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 11
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This building was used for worship by the congregation of the First Church from the time of its completion, and for this purpose several stationary seats or pews were made. The occu- pancy of six of these was sold to the highest bidder, July 29th, 1802, in sums ranging from $25 to $28, and the money was used to paint and repair the building.
We may understand how intimately religion and education were associated in the minds of the pioneers by the following vote, passed December 20th, 1802 :
"Whereas, All professing Christians consider it an essential branch of education to have their children, and those under their care, instructed in the principles of the Christian religion, and that the public catechising of children has always been con- sidered as a part of the duty incumbent on the minister or pas- tor of a religious society, therefore,
Resolved, That the minister or pastor of the First Religious Society of Marietta shall have liberty from time to time to in- struct the pupils of the several schools that may hereafter be kept in the Muskingum Academy, provided it is not more than half a day in any one month, and that he give at least three days' notice to the preceptor of the school of the time proposed for the exersise aforesaid."
At that time there was no other congregation in Marietta than that of the First Society. December, 1805, it was "resolved that the Second Religious Society have permission to occupy the Academy during the Sabbaths it shall not be occupied by the First Religious Society, and at other times not inconsistent with appropriations of the Academy heretofore named." The use of the building was also granted to the Methodists, and probably to others. The early teachers in the Academy as giv- en by A. T. Nye, Esq., were as follows: 1800-1, David Putnam, a graduate of Yale College, and Edwin Putnam; 1803, John Leavens; 1804, Benjamin F. Stone; 1807, David Gilman and A. K. Clough; 1808, M. B. Belknap and Timothy E. Danielson ; 1808, Caleb Emerson. About 1816 the house was repaired and
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changed in its interior arrangement. It was divided into two rooms to accommodate two schools. In 1815 a new association was formed called the Marietta School Association. This was a limited stock company with an authorized capital of $800. What was done with the capital does not appear in the records. It was composed in part of the proprietors of the Academy, and the occasion of its organization may have been to arouse new interest in the cause of education, and perhaps better to comply with an act respecting schools, passed by the legislature of Ohio, February 15th, 1815. This association established a school of a somewhat higher grade than had been previously held, and hired the Academy at an annual rental of sixty dol- lars, which was afterwards reduced to fifty dollars.
This school, according to the recent law, secured a certain amount of public money for each pupil. Its records do not ex- tend beyond 1816, but a foot note states that it subsequently purchased the Academy. There is an interval in the records of the Academy from 1815 to 1820, when they are resumed, and the division of shares seems to have been on the basis of the original Academy association. Probably the first teacher under the school association was Mr. Elisha Huntington, a graduate of Dartmouth College, afterwards for several years Mayor of Lowell, Massachusetts, and also Lieutenant Governor of Massa- chusetts. The school was subsequently taught by William A. Whittlesey, William Slocomb and J. K. Joline. The last regu- lar school held in the Academy, so far as we can ascertain, was opened by Mr. Levi Keyes, March 8th, 1827, and seems to have continued about one year. In 1827 the trustees were author- ized to negotiate with the bank of Marietta for the purchase of the Academy, and the land on which it stood. This sale was probably not effected, for in 1830 it was voted that the stock- holders will rent the Academy for $20 per year for five years for the use of a school with liberty to the occupant to make such alterations in the interior of the building as he may find neces- sary for the accommodation of the school, at his own expense. This would indicate that the building was out of repair, and the proprietors were unwilling to expend money upon it. It is probable that the trustees had in mind the possibility that Rev.
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L. G. Bingham, then about to open a school, would be induced to use this Academy for that purpose, but it seems to have been too much out of repair for his purpose, and was used by him only for a few weeks.
October 8th, 1832, the Academy and fixtures were sold at auc- tion for $479.02. The building was subsequently removed to Second street, between Scammel and Wooster, where it was used as a dwelling house until 1887, when it was demolished. Dr. S. P. Hildreth says: "This was doubtless the first structure of its kind in Ohio, it having been commenced two years after the close of the Indian War, when few improvements had been made in the cultivation of the soil, and the people were poor, but the wisdom and good sense of the descendants of the Puri- tans led them to see that instruction in religion and learning were really necessary for the welfare of society."
