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 8
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The society having continued without a pastor for more than a year, a call was extended, November 20, 1900, to Reverend Louis HI. Buckshorn, of Westford, Mass., who accepted, and began his labors
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THE UNITARIAN CHURCH.
Sunday, December 2, 1900. His installation occurred January 16, 1901.
In closing the history of this church too much cannot be said of the generosity and sacrifice of its early members. Colonel Kent and Lewis Downing are names that will ever stand out prominently upon its records. To the liberality and perseverance of the former is due the founding of the society and erection of its first house of worship, while to the generous bequests of the latter is due the per- manence of the society amid losses and trials that might well have discouraged any congregation. By the will of Mr. Downing the society shares equally with his children in the income of the estate, and at their decease receives a large addition to its revenue and becomes the custodian of his entire estate, the income to be devoted to the spread of the Unitarian gospel.
At the installation of Reverend Frank L. Phalen, a former pas- tor of this society, over the Church of the Unity at Worcester, Mass., United States Senator George F. Hoar took occasion in his ad- dress to the people to make mention of the number of that congre- gation who had been called to positions of public trust. Distin- guished as that church has been in this regard, it can claim no pre- eminence over the Second Congregational society of this city. In the history of the latter it has furnished to the nation, one secretary of the navy, one foreign minister, two United States senators, and two naval officers of the port of Boston; to the state, two governors, three judges of the supreme court, one of whom became chief justice, one state treasurer of thirty years' service, two secretaries of state, the first state superintendent of public instruction, one bank commis- sioner, three law reporters of the supreme court, and two public printers ; and to the city a large number of competent officials. To these could be added others like Parker Pillsbury, who, though hold- ing no official position, made life better for his fellows because of his living.
NOTES.
Discipline in church of the juvenile part of the congregation did not wholly disappear until well into the nineteenth century. On the records of the Unitarian society for the year 1837 is found the fol- lowing : "Voted that R. N. Sherburne be requested to take a seat in the gallery a few Sabbaths and apply a corrective to the boys."
May Festival. This annual festival was started about 1860, by the ladies of the Unitarian society, and has been a social feature of Concord ever since. The entertainment has varied with its recur- rence, but it has always embraced something of interest for the chil- dren and of which they were a part. The May-pole dance partici-
6
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HISTORY OF CONCORD.
pated in by the young folks of the city regardless of denomination is typical of these children's entertainments. At present the festival combines a fair and entertainment, concluding with dancing in the evening. In the year 1866 a May breakfast was given in Eagle hall,- with the kitchen in Angelos hall,-which closed at noon, followed in the afternoon and evening by the usual festivities. The next year there was a May breakfast and a May dinner, followed by a costume party in the evening. So long has this May day festival been held by the Unitarian society that other societies now recognize a kind of prescriptive right the Unitarians have to this day.
THE WEST CONCORD CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
In 1831 it was apparent that the pastoral labors of the minister of the Old North church had become too extensive for him to perform and that the Old North meeting-house was not convenient for the Congregationalists residing in West Concord to attend. A meet- ing was held in the old schoolhouse at West Concord November 8 of that year to take action for the formation of another Congregational society. This meeting was called to order by Captain Samuel Knowl- ton. Captain Henry Rolfe was elected moderator, and Deacon Ira Rowell, clerk. The population of the West parish at this time was not far from seven hundred. Less than two hundred attended services. Of the one hundred and seventeen families about sixty-three were Congregationalists. As a result of this meeting a society was organ- ized January 11, 1832, under the name of the "West Congregational Society in Concord," consisting of fifty-seven members. Seven days later Isaac Dow, Samuel Knowlton, and Samuel Dimond were ap- pointed a committee to purchase a site for the church edifice and to contract for its erection. August 16, 1832, the frame was raised, and five months later, January 15, 1833, the completed edifice was dedi- cated. The building was sixty-three feet long and forty-six feet wide, with a projection in front twenty-five feet long and three feet wide. The cost of the building was about two thousand dollars. To raise this sum the amount was divided into shares of thirty dollars each and offered for sale. Afterwards the pews were appraised at an average of thirty-four dollars each and sold at auction. The building stood on land which is now the property of Major Abijah Hollis, near his residence. In the latter part of March, 1833, a meeting of the members of the First church residing in the West Parish was held in the new house of worship. At this meeting a committee, consisting of Deacon Abiel Rolfe, Deaeon Ira Rowell, Isaac Dow, 1st, Henry Rolfe, and John Jarvis, was chosen to draft a petition and present it to the church of which they were members for letters of dismissal and
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THE WEST CONCORD CHURCH.
