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 6
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Mr. Taylor, the first pastor, was an enthusiastic and self-sacrificing worker and well fitted for pioneer labors. The church flourished under his ministration, its membership increasing from nine to fifty- four. At that time he was considered one of the leading clergymen of the Baptist denomination in the state. There is no record that Mr. Taylor ever officiated in the new church, which owed its cxist- ence so much to his labors. The why and wherefore are not known. His pastorate closed January 26, 1826, just about the time the church
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HISTORY OF CONCORD.
was opened for public worship. He removed from Concord to San- bornton, and afterward preached in various places, finally emigrating to the West. He died in Schoolcraft, Mich., June 7, 1852, at the age of sixty-eight years.
The next pastor was Reverend Nathaniel West Williams, from June, 1826, until April, 1831. During his ministry the church membership increased fifty-four, and there was a total membership of about one hundred when he closed his pastorate. Mr. Williams was born in Salem, Mass., August 28, 1784. As a boy he entered the counting-room of his uncle, who was engaged in the East India trade, and when just emerging from boyhood, shipped as supercargo on a vessel bound to India. At the age of twenty-one he was placed in command of one of his uncle's ships trading with Calcutta. There he became acquainted with some Baptist missionaries. He had been educated a Unitarian, and it is probable that this acquaintance with Baptist missionaries led to a change of his religious belief, though he did not unite with the Baptist church until June 5, 1808. Considering it his duty to preach, he was licensed July 31, 1812, and preached often in towns on the Massachusetts seaboard. He continued in trade for several years after becoming a licensed preacher, and relinquished it against the advice of friends. His property accumulations, however, proved very convenient after he engaged in the work of the ministry, for the salaries he received were small. In 1816 he was settled as pastor of the First Baptist church of Beverly, Mass. He remained there eight years, when he removed to Windsor, Vt. There he remained one year, or until he came to Concord.
Mr. Williams was not a brilliant preacher, but was clear, sensible, and methodical. As Reverend Baron Stowe wrote of him, " He un- derstood his own capabilities, and never ventured beyond his depth." He was a man of generous sympathies and a discreet and faithful friend. He respected the right of conscience, and was not a contro- versialist; but loved peace and the things which made for peace.
The Reverend Ebenezer Edson Cummings, D. D., was the third pastor of this church. He came March, 1832, and remained until May, 1850, making a pastorate of eighteen years, the longest in the history of the church. Dr. Cummings was born in Claremont, November 9, 1800, graduated at Waterville college, Maine, with the " class of 1828, and began his pastoral labors at the Baptist church of Salisbury, where he was ordained September 17, 1828. Here he remained three and a half years, when he was called to the First Baptist church of Concord. When Dr. Cummings began his min- istry the Baptist denomination was not strong in New Hampshire.
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FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH.
There were seventy Baptist societies and forty-one ministers, about half of whom were settled pastors. All these societies were small and poor, and the ministers eked out a support by engaging in some secular calling. Few of the Baptist ministers in the state were college graduates, and the fact that Dr. Cummings held a diploma enhanced his standing in the denomination, although his natural abilities had already given him prominence. The houses of worship then occupied by the Baptists were, with few exceptions, old and out of repair, and in many instances they had not the exclusive right of occupancy. There was but one Baptist meeting-house in the valley of the Merrimack, that at Concord. So that the fifty years of his active ministry were devoted not only to local work at the capital, but to building and strengthening the denomination elsewhere. His half century of labor in the ministry was divided as follows: three and a half years at Salisbury, eighteen years at the First Baptist church of this city, three and a half years at Newark, N. J., Spring- field, Mass., and Pittsfield, N. H., fourteen years at the Pleasant Street Baptist church of Concord, and about eleven years in supply- ing pulpits in New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts.
There were added to the First Baptist church of Concord during Dr. Cummings's ministry three hundred and fifty persons by baptism and one hundred and sixty-three by letter, making five hundred and thirteen in all. At the close of his pastorate the average church attendance was three hundred, and at the Sunday-school two hun- dred. At the time he was called half of the membership of the church resided in the western part of the town. There were but two families within two miles of the house of worship where both husband and wife were members of the church. The congregation averaged less than one hundred, and the Sunday-school about sev- enty-five. The congregation was composed, as Dr. Cummings says, "of people who moved in the humbler walks of life," yet during his pastorate the society paid off an old debt on its church, twice enlarged and repaired the building, and built a convenient chapel.
