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 3
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In reply to the letter just mentioned, Pres. Dwight wrote recommending a young man to the church. A few weeks later he wrote again, saying that this young man was not able to go and he knew of no other suitable man whom he could recom- mend. In the autumn of the same year (1804) Mr. Samuel Prince Robbins, a missionary of the Connecticut Home Mis- sionary Society in Western New York, made a visit to a sister in Marietta, Mrs. Hannah Gilman, and while here preached with so much acceptance that he was employed to supply the pulpit until April, 1805, at $8.00 per week.
Mr. Robbins was the son of Rev. Chandler and Jane ( Prince)
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Robbins. He was born in Plymouth, Mass., where his father was pastor, April 20th, 1777. He graduated at Harvard Col- lege in 1798; he taught school and studied theology for three years and was licensed to preach in 1801. In 1803 he was sent as a missionary to the scattered settlements in Steuben, Oneida and Broome counties, N. Y.
At a church meeting held March 27th, 1805, it was voted unanimously "that Mr. Samuel P. Robbins be and he is hereby elected to the office of pastor and teacher in and over this church." The First Religious Society concurred in this call and fixed the salary at $500.00, which was a good salary for that time. Mr. Robbins was not able to decide so important a question at once and returned to New England. His letter of acceptance was dated Norfolk, Conn., September 21st, 1805. The letter was as follows :
To the Ministerial Committee of the Congregational Church and Society in Marietta:
GENTLEMEN : Having taken into consideration the call of the church and society in Marietta to settle with them in the gospel ministry, and after having taken the advice of my friends and brethren in the ministry, and especially supplicated the throne of divine grace for that wisdom which is profitable to direct in such important decisions as that which I have now made, and taking into consideration, too, the destitute situation of the settlements around you, which was one of the most pow- erful inducements to a compliance with your call, I hereby manifest to you my acceptance of the call to be your Pastor; praying that I might be made an instrument of great good among you, and begging an interest in your prayers for the same.
With great respect and esteem, I am, gentlemen,
Your obedient servant,
SAMUEL P. ROBBINS.
The church, true to its Congregational principles, desired that Mr. Robbins should be ordained by a council, and supposed that it might be necessary, as in the case of Rev. Daniel Story, to have the council held in New England. Both the church and Society voted that in case it was necessary to hold the ordaining council in New England, Rev. Ammi R. Robbins, of Norfolk, Conn., an uncle of Rev. S. P. Robbins, should be au-
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thorized to represent the church in calling the council, as Dr. Cutler had done in the council which ordained Rev. Daniel Story in 1798. In the letter which communicated this action to Rev. A. R. Robbins, it was stated that it was the wish of the church to have the council here, if possible, and if a sufficient number of gentlemen could be found willing to come from New England to constitute a council, the Society would pay their travelling expenses. Mr. Robbins, under date of October 9th, 1805, wrote in reply that "the distance and the advanced state of the year render it very difficult for any of us in the ministry here to attend the ordination, although your offer to be at the expense is indeed noble and generous, but we think it might be performed by those that are nearer and who may be probably able to attend. Mr. Badger (Rev. Joseph) and my son (Rev. Thomas Robbins), both ordained ministers, now in Trumbull county, I think may be obtained. I have conversed with Dr. Strong, one of the Missionary Trustees (Connecticut Domestic Missionary Society), who fully accords in the proposal that they attend the ordination, and if need be Mr. Bacon, also, who is likewise there and is ordained. The above gentlemen, or any two of them, with Mr. Potter (Rev. Lyman, of Steubenville), on the Ohio, with one or two Presbyterian ministers you can invite to assist, will make a respectable council and doubtless give general satisfaction."
Mr. Robbins returned to Marietta in December, 1805, and acting upon the advice given in the above letter, the church proceeded at once to call an ordaining council. The letter missive addressed to one of the ministers was as follows :
The Church of Christ in Marietta to the Rev. Joseph Badger, of Richfield, in the County of Trumbull, sendeth greeting:
MARIETTA, Dec. 9th, 1805.