When Rev. L. G. Bingham became pastor of the church in 1826 he saw the need of better facilities for education. The present excellent system of public schools had not been inaug- urated and as just seen the work in Muskingum Academy was about at an end. Within a short time Mr. Bingham commenced to give instruction to private pupils. He soon learned from an English teacher, by the name of Bacon, of a new system of primary instruction founded upon the Pestalozzi plan. He decided to introduce this system in Marietta. In 1827 or 1828 he commenced an infant school under the instruction of Miss Phebe Battelle. This school was held in a small building on Front street, which had been the law office of Governor R. J. Meigs. This school proved prosperous and it was decided to enlarge the work. In the Marietta Friend and Gazette of Sep- tember 11th, 1830, was an advertisement of "The Marietta Institute for Education," which was to open September 23rd, instant, and continue eleven weeks, under six teachers and con- sisting of four departments, first an infant school, second a primary school, third a high school, fourth a young ladies' seminary. Tuition in the first was to be $2.50 per quarter, in the second $3.00, in the third and fourth from $4.00 to $5.00. Infant scholars were taken from two years old and upwards; in the primary school were those sufficiently advanced to use books.
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Mr. Bingham urged attendance, and to the possible objec- tion that the tuition was high he answered that the infant school had already expended one hundred dollars more than the receipts. The Ladies' Seminary was opened in a building on Putnam street between Front and Second, the High School in the old Muskingum Academy, but on the com- pletion of Library Hall, on Front street, a few weeks later it was removed there, where it was held during the remainder of that year. The next term Mr. Nelson Brown, a graduate of Williams College, became instructor. In April, 1831, Mr. Mansfield French, a successful teacher from Vermont, became an associate proprietor in this school and he and Mr. Brown gave instruction. During the summer of 1831 Mr. Henry Adams, from Amherst College, was teacher in place of Mr. Brown. In 1832, Messrs. Henry Smith and D. H. Allen, from Andover Seminary, were teachers in the High School, with Miss Spaulding and Miss Deborah Wells, (afterwards Mrs. D. P. Bosworth), in the Ladies' Seminary. In 1831 both these schools had been removed to a building purchased for the purpose, on the corner of Second and Putnam streets. In the spring of 1832, at the request of Messrs. Bingham and French, an advisory board of trust was appointed, consisting of Caleb Emerson, James Whitney, Dr. S. P. Hildreth, Dr. John Cotton, Arius Nye, Weston Thomas and Douglas Putnam. In September, 1832, we find the following in the Friend:
"It will be seen by an examination of the catalogue of the Marietta Institute for Education just published that the num- ber of pupils for the past year was two hundred and thirty; of this number one hundred and seventeen were inserted as from abroad. Eight states were represented, Massachusetts, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Ohio and Ken- tucky. In the High School thirty-three have been in the lan- guages."
During the year 1832 the school continued to prosper, and December, 1832, the institution was chartered by the State as the "Marietta Collegiate Institute and Western Teachers' Semi- nary." The Board of Trustees consisted of Dr. John Cotton, Douglas Putnam, John Mills, L. G. Bingham, Caleb Emerson, Arius Nye, Dr. Jonas Moore, A. T. Nye and John Crawford. In
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January, 1833, the property was transferred to these trustees but the former proprietors were requested to continue in charge during the school year. A meeting of citizens was held Feb- ruary 9th, 1833, which was addressed by Rev. John Spaulding, James McAboy, Henry Smith, and Mr. L. Vail, from Lane Sem- inary, and it was resolved to make an effort to raise twenty thousand dollars within twelve months and also to raise eight or ten thousand dollars of this sum in Marietta and vicinity within three months. Between six and seven thousand dollars were pledged by persons present. It was proposed that the In- stitute should consist of, first, an English Department; second, a Classical or Collegiate Department; third, an Academic De- partment. The female department was continued in the build- ing on the corner of Second and Putnam streets, but in the autumn of 1833 the other departments were removed to a build- ing which had been erected on the present College Campus, now known as the dormitory. The ladies' school was continued under the same board of trustees as the College until 1843, when the building was purchased by Rev. Lionel Tenney, who continued the school as a private institution until 1864. The charter obtained in 1832 was defective in some important par- ticulars and in February, 1835, a new charter was obtained and the name changed to Marietta College. Rev. Joel H. Linsley, D. D., pastor of Park Street Church, Boston, was elected Presi- dent, and with him were associated Professors Henry Smith, D. H. Allen, Milo P. Jewett and Samuel Maxwell. From that time to the present the College has been under an able corps of instructors and has always been a power in the cause of Christ- ian education.
