USA > Ohio > Washington County > Marietta > A century of church life. A history of the First Congregational church of Marietta, Ohio, with an introduction by Rev. John W. Simpson > Part 1
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Ge 977.102 M34d 1227359
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02280 2315
GEN
M. L
GENEALOGY COLLECTION 、
Earl H. Smilk
H. E. Smitte Library 630 Flir & St. marietta-Derio
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016
https://archive.org/details/centuryofchurchl00dick 1
1796.
1896.
A Century of Church Life.
A HISTORY
OF THE
First Congregational Church,
OF
MARIETTA, OHIO.
1
By REV. C. E. DICKINSON, D. D.
.
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY REV. JOHN W. SIMPSON, D. D., LL. D., Late President of Marietta College.
"I have considered the days of old The years of ancient times."
PUBLISHED FOR THE AUTHOR,
E. R. ALDERMAN & SONS, 1896.
.
COPYRIGHT IN 1896 BY REV. C. E. DICKINSON.
-
,
1227359
TO
THE MEMBERS OF THE FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH IN MARIETTA, PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE, THIS VOLUME IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED BY THE AUTHOR.
Baisser - $11.50
PREFACE.
The First Church in Marietta should have been the first church of any denomination in the state of Ohio. Here was the first settlement, the first stated service, and the first settled pastor, but for reasons over which we had no control, the church was not organized until more than eight years after the inauguration of regular preaching services; meanwhile two churches of other denominations were organized in the set- tlement at Cincinnati. Since we were not permitted to advise the pioneers in this matter, we must accept the facts and give to this First Congregational Church the rank of the third Church in Ohio.
The introduction of separate chapters on education, Sunday Schools and the First Religious Society in Marietta, has made some slight repetitions necessary. A considerable portion of the first chapter appeared in the Ohio Archeological and Histor- ical Quarterly, September, 1888. The chapter on the First Religious Society in Marietta was printed in Vol. I of the papers of the Ohio Church History Society, and a portion of the chap- ter on Sunday Schools in the Report of the Ohio Sunday School Union for 1891.
We acknowledge obligation to Hon. R. M. Stimson for the free use of his extensive private library ; also to Miss Mary C. Nye and several others for assistance in collecting materials.
It has been a real pleasure to collect the materials for this history, and it is now given to the public in permanent form, in the confident hope that this record of a century of Christian work may be an inspiration to those who come after us.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
PAGE
CHAPT. I. Early History and Pastorate of Rev. Daniel Story, 1788-1804, 9
CHAPT. II.
Pastorate of Rev. Samuel P. Robbins, 1805-1823, .
26
CHAPT. III.
Pastorate of Rev. Luther G. Bingham, 1826-1837,
42
CHAPT. IV. Pastorate of Rev. Thomas Wickes, D. D., 1840-1869,
52
CHAPT. V. Pastorate of Rev. Theron H. Hawkes, D. D., 1869-1883,
64
CHAPT. VI. Pastorate of Rev. Cornelius E. Dickinson, D. D., 1883-1896, 73
CHAPT. VII.
An Account of the Colonies from the First Church,
82
CHAPT. VIII. Connection of the First Church with Sunday Schools, 94
CHAPT. IX. Organization, 101
CHAPT. X. The First Church and the Cause of Education, 118
CHAPT. XI. Confessions of Faith, Covenants and Rules, 128
CHAPT. XII. The First Religious Society in Marietta,
141
CHAPT. XIII. List of Original Members,
164
CHAPT. XIV. Roll of Members,
165
CHAPT. XV. Record of Baptisms,
200
APPENDIX,
209
INDEX,
221
·
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
The Author,
Frontispiece.
Campus Martius,
Fronting Page 9
Rufus Putnam,
Old Academy,
66
66
25
Rev. Thomas Wickes, D. D.,
6.
6:
52
Rev. Theron H. Hawks, D. D.,
64
Pastor's Study,
66
66
73
Pres. I. W. Andrews, D. D., LL. D.,
77
Brother Douglas Putnam,
88
Interior of Chapel,
96
Interior of Church,
66
66
104
Parsonage, .
