USA > Vermont > Orange County > Newbury > History of Newbury, Vermont, from the discovery of the Coos country to present time > Part 20
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It was fortunate for the settlements at Coös, that they were able to secure, for eighteen years, the ministrations of a man so able and earnest as Rev. Peter Powers. But it must not seem strange that during the Revolutionary war his salary fell into arrears, and there was friction between him and the town. However, in the course of time, his dues seem to have been paid. He removed to Haverhill in 1781, in consequence of the troublous times, and the town considered that in so doing, he had withdrawn from the agreement made when he was settled in 1765. After some correspondence between him and the authorities of Newbury, his pastorate terminated, and Newbury and Haverhill, grown larger and stronger, became separate parishes, and it does not appear that
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HISTORY OF NEWBURY, VERMONT.
Haverhill, as a town, contributed afterwards to the support of preaching at Newbury. Of Rev. Peter Powers and his descendants a more complete account appears in another part of this volume.
From 1782 until 1788, the church was without a pastor, and part of the time without regular preaching. The pulpit was supplied by several individuals, whose periods of service cannot be given, or the names of all. Rev. Ebenezer Cleveland, who preached some years at Bath and Landaff; Rev. Abishai Colton; Mr. Jeremiah Wilkins, afterwards a merchant at Concord, N. H .; Mr. Goddard, Mr. Tolman, and Rev. Lyman Potter, were among them, as appears by receipts for sums paid them for preaching .*
On the 11th of April, 1787, Mr. Jacob Wood, a native of Boxford, Mass., and a graduate of Dartmouth College in 1778, who was for three years preceptor of Moors' Indian Charity School, at Hanover, began preaching, receiving twenty-four shillings a Sabbath. He was ordained and installed January 7th, 1788. Mr. Wood was a learned and faithful minister, and greatly beloved during his ministry. A passage in the "Life and Times of Elder Ariel Kendrick," describes him as a gloomy preacher, who dwelt more upon the terrors of the law, than upon the persuasions of the gospel. He was taken ill and died, February 10, 1790, in his thirty-second year. During his illness, it is said, he talked in Greek, being deprived, at intervals, of the use of his reason. He also made some rhymes which were long remembered. Mr. Wood's funeral was attended by all the ministers in the region, who were entertained by the town, which also assumed the expenses of his illness and burial. He was buried at the Ox-bow, and is the only one of all the ministers of the three Congregational churches in this town, who is buried in Newbury. Some articles of furniture, once owned by him, and a few books that were his, are still preserved here. His salary was £84, paid in wheat, rye, corn, beef, butter, cheese and wool. In lieu of "Settlement" the town purchased for a parsonage, Thomas Chamberlain's house, whose site is marked by a depression of the surface in the newest part of the cemetery, at some distance from the road. The "old meeting-house" was built;
*Mr. Tolman was the same gentleman whose letter is given on p. 139. Rev. Mr. Potter emigrated to Ohio, and was one of the earliest ministers of that state.
¡As the first three meeting-houses were built by the town, a more particular account of their erection is previously given. Some facts which have come to light since the earlier chapters of this volume went to press, deserve mention. The committee to build a meeting-house in 1768 were, on the part of Newbury, John Taplin, Jacob Kent and Jacob Fowler; on the part of Haverhill, Timothy Bedell and Ezekiel Ladd. Rev. Grant Powers states that a framed meeting-house was erected near where the "old meeting-house," was afterwards built, but as there was dissatisfaction with its location, it was taken down, and rebuilt west of the cemetery. He does not seem to have known the cause of the dissatisfaction. At that time the vicinity of what is now North Haverhill was the principal part of that town, and the people there did not like the location of the meeting-house, thinking it too far south for their convenience, so it was taken down, and relocated and became both church and court-house.
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THE FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
during his ministry and the minister taxes of those who had settled in the south-west part of the town were remitted.
