USA > New Hampshire > Sullivan County > Claremont > History of the town of Claremont, New Hampshire, for a period of one hundred and thirty years from 1764 to 1894 > Part 11
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The next year Moses Chase was the preacher, "and the place was favored with a revival of great power. So many were the additions that he reported the membership at two hundred and twenty-one."
At the annual meeting of the society, September 4, 1837, " Charles H. Mann, Erastus Clark, and Frederick A. Henry were made a committee to see how a house-lot could be bought and a parsonage-house built." An adjourned meeting, held Sep- tember 16, of the same year, "Voted to proceed in the building of a house as soon as four hundred dollars should be raised." This sum was soon pledged, and Samuel Tutherly, William Proc- tor, and Frederick A. Henry were appointed a building com- mittee. It was found necessary to enlarge the meeting-house, and it was decided to abandon the parsonage project for that time.
The quarterly conference, in January, 1838, resolved itself into a domestic missionary society, auxiliary to the Domestic Missionary Society of New Hampshire. In that year Rev. William Hatch succeeded Mr. Chase in the pastorate. The quarterly conference, in May, "Resolved, in the opinion of the quarterly conference, that our discipline prohibits the use of intoxicating liquors, except as a medicine, and that no person ought to be received into the church unless he will live up to this rule." The same Conference, in April, 1839, resolved :
1. That in our opinion the use of intoxicating drinks as a beverage is sin.
2. That if any member of our church in this place shall be guilty of so doing, such member or members ought to be dealt with according to the rules of dis- cipline, unless speedy reformation renders it unnecessary.
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HISTORY OF CLAREMONT.
Rev. James M. Fuller, in 1839, succeeded Mr. Hatch, and, at the close of the first year, reported a Sunday school, with twenty- four officers and teachers, one hundred and eleven scholars, and three hundred volumes in the library.
Mr. Fuller stayed two years, and reported the number of mem- bers of the church at two hundred and one. He was succeeded by Rev. Eleazer Smith.
About this time the Second Advent, or Miller excitement, manifested itself, threatening the interests of the church. In a quarterly conference, April 15, 1843, it was "Voted that those brethren who sustain meetings abroad are requested to refrain ; if not, they are invited respectfully to withdraw from the church," and G. W. Wilson, E. Clark, A. M. Billings, and others imme- diately withdrew. At the close of his second year Mr. Smith reported two hundred and ninety members of the church.
The New Hampshire Annual Conference -then including Ver- mont as well as this state-met at Claremont for the first time, in June, 1843. The public services were held in the town hall. " On the Sabbath an immense audience assembled, filling not only the town hall, but the grounds about it. The venerable Bishop Waugh, standing on a platform erected for that purpose at the south door, proclaimed with masterly effect, in behalf of the ministry, ' We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord.'"
Mr. Smith was succeeded in 1843 by Rev. Elihu Scott. " His first year's pastorate was greatly injured by the desolating influ- ence of Millerism, defections in the membership multiplying so that he reported but one hundred and eighty members at the close of that year." At the end of his second year, Millerism having collapsed, Mr. Scott reported two hundred members of the church.
At the close of Mr. Scott's term, the quarterly conference, having tested the station system, "Voted to request the bishop to form Claremont station into a circuit, by adding one or more towns, and to send two or more preachers." But the experience of a year or two under this plan reversed the request, and Clare- mont has since remained a station.
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HISTORY OF CLAREMONT.
In 1845 Rev. Silas Quimby succeeded Mr. Scott, and at the end of the year reported the membership at two hundred and thirty- three. Rev. Justin Spaulding succeeded Mr. Quimby, remaining one year, and was succeeded by Rev. Jacob Stevens, in 1847, remaining on the charge about three quarters of the year, when he retired on account of poor health, and the year was filled out by Rev. Matthew Newhall, a supernumerary preacher. This year the quarterly conference "Voted to adopt a number of resolu- tions against the circus soon to be exhibited in this place." It also voted to admit " a seraphim in the gallery."