recommendation as suitable persons to be organized into a new church ; to draft articles of faith and covenant, and to name the churches which should compose the council of organization. To this committee Rev- erend Asa P. Tenney was afterward added. This petition was signed by twenty-seven males and sixty-two females and duly presented to the First church. Their request was granted by a unanimous vote, but with feelings of deep regret. In April following a meeting of those about to be organized into a church was held. Isaac Dow, 1st, was chosen moderator, and John Jarvis, scribe. At this meeting it was unanimously voted to extend a call to Reverend Asa P. Tenney to become pastor. A week later the society concurred in this call, and on the same day Mr. Tenney returned an affirmative answer. The same month a council convened at the tavern of Orlando Brown and organized with the choice of Reverend Abraham Burnham for moder- ator, Reverend Jubilee Wellman, scribe, and Reverend Jacob Scales, assistant scribe, when adjournment was made to the meeting-house. Here it was voted by the council to proceed to the installation ser- vices. On the following morning the church was organized, and in the afternoon Mr. Tenney was installed as pastor. Prior to the call- ing of Mr. Tenney the pulpit had been supplied chiefly by the vener- able Rev. Dr. Walter Harris of Dunbarton.
The ministry of Mr. Tenney was a long and a successful one. Be- ginning with the organization of the church, it was terminated only by his death. He was an intensely practical man, and under his long ministration the church was greatly blessed. Converted at the age of seventeen while apprenticed to a blacksmith in Haverhill, N. H., he soon turned his attention to study for the ministry, After five years of preparation he was licensed to preach in November, 1827. He spent five years in Hebron and Groton, preaching in the two Congre- gational churches which were situated in those towns about six miles apart. His success in this pastorate was marked. About forty were added to the church in Hebron and thirty-one in Groton. From this pastorate he was called to West Concord.
During the ministry of Mr. Tenney at West Concord three hundred and eleven members were added to the church, about two thirds of this number being the fruit of revivals, of which there were eight in number during his pastorate. While the congregation rarely exceed- ed two hundred, a much larger number than this was reached by his preaching. Besides the usual meetings of the Sabbath, preaching and prayer meetings were held in the different schoolhouses of the parish. Mr. Tenney estimated the number of his sermons at seven thousand. Two hundred and forty-nine persons received baptism from his hands, one hundred and fifty-four being children and ninety-five adults.
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HISTORY OF CONCORD.
There were four hundred and ninety-three deaths in the parish, the funerals of most of whom Mr. Tenney attended. He united in marriage two hundred and eight. The annual contributions during his pastorate for missionary and educational work amounted to over four thousand dollars. Mr. Tenney took a deep interest in the schools of his parish and encouraged higher education. Twenty-seven of the young people of his parish were absent at one time attending differ- ent schools, and twelve graduated from college and professional in- stitutions. While there was a marked growth in the village during his pastorate, the pastor did not share in the material prosperity by any increase in his salary. It began at four hundred and fifty dollars and continued at that sum during his pastorate. Mr. Tenney was a man of strong character and sterling worth ; and if sometimes abrupt of speech, was appreciated by his people and exercised a strong influ- ence in the community. He preached regularly to December 16, 1866, and administered the communion on the first Sabbath of Janu- ary following. He preached his last sermon on the twentieth day of the same month. On March 1, 1867, he died peacefully in his study, thirty-four years after he began his labors in this parish.
In the year 1840 the church lost a valuable officer by the death of Deacon Abiel Rolfe. He was deacon in the First church, having been elected September 6, 1811, and his term of service in both churches was a little more than twenty-eight years.
In the fall of 1859 Edward P. Tenney, a son of the pastor, who had united with this church eight and a half years before, graduated from Bangor Theological seminary and was ordained as an evangelist by a council called for that purpose by letters missive from this church.