66
.6
112
Marietta College,
120
Chapel,
66
66
128
Church,
66
66
144
Old Mound,
66 164
66
17
Rev. L. G. Bingham, .
66
42
66
66
INTRODUCTION.
BY REV. JOHN W. SIMPSON, D. D., LL. D.
The volume which is here offered to the public requires no apology for its appearance. A compact and reliable record of the life and work of the First Congregational Church of Marietta during the first century of its existence is essential to the com- pleteness of Marietta's history, and to a right and intelligent understanding of the forces which have made her what she is. The founders of Marietta were men who had clear and high beliefs concerning the duties men owe to society, the state and religion, and they expressed them in language worthy of perma- nent record. As Carlysle said of his father, they could know and believe as well as inquire and be of an opinion. But if we are to get back to the source from whence issued these convic- tions and these moral and spiritual forces which still exercise such a far reaching influence, we must study the record of their life and labor in the old historic church. They organized it; its creeds formally stated their beliefs of essential Christian doctrines. In its worship on the Sabbath and its mid-week meetings for prayer and song, they found an inspiration and strength for their great and difficult opening work. Its mani- fold activities showed in them a practical, progessive Christi- anity. A study of this volume is certain to reveal the fact that the greatest and most potent men in Marietta's history have been thoroughly Christian, and have received from the church an in- spiration for the political and civic as well as moral work which they have accomplished.
The First Congregational Church of Marietta sustains a broad and exceptional relation to the Congregationalism of the north- west. The parent and pioneer church, she mothered with devo- tion and fidelity all Congregational interests. Effective at home in establishing Congregational principles and usages, and in fostering the spirit of the Pilgrims, she also trained many for a similar service in the multiplying communities of the north- west. Herself aggressive and missionary, she sent her children
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far and wide and new homes and churches sprang up, self-gov- erning in their polity, loyal to New England in their traditions, ideals and usages. The history of the old "Two Horned Church" of Marietta is necessarily interwoven with the life of the Con- gregational Churches of the northwest, and must have more than a passing interest for all who would understand and appreciate their origin, growth and power.
But if we turn from these broader considerations to the church itself, we will find her history suggestive, instructive and stim- ulating. Her benevolences and offerings have been generous. Her interest has been deep in the home and foreign work not only of our own, but as well of other branches of the church of Christ. Her missionary activity has rested not on grounds of expediency, but of loyalty to Christ and those for whom he died.
Again she has been characterized by a broad and noble con- ception of the application of Christianity. Her aim has been not only to convert men but to save them after they were con- verted; to so apply Christianity as to perpetuate the love of religion in the soul; preserve purity in practical Christianity ; secure consistency in the conduct and to expel both from the individual and the community whatever endangers human wel- fare for time and eternity. She has endeavored to show both by fearless and luminous advocacy of the truth, and by practical demonstration of that truth in her life, that Christianity has a necessary affinity with every interest of men, temporal as well as eternal.
Not less conspicuous has been her attitude toward Christian education. She has steadily believed that if Christian faith is not to be outstripped by the progress of the centuries, it must be intelligent, and must be characterized by mental largeness, strong and lofty, that souls may attain moral excellence and spiritual power. For the realization of this ideal of harmoni- ous symmetrical development of human life she has made large offerings. Marietta College owes its existence, and buildings, very largely to her generous support.
It must be borne in mind that the noble history recorded within these pages would not have been accomplished without the splendid services of the able, scholarly and devoted men who have occupied her pulpit and done much by their personal piety, zeal, pastoral services, reverent and cultured preaching, to give direction and tone, impulse and quality to her life and activities.
That portion of the volume which deals with the several pas- torates will therefore have a value quite equal to that which has to do directly with the church herself.
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Campus Martius.
CHAPTER I. EARLY HISTORY AND PASTORATE OF REV. DANIEL STORY, 1788-1804.
