USA > New Hampshire > Strafford County > Rochester > History of the town of Rochester, New Hampshire, from 1722 to 1890, Vol. I > Part 8
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FIRST CENTURY OF CHURCH HISTORY.
a prominent settler, preferred a petition to the General Assembly, in behalf of the people of Rochester, for the support of the Gospel ; and upon May 10, 1734, an act was passed, which provided that the lands of delinquent proprietors might be taken " in execution or by extents " and sold to pay the taxes. It confirmed to the proprietors the authority to choose selectmen and other town officers, but at the same time made it incumbent on them to call and settle the first minister and defray the charges. This law was to continue in force three years. About a year before its expiration the inhabitants again petitioned the General Assembly in the following language :
" The Petition of your humble Petitioners Inhabitants of the Town of Rochester in the Province afores'd, humbly showeth, -
That we the Inhabitants of Rochester being persuaded that the Gospel & means of Grace is a rich & Invaluable privilidge; for which Reason we Can't but must Lament our Sad State while we live without s'd means; and seeing no Rational Prospect of obtaining them for some Considerable Time to Come without the help and assistance of the non-Resident Proprietors; Especially Considering our own Poverty & the Difficulties in Subdueing a wilderness, and hoping it may not be Deemed Unreasonable to Desire some assistance from them, In Order to our Inioying the Gospel among us; Since tis too Evident to need any proof That their Temporal Interest is greatly advanced by us; - that is, by our Settling in s'd Town - And withall persuading ourselves that this honorable Court will Recon- sider our State & now doe Something for our Relief; - We, whose names are underwritten doe once more humbly Request The Legislative Power to passe an act whereby to Oblige the Proprietors of said Rochester to assist us, the Inhabi- tants, In supporting the Gospel in said Town of Rochester for the space of six or seven years Till tis Likely we may be able to doe it of ourselves; or for such a Term of Time as this Honorable court shall Think fit; as also that the Honorable Court would appoint Two or Three persons for Calling the Inhabitants of the Town together for the present Year for the Choice of Town officers &c. And your humble Petitioners shall ever pray as in Duty bound."
Benjamin Merrow,
Ebenezer Place,
John Bickford Jun', Samuel Marrow,
Sam" Richard,
Jonathan Cops,
Robbard Knite,
Stephen Berry,
Ebenezer Bruster,
Joseph Heard,
Joseph Richards,
Benjamin Forst,
Joseph Miller,
John Wentworth, John Garlen,
John Jenness, Mark Jenness,
William Chamberlin,
Eleazar Ham, John Allen,
John Bickford,
William Elis,
Paul Tebbets,
Jonathan Yong,
Stephen Harford,
Joseph Richards Jun",
James Lock,
Phillip Dore Jun,
Benja Tebbets,
Timothy Robberts,
William James,
William Stiles.
Joseph Richards,
John Macfiee,
Clemtt Dearing,
Zebulun Dam,
Liberty was granted to bring a bill taxing each whole share fifteen shillings and appointing Rev. Jos. Adams, John Jenness, and Wil- liam Chamberlaine to call a meeting to choose town officers for one year only. A bill so prepared is still in existence, but never passed,
Solomon Clark,
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and was probably never presented. It seems likely the terms were not so favorable as had been hoped.
