USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > Concord > History of Concord, New Hampshire, from the original grant in seventeen hundred and twenty-five to the opening of the twentieth century, Volume II > Part 5
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82
February 27, 1848, Reverend Newton E. Marble was invited to become the rector at a salary of five hundred and seventy dollars. He accepted, and soon entered upon his duties. The number of com- municants was forty-four, and the number of families thirty. Mr. Marble's ministry continued for a little more than nine years, and the parish had a steady growth in numbers and in influence in the community. The number of communicants increased to seventy- two, and a Sunday-school was organized, which in May, 1857, had eight teachers and fifty scholars. Dr. Marble was a native of Brad- ford, Mass., and a graduate of Dartmouth college. He engaged in teaching for several years, studied theology, and was admitted to priest's orders in 1844. He was settled as rector of Trinity church, Bridgewater, Mass., where he remained until May, 1845, when he became rector of Christ's church, Salmon Falls, N. H. The next ycar he was principal of a classical school at Taunton, Mass., where he remained until he came to Concord. He was a man of culture, a genial gentleman, highly esteemed. Hc resigned the rectorship of
720
HISTORY OF CONCORD.
St. Paul's church April 1, 1857, and removed to Newtown, Conn., to take charge of Trinity parish there.
From Easter, 1857, to Easter, 1858, the parish was without a rec- tor. For the first two months of this time Reverend Henry A. Coit and Reverend Francis Chase, his assistant at St. Paul's School, sup- plied between them one service every Sunday. For the remainder of the year Reverend Edward Ballard, then residing in Hopkinton, filled the position of minister in the parish, accepting such compen- sation as the parish could give. During this time calls were given to two or three clergymen to settle here. The first was to Reverend Gordon M. Bradley of Quincy, Mass., who declined. A call was then extended to Reverend Darius R. Brewer, a former pastor. He, too, declined, and for the reason that he was much interested in the missionary work at Newport, R. I., in which he was then engaged.
At a meeting of the wardens and vestrymen June 29, 1857, a com- mittee was appointed to call upon Reverend James H. Eames, then of Providence, R. I., and confer with him with a view to his accepting an invitation to become the rector of St. Paul's church. This con- ference, which took place in July, was followed by a formal invita- tion to Mr. Eames to become the rector at an annual salary of one thousand dollars. After a visit to Concord in September, Mr. Eames communicated his acceptance of the rectorship, if the time of his entering upon its duties could be extended until Easter-Day follow- ing. His proposition was accepted October 14, 1857, and on Easter, 1858, Dr. Eames entered upon his duties.
Under his ministrations the church increased in numbers and out- grew its accommodations. The expediency of enlarging the church or building a new one was referred to a committee May 24, 1858, and this committee reported early in the summer of that year that it was inexpedient to enlarge the old, and they were instructed to obtain subscriptions for a new, church. July 19, 1858, the committee reported that their actual subscriptions amounted to seven thousand two hundred dollars, with assurance of enough to make the amount seven thousand five hundred dollars. A building committee, consist- ing of Ebenezer Symmes, Augustine C. Pierce, George Minot, John M. Hill, and Abel Hutchins, was appointed with authority to select a lot, determine a plan, erect a church, and to make such disposition of the present church as they thought proper. On January 29, 1859, the building committee made a report, and then it was voted, "That a church of brick as recommended by said committee be approved and they be instructed to proceed with the erection and completion of the same, and that all votes and resolutions heretofore adopted limiting the expense of the building be and are hereby rescinded."
721
THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
May 25, 1859, the corner-stone of the new church was laid. The annual convention of the diocese being in session in Concord on that day, there was a large attendance. At this ceremony the Right Rev- erend Carlton Chase, bishop of the diocese, officiated. Two addresses were delivered on the occasion, one by Rev. Dr. Burroughs of Ports- mouth, the other by Josiah Minot. The new church was ready for occupancy December 13, 1859, and was that day consecrated by the bishop of the diocese. The cost of the church and furnishing was about seventeen thousand dollars, leaving a debt of about five thou- sand five hundred. This debt was largely extinguished by the sale of pews and land in the rear of the church.