The influences which led to the establishment of Christian institutions at Marietta were at work many centuries before the pioneers set foot upon this soil. We have been told that a few years ago a grain of Egyptian wheat was found in the hand of a mummy, where it may have lain for 4,000 years. When planted this wheat grain grew and produced many fold, and it has since multiplied itself from year to year. The seed which was planted upon the bank of this "beautiful river" a century ago may be traced to the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, but it did not lie in the hand of a mummy during the intervening centuries. In the Apostolic age it produced many fold. Then imperial Rome attempted by fire, sword, and wild beast, to de- stroy every vestige of Christianity, but it flourished in the cat- acombs and mountain fastnesses. From the cliffs of the rocks it scattered its seed until it overran the empire. In the middle ages it was still fruitful, though the good seed often fell among thorns. The reformation in the sixteenth century greatly increased the harvest. The invention of printing and the dis- covery of America helped spread the truth. The Pilgrim fathers and their Puritan brethren, driven from their native land by persecution, brought this seed to the New World and planted it in New England. Its fruitage there was a free church and a free school. Intelligence and Christianity became the corner stones of New England society. So thoroughly were the people imbued with the spirit of God's word that neither the demoral-
10
ization incident to eight years of war, nor the introduction of French infidelity could destroy these foundations.
Since the colony that settled at Marietta was composed almost entirely of New England men, we should expect that institu- tions of learning and religion would be introduced at the be- ginning of the settlement, and facts do not disappoint this expectation. When the Pilgrim Fathers landed on Plymouth Rock their primary object was to establish a church in which they could worship God according to the dictates of their own consciences, but they did not neglect to lay the foundations of a civil government, which was free, because the logical sequence of a church without a bishop was a State without a king.
The influence of New England thought secured for the North- west Territory a charter of freedom in the Ordinance of 1787, under which the pioneers came to Ohio, primarily to better their fortunes and lay the foundations of a civil government, but these men did not neglect to lay broad and deep the foundations of the church and the school. Before the revolution the New England colonies had pushed their settlements westward until they had met the Dutch settlements on the Hudson, and when our independence had been acknowledged they looked farther toward the setting sun for more land to possess. The army officers and their associates, who formed the Ohio Company, were moved by patriotism, as well as by a desire to better their own fortunes. They knew that when they purchased the public lands with their certificates they would reduce the debt of the country for which they had periled their lives.
The Ohio Company, though a business corporation, had among its members several clergymen and others of decided Christian character. At a meeting of the Agents held at Rice Tavern in Providence, R. I., March 5, 1788, it was "Resolved, that a committee composed of Rev. Manasseh Cutler, General Varnum and Colonel May consider the expediency of employing some suitable person as a public teacher at the settlement now making by the Ohio Company."
This committee reported two days later "that the Directors be requested to pay as early attention as possible to the educa- tion of youth and the provision of public worship among the
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first settlers, and that for this important purpose they employ, if practicable, an instructor eminent for literary accomplish- ments and the virtue of his character, who shall also superin- tend the first scholastic institution and direct the manner of instruction, and to enable the Directors to carry into execution the intention expressed in these resolutions, the proprietors and others of benevolent and liberal minds are earnestly requested to contribute, by voluntary donations, to form a fund to be solely appropriated thereto." This resolution was confirmed by the Directors at a meeting held the same day, March 7. At the time this action was taken, the first company of pioneers were encamped on the banks of the Youghiogheny river, con- structing the Mayflower of the West, which was to bear them down the Ohio and land them one month later at the mouth of the Muskingum. During the same month a subscription paper was prepared and printed for circulation. This quoted the resolutions passed by the Agents and Directors and appealed to the "benevolent and liberal minded" to contribute for this worthy object.1
We have no means of ascertaining how extensively these pa- pers were circulated, or how much money was thus raised. About eight months later, under date of November 8th, 1788,
1 This paper was as follows: "Whereas, the agents of the Ohio Com- pany at their meeting in Providence, State of Rhode Island, upon the 7th day of March, instant, passed the following resolution: "That the Directors be requested to pay as early attention as possible to the edu- cation of youth and the promotion of public worship among the first settlers, and that for these important purposes they employ, if practica- ble, an instructor eminent for literary accomplishments and the virtue of his character, who shall also superintend the first scholastic institu- tion and direct the manner of instruction, and to enable the Directors to carry into execution the intention expressed in this resolution, the pro- prietors and others of liberal and benevolent minds are earnestly re- quested to contribute, by voluntary donations, to form a fund to be solely appropriated thereto. That the Agents will exert themselves in promoting subscriptions and paying the monies they may collect into the treasury, and the treasurer is to report to the Directors at or before the next meeting.' And whereas, the Directors of the said Company by their vote of the same day, have fully approved the resolution aforesaid, and add their solicitations to the request of the Agents. We, therefore, the subscribers, anxious to promote so laudable an undertaking, do, each one for himself, promise to pay to any one of the Agents of the Ohio Company the sums respectively annexed to our names. Dated March, 1788."