On the Sabbath which followed Mr. Wood's death, Mr. Nathaniel Lambert, a graduate of Brown University, began his ministry, and on the 29th of May, received a formal call from the town, and on November 17th, was ordained and installed. The ordination sermon, which was printed, was preached by Rev. Ebenezer Bradford, of Rowley, Mass. His salary was to be ninety pounds the first year, with an annual increase of five pounds, until the third year, when it was to remain at one hundred pounds, with the use of certain lands owned by the town. The parsonage where Mr. Wood had lived was sold, and new quarters were found for the minister in the house now owned and occupied by Mr. J. B. Lawrie.
Just what led the town to vote in 1794, "that Jacob Bayley, Esq., Simeon Stevens and Jeremiah Ingalls should be choristers to lead in singing," we may never know. It is possible that there was a want of harmony in the choir, in more than one form. Mr. Lambert was dismissed by council April 4, 1809, but resided here, and continued to preach for two years more. The cause of his leaving was the delinquency of the town in paying his salary, and he only obtained what was due him by a suit against the town. With his ministry, closed the union of the town and the church, to the advantage of both. Mr. Lambert was a very able preacher, widely known and esteemed, and preached the election sermon before the legislature in 1801. In his theological views he was of the Hopkinsonian school of Calvinism. He died at Lyme in 1838.
From Mr. Lambert's dismission to 1821, the church was supplied by several ministers. Its business affairs, which had before been conducted by the legal voters of the town of Newbury, were now managed by a society, formed among those who were interested in its welfare. For some years after 1816, Rev. David Sutherland of Bath, was moderator of the church. On January 1st, 1821, Rev. Luther Jewett, of St. Johnsbury, was called by the church and society, and ordained on the 28th of February. He was dismissed on account of ill health in February, 1828. Mr. Jewett was a native of Canterbury, Conn., and a graduate of Dartmouth College. He was a member of Congress from 1816 to 1819, and a man of talent, promptness and energy.
Rev. Clark Perry became pastor on June 4, 1828, and was dismissed June 15, 1835. He graduated at Harvard College in 1823, and at Andover Theological Seminary in 1826. Those yet living, who remember Mr. Perry, always speak of him with peculiar affection. Inquiries made by him into the early history of the town, resulted in an historical discourse, delivered in 1831, which preserved for later generations much which would certainly have otherwise been lost. Mr. Perry died at Gorham, Me., July 22, 1843.
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HISTORY OF NEWBURY, VERMONT.
Rev. Geo. W. Campbell was installed in January 1836, and dismissed July 9, 1851. The old meeting-house had grown dilapidated and was, besides, not owned by the church, and a new church building was erected on the site of the present one, at a cost of about $3,000, and dedicated November 13, 1840. In 1843, the present vestry building was erected, by subscription, and has since been enlarged and altered. Mr. Campbell died at Bradford, Mass., in 1869. The council which dismissed Mr. Campbell, installed Rev. Artemas Dean as his successor.
On Sunday, January 13, 1856, the church edifice was burned. The sexton had made the fires in the stoves, rang the first bell, and gone home. A driving snow storm was going on with a high northwest wind, and little was saved. The steeple remained standing for some time after the east end of the building had fallen in, and the west end being undermined by the fire and shaken by the wind, the bell began to toll, and kept on tolling until the tower fell over into the flames.
The society at once set about the work of building a new church, and the present edifice was erected in the summer of 1856, Archibald Mills being the master workman. While the work was going on services were held in the Seminary Hall, which was offered for the use of the church by the trustees. Every part of the new building was constructed with the thoroughness which characterized the work of Mr. Mills, and it was first opened for public worship on the Sabbath before its dedication, which was September 23, 1856. Mr. Dean was dismissed March 31, 1857. He was a very earnest preacher, direct and fearless. His resignation was demanded by the state of his health. He is now retired, living in New York City.
