USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Littleton > History of Littleton, New Hampshire, Vol. II > Part 22
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When Mr. Milliken felt that he had wrought out his call at Penacook, he resigned his pastorate and accepted a position at Swanzey, N. H., November, 1891. Almost without warning, Feb- ruary 12, 1893, death again entered his home, and for the third time called away his beloved companion. As of his Master, it may well be said of Mr. Milliken, he was " a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief," but also like Him whom he faithfully served, in the midst of his deep afflictions he has been enabled to look up into the face of the Father and say, " Thy will be done."
The departure of Rev. Mr. Milliken was apparently a critical event in the church's history. More than two years elapsed before his successor was installed over the church, and the intervening months constituted a period of disappointment and anxiety, in which the pulpit was filled by various candidates for the succes- sion. In March, 1879, the Rev. A. B. McGowan, of Hyde Park, Mass., was selected from a list of three such candidates and in- vited to supply the pulpit for one year, and a committee appointed
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to arrange with him to that end. In the mean while it was learned that the church and society had been misinformed in regard to the character of the proposed supply, and no further action was taken in the matter. On the 29th of the following December a call was extended to the Rev. J. S. Litch, of Derby Line, Vt., to become pastor; this was at first accepted, and afterward de- clined on the 26th of January, 1880. Subsequently Rev. George A. Gates, a young man of ability, supplied as a candidate, and on the 26th of May, by a concurrent vote of the church and society, was called to the pastorate. The council convened to consider the ordination and installation of Mr. Gates was a numerous and unusually able body ; the clericals were the Revs. J. P. Stone, J. W. Lees, S. Norton, N. J. Jones, D. P. Phillips, E. T. Fairbank, H. W. Jones, F. B. Phelps, N. F. Cobleigh, E. J. Ranslow, C. E. Milliken, and Samuel C. Bartlett, President of Dartmouth Col- lege. The lay delegates were Deacon Maynard, Burt A. Taylor, Mitchell H. Bowker, J. B. Hoyt, Deacon S. Spooner, Deacon Moses Lang, C. E. Putney, T. M. Howard, Calvin Morrill, and J. W. Stoddard.
The candidate was examined at great length concerning his re- ligious experience and doctrinal belief, nearly the entire day being devoted to the work. President Bartlett was the principal exam- iner, but nearly all the clergymen participated in it. The result was embodied in a lengthy report in which the ordination was refused. The reasons, briefly stated, were that the candidate was " lacking in settled convictions in regard to the fundamental principles of the evangelical faith," and manifested " an unwill- ingness to accept the ultimate authority of the Word of God on religious truth." These were surely good reasons why a person entertaining them should not be authorized to fill a pulpit in a Congregational church and preach to a people that believed in its cardinal doctrines. The action of the council was none the less a great surprise to all concerned as well as to the general public, which had come to regard Mr. Gates as an exceptionally elo- quent preacher who promised to become an important factor in the intellectual life of the town. That the examination gave a correct view of the actual opinions of the candidate could not be believed. It was thought that through some process of mental mystification he had been led to engage in a speculative contro- versy with members of the council rather than to give them all explicit statement of his religious opinions. Regret over the out- come was general, both with the church membership and the people of the town. Mr. Gates afterward was ordained, held
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important pastorates, won a distinguished reputation as a divine, was for many years president of the college at Grinnell, Ia., and is at present the president of the Congregationalist college at Pomona, California.
In accordance with votes of the church and the society, a call was tendered to the Rev. George W. Osgood to become pastor, on the 18th of November, 1880 ; it was accepted on January 11, 1881, and the 25th of the same monthi named for the assembling of the council for his installation. The action of the council was favor- able, and Mr. Osgood was on the same day duly installed. The exercises were as follows : invocation by the Rev. C. F. Morse ; reading of the Scriptures by the Rev. J. P. Stone ; sermon by the Rev. E. J. Ranslow ; prayer by the Rev. H. W. Jones; hymn by the Rev. Nelson F. Cobleigh ; right hand of fellowship by the Rev. J. W. Lees ; charge to pastor by the Rev. S. Norton ; hymn by the Rev. J. P. Stone ; and benediction by the pastor.
