USA > Vermont > Bennington County > Bennington > The one hundred year old meetinghouse of the church of Christ in Bennington, Vermont: being a record of the centennial of the same held in the meetinghouse, August the 19th and 20th, 1906 > Part 1
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THE OLD MEETINGHOUSE BENNINGTON, VERMONT
M. L.
Gc 974.302 B44 je 1783770
yat
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01096 2600
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015
https://archive.org/details/onehundredyearol1907jenn
THE ONE HUNDRED YEAR OLD MEETINGHOUSE OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST IN BENNINGTON, VERMONT
THE MEETINGHOUSE
T I HE ONE HUNDRED YEAR OLD MEETINGHOUSE OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST IN BENNINGTON,VERMONT:BEING A RECORD OF THE CENTENNIAL OF THE SAME HELD IN THE MEETINGHOUSE AUGUST THE 19TH AND 20TH, 1906. PRE- PARED BY THE REV. ISAAC JENNINGS, D. D., MINISTER OF THE CHURCH
PRINTED AT THE RIVERSIDE FRESS CAMBRIDGE, MANE. 1907
THE MATI NOHOUSE
T HE ONE HUNDRED YEAR OLD MEETINGHOUSE OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST IN BENNINGTON,VERMONT: BEING A RECORD OF THE CENTENNIAL OF THE SAME HELD IN THE MEETINGHOUSE AUGUST THE 19TH AND 20TH, 1906. PRE- PARED BY THE REV. ISAAC JENNINGS, D. D., MINISTER OF THE CHURCH
PRINTED AT THE RIVERSIDE PRESS CAMBRIDGE, MASS. 1907
COPYRIGHT 1907 BY ISAAC JENNINGS
1783770
TO THE SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF THIS OLD CHURCH IN MEMORY OF THE PRAYERS AND SACRIFICES OF THEIR SIRES
Goodspeed
$ 7.00 - RO. 1443-1-17-74
PREFACE
To one who loves and reveres the past and believes there is wisdom and guidance for the present in it, as well as mere interest, the labor of collecting material, such as is here embodied, is a pleasure, but one carrying with it two fears and two temptations. There is the fear lest not enough shall be said, some important item overlooked, or some interest passed by amidst the details, which some one looking for and not finding shall be disappointed. There is also the fear that too much shall be said, that is, that some things said shall be so said as to give inaccurate information or impression. Over against these lie two temptations, the one for the student, led away by the love of his subject, to wander so far afield in a given direction as to mar the proportions of his work, and the other, in his anxiety to preserve for future use all that interests him, to overlook the interests of present readers.
Vill
PREFACE
The editor of the following pages hopes that he has not been misled by the one nor fallen into the other in presenting this record of two very delightful days and this necessarily brief sum- mary of the events of a century full of thrilling situations.
ISAAC JENNINGS.
CONTENTS
HISTORICAL PREAMBLE I
PRAYER BY REV. GEORGE S. MILLS 15
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE, 1906 19 NOTES ON HISTORICAL DISCOURSE 79
DEDICATION DISCOURSE, 1806, BY REV. DANIEL MARSH, A. M. 97
DEDICATION PRAYER, 1806. (ADAPTED)
, 137
HYMNS · I39
ODES
. 145
ADDENDA :
ORDER OF SERVICES, 1906
· I57
COVENANT OF 1763-64
. 162
ROLL CALLS:
PLAN OF ORIGINAL SQUARE PEWS . 164 DESCENDANTS OF ORIGINAL PROPRIETORS . 165 DESCENDANTS OF IMMEDIATE SUCCESSORS . 176
NAMES OF THOSE PRESENT AT CENTEN-
NIAL, JANUARY 4, 1863
178
NUMBER OF DESCENDANTS PRESENT AUGUST 20, 1906 178
INDEX
· 179
ILLUSTRATIONS
THE MEETINGHOUSE Frontis piece
INTERIOR OF THE SAME 9
Looking toward the pulpit, decorated for the re-dedica- tion.