The next year another petition was presented as follows : -
" The Petition of the Inhabitants of the Town of Rochester, in sd province, most humbly sheweth -
That your Petitioners have been settled here, some of them, seven years or thereabout, that we are now increased to the Number of about Sixty Families, & are as yet destitute of a Settled Ministry, & have no civil Order in the Town, hav- ing never had any power to choose town officers, or to act in town affairs, yt your petitioners put in a petition to this Honble Court at their Sessions the last Spring, praying for relief under our Difficulties aforesd and also that, in Consideration of our low Circumstances and the Inconveniences and Charges such new Settlements are exposed to, a tax might be laid on the Rights of the Non-resident Proprietors towards the Support of the Ministry here; but so it happened that the Matter was not perfected, so that your petitioners remain still in the same unsettled and uncomfortable Condition, and do therefore humbly & earnestly entreat your Excel- lency and your Honours to take their Case into your compassionate Consideration, and that a Committee may be appointed to call a Meeting in Order to choose Town officers for the Year ensuing, and that a tax may be also laid on the Non- resident Proprietors of twenty Shillings a right per Annum, for Seven Years, next ensuing, for and towards the Support of the Ministry - Or otherwise to do for us, as to your Wisdom and Goodness shall seem meet - And your humble petitioners as in Duty bound shall ever pray
Rochester March ye 1736-7
John alon
Gesom Downs
Benjamin Tebbets
Joseph Hard
John Bickford
Joseph walker
Stephen Harford
Samuell Merow
William Stiles
Benjamin Merrow Robard Night
Thomas Perkens
Joseph miller
John winford
Elsar Ham
Paul Tebbets
Jack Busel
Ebnesar Place
Jeams Cley
Joseph Richards
willam wolford
Joseph Hodgdon
Joseph Berrey
John Bickford
Beimin Hayes his
Solom Clark will Door will alen Sam Richard
William Eles
John X Smith
Sam Tombly
Richard wentworth
Timothy Roberts
Jeams Busell
John Mackfee
Jeams Lock
Zebulun dam
Jonathan Cops "
Samuell merrow John Garlon
mark Joseph Richards: sen
mathy mackfee
" Mar 26; 1737 In the House of Representatives the within Petition read: and Voted : That Paul Wentworth Esqr Capt Thomas Millet and Stephen Berry; be authorized A Comitte to Call the first Meeting to Chuse Town officers - and when such officers are Chosen, they to have full power to act as other town officers by the Law of the Province and they to have authority to Charge a Whole proprie- tors Share wth a rate of fifteen Shillings per annum towards paymt of a Ministers Sallary and so in proportion for yt part of a Share or Right each proprietor do possess or Claime : this rate to be made yearely for payment only while they have an orthodox Minister there; not to continue longer yr the End of ye yeare 1742; then to Support their Minister as ye Law directs in other towns and that the Petrs have Liberty to bring in a Bill accordingly -
In Coun1 March 26, 1737 Read & Concured Assented to March 26, 1737
JAMES JEFFRY Clr Assm R WALDRON Secy J BELCHER "
John Hardie
Stephen Beary
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FIRST CENTURY OF CHURCH HISTORY.
Unfortunately, only scanty material exists out of which to con- struct the history of the town during its connection with the support of the ministry. While many unimportant items are carefully pre- served, questions are constantly arising upon matters of greater moment upon which there is no light. This is true to a great extent, through the whole history of the town: -
" For 'tis a common ordinance of fate, That things obscure and small outlive the great."
The people had already selected their minister, and only waited for legal authority to settle him. The Rev. Amos Main, who had for not less than a year preached in Rochester with acceptance, began to supply the pulpit regularly on the first of April, the date of the passage of the law. Paul Wentworth and Stephen Berry, who were empowered to notify the first meeting, called the people together April 26. At this meeting Mr. Main was chosen town clerk for the year ensuing, - a sure sign that he was expected to become a permanent resident.
At a subsequent meeting, May 9, called expressly for that purpose, it was voted " that Mr. Amos Main be the settled minister of this town." Benjamin Forst, John Bickford, John Jennes, Benjamin Hayes, and Timothy Roberts were chosen to receive his answer, and agree with him upon terms of settlement. They were also, in case of his acceptance, to send out invitations to a number of ministers and churches for his ordination. It was voted to give Mr. Main " his heirs assigns, the privilege of a pew in the meeting house, on the right hand side of the pulpit, he to build it at his own proper charge and cost." This was a favor enjoyed by no other family. It was more than fourteen years before the town disposed of the remaining pew privileges. It was further voted to give Mr. Main the use of some of the common lands for seven years. The agree- ment between the committee and the minister fixed his salary at one hundred and thirty-five pounds in current passable bills of credit, - equal to thirty pounds sterling, or about one hundred and fifty dol- lars, - a part of which he should take in such articles as he had occasion for, at the money price. The town was also to set him up a good house frame, forty feet long, twenty feet wide, and two stories high, wherever he might elect, and whenever he should call on the town for it. However scanty these provisions for the minister's support
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may appear at this day, they did not appear illiberal then. They illustrate the poverty of the people, in the matter of money. Their means consisted almost wholly in their farms. Moreover it must not be forgotten that, in addition to his salary, the first minister became a large land owner. In the division of the town among the proprietors, one whole share, exclusive of the parsonage lot, was reserved for the first ordained Gospel minister. In all township grants of that period the government wisely inserted this condition to encourage the early settlement of a minister. It is certain that considering the purchasing power of money, and the style of living deemed necessary to a minister's family, these early ministers were better paid than most of their successors. Mr. Main accepted the invitation "relying upon the town for a comfortable support and subsistence," and was duly installed into the pastoral office. Par- ticulars of the installation cannot now be found. The church record opens as follows : --
" Sept. 18, 1737, Joseph Walker, Elizabeth wife of Eleazer Ham, and Mary ye wife of John Mac Fee were admitted Into Full Communion with this chh."
