USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Littleton > History of Littleton, New Hampshire, Vol. II > Part 32
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The original church edifice was a beautiful structure, and it is now the boast of the progressives that nothing but its timbers are left. It has in fact been rebuilt and "improved " until nothing but its belfry crowned by one of the superb spires of the State is left to remind us of what the edifice of 1850 may have been.
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The original cost was more than $4,000. The first improvement was on the interior in 1868 when the choir gallery was lowered. The second was to build on an addition at the rear of the house for a vestry. This was done in 1875 at a cost of $1,100. In 1881 the old interior disappeared, having been entirely reconstructed ; and again in 1888 the building was raised from its foundation in order to make room for a vestry or assembly room for the social purposes of the society in which $4,000 was invested. In 1900 the interior was decorated and stained-glass windows substituted for the plain glass that had served for half a century. The windows are eight in number, four being figure windows and four decorative. All are memorials, as indicated by the inscriptions which follow: -
" In memory of Moses K. Wilcomb and wife, gift of their daughter." "In memory of George Abbott, gift of Mrs. Emeline Abbott."
" In memory of Ezra Hale and wife, gift of their daughter."
" In memory of Charles Kellogg, gift of his children."
" In memory of Herman T. Libbey, gift of his parents." " In memory of Dennis Wheeler, gift of his wife." " In memory of Mr. and Mrs. George Gile."
"In memory of the founders and early supporters of this church, including Levi Ranlet, who led in erection of the house of worship dedicated Jan. 8, 1851." .
This latter window was provided by general subscription, and by special gifts in memory of various individuals among the early supporters. The total cost of the repairs at this time was $3,000. The society also owns a fine parsonage upon which extensive im- provements have been made during the past year. The church now has a membership of 230, the society is free of debt, and every department of its work is prosperous.
In April, 1900, the New Hampshire Annual Conference for the third time came to Littleton. Observers did not fail to note a great change in the composition of the membership of the body since it last met here in 1885; many once familiar faces were no longer seen, but the ranks were full. Bishop Fitzgerald presided, and the sessions of the conference were attended by large and interested audiences. The visiting clergymen and their friends were hos- pitably entertained by the citizens of the town.
In October, 1900, the society observed with appropriate services
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the first centennial of Methodism in the town, when the circuit- rider of old and the itinerant of the present received their meed of praise. William F. Whitcher, of Haverhill, read an historical address which was replete with the local lore of the church. A. S. Batchellor gave an address on Jesse Lee as a pioneer, and brief addresses were made by several others.
In January, 1901, was celebrated the semi-centennial of the dedication of the house of worship. Appropriate addresses were delivered by Presiding Elder O. S. Baketel, the pastor, and J. E. Robins, D.D., and local pastors. Letters were read from all the former pastors then living as well as one from the Rev. J. E. King, who preached the dedication sermon fifty years before. When we consider the means at the disposal of the society at its organization and since, its achievements, both spiritual and ma- terial, must be regarded as having been directed by a power not seen ; for mere human effort such as they could exert would be unequal to the accomplishment of so great a task.
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History of Littleton.
XXXIV.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY (Continued).
THE PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
T `HE Protestant Episcopal Church is one of the ancient insti- tutions of our State. The first edifice erected in Ports- mouth for religious worship was an Episcopal Church. It was built some time prior to 1638, and its first pastor was the Rev. Richard Gibson. Stormy times were in store for the little band of immigrants who thus claimed the privilege of worshipping God according to the dictates of their conscience. In 1641 New Hamp- shire came under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts, and in 1642 the Episcopal clergyman at Portsmouth was summoned to Boston to answer to the charge of having violated the polity of the colony which forbade the practice of clerical duties by a minister of the Church of England. The charge could not be denied, and was substantially admitted by the statement made by the Rev. Mr. Gibson when called upon to answer before the authorities. He escaped imprisonment by agreeing to leave the colony. This par- ticular instance of the enforcement of the law seems to have been sufficiently admonitory to the churchmen of Portsmouth to deter them from making further effort to maintain public religious worship in accordance with the form prescribed by the Book of Common Prayer, while their chapel was transformed into a Con- gregational meeting-house, and the ample acres voted to those who erected the first edifice also came into the possession of the " State Church."