After the death of Reverend Asa P. Tenney, Dr. Nathaniel Bou- ton supplied the pulpit for a year, when Hiram B. Putnam, an Andover graduate, was engaged to preach with a view to settlement. August 9, 1868, the church met and extended to him a call to become its pastor. Accepting this call, he was ordained October 28, 1868, and installed as pastor. He continued for five years, and it was with regret that his resignation was received. On the third Sabbath of December, 1873, his ministry at this church closed. Resolutions were adopted commending the work of Mr. Putnam and expressing confi- dence in him as a faithful Christian man and in his abilities as a preacher and pastor. His pastorate was a very pleasant one, and he endeared himself to his people.
Mr. Putnam had been settled but eleven months when the house of worship which had stood for thirty-six years and eight months was destroyed by fire September 21, 1869. The church had been thoroughly renovated within and was soon to be rededicated. This
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loss was a great blow to the society, but measures were immediately taken to rebuild. Four days after the fire an informal meeting of the society was held and it was voted to proceed with the work. A regular meeting was held on the afternoon of October 11 following, to take action formally, and numerous meet- ings relative to the location and erection of a new house of worship followed. A com- mittee consisting of Simeon Abbot, Jehiel D. Knight, George W. Brown, and George E. Holden was appointed to take charge of the work. There was considerable discus- sion regarding the proper site for a new church. The site of the old vestry received the largest vote, but the lot where the house now stands being offered to the society by William P. Cooledge of New York, it was voted to accept it and build the church there. May 21, 1870, the corner-stone of the new church was laid. The church was built of granite from the hill which over_ looks the village, and it was completed, ready for occupancy, in June, 1871. On June 14 the house was dedicated. The first estimates of the building were placed at five thousand dollars, but before it was completed the society had expended more than ten thousand dollars. The greater part of the money for rebuilding had been raised by subscription, but a debt of a few hundred dollars remained which was not paid until March 24, 1878.
The West Concord Congregational Church.
March 2, 1874, the church and society gave a call to Reverend Irving D. Adkinson, who had supplied the pulpit for two preceding Sabbaths. The call being accepted, Mr. Adkinson was installed as pastor May 6 following. This pastorate opened auspiciously, but very soon had a sad ending. Mr. Adkinson began his labors in physical weakness, and the care of a wide parish like this was more than he could endure. In one year from the time he first supplied the pulpit his labors ceased. On February 25, 1875, he died. This was the second pastorate of this church which had been terminated by death. Reverend Elisha Adams of Concord, the Methodist leader, supplied the pulpit for a few Sabbaths, and afterwards the neighbor- ing Congregational ministers filled out the year, which ended in May, that the widow of the pastor might have the benefit of his salary.
Reverend John W. Colwell of Providence, R. I., supplied the pul- pit the first three Sundays in June, 1875, and was engaged to act
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HISTORY OF CONCORD.
as pastor for one year. September 22, 1875, he was ordained as an evangelist. He sustained this relation of preacher a little more than a year, when, November 8, 1876, he received a call to the pas- torate at a salary of twelve hundred dollars. Accepting, he was installed February 28, 1877. It was during his pastorate that the church debt was paid. On Sunday, July 9, 1876, he preached a sermon giving the history of the church up to that time, and from that discourse and the church records the foregoing facts have been obtained. Mr. Colwell was a very acceptable pastor, working with energy and intelligence, and increasing the membership and influ- ence of the church. After nearly four years of service he offered his resignation April 13, 1879, to take effect the last Sunday of that month. The resignation was accepted, and he was dismissed by a council convened for that purpose.
The pulpit was then supplied for a few months, when Reverend Cyrus M. Perry of Pembroke was engaged and served the parish from July 1, 1879, to May, 1882. Mr. Perry was acting pastor. He was succeeded by Reverend Charles B. Strong, who was called at a regular meeting held August 9, 1882, by both church and soci- ety. Mr. Strong accepted and was installed by a council September 6, 1882. Mr. Strong came from Coleraine, Mass., and was a graduate of Hartford Theological seminary. His pastorate was short, for his resignation was accepted July 20, 1884.
