USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > Manchester > Willey's semi-centennial book of Manchester, 1846-1896, comprised within the limits of the old Tyng Township, Nutfield, Harrytown, Derryfield, and Manchester, from the earliest settlements to the present time > Part 10
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B' ROWN & BURPEE .- The firm of Brown & Burpee has been in business in Manchester since April, 1894, being among the first to open offices in the Kennard. Their testing parlor con- tains every instrument and convenience as an aid to their profession, and their mechanical and pre- scription department is the only onc in the city. Their establishment, combining as it does scientific and mechanical skill of a high order and being complete in all its departments, has few equals in the country.
FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, MANCHESTER.
T' ITE First Congregational church of Manchester was organized Ang. 15, 1839, when a union was effected of two small churches, which for more than ten years had been struggling for existence, without a settled pastor or a church building. One of these, the Congregational church of Amos- keag village, worshipped in the house of Daniel Farmer, whose family is still prominently identified with the church, and its date of organization, December, 1828, is often given as that of the present First church. The other uniting branch was the Presbyterian church of the Centre, then the principal village within the present city limits. Each contributed fourteen to the roll of charter After a successful pastorate of nearly twelve years, Mr. Selden accepted a call in May, 1885, to the South church, Springfield, Mass. He is now pastor of a large church in Albany, N. Y. His successor in the Manchester church was Rev. Willard G. Sperry, now the honored president of Olivet College, Mich. He came from the South Congregational church, Peabody, Mass., and remained eight years, resigning at the call of the college above mentioned. During his stay it was decided that the increasing demands of the work called for a pastor's assistant, and Miss Mary F. Dana was appointed to that office March, 1887, and continues to the present timc. This was the membership. The new church crected its first ; first church in the state to introduce such an officer.
building on the site now occupied by the Opera House block, in the heart of the manufacturing village then springing up on the east bank of the Merrimack, and dedicated it Nov. 21, 1839. The sermon on this occasion was preached by Rcv. C. W. Wallace, who had before supplicd in the Amoskeag church, and to him a eall was extended the next day, which he accepted, being ordained Jan. 8, 1840. The First Congregational Socicty was formed about the same time. It has always had the good fortune to be in the hands of thorough business men who have wisely adminis- tered its financial affairs.
In October, 1893, Dr. Edward A. Lawrence was called to the vacant pastorate, and his accept- ance was privately assurcd, but before the arrival of the official notice, information was received of his sudden death. Attention was next directed to Dr. T. E. Clapp of Portland, Ore., who preached his first sermon in the church March 4, 1894. He accepted the call to the pastorate, and his ministrations have proved very successful.
The following bequests have fallen to the church and society by the will of deceased mem- bers: Mrs. Mary E. Elliot, the greater part of whosc estate was devoted to the establishing of the Elliot Hospital, gave $2,000 for payment of the last indebtedness incurred in church building, and her house and land were also given for use as a parsonage; $1,000 was left to the church by Mrs. Hannah B. Keniston; $1,000 by Mrs. William Hartshorn to the society, and $500 to the society by Dr. Henry M. French.
In February, 1873, after a pastorate of thirty- three ycars, during which he had impressed his own strong and purposeful character upon the church and community, Dr. Wallace resigned a large and powerful church into the care of his successor, Rev. Edward G. Selden, a recent graduate of Andover Seminary. The title of Pastor Emeritus was conferred upon Dr. Wallace. It was during this second pastoratc that the new church cdifice Eleven young men of the church have entered the Christian ministry : one, James H. Pettee, is one of the best known missionaries of Japan, and two, Robert P. Herrick and Isaac Huse, are prominently connected with the Home Mission field in the West. was erected at the corner of Hanover and Union streets. The last meeting in the old church was March 28, 1880, Dr. Wallace preaching an eloquent sermon to a crowded assembly. The cost of the new structure, dedicated May 12, 1880, was about $60,000. Horace P. Watts was president of the The present membership of the church is 705. It has a Sunday school of 589 members, besides a home department of about 100, and a Christian society at the time, and the church holds his memory in special gratitude for his gencrous ser- vice and skilful management of this enterprise. Endeavor society of 170 members, with a junior
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society of 75. The church stands today conspic- uous for its long pastorates, its loyalty, its tenacious holding to foundation principles, its soundness on the temperance question, and its readiness to mcct the demands of a growing city, still bcaring the stamp of the stalwart Christian character of him who shaped so many years of its history.