Nearly a hundred years elapsed before a successful effort was made to re-establish the Church of England in New Hampshire when, in 1732, Queen's Chapel was erected in Portsmouth, and four years after, the Rev. Arthur Browne became its pastor through the agency of the London Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. This was the beginning of a long period of
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prosperity for the parish. Then came the troublous times of the Revolution, when the Crown and the Church of England were alike regarded by the people with something more than disfavor.
About the time Captain Caswell was clearing his farm on the meadows, in 1770, the Rev. Samuel Peters, who is remembered as the author of a notorious " History of Connecticut " rather than as a devout clergyman, was making a clerical visitation to the ยท settlements in the Connecticut Valley and came as far north as Haverhill, where he held service. The Rev. Ranna Cossit, minis- ter at Claremont, visited Haverhill, giving to that town about a fourth of his time, and as he journeyed up and down the valley held a service when he could gather an audience. There were a number of church people at Haverhill, among whom were Col. Asa Porter and Col. John Hurd.1
At Holderness, then in Strafford County, Samuel Livermore had settled before the outbreak of the war. His stately colonial mansion stood where the Episcopal School for Boys now is, just opposite Plymouth. The Judge, as he afterward became, before coming to the wilderness had resided in Portsmouth, had been a warden of Queen's Chapel, and Mrs. Livermore was a daughter of the Rev. Arthur Browne, rector of that chapel. These antecedents certainly tended to render him more than a passive churchman, and such in fact he was. It was his practice to read prayers and a sermon each Sunday, to which all his neighbors were invited, and not a few attended. When the war was ended, and opportunity was found to give some attention to other matters, the Judge was instrumental in build- ing a church near his residence. Mr. Robert Fowle officiated here as lay reader for some time, but in 1789 he, being a deacon, took charge of the church, and in 1791, having been ordained a priest, became its rector, and held the office until 1847. Trinity Church was the first organized religious society in Holderness, and the first Episcopal Church erected in Grafton County.
The progress of the church in this county stops here for more than half a century. Sometimes, but at long intervals, a service was held at Hanover, and possibly elsewhere, but no church edifice was built, and even that at Holderness, which had withstood adverse conditions so many years, was in its
1 It has been claimed that Colonel Porter was not a churchman. Calvin R. Batchelder refers to him as " a firm friend of the church." See " A History of the Eastern Diocese," p. 272. See also 25 N. H. State Papers, p. 625, for a copy of a document indicating the animus of the inhabitants of Haverhill toward Colonel Hurd and Colonel Porter on account of church relations.
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decadence. Bishop Chase found it difficult to devise methods to save it from extinction. The Rev. Dr. Samuel H. Haskins of the diocese of Massachusetts, a cousin of Ralph Waldo Emerson, held occasional services while journeying through the mountain towns wherever he could gather a congregation.
It was not until the Rev. James H. Eames became rector of St. Paul's at Concord that a systematic effort was made to advance the mission work of the Episcopal Church in this sec- tion of the diocese. In visiting the mountains he had noted the fact that the church people among the summer visitors were deprived of church privileges by reason of the entire absence of a regular service in this region. To be sure, the number of vis- itors in those days was not so large as it has since become, but it was a growing element, and sound policy as well as Chris- tian charity suggested that the deficiency in this respect should be supplied. To this end Dr. Eames gave more and more atten- tion to church work in this region. One of his parishioners, George W. Hoyt, at the time a postal route agent between Concord and Littleton, was consulted, and through the agency of a young man of this town who sometimes attended the service at St. Paul's, arrangements were made in August, 1869, by which Dr. Eames held the first Episcopal Church service in Littleton. The Congregational meeting-house was tendered by Deacon John Merrill for that service, and it was there held on Sunday, August 29, 1869, at five o'clock in the afternoon. A choir of four voices was gathered by F. G. Weller, and after considerable labor to that end a few people - among them Henry L. Tilton and Mrs. Tilton, Eleanor Merrill, Emily C. Thayer, John Farr, Jr., and James R. Jackson - made themselves sufficiently familiar with the service to read the responses. About a hundred persons were in attendance, many of them attracted by the novelty of a service which they had never witnessed.
In the summer of 1860 Dr. Eames held a service here on two or three Sundays, and gratifying evidences of progress were manifest in many ways. Then came four years of war, when the minds of men were engrossed in its affairs, and no service was again held here until 1868. Dr. Eames then renewed his missionary endeavors to interest some of our people in the church. In 1869, ten years after the first service, an informal organiza- tion was effected, and the Rev. William A. W. Maybin, rector of St. Paul's Church, Brooklyn, N. Y., came here, and held a regular service through July and August in Union Hall. The Rev. Mr.