INTERIOR OF THE SAME 30 Looking toward the choir, showing part of the dome and other features of the architecture.
NEIGHBORS OF THE MEETINGHOUSE 47
Showing, in the foreground, the house of Truman Squire ; next to it, the third court-house; and in the extreme distance, the front of Aaron Robinson's house, built by "Priest" Dewey.
SIX OF THE FATHERS 6I
Beginning at the left those standing are David Robinson and Samuel Fay; sitting are Benjamin Harwood, Abisha Kinsley, Aaron Robinson, and Samuel Safford.
THE OLD COMMUNION PLATE 68
JOHN FAY'S CHOIR (1863) 7I
Standing at the back are Rev. and Mrs. Isaac Jennings; beginning at the left, in the second row, standing are: Ellen Stewart, Hattie Conkling, Sarah Robinson, Fannie Robinson, Rachel Albro, Rhoda Hawks, Hattie Poole, Addie Waters, John Fay, Uel M. Robinson, Aaron Hub- bell, Jason Stearns, George Robinson; sitting are Kate Fassett, Kate Poole, Mary Jane Waters, Charlotte Cald- well, Mary Sears, Maggie Robinson, Alice Merrill, Mary Merrill, Samuel Brown, Uel Hicks, Hopkins Harwood, Samuel Robinson, Albert Hubbell, Charles Sanford.
xii
ILLUSTRATIONS
SINGERS AT THE RE-DEDICATION (part of them, see page 7) . 139 Just in front of the organ the leader, Richard S. Bayhan; beginning at the left, standing are John V. D. S. Merrill, Samuel L. Robinson, Charles Henry Robinson, Dr. and Mrs. Isaac Jennings, Samuel B. Hall, Henry T. Cushman, Charles R. Sanford, Van Tuyl Boughton; sit- ting, in front row, are: Francis Holden, Alice Robinson, Maria Robinson Sanford, Sarah Robinson Hall, Eliza Hall Cushman, Margaret Robinson, Mary Bingham Mer- rill, Margaret V. D. S. Merrill Roberts, Mary Robinson Sanford, Grace S. Roberts, Alida Cammett Merrill, M. Alice Roberts Welles, Delia A. Sibley, Helen E. Boughton.
HISTORICAL PREAMBLE
HISTORICAL PREAMBLE
IT was on the last Sunday in May, 1905, that Rev. Warren Morse, then pastor of this church, asked the congregation, after the benediction was pronounced, to resume their seats, for he had a matter of business to bring before them. Descending from the pulpit, and taking his stand by the table, he announced that it seemed time that some steps were taken looking toward pre- paration for the centennial of the old church edifice, whose hundred years of service would be completed on the first day of the year 1906. In response to this, he was asked to name a com- mittee to work with himself to this end. He named the following persons to serve on that committee :-
Miss Katherine J. Hubbell
Miss Alice Robinson
Miss Mary R. Sanford
Deacon Barker F. Vail Mr. Arthur J. Holden
Some informal discussion was held among the members of the committee as to the best date for holding the celebration, and it was finally decided that it should occur on the Sunday and week nearest to the 16th of August, 1906.
4
HISTORICAL PREAMBLE
Mr. Morse, having received a call to the Con- gregational Church in Brewer, Maine, felt it his duty to accept, and resigned his pastorate here. He was dismissed by council October 31, 1905.