Rev. Joseph C. Cromack was the next preacher. During his pastorate the church bought the house on Pleasant street, now owned by Dr. F. C. Wilkinson, for a parsonage. In 1850 Rev. Lewis Howard succeded Mr. Cromack, and in 1851 the quarterly conference ordered twenty-five dollars to be "paid to Jonathan Miner for leading the singing." On February 23, 1852, the society " Voted to build a new meeting-house, and that Samuel Tutherly be a committee to obtain subscriptions." Plans for the house were
presented and adopted, and, at a meeting on March 6, it was " Voted that the rent of pews go toward the preaching," and at another meeting, a week later, "Thomas Sanford, Samuel Tutherly, and James Sperry were made a committee to dispose of the old meeting-house and lot, purchase a new lot, raise subscriptions, and build a new meeting-house." This com- mittee was also authorized to sell the parsonage, and the trustees were directed to hold the funds arising from that sale until they could build or purchase another, which was to be done within six years. " The trustees were also authorized to use the money arising from the sale of the parsonage in the new church, with the interest of it to go for house-rent for the preach- er." Frederick A. Henry and Ebenezer E. Bailey were added to the building committee; subscriptions to the amount of $2,484.50 were soon obtained ; the old meeting-house was sold for $650, and the parsonage for $1,191; a new church lot was purchased on Cen- tral street ; a new meeting-house was erected, which, with furnish- ings, cost $5,601.76. The new " church was dedicated to the ser-
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vice of Almighty God, January, 25, 1853, by Bishop Osmon C. Ba- ker." During the building of the new meeting-house, and up to 1854, Rev. John Mclaughlin was the preacher. The membership at the close of his pastorate numbered two hundred and eighty- one.
Mr. Mclaughlin was succeeded by Rev. Frederick A. Hewes, whose pastorate, for two years, was quite successful, and the church and society were strong and prosperous. The second session of the New Hampshire conference was held in Claremont, in May, 1856, presided over by Bishop E. S. Janes. The conference ser- mon was delivered by Rev. Elihu Scott, a former pastor. Rev. W. F. Evans succeeded to the pastorate in 1856. During his pastorate the debt that had remained on the church since its dedication was fully paid.
Mr. Evans was succeeded, in 1858, by Rev. O. H. Jasper, D. D. a popular and powerful preacher, during whose pastorate of two years much good was accomplished. In 1860, Rev. R. S. Stubbs took the place of Mr. Jasper. At the annual meeting of the soci- ety, 1860, it was voted that the church be lighted with gas, and "Eli Smith was requested to furnish and take charge of singing, at his discretion, either in the gallery or in the congregation." In 1862, Mr. Stubbs was succeeded by Rev. H. H. Hartwell. During his first year the Sunday school increased from two hundred to two hundred and ninety-two, and the Sunday school library num- bered over a thousand volumes. The membership at the close of his second year was reported at three hundred and twenty-four. Rev. S. G. Kellogg followed Mr. Hartwell in 1864. He preached here three years, in which time he preached three hundred and eighty sermons, attended sixty-nine funerals, and baptized eighty- one persons.
In 1867, Mr. Kellogg was succeeded by Rev. D. C. Babcock. After a few months' service, he accepted the secretaryship of the New Hampshire State Temperance League, and Rev. C. W. Mellen supplied the remainder of the year. In 1868 Rev. S. P. Heath came and remained here two years, which " were crowned with substan-
9
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tial success." Following Mr. Heath came Rev. H. L. Kelsey, in 1870. During the years 1870 and 1871, a new, handsome two-story parsonage house was built on a lot adjoining the meeting-house lot, on Central street, under the direction of Hon. C. H. Eastman, chairman of the board of trustees, assisted by Mr. Kelsey. The job was contracted to George H. Stevens for two thousand seven hundred dollars for house, barn, and well. On the completion of the job, Mr. Stevens was paid something in addition for extra work. The ladies of the church furnished the new house with car- pets, stoves, tables, etc.
In 1873, Rev. N. M. Bailey succeeded Mr. Kelsey, and continued here for two years, with marked success. During his pastorate "it appears that two women were elected on the board of stewards,- Mrs. Ann Perkins and Mrs. Melissa Fitch. They served five years, resigning in 1879, in spite of all efforts to retain them." In 1875 Rev. E. R. Wilkins came in place of Mr. Bailey. " During his pas- torate of three years, the people were pleased with him, and he with the people. His indefatigable pastoral labors were greatly appreciated." In 1878, Rev. Daniel Stevenson, D. D., succeeded Mr. Wilkins. " His sermons were of a high order." In the sum- mer of 1879 he resigned his charge, and accepted a re-transfer to the Kentucky conference, from which he had come to the New Hampshire conference, four years before. He entered on the pres- idency of Augusta Seminary and Female College. Rev. M. V. B. Knox, of the South Kansas Conference, who was recuperating in northern Vermont, was secured to fill out the remainder of the year. During the year 1879, Mrs. Julia A. D. Eastman, widow of Hon. C. H. Eastman, to carry out an expressed wish of her hus- band, donated the money - one thousand five hundred dollars - to erect a memorial chapel, sixty-one by thirty-nine feet, and paid for carpet and other furnishings, at a cost of about two hundred and fifty dollars more. It joins the church on the northeast corner, and contains a vestry capable of seating two hundred and fifty people, large parlor, library, and vestibule. It was dedicated De- cember 22, 1880, by Presiding Elder George J. Judkins.