REV. AND BELOVED SIR: It has pleased God in his merciful and holy providence to unite the Congregational Church and Society in this place in calling Mr. Samuel Prince Robbins to be their pastor, and he having signified his acceptance of their invitation, these are to request the favor of your assistance in his proposed ordination, appointed to be performed on Wednes- day, the first day of January next.
The council are respectfully requested to convene in the town
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of Marietta on Tuesday, the day preceding, at eleven of the clock a. m.
Wishing that Grace, Mercy and Peace may be multiplied to all the churches of our Lord, we remain,
Yours in the faith and fellowship of the gospel,
RUFUS PUTNAM, ICHABOD NYE, Committee of the Society. I. SNELL, RUFUS PUTNAM, JUDSON GUITTEAU, Committee of the Church. ABNER LORD,
Owing to the lateness of the season and the condition of the roads, the brethren were not all able to reach Marietta by the time specified.
The council convened January 6th, 1806, and was organized with Rev. Joseph Badger, of Austinburg,1 as Moderator and Rev. Stephen Lindley, of Marietta, as Scribe. The candidate was then examined at length and the examination voted satisfac- tory. The council then adjourned until January 8th. January 7th was observed as a day of fasting and prayer. The Academy, where services were usually held, was not large enough to hold the congregation on this interesting occasion and the ordination services were held in the unfinished house of Gov. R. J. Meigs, Jr., the house now occupied by Judge M. D. Follett. Before the ordination proper the pastor was received as a member of the church in the true congregational way and the church adopted a confession of faith and covenant prepared by the pastor-elect. The services of ordination were as follows: Introductory prayer by Rev. Jacob Lindley, of Waterford; sermon by Rev. Thomas Robbins, a cousin of the pastor-elect, from Matt. XXIV, 14; opening prayer by Rev. Lyman Potter, of Steubenville; the charge by Rev. Joseph Badger, of Austinburg; the right hand of fellowship by Rev. Stephen Lindley, of Marietta, and the concluding prayer by Rev. Joseph Badger. Rev. Thomas Rob- bins says in his journal that he commenced this sermon Jan- . uary 6th and completed it at 3 a. m. on the morning of January 8th. The sermon was printed. The same journal records that
1 Although the letter missive was directed to Richfield, Mr. Badger lived at Austinburg.
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the house was open and that the people suffered from the cold during the services. When Mr. Robbins entered upon his work he found his own church well united and much attached to him, but sectarianism had already commenced to divide the com- munity. We have already mentioned the fact that Rev. Stephen Lindley had established Presbyterian preaching in 1803. A Methodist preacher, Rev. Jacob Young, was here in 1804 and organized a small class. Rev. Peter Cartwright was here in 1806 and organized a class, of which he speaks as fol- lows: "We raised a little class and had a name among the living," which seems to indicate that the class organized two years before had not been continued. About the time Mr. Robbins was ordained, one Abel M. Sargeant, who had been a Free Will Baptist preacher, appeared at Marietta as the apostle of a new sect called the "Halcyon Church." He claimed that he was inspired and that he had a commission from heaven to preach the new doctrine. He held that "baptism was regener- ation and that a man, by living in strict conformity to the gos- pel, without sin, might become so holy as to work miracles, heal the sick and live without eating."
He had preachers among both sexes and the sect made some progress among a certain class of people. Rev. Peter Cart- wright in his autobiography speaks of an encounter with Sar- geant, and Rev. Thomas Robbins speaks of him as a "sectarian imposter, artful and devoid of seriousness. I think he means to hold his system conformable to circumstances." Dr. Hil- dreth says, "Rev. S. P. Robbins took but little notice of Sar- geant or his tenets, though challenged to a public discussion by their leader, knowing that so unscriptural and absurd a doctrine must soon come to an end." A year or two later one of the sect living a few miles above Marietta and a son of one of their leading female preachers put his belief to a test. He lived nine days without eating and then died. His friends said he would rise the third day, but their prophesy failed and they were compelled to bury the decaying body. This sect lived but a few years.
