USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > Dublin > The history of Dublin, N.H., Volume 1852 > Part 15
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40
" A copy from the minutes.
" BENJAMIN BRIGHAM, Scribe to said Council."
The sermon at Mr. Sprague's ordination was preached by the Rev. Dr. Langdon, who was then the President of Har- vard College. The sermon was printed at Boston, by Tho- mas and John Fleet, and some copies are still in existence. The text was in 1 Thess. ii. 13.
It was customary in former times for ministers to receive a " settlement." This word, in the sense then used, is not understood by many at the present day. The "settlement " constituted no part of the minister's salary. It was a gift to young ministers, made on the well-grounded supposition that they needed some aid after completing their education to enable them to begin their ministry without incurring debts, and sometimes to pay debts which they had already incurred. It is seldom that we hear of ministers' receiving a " settle- ment " in these days. Mr. Sprague, by an instrument exe- cuted Nov. 20, 1777, relinquished his " settlement " for a lease of the ministry-lot, number twenty-two in the fifth range.
" Received of the town of Dublin, whereof I am now the gospel-minister, the sum of one hundred pounds lawful money, granted me by the said town as a free gift in consideration of my settlement among them ; the aforesaid sum being paid me by their lease of the ministry-lot, number twenty-two in the fifth range, in said town; and I do hereby, on the aforesaid consideration, wholly and absolutely renounce and give up to the town all claims and
164
HISTORY OF DUBLIN.
demands whatever which I have, or ought to have, to any other part or parcel of the ministry-lands in said town, by virtue of my being the present minister of the said town. As witness my hand, the day and date above written.
"EDWARD SPRAGUE."
The signing of the above in the town-records is an auto- graph, not a copy by the clerk.
The handwriting of Mr. Sprague, as he advanced in life, became so illegible that the most expert at deciphering bad penmanship have failed of success. The Rev. Mr. Farrar wrote a very fair and legible hand ; and he was employed by some of his parishioners to draft various papers and legal instruments, a few of which are still preserved.
At the commencement of Mr. Sprague's ministry, Eli Morse and Benjamin Learned were deacons of the church ; and the number of church-members, compared with the population of the town, and with the number in other places, was respectable. A large portion of them were members of churches before they removed to Dublin. Some, no doubt, had become members during Mr. Farrar's ministry. From the imperfect records of Mr. Sprague, it appears that the following persons were members of the church at the time of his ordination : -
Eli Morse and wife. Benjamin Learned and wife. Moses Adams.
Benjamin Mason and wife. Gershom Twitchell. Gershom Twitchell, jun. and wife. Joseph Greenwood and wife. James Chamberlain and wife. Widow of William Greenwood. Ezra Twitchel and wife.
Samuel Twitchel and wife. Joseph Twitchel and wife. Ebenezer Twitchel and wife. Daniel Morse and wife.
Wife of Joseph Adams. Ebenezer Hill and wife.
Thaddeus Mason and wife.
Reuben Morse.
Widow (Silas) Stone. Wife of Joel White (Wight?). Widow Johnson. Gardner Town. Mrs. Bond (wife of Isaac B.). Widow (?) Mason.
Wife of James Rollins.
Wife of Phinehas Stanford.
Wife of Josiah Stanford.
Whole number, forty.
At a meeting of the church, Dec. 7, 1777, " Voted that those persons who have owned the covenant, upon declaring the same, and promising to bring a certificate to evidence their connection with a regular standing church, shall have the privilege of baptism for their children. But on May 11,
165
HISTORY OF DUBLIN.
1778, the church "voted that no person should have the privilege of baptism for their children, unless one or the other of their parents are in full communion." This means, unless one or the other of the parents of the children offered for baptism be in full communion.
The church-members, admitted by letters of recommen- dation from other churches, are, as nearly as can be ascer- tained, the following : -
Thomas Lewis, and Molly his wife, from Amherst. Thomas Wakefield and wife, from Amherst. David Townsend and wife, from Temple. Philip Mills and wife, from Needham. John Pain and wife, from Needham. Thomas Hardy and wife, from Hollis.
Thomas Bryant and wife, from Concord.
Mrs. Abigail Holt (wife of Marstin H.).
Persons admitted to Full Communion by Direct Application.
Rebecca Greenwood, Dec. 28, 1777. Lydia Emery, Jan. 11, 1778. Elizabeth Greenwood, wife of Moses G., Feb. 15, 1778. Abel Twitchel and wife.
Samuel Williams and wife. John Bryant of Jaffrey, March 1, 1778.
