. The will of James H. Davenport, a deceased brother, was contested by his heirs, and the case instead of being left to the decision of the courts, became a subject of contention in the church, in which the pastor became involved. The latter is reported to have said in his pulpit that " even the Almighty could not make two four, or break the will of man." No allusion was probably intended to any particular man or case, but some persons insinuated that the will referred to was the stubborn will of Caleb Todd, and others that it was the last will and testament of the de- ceased brother, that could not be broken. Whatever was intended, the effect under the circumstances, with other things, was to alienate both the friends of Mr. Todd and the heirs from the pastor and those sustaining him. The

364

HISTORY OF CHESHIRE COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

will-case, after one or more trials in court, was compromised, and the will was not broken nor the dissensions stayed.

In 1843 about a score of members (but only a part of the disaffected) asked to be dismissed from the church. A committee appointed to visit and labor with them performed their duty apparently without success. Their re- quest not being granted, Dr. Frederick Boy- den and others sent to the church a communica- tion declaring themselves " free and independ- ent of the church," and a dozen or more members were thereupon suspended or expelled and others soon after "cut off." A class of Methodists was then formed, in which a num- ber of those " cut off" found fellowship.

At the next meeting of the church, action was taken for the dismission of the pastor. A council assembled April, 16 1844, and, accord- ing to the record, it was happy " to find that the church and pastor, Rev. G. S. Brown, have from the beginning been united in affec- tion and remained steadfast in maintaining, against a heavy pressure of hostile influences, the order and faith of the gospel ;" but it adjudged that the relation between the pastor and his people should be dissolved.

During the ministry of Mr. Brown much good work was done by the minister and con- gregation. Although they were upon some things divided, the people generally did not suffer their differences to impair the good feeling which prevailed among them or prevent them from co-operating heartily in whatever they thought might improve their social or religious condition. The children were greatly interested in the Sunday-school, which was well attended, and three times on Sundays the pastor preached, and preached well, to full pews. In his view, it was not the duty of a good shep- herd with soft words to lull his flock into dull contentment with their present condition so long as he could see higher and better pastures to which they might be led, but to lead them gently and kindly, if he could, and rouse and

drive them, if need be, fighting for them or against them, if he must ; despite his faults and misfortunes, his influence, upon the whole, was good. He had many devoted friends in the congregation, among whom there was, under him, genuine harmony and good fellowship.

Upon his dismission he retired forever from the ministry. After teaching for a time in New York he devoted the remainder of his life to the practice of medicine with success, and was buried in Alstead, his native town.

Rev. Moses Gerould was installed October 30, 1844. His patient and faithful work in trying to heal the dissensions in the church was not wholly unsuccessful. Some of the suspended members, at their request, were restored ; others, having united with other churches, were quietly dropped. The bitter- ness which had existed between a few members of the church subsided, and the strife at least diminished. The Universalist, Baptist and Methodist Churches were organized before or during his ministry, and by reason of the differences, each had received some recruits from the original society. The religious inter- est greatly increased under Mr. Gerould's ministry. There was improvement in the at- tendance upon all the church services, and in the numbers uniting with the several churches. With the building of a railroad, in 1851, another element, the Catholics, came to stay. Their church is now, and is likely to be, one of the principal churches in the town. To the end of his ministry Mr. Gerould had the confi- dence and respect of all parties in every church, and, for his work as a pastor, a citizen and friend of education, he deserved the gratitude of the people of the town. He was dismissed Feb- ruary 2, 1853, and moved to Canaan, N. H.

For two years following there was no settled pastor, Rev. William A. Patten sup- plying for a part of the time.

Rev. Moses H. Wells was installed May 1, 1856. He is described as a most excellent man and faithful preacher. Ninety-one were

365

HINSDALE.

added to the church during his ministry. At his own request, on account of failing health, his people, with much reluctance, were com- pelled to yield to his dismission August 31, 1865.

Rev. J. S. Batchelder was installed March 6, 1866, and continued a ministry which was acceptable to his people for more than five years, until, at his request, he was dismissed, December 5, 1871.

Rev. C. C. Watson was settled December 13, 1871, and, at his request, was dismissed October 30, 1877. Under him the interests of the church and society were carefully guarded, and the influence he exerted over his people was salutary and elevating. He was suc- ceeded by the present incumbent, Rev. Henry H. Hamilton, a graduate of Amherst and Andover, who was installed March, 1878. The society is now in a prosperous condition. The church numbers one hundred and fifty- three; the Sunday-school, one hundred and eighty-five ; the usual congregation, about three hundred and fifty to four hundred. The church edifice has recently been repaired and enlarged. The principal audience-room con- tains a large organ and sittings for four hun- dred and fifty ; the vestry, a small organ and seats for two hundred and fifty.

THE FIRST UNIVERSALIST CHURCH OF HINSDALE was organized by Ivory Soule and others. At the first meeting, held October 4 1833, Otis Doolittle was chosen moderator' Pliny Smith, treasurer ; Joab Davis, clerk ' Henry Ide, T. J. Pierce and Arad Cooper, trustees. They built their meeting-house, as above stated, in 1840. The church numbers about fifty, the congregation about one hundred and fifty. It has had many preachers, but none for a long term. The present incumbent is Rev. E. A. Reed.

THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH .- A class of eight members was organized in 1842, and in the first year was largely increased. The church now numbers seventy members ; the Sunday-school, eighty-five; the congrega-

tion, one to two hundred. The church, built in 1875, has sittings for three hundred. The first minister, appointed in 1843, was Franklin Thurber. He was followed by Jared Perkins, Samuel Mckean, Charles Chase, H. M. Matter- son, W. H. Jones, John Hillman, A. C. Har- dy, Henry Dorr, Edward Bradford, A. C. Colt, F. J. Folsom and F. J. Felt.

BAPTIST CHURCH OF HINSDALE .- A small Baptist society had long existed in the north part of the town. The Baptist Church of Hinsdale was organized, or reorganized, May 3, 1873, by Lemuel Liscomb, W. A. Horton, Ira Barrett, Thomas F. Dix, Zenophen Streeter, J. E. Randall, H. B. Streeter and others, and, with the aid of Mr. - Esty, of Brattle- borough, soon after built the small brick church in the village.

ST. JOSEPH'S PARISH (CATHOLIC), Rev. J. J. Holahan, pastor, was established in 1884. In this parish there are about ninety families. The Sunday-school numbers sixty ; the usual congregation, about three hundred. The new church, when finished, will accommodate four hundred.

CHAPTER II.

HINSDALE-(Continued).

Manufacturing Interests-Military-Schools-Newspapers.

MANUFACTURES .- In the meadows and up- lands in Hinsdale for nearly six miles, near and along Connecticut River, there are some lands of the best quality, which were occupied and improved by the early settlers. The town is one of the smallest in. extent in the State, including less than ten thousand acres. It extends south of the Ashuelot River about three miles. At the mouth of the Ashnelot it is less than a mile wide, and less than a quarter of a mile on the Massachusetts State line. A mountain range rises along the eastern border, extending into Winchester. The views from the roads on this range, with the Green Moun-

366

HISTORY OF CHESHIRE COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

tains in the distance and the long river winding through many miles of the nearer meadows, are as beautiful and picturesque as any in the valley. Above the great bend in the Connecticut, and north of the Ashuelot, the town is from three to four miles in width, but a sandy plain inter- venes between Merry's Meadow and the moun- tains on the east. There are few very good farms in the town, and only a small portion of the whole territory can be called good farming land. On the hills and plains some farms have been deserted and are used only for pastures or are left to grow up to wood. There probably never were more than fifty families at one time deriving their support from agriculture.

By far the larger part of the population are maintained by the avails of their labor in the mills and shops of the village. More than sixty years ago Caleb Todd began the manufac- ture of woolen goods. He was succeeded by Dan. H. Ripley, John Todd, Governor William Haile and Rufus S. Frost. The business is now continued by Rufus S. Frost and William H. Haile, under the name of the Haile & Frost Company, manufacturers of cashmerettes and flannels, employing from two hundred and fifty to three hundred persons. C. J. Amidon & Son, successors of Bishop & Boyden, make the same kind of goods, and employ from one hun- dred and twenty-five to one hundred and fifty. The Brightwood Mills, owned by George C. Fish, and the firm known as G. & G. A. Robertson, are each extensive manufacturers of manilla paper. The other principal manufac- turers are Newhall & Stebbins, makers of mowing-machines and lawn-mowers ; the Jen- nings & Griffin Manufacturing Company, chisels, knives and cutlery ; Holman & Merriman, ma- chinists ; C. D. Merriman, iron foundry ; Hins- dale Machine and Tool Company, vises ; M. S. Leach and John W. Battles, carriages ; and John G. Snow and Luke Parks, boxes and wooden- ware.

SCHOOLS.1-The schools of this town followed 1 By C. P Hall.

the old district system, and each was conducted without reference to any other, with about the efficacy and support found in other towns, till 1877, when two of the three districts cornering in the village united and built a good house.

In 1878 a town High School was organized, which proved a successful and important ele- ment in the school system. Its establishment made a more thorough organization in the lower schools a necessity, that pupils might be better fitted when they came to the High School, and during the next two years the Third District in the village was united with the other two, and the schools were thoroughly graded into two primary, two secondary and one grammar.

In 1884 the districts were abolished and the town system adopted in their place, so that now the outer schools are put on a par with those in the village, and hence the system is made more efficient than it could be under the old arrange- ment. This town was the first in this county to adopt this system, which the last Legislature has made universal throughout the State.

MILITARY.2-The military spirit of this town responded promptly to the attack upon the government in 1861, and on the 11th of May the people voted to raise fifteen hundred dollars to fit out volunteers and care for their families. Already her sons were aroused, and some of them enlisted in the Second New Hampshire and other regiments. Other meet- ings followed, at which the people showed their interest in having the Rebellion put down by their readiness to care for and aid those who were willing to risk their lives in doing it.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Cheshire and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire, Part 58

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis Number of Pages: 1200

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis
Number of Pages: 1200