USA > Vermont > Chittenden County > Westford > Historical addresses delivered at the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Congregational Church at Westford, Vermont, August 8, 1876 > Part 4
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5
It becomes us to inquire whether, as a Christian people. we have rendered unto God according to the benefits received : whether the church of Christ in this land has recognized her opportunities, and made the most of them, for the extension of the Redeemer's kingdom. The world is now brought to her doors. London or New York is, by telegraph, within twenty- four hours of most of the larger cities of the world. The foun- dations of heathenism are crumbling under the mighty solvent of universal intercourse. Copies of the Bible can be multiplied. at a comparatively trifling expense, and sent to every quarter of the globe. The translations of the Seriptures, which at the beginning of the century, could give the Word in their own lau- guage to only one-ninth of our race, have been multiplied until nine-tenths of the world's population may find recorded in their own tongue the wonderful works of God. The two hun- dred millions of Mohammedans find the Scriptures peculiarly attractive, through the superiority of the printed page to any
36
form of Arabic which was ever seen before. During the life- time of this church, the Missionary work has sprung from a · mustard-seed into a noble growth ; and the invitation has now gone forth to the ends of the earth : " Come, for all things are now ready. " But what as a people are we doing to provide these millions with the bread of life ? How are we employing our vast resources, as respects the kingdom of Christ ? Six millions of dollars per annum for the support of the Gospel at home, and perhaps one-fifth of that amount for the Gospel a- broad ; - seven millions for ministers : - seventeen millions for dogs, seventy millions for tobacco and seren hundred millions for intoxicating drink ! !
There are great and alarming exigencies growing out of our prosperity ; and particularly connected with the increased facilities for intercommunication. These are concentrating our population in large towns and cities, and multiplying the per- ishing and dangerous classes. The increase of population in the cities is more than double the average increase of the pop- ulation as a whole. The rural districts are depopulated. and the conservative and purifying influence of the rural element in our population is rapidly diminishing. Great cities now re- pudiate the laws of the state, whenever they please. Where, e. g., is the prohibitory liquor law executed ? Only in the ru- ral districts. And they who now trample upon state enact- ments will soon, by the very force of numbers, determine what those laws shall be, and that under the control of the whisky- ring. The rural population, and especially the rural churches, have a great work to do ; and it is a work encompassed with increasing difficulties. They must be keepers of the vineyards, and yet their own vineyards they cannot keep. It is theirs to quarry and shape the stones, which shall elsewhere be built in- to goodly temples which their eyes may never see. Such has been the work of this church in the past : such, more largely and more discouragingly, to human view, is to be her work in the future.
Many who mingle in these services to-day may hope to witness this church's Centennial Anniversary. You who have but now buckled on the armor in your youth, may some of you
-
t
-
37
remain by the stuff until the hundredth birth-day comes. Do your work well. See to it, - for so it should surely be, - see to it that the twenty-five years to come shall record a more a- bundant harvest than the seventy-five that are passed. Others have sown the seed ; it is yours to reap the harvest : not for yourselves indeed, - not, we fear, to build up here a more nu- merous or prosperous church than the' past has seen, - but, so far as in you lies, to leaven all who grow up here with the Spir- it of Christ, that when they go from these familiar scenes, - as most of them will, - they may go forth in his name to be ves- sels of honor sanctified and meet for the Master's use.
of ed ur er- in p- nt
.
1- t- it. ¡- 3,
₹ 1
ife- 1 8 LOW are ide ing Six at a-
REV. E. B. CHAMBERLAIN'S ADDRESS.
Dear Christian Friends : - I have anticipated great pleas- ure in expecting this anniversary, and now experience pecu- liar joy in meeting so many of my former parishioners and oth- ers, on this delightful day of this Centennial year, in this sha- ly grove, around these bountifully-spread tables expressing so generous a Christian hospitality, to celebrate the institution of this church, Aug. 7, 1801. There is however, an element of sadness throwing its shadow over our festivities, as we are so vividly reminded of our deceased associates in this church, whose places with us are vacant to-day.
