USA > Vermont > Chittenden County > Westford > Historical addresses delivered at the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Congregational Church at Westford, Vermont, August 8, 1876 > Part 3
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With these facts are to be compared others, which I leave the hearer to gather for himself - an easy thing to do, alas !- showing how persons have had as large a posterity, as those I mentioned, with hardly a professing Christian among them ; and with no systematie use of God's appointed means of salva- tion, at home or elsewhere, as the fatal reason of the contrast ! The facts given are a commentary on Gen. xviii : 19, where God says of Abraham, "I know him, that he will command his chil- dren and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord. " They show that there is a vital connection be-
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tween the power of Christian example, good government and systematic religious instruction by parents at home - in con- neetion with the regular use of the means of grace at church - and the conversion of children to Christ. Parents who neglect to govern and train their children for God, and keep them with- in the circle of religious influences, have little reason to expeet them to become Christians. When Isaiah was portraying the calamities about to come on the people! of Jerusalem; he put this word of the Lord in the foreground of his picture : " I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them." Such an inversion of the natural order of things in the house- hold also will bring " the beginning of sorrows, " whose " end is not yet. ". . Doubtless the family government and training in the homes of our forefathers were not entirely perfect, as to manner. but they produced excellent results ; and those who recoil from them are bound to show better results from the use of their meth. ods, or those who shall hereafter " know them by their fruits, " as we judge of the fathers to-day, will not be able to pronounce a favorable verdict. Yes, to our Christian or unchristian anees- tors we are indebted for many of the strongest traits of our char- acters, - good or bad. I have a personal interest in this state. ment. My Christian purpose to-day I attribute chiefly to the in- fluence of the home of my childhood. While I was passing through the stormy period of youth, -sailing by " the Terra del Fuego of life, " - the hehn was in efficient hands. My rev- erence for the Lord's House, Book and Day, is a safeguard due chiefly to parental example and precept. . The thought of my father's diligence in the study of the Bible, attending church, keeping the Sabbath and requiring all over whon he had in- fluence to keep it also, -even leaving his sleigh, on the way to church to clear the ice of skaters, by reminding them of the Sabbath laws, - is powerful over me to-day. My great-grand- father, as tithing-man, attempted to stop Ethan Allen, on a Sab- bath breaking expedition. An influence has doubtless descend- ed from him of more value than a princely fortune. Christian teaching and example at home can do more good than special revival services, - valuable as the latter are. They are the steady religions influences that mould people into the image of Christ.
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I have gathered some facts which show that conversion or- curs usually during those years when children are still under the paternal roof. Of 113 persons who are, or have been, mem- bers of this church, conversion occurred at these ages : - that of
2 at 9 12 at 16
4 at 22 1 at 23
1 at 29
1 at 36
" at 11 15 at 17
1 at 30
1 at :>
" at 12
8 at 18 2 at 24
2 at 31
1 at !!!
" at 13 10 at 19
4 at 25
1 at 32
1 at 43.
6 at 14 12 at 20
3 at 26
1 at 34
11 at 15 3 at 21
2 at 28
2 at 35
The average of the ages at which the conversion of these 11; persons took place is under twenty years, ( 19.778. ) Nearly three fourths of them were under twenty-one; one-half, under eighteen : nearly one-fourth, under fifteen.
If I have tarried too long on this point, it is a very impor- tant one. The influences at work on children and youth in our homes are the most powerful of all on the welfare of the com ing, as well as past, generations of men. 6040 persons have been found to be descended from one man in two hundred and sixty years, according to a recent publication : * if that man impress- ed his character, in some degree, on his posterity, how great i- his influence and responsibility ! And this responsibility is nome the less because the wrong influence of the unchristian parent is sometimes prevented from yielding its natural fruit, by the power of Divine grace. How strongly then do the facts I have mentioned show the necessity of religion in a parent !
