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 4
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tember 2nd, 1823, in the 47th year of his age. That was a time of great trial to the church and community. August 25th, oc- curred the death of Mrs. Patience Guitteau, and August 31st, her husband, Mr. Judson Guitteau, followed her. These were both pillars in the church. September 2nd following, occurred the death of Pastor Robbins, and September 5th, that of Deacon Jabez True.
Though he was cut down in the midst of his usefulness, Pastor Robbins did a great work for the church. The pastorate of Mr. Story was a period of laying foundations. That of Mr. Robbins was a time of organization and development. The church felt the power of the pastor's earnestness and devotion and it as- sumed a character which it has since maintained. During his pastorate of a little less than eighteen years he prepared 942 sermons, nearly all of which were written. Many of his ser- mons were doctrinal. His manner of delivery is described as .earnest and the tones of his voice were rich and sweet, which made him an attractive preacher. September 18th, 1810, he was married to Miss Martha Burlingame, a granddaughter of Gen. Rufus Putnam; thirteen years later she was left a widow with six small children. She continued to reside in Marietta, and all but one of her children became members of the church of which their father had been pastor. In the midst of the prevailing sickness, (described as malarial fever), July 8th, 1823, a call was issued for a day of special fasting and prayer : "First, that God would be pleased, in infinite mercy, to preserve us as a people from epidemic disease and order the season in mercy as it respects both the health of our citizens and the products of the earth necessary for the support of man and beast. Second, and above all, that he would for his Son's sake be graciously pleased in this time of general declination of vital piety and godliness and awful abounding of iniquity to visit the churches and people of this vicinity and place with the influence of his Spirit-that the wickedness of the wicked may come to an end, pure religion before God and the Father revive and flourish and men be speedily brought to such con- sideration of their ways as will terminate in a happy prepara- tion for a blessed immortality."
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The day of fasting was appointed for Thursday, July 11th. A meeting for prayer was appointed for 9 a. m. and preaching at 11. After the noon intermission another sermon, to be followed by a prayer-meeting. The services to close at 3 p. m. This was probably one of the last services Pastor Robbins attended. The number of deaths in July of that year was thirty-two, in August forty-six, and in September forty-five. In October, the "Marietta Friend and Gazette" was not published for several weeks, because all employed in the office were sick. November 24th, 1823, the Religious Society passed the following resolution :
"Resolved, That the Society meet regularly hereafter on the Sabbath for social and divine worship until a pastor is settled.
Resolved, That Dr. John Cotton take the lead of all meetings for divine worship should Deacon Wm. R. Putnam be absent, and in the event of the absence of Dr. Cotton, William Slocomb is to officiate."
May 10th, 1824, a call was issued for a day of fasting and prayer that God would avert sickness and revive his work. All were invited to meet at the meeting-house of the First Religious Society, where sermons might be expected from Rev. Daniel Limerick and Rev. James McAboy. This call was signed by Daniel Limerick, pastor Methodist Church, James McAboy, pastor Baptist Church, and William R. Putnam, Deacon Congre- gational Church.
Of the condition of the church after the death of Pastor Robbins, Dr. Wickes said in a semi-centennial discourse, "When the followers of Christ came together after these sickly seasons had passed away, like an army after a hard fought battle, they found many places vacant, many familiar and loved forms wanting; their ranks had been thinned by the shafts of death, which had fallen thick among them. But more than all, many of their leaders and counsellors were gone-their loved pastor and several of those who had been the most active in sustaining the interests of Zion. And how could their places be filled ! Happy indeed was it for the church that God had visited and strengthened it only a short time previous by such a powerful work of divine grace. He gathered in his chosen and then led them through the furnace of affliction."
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We find no record of any regular supply of the pulpit after the death of Mr. Robbins, Sept. 2d, 1823, until October, 1824.