In order that we may have more correct ideas of the event- ful period through which the Lord has preserved this church, I would call your attention to some events cotemporary with its institution. Then, the population of the Union was 5,000, 000; of Vermont, 154,000; of Chittenden Co., 2732; of West- tord, 618. Ten years before, it was only 63 persons. Jefferson, the third President, had been in office five months. Washing- ton had, one and a half years before, and Isaac Tichenor was Governor of Vermont. The National Government had been in existence only twenty-five years. There were but sixteen states in the Union, Vermont having been admitted ten years before. The other twenty-two states have been added since and the population increased to 40,000,000.
The following year, a treaty was made between Napoleon L. and the United States, by which a large part of our present domain was purchased of France for $15,000,000. Near this
39
time, Tripoli was at war with our nation. George III. was king of England, in the fortieth year of his reign, and died nineteen years after. France was under Napoleon I., who was made Emperor three years later. Alexander I. of Russia was in the first year of his reign, and the bloody battles of Marengo, Traf- algar and Hohenlinden were near that time.
Of the one hundred ninety-six Congregational churches re- ported in 1876. only sixty-seven were organized before this. The oldest, Bennington Ist, was organized 1762 ; the oldest in the county, in Hinesburgh, 1789. One hundred twenty-two ex- isting Congregational churches have been formed in the state since 1801 ; - among them some of the largest. The churches in Cabot, Waterbury, Richmond, Underhill, Swanton, Strat- ton and Rochester were organized the same year with Westford. As a self-appointed delegate from these sister churches of the same age with this, scattered over various parts of the state, 1 would tender their congratulations to this sister church for the strength and prosperity you have been granted.
During my ministry of nearly three years among you, I was often with various families, in scenes of much sickness and many deaths. I officiated at more than forty funerals ; and. at- mong those then consigned to the grave, were fathers and moth- ers in the church, young men and maidens and little ones of various ages. My space will allow me to name only a few of them :- Mrs. L. M. Bates, whose departure left six tender children motherless ; Mrs. John Allen, whose death was a tri- umph ; Mrs. Warren Hohes, a sincere Christian ; F. C. Wil cox, the faithful Sunday School Superintendent ; Anna Osgood, who has so many Christian descendants to testify to her pious fidelity. Thomas Richardson, Oliver Goodrich, David Castle. Chauney Weaver, John Haselton, David Haselton, Freder- ic Cook, Jacob Macomber, Lymin Farnsworth, Avary Bur- dick, Moses Bates, were all aged citizens, and most of them church-members. Mrs. Dea. Bowman was a " mother in Isra- el," whose works praise her, and Dea. Bowman, who has re- cently died, was ready to subject himself to any personal in- convenience, when he could be of service to the church.
And now, may I address a word to the young people of this
S- [1- 1- 1- 10 of >f 0 1, - , 1 >
1
.
40
town, for whom I labored and prayed ? You may perhaps have thought us ministers severe and unsympathizing, as we unfolded the plain terms of the Gospel, but we are called to re- peat that solemn and sublime proclamation : "Say ye to the righteous, . It shall be well with him ; Woe unto the wicked ! it shall be ill with him. '"
Children of an ancestry so pious and self-sacrificing, - the fruits of whose devotion to Christ are made so apparent to-day, as we take a retrospect of the past, - will you not in the future sustain and cherish this church which was so dear to your fath- ers and mothers, and that has been a fountain of so much ben- efit to this town and to the world, that they who may succeed you in the changes of time, may commemorate your Christian labors with as much satisfaction as we narrate the past on this Anniversary.
REV. ALVAH SABIN'S ADDRESS.