The interior of the church contained eighty pews divided by a spacious aisle through the center, flanked by two side aisles. An addition to the main building furnished a recess for a chancel, a robing room, and a library. "The windows, eleven in num- ber, are a most striking feature," wrote William P. Hill, a member of the church, in his account of the dedication of the church. "They are glazed with finely wrought stained glass of various colors, were presented by various individuals, and cost nearly one thousand dollars. The chancel window is a memorial to the venerable Alexander V. Griswold, former bishop of the Eastern diocese. In the center is a figure, nearly half the size of life, representing the Good Shepherd hold- ing a lamb in his arms. Other parts are curiously ornamented with various em- blems of the church. This window is a St. Paul's Church. gift of a number of elergymen who have received orders from Bishop Griswold. It cost about three hundred dollars. There are also five other memorial windows on the sides, erected to various deceased clergymen and founders of St. Paul's. One of these is in memory of Reverend Petrus Stuyvesant Ten Broeck. Another is to a deceased rector, Reverend Thomas Leaver. Three others are in memory of Albe Cady, John West, and Isaae Hill."
A chime of nine bells was placed in the tower of the church in 1868. Three of these bells were given by the ladies of the parish. The others were personal gifts of John H. Pearson, Mrs. Eliza C. Davis, Edward L. Knowlton, Edward A. Abbot, and Mrs. William Butterfield. They were first rung on Easter morning, April 12, 1868.
722
HISTORY OF CONCORD.
The old church was vacated about April 1, 1859, and for about eight months succeeding the congregation worshiped in the city hall.
During the first two years of the rectorship of Dr. Eames the parish received aid from the Domestic Missionary Board. At Easter, 1860, this aid was withdrawn at his request. Dr. Eames's pastorate cov- ered a period of nearly twenty years. It is memorable in the history of the society. It represents the change of the parish from a condi- tion of dependence to one of independence, with liberal contributions for the assistance of other parishes. A new church and a chapel were built ; debts were paid ; and large additions made to the membership of the parish. Amid all the discouragements that beset its people, it was the hopeful spirit of Dr. Eames and the generous co-operation of his wife which stimulated them to persevere. He was beloved by his parish and by the people of the city. His politeness and affability endeared him to all. In 1877, being in impaired health, he was granted a leave of absence, and sailed for Bermuda, December 7 of that year. He died on the voyage, just as the ship dropped anchor in the harbor of Hamilton. His remains were brought back to this city, and the funeral was in the church, December 19, 1877. The death of Dr. Eames was the occasion of general sorrow, and the ser- vices at his funeral were very impressive.
In the summer of 1877 extensive repairs of the new church were made, and until November the congregation worshiped in Rumford hall.
During the year 1882 the parish discussed the building of a chapel, and a proposition made by Josialı Minot to contribute a con- siderable part of the expense led to immediate action. During the summer this chapel was completed at a cost of three thousand nine hundred and twenty-six dollars and eighty-six cents. In addition to Mr. Minot's contribution, James R. Hill paid for the land, John H. Pearson for steam heating, John M. Hill for gas fixtures, and the ladies gave their fund in the savings bank of nine hundred and forty five dollars and sixty-one cents.
It had been arranged by the parish that the bishop of the diocese should have charge of supplying the services during Dr. Eames's absence. This arrangement continued until April 24, 1878, when the bishop was invited to accept the rectorship of St. Paul's church. At a subsequent meeting the bishop nominated Reverend Daniel C. Rob- erts, D. D., of Brandon, Vt., to be vice-rector. Mr. Roberts accepted the vice-rectorship, and entered upon its duties in June, 1878. His pastorate has continued to the present day, being the longest in the history of the church.
December 2, 1879, the second anniversary of the last service con-
THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 723
ducted in the church by Dr. Eames, was made the occasion of unveil- ing a window to his memory, a gift of the parish. The unveiling was performed by John M. Hill, who gave a brief address, to which Bishop Niles responded. Immediately following there was a religious service, at which Dr. Roberts spoke fittingly and eloquently on the subject of commemorating the work of the dead.
In May, 1883, a change was made in the choir of the church, and a boy choir substituted for the quartette and congregational singing which preceded it. This choir has been a feature of St. Paul's church since that time.
Sunday, December 14, 1884, the twenty-fifth anniversary of the consecration of St. Paul's church, was fittingly observed. At the morning service Dr. Roberts preached an appropriate sermon, and at the evening service a historical sketch of the parish by Horace A. Brown, senior warden, was read. From that sketch many important facts in this article were obtained.