Rev. Horatio N. Burton, was installed December 31, 1857, and dismissed in March, 1869. A particular account of Dr. Burton and his family is elsewhere given. From his dismission to the coming of Rev. S. L. Bates, a period of two and a half years, the church was supplied by Rev. George B. Tolman, and Rev. A. T. Deming, both now deceased. Mr. Bates came here in November 1871, and was installed, January 16, 1872. He was a fine musician, and did much toward the development of musical taste in the community. He was dismissed January 28, 1890. Rev. W. A. Bushee supplied the church most of the time from his dismission till the coming of Rev. J. L. Merrill, in 1891, who has entered upon the tenth year of his pastorate.
The First Congregational church of Newbury has always been one of the strong churches in the state. Its ministers have ranked among the abler men in the Connecticut Valley. While it has never had among them, any one who could be named among the eminent divines of New England, they have been men of culture, well trained for their work. It is the mother church of all the northern portion of the valley, and there is hardly a church of the
THE FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 177
Congregational order, and of many others as well, north of Hanover, which does not number, among its earlier members, some one from the Newbury church, and fourteen ministers have gone from the parish. Its mission has largely been to train its sons and daughters for other fields. It has sent out three colonies: One in 1829, when seven members were set off to form a church in Topsham; twenty-four in 1840, as a nucleus of the church at Wells River; and twenty-one in 1867, to begin the church at West Newbury. Owing to the loss of the earlier records, and the neglect to record all the names of those who have joined it, the precise number of the members cannot be given. They are probably, about 1,400, in all. Representatives of seven generations, from more than one of its earlier members, are found upon the roll of this ancient church, and those which have sprung from it, in this town.
"The children of thy servants shall continue, and their seed shall be established before thee."
The following have served as deacons.
*Jacob Bayley, 1764-1815 David T. Wells, 1853-1868
*James Abbott, 1764-1803
*Freeman Keyes, 1853-1871
*Jacob Kent, 1812 *George Burroughs, 1869-1887
*Thomas Brock, 1806
Jeremiah Ingalls, 1803-1810
*William Burroughs, 1812-1835
*Daniel P. Kimball, 1883-1895
*John Buxton, 1819-1864
Sidney Johnson, 1883
*James Brock, 1835-1855
*Jonas Meserve, 1853-1869
George Swasey, 1883
A Sunday School has been connected with the church since about 1816.
In 1797, James Andrew Graham, LL. D., published in London a volume of "Letters from Vermont," in which he says: "Newbury has the most elegant church in the state, with a large bell, the only bell in the state." What basis this latter statement rests upon, is not known. It is not believed that there was any bell here at that time. The first bell in this part of the country, north of the college bell at Hanover, is believed to be the one which formerly hung in the Ladd street meeting-house at Haverhill, and which, now cracked, hangs in the schoolhouse near by, and bears the inscription, "Wm. Doolittle, Hartford, 1802." Arthur Livermore characterizes it as "the sweetest bell ever heard." Rev. J. L. Merrill says that a considerable sum in silver was contributed by the citizens of Haverhill and cast into the bell metal, which accounted for its silvery tone. Deacon George Swasey thinks that the first bell upon the meeting-house was bought in 1828. This
*Died in service.
12
*Joseph Atkinson, 1872-1883
Henry H. Deming, 1872-1883
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HISTORY OF NEWBURY, VERMONT.
bell was removed to the new mecting-house, and melted when that church was burned in 1856. The present bell, cast by Jones & Hitchcock of Troy, N. Y., was bought in 1857, and first used April 12th, of that year.
The history of the choir would fill a small volume. Jacob Bayley and Simeon Stevens first "took the lead of the singing"; then came Jeremiah Ingalls, who trained what was then considered a wonderful choir. It is said that travelers would plan to stop in their journeys over Sunday, in Newbury, to hear the fine singing. It is not certain who succeeded Mr. Ingalls. Jacob Kent 3d, was leader in 1829, and probably for some years before and after; then came P. W. Ladd, for about twenty years; H. N. Burnham was leader for some years, and E. K. Prouty, at two periods, the last, more than fifteen years, ending in 1866. The later leaders have been: N. B. Stevens, Joseph Atkinson, E. H. Farnham, E. J. Robinson and others. The present chorister is M. A. Gale. According to the recollections of Reuben Abbott, Mr. Ingalls introduced the bass viol into the old meeting-house, which was afterward played by William B. Bannister, and later, by one or more of the Kent family.