As is stated in the chapter on the pastorate of Rev. L. G. Bingham, that gentleman was the founder of Marietta College. It was the power of his personal influence which prevailed upon the first trustees to undertake the work. His object, as of the early friends of the College, was to educate young men for the Christian ministry. In this respect it had been from the first a college of the New England type. Previous to this time the pastor of the First Church of Marietta had usually been a trustee of the University at Athens and several young men from
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Marietta had been educated there. This was a State institution and about that time political changes in the State government caused corresponding changes in the trustees and faculty of the University. These and the liability of similar changes in the future caused Mr. Bingham and his associates to feel that such an institution could not be depended on to educate young men for the ministry, and they determined to establish a college which should be distinctively Christian. Neither Muskingum Academy nor Marietta College were intended to be denomina- tional schools. They were both founded on the broad catholic principles which have characterized the educational institutions of New England. While this was true, both of these schools were founded principally by members of the First Church and received a large share of their moral and financial support from the two Congregational churches of Marietta, which were one until after the founding of Marietta College. The members of these congregations have contributed to the funds of the College more than $200,000. This does not include a multitude of smaller gifts and almost constant aid to individual students. The use of the house of worship of the First Church has been freely granted from the first for the public exercises of the Col- lege. There has never been any organic connection between the two.
The moral and pecuniary connection of the church with the College has been so intimate that we need no apology for insert- ing this brief account in the history of the church. A large number of the sons and daughters of the members of this church have received a liberal education either in Marietta or elsewhere. The church has sent out an unusually large number of devoted ministers and ministers' wives, besides many edu- cated men and women in other departments of life. During the century of its history the church, true to the spirit of the founders of New England and the framers of the Ordinance of 1787, has not only encouraged but promoted "Religion, Morality and Knowledge."
CHAPTER XI.
CONFESSION OF FAITH.
The original Confession of Faith and Covenant were as follows :
"We whose names are underwritten, having our residence by the Providence of God in the County of Washington, Territory of the United States Northwest of the Ohio river, and in the County of Harrison, State of Virginia, where by reason of dis- tance, we cannot enjoy stated communion with the churches of which we are members, nor with any other, deeply sensible of the high importance of such communion, and desirous of being qualified for it by being incorporated and organized as a particular distinct church of Christ, do therefore severally and cordially embrace the subsequent Confession of Faith and Covenant :
I. We believe in the existence of the one only living and true God, a Spirit, self-existent, infinite, eternal, immutable and incomprehensible, in his being and divine perfections; that he made, preserves and governs the world and all things in it, that all religious worship is his due and his only.
II. We believe that this Being exists in three persons, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, that they are one in essence, equal in power and glory.
III. We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and our only Saviour.
IV. We believe that the Sacred Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the word of God, and contain perfect and infallible rules of faith and practice, and we hereby profess our belief in the several doctrines therein contained, and our full determination by the grace of God to practice every duty there- in enjoined.
This being our sincere profession we severally and jointly in the presence of the Omniscient God, enter into solemn covenant with him and each other as follows :
We avouch the Lord Jehovah, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, to be our God and portion. And we dedicate ourselves, and all that he has graciously given us, unreservedly to him to be im- proved in his service. We sincerely engage to renounce and
CHAPEL.