His resignation of this pastorate was due to the necessity of obtain- ing some rest from arduous labors that he imposed upon himself. It was not the custom of his time to give ministers long vacations, and recuperation was obtained either by ceasing altogether from labor or seeking a new field. Dr. Cummings chose the latter course, but he confesses to a longing to return to Concord during his three and a half years' absence, for he always looked upon this city as his home, and when the call came from the Pleasant Street Baptist church, it found him most willing to return.
Dr. Cummings was an old-style preacher, strong on denominational
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HISTORY OF CONCORD.
points, not eloquent but vigorous. IIe was rugged in his convic- tions and outspoken in his belief; yet, in summing up his labor of fifty years, he shows that he was broadly tolerant of other denomina- tions. He says, "I give as the result of my experience and obser- vation that a Christian can be true to his convictions and at the same time labor with Christians of different faith and practice in promoting the general interest of truth and giving growth and en- largement of Christ's kingdom in the world." Because of his kind- heartedness and benevolence he was affectionately called ".Father Cummings," and he was revered by all who knew him. He was an incessant worker fiom love of labor, and after his active ministry ceased, it was his practice to prepare a sermon every week. When too feeble to move about withont assistance, he was to be found almost daily at his desk. During the itinerary of his later years he served a number of churches as occasional supply, and labored with sixteen churches as a stated supply. Five of these churches erected new houses of worship through his instrumentality. In the case of thirteen of them his labors prepared the way for the settlement of a pastor, and, with a single exception, all of the churches among whose people he labored were enjoying the services of good and efficient ministers at the time he retired. In reviewing his fifty years' service, he says that the last years of his ministry gave him as much satisfac- tion as any part of his ministerial life.
For several months after Dr. Cummings's dismissal the church was without a pastor. Reverend Charles Worthen Flanders, D. D., who was born in Salisbury, Mass., February 9, 1807, was then called. He graduated at Brown university in 1839, and pursued his theological course under the instruction of Reverend John Wayland, pastor of the First Baptist church of Salem, Mass. Mr. Flanders's first settlement of ten years' duration was over the First Baptist church of Beverly, Mass. He came to Concord in 1851. For a period of fifteen years he was pastor of the Concord church, increasing its membership and influence. Two hundred and forty names were added to its roll, while the benevolent work of the church was most successfully car- ried on. Dr. Flanders was a man of distinguished appearance, but of quiet manner. He took a great interest in the families of the so- ciety, and made many personal calls in his parish. He was scholarly rather than brilliant, but was popular because of his kindly spirit and the work he did for the young people. The church was prosperous under his ministrations, and numbered among its adherents some of the old and substantial families of the city. In 1866 Dr. Flanders removed to Kennebunkport, Me., and later to Westboro, Mass., where he died in the summer of 1875, at the age of sixty-eight years.
733
THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH.
The Reverend Daniel W. Faunce, D. D., who was born at Plymouth, Mass., and graduated at Amherst college, became the fifth pastor of the church, in September, 1866. He had previously been pastor of churches in Worcester and Malden, Mass. His style of preaching was in marked contrast to that of his predecessor. A clear thinker, a ready writer, and a good speaker, his pulpit addresses were earnest, eloquent, and practical. It was during his pastorate that the semi- centennial of the organization of the church occurred, October 8 and 9, 1868. This was an interesting occasion, and brought back to Concord many who had been members of the church in former years. At this anniversary the third and fourth pastors of the church were present, and the second pastor, Reverend N. W. Williams, was represented by his son, Reverend N. M. Williams. On the even- ing of October 8th an historical sermon was preached by Dr. Faunce. In January, 1875, he received and accepted a call to the Washington Street Baptist church of Lynn, Mass. His res- ignation was accepted with deep regret.