Rev. Erastus Maltby, son of Benjamin and Rebecca (Tainter) Maltby, was born at Norfolk, Conn., December 2d, 1796, four days before the organization of this church. He graduated at Yale College in 1821 and at Andover Seminary in 1824. He was ordained September 29th, 1824, and soon after came to Marietta, where he was employed to supply the vacant pulpit, which he continued to do for about one year, during which time a revival of religion was enjoyed which added a considera- ble number to the membership of the church. Dec. 9th, 1824, the church voted unanimously to invite Mr. Maltby to become their pastor. This call was finally declined. Mr. Maltby re- turned East in the autumn of 1825 and accepted a call to the Broadway Church, Taunton, Massachusetts, where he was in- stalled January 18th, 1826, and continued pastor forty-five years, and pastor emeritus thirteen years longer, or until his death in 1883. Mr. Maltby became greatly interested in this church and was also greatly beloved by them. He recommended to them his friend, Rev. Luther G. Bingham, who became their next pastor.
CHAPTER III.
THE PASTORATE OF REV. L. G. BINGHAM.
1826-1837.
Rev. Luther Goodyear Bingham, son of Reuben and Rhoda (Goodyear) Bingham, was born at Cornwall, Vt., June 18th, 1798. He graduated at Middlebury, Vt., in 1821, and after spending one year as tutor in the college, entered Andover Theological Seminary, from which he graduated in 1825. A little later he was ordained to the work of the gospel ministry at Williston, Vt.
At the recommendation of Rev. Erastus Maltby, Mr. Bingham was invited to visit Marietta with a view to settlement over the First Church. The following letter, written when he was on his way to the field, will reveal the spirit with which he entered the ministry :
"PHILADELPHIA, PA., Oct. 24th, 1825.
Mr. William R. Putnam,
DEAR SIR: I have the pleasure of acknowledging the receipt of your favor, bearing date Sept. 20th, a day or two before I left Vermont. I should have given it an immediate answer but for the circumstance that I had written you previously to receiving your letter, and the uncertainty I felt in my own mind at what time I should probably be in Marietta. I am now able to speak more definitely than I could have done before. I preached in the city yesterday and am to go out to a village about ten miles distant to preach this evening, and after that I shall be at lib- erty to resume my journey. We shall go to Baltimore to-mor- row to be present at the meeting of the Synod of Maryland, thence to Washington, where we shall stay for only a short time, and we shall hope to be with you before the first Sabbath in November. Two missionaries are with us, who are destined to Missouri, but who will remain in Ohio until they are joined by two others, who are to be the companions of their labor. In regard to my prospects in Marietta, I have never felt much con- fidence. I know how strongly you were attached (and very properly so) to Mr. Maltby, and I know that Mr. Maltby and
Rev. L. G. Bingham.
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myself are two very different men; and this I wish you to un- derstand. If I cannot be useful to the church in Marietta, I hope to be so to some who are perishing in the West. I have a very great desire to preach Christ crucified to the destitute in the western world, and it is on this account that I have been able to bring my feelings to make the sacrifice which I have made. You, my dear sir, nor any one else, can have much idea of it till you have had the same experience. Myself and my dear wife have each left a large circle of friends who are at- tached to each other by ties of uncommon interest. My beloved parents, who are both in very feeble health, I have taken a final leave of, and many others of my relatives I never expect to see again. But we have taken a willing and cheerful leave of home and friends for the sake of preaching Christ to those who are going down to the gates of death without the gospel, and I care very little whether the field of my future labors be in Ohio or Missouri. I desire to give myself away wholly to the service of my Divine Master and henceforth never to call myself my own. I think you may depend upon having preaching either from myself or from the missionaries who are with me the first Sab- bath in November, if you desire it.
I have been obliged to write in the greatest haste on account of my engagements. May the best of heaven's blessings ever attend you.
Yours affectionately, LUTHER G. BINGHAM."
This letter may seem a little strange to us now. We can take our dinner in Marietta one day and supper in Boston the next, so that the distance from friends in New England does not seem great, but at the time this letter was written there were no rail- ways in the country, and friends who sent their relatives as missionaries to Ohio made as great a sacrifice as we now do to send them to China or Japan.
After supplying the pulpit acceptably for four months, Mr. Bingham received a unanimous call to become pastor of the church.