Mr. Osgood remained with the church until 1884. He was the son of Wesley and Pamelia Robinson Osgood, and was born at Bangor, Me., April 27, 1851. He was educated at Bangor, Water- ville, Me., and Middletown, Conn., was graduated from Wesleyan University in 1874 and Bangor Theological Seminary in 1877. January 24 of the latter year he began to preach at Tunbridge, Vt., where he continued till he came to Littleton. October 6, 1881, he was united in marriage to Clara Agnes Peck, of Barre, Vt.
Mr. Osgood brought the zeal and enthusiasm of an earnest, con- secrated young man to his work; he entered heartily not only into all the relations of the church, but gave a large interest to whatever concerned the welfare of the community in general. He was a close student of the Bible, and was able to give a rea- son for the faith within him. He sought to establish his people on the foundations of the eternal truths long held by the church ; he was distinctively a teacher.
In 1882 the chapel was erected, the Condon Fund of $1,100 being used toward the expenses of its construction. The follow- ing record is self-explanatory : -
At a church meeting May 5, 1882, the committee to report some resolutions in regard to the gift of the organ by Mrs. Taft and Mrs. Eastman reported as follows : -
In view of the grand organ which this church has received from Mrs. Lucinda K. Taft and her daughter, Mrs. Ida Taft Eastman, as a me- morial of a beloved husband and father,
Resolved, That we hereby express our gratitude for their generous gift and our appreciation of the motives which prompted so noble an act.
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Resolved, That in this sweet-toned instrument we find a new induce- ment to magnify our communion of praise.
Resolved, That we instruct our clerk to present a copy of these resolutions to each of the donors.
JOHN MERRILL, Clerk.
Mr. Osgood terminated his pastorate by resignation, October 1, 1884. The dismissing council " commend him for thorough piety and earnestness, for his ability as a preacher, and for his entire consecration to the work of the Master, and cordially recommend him as such to the kindly regard and confidence of the churches."
The retirement of Mr. Osgood was the result of a want of co-operation and harmony in conducting church work. He was an energetic man with nervous temperament, and pushed forward, often without having consulted his constitutional advisers, - a habit that rendered conflict unavoidable. There were no serious differences, but the situation was strained, and it was deemed ad- visable in the interest of pastor and people to relieve it through the instrumentality of a council. Mr. Osgood since leaving here has held pastorates at Provincetown, Hyannis, Newburyport, and ยท Lynn, Mass., in each of which his work has been notably accept- able to his people.
During the following year the Rev. Cyrus W. Wallace, D.D., was acting pastor for six months, and was followed in the same capacity and for the same length of time by the Rev. Charles W. Millen. In May, 1885, the Rev. Edwin C. Holman was engaged as acting pastor for one year with a proviso that after the expira- tion of three months from the time of his engagement the church should decide whether or not a call should be extended to him ; and on October 28 it was voted to settle him as pastor. On January 27, 1886, he was formally inducted into office. This relation was terminated on the last day of that year by virtue of the action of an ecclesiastical council called for that purpose and held on November 25, 1886, Mr. Holman having tendered his resig- nation to accept a call to the Centre Congregational Church, of Haverhill, Mass. Mr. Holman was a young man graduated from the Theological Seminary but a short time previous to his settle- ment here. He was a pulpit orator of more than ordinary ability, but had a strong penchant for business and other practices incon- sistent with the duties of a religious teacher, and since leaving here has had a somewhat checkered career and is no longer engaged in the sacred duties of the ministerial calling.
The departure of Mr. Holman, after a brief pastorate, again required the church to seek a new religious guide, and there were several candidates for the vacancy. After a somewhat prolonged
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trial the choice finally fell to Frederick George Chutter, a student at the Andover Theological Seminary, to whom a joint committee addressed the following communication dated January 15, 1886 :
We have been directed by votes of the Congregational Church and Society of this place to inform you of their action, which is indicated by the enclosed certificates,1 by which you are invited to become their settled pastor.
Trusting that the invitation may find a favorable response, we re- main fraternally yours,
C. D. TARBELL,
C. L. CLAY, Committee for the Church. MRS. J. C. GOODNOUGH,
HENRY MERRILL,
WARREN W. LOVEJOY, JULIA A. ALLEN,
Committee for the Society.