An event in the recent history of this church was the reception given to Bishop Niles, Saturday evening, September 21, 1895, it being the twenty-fifth anniversary of his election as bishop of the diocese. A feature of the reception was the receiving committee, consisting of ladies of the parish who were active in church work when the bishop began his labors, and who had for a quarter of a century been his active co-workers. They were Mrs. William P. Hill, Mrs. William H. Bartlett, Mrs. Maria L. Gove, Mrs. Hiram B. Tebbetts, Mrs. George Minot, Mrs. Franklin Low, Mrs. Horace A. Brown, Mrs. William L. Foster, Mrs. E. M. Shepard, Mrs. William W. Taylor, and Mrs. Mary P. Connor. There were present on this occasion not only people of his own diocese from different sections but many prominent people of the city and state.
During the past few years the church has been the recipient of sev- eral liberal donations. One was the bequest in 1895 of ten thousand dollars by the late Mrs. Eames, the income to be devoted to the interests of the church, and another the gift of Mrs. Larz Anderson of an organ in memory of her cousin, Roger Elliot Foster. More space being needed for this organ, it was voted that the church building be enlarged and improved. This was accomplished by the addition of transepts and the extension of the choir and sanctuary.
Other incmorials at present in the church in addition to those pre- viously mentioned preserve the names of Mrs. Clara West Hill, Mrs. Elizabeth Caroline Hutchins, Mrs. Mary Jane Webster, and Mrs. Caroline Robinson Cleaves.
In 1902 a large and beautiful edifiec was presented to the church by Miss Susan George Perkins in memory of her nephew, to be
-
724
HISTORY OF CONCORD.
called the Roger Elliot Foster Memorial Parish House. This house is used for the secular and semi-secular interests of the parish and its auditorium for week-day religious services. It was erected at a cost of twenty-five thousand dollars.
The Roger Elliott Foster Memorial Parish House,
In 1882 Reverend Henry Bedin- ger came to the parish as assistant curate, with special charge of the missions in Penacook and East Con- cord. Ile continued in the service of the parish for three years. Upon his departure the missions were severed from the parish and placed under the ministry of Reverend Thomas Valpey, and a commodious chapel, bearing the name of St. Mary's, was built in Penacook. The mission at Penacook was started by Dr. Roberts nearly twenty years ago.
Dr. Roberts's pastorate has been remarkably successful. The soci- ety has grown, and the membership of the church increased, so that the parish is now the largest and strongest in the diocese. It pre- sents a great contrast to its condition forty years ago, when its con- tinued existence was problematical. Dr. Roberts is the dean of the clergy of Concord. In the prime of manhood, he nevertheless will soon complete a quarter century of service in the ministry in this city. In generous appreciation of his labors the parish has voted him an assistant curate to help in his work.
Grace Episcopal Mission, East Concord. This mission was organ- ized in September, 1883, although services of the Protestant Episcopal church had been held from time to time in East Concord, and with regularity for two years before organ- ization. The first minister to perform regu- lar duties was Reverend Daniel C. Roberts, of St. Paul's church, Concord, who had the entire supervision of the work from 1881 to 1893, and to whose energy is due the estab- lishing of this church. During two years of his work he was assisted by Reverend Henry Bedinger. The successors of Dr. Roberts have been : Reverend William Lloyd Himes, 1893 to 1895; Reverend Charles R. Bailey, 1895 to 1898; Horace A. Brown, licensed lay reader, 1898 to 1899; and Reverend Amasa W. Saltus since 1899.
St. Mary's Chapel, Penacook.
725
THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
The services are held in Merrimack hall, a municipal building, although the mission has in cash sixteen hundred dollars, and pledges of more than a thousand dollars in addition towards the expense of erecting a house of worship. The number of communi- cants is forty. The officers of the mission are: Warden, Jeremiah E. Pecker, who has filled that position since the mission was organ- ized, and treasurer, William A. Cowley. There are connected with this mission a Sunday-school, a woman's auxiliary, and a chapter of the guild.
St. Timothy's Mission. In the autumn of 1897 the rector of St. Paul's School consulted with Rev. Dr. Daniel C. Roberts of St. Paul's church in regard to the starting of a mission of that church either at the North or South end of Concord. The work was to be under- taken by Reverend John Knox Tibbits, a master of St. Paul's School, who had been ordained deacon a few weeks previously, and was to work under the direction of Dr. Roberts. The North end was selected chiefly because of the English stone-cutters and their families from Cornwall, England, who reside in that part of the city, and of whom many had been baptized and brought up in the Church of England. On the afternoon of Sunday, October 17, 1897, the first service was held in the house of John Angwin, on Franklin street. Immediately after this the Swedish Baptist church on Albin street was rented for use on Sunday afternoons and for occasional week-day services. In this church mission services were held from Sunday, October 24, 1897, until Easter-even, April 6, 1901. A Sun- day-school class was taught by Miss Florence L. Green, beginning in July, 1898, and the regular Sunday-school was organized in the fol- lowing September. During the winters of 1897-'98 and 1898-'99 a sewing society of girls met at the home of Mrs. G. L. Green on Lyn- don street, and among other objects work for a church building for the mission was begun.