(h) The history of this church furnishes a new illustration of the fact that godliness promotes long life. I have learned the ages at which one hundred and thirty-five former members of this church died. These were not selected from others, but are all who have belonged to this church, whose ages at death I could learn. None of the ages of these was less than twenty- four and none greater than ninety-four. The sum of their age- is 8660 years and a fraction. The average of their ages is sixty-jour years and a fraction, (i. e., 64.148 yrs.) Seven more of them died over 80 yrs. of age than under 40. ;
* Host, Haight and Hight Families .- The 6040 are probably only two-thirds of all the family. since the descendants of daughters who lost the old family name by marriage are not included. t Of the 135, 5 died over 90; 31, over 80; 68, over 70; 84, over 60; 99, over 50 and 111, over to.
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With the duration of these lives, I have compared that of the lives of all non-professors of religion, buried in town, whose ages at death I have been able to learn from their tomb-stones. or other reliable sources of information ;* and whose death did not occur at an age earlier than 24 years. The whole number of persons of this class taken is 134.+ These also were not se- lected from others, through partiality to any suposed needs of my argument, { but are all who are buried in town, who had never been members of any branch of Christ's risible church, accord- ing to reliable testimony ; $ and whose ages at death I could learn. Their ages range from 24 yrs. to 100 yrs. & 10 mos. The sum of their ages is 6937 yrs. & a fraction. The average of their uges is 51 yrs. & a fraction, (i. e., 51.768 yrs.) Thirty- even more of them died under 40 yrs. of age than over 80. 1 The duration of their lives, on the average, is twelve & thirty-eight hundredths (12.38) years LESS than that of the members of this church buried beside them in the same cemeteries. Professors of religion, - the better and the worse taken impartially together, - in this case, have lived about twen- ty-four (23 & 91-100) per cent longer than aon-professors. No evi- dence has come to my knowledge folding to show that acci- dents, hardships, epidemies, hereditary diseases or natural lon- gevity have affected the two classes here compared unequally. No evidence has been found to forbid the conclusion that here is a practical illustration of the truth of the doctrine of Serip- ture: " Godliness is profitable * having the promise of the life that now is. " And the case would be even clearer, if the godly persons among the 134 were transferred to the other side ; for sev- oral of the oldest of them were reported to have lived godly lives. Divine grace enthroned in the heart leads to a better obedience of the laws of the physical life, as well as the spiritual.
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Such are some of the lessons which we have entered into the labors of " other men " to learn. The work also which they began
* The writer copied the inscriptions on all the tomb-stones, known to him, throughout the whale town ; and took abundant testimony from about Su persona from 92 yrs of age down.
f Only 1-11 graves of persons over 24 yrs old at death, and not reported to ane as having been members of some church, were found in town ! And the facts about 7 of the Hlare EshNews. These 7 are therefore left out.
ţ The lists of names of persons & ages can now be examined by any one.
& This testimony, it was not very difficult to obtain ; as the first buried in town, ( that of Silas Beach, ) occurred July 4, 1796 : the first settlement nade (by Hezekiah Parmekr) being in 1787. 1 Of the 134 2 died over 90; 14, over 80; 32, over 70; 50, over 60; 66, over 50; ×1, over 40.
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to do, they have left for the present generation to carry on to- ward its completion. And this work is left mainly for the young men and women of this church and congregation to do. The fathers and mothers in Israel are passing away. ; What shall be the religious history of the town for the next twenty-five years. is the most vital question before these youth to-day.
In view of the history of the church, which has now been reviewed, there is reason for gratitude to God and the godly people who have done so much for us ; reason for humiliation that more has not been accomplished in the seventy-five years. and room for encouragement in time to come ; for the God of the fathers, and of former revivals, is ours.