The pulpit was again supplied for nearly a year, when the society called Reverend Charles F. Roper, a graduate of Andover Theologi- cal seminary. Mr. Roper supplied the pulpit prior to his call, which bears date of May, 1885. The council met June 25, following, and he was duly installed. Then followed a pastorate of nearly nine ycars, fruitful in much good to the church. Mr. Roper inspired the members with his enthusiasm, and took a large interest in reforma- tory and philanthropie work of a public nature. With great regret the society and church received and accepted his resignation. At a meeting of a council called for that purpose he was dismissed March 4, 1894, and accepted a call to the church at West Lebanon. It was during Mr. Roper's pastorate and through his instrumentality that the chapel and parsonage were built. He secured subscriptions for the former, and the society authorized its erection in 1885 at a cost of about fourteen hundred dollars. In 1888 the parsonage was built on a lot donated by the late Asa A. Blanchard at a cost of twenty-five hundred dollars. For this, too, Mr. Roper secured sub- scriptions, and was the first minister to occupy it.
At a regular meeting, July 8, 1894, a unanimous call was given to Reverend Daniel W. Clark of Wellfleet, Mass., who accepted and
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THE WEST CONCORD CHURCH.
began his labors September 2, 1894. His pastorate continued for four years, terminating September 1, 1898. The pulpit was sup- plied for another six months. Then May 23, 1899, at a meeting held at the chapel, Reverend Henry M. Goddard of South Royalton, Vt., was called. He accepted and entered upon his duties June 18, 1899, and is the present pastor. The church membership is one hundred and forty-nine, with a congregation averaging one hundred and fifty.
Sabbath schools were held in this parish long before the church was organized. The first Sabbath school was started in 1818 in the old schoolhouse, Captain Joshua Abbot being the first superintend- ent. The custom at first was to hold these Sabbath schools in each of the districts of the parish at five o'clock in the afternoon. In time, however, these separate schools were united into one which was held at the church just after the morning service, a custom which has since continued. From the records of the church and the testimony of the pastors it appears that the Sabbath school has always been an important help in the work of the church. During the last two years the pastor has conducted a catechetical class for the young people of the parish.
The voice of the majority in this church has ever been the rule in deciding the many questions which have come before it for settle- ment, and a spirit of unity has prevailed in all its deliberations. The money contributions of this parish to sustain public worship and for general benevolent work approximate in the nearly seventy years of its existence one hundred thousand dollars, while its help in the com- munity in promoting temperance and morality cannot be measured.
Of the first two deacons of the church Abiel Rolfe held office un- til his death, February 9, 1840, and Ira Rowell until May 5, 1876, when he resigned. Hazen Runnels was the successor to Mr. Rolfe, and served until his death, June 27, 1859. Stephen Carleton suc- eeeded Mr. Rowell and served until November 10, 1884, when his death occurred. Edward S. Barrett and Cyrus Runnels were elected May 5, 1876, and still hold office, being elected for life. In 1895 three additional deacons were elected for terms of three years each, and Richard S. Emery, Frank E. Dimond, and George R. Parmenter were chosen. With the death of Mr. Barrett and Mr. Runnels the succession in this office will be for a limited term.
Since the "Old Home Week " was started in this state, the ser- vices at this church have attracted large numbers of former members of the church and residents of the parish,
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HISTORY OF CONCORD.
THE SOUTH CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
Not more than sixty-eight years have passed since it was proposed to establish the South Congregational church in Concord, but Con- gregational worship has been that best known here since 1730, when the First church was organized, and the minister of that church was entitled the Minister of the Town. The need for the South church became apparent in 1835, when Concord, one hundred and eleven years after its settlement, had about four thousand five hundred in- habitants. In that year the South Congregational society was organ- ized, the original members of which are given in the manual of 1869 as follows :
George Kent, Thomas Chadbourne, Nathaniel G. Upham, Frank- lin Evans, Leonard Kimball, Eaton Richards, James Weeks, James Sullivan, George N. Damon, Walter Harris, Asa McFarland, Samuel S. Dow, George Hutchins, Asaph Evans, Philip Watson, Ira H. Cur- rier, Joseph Grover, Samuel Evans, Hamilton Hutchins, James Rines, Samuel Evans, Jr., Caleb Parker, Samuel Fletcher, Joseph Low, John B. Chandler, W. W. Estabrook, Arthur Fletcher, Josiah Stevens, Charles P. Blanchard, William D. Buck.