There was also formed a women's sewing society, which meets regularly. John Angwin has from the first been the treasurer of the mission, while Miss Ethel W. Himes (now Mrs. Lockwood), of St. Mary's School, has been the volunteer organist.
December 11, 1899, the North End Social club was opened in the house on the southwest corner of Church and Bradley streets. This club was entirely separate in its organization from the mission except that the clergyman in charge of the mission was by the constitution the president of the club. Much recreation, including a number of successful concerts and something in the way of lectures, talks, etc., resulted from the existence of this club, but for lack of sufficient funds it could not be maintained.
.
726
HISTORY OF CONCORD.
Until August, 1900, the mission had been known as the North End mission. At this time the name St. Timothy's mission was adopted. At a meeting of the mission held August 20, 1900, Rev. Mr. Tibbits, John Angwin, treasurer, W. C. Silver, William K. Smith, trustees, Richard H. Datson, John Knuckey, George Angwin, and John Stanley were chosen a committee to consider the building of a church. Land on the northeast corner of Rumford and Highland streets had already been purchased, and plans had been drawn by the architects. It was determined to build part of the basement to a stone church, and to finish it in such a way as to meet all present needs of the mis- sion. Work was begun in September, 1900, and in December follow- ing a stone with a cross and the number of the year, MCM, was laid by the bishop of New Hampshire. This stone is not, strictly speak- ing, the corner-stone, but it was put in place to mark the building of the present structure. The building, in its present condition, was completed in April, 1901. A service of blessing was held Easter- even, April 6, 1901, and was the first service in the church.
The building is of seam-faced granite. It is part of the basement of the church as finally planned, and is intended to be used, event- ually, as a Sunday-school room. The roof, chancel-arch, sacristy, etc., are only for temporary use, but have been constructed to last, if necessary, for many years. The building, as it now stands, is adequate for the present needs. It has a seat- ing capacity for about one lun- dred and fifty people. At the time of the occupation of the church the congregation be- came a regularly organized St. Timothy's Mission. mission, by the appointment by the bishop of the two oldest communicants among the men-John Stanley and John Angwin-as warden and treasurer, respectively. The entire cost of the church was between six and seven thousand dollars.
From the beginning, St. Timothy's mission has been of interest not only to its immediate congregation, but to many people of Con- cord not communicants of the Episcopal church. The simplicity of its service and the volunteer work of its pastor and his immediate helpers have attracted not a few people to its services outside of the immediate community its organization was intended to benefit.
727
THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH.
THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH.
The first Baptist preaching in Concord was by Reverend Hezekiah Smith, pastor of the Baptist church in Haverhill, Mass., who came here on missionary labors with some members of his church in 1771, forty-seven years preceding the organization of a Baptist church in Concord. His coming was not welcome to Reverend Timothy Walker, pastor of the North church, for reasons that have been set forth in the history of that church, but Mr. Smith was not daunted by warnings uttered by Mr. Walker against him and his work. It does not appear that his preaching had immediate effect; but some of the early Baptists of Concord seemed to regard the seed then sown as ripening afterward in the formation of the First Baptist society of this city.
For several years previous to the organization of this society, there was occasional Baptist preaching by clergymen who passed through town, and prior to 1814 there were individuals residing here who belonged to Baptist churches elsewhere. As early as 1806 Rev. Dr. McFarland of the North church exchanged one Sunday with Rev. Mr. Waterman, the Baptist minister of Bow, but the ex- change did not prove popular enough to be repeated. In 1817 Reverend P. Richardson, who was on a mission in this state, spent a few days in town and preached several times, but no efforts were made to organize a church until the spring of 1818. The records of the First Baptist church show that on the 20th of May of that year a number of persons residing in Concord, belonging to Baptist churches elsewhere, met at the house of Richard Swain, for "the purpose of ascertaining what degree of fellowship existed among them in the faith and order of the gospel, and also to consider what were the prospects of forming a church agreeable to the principles and practice of the apostles of our Lord." After a full discussion of the first object before them, the following persons gave to each other an expression of their Christian fellowship, viz. : James Willey, John Hoit, Sarah Bradley, Deborah Elliot, Sally Swain, and Nancy Whit- ney. An adjourned session was held, on the 28th of the same month, at the house of Nathaniel Parker, at which meeting members from the church in Bow were present by invitation, to advise in refer- ence to the constitution of a church. Upon their recommendation, the determination was reached to organize the Baptist society. Octo- ber 8, 1818, a council of neighboring churches was held at the house of Reverend William Taylor, and a church organized numbering fourteen members. The public services in recognition of this church were attended at the "Greenhouse," so-called, Reverend John B.