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In 1881 the annual conference was again held in Claremont, meeting April 20. "Bishop Thomas Bowman presided with marked ability and success." Mr. Knox continued his pastorate until 1882, and was succeeded by Rev. Henry Dorr. During his first year here Mr. Dorr met with a serious accident. He was thrown from his carriage, injuring his ankle so badly as to render amputation between the knee and foot necessary. He died in 1894. In 1885 Rev. G. M. Curl succeed Mr. Dorr three years; Rev. D. C. Babcock, two years; Rev. A. C. Coult, one year. Mr. Coult's health was not equal to the requirements of so large a parish, and he was therefore, at his own request, relieved, after one year's ser- vice. He was succeeded in 1891 by the Rev. Charles U. Dunning, the present pastor. The number of members in October, 1893, was 330.
ALTERATIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS OF THE CHURCH BUILDING.
Alterations, improvements, and repairs of the church building had been contemplated for some years. In the summer of 1891, Hira R. Beckwith, having been employed for the purpose, submit- ted plans and specifications for the changes desired, and they were adopted by the board of trustees, consisting of Ira Colby, O. B. Way, D. W. Johnson, G. W. Holden, and Milton Silsby, who estimated that at least four thousand dollars would be required to carry out the plans. The trustees, assisted by the pastor, the Rev. Mr. Dunning, at once set about raising that sum by voluntary con- tributions. In a very few days more than that amount had been pledged, and George T. Stockwell was employed to superintend the mechanical part of the work, which was begun on the twenty- third day of September, and completed, including repairs of the chapel, slating and painting the parsonage buildings, and placing a fine toned bell, weighing near nineteen hundred pounds, in the belfry, on the twenty-sixth day of January, 1892. The whole cost of these alterations, improvements, repairs, and new furnishings was some more than eight thousand dollars. Of this sum the ladies of the society contributed nine hundred and sixty-one dollars, which included the price paid for a piano placed in the chapel.
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On the 27th of January, 1892, the church building was re-dedi- cated with appropriate exercises. A sermon was preached by the Rev. Dr. J. W. Hamilton, of Boston, and the declaration of dedica- tion was made by the presiding elder, the Rev. O. S. Baketel.
The sixty-fifth annual Methodist conference was held in Clare- mont, commencing April 10, 1894, presided over by Bishop Cyrus D. Foss.
JUNCTION CAMP-MEETING GROUNDS.
In 1871 the subject of securing permanent camp-meeting grounds for the Claremont, N. H., and Springfield, Vt., Methodist conference districts, began to be agitated. A preliminary meeting of committees of those districts was held at Dr. O. B. Way's office in Claremont, on January 2, 1872. Rev. James Pike was chosen chairman, and Dr. Way, secretary. A camp-meeting con- vention, consisting of all the preachers of the two districts, and one layman from each charge, was held at Claremont Junction, June 2, 1872. Rev. James Pike was chosen chairman; Rev. P. Wallingford, secretary, and Rev. J. H. Hillman assistant secre- tary. Grounds of William Ellis, William Jones, and D. Canty near the Sullivan and Concord & Claremont railroad junction, were purchased.
The first permanent officers consisted of the following gentle- men : President, Rev. James Pike, D. D .; vice president, Rev. J. W. Guernsey ; secretary, Rev. Philander Wallingford; treasurer, Dr. O. B. Way; executive committee, H. H. Howe, A. L. Jones, A. C. Davenport, Rev. H. W. Worthen, Rev. H. L. Kelsey. The first camp-meeting was held there the last week in September, 1873. The ground had been cleared of trees and other obstruc- tions, seats built, a preachers' stand erected, and several sizable cot- tages were put up by societies and individuals. Good water has been brought to the grounds, and other improvements have been made from year to year, so that it is quite an attractive place. Camp-meetings have been held there each year since 1873.
In 1893 camp-meeting was held from the twenty-second to the twenty-ninth of August, and was largely attended. The presiding
UNIVERSALIST CHURCH.
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elders were O. S. Baketel of the Claremont, and L. L. Beeman of the Springfield district. The names of these were changed in 1893, -- the Claremont to Manchester district, and Springfield to Mont- pelier district.