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avoid whatever we know to be displeasing to him, and to walk by the aid of divine grace in all the commands and ordinances of the Lord, blameless as becometh the gospel.
We engage and promise to bring up the children which have been, or may be graciously given us, with all those who may be under our care, in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, maintaining family, as well as secret and public worship, so far as is in our power. We submit ourselves to the government of Christ in his church, and to the regular administration of it in this branch of the Christian Church, so long as God in his providence shall continue us members of it, engaging to exer- cise a Christian care and watch over each other in love agreea- bly to the rules of the gospel.
Marietta, December 6th, 1796.
The following is the Confession of Faith adopted by the church on the day of the ordination of Rev. S. P. Robbins, January 8th, 1806 :
I. We believe that there is only one living and true God, who exists of himself, without begining or end, who is the Creator, Preserver and Sovereign Disposer of all things; and who is infinite and infinitely glorious in every natural and moral perfection.
II. That this one God subsists in a mysterious and incom- prehensible manner in three persons, distinguished in the Holy Scriptures by Father, Son and Holy Ghost, which three are equal in all divine perfections and glories.
III. That the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are a particular revelation from God to man, given by inspiration of the Holy Ghost and as such are the only rule of faith and practice.
IV. That God, as a wise being, has a plan respecting every- thing that exists or takes place, which plan is unalterable and eternal, and will issue in the most general and highest possible good of his holy kingdom, when he himself shall be all and in all.
V. That he exercises a moral government over all rational beings in giving them laws, and in finally judging, rewarding and punishing them according to those laws.
VI. That the law of God is an eternal, perfect and unaltera- ble rule of righteousness, requiring perfect obedience in pain of eternal damnation.
VII. That God at first created man in a state of moral recti- tude and holiness.
VIII. That man fell from this estate by sin, and that being the representative of human nature at large, his posterity, ac- cording to a holy and wise constitution of God, came into the
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world sinners and are sunk into a state of total moral corrup- tion, the seat of which is the heart.
IX. That while in this state of total moral depravity, no obedience can be performed by them that is acceptable to God, and that of course they cannot by anything that they can do while in this situation, bring God under any promissory obliga- tion to grant them regenerating grace.
X. That God, foreseeing that this would be their situation, and that they would, notwithstanding any means which might be used to reclaim them, certainly perish in it if left to them- selves, did, of his mere good will and pleasure, and before the foundation of the world, elect in Christ those to salvation and those only, who are finally made the happy subjects of it, thus having mercy on whom he will have mercy, and leaving whom he will to blindness and hardness.
XI. That in pursuance of this his gracious design to such he found out and has entered upon a method to save them so as at the same time to maintain the honor of his law and government by a Mediator.
XII. That this Mediator, who is the eternal Son of God, in order to fulfill or execute this method of grace and salvation, did become truly man by taking the human nature into a per- sonal union with his own, and has in our nature and stead, suf- fered the curse of the law and yielded perfect obedience to it.
XIII. That having thus made atonement for sin and brought in everlasting righteousness, he arose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God, to reign as king of heaven and earth till all things shall be put under his feet, and is able to save all that come to God by him.
XIV. That every one who repents and believes, or truly trusts in him, and accepts of him as he is offered in the gospel, shall be pardoned and received to favor, however guilty and un- worthy in himself, purely and only on account of his merit and worthiness being imputed to them who are thus united to him by a living faith.
XV. That regeneration, or a holy change or renewal of heart, is solely and instantaneously produced by the special agency or influence of the Divine Spirit, is absolutely necessary for salva- tion, and lays a foundation for the aforementioned exercise of faith and repentance, as well as for all other Christian graces.
XVI. That all those who have been once renewed, are through grace entitled to everlasting life, and shall assuredly persevere in faith and holiness unto the end; this being promised in the covenant of grace to all who lay hold of it.