In the church which was burned there was a small instrument called a "seraphine." In 1857, a pipe-organ which had been used in a church at Lowell, Mass., was purchased for $300. Miss Fanny Johnson, Miss Ellen Jewett and Miss Joanna A. Colby were organists in its time. In 1877, the present organ, costing about $1,500 was placed in the church. Mr. Henry K. White, Miss Fanny Bailey, Prof. David A. French, Mrs. J. B. Lawrie, Miss Caroline Lang, Miss Rosamond Chamberlin and others, have played this organ. Miss Mae B. Ford, a graduate of the Conservatory of Music, Boston, has been the organist for several years, when in town.
The communion service used by the church has an interesting history. We do not know what utensils were used during the first years. On June 28, 1792, the church voted :- "That each brother pay three shillings to the treasurer of the church for the purpose of procuring certain furniture, or certain utensils, for the sacramental table." With this money, "two Flaggons" were purchased. In 1799, Dr. Gideon Smith died, and left fifty dollars by will, to purchase articles for the communion service. This money was loaned for a time, and in 1811, six silver cups, and a flagon, were bought with it, which are inscribed with his name. In 1872, Mrs. Charles Atkinson gave two flagons, two plates and a baptismal bowl. Other gifts to the church have been made from time to timc.
In 1893 the interior of the church was completely remodelled- new pews put in, the old windows replaced by memorial glass, and many other improvements made, at a cost of $3,300. Windows were placed in the church in memory of the following persons :
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THE FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
Freeman and Emeline C. Keves, Charlotte Butler Shedd, Belle Hibbard, Hanes and Phebe Johnson, Lavinia, wife of Rev. Dr. J. J. Owen, Harry C. Bayley. The vestry has several times been enlarged and fitted for the social uses of the society.
Mr. Powers lived in his own house, which was a little north of Mr. Doe's brick house at the Ox-bow and Mr. Wood in one which stood in the present cemetery. In Mr. Lambert's time, the town bought the house where Mr. Lawrie now lives, which was the parsonage for many years. Mr. Dean lived in a house which stood where Mr. James George's now stands, at the south end of the village, and which was burned in September 1855. In that year Deacon James Brock died, and left by will $500 as a parsonage fund, to which enough was added to purchase the present building, then a one-story house, which had been a grocery, and a tailor shop, and remodeled it into its present appearance. It is understood that Mr. Powers kept a book, in which he recorded the names of members received to the church, baptisms administered, marriages solemnized, and funerals attended by him. He carried this to Maine, but it long ago disappeared. Reference was made to it as far back as 1810, and in 1830, Rev. Clark Perry caused search to be made among the Powers families for it, but in vain. In 1845, David Johnson tried to find it, as did the editor of this history in 1896. It has, probably, been destroyed, as none of Mr. Powers' descendants know anything about it. If it could be found, it would be invaluable to the town and church. Nathan Goddard signed his name as "clerk" March 19, 1784, and kept the records till 1791.