Timothy Adams, and Mary his wife.
Dorcas Somes (married Hart Balch). Lydia Adams, wife of Isaac Adams, April 26, 1778. Esther Stanford, April 30, 1778. Richard Gilchrest and Mary, May 17, 1778. Moses Greenwood, May 24, 1778. Hannah Yeardly, June 14, 1778. John Learned and wife, July 5, 1778.
Edward Cheney and wife, April 25, 1779. Mrs. Jones (Anna), Aug. 13, 1780, wife of Samuel J. Jabez Puffer, May 20, 1780. Miss Puffer, June 17, 1780. Stephen Twitchel and wife, March 30, 1783.
Joseph Hayward and wife, May 25, 1783.
Esther Marshall, wife of Aaron M., May 25, 1783. Mary Smith, wife of Benjamin S., May 25, 1783. Nathan Wily ; Abigail Townsend, June, 1783. David Gray Nutting, and Judith his wife, June, 1783. Mary Morse, wife of Drury M., June, 1783. Jonathan Adams and wife, Nabby Adams, Aug. 31, 1783. Ward Eddy, Sept. 28, 1783.
166
HISTORY OF DUBLIN.
Daniel Morse, Dec. 17, 1783.
Fanny Ames, wife of Jonathan A., Aug. 1, 1784. Sarah Bond, Aug. 14, 1785. Micah Morse, Nov. 1785.
Betty Harris, Nov. 12, 1786, wife of Jason H.
Molly Wheeler, April 1, 1787.
Amos Babcock and wife, Nov. 29, 1789.
Margaret Maynard, wife of Dr. Maynard, 1789.
Francis Appleton and wife, Jan. 3, 1790. Polly Farnam, Jan. 17, 1790, wife of Joshua F. Andrew Allison, and Sally his wife, July 18, 1790. Lydia Morrison, Aug. 8, 1790.
Stephen Bent, Feb. 1791.
Wife of Nathaniel Greenwood, July 22, 1792.
The above names are all that can be found in Mr. Sprague's records. Other persons were admitted, and among the known members of the church were : -
Daniel Morse, jun., and wife. Mrs. Daniel Warren. Mrs. Hannah Ward, wife of Samuel W.
Mrs. John Perry.
Asa Fisk, 1st, and wife.
Mrs. Solomon Piper.
Miss Mary Appleton.
Abijah Richardson and wife, from Woburn, Mass.
John Snow and wife, from Sterling. Jonathan Perry and wife, from West Cambridge.
Stephen J. Woods and wife, from Sterling.
Sarah Jones. Mrs. Joseph Hayward, jun. Miss Betsey Rollins. Mrs. Jonas Davis.
The principal events in Mr. Sprague's ministry, and the chief points in his character, are noticed in the address. From what is there said, it is evident that one of his greatest trials, in the first years of his ministry, was the depreciation of the nominal value of his salary, and the method adopted of paying it in agricultural produce. His father is said to have been ready to help him, when a request for that pur- pose was made. It is a tradition that, on one occasion, Mr. Sprague asked his father for fifty pounds, and that it was counted out in lawful money, amounting to one hundred and sixty-six dollars and sixty-six cents. But the son exclaimed,
167
HISTORY OF DUBLIN.
on ascertaining the real amount, " Oh, sir ! I did not want it in lawful money, but fifty pounds, old tenor." This sum in the latter currency would have been a little more than twenty-two dollars, which was said to be what he actually took, his father not insisting upon his taking the whole.
Mr. Sprague was educated without depending upon him- self. His father paid his bills ; and, as to worldly matters in general, the son did not concern himself about them till too late in life to become well prepared for managing them with good success. He was unacquainted with the operations of husbandry, and especially as carried on in a town so recently settled as that of Dublin. His ignorance with regard to such matters caused him to be regarded by some persons with less respect than he deserved. Many of the anecdotes that have been circulated in connection with his name had not their origin with him ; and such as are correctly applied may be attributed, in a great measure, to the circumstances of his early life. Some persons, perceiving his want of a know- ledge of things quite familiar to those who had always lived in the country, were tempted to engage with him in practi- cal jokes for their own and others' amusement. A clergyman of an adjoining town is reported to have been neither back- ward nor unsuccessful in efforts of this kind. They required no greater amount of cunning trickery than is sometimes exhibited on the first day of April, or is occasionally prac- tised upon children.