The letter from the society extending this call was as follows : "MARIETTA, March 9th, 1826. Rev. Luther G. Bingham,
DEAR SIR: The First Religious Society in Marietta, being satisfied of your ministerial qualifications and having good hope from their past experience of your labors that your minis- trations in the gospel will be profitable to their spiritual inter-
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ests, do earnestly call and desire you to undertake the pastoral office in said Society, promising you in the discharge of your duty all proper aid, encouragement and obedience in the Lord, and that you may be free from worldly care and association, subscriptions will be opened for the raising of an adequate fund for your support during the time of your being and continuing the regular pastor of the church in this Society. In behalf of the church and Society we subscribe ourselves, very respectfully, Your obedient and humble servants."
Mr. Bingham was installed pastor of the church and society by Athens Presbytery, May 30th, 1826. At that time there was no Congregational Association of churches in the State. These churches were either independent or connected with presbyter- ies according to the "Plan of Union." This plan, in its practical working, tended to build up one denomination by absorbing the other.
The churches of Ohio were passing through a Congregational eclipse. During these years the professors in the Theological Seminaries of Andover and New Haven were accustomed to advise young men who went west "to join presbyteries and not to hold on upon Congregationalism," and some young men ob- tained ordination from a presbytery at Newburyport, Mass., in order that they "might be regarded as orthodox by the Presby- terian churches." This advice from theological professors was doubtless one reason why ministers changed to Presbyterians so much more readily than laymen. An intelligent layman of that period states that another reason was love of power. It was largely due to the intelligence of the laymen that so many churches continued the Congregational polity. Mr. Bingham seems to have been a Presbyterian from the time of his settle- ment, but the church was attached to its original form of organization. After the disbanding of the Muskingum Associ- ation in 1816, the pastors of this church were connected with presbytery for twenty years, although Mr. Robbins seems to have retained his preference for Congregationalism. The church continued independent until 1832, when it came under the care of Athens Presbytery.
Pastor Bingham and some of the members made quite per- sistent efforts to induce the church to change its polity, and the
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standing rules were somewhat modified during its connection with Athens Presbytery. In March, 1832, a meeting of Synod was held here by invitation of the church, and on Sunday, March 31st, Rev. Dr. Wilson, President of Ohio University, assisted by Pastor Bingham, "solemnly ordained two of the Deacons of the church as Ruling Elders according to the forms of the Presbyterian church." This action was not acceptable to the church, who had elected these brethren as Congregational Deacons and not as Presbyterian Elders, and the ordination was rejected. The connection of the church with the presby- tery continued only five years, or until the division of the Pres- byterian church in 1837, when the church again became inde- pendent. The discussion of church polity seems to have continued during the whole of Mr. Bingham's pastorate, but it did not seriously disturb the peace and harmony of the church, and these twelve years were a period of active work, of pros- perity and of growth.
Mr. Bingham was a man of great energy and a close observer. He very quickly comprehended the spiritual needs of Southern Ohio, and began to plan for enlarged work.
The year after his settlemeut he returned to Andover and secured several young men to return with him,-an Ohio Band, before such Bands became famous. Among these men were Rev. Addison Kingsbury, D. D., Rev. John Spaulding and Rev. Lemuel Pomeroy, men of sacred memories for the work they accomplished.
Mr. Bingham was a man of very active temperament, a faith- ful pastor and an able preacher. His wife was a lady of very lovable character and an efficient helper in Christian work. The young who came under her influence remembered her with tender affection as long as they lived. There were conversions and additions to the church each year of his pastorate, and the years 1829, 1833 and 1835 were specially marked by revivals. Dr. Wickes, in his semi-centennial sermon preached in 1846, said in respect to the revival of 1828: "It is worthy of notice that it was almost exclusively confined to the Sabbath School, where it was felt in great power on the part of teachers and scholars. The young ladies connected with one Bible class,
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consisting of fourteen members, were all hopefully converted and became connected with the church."
During these revivals the services were usually conducted by Mr. Bingham, assisted in some cases by neighboring pastors.
