History of Royalton, Vermont, with family genealogies, 1769-1911, Part 24

Author: Lovejoy, Mary Evelyn Wood, 1847-
Publication date: 1911
Publisher: Burlington, Vt., Free press printing company
Number of Pages: 1280

USA > Vermont > Windsor County > Royalton > History of Royalton, Vermont, with family genealogies, 1769-1911 > Part 24

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The committee that pitched the ministerial land did as was done in other towns, selected the lots that no one else was anx- ious to acquire. The 200 acres in the western part of 40 L. A. would offer little inducement to a minister. In addition to the forty acres, which was well located, Mr. Washburn was offered eleven and one half acres which public spirited individuals had contributed as an inducement and as a bonus to a minister, also they agreed to clear seven acres fit to sow, and build a house 40 by 16 and finish it in one year from ordination, the whole esti- mated at £300. He was to have a salary of £45 the first year, changed soon to £55, which was to rise with the list to £75; twenty-five cords of wood were to be drawn to his door yearly, but the wood was not to be his until he began to have a family. The dimensions of the house were changed to 20 by 30 feet. This call was rather flattering for that time, and it has not been here- tofore understood why Mr. Washburn declined it, as he did, the church, which had also called him, receiving his declination on June 21. It has recently been ascertained that the reason of this non-acceptance was that Mr. Washburn had not completed his theological studies, and wished to go to Newburyport, Mass., to study with Dr. Spring.

On the 14th of the following August the town voted that the ministerial committee be directed to supply the pulpit as soon as convenient. The warning for the meeting for Nov. 20, contained this article: "To see if they will renew ye call which they formerly gave to Mr. Washburn." No action on this is recorded, but they voted "the ministerial committee apply to Mr. Harris to preach in this town on probation for settlement." Again on Dec. 19, the committee was directed "to apply to Mr. Harris to continue to suply ye pulpit by way of probation." This Mr. Harris may have been Walter Harris, who graduated at Dartmouth in 1787, receiving the degree of A. M. and D. D. in 1826. He served in the Revolutionary army, was pastor at Dunbarton, N. H., 1789-1830, and died Dec. 24, 1843. Mr. Har- ris soon left them, and on the 16th of January a special meeting was called, and the committee were instructed to "send to Mr.

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Harris to return & Preach again in this Town." They did not expect him for some time evidently, as they voted to have the committee apply to Mr. Lyman of Lebanon to supply the pulpit through the winter. An Elijah Lyman, born in Lebanon, Conn., was a class-mate of Mr. Harris, and he may have been the one referred to. He preached in Brookfield in 1789, and died in 1828.

Ever after Mr. Washburn had preached on probation there seems to have been a strong desire on the part of some for his return as a settled pastor. A meeting was called by petition on the 23d of March, 1789, when they voted to renew the call to him, had a letter prepared, and sent it by "express," a special mes- senger. There was some doubt as to the legality of this action in calling Mr. Washburn, and another petition brought the people together on Aug. 18, when they confirmed the doings of the pre- vious meeting. He was present, accepted the call, and the coun- cil for the ordination was provided for by electing Esquire Sever, Dea. Rix, Dea. Fish, Captain Kimball, and Esquire Dewey a committee of arrangements. If there were any discontented ones, they were not in evidence, for the vote was unanimous. The church had extended a call the same day on which the town took action, and the two acted in harmony in planning for the or- dination. The church appointed the third Wednesday of August as a day of fasting and prayer, and voted that the council should meet at the house of Zebulon Lyon. The ordination was set for Sep. 2nd.

From Dr. Drake it is learned that Dr. Spring was the preacher on this occasion. The vast concourse of people gath- ered on the intervale above the brick house now occupied by Mr. Joy. A platform was erected for the council. It was prob- ably the most imposing ordination ever seen in Royalton. It is safe to say that every one in town who could be present, was there, and a large attendance from adjoining towns swelled the numbers.

Some business items connected with the event may be of in- terest. Zebulon Lyon was, no doubt, the "express," as on De- cember 25th he was allowed £6.12 for eleven days' service in going after Mr. Washburn, and he was allowed £4.7.6 for board- ing him thirteen weeks. Mr. Washburn, then, began preaching the last of May, for which service he received £16.16. From this time onward the town seems to have taken no part in calling a minister. They paid for this ordination £11.10.2.

