USA > Rhode Island > Bristol County > Bristol > Historical sketches of the First Congregational Church, Bristol, R.I., 1689-1872 > Part 2
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Your friend & servant,
JOHN WALLEY."
The following is a copy of the document referred to by Mr. Walley and addressed to the same per- sons, at the same date or a little before .*
[This letter, with the exception of the signatures of the other persons whose names are attached, is in the hand-writing of Mr. Walley.]
" Whereas God who setteth the bounds of the habita- tions of the children of men; hath in his sovereign wis- dome disposed soe many of us to this place as he hath, wee
*Mass. Hist. Coll., VIII., 4th series, 695.
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do desire to be found doeing those things in our several places & capacities that may be for the glory of His name, the promoting the Interest & Kingdome of Jesus Christ & to be laying of such foundations as might be for the good of ourselves & our Children after us & as it is our duty soe it hath been our earnest desire that we might enjoy not onely the preaching of the word, but other the ordinances of Jesus Christ & although from time to time wee have been in the use of means in order thereunto (yet to our griefe) we find things more & more unlikely for obtaining the same & our motions therein have been hindered, as wee thinke by him who should have most encouraged the same. The Rev'd Mr. Woodbridge, in his paper he left with the Town speaks of his return, if it might be with peace, incouragement and joynt concurrence, neither of which wee thinke he will procure & when we have been discoursing about gathering a church in this place he hath not been willing to promote the same in any way, without he could see some certainty of his being settled & called to office therein. And wee the subscribers, having had op- pertunity to take notice of Mr. Woobdridge his methods & designs among us, have reason to think his settlement here will not be for the glory of God, his good, nor ours; he having had many oppertunities wherein to have had a com- petent comfortable & quiet settlement among us & he never having embraced the same & being he would not be per- suaded to fall in therewith, makes us ready to think that his worke will be rather in some other place than here & that he is not the man that God intends to doe us good by. And if he should be voated in as a minister by a major part of the Town (which we question) or imposed upon us by others we must beare it and desire we may as becomes Christians ; but to be active for his settlement & especially to have any hand in calling him to office amongst us wee must be excused in. It is our griefe that things fall out soe among us. Wee are troubled for him as well as for ourselves, & doe solemnly declare it is not out of any 6
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prejudice to his person or any perticular interest or contro- versie of our own, but the keeping of a good conscience in the discharg of our duty wee owe to God, to the Town, to ourselves & one to another; & anything wee can doe for him, that wee may & ought to doe, wee would not be want- ing in, & wee do believe that if he would make it his own act to leave us, it would be the readyest way to settle us, & we trust God will provide for us. To give the reasons of our discouragements wee have not now time for, but if any necessity lyes upon it wee think wee should have time, & if the decision of matters is to be by a Council wee thinke it ought to be upon the place, & then will be best opportu- nity to understand the state of things with us. In the meane time your counsel & advice to us & prayers for us is earnestly desired by your servants to our power.
JOHN CAREY, HUGH WOODBURY, NATHANIEL REYNELLS, NATHANIEL BOSWORTH, JOHN WALLEY, NATHANIEL BYFIELD.
A few weeks later another letter respecting this subject was addressed "To the Reverend Mr. In- crease Mather, Teacher of the Second Church of Christ in Boston. To be communicated to the Church."* The following is a copy of this letter :
" HONORED, REVEREND & BELOVED IN OUR LORD JESUS,-It is, we doubt not, by the Churches and faithfull in Christ sadly observed, that there are verie uncomforta- ble disagreements among us in this Place, which have an Evill & perilous tendency.
*Mass. Hist. Coll., VIII., 654.
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And (with griefe wee speake it) of such a Nature they are, and such an influence they have that our peace is much impaired, the worke of Christ Obstructed, our quiet settlement in a way of Church Order and Gospell fellow- ship for the present wholly hindered and the name of God much dishonored.