In September of the same year, Reverend William Vaughn Garner entered upon his labors as the sixth pastor. Previous to his coming to Concord, Mr. Garner had been with churches at Hastings-on-the-Hudson, at Binghamton, N. Y., at St. John, N. B., and for more than nine years at the Charles Street Baptist church in Boston. At the time of his settlement extensive repairs and improvements of the church had been com- pleted and it was re-dedicated on the afternoon of December 28, 1875, just fifty years after its first dedication. The installation of Mr. Garner as pastor followed in the evening. Dr. Garner was a different type of preacher from his predecessor. He spoke in the pulpit without notes, rapidly, and with an earnestness of manner that interested and convinced his hearers. He was entertaining in social life, and had good business qualifications. He had an erect figure, an engaging presence, and was fond of athletics. After a pas- torate of nearly nine years he offered his resignation to take effect July 1, 1884. The society reluctantly accepted, and he departed, to soon after leave the ministry and engage in business.
First Baptist Church, Present Edifice.
In March, 1882, Dr. Cummings occupied the pulpit on the fiftieth anniversary of the preaching of his first sermon in Concord. Ile rewrote and used the sermon delivered at that time. In looking over the audience he saw but two persons who were present fifty years
5
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HISTORY OF CONCORD.
before, Seth Eastman and Thomas Butters, nearly all the other mem- bers of his first congregation being dead.
At the close of Dr. Garner's pastorate the church was without a minister until the following April, when Reverend Cephas B. Crane, D. D., of Boston, was called. His ministry lasted nearly twelve years, the church growing remarkably' in numbers and influence. He was an eloquent preacher, and a popular pastor. Few ministers of Concord have had a larger following outside their own denomina- tions. He took an active interest in all public matters, and his ser- vices to the city were only equaled by his services to the denomin- ation over which he was called to preside. At the close of his min- istry here the Concord Monitor voiced the general sentiment when it said:
"In the broadest sense, Dr. Crane's life in Concord has shown him to be a Christian. His denominational ties bound him lightly, as a matter of opinion and polity, rather than because they seemed to him the only ones completely valid for all mankind; and he has struck hands with every servant of the Lord who was intent on doing his Master's bidding. In this, as in his scholarly, forensic, and pastoral ability, Dr. Crane has demonstrated that he is cast in a larger mould than the men who are usually allotted to New Hampshire pulpits, and the whole state has taken a pardonable pride in his work here. It is, therefore, in no ordinary sense that his removal fron this state and from the activities of the ministry is a loss."
The church saw its greatest prosperity during Dr. Crane's ministry. He was a preacher of rare power, and a religious leader of wonderful tact.
Immediately succeeding Dr. Crane's departure the pulpit was filled by Reverend Roland D. Grant, of Portland, Ore., who continued with the society from the first Sunday in October, 1896, until July 31, 1898. He was called December 4, 1896, but never formally accept- ed the pastorate. After he ceased to be connected with the church, some of the members withdrew and formed what is now called the "Friends Christian Union," having the Grand Army hall for a place of worship. Here the new organization still holds services. For a time Dr. Grant supplied the pulpit of the seceding body, but later he went to a church on the Pacific coast.
The Reverend Joel B. Slocum entered upon the pastorate of the First Baptist church, December 4, 1898. At his installation Rev. Dr. George C. Lorimer, of the Tremont Temple Baptist church, preached the sermon, and the services were participated in by several of the ministers of other denominations in Concord. In June, 1899, Mr. Slocum was granted leave of absence for three months to travel
735
THE FIRST METHODIST CHURCH.
abroad and the pulpit was supplied by Reverend Daniel W. Faunce, a former pastor. Returning, Mr. Slocum again took up the work of his pastorate.
On Sunday, June 23, 1901, the Sunday-school celebrated the sev- enty-fifth anniversary of its organization. The programme was a very interesting one and included letters from former pastors, remarks by former superintendents, and an address by Senator Jacob H. Gallinger.
For over eighty years this church has been a religious home, num- bering many of Concord's prominent citizens among its members. It has not been without troubles and trials, but its record is one of vast good accomplished. The present pastor has earnestly sought the return to the mother church of those who went out to form the "Friends Christian Union," and it was through his instrumentality that the church united recently in an invitation asking such re- union. This invitation was immediately accepted by a number of those who had withdrawn, and whether or not eventually accepted by others it has eliminated whatever feeling was engendered by the separation. Mr. Slocum has been successful in restoring his society to a position it long occupied as one of the most influential in the denomination, and reports it free of debt.