Ladies and Gentlemen : - I have been kindly invited by the pastor of the Congregational Church of this place to address you, on this seventv-fifth anniversary of that church, and give a brief history of the origin and progress of the Baptist Church of this place. I am selected as the person to address you from the fact that I am an old man, and that I preached to this church, every other Sabbath, from 1822 to 1829. I was then a young man, just from the Theological Institution, then recent- ly established by the Baptist Triennial Convention, located at Philadelphia, which was soon after removed to Washington, and is now the Columbian College in the District of Columbia. As I left the school I received an appointment as a missionary, from a society in Pennsylvania, to be expended in Northern Vermont and Lower Canada. So I commenced by preaching at Cambridge, Underhill, Johnson, Morristown, Craftsbury, I- rasburgh, Potton, L. C., Sutton, Dunham, St. Armand, Stan- bridge; but on coming round to Cambridge again, I received an invitation to preach at Cambridge Center one-half of the time for a year ; and, through the agency of a Mr. Ward of Under- hill, - the man that had no legs, as the older people will re- member, - I was invited to preach in the old Congregational meeting-house at the center of the town. Here I preached for one year, and I enjoyed it as well as I have any year since that time. Dea. Humphrey and Dea. Coleman were honest, sober Christians. The second year, through the influence of Dea. Jo- nas Hobart and Dea. Isaac Chase, I came to Westford to preach
42
for half the time; while I continued at Cambridge as before. The Baptist church was very small, and had not had preaching for some time past, and but few society-men that felt bound to aid in supporting preaching. All that the church felt able to promise me was fifty dollars for the year ; and I made no ob- jection, for I did not know but it was all it was worth : but they said they would pay more as soon as they were able ; and, without any solicitation on my part, they doubled and trebled and quadrupled it. At this time, they had no meeting-house. The meetings were held in a little old school-house somewhere on the green, at the center of the town. I recollect that they built some sheds around two sides of the house and made slab- benches to sit on, and then, by taking out the windows, all could hear. We enjoyed these conveniences for the first sum- mer ; but, as cold weather came on, we had to confine ourselves to the house again. At this time it began to be talked up that we must have a meeting-house; but as the society was small and poor, it was proposed to the M. E. Church to join in build- ing a house, and to this they acceded. A committee was ap- pointed and a constitution was formed, fixing the principle of the occupancy of the house, and during the winter preparations were made, and the house was erected the next summer. And I can say that I never saw so much enthusiasm in any public enterprise as I saw in the erection of that house. Every family took an interest, and they taxed themselves to the extent of their ability, and contributed their personal labor and their tim- ber and stone and the making their brick. As I stayed at their houses, they talked about the new house and seemed to antici- pate much satisfaction in the occupancy of a good house ; and after the house was up and enclosed, the workmen would re- move the shavings and arrange seats on Saturday evenings, and the people would hold their meetings there on the Sabbath. This was done for some time before the inside was completed. It was a house, as I now think, of convenient size and structure. It was at a time when the people began to cut down the height of the old-fashioned pulpits. I recollect that I was consulted on this subject by the workmen ; and they got me to stand on a work- bench to ascertain about how high the pulpit-floor should be;
1
43
3. 0 D
- t --
and I now think its construction was more symmetrical and convenient than it is now. I felt to participate in the zeal of the congregation. I preached as well as I could, and the peo- ple heard as well as they could, and the Lord seemed to bless us; and during the first winter we occupied the house all the people attended meeting, and at one time I suggested that we would spend the intermission in a conference, and before we could close the after-noon was gone and we closed without preaching. From this followed a very pleasant and happy re- vival, and it was common to both societies and continued through the winter. As near as I can recollect, about seventy united with the Baptist church. I recollect that the Baptist church adopted a plan of assessing themselves for the support of preach- ing. It was this : they met and formed a grand list of their own and proportioned it as equitably as they could; and then they determined the sum to be raised and assessed it on the grand list. They then wrote a subscription in usual form and affixed each man's name and his corresponding tax to this sub- scription, and then this was circulated in the society and each man signed what he felt it his duty to sign. The advantage of this plan was that there was no complaint that the members of the church did not pay their proportion.