And although some of us (of God's abundant Grace, and not for any worth in us) have sometimes tasted the Good of Communion with God in His ordinances, which, if our hearts deceive us not, leaves such an impression upon our spirits that we would be willing to Deny ourselves to the uttermost; Rather than become Guiltye of not doing what God Requires of us. to our severall abillityes & in our severall capacityes for the enjoyment thereof, and the settling of a Gospel Church and Ministrie here in a way of peace and order : yet soc it hath pleased God to denye His Presence and Blessing with our endeavours for some years past, that our essays hitherto have bin successles, and our condition at this time is very deplorable. We do therefore Earnestly Request yourselves in our present difficultie to affoard us your helpe by your Elders and Messengers upon the third Wednesday of July next, that being here at that time Assembled they may fully hear & Consider our Case, and give us the Counsell & Advice in the Lord, who, we hope will open our hearts to Receive it; in order where- unto we intreate your prayers, that we may see, & be hum- bled for our sins, which have been a provocation to God & that the Lord will Graciously be reconciled to us & accept us in the Lord Jesus, in whom we are
Your Assured friends to serve you, JOHN WALLEY, NATHAL. BYFIELD. NATHANIEL REYNELLS, NATHANIEL BOSWORTH, JOHN CARY, HUGH WOODBURY.
Bristoll, June 28th, 1686.
For ourselves & in the behalfe of sundry others."
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We have found no record of the Council thus called. It seems highly probable that it resulted in the withdrawal of Mr. Woodbridge by his own act, and the restoration of peace .*
*He was not long after settled in Kittery, Me. In 1691 he resided in Portsmouth, N. H. In 1698 he was living in Charlestown, Mass., and was employed by the town of Medford to preach for six months, provision being made for conveyance from his home to Medford every Satur- day, and return every Monday. His preaching was so generally acceptable that movements were made to give him a call, but matters were not hastened, and, at length, difficulties arose which prevented his settlement. He was, however, anxious to settle, and persisted in acting as the town's minister, contrary to the advice of a Council of Clergymen and Elders from Boston; and, in spite of votes of the town in 1704, " that what they had done about Mr. W.'s settlement be null and void," and in 1705, "that they would not proceed to settle Mr. W. as their minister." With a few earnest friends he attempted to gather a church " contrary to the advice of the Elders in the neighborhood, without advice or respect of the inhabitants of the town, and without the countenance and concurrence of the neighboring churches." This highly irregular attempt was met by an earnest protest from the town. Appeals were then made to the " General Sessions of Peace," at Charles- town, and to "Gov. Dudley and his Council," both of which were decided adversely to the claims and course of Mr. W. Finally, the case was referred to a Council of Churches who censured both parties, and advised the quiet withdrawal of Mr. W. The advice was not followed. how- ever, and Mr. W. continued to preach until his death, 1710, January 15, after a residence of nearly ten years, aged sixty-five years; and on the same day, with commendable
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ERECTION OF A HOUSE OF WORSHIP.
The first public religious service in Bristol was in the dwelling house of DEACON NATHANIEL BOS- WORTH, a building still standing, occupied as the residence of J. DEW. PERRY, EsQ. Afterwards Sabbath services were held in COLONEL BYFIELD'S house, Byfield street, to which reference has pre- viously been made. These arrangements were tem- porary, to continue only until such time as the inhabitants could build a House of Worship.
In the " Grand Articles " of agreement between ' the Proprietors and those to whom they made grants of land and other privileges, it was stipulated among other things, " that every one shall and will, accord- ing to his estate. pay his proportion of the charge for the erecting and building of the Meeting House and Minister's House and accommodations there- unto, when and at such time as those that have the · major part proprietary in said land shall nominate and appoint."
October 24th, 1683, at a Town meeting, two hun- dred and fifty pounds were ordered to be raised, to defray the expense of building a Meeting House ; and JOHN WALLEY, NATHANIEL BYFIELD, BENJAMIN CHURCH, JOHN CARY and JOHN ROGERS were ap-
promptitude and just liberality, the town voted ten pounds to defray the expenses of his funeral,-an act which proves that they would not let the sun go down upon their animosity .- Brooks' Hist. of Medford, 203-208.