Dr. Wallace's letter of resignation was so characteristic of him, and it affords such an ade- quate idea of the relations then subsisting between pastor and people, that it is here reproduccd :
BELOVED BRETHREN AND FRIENDS : - A period has arrived which admonishes me that it is my duty to lay before you my convictions in regard to that relation which unites us as pastor and people. After having long deliberated on this question - looking at it from every standpoint I could command -and after having sought direction from the Great Head of the church,
FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. - ERECTED IN 1839.
I have reluctantly reached the conclusion that it is my duty to resign my pastoral office : and this I now do, the resignation to take effect with the close of May next. The terms of my ordi- nation require that I should notify you three months previous to such a resignation. Supposing that more time might be desir- able for both parties, I have increased this period.
It is in accordance with both my judgment and feelings, as well as in harmony with my obligations to you, that I should state the reason for the step I now take. It is not on account of any marked expressions of dissatisfaction which have reached my ears. It is not because my work is so severe that I am seeking rest. Nor is it because my health is such as to demand the change. Nor is it for any reason that can benefit myself. It must be obvious that all my personal interests are here. My ministerial standing, social position, and pecuniary welfare, all are interwoven with my present relations. When this resignation takes effect I can anticipate no other pastorate.
The step, therefore, which I now take, is not for my sake, but for your welfare.
My pastorate has extended over a long period. The time designated for my retirement will complete thirty-four years. I have but one senior in the state. And in the five hundred churches in Massachusetts, not more than five or six pastors have remained for so long a period. I am no longer a young man, nor am I in middle life - and neither health, nor strength. nor experience, nor interest in the living world, can conceal the fact that I am fast approaching the scriptural limit of human life. My generation are mostly gone. The living are behind me. The vigor and working force of the church, as well as its pecuniary support, are drawn from those far younger than myself, while those for whose salvation we labor, are mostly separated from me by the distance of many years.
These things being so, instead of struggling against the inevitable, it is far better to yield the position I occupy. that it may be filled by one whose age, thoughts, and sympathies are supposed to be more in harmony with the day in which we live. The old routine needs to be broken up ; an increased personal responsibility needs to be awakened. for a work is demanded here which cannot be performed without it. In a word, this church and society need the freshness, the vigor. the young life. the magnetism of another pastor. No man whose sun is so near the going down as my own, and whose voice is so familiar. can lead this church to that higher ground of individual account- ability. I feel, therefore, that the Master, whose call I humbly trust I obeyed, when long ago I assumed this office, would now have me retire. This demand I hasten to obey, that I may not occupy a position I cannot fill.
That this step cost me a sacrifice, I will not deny. It is a sacrifice to leave the scene of my life-work -turning away from that altar upon which, though with great imperfection, I have laid the vigor of my youth and the strength of my manhood. It is a sacrifice to leave the only people I could call mine, whom I had the wish or the right to love as mine. It is a sacrifice to drift out upon the wide world and feel I have no church. no con- gregation, no pastorate. no spiritual home. So great indeed is this sacrifice, I cease to wonder that old men often cling to the office long after it has been thought by others that the day of their usefulness is closed. If I have not already committed this mistake, I wish to avoid it. Hence, great as the sacrifice is. I make it readily if not cheerfully. I feel my Heavenly Father demands it at my hands. And when I call to mind the blessings which have strewn the pathway of all my past. I confide the future to him. I will only repeat. it has been my desire not to consult my own interest in this step : neither to allow my feelings to be my guide, but to answer the one question. what will be most for the temporal and spiritual advancement of this church and society, most for the honor of Christ and the glory of his name. And my request is that you may receive this communication. and act upon it with a desire even more perfect than my own.