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Marbin was an accomplished musician as well as preacher, and organized a choir which he trained with great care. Its mem- bers were Harriet M. Greene, organist; and Mr. and Mrs. F. G. Weller, Mrs. Luella Woolson Hodgman, Henry L. Tilton, Chauncey H. Greene, Henry H. Lovejoy, and Charles A. Sinclair. These services were well attended, and undoubtedly materially aided in preparing the way for the events that followed.
During this time the venerable Bishop Chase was incapacitated from paying episcopal visitations to parishes and missions remote from his residence, and no baptismal or confirmation services were administered here. On the twenty-first day of September, 1870, "the Rev. William Woodruff Niles was consecrated in St. Paul's Church, Concord, to be a Bishop in the Church of God, and the Diocese of New Hampshire was given into his charge." His first . reference to this town was made in his annual address of 1872,1 where he says he " held Divine Service in Littleton, in a House of Worship generously loaned us by the Methodist Society." In the same address he also expressed his wish "to see a church and a good minister in Littleton," among other places named, in each of which he says " a self-sustaining parish could, with God's Blessing, soon be built up." From that time to the present, the church in this town has not failed to find appropriate and appreciative mention in the Bishop's annual address.
From 1869 to 1875 not a year passed without a service held in town. Occasionally it was held on a short notice, when a clergy man visiting the mountains in his summer vacation and hap- pening to pass a Sunday here, held a church service in one of the public halls. The Rev. Dr. Eames always kept this people in mind, and ministered to them each season, and the Bishop came and preached and held confirmation services in 1872, 1873, and 1874. In the class of 1872 were confirmed Caroline Adelia Tilton, Lucy J. Hartshorn, Mary Bowman, and Elizabeth Hodgman.2 In the class of 1873 were Elizabeth Smith, Luella Hodgman, and Eliza- beth K. Lovejoy.3
The subject of building a church was many times considered, but no effective action taken until 1875, when Mr. and Mrs. Charles Hartshorn offered the gift of a lot on School Street for a site. Mr. and Mrs. Henry L. Tilton, Mr. and Mrs. George A. Bingham, Major Farr and Mrs. Farr, and Captain George Farr and
1 Journal of the Proceedings of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of New Hampshire, 1872, p. 10.
2 Mrs. H. L. Tilton, Mrs. Charles Hartshorn, Mrs. A. H. Bowman, and Mrs. Charles Hodgman.
3 Mrs. C. C. Smith, Mrs. F. F. Hodgman, and Mrs. H. H. Lovejoy. VOL. II .- 20
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wife, Mrs. Mary Bowman, and Anna L. Brackett were among those most active in the movement; but there were others, subsequent communicants, as well as some who never became members of the congregation, who rendered material aid. The movement was successful, and plans of the present church edifice were prepared by Mr. Upjohn and accepted by Bishop Niles. July 22, 1875, the corner-stone was laid by the Bishop, assisted by the Rev. James Haughton, of Hanover, and the Rev. James B. Goodrich, who a month previous had become priest-in-charge. Friday, November 19, 1875, the church was consecrated by Bishop Niles, the Rev. Dr. Eames of Concord, the Rev. Howard F. Hill of Ashland, and the Rev. J. B. Goodrich assisting. Sunday, November 21, 1875, the Rev. A. B. Crawford held the first regular service in the church. The presence of Dr. Eames must have been a source of great gratification, alike to himself and to those who had been instru -. mental in building the church edifice. Nearly a score of years had come and gone since he held the first service of the Protestant Episcopal Church in this town. The seed then sowed was long dormant, but events proved that it had fallen on good soil, and though a tender plant, continued cultivation by the sower, and the constant care and watchfulness of the Bishop, nourished and strengthened it, until on this day All Saints Church stood to the glory of God, fruit goodly and fair to look upon. This glad fruition was attained by the aid of the members of the parish under the wise supervision of Bishop Niles.