The council " to ordain, examine, and install Frederick G. Chutter " was held September 9, 1887. The churches at Haver- hill, Mass., Waterville, Me., Penacook, Bethlehem, Dalton, Lan- caster, Haverhill, Lisbon, Franconia, East Andover, and Wells River, Vt., were represented and the delegates by unanimous action, voted to recommend Mr. Chutter for ordination and in- stallation, and he was accordingly invested with the sacred office of pastor over the church and society in Littleton.
It was during the pastorates of Mr. Holman and Mr. Chutter that the organization known as "Christian Scientists " began to make slight inroads upon the church membership of the town, and this church was the principal sufferer from this cause. It was perhaps a difficult matter to deal with, as the recalcitrants began to ask for letters of dismissal and recommendation to the Christian Science Church. The first request of this character came from Walter W. Watson and wife, of Boston, and after due deliberation it was voted, " that if they desire we give them a let- ter of dismission from this church without recommendation and without censure;" and this action was the basis upon which all similar requests were treated. In all some eight or ten members withdrew from this church to become members of that sect.
A minute entered in the church records states that on " May 11, 1887, Mrs. Martha Goodwin died, aged 91 years, 4 months,
1 The certificates were as follows : that of the church was, " Voted, that the committee on supply, etc., be a committee to act for the church in connection with any committee appointed by the society to extend the call of the church to Mr. Chutter and make such arrangements as to his installation, in case of his accept- ance, as are necessary." That of the Society was of similar purport.
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10 days," and "May 18, 1887, Philip C. Wilkins died, aged 84 years." It is a singular coincidence that these aged people, who had lived on adjoining farms for fifty-five years and had long been members of this church, should have been called to their reward within a week of each other. Mrs. Goodwin was the daughter of Jonas Nurse, and was born in this town and had lived on the same farm on Mann's Hill for seventy years.
Mr. Chutter served the church with great acceptance until, desiring to go abroad for study and recreation, he in August, 1890, tendered his resignation of the pastorate for that purpose. A meeting of the church was held on the 17th of that month for its consideration. Thirteen members were present, and by a unanimous vote appointed a committee consisting of B. W. Kil- burn, A. R. Burton, C. L. Clay, and Mrs. John Merrill, to wait on Mr. Chutter and request him to withdraw his resignation. At a subsequent meeting held on the 5th of September the committee reported that it had been unsuccessful in its mission, when the meeting accepted the resignation and a committee was appointed to confer with the retiring pastor and arrange for a mutual coun- cil, and, in the event of the dismissal of Mr. Chutter, to provide a supply, and this committee was instructed at a meeting held on September 23, by resolution, "that it was desired by this church that the committee . . . present no candidate until they are fully settled in their minds that they have found the right man for the place."
The council met on September 24, 1890, and in dissolving the relations between the pastor and the church and society said " that they found nothing to impair, but much to strengthen, their con- fidence in the Christian character and work of the retiring pastor, and they accordingly commended him to the confidence of the churches as in their judgment an honest and faithful minister of the Lord Jesus Christ, and an eloquent expounder of the Word of God." A reception was tendered Mr. and Mrs. Chutter at the vestry on the evening of October 8, which was largely attended. Thus ended a pastorate that, though brief, had been attended with many blessings to the church, and the necessity that severed the ties was deeply regretted by the church and the society.
Mr. Chutter was born at Chard, England, September 12, 1857, and when quite young came to this country with his parents, who settled at Waterville, Me. His theological education was acquired at Andover Theological Seminary, where he was graduated in 1887. He came from there to assume the pastorate of this church. While abroad, Mr. Chutter took a special course in theology at
REV. FREDERICK G. CHUTTER.
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Oxford University, and another at New College, Edinburgh, cover- ing the same subject. While abroad he also travelled exten- sively, going as far north as the Arctic Circle, and south as far as Egypt. He paid a lengthy visit to Palestine. On returning from his European travels he was tendered calls to the Pawtucket Church in Lowell, Mass., and to Tacoma, Wash., which he declined on account of the condition of his health that precluded continuous intellectual pursuits.
As a preacher Mr. Chutter confines himself to his manuscript, reading with rapidity, energy, and discriminating enunciation. His sermons evince care both in the selection of subject and treat- ment; his style is ornate, and abounds in metaphor and other illustrations.