A suitable site, at the southwest corner of Main and Pleasant streets, was obtained for one thousand two hundred dollars, and in the summer of 1836 a church edifice was built thereon at a further cost of about eight thousand eight hundred dollars. The edifice was seventy-seven by sixty-four feet in area. Within its granite base- ment, level with the street, were the chapel, sixty-four by thirty-six feet in area, having three entrance ways (one from Main street, one from Pleasant street, and another from a pass way by the south side), and two stores, from the rental of which it was expected some income would come to the society. Two parlors and the main audi- ence room were above these, entered by a stairway from Main street. On the floor of the audience room were one hundred and eight pews, besides a few in the gallery. There were three aisles and six rows of pews. The gallery at the east end, opposite the well-wrought mahogany pulpit, had space for an organ of considerable power, seats for a large choir, and the few pews just mentioned. Means where- with to build this church were obtained from the resources or on the credit of certain members of the society, who appear to have been Asaph Evans, Samuel Evans, Samuel Fletcher, George Hutchins, George Kent, Joseph Low, Nathaniel G. Upham, and Amos Wood. Philip Watson, a parishioner, was the builder. This church was dedicated in the forenoon of February 1, 1837, and in the afternoon of the same day a sale of pews was held.
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THE SOUTH CHURCH.
That year of 1837 is remembered as one of financial disaster. The secular affairs of the parish did not prosper immediately, and after a little time a singular situation resulted-the chapel and two stores went into private ownership, and the society paid rent for its chapel until 1854, when it was redeemed for five hundred dollars.
The interior of this first church was at the outset a place without decoration. The walls and ceiling were white, and the plain glass windows were hung with Venetian blinds. The north and south walls joined the ceiling by suitable curves. Each white pine pew was carpeted and cushioned, and perhaps its interior painted, to please the separate fancy of its owner. There was a door to close each pew. After a time a broad, crimson curtain, upheld by a rod with enlarged, carved ends, was hung behind the pulpit to relieve the plainness of the background. Still later the walls and ceiling were frescoed, in the manner of that time, with columns and panels, and behind the pulpit was drawn a chancel in perspective.
The congregation took no audible part in the worship, but arose and faced the choir when hymns were sung. The hymn-book was a collection enti- tled " Church Psalmody." Its selections included four hundred and twenty-one of the compositions of Dr. Isaac Watts. There were probably thirty voices in the choir. The organist and director was Dr. William D. Buck. There were, at dif- ferent times, three organs placed in the gallery of the old church; one, a small affair built at Plymouth, N. H., was lent by the builder in hope of a sale ; another, which cost seven hundred dol- lars, had been in use in Troy, N. Y., and the third, which was satisfactory, was built by Simmons, of Boston. Likewise there were two bells in the tower; the first was broken in ringing out welcome to the news of a townsman's nomination to the presidency of the United States.
First South Congregational Church.
The living church was organized on the day of the dedication with sixty-seven members, all of them from the First church. In the fol- lowing March, Reverend Daniel James Noyes, a graduate of Dart- mouth and Andover, was called, and he was ordained and installed as pastor May 3, 1837, at the age of twenty-five years. The salary promised to the first pastor was seven hundred dollars for the first year, and eight hundred dollars a year thereafter. His patience and forbearance in respect to even this salary were a part of the resources by which the society overcame its early discouragements.
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The first pastor may be rightly characterized as an eminently saintly man. His presence and manner might say to the most casual observer that here was the conscientious pastor of a church. His figure was slight, his carriage and deportment dignified, and his face, so it seems to the writer's fancy, bore resemblance to busts of the illustrious Italian poet Dante. He was a careful student and an interesting preacher. An active laborer in the vineyard, he had at one time a large class of children which met on Saturday afternoons for instruction in the " Westminster Assembly's Shorter Catechism." The pastor's view of Biblical teaching was in his early life more severe than is now general ; such was then the common view. His pastorate covered twelve and one half years, and at its close the church appears to have numbered two hundred and thirty-one members ; the admis- sions were two hundred and fifty-nine; losses, ninety-five. In Octo- ber, 1849, he was dismissed, to become professor of theology in Dart- mouth college. He died at Chester, N. H., on December 22, 1885.
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