Dr. Wallace's farewell discourse produced a profound impression upon the church and the community, He took for his text the words: " Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of
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good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace ; and the God of love and peace shall be with you." In the course of his sermon he said :
The long looked for, the long dreaded hour has come. With mingled emotions of sadness and gratitude I address myself to its duties. The shadows are here ; but there is sun- light also. "I will sing of mercy and of judgment," if this poor heart will play on the minor key. I hear a voice, deep, strong, exultant, " which giveth songs in the night." As I always wish to make most prominent my blessings, I will first speak of our occasions of gratitude. And first among these, I will mention the fact that I have been permitted so many years to preach the " gospel of the blessed God." It is thirty-five years since I was licensed as a preacher of the gospel, and from that day to this I have not been without employment. I know my work has been performed with little of beauty, perhaps with less of power. Still, I do rejoice that I have been permitted to devote my life to this most blessed work. Another service may be more honorable, it may be more useful : still, for myself, there is no employment so much in harmony with my feelings as that of pointing the lost to the rock of refuge. I fell in love with the ministry before I entered it. I have not been disappointed. Could I go back to life's young morning, in spite of all its cares and labors, I would choose it again.
Whether it is better to spend the whole of life, as I have done, among the same people, I cannot say. I think no one rule will apply in every case. Still, there are many pleasant things connected with a life-long pastorate. During such a period, most families, in any congregation, will pass through scenes of joy and sorrow. Then, confidence is a plant of slow growth. And the ties of affection. where there is true worth to feed upon. become stronger and stronger as the years pass away. For these reasons a single pastorate has blessings over one which is divided. Still no one rule will apply.
I am grateful - I think we ought all to be grateful-for the peace and harmony which, as a people, we have enjoyed. This spirit of harmony is of more importance to a religious com- munity than most imagine. As a church and people I think we have enjoyed this blessing to a remarkable degree ; and so far as regards the relation of pastor and people, the harmony, so far as I know, has been very nearly complete During all these years, now fading in the distance of the past, I can recall no word which I think was spoken with the design of injuring my feel- ings, and so far as I have known my own heart, no unkind feeling has lurked therein toward any one of my people. I am grateful that I can say this, at this time and in this place. And all this notwithstanding that the last thirty-five years have been a very stormy period in the history of our country. The temperance question has been largely discussed. And the institution of slavery, its grasp for greater power, leading to the Mexican war, and then the late Rebellion, have agitated the land to an astonishing degree - dividing churches and unsettling ministers. Yet we have not been distracted, as many religious communities have been.
I think we should be grateful for the measure of success which has attended our united labors. In August, 1839, this
church was reorganized by the union of the church at Amoskeag with that at Manchester Centre. Thus formed, it embraced a membership of 27 ; 8 men and 19 women. During my pastorate 924 have been added ; 363 by profession of faith in Christ, 561 by letter. Of these, 311 have been dismissed, 127 have died, and six have been excluded; leaving the present membership 507. A large number ; but we must bear in mind that many of them, certainly one-fifth, are absent, and a few are lost sight of. Still, we are large in numbers ; larger than in pecuniary or moral strength. I have baptized 185 adults and 148 infants. During my ministry I have written out in full about 1,340 sermons, besides many addresses which have cost me much labor ; and for the last twenty years of my ministry I have preached extem- poraneously nearly one half the time. Many of these extem- poraneous sermons have cost me more study than the same number written out in full. Still there has been a great saving of both mental and physical exhaustion ; and I think on the whole the usefulness has not been diminished. I have attended about 1, 150 funerals ; of these, from one third to one half were outside of my own congregation. The ceremony of marriage I have performed 1, 164 times. This is a large number. Few ministers marry more persons than they bury ; I have more than double the number. With many of these parties I have had no acquaintance ; I have met them on this occasion only. They are scattered far and wide ; not a few have already closed life's journey, and entered on that state, where they " neither marry nor are given in marriage." With a large number, however, of those whom I have united in these most intimate and tender bonds, I have had an acquaintance. I have known many of them as children ; I have seen them lay the foundations of the family.