Mr. Washburn was a young, unmarried man, who had been granted an A. M. degree by Dartmouth in 1786, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. With the bright promise of his youth, and high scholarship combined with the true missionary spirit, it

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seemed that the church, after so many trials, was at last war- ranted in looking forward to a steady and fruitful pastorate. So it proved for a time, but a lung trouble soon manifested itself, and Mr. Washburn was advised to take a horseback journey into New York, where he visited an old classmate of his. He pur- chased some land in Granville, N. Y., and sent for his family. He had married Miss Sally Skinner, the step-daughter of Zebu- lcn Lyon. He preached in the vicinity of his new home as he was able, until his return to Vermont. His family lived in Roy- alton village, and he acted as itinerant missionary for the New England and New York Conferences. He preached more or less until 1840, though subject at times to mental aberration. He was warmly welcomed in the pioneer homes, and often contrib- uted of his means to their comfort. He maintained a heroic struggle against mental disease, and did good service in his Mas- ter's cause. The record of his sons and grandsons, which will be found in the genealogical part of this book, is a remarkable one.

Mr. Washburn's dismissal occurred Aug. 31, 1791, but he filled the Royalton pulpit occasionally, when he was in town and the church was without a pastor. There are no records to supply the interim between his dismissal and the second call of Rev. Martin Tullar, who accepted the call and was installed Nov. 27, 1793. There is in existence the original call, which follows:

"At a legal adjourned meeting of the first society of Royalton holden on the 25th day of Sept. 1793 st voted to give the Rev. Mr. Martin Tuller fifty five pounds the first year one quarter part in money the other in wheat at 4/ pr bushel and then to rise annually five pounds until it amounts to eighty pounds and that to be his annual support in the work of the ministry-

We likewise engage to find the said Mr. Tuller twenty five cords of fire wood yearly so long as he shall continue to be our minister with a proviso that the said Mr. Tuller shall find the wood on his own land so long as is convenient for him to have the wood got off of his land and then the society to find said wood, and said wood to be got on the first Monday of January annually .-

2nd-Voted to give the said Mr. Tuller the society land and house as a settlement said land estimated at fifty one acres and an half. We further agree to move Mr. Tuller's family and effects from Derby to this place with a proviso of his finding the money to bear the expense. The affirmative vote 40-the negative 1

Test Benjn Parkhurst Clerk protem"

Mr. Tullar had been preaching in Derby, Conn., for about ten years. He was connected with the Joiner family by mar- riage, William Joiner having married his sister Paulina for his first wife. His father, John Tullar, had five sons and two daugh- ters. He is said to have given his sons a choice of $2000 or a college education. Two, Martin and David, chose the college education. David was a minister located for a time in Wood-

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stock. John and each of his sons were within an inch of being six feet tall. We can picture Mr. Tullar as he came to his in- stallation, erect, with a pleasing countenance, dressed as usual in short clothes and knee buckles, "a real gentleman of the old school."

He had graduated at Yale in 1777, and by nature and edu- cation seemed well prepared to lead the church forward in ma- terial and spiritual growth. He was not only a good speaker, but he had literary and executive ability. He received the hon- orary degree of A. M. from Dartmouth in 1798, and was trustee of Middlebury college from 1805 until his death in 1813. He was active in originating the General Convention of Vermont, and was its first preacher at Rockingham. In the Windsor Gazette of June 8, 1802, is the following:

"Just published and for sale at this office price 40 cents

A System of Family Duty containing the duty of husbands to wards their wives. The properties of a duti

ful, virtuous wife. The duty of Parents in

training up their Children, and the duty of

Children towards their parents, with addres ses to each character.

By Rev. Martin Tuller, A. M.

Subscribers are desired to call either on the Author

or at this office and take their books."

Perhaps some one who reads this will recall seeing a copy of this work.

While Mr. Tullar was a pastor in Royalton he buried his first wife under most pathetic circumstances. She was buried with her new-born twins, one on either arm. He married for his second wife a niece of Mrs. Judson, the mother of Adoniram Judson, the missionary. When a young lady, she had a home with a wealthy uncle. Her bridal trousseau was a gift from him, ordered from England. Mrs. Brown, of LaCrosse, Wis., a de- scendant, writes, "I have heard my mother describe some of the dresses, which were so magnificent, that I have often wondered if they did not cause a little commotion among some of the good people in her husband's parish.

Another gift to her from this uncle was a handsome solid mahogany bookcase and secretary combined. It was made for her at a cost of $300. It stands over seven feet high, and is a very ingenious and unique piece of mechanism, containing twenty- four drawers, large and small, together with numerous pigeon holes and places of concealment for valuables, which the most accomplished burglar never would have dreamed of.

It was at this desk that Rev. Tuller did all of his writing after their marriage, and it was very highly valued by them both."