Mr. Sprague, in some respects, had the simplicity of a child; but he often surprised those who knew him only from report, by his shrewdness of remark and readiness at repartee. Many a one, who felt strong in his own power against an opponent in a contest of wit, found himself de- feated in an encounter with Mr. Sprague. When he had obtained the advantage in these contests, he was apt to show little mercy to his opponent. He would give no quarter, but press on, and take his own time for ceasing to use his advantage.
When a Baptist society was formed in the north-west part of the town, some of the members of Mr. Sprague's church embraced the views of the Baptists. This was, of course, a matter of some perplexity and trouble. But, if we may judge from the following anecdote, he was not impatient nor unforbearing towards the absenting persons. It is said that one of these members, who had left his meeting, called upon
168
HISTORY OF DUBLIN.
him, and inquired why he (Mr. Sprague) had not visited him and reproved him for non-attendance on public worship, or why he had not dealt with him according to Scripture. Mr. Sprague's reply was, "I have." " In what way?" asked the man. "According to the directions of the apostle," said Mr. Sprague : " Mark them that cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned, and avoid them."
On the death of his father, Mr. Sprague shared in the inheritance of a large estate. As to what he should receive, he compromised the matter, and agreed to take for his share of real estate thirty thousand dollars, excepting land and buildings in Cambridge, of which he kept possession till his death. It has been supposed by many, that what he received was considerably less than he might have obtained by a division of the property according to the law of inheritance. But he said that it was enough for him, - more than he should ever want.
This great change in Mr. Sprague's pecuniary circum- stances rendered him independent of the want of a salary; and, in the year 1801, he formally relinquished the same. His reasons for taking this step, and the conditions on which it was made, may be found in the following instru- ment : -
" Whereas the town of Dublin has this day complied with the proposals I made them through a letter addressed to the select- men of said Dublin, and by them to be communicated to the town at a meeting legally warned for that purpose; said letter bearing date April 10, A.D. 1801; and implying and importing in sub- stance as follows, viz., that, in consequence of bodily indisposition and infirmities, I had advised with the best physicians, who had all unanimously recommended to me, for the benefit and recovery of my health, a change of air and situation, and not to retain a per- manent residence in Dublin; and that, influenced by these conside- rations, I did by said letter relinquish, from and after the 12th day of May next (which will complete twenty-three years and six months from my ordination), my annual salary of sixty pounds and thirty cords of wood; retaining, however, my pastoral rela- tion and connection with the church of Dublin, and the right of supplying the pulpit with men of piety and good abilities, when I found it inexpedient to preach myself; the town paying said candidates for their service.
"This is, therefore, formally to relinquish, and I do hereby relinquish, my said annual salary of sixty pounds and thirty cords
169
HISTORY OF DUBLIN.
of wood, from and after the said twelfth day of May, A.D. 1801, on the condition above expressed.
" In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name, this fourth day of May, A.D. one thousand eight hundred and one. EDWARD SPRAGUE.
" Signed in presence of us, " Elijah Dunbar. Ward Eddy.
In consequence of the foregoing agreement, the minister- tax for 1801 was the last which the town raised to be paid to Mr. Sprague. The whole amount of the assessment for this year was only half of the usual sum, or the salary for six months. In the year previous to 1801, the taxes for the minister's salary varied in amount to individual tax-payers $3.92 to 35 cts., the last being a tax on a poll. Only four persons paid over three dollars, thirty paid from two to three dollars, seventy paid from one to two dollars, and seventy- one paid less than one dollar. Thirty-three persons paid no minister-tax for that year. Most of these last belonged, probably, to the Baptist denomination. The amount of minister-tax for the year 1800 was $225.25. From the year 1801 to 1818, the town raised no money for preach- ing.
Mr. Sprague, according to his design of removing from Dublin, purchased a house in Keene, and established him- self there with his wife, continuing to supply the pulpit at Dublin. He retained his house in Dublin and kept it fur- nished, but, after a short period, spent the greater part of the year at his old home, his wife remaining at Keene. Occa- sionally, he hired persons to preach in his pulpit ; but it is not known that he ever charged the town for their services. During the winter months, he did not preach in the meeting- house, but in a hall, which he owned, situated a mile east of the first meeting-house.