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pointed a committee to superintend its erection. Measures were promptly taken to carry out this vote. A plan of house was soon adopted, and the work commenced. Citizens who could be well employed on the building were so employed and the value of their labor allowed on their taxes. The timbers .were cut from the Common, near by, and with united zeal and courage the work progressed until a spacious and well constructed Sanctuary stood before them to the joy of their hearts, a monument of their self- denying interest in the Cause of the Redeemer. This House was erected on the spot where now stands the State Court House. We find no record of its exact dimensions, but tradition describes it as " spacious ; square in its form like the Apocalyptic City ; clap- boarded inside and out ; having double galleries one above the other ; with a cap-roof, surmounted in the centre with a cupola and bell, from which a rope was suspended directly beneath, by which 'GOODY CORPS,' the sexton's widow, used to ring the people to church for three pounds per year, as her lamented husband had done ere he died ;" over the preacher's head, a dormer window, and on all sides double rows of windows for the ingress of light ; and the floor, divided into square pews with oaken doors, " through the rounds of which the children used to peep at each other when the people rose for prayer and praise." These pews were constructed from time to time by the citizens as they were able, by leave of the town, and several years elapsed before the floor was all covered.
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Considering the pecuniary circumstances of the people, this effort was a remarkable instance of self- sacrifice and consecration to the higher interests of religion. They were few in number, feeble in re- sources, and had scarcely sheltered their families in their humble dwellings, when they gave their best energies to building a habitation of God. At a sac- rifice of toil and money, of which we in our com- parative abundance can have little conception, they secured for themselves this Religious Home, and with glad songs of praise dedicated it to the worship of Almighty God. We may smile at the severe sim- plicity of style, devoid of architectural beauty ; unprotected in winter by warming apparatus, and in summer offering literally to the swallow a place to build her nest and lay her young upon its unceiled arches ; its family pews square and roomy ; and its high pulpit, surmounted with pendent sounding board, seeming ready to fall and crush the man of God beneath its weight, as he discoursed of the awful wrath of God towards impenitent sinners ; yet we cherish the most tender and hallowed associations clustering around this first Sanctuary of the fathers in the wilderness.
This quaint building, laboriously erected by the pioneers of our civilization, and dedicated to the worship of Almighty God, was the only Sanctuary in town for nearly forty years, and the home of the first church for a round century. Here our pious ances- try sat and listened to messages of Divine Truth and salvation, raised their hearts in prayer and praise to
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God, and received nourishment of spiritual life. Here were they trained for the kingdom of glory, and to-day their notes of praise respond to angelic harps around the throne of God in heaven. Although of the people who once lived on earth and worship- ped here not one remains, and of the people now living not one ever saw this House of God, we cher- ish tender thoughts of the past, and preserve with veneration the door of the pastor's pew, the only remaining relic of the Sanctuary where our fathers worshipped God for one hundred years.
ORGANIZATION OF THE CHURCH.
Not long after the retirement of Mr. Woodbridge, the REV. SAMUEL LEE, D. D., an English dissenting Clergyman, celebrated among his contemporaries as a man of profound learning and ardent piety, arrived in Boston, and was cordially received by his Breth- ren and the Churches. Great interest had been awakened for the cause of Christ in Bristol, which seemed to suffer from the divisions that had sprung up under the Ministry of Mr. Woodbridge. Friends in Boston felt that it was of the highest importance that a man of commanding abilities and established reputation for soundness in the faith and wisdom · should at once occupy this field, around whom the people might rally in union, and under whose direc- tion a Church of Christ might be founded. At their suggestion he visited Bristol, and at once the hearts of the people went out to him as being sent of God, and the conviction became almost universal that he
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was the man for whose coming they had prayed, suffered and waited.
Measures were promptly taken to' secure his set- tlement. The Town Records, 1686, November 23, give the following account of his enthusiastic recep- tion by the people, who went from the Town Meeting in a body to enforce their call by the magnetism of their presence.
" Then voted and agreed by a full vote and unanimous consent, to call the Rev. Samuel Lee to the work of the ministry in this town, which was accordingly done by the whole that were present at the Town Meeting. waiting on him at Mr. Byfield's, where one appointed manifested their invitation to him and he took it into consideration."
Sixty pounds per year was voted by the town for his salary, and fifty pounds towards building him a house .* The lands for the Ministry set apart by the Proprietors in the settlement of the town were also voted him. This call he accepted, and began his labors 1687, April 10.