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This little touch of home life makes the people of that far off time seem a bit more real. The desk spoken of was willed to Nabby, daughter of Mr. Tullar, by his first wife, who afterwards married Henry Whitney, 'Mr. Tullar's step-son. Mrs. Abby Whitney Brown is their child. Mrs. Brown is an authoress of considerable reputation. Some reminiscences from her pen will be found in the Tullar genealogy.

For twenty years Mr. Tullar ministered to the Royalton church with great acceptance. He was called to his reward sud- denly in the pulpit, and died almost immediately from a stroke of apoplexy, Oct. 1, 1813.

The records are silent regarding the ministers who may have supplied the pulpit from 1813 to the time when the church called Mr. Halping. Rev: Bascom of Sharon was chosen mod- erator ex-officio at their first meeting after Mr. Tullar's death. He may have preached for them occasionally, and Rev. Joel Davis of Barnard, and other neighboring clergymen. Disturbances in the church broke out almost immediately after the death of Mr. Tullar, and the records deal chiefly with matters of discipline, but they must have had preaching some of the time, as members were received into the church. From another source it is learned that Job Sedgewick Swift, a licentiate, preached for the church more or less in 1815 and 1816. He probably supplied only on Sundays, as in the business meetings and councils held during that time his name is not mentioned, and the ordinances of bap- tism recorded are by other hands. He graduated from Andover Theo. Sem. in 1815. He was a preacher, teacher, business man, and planter in Georgia for many years, dying in Dalton, Ga., June 30, 1859, unmarried.

Rev. Ebenezer Halping was ordained and installed Oct. 21, 1818. Eight towns were represented by pastors and delegates, and five other ministers were present. Rev. Jacob Allen of Tun- bridge preached the sermon. Dr. Drake says: "Mr. Halping was a native of Norwich, Conn., a young man, having studied theology with Rev. Mr. Sage of Westminster, who recommended him to the people of Royalton. But he did not long satisfy them, nor please their tastes, and his pastorate was short for that day. He was dismissed Feb. 27, 1822. It should be added that Mr. Halping was dismissed at his own request. While in Royalton he was married to Maria Terry of this town, the service being performed by Rev. Samuel Bascom of Sharon, on Oct. 19, 1819. A daughter, Rachel Denison, was baptized here in the church in 1824. His pastorate does not seem to have been fruitless, as there were added to the church twenty-one members during the time of his service. He afterwards became a Baptist, and died

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on board a steamboat on the Ohio river in 1849, at the age of fifty-seven.

After Mr. Halping left, the pulpit was supplied by differ- ent ones for about a year, among them being Rev. Azel Wash- burn, Rev. Jacob Allen of Tunbridge, and Rev. A. Nicholds, probably of Braintree.

Mr. Joseph Torrey of Salem, Mass., had been preaching some Sabbaths for the church, when it voted, Feb. 18, 1823, to ask him to continue his labors to the amount of fourteen weeks from the time he began preaching for them. He was formally called Mar. 28, 1824. Five churches were represented in the council for ordination, Aug. 25, and Rev. Austin Hazen and Rev. Eben- ezer Halping were also present. The sermon was preached by Rev. Silas McKeen of Bradford, and Mr. Halping offered the con- cluding prayer.

Mr. Torrey was a graduate of Dartmouth in 1816, receiving the A. M. degree, was in Andover Theo. Sem. in 1819, and re- ceived the degree of D. D. from Harvard in 1850. He was born in Rowley, Mass., Feb. 2, 1797. He gave great satisfaction in his pastoral efforts, and the outlook for the church was again bright. Such talent, however, could not be hidden, and the com- paratively young University of Vermont called him to another field of work. He was dismissed June 27, 1827, and that year began his professional duties in the University, teaching Greek and Latin until 1842, and Moral and Intellectual Philosophy from 1842 to 1867. In 1862 he was elected President, serving with distinction until 1866. He died in Burlington, Nov. 26, 1867. One son of his, Joseph, was also a Congregational minis- ter, receiving the D. D. degree, and another, John Paine, gradu- ated from the U. V. M. with an A. M. degree. He was a teacher, and died in Beverly, Mass., in 1863. One of Pres. Torrey's daughters married a Professor in the U. V. M.