Rev. Nathaniel Lambert, acting clerk, Webster Bailey,
April 3, 1791-June 29, 1811
clerk, Dec. 30, 1816-March 5, 1821
Rev. Luther Jewett, clerk, March 5, 1821-Feb. 3, 1825
William Burroughs,
Rev. Clark Perry,
acting clerk, clerk,
Joseph Berry,
Rev. G. W. Campbell, Freeman Keyes,
acting clerk,
acting clerk,
clerk, Feb. 3, 1825-May 2, 1828 May 2, 1828-June 15, 1835 June 15, 1835-Jan. 3, 1836 Jan 3, 1836-Jan. 26, 1851 May 3, 1851-Feb. 27, 1858
Rev. H. N. Burton, acting clerk, Feb. 27, 1858-July 11, 1862
L. Downer Hazen,
acting clerk, Nov. 11, 1862-Feb. 6, 1866
Rev. H. N. Burton,
acting clerk, March 3, 1866-Feb. 1,1868
E. H. Farnham, Jr., George Swasey,
clerk, Feb. 6, 1868-Feb. 5, 1870
clerk, March 26, 1870
It is not possible to give the entire list of Sunday school superintendents. The following are recalled: George Ropes, in the early '30s, P. W. Ladd, Dea. Freeman Keyes, 1846-'71; H. H. Deming, 1871-82; Sidney Johnson, 1882.
acting clerk, June 29, 1811-Dec. 30, 1816 William Burroughs,
CHAPTER XXVI.
THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
EARLY METHODISM IN VERMONT .- VERSHIRE CIRCUIT .- CLASS FORMED IN BRADFORD .- IN NEWBURY .- APPOINTMENTS .- NEWBURY SEMINARY .- DISTRICT CHANGES .- APPOINTMENTS .- REV. DAN YOUNG .- MEETING-HOUSE .- PARSONAGE .- SUNDAY SCHOOL .- PROSPERITY .- REMOVAL OF THE SEMINARY .- REPAIRS .- BELL .- MEMORIAL WINDOWS .- MISSIONARY SOCIETIES.
T HE researches of Rev. A. L. Cooper D. D., show that, from the year 1788, appointments in the adjoining towns of New York and Massachusetts, included preaching stations in the extreme southwest part of Vermont. The list of appointments, down to 1826, is from Dr. Cooper's pamphlet. In 1796 Rev. Nicholas Sneathen, a native of Long Island, at the solicitation of John Langdon of Vershire, came to that town to preach, and formed what was known as the Vershire circuit. There seems reason to suppose that he preached in this town at least once in that year. Mr. Sneathen, afterward attained distinction, and was chaplain of the House of Representatives at Washington, and, later, one of the founders of the Methodist Protestant church. He died in 1845.
A "circuit" embraced a number of preaching stations, each too small to support a minister alone, which were visited by the pastor, in regular order. The biographical notice in this volume, of Rev. Solomon Sias, will give some idea of the labors of these itinerant ministers. It is probable that from the first, the Vershire circuit included an occasional appointment in Newbury.
In 1797, Ralph Williston was appointed upon this circuit, and in 1798, Joseph Crawford. In the winter of 1798-'99 a class of five members was formed in Bradford. In 1799, this circuit was called the Vershire and Windsor circuit, and in that year the first Methodist church building in Vermont was erected in Vershire, Revs. Joseph Crawford and E. Chichester being the appointees upon this circuit.
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THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
In 1800, the New England conference was formed, and the Vershire circuit, which then included all of Orange County, was transferred to it from the New York conference, to which it had previously belonged, and Timothy Dewey was appointed to the charge. In 1801, Solomon Langdon and Paul Dustin were appointed. In that year a class was formed in Newbury, at the house of Joseph Prescott, where N. C. Randall now lives, by Revs. James Young, Elijah Sabin and John Broadhead. There were eleven in this class, but the names of Joseph Prescott and wife, Ashbell Buell and wife, and Stephen Powers are the only ones which are preserved.
In 1802, the Vershire district became a part once more of the New York conference and Samuel Draper with Oliver Beale were sent to it. From 1804 to 1826, this part of the state was called the Vermont district of the New England conference, and the following were the appointments to the Vershire circuit: In 1804, John Robertson and D. Goodhue; 1805, Oliver Beale; 1806, Elijah Hedding, afterwards bishop. The biography of Bishop Hedding states that the circuit embraced ten towns, and the work was so arranged that he was to pass through these towns, and preach from one to three times daily, within the limits of each, every two weeks. In 1807, B. F. Lombard was in charge; 1808, Eleazer Wells, who spent his last days here; 1809, Joel Steele; 1810, N. W. Stearns; 1811, W. Bannister; 1812, Erastus Otis; 1813 and '14, B. R. Hovt, afterward long a resident, and financial agent of Newbury Seminary. In 1815, Amasa Taplin was the appointee; in 1816, Jonathan Worthen; 1817, Samuel Bates; 1818 and '19, Solomon Winchester; 1820, Eleazer Wells, (supply); 1821-'22, Joel Steele; 1823, Joel W. McKee and C. D. Cahoon; 1824, John Lord, Joseph B. White, John Foster; 1825, Isaac Barker and N. W. Scott.