The time having arrived for me to resign my pastoral office, I rejoice that I can leave you a strong and united people. You are strong enough to support the institutions of religion without a draft which can be regarded as onerous. Far more than this, as compared with other churches, you are strong intellectually and spiritually; you are capable of keeping all the moral machinery connected with the work of the church in vigorous and successful operation. Then, you are united, both in faith and spirit ; and among my most earnest prayers is this, that you may keep thus united. O make any sacrifice of personal feeling or preference, the sacrifice of any thing but truth and duty, rather than disturb this long-continued and blessed harmony. But I feel that a test is now coming, is near at hand, which will determine whether this union is founded in that principle which permeates our common faith.
So much I can say - I could say much more, as the occa- sion of gratitude to God. Did not delicacy forbid, I would speak of one whose quiet and gentle influence has long been a silent benediction upon my own heart, lifting me up to a higher plane and pressing me with a more earnest step in the way of truth and duty, and, as I believe, a benediction upon our rela- tions. But the silence of the new made grave must not be disturbed.
Notwithstanding, however, "this cup which runneth over," and which has run over, lo! these many years, there is a sadness which steals upon the present hour. The evening is unlike the
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morning : the sun is the same, he is just as bright, but, ah ! the shadows silently gather. It was morning when I came among you. The sun of my life rose to the zenith - he tipped toward the west, gliding down the sky, till now he lingers just above the hills-ready to sink. It is light yet : the clouds are golden ; it is peaceful and hopeful around; but the night cometh, not unmingled with joy; still, the voice drops into the softened tone when we speak of the past, stretching far away, or talk of plans which take hold only of a few days to come. I know that there is a light which shines across the gulf of death. It comes down from the heights of Zion and mingles with these evening shadows. and thus dispels their gloom. Still, so far as this life and this world are concerned, there is sadness in this closing hour. I am sad that my ideal of christian and ministerial character has been no more fully realized. I once thought that as I grew older I should grow better - ascend higher the mount of God, and perform my work both as a Christian and a minister with more of singleness of purpose and earnest desire to glorify God. But. alas! "sin is mixed with all I do" and as I entered the kingdom with this prayer, "God be merciful to me a sinner," on my lips - as it lingers there still -so I fear it will, till this mortal shall put on immortality.
It is sad to break these old and tender ties. A third of a century is a long period ; so many years can scarcely pass away without bringing to most families many scenes of joy and of sorrow. In these lights and shadows of life we have mingled. And all this time the ties which have bound us together as pastor and people have grown stronger and stronger. Certainly so on my part. To sunder these friendships must cause pain ; moreover it is one of the infirmities of age that new friendships are not readily formed. When I say farewell to you, beloved, I can have no other people to call my own ; I shall have personal friends, but not a people : good, kind friends, but not a church of which I can say and feel, "it is mine." Another will come and claim your confidence and affection ; the demand ought, and must, be obeyed : while I am too old to form other ties. Then, it is sad to leave these children and youth. By a fixed law of human nature, I know they can feel but little interest in me, still, I must feel a deep and abiding interest in their welfare, both for this life and for that which is to come.
It is sad to leave this church in no higher degree of spirit- uality. Some hearts never grow cold. Piety burns with a steady flame. They are like springs whose waters pour from fountains so deep that the drought does not reach them. There are some such here. They are really the practical working force of the church, the Aarons and the Hurs, who hold up the hands of the minister. "They are never weary in well doing," God bless you, my brethren and sisters ! There are other Christians whose piety is fitful. Now they are full of zeal; and now they linger in the race. They wake up in a revival, work and pray and sing, for a few days, for a week, then they sleep for months or years. They are of small account in a church -sickly plants clinging to the true vine. Others have only a name to live. They enter the church, but do nothing. If they are the soldiers of the Lord, they are on the invalid list; in the hospital more than on picket. In the day of battle they are far off ; of victory they know nothing. I am sad that there is so much of this sus-
pension of life among ourselves. Perhaps it is largely my own fault ; at any rate, my prayer is that God may send you a pastor whom He will own, as the means of your reviving.