XVII. That though believers are justified by faith alone, yet the moral law binds or obligates them (as well as others) to the
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perfect obedience of it though they be not under it as a covenant of works but under grace.
XVIII. That none attain to a perfect conformity to the law of God in this life, but are sinfully defective in all exercises and actions.
XIX. That as all the promises of the gospel are made to truly holy or gracious persons, and to none but such, none can have any evidence of their interest in Christ, but by a conscious- ness of their own holy exercises, and by coming to a certain knowl- edge of this, as they may, they can obtain an assurance of their own salvation.
XX. That at the last day Christ shall raise the dead, judge the world, and doom the wicked to endless destruction, and re- ceive the redeemed to the happiness and glory of his eternal kingdom.
XXI. That Christ has a true church in the world, which he will maintain and build up, till it shall be brought to its per- fect and most glorious state; and as none ought to profess to be friendly to him who are not really so, therefore,
XXII. That the qualification requisite for any one to become members of His visible church or kingdom in this world, is ho- liness or grace in the heart.
XXIII. That Christ, who is head over all things to the church, has instituted for its benefit two kinds of officers, viz .: That of bishop or pastor and that of deacon. Also two sacraments as seals of the covenant, baptism and the Lord's supper, that the former is to be administered to believers and their children, and the latter only to those who can by faith discern the Lord's body.
XXIV. That for the purity of His church and for the preven- tion of any scandal being brought upon religion through the misconduct of any of its professors, Christ has given a system of discipline, the steps of which (as recorded more particularly in the 18th of Matthew) ought to be taken with an offending brother by any member who is knowing to his faults, and who can prove that of which he accuses him, all which is to be done from a spirit of Christian meekness, and from a tender concern for the honor of Christ and his cause.
XXV. That the Christian Sabbath is of divine institution, and as such ought to be duly observed agreeable to the manner in which God in his word requires us to attend to it.
THE COVENANT.
You (and each of you, ) looking upon yourself (yourselves) under obligation to confess Christ before men, and to unite with his visible church on earth, do now in the presence of the Dread
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Majesty of heaven and earth, the holy angels and this assembly, seriously and solemnly choose and avouch the Lord Jehovah to be your God, and acknowledging your obligations to be his for- ever, do, so far as you know your own heart, cheerfully devote yourself (yourselves) to him, through Christ Jesus his Son. You renounce all the ways of sin, and give yourself (yourselves) up to God, choosing him to be your Law-giver and portion ; and sensible of your blindness, guilt, unworthiness, and utter insuf- ficiency to keep covenant with God, you choose Christ for your teacher, rely on his merit and worthiness alone for pardon and acceptance with God, and receive the Holy Spirit as your sancti- fier and comforter, heartily embracing the way of salvation as revealed in the gospel.
You take God's holy word to be your only rule of faith and practice, and solemnly engage by the help of his grace, sincere- ly to conform to it in all the ways of holy living; and you prom- ise and engage to maintain and continually to attend upon all the institutions, and ordinances of the gospel-baptism and the Lord's supper, public worship, and the strict observance of God's holy Sabbath. You promise to maintain secret and family re- ligion, and faithfully to instruct, educate and govern your chil- dren and all that shall be under your care.
You also covenant to walk with this church, and faithfully and impartially to exercise the instituted discipline of Christ's house according to the rules of his holy word, and to meekly submit to the same, taking constant care to walk orderly in all things, so as to give offense to none. And you do now publicly espouse the cause of Christ, promising to be faithful in the same, and to endeavor to promote it in all proper ways; espec- ially seeking to recommend your holy religion to all, by your strict and constant practice of justice, goodness, temperance, sobriety and godliness.
All this you do in humble dependence on the Lord Jesus Christ, praying that he would enable you to be faithful in his covenant, strengthening you unto every good work to do his will, and working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, to whom be glory forever and ever.
The Confession of Faith as abridged by Mr. Robbins in 1814 and printed in the Manuals of 1821 and 1834 was as follows :
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