Under the impression that money invested in real estate was the most secure, Mr. Sprague purchased several farms, which he rented, or let out at the halves. Under such supervision as he was able to give, this mode of investing his capital did not yield a high percentage of income. The farms depreciated in value, and Mr. Sprague was wont to say with respect to those that were taken at the halves, " My half didn't grow." But, so far as pecuniary matters were concerned, he was at ease. He rode at times in a
22
170
HISTORY OF DUBLIN.
coach drawn by four horses. His coach was furnished with lamps, and he was fond of riding in the evening with the lamps burning. He was distinguished for his hospitality. His house was always open to the reception of company. His table was plentifully supplied with the best that could be obtained in Dublin, and not unfrequently he sent to Boston for such articles as could not be procured at home. The walls of his rooms were hung with a variety of paint- ings and engravings, which, as he said, were designed to attract and entertain company ; but which, in general, were indifferent as to their execution. He took great apparent satisfaction in exhibiting them to persons, strangers, or friends, who called upon him.
Mr. Sprague was the friend and patron of sacred music in his society. During the last years of his life, he con- tributed liberally for its encouragement. He is said to have been particularly fond of hearing the "Ode on Science" * performed ; and it was frequently sung at his request, either in the church or at some occasional meeting of the choir. He took a deep interest in the revolutionary struggle ; and this patriotic song rekindled, no doubt, the feelings of joy and gratitude which arose in his breast at the successful issue of American resistance to British oppression. He regarded a well-organized militia as necessary for national defence. . On one occasion, he delivered an address to a company of soldiers assembled in his church in mili- tary costume. He read the newspapers of the day with more than ordinary interest; and he took much pleasure in telling the news to his friends and neighbors, which
* ODE ON SCIENCE. - Set to music by Sumner.
The morning sun shines from the East, And spreads his glories to the West; All nations with his beams are blest, Where'er his radiant light appears: So Science spreads her lucid ray O'er lands that long in darkness lay; She visits fair Columbia, And sets her sons among the stars.
Fair Freedom, her attendant, waits To bless the portals of her gates, To crown the young and rising States With laurels of immortal day: The British yoke, the Gallic chain, Were urged upon our sons in vain; All haughty tyrants we disdain, And shout, Long live America.
171
HISTORY OF DUBLIN.
he did with such comments or incidental remarks as he supposed would render the news more interesting and profitable.
The bodily infirmities of Mr. Sprague, during the latter part of his life were so great that he frequently deemed it necessary to have the advice of a physician. He reposed much confidence in the skill of Dr. Moses Kidder, who settled in Dublin a few years before his death. He was fond of him as a companion as well as a physician, and his desire to retain him in town was manifested in his will. He bequeathed him two thousand dollars, on condition that he remained in town during his (Mr. Sprague's) natural life. Mr. Sprague first proposed to Dr. Kidder to bequeathe him the above sum on condition that he remained in town as a physician during his (Dr. Kidder's) natural life ; but such a bequest was absolutely declined.
The death of Mr. Sprague was occasioned by the over- turning of a carriage. He had a limb broken, and he was otherwise injured. This happened on the evening of the 9th of December, 1817, as he was returning from a wedding which he had attended at the house of Deacon Benjamin Learned. On the 13th of the same month, as the broken limb, instead of uniting and healing, was evidently tending to mortification, he was reminded of his danger. Feeling much less pain than he had done, he thought that his friends were needlessly alarmed. On being assured by his physi- cian that his life was in danger, he requested the attendance of Thaddeus Morse, Esq., who, according to Mr. Sprague's directions, wrote his last will and testament, and had the same duly witnessed. He lived till the morning of the 16th of December. His funeral was on the 18th of Decem- ber ; and a sermon on the occasion was preached by the Rev. Elijah Dunbar, of Peterborough. By a vote and at the expense of the town, two hundred and fifty copies of the said sermon were printed.
Mrs. Hannah Sprague, the wife of the Rev. E. Sprague, died at her residence in Keene, July 9, 1818. She had entered her eighty-first year. Her maiden name was Fitch. She sustained, it is said, "a Christian character of peculiar excellence." She resided at Keene nearly all the time after her removal thither. She visited her husband at Dublin occasionally ; but he more frequently visited her. The inscriptions on the monuments, erected to the memory
172
HISTORY OF DUBLIN.
of Mr. and Mrs. Sprague, were composed by the Rev. E. Dunbar.
In addressing Mrs. Sprague at the funeral of her husband, Mr. Dunbar's words are : " A filial sensibility carries back my recollection through a period of almost twenty years since my acquaintance began with yourself, and your late worthy and reverend consort, whose remains are now to be consigned to the grave. The numerous proofs of sincere and personal friendship; the time I have spent under your hospitable roof, and the subsequent harmonious intercourse of so long a period as has elapsed since my settlement in this vicinity, cannot fail of impressing my mind in a peculiar manner. This friendship and partiality, continued to the very close of life, has now placed me in this desk; and I need not observe to you, madam, how much more congenial it would have been to my feelings, had I now been at liberty silently to mingle my sympathies with your sorrows. . . . I cannot, however, remain heedless of the last request of a venerable and constant friend in Christ, and father in the sacred ministry of the gospel, whose earthly labors are now closed for ever, and whose soul has returned to God who gave it."