Mr. Robbins entered upon his work in the spirit of the New England pastors of that period. He regularly visited the public
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schools and gave religious instruction, devoting the month of August to that subject, and preached an annual sermon to the parents to enforce its importance. He introduced meetings for conference and prayer; also gatherings for the young, at which scripture questions were introduced and answered at the next meeting. He was conscientiously regular and faithful in visi- tation among the people of his charge. He was careful to sus- tain all the Christian institutions of New England. In 1807 this church voted to observe annually a day of fasting and prayer in the spring and of thanksgiving in the autumn. He preached at Belpre one-fourth of the time and administered the sacrament to that church once a year. He also preached in Adams township and other neighborhoods. Dr. Hildreth de- scribes him as untiring in his devotion to the good of others and says that at the time of his visit to Belpre he frequently proceeded thirty or forty miles up the Hocking river and preached to the people in the scattered settlements. At other times he crossed the Ohio and preached to the settlers at the mouth of the Little Kanawha and at Vienna, Va. In addition to such labors as these he made frequent missionary tours into the neighboring counties.
The following letter will help us understand Mr. Robbins' spirit and devotion to his work :
MARIETTA, Jan. 8th, 1807.
SIR: It being customary among missionaries (as well as required by the Societies from which they are sent), at the ex- piration of a Mission, to render an account or narrative of their labors, and having itinerated myself some part of the past year in the character of a missionary, agreeably to your directions, I have thought it my duty to send you a statement of the ser- vices I have been enabled to perform.
Seventy out of one hundred and eighty-four sermons during the past year I have preached in different new settlements, ex- clusive of Belpre, at which place I have delivered thirty-eight.
As to the state of religion in general in these settlements, ap- pearances are more promising than they have formerly been. A few instances of serious inquiry have been witnessed, two or three hopefully brought to the Redeemer's kingdom, and a growing attention to the things of religion has and does evi- dently appear.
Let the friends of Zion not forget to offer up frequent, fervent
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and united supplications for the success of the preached word. Yours very respectfully,
SAMUEL P. ROBBINS. To Gen. Putnam.
The Second War with England broke out in 1812, and since the region around Lake Erie and the Niagara river was an im- portant theatre of operations, the people of Ohio were specially interested in the progress of events. In August, 1812, the President appointed a day of public fasting and prayer, at which time Mr. Robbins preached from Psalms L, 15, "And call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee and thou shalt glorify me." September 8th, 1814, a State fast was proclaimed, at which time he preached from Jer. II, 19, "Thine own wicked- ness shall correct thee and thy backslidings shall reprove thee ; know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God of Hosts."
April 13th, 1815, was observed as a day of thanksgiving for peace, at which time he preached from Psalms CXLVII, 14, "He maketh peace in thy borders, and fillest thee with the finest of the wheat."
In the autumn of 1812, Rev. Samuel J. Mills made a visit to Marietta in the interest of the American Bible Society. Mr. Robbins and the members of this church were greatly interested in this work, and October 22nd, 1812, the Washington County Bible Society was organized with Gen. Rufus Putnam as Presi- dent.
In November of 1813, Mr. Robbins, in company with Rev. Lyman Potter, of Steubenville, made an extensive tour of three weeks in the interest of the Bible Society. They visited Athens, Ross, Pickaway, Fairfield and Muskingum counties, and col- lected about two hundred dollars. At Chillicothe they preached to about two thousand British soldiers taken prisoners at Lake Erie, and distributed Bibles among them. In 1814, a Moral Society was organized at Marietta, of which Mr. Robbins was the first President and he took great interest in promoting the cause of good morals. January 1st, 1817, a meeting was held to consider the expediency of entering upon Sunday School
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work in Marietta. It is an interesting fact that this Home Missionary movement grew out of the interest awakened by the Missionary concert. (For a history of this movement see chap- ter on Sunday Schools).
From the beginning of his ministry Mr. Robbins was intensely interested in the conversion of souls, and additions were made to the church from time to time, but no season of general revival was 'enjoyed by the church for a number of years. January 1st, 1818, the year following the organization of Sunday Schools, the church voted to hold a weekly meeting to pray for a revival of God's work. The last day of the same year was observed as a day of fasting and prayer for the same object. There seems to have been an increasing spiritual activ- ity, during the year 1819, and the Sunday School was pushed with vigor, especially the committing of Scripture passages. The sequel shows that God honored his Word as it was "hid in the hearts" of the people.