Since 1893 he has been engaged in a prosperous dry-goods business in this town. He still continues to be an ardent worker in the church, having lost none of his zeal in its behalf through the cessation of his ministerial duties. In fact, they cannot be said to have ceased, for he is still frequently called to preach in this and other towns, and his sermons are forceful and eloquent.
Mr. Chutter has taken decided interest in political affairs, and represented the town in the Legislature in 1900-1901. He has also been a member of the Board of Education in this town for ten years, and served on the important committee on schools, teachers, and text-books. The classification of the schools and the selection of teachers have largely fallen to his lot. He re- signed from the board in March, 1903. He has been president of the Board of Trustees of the Public Library and a trustee of Dow Academy at Franconia. He lias recently been appointed by the Governor and Council a trustee of the School for Feeble- Minded Children, succeeding Daniel C. Remich on the board.
In October, 1887, he was united in marriage with Caroline C., daughter of Eben Cutler, of Boston, Mass. They have two chil- dren, Mildred C., born in Oxford, England, in 1892, and Reginald F., born in Littleton in 1893.
The selection of a successor to Rev. Mr. Chutter developed a difference of opinion between the church and the society in the mat- ter of choice. The church, at a meeting held on the 31st of January, 1891, voted to invite the Rev. J. H. Bliss to become their pastor at a salary of $1,300 per annum and parsonage. The society voting to non-concur with the church, the vote to extend a call to the Rev. Mr. Bliss was reconsidered, at a meeting held February 16, 1891, and meetings of church and society arranged for March 4, to consider matters anew, when a call was given Rev. A. E. Haven,
VOL. II. - 14
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which was declined. Other action intervened without results, when, at a meeting held on May 9, a call was by a unanimous vote given to the Rev. Melvin J. Allen, and he was subsequently inducted into office.
Mr. Allen was born at Cincinnatus, N. Y., March 7, 1852, and was graduated from Amherst College in 1879, and from Andover Theological Seminary with the class of 1882. He married Ella D. Hanckes, of Amherst, Mass. His first pastorate was at Ashby, Mass., where he was ordained and installed in 1882 and remained six years, when he was installed over the church at Holden, Mass., where he was pastor from 1888 to 1890. He then returned to Andover for a year's study, whence he came to Littleton and was installed July 5, 1891.
Mr. Allen was, perhaps, with the exception of the Rev. E. I. Car- penter, the most scholarly pastor the church has had. His ser- mons showed great preparation, and afforded occasion for serious and helpful thought on the part of the hearers.
In November, 1893, the results of the patient work of the faith- ful pastors were made manifest in one of the deepest and most widely reaching revivals that have ever been experienced in Little- ton. Union meetings were held for some four weeks under the direction of Mr. and Mrs. M. S. Rces, evangelists from Elmira, N. Y. At the following communion in January, Mr. Allen had the great pleasure of receiving into the church thirty-nine persons, mostly young people from the Sunday-school. This was a larger number than had ever been received at one time in the history of this church. New life was infused into all the activities of the church, the membership of the Y. P. S. C. E. being more than doubled.
March 4, 1894, Mr. Allen read his resignation, to take effect August 1. The council called July 2, in voting to accede to the request of the pastor and the church that the relation be dissolved, said that,
" In coming to this conclusion we desire to put upon record our appreciation of our brother as a preacher of righteousness, who has brought to his work the results of wide experience and knowledge of the social condition of the church and society. His preaching has been along the lines of applied Christianity, not so much to prepare men to die, but to live in all their relations as brethren. Our brother has interpreted Christianity as a life and living process ; his spiritual and intellectual growth have gone on together. His studies on applied ethics and Christianity fit him to be an organizer and a preacher.
" Rightly dividing the words of truth, he has worked in a manner
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in his relation to the young people to commend him to the judgment of his brethren in the church and to the ministry in the region 'round about.' The accessions on confession of faith to this church within the past year have been the largest of any one year in the history of this church.
.. It is a matter of great satisfaction to the council that the pastor- ate to be terminated has been one of serious and faithful effort. His labors have already produced Christian conviction, and will bear fruit in the future as in the past to the good of this church and to all who feel its enlarging influence.
" We commend our brother for the work he has done in the public schools, both in visiting and in encouraging every good method in teaching by word and example. We commend him as a good citizen, which is the outgrowth of his character.