Rev. Isaac Jennings, D. D., was elected to the vacant pastorate on November 17, 1905, and as- sumed his duties on the 3d of December follow- ing. Acting as Mr. Morse's successor, he called the committee together on July 9, 1906. After some suggestions and discussion it was decided to observe the 19th of August as the date for the Historical Discourse; this to be delivered in the morning, the hour of service to be half-past ten instead of eleven o'clock, - the usual hour; and that a communion service be held at half-past four in the afternoon, at which the Old Covenant, entered into by the fathers, probably in 1763 or 1764, be read, and the old britannia communion service, still in possession of the church, be used; that a re-dedication service be held the following (Monday) afternoon at half-past two, at which so much of the original sermon, dedication prayer, and "odes," sung on the occasion, be reproduced as might be appropriate, this to be followed by an organization of the sons and daughters of the church present, by the election of chairman and clerk and the roll-call of the original owners of
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HISTORICAL PREAMBLE
the pews, that their direct descendants present might be catalogued, together with the names of the descendants of their immediate successors in the ownership of pews, and the roll of those who were still living, who had been present at the centennial of the church January 4, 1863, as well as the number of their descendants, who would be asked to rise. It was also decided to have prepared, at once, a letter to be sent to the sons and daughters of the church, not residing in the town, inviting them to the celebration and requesting responses. The various duties grow- ing out of these decisions were then ascribed to sub-committees, giving to each the power to call to its aid any assistance necessary to the fulfill- ing of its assigned duty. These sub-committees were as follows: -
On Order and Hour of Service Rev. Isaac Jennings Deacon Barker F. Vail On Preparation and Sending Letters of Invitation Miss Katherine J. Hubbell Miss Mary R. Sanford On Music Miss Alice Robinson
On Ways and Means Mr. Arthur J. Holden
6
HISTORICAL PREAMBLE
It was further decided to gather as large a choir as possible of the descendants of former choirs of the church, together with such other aid as might be necessary, introducing the bass viol and other instruments in vogue in the old days.
As to the music, it was decided to use so much of the "odes" written for the original dedica- tion as was appropriate, with old-time tunes and hymns.
These sub-committees at once entered upon their duties. The following letter of invitation was prepared and sent out: -
One hundred years ago, on January 1, 1806, The Church of Christ in Bennington, Vt., dedicated its then new house of worship. To-day we, their heirs, look back up the years with admiration and reverence for these worthies who builded so well. We want to gather with the sons and daughters, who have gone from the old home and still remember with grateful hearts the teachings they have had here. We want to honor this occasion as befits it. Bennington has another day peculiarly her own, made so by the sturdy valor of these sires. On or near this day we purpose to meet in the old meeting-house to recall the many forgotten facts of that period one hundred years ago, and to strive to re-enter that spirit so far as possible, that the benediction of those memories
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HISTORICAL PREAMBLE
may rest upon us. We want you to come back and share with us in this occasion and in this spirit. Let nothing prevent this.
On Sunday, August 19, 1906, there will be an his- torical discourse in the morning, and a communion service in the afternoon. On Monday, the 20th, there will be a re-dedication of the old building, some old- time singing, and a social hour given over to remi- niscences.
Won't you come and give to this occasion, as well as receive, that the dear old mother of us all may again rejoice in the dignities of her centennial year ? Signed by the Committee.
BENNINGTON CENTER, VT.
Mr. Richard Seymour Bayhan, a son of the old church, who had just returned from a long period of study of music in Germany, was asked to take the leadership of the choir, and the fol- lowing named persons were invited by the com- mittee to form it: -
SOPRANOS
Sarah Robinson Harrington Margaret Robinson Mary E. Jennings Eliza Hall Cushman Mary Bingham Merrill Elizabeth Trumbull Robin- son
Mary Doremus Safford Katherine Hubbell Poole Sarah Robinson Hall Margaret Van der Spiegel Merrill Roberts
Maria Robinson Sanford Alida Cammett Merrill
8
HISTORICAL PREAMBLE
Lucinda Conkling Robinson
Grace S. Roberts
Harriet Robinson Sears
Anne Clark
Frances Holden Catherine Boughton
Alice Robinson Helen Boughton
ALTOS
Adeline Harwood Waters
Mary Squires Booth
Mary Robinson Sanford
Mary Wilcox
M. Alice Roberts Welles Mary Robinson
Fanny Abbott Blackmer Delia A. Sibley
TENORS
Henry Squires
Samuel B. Hall
Charles Henry Robinson
John Van der Spiegel Merrill
Samuel Loomis Robinson Richard Seymour Bayhan
BASSES
Henry T. Cushman
Merritt Morgan
Albert C. Hubbell
Palmer Boughton
Edward Hooker Boughton Van Tuyl Boughton
Some of these were not able to do so, but those who were entered at once upon their rehearsals. The order of service was drawn up, and, with the courteous assistance of Justin Kellogg, Esq., procured to be printed at the office of the "Troy Times." The Committee on Ways and Means readily secured the necessary funds for expenses.