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Dr. Cutler wrote to General Putnam as follows: "I have re- quested Colonel Platt (treasurer) to forward a sum, raised for the support of preachers and schoolmasters, to the Directors at Marietta, of $200, which will enable you to pay preachers and schoolmasters for the present." It is certainly a fair inference from such language that this sum was raised by the circulation of these papers. We also have evidence that resources from this source soon failed, for a year and a half later, March 29, 1790, it was "Resolved, that it is the opinion of the Agents that the Ohio Company's funds are holden to the amount of the orders which have been protested, being drawn on the ministe- rial fund, and for the payment of all expenses of supporting preaching to this time." If the orders drawn on the ministerial fund had been protested, we conclude there was no money in that fund. At a subsequent meeting, the Directors were re- quested "to ascertain from General Putnam and Dr. Cutler the state of the fund for the support of a preacher and for schools, in order that the uncertainty we are in, in respect to this im- portant subject, may be removed." In April, 1791, the statement is made that the ministerial fund, so-called, has failed.1 We find in the records of the Company for nearly seven years that occasional appropriations were made for the support of preach- ing and to "pay the boarding" of the preacher. Thus a quarter of a century before the formation of the American Home Mis- sionary Society the Ohio Company aided in planting Christian institutions in the Ohio Valley.
From the first landing of the pioneers at Marietta, Sunday was observed as a day of rest. July 15, 1788, Rev. Daniel Breck, from Topsfield, Mass., a member of the Ohio Company, arrived at Marietta on a tour of observation, and on the follow- ing Sunday, July 20, he inaugurated public worship in the Northwest Territory. He preached in a "bower," on the banks of the Muskingum, which had been prepared for a Fourth of July banquet. This bower was probably very nearly in front of where the church stands. Colonel May, who was present on that interesting occasion, wrote in his journal as follows: "A
1 This may refer to the rents of ministerial lands not then productive, but probably to the fund above mentioned.
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large number of people were assembled, from the garrison, ["Fort Harmar,"] Virginia, and our own settlement, in all about 300, some women and children,1 which was a pleasing, though somewhat unusual, sight for us to see. Mr. Breck made out pretty well, the singing was excellent; we had Billings to perfection. Governor St. Clair was much pleased with the whole exercises."
At that time there was not a Protestant church for white peo- ple in the Northwest Territory, and not another clergyman there to preach the gospel in the English language. Now, in the five States carved from this territory, there are more than 22,000 Protestant churches, and more than 2,000,000 church members, and not far from 17,000 clergymen unfold the truths of God's word every Lord's day to their congregations. All this is the growth of a century. Mr. Breck remained at Marietta five weeks. I find evidence in contemporary journals that he preached four Sundays, and the fifth was probably not an ex- ception. He left for his home August 18, and the next day Rev. Manasseh Cutler, LL. D., arrived in company with several pioneer families. He preached in the Northwest block house at Campus Martius on the three succeeding Sundays. August 24 he preached a sermon, specially prepared for the occasion, from Malachi I, II: "For, from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same, my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering : for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts." In this sermon we find the following significant passage: "We, this day, literally see the fulfillment of the prophecy of our text, gradually advancing incense offered to the Most High God in this place, which was lately the dreary abode of savage barbarity. Here may the gospel be preached to the latest period of time; the arts and sciences be planted; the seeds of virtue, happiness and glory be firmly rooted and grow up to full maturity."
Thus for eight consecutive Sundays, the settlers were favored
1 The women and children were from the settlement in Virginia ; only one family had then arrived at Marietta.
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with preaching by these eminent divines. From that time stated services were conducted for several months by laymen. According to the testimony of A. T. Nye, Esq., these were under the general direction of General Benjamin Tupper. For a con- siderable portion of the time the services were conducted by Mr. Thomas Lord, who was a graduate of Yale College, and had studied theology with a view to entering the ministry.