During this camp-meeting officers for the ensuing year were chosen, as follows: Rev. O. S. Baketel, of Portsmouth, president; Rev. L. L. Beeman, of Windsor, Vt., vice president; F. P. Ball of Bellows Falls, Vt., secretary; George W. Stevens, of Claremont, treasurer and superintendent of the grounds; George H. Fairbanks, of Newport, H. F. Wyman, of Springfield, Vt., L. F. Quimby, of Unity, J. C. Chadwick, of Brattleboro, Vt., G. H. Perkins, of Antrim, and Rev. Elihu Snow, of White River Junction, Vt., executive committee.
UNIVERSALIST CHURCH.
From a manual prepared by the Rev. Lee S. McCollester, a former pastor, and published in 1885, many of the following facts in relation to the church have been derived :
The object of the formation of this church is the cultivation of Faith, Hope, and Charity in our own hearts ; the diffusion of gospel truth and light among our fellow-men ; and a systematic application of Christianity in our daily life.
There must have been some kind of an organization of the Uni- versalists in Claremont as early as 1815, because in that year the Universalists united with the Baptists and Methodists and built a meeting-house, which was known for many years, and until it was taken down in 1852, to make a place for the erection of Trinity church, as the " old round brick church." The manual says :
There was occasional Universalist preaching in Claremont as early as 1824, by such eminent clergymen as Revs. Russell Streeter, Otis Skinner, Samuel Willis, Samuel C. Loveland, John Moore, and others. The services were then and for several succeeding years held in the hall of what is now the Sullivan House, and even after Rev. W. S. Balch became settled pastor, in April, 1832, this hall was the regular place of worship until the completion and dedication of the church.
At the annual town meeting in 1832,
Voted, on motion of Mr. Abel Wheeler, that the First Universalist Society in
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HISTORY OF CLAREMONT.
Claremont have liberty to build a house for public worship on the Common in the center of the town, near the west line of the burying ground, by paying at the rate of five hundred dollars per acre for the use of the land taken up by said house - place to be designated by the Selectmen.
The dedicatory services took place in the forenoon of the twenty- fourth of October, 1832, and were conducted by the Rev. W. S. Balch, pastor, assisted by the Rev. Messrs. F. F. King, J. Gilman, and John Moore. In the afternoon of the same day the first meet- ing of the New Hampshire State Convention of Universalists occurred, when an organization was effected, and the convention held sessions the next day.
The first organization of the Universalist church in Claremont took place during the settlement of Mr. Balch, the precise date of which is not known, though it was probably in 1834. In March, 1836, Mr. Balch resigned his pastorate, and the following Novem- ber was succeeded by the Rev. John G. Adams, who continued here fifteen months.
The Rev. William S. Balch, D. D., was born at Andover, Vt., on April 13, 1806, and died at Elgin, Ill., December 25, 1887. He was the author of the first "Manual or Sunday-school Service Book " used by the Universalists, "Lectures on Language," "Ire- land as I saw It," " A Peculiar People," etc. He was an able man and very popular preacher.
In the spring of 1837, during the pastorate of Mr. Adams, a Sunday school was organized, which for many years met only dur- ing the warm seasons. In 1861 it began to hold sessions through the whole year, and has so continued without intermission, wheth- er the church had a settled pastor or preaching, or not, and is one of the useful and valued institutions of the town. Hon. H. W. Parker has been superintendent of this Sunday school without in- terruption, since 1862.
Mr. Adams was a man of marked ability as a preacher and writer. After leaving Claremont he preached at Providence, R. I., Worcester, Mass., and Cincinnati, Ohio. From Ohio he returned to New England, gave up pastoral work, but continued to preach. He was the author of numerous books, was at one time editor of
ʻ
FROM HIGH STREET IN 1846.
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" The Myrtle," and later of the "Sunday School Helper." The last years of his life his home was at Melrose, Mass., where he died May 4, 1887. His son, John Coleman Adams, is an eminent Universalist preacher in Brooklyn, N. Y.
The resignation of Mr. Adams was immediately followed by the settlement of the Rev. John Nichols, who remained here until 1843. In the fall of 1842, under his direction, the Ladies' Samaritan So- ciety was formed and became a permanent organization of the church.
The Rev. R. S. Sanborn followed Mr. Nichols, remained a few months, and was immediately succeeded, in July, 1844, by the Rev. O. H. Tillotson, who remained one year. Rev. Samuel Willis was settled in May, 1845, and remained about five years, during which special attention was given to Sunday-school work and to the per- fection of the organization of the church. According to the rec- ords, " The form of church government contained in the Univer- salists' Guide was adopted December 7, 1845, as the constitution of the Universalist church of Claremont." Mr. Willis closed his pas- torate in the fall of 1849. For the next few months the pulpit was supplied by Revs. A. A. Miner, O. H. Tillotson, W. S. Balch, and Mr. Clark. Rev. J. D. Pierce was settled in February, 1850, and continued until May, 1855, and for about a year and a half the church was without a regular pastor, the pulpit being supplied by Revs. H. A. Philbrook, S. A. Spencer, and others, and by lay reading.