THE FIRST METHODIST CHURCH.
Nothing definite is to be found of the early history of Methodism in Concord; but from church records it appears that sermons were occasionally preached here on the east side of the river by itinerant Methodist ministers as early as 1816. The names of such ministers are not given. The "new doctrine " took no hold at that time, and several years elapsed before the town hall or court house was occu- pied by quarterly meetings. Dr. Bouton says that Philbrick Brad- ley, who resided on the Mountain in East Concord, was the first man in Concord to open his doors to these meetings. Prior to 1830, Methodist meetings were held mostly in dwellings and schoolhouses. The first class was formed by Reverend Jotham Horton and Ezekiel Stickney, from the Pembroke circuit, in the vicinity of Stickney hill, in 1822. For several years Concord was connected with the Pem- broke circuit, and was one of its regular appointments, being sup- plied with preaching from one quarter to one half the time, and with occasional week-day lectures. March 12, 1825, a legal society was organized, called " The First Methodist Society in Concord." Among its first members were Cotton S. Brown, Stephen Webster, Atkinson Webster, Philbrick Bradley, Timothy Bradley, Benjamin Il. Weeks,
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HISTORY OF CONCORD.
John Sherburne, James Goodwin, Richard Flanders, John Johnson, John Clough, David Culver, and Jedediah Abbott.
In 1828 and 1829 Concord was connected with the Bow and Hooksett circuit. During part of the year ending July, 1828, Rever- end Nathan Howe and Reverend Silas Green preached here, and Reverend John Robins a part of the succeeding year. In the sum- mer of 1829 the Methodists occupied the town hall on the Sabbath, and the Unitarians the court room in the same building.
July 1, 1830, Concord became a separate station, and Reverend Samuel Kelley was the first stationed minister. At that time the two classes mentioned, situated eight or nine miles apart, numbered not more than twenty-seven members, while only one Methodist family resided in the village, that of Cotton S. Brown. Mr. Kelley served as chaplain of the state prison, for which service he received one dollar a week from the state. His whole compensation for the year was only one hundred and seventy dollars, made up as follows : Chaplain of state prison, fifty-two dollars; chaplain of legislature, thirty dollars ; from the people of his parish, eighty-eight dollars. He was then twenty-eight years of age, and had been in the ministry eight years. His Sabbath programme was as follows : 8 o'clock, preaching at the prison ; 10: 30 o'clock, preaching at the court room ; 12 o'clock, Sunday-school; 1 o'clock, preaching again at court house, 3 o'clock, Bible classes at prison; 5 o'clock, preaching at school- house five miles from village ; 7 o'clock, prayer meeting at Cotton S. Brown's.
With such a Sunday's labor it is not surprising that he broke down during his second year, which was finished out by supplies of Reverend E. W. Stickney, Reverend S. P. Williams, and Reverend D. J. Robinson, the last of whom became preacher in charge. Mr. Kelley soon after his arrival opened subscriptions to build a church or chapel. January € 1, 1831, the present site was bought for two hun- dred dollars, and during the summer and fall of that year a meeting-house was built at a cost of two thousand five hundred dollars. It was a mod- est structure forty-two by fifty-four feet, and con- tained sixty-six pews, with the orchestra or singing-seats between the entrance doors. The sale of pews assisted in meeting the expense of building, though there was left a debt of four hundred dollars which was not discharged for several years. Several outsiders bought pews to help the society, among them being Isaac and Horatio Hill, George Kent, and John George. Governor Hill took four pews. The church
First Methodist Church.
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THE FIRST METHODIST CHURCH.
was dedicated December 1, 1831. The sermon was preached by Reverend George Storrs of Portsmouth, the same minister who was dragged from his knees while making a prayer at an anti-slavery meeting in Sanbornton Bridge (Tilton) a few years later.
Owing to the itinerary system, which was then more marked than now among the Methodists, the church here had in its first fifty years twenty-eight different pastors. Hardly any were here more than two years, and some only one. There is little known of many of these pastorates except the dates of their duration. The immediate suc- cessor of Mr. Kelley, in 1832, was Reverend John G. Dow, who also served as chaplain of the state prison that year. The next year he was appointed presiding elder, and Reverend George Storrs was stationed here. Either the church did not flourish or he sifted out the "tares," for there were only seventy members returned in the first year and sixty-five the second, as against one hundred and twenty-six when Mr. Kelley left. Then the record shows the fol- lowing :
1835. Reverend Samuel Hoyt. Reported one hundred and four- teen members.
1836. Reverend James W. Mowry. Reported one hundred and thirteen members.
1837-38. Reverend James M. Fuller. Reported at close one hundred and seventy members.