We gather in our religious home to-day, to review the past. Could we call before us all those congregations, that have wor- shipped in connection with this church, for three-quarters of a century, - in barns, school-houses, private dwellings, in the old and the present meeting-houses, - it would be a moving and in- structive spectacle. Hundreds of persons, even after they have gone to heaven, will delight to look back to this church in West- ford, - the home of their spiritual childhood, - as we, to our birth-place and the scenes of our early days. Here they had their probation. Here they suffered, in the experience of conviction of sin. Here they found " the gate of heaven, " and rejoiced over the salvation of others. From hence they went down to the grave. laden with the experience of God's goodness. Some have come to attend this Anniversary, as they would revisit the home of child- hood. It is well for us to strengthen our att: chment for this church, to recall its history and cherish the memory of other days. The memories, and many of the graves, of its dead are here with us. Good wishes of many living, near or far, are with us. The prayers and benedictions of its former ministers are with us to- day. Our Gop, - the merciful Father, the great Redeemer, the Holy Spirit, - is with us. Let us gather stimulus from the record of God's dealings in the past; look at the needs of the pres nt; and. trusting God with a true faith, and serving Him and our gener.i- tion with a good courage, let us arise and strengthen the walls and replenish the altars of our Zion, and SEE WHAT OUR GOD AND OUR FATHERS' GOD WILL. DO FOR US !
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ANNIVERSARY HYMN.
Psalm 48 : 9.
WITH songs of glad thanksgiving, We come with one accord, To Thee, our ever living, And ever present Lord. Our fathers did before us, Thy loving-kindness prove : That kindness still is o'er us ; We, too, would praise thy love.
Among these hills, was planted Thy church, long years ago ; Thy help, in mercy granted, Has kept it until now. Continue, Lord, to guide us, That we may keep thy way ; And grace and strength provide us, For every coming day.
Whatever may assail us, We fly to Thee for aid; Thy strength can never fail us, We will not be afraid. In love and faith abiding, Help us to spend our days ; And in Thy care confiding, To give unceasing praise.
. A. T. B.
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REV. J. H. WOODWARD'S ADDRESS.
Such has been my health, that I have been obliged, with great reluctance, to decline any prominent or studied partici- pation in the exercises of this very interesting occasion.
Grateful that I am able to be here, I now arise at the ear- nest solicitation of my friend, your pastor, to say a few thing- that may suggest themselves to mind at the moment.
You have had an elaborate and faithful presentation of the more important history of this church, from its beginning. It- foundation under God was laid by a master workman, - a thor. oughly evangelic man, whose praise is in all the churches. This doubtless has had more to do with its subsequent growth and honorable record than may generally be supposed. A right start, out of right materials, is an important point gained in the life of any church ; and must necessarily have much to do with its ongoing, symmetry and power. It has been my priv-
ilege to be acquainted with the Rev. Jedediah Bushnell, the founder of this church, and with some of its original members; and I can assure you, " there were giants in those days, " - men whose little fingers were heavier than the loins of many in the churches of this day. Their piety was of a heavier stock. Their influence reached faither and sunk deeper. The distinction be tween them and the unregenerate world, was broader and more striking. . And so also, when I call to remembrance the men and the women who were here, when I first came to this town, -- a young and inexperienced man, - those men and women, be- gotten by those great revivals that characterized the early part
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of this century ; and who, by their first pastor, were laid up into this spiritual temple, my impressions are strengthened and my convictions become a certainty. When in 1837. I was called to be the minister of this people, all my feelings rebelled. The face of the town was rough and forbidding. The people, though intelligent, seemed unpolished, oid-fashioned and plain. They received mails but tivo br three times a week !! Their mect- ing-housesvas of enormous size, umcomely, antiquated, cold, and standing out upon the open common, with roads on all sides of it. Their old and popular minister was still here, and it did seem like presumption for me to attempt to fill his shoes. I had just come from the schools, with shattered health, with lit- the faith and piety. And, in addition to all this, a period of great excitement, religiously, politically and materially, had commenced its disorganizing work ; and no finite mind could foresee the result. New-measurism, Unionism and Millerism were raising the winds ; overriding the distinguishing doctrines of grace, and threatening the stability and unity of the churches. The antislavery excitement was rising in its might, and rend- ing the old political parties, - preparing to enthrone itself in the hearts of the people. Many of the agitators in this move. mont. - at the time of which I speak, - were violent and de- nunciatory. The ministry, the church and even the American Board, were assailed as antichrist. The sabbath and the sanct- uaries were demanded for their philippics : and, when denied during the ordinary hours of religious worship, it was held up as evidence of proslavery opposition. It was about this time
also, that the temperance reformation took a new departure ; and, by its demand for legislation, laid the foundation for a great deal of work and violent opposition. The Legislature be- gan very modestly, by granting to the towns and counties the right. by vote, of determining whether or not they would have any persons licensed to sell spirituous liquors within their bounds. This of course opened up new sources of argument, and made a lively canvass every year throughout the state. Westford was always, I believe, in its vote, against free rum. But there Was a great deal of work, and some of it pretty rough, put into the town. And there was one more distracting influence, which
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we must mention. " The gold mines of California were laying bare their treasures, and firing the love of money, the greed of gain and the spirit of adventure, to their highest pitch ; and thus materializing the thoughts and feelings of the nation. 1 new meeting-house also had to be built, and was built and con- secrated to God, in the first three years of my ministry.