9081
100 YEARS
906|
€
INTERIOR OF THE MEETINGHOUSE Looking toward the Pulpit
9
HISTORICAL PREAMBLE
The 19th of August dawned clear but sultry, proving to be one of the warmest days of a warm season. A large representative gathering of de- scendants came together in the old church at the appointed hour, and the service began, ac- cording to the printed order, with the Reverends George S. Mills, pastor of the Second Congre- gational Church, Bennington, Charles H. Peck, formerly pastor of the Congregational Church, North Bennington, and Dr. Isaac Jennings of this church in the pulpit, which bore the legend " 1806 - 100 years - 1906" in immortelles, embedded in moss, while this and the com- munion table and the spaces at the side and in front were beautifully decorated with large bunches of ferns and golden glow, by Mr. Wil- liam Bigelow Jennings of New York city.
The large choir rendered with great power the old doxology with the hallelujah chorus, No. 228, in "Laudes Domini," Mrs. Albert J. Varney, the regular organist of the church, at the instru- ment, and Mr. Bayhan leading. This was fol- lowed by the Lord's Prayer repeated by the large congregation, after which the eighteenth psalm was sung to the tune "Majesty," No. 271, L. D. The one hundred and fifteenth psalm was then read by Rev. Mr. Peck, and hymn No. 1156,
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HISTORICAL PREAMBLE
L. D., was sung by the congregation, standing and facing the choir, as in vogue in earlier days in this church. Then prayer appropriate and uplifting was offered by Rev. Mr. Mills, another hymn, No. 952, L. D., was sung, the notices of the other services of the occasion and the regular meetings of the church were read and followed by the historical discourse, which oc- cupied ninety minutes in the reading, the con- cluding hymn, No. 924, L. D., followed, and the benediction was pronounced by Mr. Peck. The order for the afternoon communion service was carried out as printed, at half-past four o'clock, the Reverends George S. Mills and Charles H. Peck assisting, and Elder Charles Henry Robin- son of the First Presbyterian Church of Wil- mington, N. C., and Deacon Clement H. Cone, of the Second Congregational Church of this town, aiding the deacons of this church.
The next day proved to be even hotter than the day before, but another large and representa- tive congregation gathered at half-past two P. M., with Rev. Joseph Haswell Robinson of the First Presbyterian Church of White Plains, N. Y., and Dr. Jennings in the pulpit and the large choir in the singers' gallery, this time supplemented by an orchestra without the organ. Dr. Jennings pre- faced the service by reading a letter from Mrs.
II
HISTORICAL PREAMBLE
George Lyman, who united with this church in November, 1857, expressing her great interest in the occasion and regret at her inability to be present.
Following the printed order of service a selec- tion from one of the odes was sung to tune "Lu- ton," Mr. Marsh's introduction read, and a selection from another of the odes to tune "Lis- bon." Then Mr. Robinson read selected pas- sages from the sixth chapter of 2 Chronicles, which was the chapter read at the dedication, and offered a short prayer. This was followed by Dr. Jennings reading extracts from Mr. Marsh's dedication discourse, in the course of which occurs the prayer of dedication. This, adapted to the present occasion, was read as it occurred in the discourse.