The Baptist Church of Westford was organized in 1798. It had been in being about eighteen or nineteen years when I first knew it. I recollect that while I was a licensed preacher, - a- bout the year 1817, - I went to Westford to preach in the stone school-house, in the Chase neighborhood, and then I met a young man by the name of Ira Chase, who was a graduate from Middlebury College, and then a theological student at Andover, Mass. I tried my best to have him preach ; but I saw by the look of his eye that he had no intention of preaching at all ; so I had to go forward and do the best that I could. I recollect that it made the sweat start down my back. The first Associ- ation that I ever attended after I made a profession, was held at Morristown; and this Mr. Ira Chase was there. At this meeting he interrogated me as to my course, marked out for myself, and urged upon me the necessity of my devoting as much time to study as might be practicable; and under his
44
promptings and aid I am indebted, more than to any other man, for the limited education that I received. This Mr Chase, as you all understand, was the son of Dea. Isaac Chase, and af- terward Dr. Chase at the head of the Theological Institution es- tablished at Newton Mass. At the time I was at the Institu- tion at Philadelphia, in 1819-21, Dr William Stoughton and Tra Chase were the Professors, and were my teachers. My the- ological course was under Prof. Chase's tuition. The Rev. Pe- ter Chase was my class-mate and my room-mate and bed-fellow. The Rev. Joseph Ballard was licensed to preach by this church, and attended the same Institution that I did, but after it was removed to Washington, D. C.
I was acquainted with most of the members that constitu- ted this church at its organization. They were Dea. Isaac Chase, Dea. Uriel Stewart, Brethren Jonathan Chase, Reuben Burdick, Jonas Hobart, Solomon Hobart, - Ingersoll, Wm. Weav- er, Levi Farnsworth, Avary Burdick, Truman Chase, and later, Isaac Chase, Jr., Luther Chase, Tyler Chase, Ira Farnsworth and one or two brothers, and most of the wives of these breth- ren were members of the church when I came here. There were a number of society-men that took a deep interest in the welfare of the church. Among them were Mr. Dan Griffin, Mr. Jacob Macomber, Daniel Macomber, Hervey Macomber, Mr. Mc Clellan, Mr. Allen Stone. These were constant attendants at meeting and regular supporters of preaching. In the Baptist congregation there were several large families and many of them became members of the church. About 1826 the Baptist soci- ety built a parsonage at some expense, that has been occupied for this purpose ever since. The meeting-house has been new- modeled and a steeple has been built and a bell put into it and the right of the M. E. Church has been bought out. This church has had several preachers since I left. The first was Bro. Hall. He was a young man of respectable preaching talent. This church has been supplied for several years by students from the New Hampton Academy at Fairfax. For fifteen years past, I have had no particular knowledge of this church. The first and old men of the church and society I knew to be plain, in- dustrious, sober, persevering men that were confirmed in their
----
45
religious convictions and habits, and men that wielded their proportion of moral influence in the town, and set examples. as business men and citizens, that have tended to produce the orderly state of society that has ever characterized the people of this town.
I close by saying that I am happy to meet so many of the friends with whom I spent seven of the happiest years of my life. And I thank the pastor of this Congregational Church for giving me, as a representative of the Baptist Church, this pleas- ant opportunity of enjoying the festivities of this occasion.
A. SABIN.
r ,
ROLL OF MEMBERS
OF THE -
CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, WESTFORD, VT.
EXPLANATIONS. - The figures in the middle of the page show the date of admission to the church. The point "?, " instead of a date, shows that the latter is omitted in the records. "L" signifies received by letter. " Dis " means dismissed. "Ex. " means excluded. The maiden nunes of married women, when known, are given, - included m parentheses. Names printed iu Italics are those of present members of the church. " A, " after such names, means that the persons are absent from town, but retain their membership in this church.
Aug. 7, 1801.
Benajah Case ; Lydia Case ;
died, 1818. died, December '02.
Martin Powell ;
died, February '45.
Lucy Powell ;
Amos Partridge, Sen. ;
died, August '.21.
Miletia ( Ellis ) Partridge ;
died, March 7.23.