Rev. Giles Bailey was settled in 1857 and continued until 1860. Rev. Carlos Marston followed in the spring of 1861. Rev. E. S. Foster was pastor from 1863 to 1865, and Rev. Asher Moore from July, 1867, to 1870. For a while Rev. T. Barron preached here and at North Charlestown, half the time at each place, and in the early part of 1871 Rev. Eli Ballou occupied the pulpit.
On May 7, 1871, Rev. C. E. Sawyer, having accepted a call to settle, preached his first sermon as pastor, and on the morn- ing of June 28 of the same year, he, with his young wife and wife's father, Mr. Sylvanus Cushing, of Abington, Mass., was drowned at Ashley's Ferry, in Connecticut river. Mr. Cushing
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came here to visit his daughter, who had been but a few weeks married, and on that morning, the skies being bright and the air balmy, Mr. Sawyer took a two-seated, covered carriage, with one horse from a livery stable, and set out with his wife and father-in- law for a drive. They crossed Claremont bridge into Vermont, drove down the river to Weathersfield Bow, and, it is supposed, attempted to ford Connecticut River at Ashley's Ferry, with the sad result above stated. No one saw them enter the river, and no one of the party survived to tell how the distressing calamity hap- pened. It was only left for conjecture. The horse was also drowned.
The following November Rev. S. P. Smith began a pastorate which continued until September, 1873, and was followed in June, 1874, by Rev. Edward Smiley, who remained until March, 1881. During his pastorate special and effective work was done in the Sunday school. Rev. J. M. Johns was pastor from August, 1881, to October, 1883, " and was instrumental in causing the church to be remodeled at an expense of over seven thousand dollars, so that it is now one of the most complete church edifices in the state." The dedicatory services took place August 1, 1883, and were par- ticipated in by Drs. A. A. Miner and G. L. Demarest, and Revs. J. M. Johns, E. Smiley, J. Eastwood, and R. T. Polk.
On January 6, 1884, Lee S. McCollester preached here for the first time, and soon after received and accepted a call to settle as pastor. He was then pursuing his theological course, which was not completed until the following June, when he came here and settled permanently. The New Hampshire Universalist Sunday school and state conventions met here on September 29, contin- ued in session until October 2, 1884, and concluded with the ordi- nation of Mr. McCollester, who resigned his pastorate in Decem- ber, 1888, to accept the pastoral charge of the Church of Our Father, in Detroit, Mich. He was succeeded by Rev. L. O. Wil- liams in July, 1889, who resigned in November, 1892. Rev. Les- lie Moor followed Mr. Williams, commencing his pastorate in June, 1893.
A
ST. MARY'S CHURCH.
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HISTORY OF CLAREMONT.
ST. MARY'S CHURCH.
The first mass in Claremont, and probably the first in New Hampshire, was celebrated by the Rev. Dr. French of New York, in 1818 - there is no known record of the precise date - at the house of the Rev Daniel Barber, while he was still rector of Union church.
In 1823, the Rev. Virgil H. Barber, a son of the Rev. Daniel, erected a church at the west part of the town, named St. Mary's, in which services were held by the Catholics, conducted by non-resi- dent priests, after the removal of Virgil H. Barber, until 1866.
The Catholic denomination purchased a lot on the north side of Central street, and in 1870, when under the pastorate of the Rev. G. Derome, commenced the erection of a church building. It is of the Gothic style of architecture, brick, with granite trimmings, forty-five feet wide and one hundred and forty-five feet long, with bell tower one hundred and thirty-seven feet high, in which is a peal of three bells, weighing respectively twenty-three hundred, sixteen hundred, and twelve hundred pounds. In the last few years, under the supervision of Father J. P. Finnegan, it has been thoroughly renovated, new pews replacing the old ones, new altars built and set in place, and the whole interior painted in fresco, gas fixtures put in, and the interior woodwork remodeled. This build- ing is complete, and has thus far cost fully thirty thousand dollars.
In 1871 Rev. Mr. Derome was succeeded by Father L. L'Hiver, who in 1872 was replaced by the Rev. M. Goodwin, who remained but four months. The Rev. M. Laporte took charge of the parish in July, 187.2, and continued as pastor until November, 1873, when the Rev. Cornelius O'Sullivan was appointed to the place. The Rev. P. J. Finnegan succeeded Mr. O'Sullivan in 1875, and is still in charge of the parish.
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