On May 26, 1828, the church gave a call to Rev. Asahel C. Washburn, who had probably been preaching for them, as he was present and accepted the call. The installation was set for June 11, and an unusually large council was invited, embracing the towns of Windsor, Woodstock, Barnard, Brandon, Braintree, Randolph, Montpelier, Chelsea, Sharon, Bradford, and Barre. President Bates of Middlebury college preached the sermon. The next record is in the handwriting and with the signature of the pastor, and is characteristic of a man who does much and says little. It is simply this: "Wednesday June 11, 1828 Rev. A. C. Washburn was regularly constituted the Pastor of this Church agreeable to arrangements made on the 25th ult." From Miss Alice Grant of Royalton, a niece of Mr. Washburn's wife, fur- ther information has been obtained regarding the occasion, and

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the life history of Mr. Washburn. To his intimate friends he wrote, "The procession was escorted across the common from the Academy to the church by a fife and drum, and from the church to the tavern to have dinner. There was some wine on the table, enough to make every one drunk, but it was all re- moved before the blessing was asked." That was probably the first public function in Royalton, where such a pointed rebuke was given to the custom of indulging in the use of stimulants.

Asahel Cornwall Washburn was the son of Asahel and Dolly (Hamilton) Washburn. He was born in Leicester, Mass., Dec. 20, 1800. He prepared for college in the Montpelier academy, and graduated from Middlebury College in 1825. He kept a family school in Washington, D. C., for two years, and studied theology at the same time with Rev. Reuben Post, D. D. He was licensed to preach in 1827. He was pastor in Royalton, 1828- 36. More members were added to the church during his minis- trations than in any other like period of time. In July, 1835, after a series of protracted meetings, in which the evangelist, Rev. Jedediah Burchard, assisted, no less than 101 persons were received into the church, one only by letter. Of this number fifty-nine were baptized.

Mr. Washburn was profoundly religious, and deeply inter- ested in the spiritual welfare of his people.

He married Miss Emma Grant of Bloomfield, Conn., Sep. 24, 1828. From this union two children were born in Royalton, Emma Grant, born Apr. 3, 1831, and Wadsworth Grant, born Aug. 15, 1836. Emma was characterized by unusual seriousness and interest in spiritual things. She was converted in Royalton during one of her father's revivals. At the age of eleven she had a severe attack of measles, which undermined her health, and in- directly was the cause of her early death while at Mt. Holyoke Seminary, May 24, 1848. She was very solicitous for the salva- tion of her schoolmates, and as an aid in this direction, her father published a small book containing a sketch of her beautiful life. As an illustration of her deep sense of obligation to her Creator, he relates that when a mere child, being very thirsty from play, she asked for a drink of water, and before she had hardly taken the cup from her lips, she said, "Tank God for good warm cold water!" Wadsworth was killed at the battle of Antietam, Sep- tember, 1862. Another child, Gertrude, was born in Connecticut.

Mr. Washburn removed from Royalton to Suffield, Conn., where he remained until 1851. He then became Connecticut Agent for the American Bible Society, serving until 1860. In 1868 he removed to Syracuse, N. Y. For seven years he was chaplain of Onondaga County Penitentiary. He and his wife were devoted members of Plymouth church, in the parlors of

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which their golden wedding was celebrated Sep. 24, 1878, an anniversary in which the church as a whole, and other friends participated. In his remarks at that time he said he had preached over 6000 sermons, married 300 couples, and attended about 1000 funerals. His theology was so healthy that it had never needed doctoring. He died suddenly, Mar. 23, 1883.

The church seems to have had some difficulty in devising ways and means for the support of preaching after Mr. Wash- burn went away. One plan was to adopt the old compact, pro- vided they could get eighty male members over twenty-one to sign it. They did not depend in those days on the "Ladies' Aid," suppers, et cetera, for the raising of the necessary funds. Whether the omission was due to chivalric motives, or a distrust of woman's ability, no female signed the compact. It did not work, and they cut the number eighty down to sixty, and secured this number of names. Having provided for a minister's salary, they were ready to call a minister. This they did Mar. 18, 1837, extending a call to Mr. Archibald Fleming. He had been preach- ing for them. He was a Scotchman, a graduate of Glasgow, received the A. M. degree from the U. V. M. in 1828, was or- dained in 1832, preached in Whitehall, N. Y., 1832-38, was uni- versity lecturer, New York constable, and author of several sci- entific and religious works, evidently a man of great versatility. The church left the naming of the salary to the Society, and it entrusted the matter to Dea. Salmon Joiner, Elisha Wild, and Forest Adams. The result is not recorded, but it failed, as is evident from the action of the church on May 30, in calling Rev. C. B. Drake, who had been preaching for them in his vacation.