Mr. Robbins continued his faithful efforts and in June, 1820, he wrote in the Book of Church Records, "God, of his infinite mercy, is evidently visiting his people with the gracious influ- ences of his Holy Spirit; several have obtained a hope that they have passed from death into life, and others are under serious and solemn impressions; indeed, such an attention and so prevalent was never before witnessed among us, praised be God." The work was quiet but quite general and continued for several months.
June 28th was observed as a day of fasting and prayer for a continuation of the work. August 6th, thirty-four united with the church. January 4th, 1821, we find the following, which reveals the spirit that a watchful and anxious pastor had im- pressed upon the church. "This church agreed to observe a concert of private prayer and to meet together in spirit (though absent from each other in person) at the throne of grace at the same time once in each week for at least a quarter of an hour, to pray for the outpouring of the Spirit, the portion of time to be so devoted to commence at eight o'clock each Saturday evening." The extra work of this revival was mostly performed by the pastor, though he received some aid from other minis-
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ters. A Baptist minister, Rev. James McAboy, is mentioned as helpful. In the midst of labors abundant, Mr. Robbins wrote to his friend, Rev. Timothy Harris, of Granville, Ohio, asking him to come to his assistance. The answer of that good man gives us an insight into the privations in the house of a pioneer minister. Under date of July 7th, 1820, Mr. Harris wrote : "Yes, my brother, there is a willing mind; my soul at times is surely with you, though my poor body is here; but my way is hedged up. My greatest hindrances are first, the want of money even to get to your house. The little I told you of I have been under the necessity of laying out for my family. And second, the want of a coat. My best garment of this kind is more than three years old and so much giving way that I really think I need a better one. I see no way of getting another one unless I run in debt, and I am quite unwilling to do that, I conclude, for good reasons." This church has enjoyed many seasons of refreshing since 1820, but none more important in results than this first revival.
Another important branch of work during the pastorate of Mr. Robbins was that of church building. After the erection of the Muskingum Academy in 1798 it was used as a place of worship for about ten years, but it soon became evident that the community needed more ample accommodations. About 1804, the Ohio Legislature passed an act authorizing persons, if they so desired, to use their dividends from the ministerial land rents for a period of seven years for the purpose of church building. April 5th, 1805, the religious meeting-house society was organized "for the important and laudable purpose of erect- ing a meeting-house in the town of Marietta to be consecrated and devoted to the public worship of Almighty God." All thediv- idends from the ministeral lands to which members were entitled were "solemnly and irrevocably transferred to that purpose for seven years." There is nothing in the name or constitution of this society which indicates its sectarian character, but from the names of the men composing it and other circumstances in its history we infer that it was intended to build a house for the use of the Presbyterian society already mentioned, under the pastoral care of Rev. Stephen Lindley. This society continued
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for several years and commenced the erection of a house of worship on Third street, between Greene and the Ohio river. This building was not completed and finally passed into other hands. It has since been used for manufacturing purposes. What remains of the structure was last occupied as a planing mill. Soon after his settlement, Mr. Robbins planned a meet- ing-house after the style prevalent in New England at that day, with two tiers of windows and galleries on three sides. This building was commenced in 1807, and though incomplete, was occupied for worship in 1808. It was completed and dedicated to the worship of God, May 28th, 1809.
The matter of church fellowship received practical attention at an early day. In the council which ordained Pastor Robbins, clergymen were called together from Steubenville, 100 miles up the Ohio river, and from Austinburg, in the northeast portion of the State, and in December, 1808, Mr. Robbins took part in the ordination of Rev. Timothy Harris, at Granville, Ohio.
In 1807, a church was organized at Putnam, now a part of Zanesville. This was considered a branch of the Marietta church and Mr. Robbins occasionally preached there. This church was absorbed by the Presbyterian church of Zanesville two years later. February 15th, 1809, the Muskingum Associa- tion was organized at Putnam (or Springfield as it was called at first, on account of a beautiful spring). This organization was composed of representatives of the churches of Marietta, Waterford, Granville, Clinton and Springfield. A constitution was adopted and an organization effected, with Rev. S. P. Rob- bins Moderator and Rev. Timothy Harris Scribe. The next meeting was appointed to be held at Marietta on the second Tuesday of November, the same year. Beyond this we have been able to learn nothing of the Association, except that a meeting, probably of this organization, was held at Marietta, October 20th, 1812, at which there were present the Rev. Messrs. Robbins, Potter and Harris; also Rev. Mr. Schermerhorn and Rev. Samuel J. Mills, who represented the American Bible Society.