On the annual Thanksgiving, December 18, 1788, General Samuel H. Parsons (the son of a clergyman) officiated, as we learn from the following letter, written to Dr. Cutler: "I beg you will come on as soon as possible. We want you. I am sure you will be welcome. I can preach no longer for you. On the public Thanksgiving I was obliged, for the first time, to preach, much against my will, from Psalm CIII, 2, and such a piece of work I believe you never heard. I am sure I never did. To confirm my wife in her faith I have sent it for her perusal." From this letter we learn that the settlers were so thoroughly imbued with the religious sentiments of New England that the governor issued his proclamation for a public thanksgiving after the ingathering of the first harvest, and, though far away in the wilderness, and without a regular minister, the people gathered in their accustomed place for a religious observance of the day. We may suppose that after the services they repaired to their log houses and feasted upon venison, bear meat, squirrel pie, wild turkey, fish and corn bread, with a dessert of pumpkin pie.
In the journal of one of the settlers, under date of November 23, 1788, we read : "Heard a sermon by Dr. Jones."] Whether this was an itinerating clergyman who was that day entertained in the colony, or a sermon from that divine was read by a lay- man, we cannot tell, but the statement is additional evidence that Sunday worship was regularly maintained after July 20, 1788. This should be remembered as one of our important dates. April 7 marks the landing of the pioneers. August 19 the arrival of the pioneer families. September 2 the opening of
1 In the history of Cincinnati I find mention of Rev. Dr. David Jones, of Pennsylvania, who was there for the purpose of securing land for himself and friends. He may also have visited Marietta.
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the first court. July 20 is a not less important date, for on that day the primitive forests echoed for the first time to the sound of public prayer, singing and preaching. We trust the voice of public worship on the Lord's day will not cease to be heard in every city and hamlet in all our domains until the angel, with one foot upon the land and one foot upon the sea, shall pro- claim that there shall be time no longer. August 25, occurred the first death in the settlement; this was a child, thirteen months old, named Nabby Cushing, who arrived with her par- ents a week previous. Two days later, August 27, the weeping parents laid the little body in the grave. The funeral services were conducted by Dr. Cutler. They buried the body in a coffin of cherry wood, which, at Dr. Cutler's suggestion, "was not col- ored, as an example for the future." We of the present genera- tion have departed somewhat from that primitive simplicity.
We have already mentioned the meeting of the Ohio Com- pany, held at Providence, R. I., in March, 1788. In addition to the resolution already quoted it was voted at that meeting to authorize Dr. Cutler to search out and employ some suitable person to fulfill the intentions of the company in regard to re- ligious instruction. Dr. Cutler expressed his interest in this matter in a letter to General Putnam, in which he said : "I can in truth declare I know of no subject which lies with so much weight on my mind as that your settlement may be furnished with a number of able and faithful ministers; convinced, as I am, that religious establishments and social worship are essen- tial in a civil view to the well-being of society, especially under free government. If no regard was had to the interests and concerns of a future world, you cannot be too solicitous to have them early established in your rising settlement." Acting un- der the instruction given him, Dr. Cutler secured the services . of Mr. Daniel Story, a native of Boston and a graduate of Dart- mouth College, an uncle to Joseph Story, the eminent jurist.
In the following letter to General Putnam we have a descrip- tion of the bargain made with Mr. Story: "The terms on which he goes into the country are that his board be given him; that he draw from the funds raised to support preaching, $4.00 in silver per week; that he be permitted to improve, if he pleases,
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a part of the land near the city granted for religious purposes ; that the people be requested to assist in clearing and cultivating it so far at least as shall render his pay equal to $5.00 per week ; and that he be allowed a reasonable compensation for his ex- penses in going into the country. These were the best terms on which he would consent to go. He could have his board and $5.00 per week here and constant employment. As he must lose several Sabbaths in going into the country, he conceived it reasonable that he should have a consideration for his expenses. There was no other person of respectable character whom I could employ on better terms."
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