A church writer of the third century, says that three may form a church, but not a church government ; they are only laity. Accord- ing to ancient Congregationalism seven persons being the least number by which the rules of discipline in the eighteenth chapter of Matthew could be reduced to practice, that number was held necessary to form a church government. These seven, who were called the " seven pillars of the church," being united by solemn cove- nant, admitted others to their communion. Accordingly at a meet- ing held in November of the same year, seven persons having been already admitted, Stephen Berry and Joseph Walker were chosen deacons. There is no record of any council called to organize the church .*
" At a Church Meeting In Rochester, March 22, 1744.
The Chh voted Unanimously ye following articles viz :
1. That ye Principles of this Church as to articles of faith are agreeable to ye Westminster Confession of faith & according to ye Longer & Shorter Catechisms of ye assembly of divines as they were drawn up at westminster &c - which Catechisms are Recieved among us.
2: We Profess & Declare ourselves to be a Congregational Chh as to Disci- pline according to ye Platform drawn up by a Synod at Cambridge In New England Anno Domini.
* For list of church members, see Appendix.
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FIRST CENTURY OF CHURCH HISTORY.
3 : As to Articles of faith; we account ye Contrary Principles to ye Confession of faith & Catechisms aforesd to be Heretical & Erroneous & we Reject them as such.
4: Voted that those who Hold to, & Propagate Principles or Doctrines Con- trary to ye aforesd Confession of faith & Assemblies Catechisms shall be deemed & accounted by this - Church Erroneous & Heretical, & shall be dealt with by this Chh accordingly & c.
5 : Voted That ye Children of ye Covenant & young People wº also are Herein Included, shall be obliged to attend upon Publick Catechising on ye Lords Days & at other Times when by ye Pastor of this Chh Called thereto from time to time.
6 : Voted yt Every Communicant belonging to this chh Pay four shillings towards Supplying ye Lords Table with ye Elements, for ye year Ensuing - And that what is unpaid by ye Communicants for ye year Past be collected & laid out for ye chh as they shall think Proper."
The deacons were directed to provide for the sacrament, one gallon of wine and five pounds of flour from time to time, and what was left over was to be given to the pastor. At a subsequent meeting, it was voted, that those who did not bring in their pro- portion for the four years past, before the next church meeting, should be dealt with as disorderly persons unless they should show sufficient reason for their failure. One of the many evidences of the poverty of the people is found in their inability to pay their taxes for supplying the communion table; often, individuals were excused by vote, for sufficient reasons; the time of payment was frequently extended, and action taken to hasten delinquents.
Like most of the early churches of New England, this little flock had many trials in the effort to keep its members in the straight path of Christian rectitude. Several instances of admonition are recorded, and many more of apparently voluntary acknowledg- ments, mostly for neglect to attend upon the church communion. Yet there were but few cases of punishment, even when the offenses were more aggravated. The following will serve for examples : -
" William C- Made Satisfaction to the Chh for what was offensive to them Heretofore In his Behaviour, & was by a vote of ye chh admitted to occasional Communion with this chh.
" Rebecca ye wife of Richard W- made an acknowledgment before ye chh for ye Vile abuses she had given with her Tongue - ye chh Recieved Her to Charity agn as an occasional communicant-"
That "the tongue is an unruly evil which no man can tame" is as true now as when the words were penned by the inspired apostle. At several times this little member gave the church much trouble. It received their earliest attention, for the first vote was
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"a vote to Prevent Lying & Tattling, &c " - " Voted by this Church That If any member of ys chh do Raise or Spread a false & Evil Report of any of the Communicants of this chh or of their Neighbours, It shall be deemed matter of Scandal & offence, & yt upon its Being made known to ye Revd. Pastor of y® church by Evidence such offender or offenders shall be & are by this Vote of yª chh from time to time suspended from ye communion of ya chh untill that Publick Satisfaction be given to this Chh by ye Person or Persons so offending-"
To present such particulars is not exposing the weakness of our fathers. It is rather a proof of their wisdom, in that they knew what an amount of mischief and misery is produced by slander,
" Whose whisper o'er the world's diameter Transports his poisoned shot."