*As speedily as practicable, a spacious mansion, built in the old English style and, it is said, by far the most elegant dwelling in town, was erected on the east side of Thames street, which was then the shore of the harbor. This house was afterwards owned by JEREMIAH FINNEY, descended by inheritance to his son, JOSIAH FINNEY, and was the birthplace of all his children. In it was born the wife of the late WILLIAM DEWOLF, EsQ., who, with her sister MARTHA, occupied in their early days the sacred study chamber where the man of God studied, wrote and prayed
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The third day of May following was observed as a day of fasting and prayer, in the midst of which sacred season the Church was organized in due form by the mutual consent of eight fathers of the town. The following is a copy of the record of these events taken from the earliest records of the Church, in the almost illegible hand of Deacon John Carey, whose name heads the page.
"In the year 1687, it pleased God to bringe that rever- end Mr. Lee to Bristol, and [it was (?) ] on visit to se the plac[e] and preach to the peopell. Ther was a joynt voat of the town for his taking charg heer to preach the gos- pell, and in order of settlinge the plac[e] in gospell order ; which after some short spac[e] came with his wife and family to settel heer."
"The 10th of April he begins with us, in order there- * unto '87. * * *
"May the third was the church gathered by the mutual consent and agreement of thos[e] persons mentioned.
MAJOR JOHN WALLEY, CAPTAIN NATHANIEL BYFIELD, CAPTAIN BENJAMIN CHURCH, NATHANIEL REYNOLDS, JOHN CAREY, HUGH WOODBURY, GOODMAN THROUP, NATHANIEL BOSWORTH whom they elected DEACON."
for his beloved people. The two eldest of Mr. DeWolf's children were also born here. For many years this house was known as "The Old Bay State," we know not why, unless it may be because it was so redolent with the associations of Puritan ideas, which are the glory of Massa- chusetts. The only relic of it now remaining is a pane of glass inscribed with the name MARTHA FINNEY, in the possession of a descendant of the family.
The 8th of May '87 was the first sacrament in Bristol : Con .- 0-4-3 the Contribution-0-11-2.
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Major Walley's daughter Elizabeth that day baptized, Nathaniel Reynolds his sone Benjamin baptized .- The two first in that Church."
Thus was the First Church gathered in Bristol, the first of the Congregational order within the present limits of Rhode Island .* At the organization, and for many years afterwards, the Church was known as " THE CHURCH OF CHRIST IN BRISTOL." After the incorporation of the Catholic Congregational Society in 1784, the Church was, by common consent, called " THE CATHOLIC CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH." By this name it was known until, in order to hold and protect Charitable funds entrusted to its care, it was incorporated by act of the General Assembly in 1869, under the title " THE FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH IN BRISTOL." This is our present name and appro- priate designation, though we be no less a simple " Church of Christ" than when we began, and are no less " Catholic" in our fellowship with all who love our Lord in sincerity, and strive to do his will. Our Church life began in prayer to God, who gra- ciously directed those sturdy pioneers as they bowed
*The Church at East Providence is older, but its mem- bers are from both East Providence and Seekonk, Mass., and it has always been identified in Conference relations with the Massachusetts Churches. The Church in Bar- rington has also been claimed as being organized at an earlier date, but it is stated in Bicknell's History, p. 180, " that no distinct Church with a thorough Congregational polity was established until after the year 1711, and prior to 1718."
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before Him. Firmly, therefore, were the foundations of our spiritual edifice laid, and though the storms of earth have beaten against it, all these years it has stood, because it was founded upon a rock.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES OF THE EARLY MEMBERS.
The constituent members of the Church were all men of excellent character and leading influence in the town, and some of them were also prominent actors in Colonial affairs, and held stations of honor which gave them a national reputation.
JOHN WALLEY, the first on the list of members, one of the four original proprietors of the town, was highly respected and honored with various offices which he discharged with marked ability and fidelity. In all efforts for the civil, social, moral and religious welfare of the community he was among the fore- most of the citizens, and favored the most liberal provisions for these ends. He loved the Church of Christ with singular devotion, and it was a great grief to him that the organization of the Church in Bristol was so long delayed. He was ever the warm friend and hearty supporter of the Gospel Ministry, and, while he conscientiously opposed the settlement of Mr. Woodbridge, and, perhaps more than any other man, was instrumental in his removal, he yet rejoiced in all the good he accomplished, and was among the readiest to give him liberal pecuniary support as long as he remained.