Now how could I assume the responsibilities of pastor of such a people as this, at such a time, and under such circum- stances as these ? It was not done till after much thought and prayer, - till the duty became plain, I may say, irresistible.
On entering upon my work, I was at once received with great confidence and cordiality. The congregations were uni- formly large, I think the largest I found in the county, outside of Burlington. The choir also was large, able and united. It was under the charge and leadership of S. G. Meriam, for a- bout 20 years. He was a man of fine musical voice, taste and culture. Our church and prayer meetings were generally well attended, and were interesting, by reason of the ability and cheerful cooperation of the laity.
There was also a large class of strong and true men in the society, who manifested about as much interest in religious matters as the church, and who stood by the pastor with a de. votion and unanimity not surpassed by the brotherhood. They were, in many instances, men of property and standing, regu- iar attendants on the means of grace and liberal contributors to every good cause. They were men who had come down through the great revivals, for the most part indulging Christian hopes, but for one reason and another, had not publicly united them- selves unto the people of God. Of course we had to meet the new and exciting order of things to which we have referred. 1'e could not avoid it. A church of such standing and influence as the Westford church, was an object to be gained ; and hence we were beset behind and before. We were like the bush in Horeb, - on fire, but not consumed. The prospect at times was threatening, dark and trying. We did not all think alike. There were some in the church who loved new and strange things ; and desired to try the experiments which were becom- ing so popular all about us, and which produced, wherever they
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came, such harvests of discord and disaster. Happily those a- mong us'who wanted these things were good brethren, but al- ways in a hopeless minority. The great majority of the church. and a still greater majority of the society, stood by and support- ed the pastor in all his positions. They did it, as I suppose, because they believed the pastor to be right. I know that he thought himself to be right, and felt most deeply that he as a minister was no more truly commissioned to proclaim the truth, and to build up Zion, than to defend them ; - that he might be doing a work as acceptable to the Master, in guarding the fold as in adding to its numbers ; - in standing by and upholding principles, order and right, when assailed, as in making them known unto the world : and so, right or wrong, one prominent object of his ministry was to uphold and defend the " old land- marks of the fathers, " - those principles, usages and truths which had received, not only the seal and approbation of the church in its best state, but the seal and approbation of God himself.
The state of things to which I have referred was not favor- able to revivals ; and there was no such general and copious outpouring of the Spirit, during my ministry, as had been ex- perienced by the church at an earlier period : yet God granted us several seasons of marked religious interest, and of some- what extended ingatherings of precious fruits unto Christ. In the winter of 1837-8, we had a very pleasant revival, which commenced at a neighborhood prayer meeting, maintained at " the Hollow, " and resulted in the hopeful conversion of some 40 souls. Also another, of somewhat wider range, in 1839-40, seeming to originate from a funeral discourse, preached on the death of a young merchant, - by the name of George Hale, - from the text, " Prepare to meet thy God. " Numbers, subse- quently giving in their relation to the church, gave this occa- sion as the cause of their awakening. And so, all along during my ministry, there were frequent tokens of God's presence in the bestowment of his saving grace. They were like the falling
dew or the gentle shower. Of course, the causes of depletion in the church were actively at work. Death and removals were constant ; oftentimes cutting down the old pillars, or dismissing
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its active and enterprizing members, and sending them to re- gions where God had need of them. And in the society too, we had a corresponding result. Change, change, is written all over the face of this parish ! What a mighty concourse has gone to the encampment beyond the river, from this town, in the seventy-five years we are celebrating to-day ! The occasion gives, at least to their memories, a resurrection ; and causes them to pass in sad and long array before us. Very few are here in body, who were here seventy-five years ago ; and those that are, are on the very verge of the eternal. The first two pas- tors of this church, who ministered to it for over half a centif- ry, are yet among the living; while the greater portion who shared in their labors, are among the dead. Here and there we see some who stood by us, and worked with us, - men and women of precious memories, - but the greater portion are the descendants and representatives of those who were here and are gone.