Of Mr. Sprague, Mr. Dunbar says, " As a minister of the gospel, he was considered as excelling more particularly in his pathetic addresses, and sermons on funeral occasions, and generally in his public prayers." It was the custom of Mr. Sprague at funerals to speak of the characters of the persons deceased with more particularity than is common at the present day, and some of his parishioners were inclined to think that he was too much influenced in his remarks by his personal feelings of favor or dislike. He had a strong sympathy with the distressed, and much facility in the expression of his feelings on all occasions in which distress and affliction were outwardly manifested.
" The Last Will and Testament of the Rev. Edward Sprague.
"In the name of God, Amen, -I, Edward Sprague, of Dublin, in the county of Cheshire, in the State of New Hampshire, clerk, do make this my last will and testament. Conscious that I was born to die, that my body must return to dust, and my soul to God who gave it, to him I cheerfully resign the same, in full confidence that he will do with me what is right, and that (though worms destroy my body) in my flesh I shall see God, and humbly hoping
173
HISTORY OF DUBLIN.
that I shall have acted well my part, relying on the merits of Jesus Christ, and be happy with him for ever.
" And as to the worldly estate which God has been pleased to bestow upon me, my debts and funeral charges being first paid by my executor, hereafter named, I give and devise the residue thereof in manner following, viz. : -
" 1st, I give to the town of Dublin the sum of five thousand dol- lars, to be kept at interest by the said town for ever, for the sole purpose of supporting the Christian religion in the Congregational Society (so called) in said town, the interest thereof to be paid quarter-yearly to the minister of the Congregationalist persua- sion who shall be regularly ordained and statedly preach in said society.
" 2d, I give to my nephews and nieces one dollar each.
"3d, I give to my beloved wife, Hannah Sprague, all my house- hold furniture, and the interest of all sums of money which shall be on hand, or due at the time of my decease, after the payment of the above-mentioned sums, and the use of all my other estate both real and personal, during her natural life.
" 4th, I give to Dr. Moses Kidder two thousand dollars, provided he tarry in the town of Dublin physician during my natural life.
"5th, I give to John Twitchell and Alline Newhall three hun- dred dollars each, provided they stay in my service during my natural life to my satisfaction.
" 6th, I give the town of Dublin all the remainder of said estate, including all my property not before given or devised by this will, to be kept for the use of schooling in said Dublin. And I hereby appoint Elijah Parker, of Keene, in the county of Cheshire, Es- quire, executor of this my last will and testament, and hereby revoke all other wills by me made.
." In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal, this thirteenth day of December, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventeen.
his "EDWARD A SPRAGUE.
mark. [Seal.]
" Signed, sealed, published, and delivered by the testator, as his last will and testament, in presence of us, who hereunto subscribe our names in his presence, and in presence of each other.
"THADS. MORSE. WM. GREENWOOD, 2nd. JESSE LEARNED."
"STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE,
CHESHIRE, SS. - Probate Office, May 13, 1853. S
" [Seal.] I, Geo. W. Sturtevant, Register of the Court of Pro- bate in and for said county, hereby certify that the within is a
174
HISTORY OF DUBLIN.
true copy of the will of Edward Sprague, late of Dublin, in said county, deceased, and now on file in this office. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and the seal of said court, at Keene, this 13th day of May, A.D. 1853.
" GEO. W. STURTEVANT."
"The Decree of the Judge of Probate, establishing the Will of Rev. E. Sprague.
"STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE, CHESHIRE, SS.
"To all people to whom these presents shall come, Greeting :
"[Seal.] Know ye that on the day of the date hereof, before me, at Jeffrey, in said county, the instrument which is here- unto annexed (purporting to be the last will and testament of the Reverend Edward Sprague, late of Dublin, in said county, de- ceased) was presented for probate by Elijah Parker, Esq., the executor therein named. Thaddeus Morse, Esq., and William Greenwood, 2d, both of Dublin, two of the witnesses, whose names are thereto subscribed, being then present, made solemn oath that they saw the said testator sign, seal, the said instrument. That he was then, to the best of their judgment, of sound and disposing mind; and that they, together with Jesse Learned, subscribed their names together as witnesses to the execution thereof, in the pre- sence of said testator.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.