Nor were the public services of Mr. Walley con- fined to Bristol. He was well known throughout
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New England, and especially in Boston, where he had lived and engaged successfully and honorably in mercantile pursuits, his valuable public labors were in frequent call. He was, for a season, Judge of the Superior Court, and a member of the Governor's Council. In 1690 he had command of the land forces in the expedition of Sir William Phipps, against Canada, of which he published a journal which is preserved in Hutchinson's history. Although this expedition was unsuccessful, it involved much heroic self-sacrifice and reflected honor both upon the men and their commanding officer.
MR. WALLEY was a son of the REV. THOMAS WALLEY, of London, who was at one time Rector of St. Mary's White Chapel, and said to be a man of great esteem ; who was one of the eight ministers who came from London in the "Society," Captain Pierce, arriving in Boston, 1663, May 24, and who died on Sunday, 1678, March 24, aged sixty-one years.
He came before his father and settled in Boston, whence he removed to Bristol.
His residence in this town was in the rear of State street, and his dwelling, substantially built after the style of those early times, is still standing and known as " the Walley house." His family con- sisted of wife and three children, two daughters and a son born here.
His daughter Sarah married CHARLES CHAUNCY, of Boston, and was the mother of a son of the same name, who became " one of the most distinguished
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divines on our side of the ocean," the junior Pastor of the Old South Church, referred to in the follow- ing notices of Mr. Byfield and family.
On the second of March, 1692, he was left & sorrowful widower by the decease of his loving and dutiful wife, the sharer of his joys and burdens, who departed in the triumphs of Christian faith. In the latter part of his life he returned to Boston, where he died in calmness and humble reliance upon the Great Redeemer for mercy, 1712, January 11th, in the sixty-ninth year of his age.
" The high trusts imposed by his country," says his Bio- grapher, "were discharged with ability and fidelity. To his wisdom as a Counsellor and his impartiality as a Judge, he added an uncommon sweetness and candor of spirit and the various virtues of the Christian. His faith was justi- fied by his integrity, his works of piety and charity."
NATHANIEL BYFIELD was the son of the Rev. Richard Byfield, " the laborious faithful pastor of Long Ditton in Surrey, England, who was one of the oldest of the ejected ministers in that county ; who afterwards retired to Montlack, where he usually preached twice every Lord's day in his own family, and did so the very Lord's day before his death, in 1664, aged sixty-seven years ;" who is described as " a man of great piety, zeal and exemplary holiness of conversation ;" who was one of the distinguished Westminster Assembly, that prepared that admirable compendium of Orthodox Faith, known as "the Shorter Catechism." His mother was a sister of Bishop Juxon, a noted family in England. He was
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the youngest of twenty-one children, and one of the sixteen that sometimes attended their pious parents to the place of public worship. He was born in 1653 ; arrived at Boston in 1674, and conceiving a love to this country resolved to settle here. Accordingly, he married the following year MISS DEBORAH CLARKE, and commenced business as a merchant in Boston. In this he was eminently successful, accumulating considerable property, and, at the close of Philip's war, invested a portion of his wealth in the purchase . of this township. Here he became an early settler, casting in his lot with the pioneers of the wilderness, sharing with them the toils and hardships of laying the foundations of a new and well regulated commu- nity. He continued a citizen of this town forty- four years, and his influence was great in all civil and ecclesiastical affairs. His residence was on the beautiful peninsula known as Pappoosquaws Point, west of the town, and his farm embraced nearly all of the peninsula .* Here was his family tomb, prepared by himself, located on the estate of the late William D'Wolf, Esq., whose remains are traced to this day, in which were buried members of his family who deceased during his residence in
"It has been generally supposed that his dwelling house stood on the spot where Deacon William Manchester now resides, but recent investigations lead to the belief that the venerable mansion now occupied by the heirs of the late Mrs. Sarah Herreshoff, was built originally by Colonel Byfield and occupied as his residence.
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Bristol. Within the recollection of persons now liv- ing, the name of " PRISCILLA " and a part of " BY- FIELD," were distinctly traced upon the head-stone
He was also a large real estate owner in the com- pact part of the town. He had five children born here by his wife DEBORAH, three of whom died young. The other two lived to be married, the youngest to . the HON. LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR TAYLOR, of Massa- chusetts, who soon after died without issue; the other to EDWARD LYDE, EsQ., by whom she had five children, three of whom grew up and left de- scendants.
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