A graduate of Marietta College, Rev. C. C. Hart, relates the following anecdote, which illustrates Mr. Bingham's power as a revival preacher : In August, 1840, (which was after the
close of his pastorate in Marietta), Mr. Bingham sent his bag- gage to the wharf in Cincinnati, intending to go up the river. By mistake this was put on a Louisville boat, which started down the river before Mr. Bingham reached the landing. He took the next boat and overtook his trunk at Louisville, where he spent Sunday. Learning that a Presbyterian camp meeting was in session near New Albany, Indiana, he went there and remained one day. This gentleman says, "I, a wild, irreligious young man, had been induced to attend this meeting. I had never before heard of Mr. Bingham and did not speak to him. He preached Monday afternoon and though I do not remember the text nor one word of the sermon, yet that sermon led me to Christ. I went home a new man and at once began to plan for an education, preparatory to entering the ministry, and in May, 1843, went to Marietta to carry out my plan for education, hoping to find Mr. Bingham there.'" Mr. Bingham was genial in his manner and endeared himself to his people. A young lady who came here as a teacher in 1832, Miss Deborah Wells, was employed by Mr. Bingham and spent some time at his house. She wrote to her friends as follows: "Mr. Bingham is a very kind, affectionate person, to whom you can say anything with perfect ease. He says he is seldom taken for a minister and when he thinks of it feels reproached. He has much to contend with in a natural loveliness of disposition. He is very conscientious, very religious, and belonged to the church when he was eleven years old. His house seems to be the home of every one and all meet a hearty welcome. He will say to them, ' take off your things and look as if you were going to stay.' He says they know all over town what he is doing and he al- ways feels as though he lived in a glass house and every one was looking in."
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In 1834, Mr. Bingham was invited to become agent for the American Home Missionary Society for the State of Indiana, but the people were unwilling to give him up and the invitation was declined. He was quick to observe the needs of the people, temporal as well as spiritual, and entered upon several business enterprises, to benefit the community. He was very much in- terested in the cause of education and very soon commenced to give private instruction. Under his leadership there was a great revival of the cause of education and this may be consid- ered a marked characteristic of his pastorate. In 1830, he asked permission to erect a building for an infant school on the rear of the church lot. There were reasons why it was thought best not to grant this request, but the society passed a resolu- tion approving the school.
In 1833, Mr. Bingham was granted a leave of absence for three months to act as agent in the East for the Marietta Col- legiate Institute. (This subject will be more fully treated in the chapter on Education.) Mr. Bingham's energy of character is shown in his efforts to establish Marietta College, of which he may properly be called the founder. A gentleman acquainted with the circumstances, Dr. John T. Cotton, writes as follows of his influence over the gentlemen who were to constitute the Board of Trustees : "Every one of these gentlemen was so en- tirely engaged in active business as hardly to have time to at- tend to anything else, but Mr. Bingham one evening assembled them at his house, presented the claim of his ideal college in such a way as to completely capture them. Ordinarily he was quiet, dignified and sedate, but gifted with a highly emotional temperament. When roused as he was on this occasion he was simply irresistible." At a period previous to the general preva- lence of the temperance reform he was an earnest advocate of total abstinence and himself a total abstainer, not only from intoxicating beverages but from tea and coffee. The gentleman just quoted says : "When in 1841 I went to Cincinnati to attend a course of medical lectures, I found Mr. Bingham there editing and publishing a temperance newspaper, and upon my applica- tion for board in his family, he replied, 'We use no tea nor coffee at my house. If you can endure that you are welcome.
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I cordially accepted his terms and never regretted it, for he treated me with all the care and affection of a father. I never shall forget his kindness." Though engrossed with many mat- ters of business, Mr. Bingham was a faithful pastor and the church flourished during his ministry. About three hundred members were received during those twelve years. During the year 1836, quite extensive repairs were made on the house of worship, which in addition to the amount given by the mem- bers of the Congregational church to Marietta College, indicate the spirit of the church during those days. The benevolences of the church were also well sustained.
After the establishment of Marietta College and the presence of faculty and students in the congregation, Mr. Bingham felt that the church needed a pastor who would devote his time more exclusively to study and pastoral work than he was in- clined to do. Having received an appointment to a position congenial to his tastes, he asked a release from the pastoral re- lation which he had filled so acceptably for about twelve years. His letter to the Society was as follows :
"October 27th, 1837.