Mr. Robbins was present at the second meeting of the Lan- caster Presbytery, held at Lancaster, Ohio, August 30th, 1809,
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and acted with them as a corresponding member, and Rev. Timothy Harris, of Granville, was present at a meeting held in December of the same year. Both these brethren were fre- quently present at the meetings of Presbytery, and May 30th, 1816, they became members of Presbytery, according to the Plan of Union, bringing letters from the "Muskingum Associa- tion." It is probable that this was the dissolution of that Association. From 1816 Mr. Robbins usually attended the meetings of Presbytery and the church was annually reported. At a meeting of Presbytery held at Lancaster, April 5th, 1820, Mr. Robbins was directed to supply Gallipolis the first Sunday in August, which duty he performed. In 1821, Athens Presby- tery was created and Marietta fell within its bounds. This may not have been very acceptable to the Marietta church, for we find in the records that in 1823 "the question was raised whether it be the duty of this church to send a delegate to the Pres- bytery in this vicinity (denominated the Athens Presbytery ) at their stated meetings or sessions, and decided in the negative."
We can find no evidence that the church was represented in the Lancaster Presbytery except by its pastor. Though the church was always catholic in its spirit, the leading members retained their preference for New England methods in church organization.
While this church was friendly to her Presbyterian neighbors and contributed freely for mission work among them, it re- tained its distinctive character. The history of the confession of faith and covenant during this period presents some interest- ing features. The confession adopted at the organization of the church was brief and comprehensive. But that was a period in which the church supposed they were set for the defense of all points of orthodoxy, and how could these be defended unless they were embraced in the confession of faith? So the creeds of that time were long and specific.
At the ordination of Mr. Robbins in 1806, the church adopted a creed, already mentioned, containing twenty-five articles.
In 1814, the creed was somewhat abridged by the pastor, and it was voted that the abridgement be read in public at the admis- sion of members, but the original confession was still to be con- sidered the particular confession of the church.
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In December, 1820, a committee of two was appointed to act in connection with the pastor to revise and superintend the printing of the confession of faith and covenant. Though somewhat abridged from that of 1806, this confession was still specific and full, embracing seventeen articles. This remained the creed of the church for more than forty years. An edition of the Manual was printed in 1823 and another in 1834. These give the same confession of faith with copious Scripture refer- ence. (For copies of these several creeds see Chapter X). Mr. Robbins was a faithful organizer and a good pastor. He de- voted his life to the spiritual uplifting of the community. He developed the working force of the church and also the benevo- lences. During his pastorate several of our leading benevolent societies were organized and this church, under the lead of Pas- tor Robbins, was ready to help forward every good work. It is probable that the church commenced to contribute to the American Board soon after that Board was organized. We find that in 1819, H. Hudson, Esq., contributed $5.00 to the school at Cornwall, Ct., and the monthly concert collection amounted to $25.00, making a total of $30.00. The total contribution for 1820 was $93.59; for 1821, $168.37; for 1822, $149.23. Each of these two last included a special donation of $100.00. For 1823 the amount was $89.52.
Mr. Robbins is described as about medium height, but of a slender and delicate frame; complexion and hair dark, with black eyes; features well formed, with a mild expression and a cast of sadness. To be faithful in his chosen work was the one thing which absorbed his attention. He gave little time to out- side affairs. The community was usually very healthy, but in 1807 there was a prevailing epidemic, at which time Mr. Rob- bins was untiring in his labors, until he was stricken down by disease and was unable to work for four weeks. The years 1822 and 1823 have since been known in Marietta as the time of great sickness. During these years many of the valued mem- bers of the church passed to their reward.
Pastor Robbins faithfully devoted his time to the sick and dying until he himself was stricken down, and after a season of great suffering he triumphantly passed to his reward on Sep-
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