728
HISTORY OF CONCORD.
Gibson preaching the sermon, Reverend Otis Robinson of Salisbury giving the hand of fellowship, and Reverend Henry Veazey of Bow offering prayer. Reverend William Taylor was called to be the first pastor. Mr. Taylor was a missionary agent in the employ of the New Hampshire Baptist Convention. In the spring of 1818, in journey- ing through Concord, he stopped and preached on Sunday. The meeting on that day was held in the Carrigain house on Main street, now owned by Dr. William G. Carter. It was mainly through Mr. Taylor's efforts that a church was organized in Concord, and as it ran counter to the drift of public opinion at the time, it met with some opposition.
For seven years the society was without a house of worship. Ser- vices were sometimes held in the schoolhouse at the West Village, and sometimes in the old Bell schoolhouse, which stood upon the State street end of the present high-school lot. In 1823 it was found that the church organization would have to be given up unless ser- vices were held at some established station, so the place of meeting was located in the central part of the town, and services held at the court house. About this time members of the society became ambi- tious to have and own a house of worship. The building of what was called a "down town " meeting-house was encouraged by William A. Kent, Isaac Hill and others, owing, it is said, to dissatisfaction with the doctrines of the old North society, and it is not improbable that political feeling had some- thing to do with the interest of outsiders in the construction of a new church. Colonel Kent gave land on condition that the church be built within two years. A building committee was chosen, con- sisting of James Willey, John Carter, and Benja- min Damon, and they entered upon the enterprise with chances decidedly against them. Aided by liberal donations from residents, they were encour- aged to build a more expensive house than had originally been planned. Preparations for building were made in the winter of 1823-'24; and May 28, 1824, the corner-stone was laid with appropri- ate services by Reverend Mr. Taylor, assisted by Rev. Dr. McFarland, of the North church. Con- tributions were now solicited outside the state, and work was pushed forward, so that the church was completed within the two years. It was originally seventy feet long and fifty feet wide, containing seventy-two pews on the floor, and thirty in the galleries. The pulpit was between the entrance doors at the south end, and a
First Baptist Church, Original Edifice.
729
THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH.
small vestry was built over the vestibule. A tower was also erected. The building cost about seven thousand dollars, one third of which was a debt. This debt was a source of vexation to the society for several years before it was finally paid. It came very near costing the society its meeting-house, for it was extremely difficult to meet payments as they became due. Those persons in Concord outside the society who had aided in building the house offered to pay the debt if they could control the pulpit. This offer would have defeated the object of the society, and was consequently rejected. Appeals were then made to brethren outside, and after a hard struggle the debt was paid.
The church was dedicated December 28, 1825, and opened for public worship in January, 1826. The same month a bell, weighing about thirteen hundred pounds, purchased by donations of citizens in the vicinity of the church, and cast at Colonel Revere's foundry in Boston, was raised to the belfry. It was designed to have a clock attached to the bell, and during the year this purpose was carried out. It is doubtful if any public edifice in Concord has been more changed in its interior and exterior appearance. In 1835 the house was remodeled by removing part of the gallery on the north end and placing the pulpit at that end of the house, with seats for the singers over the vestibule. Eight pews were then added to the house. In 1845 the house was enlarged by the addition of twenty feet to the north end, the galleries removed, modern windows inserted, and the whole interior repaired. By this change thirty pews were added. Soon after, an organ was purchased by a few individuals and presented to the church. Again in 1854 several improvements were made in the interior arrangements. In 1875 another and very complete reno- vation was made at a cost of some twelve thousand dollars. Later the society was furnished with a new organ, a gift from George A. and Charles A. Pillsbury, at one time members of the church and society, but at the date of the gift residents of Minneapolis, Minn. In 1853 a commodious chapel connecting with the church was added and dedicated December 1st of that year. In 1877 an addition of a ladies' parlor, with a kitchen and other conveniences, was made.
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.