At the conclusion selections from the original dedication ode were sung to tune "Old Hun- dred;" then Dr. Jennings announced the organi- zation of the sons and daughters to be the next order of service, and proposed the name of Rev. Joseph Haswell Robinson as chairman. He was duly elected and happily introduced the ex- ercises with a brief speech, then called for the nomination of a clerk. Justin Kellogg, Esq., pre- sented the name of John Van der Spiegel Merrill, Esq., who was also elected, and proceeded at
12
HISTORICAL PREAMBLE
once to enter upon his duties, in which he was ably seconded by Mrs. Caroline Robinson Mer- rill, who had previously, with the aid of Miss Katherine J. Hubbell, prepared the rolls, and afterward revised the names of those responding, as they now appear at the end of this volume. They had as aid in the technical part of the work a stenographer, Miss Margaret T. Hayes. In this part of the exercises, the order as printed was also duly followed. Ode I was sung to the tune "Lenox," interesting reminiscences were given by the Reverend Doctor Addison Bullard, nephew of Mr. James Bullard, and by others, and, closing the "social hour," "Auld Lang Syne" was sung by all standing, followed by the Doxology and the Benediction.
It should be added that the lists of names in- clude only those who are direct descendants of the original pew-owners and of their immediate successors, and who were present at the exer- cises of the day, together with those who re- sponded as having been present at the centennial services of January 4, 1863. They do not con- fine themselves to church members, nor do they undertake to give names of supporters after the pews were changed to slips.
A second meeting of the entire committee was called at the parsonage for Monday evening,
13
HISTORICAL PREAMBLE
the 14th of September, to consider the advisa- bility of publishing a full report of the proceed- ings of the two days, in response to a general desire expressed for this.
The decision reached was to do so, and to issue a letter at once to all interested, announcing the purpose of the committee and requesting the recipients to indicate the number of books each might need. This letter follows: -
Many requests have come to the committee that the exercises of the Old First Church centennial shall be published in a form both convenient for preser- vation and so substantial and attractive as befits the occasion. But your committee hesitates to incur the expense without first ascertaining the approxi- mate number likely to be required, nor can we name an exact price until we can get an estimate, which must be based on this number. The committee be- lieves, however, that a book in every way satisfactory can be secured, to sell at a price not to exceed two dol- lars per volume. It is proposed to include in this the Historical Discourse of Sunday morning, with the other exercises, the old Covenant read at the Com- munion service in the afternoon, the portions of Mr. Marsh's Dedication Sermon, used at the re-dedication, together with his prayer adapted for this occasion, and the odes in full, also the full proceedings of the meeting of the sons and daughters with the roll-calls and the names of those responding.
If, therefore, you will fill out and sign the ac-
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HISTORICAL PREAMBLE
companying blank form and return at once to Miss Katherine J. Hubbell, Bennington, Vt., the work will proceed with the utmost dispatch.
To the Committee of the Old First Church Centennial, Bennington, Vt .:
Please publish in substantial and attractive form the Historical Discourse and other exercises of Sunday, the 19th of August, 1906, including the re-dedication sermon and prayer of the following day, together with the odes, and the proceedings of the meeting of the sons and daughters.
To aid in accomplishing this, I will take. ... copies and pay for them not to exceed ($2.00) two dollars per volume.
In the vestibule of the church stood a show- case containing relics of the church, among which may be mentioned a contribution basket used in the old church which stood on the Green, loaned by Mrs. Sarah Morgan Olds, an old sub- scription list, loaned by George A. Robinson, a photograph of six old men, fathers of this church, reproduced from a daguerreotype, and other in- teresting reminders of those days.
Grateful recognition may here be recorded of all who generously aided in the success of the occasion, or afterwards in the preparation of this record.
PRAYER
OFFERED BEFORE THE DISCOURSE BY THE REV. GEORGE S. MILLS
HOLY! Holy! Holy! Lord God Almighty! There is none like unto Thee, who hath set Thy glory above the heavens. Praise waiteth before Thee, O God, in Zion, and unto Thee shall the vow be performed. O Thou that hearest prayer, unto Thee shall all flesh come. Thou art worthy to receive blessing and honor and glory and power, for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they were and are created. Hearken unto the adoration of Thy people, we beseech Thee, and let the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, our Strength and our Redeemer.