To the First Religious Society of Marietta,
DEAR BRETHREN : Having been appointed Secretary and General Agent of the Western Education Society by the Board of Agency at Cincinnati, and being satisfied after careful and prayerful consideration of the subject that it is my duty to accept of the same, it becomes my duty to ask you to concur with me, and I hereby ask your concurrence in requesting the Presbytery of Athens to dissolve the relation which exists now between us. Be pleased to accept my most hearty thanks for all the kindness and support which I have received from you, which has rendered my connection with you peculiarly dear and delightful on my part, and of which I shall retain a grate- ful remembrance. It is my anxiety and prayer that you may be guided in the speedy choice of a successor in the pastoral office, who shall be useful among you to the full extent of your wishes. I leave it to your wisdom to say in what manner and when a final settlement shall be made between us and at what time my responsibility to see the pulpit supplied shall cease.
Begging my leave humbly to say that if the pastoral relation is dissolved, I shall probably wish to leave the place about the 20th inst. and not return before the 1st of March next. May
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the best of Heaven's blessings rest upon you and remain with you always. With sentiments of high consideration, affection and esteem, I remain,
Most truly yours,
L. G. BINGHAM, Pastor First Religious Society."
Whereupon the Society
" Resolved, That this Society do concur in the request of Rev. Luther G. Bingham contained in his communication to the Society this day and consent that the relation to the Society as Pastor and Teacher be dissolved, and the same is hereby dis- solved.
Resolved, That the Trustees of this Society be authorized and requested to take measures for the supply of the pulpit until the first of January next, and also to settle with Rev. L. G. Bingham upon equitable terms."
Four days later, October 31st, the church took action as fol- lows :
"Whereas, Our beloved pastor, Rev. Luther G. Bingham, has been appointed Secretary and General Agent of the Western Education Society, and has asked a dismission from his con- nection with this church and congregation, in which he requests the concurrence of the church; therefore
Resolved, That this church (feeling itself called in the provi- dence of God so to do) will consent that the relation subsisting between the church and congregation and Rev. Luther G. Bing- ham, their pastor, be dissolved."
There is nothing in the action of the church or Society to in- dicate whether this matter was referred to the Athens Presby- tery, but this is probable, as Mr. Bingham was a member of that body. Mr. Bingham so far followed the Presbyterian in- stead of the Congregational custom that he was never a member of this church.
After the close of his pastorate in Marietta, Mr. Bingham resided for several years at Cincinnati. He was pastor of a church at Williston, Vt., from 1843 to 1851. He subsequently resided at Brooklyn, New York, and died at Middle Bush, New Jersey, January 22nd, 1878, aged 80 years.
Following the dismissal of Mr. Bingham there was a vacancy in the pastorate of two and one-half years. The church very soon extended a call to Rev. Addison Kingsbury, then pastor of
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the churches of Belpre and Warren. The Society did not con- cur in this call and the matter was dropped. This was not on account of any dissatisfaction with Mr. Kingsbury, nor of a division of sentiment between the church and Society, but a fraternal feeling for the neighboring churches who were unwill- ing to give up a beloved pastor. In January, 1838, a call was extended to Rev. Edwin Hall, of Norwalk, Conn. This call was renewed in December of the same year, but was not accepted. During this interval the church was supplied by Rev. Ora P. Hoyt, Rev. Timothy M. Hopkins, Rev. Benjamin M. Palmer, D. D., and Rev. J. B. Walker, D. D. The latter was here during the winter of 1839 and 1840 and records in his autobiography that he assisted in organizing the Congregational church of Harmar; also that he lectured in the Marietta church on the anti-slavery cause to a small audience, where but two or three of the members of the church were willing to be present. Strange as this may seem to us now, it represents the senti- ment in the churches of our land at that time, which was near the beginning of the anti-slavery agitation and before the eyes of Christian people were fully opened to the enormities of the system. There was, however, a strong anti-slavery sentiment among the members of this church some years before this, and there were here several conductors on the Underground Railroad. While a student in the College, Rev. Samuel Hall was quite active in an anti-slavery society and was at one time compelled to swim the Muskingum to escape from a mob. Other members of this church were known as friends of the slaves, and some of these were threatened if found on the Virginia side of the Ohio river.
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