The discipline was not severe. The members labored rather by patient and persuasive means, by constant watchfulness over each other's conduct, by calling each other to account for public actions, by committees of admonition, and by church votes, to keep all within the lines of duty. This was in strict accordance with the Cambridge Platform which had been adopted for the regulation of their conduct.
The church book, at this period, was made the record of bap- tisms and marriages, and in some cases of births and deaths. Nearly six hundred baptisms are recorded, many of them of infants .* At this time, the general practice of the New England churches admitted persons of serious and moral character to receive the rite of baptism. This was called the "half way covenant," and was sanctioned by the synod of Boston in 1663 to obviate the diffi- culty arising from the fact that church membership was necessary in order to vote or to hold office. All baptized persons were recognized as church members, and their children were entitled to baptism; yet they made no profession of personal faith, and did not partake of the Lord's Supper. Baptized children were considered members of the church, and a special guardianship was maintained over them. Slaves also were baptized upon the faith of their owners. These remarks are necessary to understand such records as the following : -
" Aug. 28, 1737. Simon Bussel Baptized upon his Parents acct -"
" May 16, 1756. Baptized Huldah Bickford so called Her master & mistress Jennes Bro't Her to Baptism -"
"Sept. 5, 1756. Baptized Ralph Farnam son of Paul Farnam of Towow -"
* See Appendix.
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FIRST CENTURY OF CHURCH HISTORY.
"Towow" was the Indian name by which Lebanon, Me., was long called. Ralph Farnam was the old revolutionary soldier who died a few years since, aged over one hundred years.
In June, 1749, the church solemnly renewed their covenant, and observed a day of fasting and prayer "for the revival of religion, the outpouring of the spirit of God, and the advancement of the Redeemer's Kingdom." Many confessions were made, votes of satisfaction passed, and the offending members restored to their standing. The sacrament was administered on the Sabbath fol- lowing. This was, perhaps, the first fast in the history of the town; a special day appointed by the church itself, religiously and sincerely observed; and not the idle form to which the public fasts of the present day have so nearly degenerated.
During all the years of Mr. Main's ministry not a ripple of dissatisfaction that can now be discovered occurred between pastor and people. Many things show that he dealt with them in a very mild and affectionate manner. Small as his salary was, the de- preciation of currency was so great during the Indian war, that he did not receive his just due. In a call for a town meeting, he caused an article to be inserted -
" to see what the town will do in relation to their agreement with Mr. Main, as he saith he understands there is uneasiness among some people about these things, and he desires that all the people belonging to his charge would meet together on this occasion, that both pastor and people may have a friendly con- versation, and labor to settle the affair in the best manner they can."
The people assembled, March 29, 1744, and after the " friendly conversation," voted immediately to build him the frame house which had been promised when he settled with them, and for which he had patiently waited more than twelve years; and chose Capt. Timothy Roberts and Ensign Edward Tebbets a committee for that purpose. The amount due on his salary was settled upon terms of mutual satisfaction. Although the currency continued to depreciate, Mr. Main received it without murmuring, frequently giving receipts like this: -
" Received of the Selectmen of Rochester four hundred pounds old tenor on account of my salary for 1751, which sum with what I frankly give in to said town I take for the full of my salary for said year."
AMOS MAIN was born in York, Me., Jan. 8, 1703, and died in Rochester, April 5, 1760. Of his early life little is known.
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He graduated at Harvard College in 1729, and about the time of his settlement in this town, he married Elizabeth, the daughter of John White of Haverhill, Mass. It is related that she had several sisters, who were all brought up to attend to domestic affairs, while she alone was sent to the best boarding-schools in Boston. What is singular, she, at the age of seventeen or eighteen years, married a frontier minister and resigned herself to the hardships and deprivations of the wilderness, while her sisters all married men of wealth. The late Judge White of Dover, a lineal descend- ant, had in his possession a silk apron elaborately embroidered by Mrs. Main, while a school girl in Boston.