Benjamin Wilmot ;
Huldah Wilmot ;
Shubal Woodruff ;
died, May '03.
Nathan Richardson ;
Mrs.
Dwyer ;
Sally Knapp ;
Lucy ( Case ) Northaway ;
Autumn of 1801.
Mrs. Shubal Woodruff ;
Mrs. Nathan Richardson ; Amos Partridge, Jr. ; Silas Powell
died, "28.
Barnabas Beach ; Francis Northaway, Sen. ;
died, June
'29.
Joseph Robinson ; Lydia ( Moore ) Partridge ; Mary ( Mores ) Witherill ; dis. to Granville, Ohio, May '33. Hannah Hooker ;
47
At this point many names that belong on our roll are lost. All the records kept by church-clerks previous to May 23, 1813. are missing : but private records were kept by Lucy (Case) Northaway, - Dea. Case's daughter and one of the original mem- bers of this church ; - and, in a letter dated Dundee, Ill., Dec. 22, 1855, this Mrs. Northaway sent to this church a copy of part of her records and gave the names of the 13 original members and 10 others [see page 46] and spoke of "11 others, " whose names she did not send, - making 34 who belonged to the church before the close of 1801. Mr. Parmelee's MS. speaks of "more than 70, " received by him to the church during 1808. Hence, during two of the twelve years previous to 1813, about 85 persons joined this church, whose names may be missing from its roll : and during the years of which there is no accessible record no one can tell how many names were added, nor how many are missing. Perhaps some names were copied from the lost book to the oldest book now extant. Less than half of the names sent from the records of 1801, are on that book. It may not be a wild conjecture to say that 75 names are missing.
The following are names of members, the date of whose ad- mission to the church is not given : -
'56.
Ebenezer Sibley ;
ex. '14, died, '39.
Lydia (Beach) Sibley ;
died, '34.
Jared Dixon ;
died, '37.
Esther Dixon ;
died, '48.
Joseph Hoyt ;
died, '16.
Susannah Hoyt ;
dis., ' ?
William A. W. Johnson ;
? died, '20.
Simeon Parmelee, Sen. ;
Jemima (Hopkins) Parmelee ;
died, '31.
Sylvia (Osgood) Marsh ;
died, '75.
Elias Marsh ;
David Haselton ;
ex., '17, died,
died,
Hannah (Moore) Haselton ; Paul Eager ;
dis. to Granville, Ohio, '?
Betsey (Partridge) Eager ;
dis. to Granville, Ohio, ' ?
' ?
Edward Neioll ;
William Neioll ;
Elizabeth Neiolt ;
? dis., , ?
Patty Neioll ;
dis.,
dis., '? ' ?
Hannah Neioll ;
? '48. '55.
Eleazer Neioll ;
died, dis., died ,
?
Martha Neioll ;
Darius Varney, Sen. ; died,
48
William Cunningham ; Caroline (Bacon) Cunningham ;
dismissed, September, '16. dismissed,
William O. Richardson ; Laura Richardson
Elizabeth Richardson ; Oliver Richardson ; joined the church about '08 :
Daniel Bridges ;
Thomas Rogers, Sen. ;
Elizabeth (Stearns) Rogers ;
Apollos Partridge ;
Parmelia ( Woodruff ) Partridge ;
died, September, '30. died, February, 43. died. June, '27. died. May, 78.
died, August, '60.
Truman Beach ; Hannah (Seely) Beach ; Elias Woodruff ;
Susannah Woodruff ;
Elizabeth (Stanton) Camp ;
Elizabeth Camp ;
David Camp ;
Abner Wilcox ;
Nancy (Curtis) Wilcox ;
Moses Ruggles, Sen. ;
Rhoda (Luce) Ruggles ;
Arbe Mixer ; dismissed to a church in Massachusetts, '36.