The church was greatly blessed through the influence which Dr. Eames exercised in its behalf. His was a saintly character, modest, gentle, brave, and persistent in well doing; he believed in the church, and never faltered in his efforts to plant its banner in unfrequented regions. His very presence was a benediction, and no person came within the circle of its sway without feeling that he had received a spiritual blessing. So long as he lived the little band of church people in this town were never beyond the reach of his care nor forgotten in his prayers.
Words fail to convey an adequate estimate of the labors of the women of the parish, not only in building the church, but even to the present day. Few in number, they have always possessed that unity of thought and movement by which success is achieved. Mrs. Charles Hartshorn, Mrs. Henry L. Tilton, Mrs. George A. Bingham, Mrs. Charles Hodgman, Mrs. Chauncey H. Greene, Mrs. Elizabeth Lovejoy, Mrs. A. H. Bowman, and Anna L. Brackett worked in season and out of season, never sparing themselves in their labors for the church, and the younger generation is
ALL SAINTS EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
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animated by the same spirit. Bishop Niles once said, " Give me the men of the church at Lancaster and the women of the church at Littleton, and I will show you an ideal parish."
The Rev. James B. Goodrich, the first rector, the following year held services alternate Sundays in Littleton and Lancaster. The next year he had the assistance of Henry H. Haynes, then lay reader, so that services were held every Sunday in both Lancaster and Littleton. Mr. Haynes being obliged to resign on account of ill health, the Rev. Anson R. Graves assisted the Rev. Mr. Good- rich from January, 1877, until June, 1877, when Mr. Goodrich resigned the Littleton Parish, but remained in charge of the church at Lancaster. The Rev. Mr. Goodrich. during the two years that he had charge won the hearts of his people, and was ever " dili- gent in business, serving the Lord." The growth of the church in these years was slow but sure, and when Mr. Graves took up the work alone he found a good foundation for future success. After an absence of twenty-two years Mr. Goodrich again took charge of the parish at Littleton in 1899, and has continued the good work he so successfully carried on for the first two years of worship in the beautiful brick church. Mr. Goodrich is a clergy- man in whom sense of duty is paramount. Courteous in manner, he has a dignity of bearing which impresses all with a respect for his high calling. Zealous, yet conservative, he drops into the minds of his hearers each Sunday some helpful thought for the following week, and his influence extends beyond the bounds of his own parish.
The Rev. Mr. Graves enthusiastically took up the labor in 1877, and for three years faithfully carried on the work. During his ministry a rectory was purchased on Pleasant Street, which was afterwards sold, and the Sunday-school received an impetus. Mr. Graves, from the time he was eighteen years of age, was dependent on his own exertions for an education. After he had been consecrated to the ministry, he travelled a year in Europe, which broadened liis horizon and increased his knowledge of human affairs. He was very popular, not only among his church people, but in the community at large. He was indefatigable in working for his Master's cause, holding services in neighboring school-houses and hamlets. He had great executive ability, which met recognition later when he was made Bishop of the Platte in the year 1890. He went to Bennington, Vt., from Little- ton, but later, being called to a larger field of labor, he settled in the West, as rector of Gethsemane Church, Minneapolis. While there he was elected missionary Bishop of the District of the
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Platte. This jurisdiction was enlarged in 1898, and the new dis- trict bears the name of Laramie. There he is still working with the same enthusiasm for the welfare of the church, performing all the arduous duties of bishop in a thorough and able manner.
The Rev. G. C. Jones officiated after the departure of the Rev. Mr. Graves in 1880 until October, 1882. He was a man of ability and devotion to duty to a degree of self-effacement. He was a noted army chaplain during the War between the States.
The Rev. H. M. Andrews succeeded the Rev. Mr. Jones and remained in charge two years. Previous to his coming to Little- ton, the Rev. Mr. Andrews was a member of the Congregational body. He resigned in October, 1882, retraced his theological steps to his first communion, and the following winter was received into the ministry of the Congregational society and was located at Bethlehem.
In 1882 the Rev. J. Sidney Kent from the diocese of northern New Jersey came as priest-in-charge and remained two years. During his stay new prayer-books and hymnals were procured, the interior of the church was furnished in some particulars, and the church continued its growth. The Rev. Mr. Kent had High Church tendencies. He called himself a catholic churchman. In all his dealings his marked characteristics were frankness and fearlessness in proclaiming what he firmly believed to be the truth. He felt that his special mission was teaching, and he was emi- nently a teacher of doctrine. His life was spent for the " greater glory of God." At the end of every sermon which he wrote are affixed the letters A. M. G. D., the initials of the Latin phrase which translated reads, " To the greater glory of God," and they are now on the simple cross which marks his resting-place in the beautiful churchyard of the Church of the Redeemer, Bryn Mawr, Pa., where he was laid in August, 1890.