O Eternal God, from Thee cometh down every good and perfect gift, and Thou dost pour out on all who desire it the spirit of grace and of supplication. Enable us now to be in the mood and attitude of prayer. We give Thee praise and hearty thanks for all Thy goodness and loving-kindness. We thank Thee that Thou
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PRAYER
hast created us in Thy image, that Thou hast provided for our re-creation in Christ Jesus, when we were separate from Thee and wandered away, following hard after us and by the con- straint of Thy love bringing us back to Thy home and Thy heart. We thank Thee for Thy Spirit playing upon our spirits and quickening us into hunger and thirst after righteousness. Open between Thyself and us, we beg of Thee, a direct channel of communication that Thy life may flow into our lives and fill us with all the fulness of God. We thank Thee for the past so dearly cherished, for all the wealth of the present multiplied beyond our reckoning, and for our hopes in the immediate days before us.
We rejoice in the Church builded upon apos- tles, prophets, martyrs, Christ Jesus himself being the chief corner-stone. For the story of the hundreds of years and for the promise of the final victory when earth shall be like unto heaven, we praise Thee. For this Church we are glad - for its ministry, for the hours Thy people have spent in this house in attention to Thy word and the message of good news, for souls that have been quickened here and lives that have been changed, for children trained in Thy faith and fear. May there come from out
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PRAYER
this sacred past a call to go forward. May pastor and people in perfect love to Thy Christ and absolute loyalty to his teaching and spirit work together mightily that the kingdom may come yet more and more. O may Thy light and Thy truth go forth still from this holy hill to the places round about.
How the old home memories this hour troop and throng and speak to the heart! Yea, Lord, we have a goodly heritage! Do Thou help us to cherish even the more our family traditions, to have respect for the past of the domestic circle, to keep sacred the fund of ideas and sentiments that are clustered about our origins. Forbid that we should lose anything of virtue, of sweetness, and of grace from this most precious capital.
And we thank Thee more than all that the Homeland is defined, and the way thereto is lighted with the light that never was on sea or land, and friends are there and waiting with the blessed Christ for our home coming and the reunion forever and forever in the house of our Father God. O may this place of our sojourn- ing be rich in visions and the days of our pil- grimage jubilant with songs! For Thine own name's sake, we ask it. AMEN.
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE 1906
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE
Two serious mistakes prepared the way for our gathering to-day. It is tradition that Capt. Samuel Robinson, returning from the Canadian War to his home in Hardwick, Mass., mistook the Walloomsac River for the Hudson and was compelled to spend the night in this beautiful valley. This was the first mistake, but it gave us Bennington, the place of our meeting, for, then and there, he determined that when the war should end he would seek out comrades and start a settlement in this, then wilderness. General Burgoyne and Colonel Baum mistook the grit of the Green Mountain boys, and this gave us the sixteenth of August, the day we celebrate. This was the second mistake.
We are grateful to them for these mistakes and gather in this dear old church home on this sightly and beautiful hilltop, this nearest Sun- day to the sixteenth, to felicitate ourselves and honor their memories.
When the Canadian War was over and Cap- tain Robinson was at liberty to carry out his
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HISTORICAL DISCOURSE
plan, he found that a town had already been laid out on this site, though it had not been im- proved.1 With some comrades of similar mind he sought out the owners of the right and se- cured sufficient territory for their purpose.
Six families, twenty-two souls in all, reached this spot on June 18, 1761. To this number were added, during the summer and fall, some twenty or thirty families more. They were all of that sterner religious sect -for I think we do no injustice in so denominating them - called Separatists. That is, dissatisfied with the lax- ness of the church in their day, they had exer- cised the right, won by their fathers, to withdraw from a church which was not to their standard and purify, if possible, the Puritans themselves. Thus it comes about that church and state were one in this instance, in the best sense; neither could dominate the other, though time should bring it to pass that this oneness might be cause for long and bitter struggle when other members should be added to the community not in sym- pathy with their primitive ideas. Indeed, that they feared something of this is implied in their record of organization made December 3, 1762, in which they adopt the Cambridge platform,2 but take exception to that part which author-
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