1839-'40. Reverend William H. Hatch. One hundred and sixty- one and one hundred and sixty members, respectively.
1841-'42. Reverend John Jones. Two hundred and forty-six members the first year and three hundred and sixty-four the second. The large increase these years has been ascribed to Second Advent or Millerite excitement, which Mr. Jones turned to account. Per- haps there was more zeal than wisdom in his course, for the next year there was a schism in the church, and there was a large fall- ing off of membership under Reverend Converse L. McCurdy, who reported at the end of 1843 only two hundred and fifty members. In 1844 Reverend Eleazer Smith was stationed here, but his health failed before the close of the year. Recovering, he was appointed chaplain of the state prison, which position he held until 1855.
1845. Reverend Charles C. Burr. Reported one hundred and seventy-eight members.
1846-'47. Reverend Ebenezer Peaslee was stationed here. At the end of the first year he reported two hundred and six members. The second year of his pastorate the Methodist Biblical Institute was established in Concord. At the close of Mr. Peaslec's second year two hundred and thirty-four members were reported. During
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HISTORY OF CONCORD.
1847 Hopkinton mission was connected with Concord, and preaching supplied.
1848-'49. The church was left to be supplied. Hopkinton was disannexed in 1848. In 1849, Reverend Charles Adams, a professor of the Biblical institute, supplied. He reported one hundred and seventy-five members, and nineteeen local preachers.
1850-'51. Reverend Frederic A. Hewes. First year reported one hundred and sixty-five members, seventeen probationers, and twenty- one local preachers. Second year, one hundred and sixty-three mem- bers, twenty probationers, twenty-eight local preachers.
1852-'53. Reverend Warren F. Evans. First year, one hundred sixty members, seven probationers, twenty-seven local preachers. Second year, one hundred and sixty-six members, sixteen proba- tioners, thirty-nine local preachers.
1854-'55. Reverend Samuel Kelley was again stationed here after an absence of twenty-two years. First year, he reported two hundred and seven members, twenty-six probationers, forty local preachers; second year, one hundred and ninety-six members, fourteen proba- tioners, thirty-four local preachers. About the middle of the second year he accepted an appointment as city missionary at Charlestown, Mass., and Reverend S. M. Vail, professor at the institute, supplied.
1856-'57. Reverend Samuel Beedle. First year two hundred and twenty members, fifty-three probationers, thirty-three local preachers. Second, two hundred and eighty-three members, fifty-eight proba- tioners, and twenty-three local preachers. During his pastorate more complete statistics were prepared, and show one hundred fourteen dollars and sixty-six cents for benevolent contributions, Sunday- school expenses, twenty-five dollars .and sixty-two cents, and preach- er's salary, five hundred and fifty dollars. The Sunday-school num- bered two hundred and forty-five members, and thirty-three officers and teachers. The library had seven hundred volumes.
1858-'59. Reverend Elisha Adams was appointed. The society showed prosperity in the addition to the church building. The first repairs were in 1853, and improvements were then made to the audience room. The cost exceeded one thousand dollars. The next year the house was piped for gas at an expense of one hundred dol- lars. In 1858 the house was enlarged by an addition to the east end, making room for twenty more pews. This cost one thousand dollars. In 1859 a pipe organ was purchased at a cost of five hun- dred dollars.
1860. Reverend Orlando H. Jasper was appointed. He reported three hundred and five members, thirty-six probationers, and fifty-five local preachers. The minister's salary was now seven hundred dollars.
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THE FIRST METHODIST CHURCH.
1861-'62. Reverend John H. McCarty. The members increased to three hundred and forty and probationers to fifty-nine.
1863-'65. Reverend Dudley P. Leavitt, who writes in the records at the close of his pastorate that these were the " happiest years of my ministry." The church did show growth and prosperity.
1866. Reverend Sullivan Holman. No material change reported.
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