From the resignation of the Rev. Mr. Kent in November, 1884, until May, 1885, the church was without a pastor. During this in- terval the bishop officiated two Sundays, and the Rev. Mr. Remick, of Woodsville, on several week-days in Lent. In May, 1885, the hearts of the people were gladdened by the return of the Rev. Henry H. Haynes, who in 1875 had officiated as lay reader. He remained only one year, being obliged to resign on account of ill-health. Since then he has spent much time travelling in this country and in Europe, partly in search of health and partly for purposes of study. One of his classmates says 1 of him : " All
1 A. S. Batchellor in " History of the Class of 1868, New Hampshire Conference Seminary."
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REV. JAMES S. KENT.
REV. ISAAC PECK.
RT. REV. ANSON R. GRAVES, D.D. REV. HENRY H. HAYNES, PH.D. REV. JAMES B. GOODRICH. REV. LUCIUS WATERMAN, D.D. REV. EDGAR F. DAVIS.
EPISCOPAL CLERGYMEN.
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reasonable and practicable means of social reform find in him an efficient friend. He is modest in demeanor, faithful to his church, persistent in every duty, a true man, and a minister. whose future is one of promise."
The church was without a settled pastor from June to October, 1886, when the Rev. Isaac Peck took charge. He remained two vears, and the church prospered under his administration. In 1886 the house and lot adjoining the church were purchased for $3,000, of Charles Hartshorn, whose wife was among the first communicants of the church. Out of their love for the cause which had always been so dear to them they gave $200 of this sum. The former rectory was sold, and a debt of $800 only was incurred by this purchase, but Mr. Peck before his departure in 1888 saw this indebtedness paid. Mr. Peck was energetic in performing all the duties which devolved upon him, and has since been rector of churches in Kinderhook and Roslyn, N. Y.
The next five years were memorable in the history of the church. During these years the pastor was the Rev. Lucius Water- man, D.D., who was the son of the Rev. Henry Waterman, D.D., of Providence, R. I. Possessed of high intellectual attainments, Dr. Waterman was a power, not only in the church, but in pro- moting the moral, physical, and mental welfare of the community. A devoted adherent to the tenets of his church, yet he was an energetic advocate of church unity along right lines, and his life has been an epitome of educational and charitable endeavor. His sermons were masterly efforts of convincing logic, models of literary style, and breathing the spirit of the Master. While here, he was a trustee of the Public Library, where his knowledge of literature was of great service. During his leisure hours he devoted himself to the study of music, and he was for several years President of the New Hampshire Music Teachers' Associa- tion. He is a prominent Mason, Grand Prelate of the Grand Commandery of Knights Templar in this State, and was also Chaplain of the Grand Lodge of the State. His literary ability and extensive knowledge of church history have rendered his services invaluable to the church throughout the country. While he was priest-in-charge, many improvements were made in the rectory, some of them at Dr. Waterman's expense; the grounds were regraded, and other improvements made. A noticeable feature of his administration was the increase of the amount paid for missions by the parish. His missionary zeal led him to resign his work at Littleton and enter upon the labor of organizing
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a church in Laconia. Here he was successful, not only in building up a parish, but in constructing a beautiful church and organizing a vested choir. Wherever lie is located, he is a vital force among his fellow-men, and a powerful aid in pro- moting all those things that minister to the elevation and advancement of mankind.1
The Rev. William L. Himes, diocesan missionary, was priest-in- charge of this parish in 1893 and 1894; Rev. Edgar Foster Davis was lay reader in March, 1894, but later was made deacon and became priest-in-charge of the mission. The Rev. Mr. Davis was a man of versatile talents, a lover of books, and lacking in the practical knowledge of business matters which such a tempera- ment entails. He was an enthusiastic worker, and never has the church progressed materially and spiritually more than while he was pastor. A large pipe organ was purchased, a vested choir of young men and women organized, and a great interest in the church awakened. Through his efforts a mission was established at Whitefield, where, in addition to his duties in Littleton, he held regular services, and also officiated occasionally at Lisbon and Bethlehem.
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