Mr. Main's last sickness was of few weeks' duration. His arduous labors and great exposure in attending to his diversified duties as the guide and support of the infant settlement, doubt- less hastened on the consumption of which he died. At their annual meeting in March, the town took measures to supply the pulpit, and on the twenty-fourth of the same month he made a will in the usual lengthy and formal style of that age :- thank- ing God that though weak in body he remained of perfect mind and memory; giving, principally and first of all, his soul into the hands of God, who gave it, and his body to the earth, to be buried in decent Christian burial, nothing doubting but at the general resurrection he should receive the same again by the mighty power of God; and as touching the worldly goods with which it had pleased God to bless him, proceeding to bequeath them to the different members of his family. In lands he was rich enough to provide liberally for the maintenance of his wife, and also to give each of his children a good-sized farm. Of his personal estate he gave to his wife, his "negro man Pomp, two horses, three cows, and all his heifers." To Josiah, his only son, he gave his oxen and steers for the common use of the family, also one horse and a cow. His library was to be divided equally among his wife and children. One half acre of land adjoining the church burying - ground, he bequeathed for a burying-place for his family forever.
The day of his death was a sad one to his people. For twenty- three years he had been their counselor and Christian friend; always earnestly devoted to their interests, rejoicing with them in every time of prosperity, and sympathizing with them in every
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FIRST CENTURY OF CHURCH HISTORY.
affliction. He had unflinchingly remained throughout the perils of the Indian wars. He had been their pastor, their teacher, their physician, their adviser in worldly affairs. Many of them he had married, and their children had grown up to look upon him with love and respect. He had baptized them; he had attended them in their hours of sickness, to administer relief to the body and consolation to the soul; and he had buried their dead. It was said of him truly, that
"he was a great blessing to the people of his charge and greatly encouraged them in their concerns spiritual and temporal."
"The best portion of a good man's life, His little nameless, unremembered acts Of kindness and of love."
Mr. Main's sermons which remain, are characterized by earn- estness of style, and by elaborate division and arrangement of subject. They are filled with the most direct warnings and en- treaties, justifying the epithet of Boanerges applied to him by Mr. Haven. He dwelt continually upon the danger and folly of impenitence, and it was evidently his one great object to lead sinners to repentance. His sermon number one, preached while a candidate, is perhaps a fair specimen of them all. It abounds in Scriptural quotations largely from the Old Testament, and, according to the custom of those times, is most methodically composed, consisting of an introduction, three principal divisions, eighteen subdivisions, and closing with practical remarks under the head of IMPROVEMENT.
Mr. Main's practice as a physician was very extensive. His books show many charges against people in Berwick, Durham, Barrington, Towow (Lebanon), Somersworth, Dover, and occa- sionally Greenland, Rye, Wells, and Stratham. As we look over his records, we can imagine this faithful Samaritan making his way on horseback over rough and lonely roads to some distant part of the settlement or some neighboring town. His gun ever ready against the surprise of Indian foes is supported erect upon his foot near the stirrup, while the barrel rests against the saddle. At one place he stops to set a broken leg; at another leaves a little liniment; here he writes an indenture or a will; here he baptizes some aged person, or an infant, or a man upon his deathbed; always making a note of such facts, and thus uniting
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upon the same journey the duties of several professions. In pay- ment for these services he received such as the people had to give, wool, flax, boards, beef, pork, labor, occasionally a pistareen, yet for the most part but little money. He often discounted their ministerial taxes for such articles as they furnished him, according to the agreement when he settled with them.
Though he carried his gun, yet the Indians had such a sacred regard for his character that he was never molested. These savages, at the close of every war, were in the habit of coming to the white settlements and boasting of their exploits, and thus the settlers often learned the circumstances of the capture or death of their friends. They would frequently come to Mr. Main's house, and give him an account of his travels about the country during the hostilities, relating minute particulars. They even told him when he walked or trotted his horse, and where he stopped; showing that all his movements had been closely watched. When he inquired why they did not kill him, their reply was, "You one good man; you same as one priest." Having a great veneration for the Jesuit priests who lived among them, this feeling was extended to Mr. Main whom they included in the same class.
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