In 1826, the continued growth in numbers and financial ability of the Vershire circuit, which had been marked in 1823 by the appointment of two preachers to the charge, instead of one, is further shown by setting off Bradford and Newbury as a separate station, in the Danville district, and Paul C. Richmond was appointed over it. In 1827-'28 A. H. Houghton was in charge. In 1829, the New Hampshire and Vermont conference was organized, and C. W. Levings was sent to Newbury. In 1830,-'31, this church was in the Plymouth district, and Schuyler Chamberlin and R. H. Spaulding were in charge in 1830; William D. Cass, and F. T. Daily in 1831. In 1832, the conference name was changed and called the New Hampshire conference; Newbury was put into the Danville district again with C. Cowen and W. Nelson on the circuit. In 1833, the western half of the territory was called the Vermont district and Richard Newhall and C. Cowen were the pastors.
In 1834, Newbury Seminary was opened and an era of great prosperity began for the church, with a house of worship of its
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HISTORY OF NEWBURY, VERMONT.
own, and the full service of a pastor. During the next thirty-four years, no church in the conference was more important, or better equipped for service. Some of its best ministers were stationed at Newbury, and their labors were shared by the seminary professors, and by a number of ministers of the same order, who had taken up their residence here, where their experience and advice were of great value with those students who had the ministry in view. The pastors in charge were: For 1834, S. Kelley and N. O. Way. In 1835 this was called the Barnard district, and S. Kelley continued in charge. In 1836, it was included in the Chelsea district, with E. J. Scott, the appointee, and in 1837-'38, John G. Dow. In the latter vear Newbury was put into the Danville district, where it remained for some years.
The appointments since 1838 were: In 1839, William M. Mann; 1840, J. Templeton; 1841-'42, L. D. Barrows; 1843, Alonzo Webster; 1844, supplied from the seminary; 1845, Moses Chase; 1846, E. Pettingill; 1847, Haynes Johnson; 1848-'49, S. P. Williams; 1850-'51, H. P. Cushing; 1852-'53, E. Copeland; 1854, J. G. Dow; 1855, Haynes Johnson; 1856-'57, P. P. Ray; 1858-'59, S. Quimby; 1860, A. G. Button; 1861-'62, W. D. Malcolm; 1863, D. Packer; 1864-'65, E. C. Bass; 1866-'67, H. A. Spencer; : 1868-'69 .- '70, Z. S. Haynes; 1871, J. W. Cline; 1872, S. B. Currier; 1873-'74, G. M. Tuttle; 1875-'76-'77, P. N. Granger; 1878-'79, J. McDonald; 1880-'81-'82, Leonard Dodd; 1883-'84-'85, J. H. Winslow; 1886-'87-'88, N. W. Wilder; 1889- '90-'91, Thomas Trevillian; 1892-'93, A. G. Austin; 1894-Oct. '95, John L. Tupper; Oct. 1995-'96, A. W. Ford; 1897-'98, W. H. White; 1899, W. C. Johnson; 1900, F. D. Handy. These are the ministers whose appointments were from conference. We must not omit mention of most valuable service rendered by the seminary professors, by resident clergymen, and by students who had the ministry in view. These faithfully supported the pastors and found their way into all parts of the town. Many a successful minister, between Maine and California, looks back to his first sermon preached in the Leighton hill schoolhouse, or in district No. 12.
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