Sad, however, as I am in turning away from my field of labor and laying off my life work, I do it freely. I do it at my own choice. I do it that young life may be poured into it. No man takes it from me. I lay it down of myself. It is the result of my maturest and most deliberate judgment. It is because I think the master calls me to it, that I now lay this, the greatest sacrifice of my life, upon his altar.
I exhort you to feel an interest in this church and society. I have long felt that here is our weakness. The idea has pre- vailed that there was no special need of thought, or care, or labor, to build ourselves up. People will come to our place of worship, our sabbath school will prosper, the prayer meeting will be attended, and all our moral and religious machinery will keep in motion without attention : hence if work was done. it was somewhere outside, not within and for ourselves. Now I believe there is "that scattereth and yet increaseth ; and there is that withholdeth." At the same time, it is not wise to extend the wings of the army so as to weaken the centre. and " he who provideth not for his own, denieth the faith," said an apostle. I think, brethren, you will see the need of greater con- centration of effort ; not only that you belong to the grand army of the Lord, but also that you belong to this army corps, this regiment, this company ; and here, first of all, is your duty. I would have you keep your hearts and hands open to all our established causes of benevolence. I would have you labor in mission work in our own city and surroundings. But I would ever have you feel that your first and highest Christian obliga- tion is toward the church of which you are a member ; and that its meetings and work must not be left to the care of the pastor and deacons alone, or left without any care. Most emphatically do I admonish you, that no political or social organization must be allowed to steal away your affections from the church. or to take the precedence of your work.
R' EV. T. EATON CLAPP, D. D., pastor of the First Church in Manchester, was born near Philadelphia about fifty-one years ago. His collegiate education was obtained at Bueknell University and his theologieal training at Crozer Seminary. Enlisting in the Fifteenth Pennsyl- vania cavalry on the breaking out of the war, he served a year and a half, participating in the battles of Antietam and Stone River, and sharing in Sherman's mareh to the sea. After the war the professorship of rhetorie at Bueknell University was offered to him, but he deelined it and entered the ministry. His pastorates have been at Williamsport, Penn., Syraeuse, N. Y., and Port- land, Ore. It was his sueeess at the last named
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place which made him known throughout the he married Nanette Tollman of Basle, Switzerland, Congregational denomination both East and West, and in 1847 came to America and settled in Syra- and led to his call to the Manchester church in 1894. This call was given before his congregation cuse, N. Y., where he remained one year and then came to Manchester. The city at that time was only two years old, with a small and scattered population, but Dr. Custer possessed the qualities which overcame all difficulties, and he gradually built up a large and lucrative practice. Ile was a man of the strictest integrity, and his kindness of heart made him countless friends among the poor and needy. Dr. Custer was surgeon of the Amos- keag Veterans, a member of Trinity Commandery, K. T., Hillsborough Lodge, I. O. O. F., Mount Horeb Royal Areh Chapter, and the American Legion of Honor. He was a prominent member of the Unitarian society, and in polities was a Republiean. He maintained his bright and eheer- ful disposition until his death, which occurred May 18, 1896, after an illness of nearly nine
REV. T. E. CLAPP, D. D.
had heard or seen him. During his pastorate there have been 150 additions to the ehureh, which has apparently entered upon a new era of pros- perity. Dr. Clapp is a most pleasing speaker, and enjoys a wide popularity outside the limits of his denomination. He has been prominent in the counsels and work of the great Congregational societies for promoting the diffusion of the gospel at home and abroad.
D R. EMIL CUSTER, who praetieed medieine in Manchester for nearly half a century, was born in Frankfort, Germany, June 12, 1820, his DR. EMIL CUSTER. father being of Swiss deseent and his mother a German. He received a primary education in Switzerland and spent six or seven years at the universities of Munich, Freiberg, Zurich, and Wurzburg. After the completion of his studies artist of Boston, died several years ago.
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