Permit me to say, dear young friends, that on you are to rest the responsibilities of perpetuating this church and main- taining its character for a sound and saving piety. Stand not around it only, but gather into it with your whole hearts, mak. ing it more powerful for good, in the years to come, than it has been in the years that are past. And may God's Holy Spirit rest down upon you, in its saving and sanctifying might
Nor can I close without referring to a very pleasant feature in this gathering. We see here to-day numbers from different parts of our country, who were once residents of the town, who have come back after an absence of years, for a hearty reunion with the old church that gave them Christian nurture, and to look a- gain upon the old homesteads, that have long been vacant, and to visit the cemeteries where their fathers sleep, -- to look upon the farms they once cultivated, the mountains and valleys they once loved, - to greet the friends of former years, telling their stories and hearing yours, of God's dealings since you last me. I know that they have a hearty welcome from you all,, by the feelings of my own heart ; and that you will make their visit as pleasant as is possible. And now, that God may make the future of this church, in every respect, more glorious than its past, is the prayer of my heart.
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REV. C. C. TORREY'S ADDRESS.
The period including the life-time of this church is re- markably eventful. In the back-ground we see the French Rev- olution sweeping like a tornado over Europe, obliterating the old landmarks, - proclaiming a new era, which was to mark the downfall of Christianity. We see our own republic, like the young Hercules, throttling the power of France and of Eng- land, in two successive and successful wars; - doubling her territory by the cession of Louisiana ; and, by subsequent ac- quisitions, covering the greater and better part of the continent. We see a population of five million multiplied to nearly forty ; white the facilities for intercommunication have brought the ex- tremes of this vast domain almost as near together, practically, as were the extreme counties of Vermont, at the beginning of the century, when four days was the quickest time that could be made between Albany and New York. Steam was then a new motor, almost untried : now it performs, in this country alone, the work of two hundred millions of men ; and, in the world, the labor of a thousand millions. Inventions have kept pace with this advancement. Machinery is now the rule ; hand- work, the exception. Farming has been changed from drudge- ry almost to recreation. Natural science, then in its infancy, has grown apace : opening to us the wonders of creation ; teach- ing us to turn the pages of the rocks, and to penetrate the se erets of the stars. Only eighty-three years before this church was born, the Ptolemaie system was taught in Yale College; and not until 1718, were its pupils told that the world moves
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and that the sun is the center of the solar system. Not until this church was twenty years old, were good Catholics allowed. by the annulling of the bull of excommunication against Co- pernicus, to doubt that the earth is the center of the universe. And there are foreshadowings of still grander progress in the future. All around us, in the clay, lie tons of a metal of only one third the weight of iron, of wonderfui toughness ; which. with its alloys, is destined to shelve the iron age with the age of stone and bronze, so soon as a flux can be found, by means of which it can be cheaply, and so abundantly, rendered from the soil. What is then to hinder the aerial voyager, with a steam-engine of extreme lightness, yet almost indestructible. from exploring the gulf-streams of the atmosphere; and float ing quietly from continent to continent, at the rate of 125 miles an hour ? Will not He who has so remarkably timed the dis- covery of this continent, - the opening of the coal-fields, the treasures of gold, silver and copper ; and, in the very hour of our necessity and peril, caused the rocks to " pour out rivers of oil " : when the exigencies of his kingdom shall require or ad- mit, bring forth this new metal ( aluminium ) as the means of still greater advancement ?
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