Seth Rice ;
Anthony Woodruff ; dismissed. William Henry, Sen. ; died, February, '10. Susannah (Robinson) Henry ; died, May, '53. David Gale ; died, April, '10. Elizabeth ( Frisbie) Gale ; died, '20. dismissed. Mary Rice ; dismissed. Francis Northaway Jr. ; Luther Case ; dismissed. deceased. Tryphena (Parmelee) Case ; died, October, '14. Benjamin Morgan ; died, '28. Chloe ( Woodruff ) Morgan ; died, September, '69. Seth Richardson ; dismissed, February, '22. deceased. ex., March, '36. ex., '36.
Jotham Barron ; Henry Garlick ; Lucy Garlick ; Alpheus Earle ; dismissed to Williston, Vt., December, '25.
Manasseh Osgood Sen. : died, July, '55. died, February, '68.
Anna (Buxton) Osgood :
James Taylor : died, January, '44. Saloma (Partridge) Taylor : died, July, '34. dismissed : died, '75.
Benjamin Foster Taylor :
dismissed. dismissed. dismissed. dismissed. 2.
died, May, 237. dismissed, October, '40 dismissed. deceased. deceased. ? died, March, '46. died, September, '49. died, September, '39. died, January, '14.
49:
Aaron Howe ; Noah' Lawrence ;
Clovina (Partridge) Lawrence ;
David Field ; Moses Bates ;
Haskell French ;
Mrs. - French ;
Mary Morton ;
Zerviah (Partridge) Stone ;
Sarah (Sweet) Whipple ;
Elizabeth Northaway ;
Dolly Wilcox ;
Mercy Frisbie ;
Violetta ( Woodruff ) Mcclellan ;
Sally Powell ;
Laura (Frisbie) Holmes ;
Mary (Robinson) Nyc ;
Hannah (Nye) Worley ;
Hannah Warner ;
Mary Frisbie ;
Anna Woodruff, [wife of Lem.]
died, July, '03.
Anna
[wife of Joseph ; ] joined the ch., '17 : died, '30.
Hannah Willis ; dismissed, July, '26. Lovisa (Sibley) Wales ; died, February, '23. deceased.
Elisha Walker ;
Charity
joined the church, '16 : ?
Susannah Roberts ;
Amira (Mead) Parmelee ;
Polly (Kendall) Fletcher ;
Lydia (Stebbins) Birge ;
Sally Felton ;
deceased. died, January, '21, dismissed. dismissed, July, '24. dismissed to Fairfax, Vt. ?
Rachel (Case) Buxton ;
Abigail ( Wilmot) Miller ;
?
Judith (Parker) Bond ;
Caroline (Gleason) Sibley ;
Irena Sprague) Macomber ;
Mary Haynes; dis. to the Baptist ch. in town, November, '39.
Susan Hill ; dismissed, October, '42. Sylvanus Holbrook ; died, August, 46. Laurana Perigo ; died, September, '26.
1816 & 1817.
Hannah ( Hammond) Bowman ; Eunice (Whipple) Earle : Anna (Field) Blackman :
died, August, 240. dismissed, MARCH, 255. dismissed.
died, November, '40. died, February, '25. died, '61. dismissed, '23. died, '68 ? dismissed, '17. died, '17. died, February, '41. died, '63. died, April, '48. died, August, '47. died, November, '71. deceased. died, December, '55. dismissed. ? died, December, '66. dis., April, '42. deceased. deceased.
deceased. died, August, '72. died, November, '43.
50
Ruth (Nutting) Slater ;
Polly Wood ;
Elizabeth (Nye) Robinson ;
Isabella (Taylor) Wilcox ;
Katherine Castle ;
Betsey (Wales) Blackman ;
dismissed. dismissed. died, September, '47. ex., '22. died, '21. dis. to Jericho : died, Feb., '72. 1819.
Thomas Atwood ; died, October, '46. Luthera (Farnsworth) Sanford ; dis. to Moriah, N. Y., '40. Dinah Northaway ; dismissed. Mercy (Mason) Forbes ; deceased. Judith Farnsworth ; died, August, '52. George Thrasher, L. ; deceased. Mrs. George Thrasher, I .. ; deceased. dismissed, "25.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.