"We extend our sympathy to the church, and trust that some good and able man will be ready to break the bread of life, and that our brother will soon be called to a church in which he will do noble work for the Master."
During his residence in this town he was a member of the Board of Education, and took more than an ordinary interest in the schools. 3 While pursuing his college course he was assistant librarian of the college, and a member of the library committee at Ashby from 1883 to 1888, and at Holden was president of the Village Improvement Society in 1889-1890. His contributions to newspapers have been frequent and of a character to better public conditions. Among such contributions were a paper on "The Country Church," published in the "Andover Review," Oc- tober, 1888, and one on " Christianity and the Social Economy " in the " Seminary Bulletin," June, 1891. He was also for some time editor of "The Open Door," a weekly paper published at Holden, Mass., and devoted to the interests of the Congregation- alist Church in that and adjoining towns. After leaving this town he became pastor of a church at York, Me.
Mr. Allen was succeeded in the pastorate over this church and society by Rev. John H. Hoffman, who was born in Lyndon, Vt., June 10, 1847, educated at Newbury, Vt., Seminary, New Hamp- ton Institute, and Bates College, from which he was graduated, and then studied theology in the seminaries at Bangor, Me., and Andover, Mass. He was ordained and installed pastor over the church at Henniker in August, 1877, and retained that position seven years. In 1884 he accepted a call to the church at Shelburne Falls, Mass., where he remained five years, discharging his minis- terial duties successfully, and in 1889 was installed over the church at Peterborough, where he remained four years. He then went
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West, and for a year preached at the church at Kearney, Neb. In 1894 he was called to the First Congregational Church in Lit- tleton for one year. At this time was adopted the policy of employing the minister upon an annual contract without the intervention of a church council either for installation or dis- missal, and the method has prevailed to the present time (1903). Mr. Hoffman was re-engaged from year to year until April, 1898, when, owing to differences of opinion in the society in regard to salary and other causes, he tendered his resignation, which was accepted by a small majority, and his connection terminated in January of that year.
Mr. Hoffman was a forceful preacher, with a tendency to what may with propriety be termed old-fashioned methods of selecting topics or subjects for his sermons. He was particularly given to preaching upon current vices, and what many church people regard as innocent amusements came in for severe condemnation. He evidently had the courage of his convictions with a want of worldly tact, - a quality that is apt to constitute a serious fault in a village pastor.
In his several pastorates he was an efficient member of the auxiliary societies of the church ; was president of the Evangelical Alliance of Contoocook Valley, of the local Union of Christian Endeavor, of the Franklin County, Mass., Union of the same society, and filled the same office in other places.
Mr. Hoffman was instructor of elocution in the Maine State College, of the Pittsfield Institute, Me., and the Arms Academy, Shelburne Falls, Mass., and acquired a reputation as a reader in lecture courses. He also delivered lectures on various occa- sions, his subjects being "On Wheels from Shore to Shore," " The Prairie Village," "A New England Village," and " An Hour with Friends of Education." These efforts received the commendation of teachers and other competent judges in literary matters.
It is too early to form an opinion as to whether his pastorate was a success. The work of the minister of the gospel is unlike that of laborers in other professions in nothing more than in this, that his harvest is not gathered in a season. He sows and culti- vates a spiritual field, and the fruitage is garnered through the years, but the final judgment is reserved to be pronounced in the " kingdom not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."
Mr. Hoffmann is now pastor of the Congregational Church at North Reading, Mass.
The present pastor, the Rev. William Forbes Cooley, came as
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the successor of the Rev. John H. Hoffman July 8, 1898, for one year ; at the end of which time he was re-elected to serve so long as agreeable to both parties. Mr. Cooley was born in New York City February 4, 1857; was educated at private schools, and graduated from New York University with the class of 1878, re- ceiving the degree of B.S. in course. In 1891 he received the degree of M.S. from the same institution. In 1880 he entered Union Theological Seminary, whence he was graduated, and was ordained to the ministry at Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, N. Y., July 11, 1884, the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher delivering the charge. Before his ordination he had been licensed to preach, and in 1882-1883, was located at Lehi, Utah, to which place he re- turned for the year following his ordination. After ordination he was also successively stationed at North Branch, Minn., one year ; Seward, Ill., three years ; Elmhurst, Ill., one year ; Short Hills, N. J., two, and Chatham, N. J., five years, when he came to this town.
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