Rev. Cyrus Bryant Drake, son of Asaph and Louisa (Beld- ing) Drake, was born in Weybridge, Aug. 18, 1812. He pre- pared for college in the Addison County Grammar School, gradu- ated from Middlebury College in 1834, and from And. Theo. Sem. in 1837. His youth had been free from the contaminating touch of evil, and he had joined the church at Weybridge at the age of seventeen. He came to the church at Royalton with no shadows on his past, a remarkably pure, upright man. His in- stallation occurred Oct. 12, when Dr. Thomas Abbott Merrill of Middlebury preached the sermon. Eight churches were repre- sented, Middlebury, Rochester, Bethel, Barnard, Brookfield, Chel- sea, Sharon, and Lebanon, N. H. The council took their usual dinner at the hotel, kept by Samuel Blodgett. They were es- corted to dinner by Darius Dewey.

Dr. Drake is the only pastor that Royalton has ever had, whose whole life service was spent here. He was of an affection- ate disposition, and soon won the hearts of his parishioners, but not always their heads. He had opposition to overcome from

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the beginning, troubles within the church, and evil without, but he had the happy and somewhat rare faculty of keeping his own course, and still retaining the esteem of his opponents. He soon reached a foremost place in the clerical circles of Vermont. His sound scholarship and talent as an orator and preacher were recognized by his alma mater, of which institution he served as an honored trustee from 1859 until his death. From it he received the degrees of A. M. and D. D. Though qualified to command a high salary in larger places, his genuine missionary spirit and strong attachment to his people kept him in Royalton.

He married, Oct. 6, 1840, Maria Louisa, daughter of Fred- erick Smith of Strafford, by whom he had one child, Louisa Bry- ant, born June 15, 1843, now married to Rollin Shaw of Wey- bridge, and living there. She has no children.

Their home was saddened by the failing health of Dr. Drake. A severe bronchial affection led him to resign in 1846, but the council refused to dismiss him, and advised rest. His pulpit was then supplied by Rev. T. S. Hubbard and Rev. Aaron Pease. Mr. Hubbard had been a classmate of Dr. Drake's, and had been preaching in Stockbridge, and went to Chelsea from Royalton. He had been ordained at Stockbridge in June, 1839, as a mis- sionary, expecting to go to a foreign country. Mr. Aaron Gay- lord Pease graduated from the U. V. M. in 1837, was ordained in 1842, had been preaching in Poultney, and went to Waterbury in 1847, where he preached six years. He was in Royalton in the spring months of 1847.

The Society voted a vacation of ten months for their be- loved pastor. During this time he acted as secretary of the Ver- mont Domestic Missionary Society. In his centennial address he says of this connection: "I was strongly urged to continue as secretary, Mr. Lewis Delano of Hardwick offering a liberal sum annually toward the salary, if I would continue to fill the office. But I was morally bound to decline, to be true to my church, and to the council which had already refused to dismiss me." In these words one can see his keen sense of moral recti- tude. From time to time Dr. Drake had to lay aside his pastoral duties, and rest. The church continued his salary when the sus- pension was short, which shows their strong attachment to him, for it was a constant struggle to raise the necessary salary for the support of preaching.

On the seventeenth anniversary of his ordination the church met, and took a retrospective view of the changes and the work accomplished. In the fall of 1857 Dr. Drake had to suspend labor once more, and the church was ministered to by Rev. Ezra Hoyt Byington, who took an A. M. degree from the U. V. M. in 1852, and a D. D. degree from And. Theo. Sem. in 1890. He

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was ordained in 1859, then preaching at Windsor. He was a learned man of pleasing address, a fluent speaker, teacher, and an author of some note. He was born in Hinesburgh in 1828, and died in Newton, Mass., in 1901. Rev. Israel Hall Levings preached several months, as stated by Dr. Drake, following Mr. Byington. He was a self-made man, had worked his way through the U. V. M., graduated from And. Theo. Sem. in 1851, and was ordained in 1858. His birthplace was Fairfax, and he died in Madrid, N. Y., July 20, 1871, at the age of fifty-three.

In the latter part of 1863 Dr. Drake was again unable to continue his labors. Mr. W. I. P. Morrison seems to have preached some in the summer of 1864. Rev. James Clay Hough- ton supplied in 1865, and perhaps, in a part of 1864 and 1866. He was born in Sutton in 1810, and died in Montpelier in 1880. The records of the Society and of the treasurer seem to indicate that Dr. Drake received some salary during the time when he was unable to preach, and supplied the pulpit. On July 9, 1864, the Society voted him leave of absence until Jan. 1, 1865, and again on Mar. 8, 1865, they granted him leave of absence, and agreed to supply the pulpit themselves. He had tendered his resignation in 1862, which had not been accepted.

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History of Royalton, Vermont, with family genealogies, 1769-1911, Part 24

Author: Lovejoy, Mary Evelyn Wood, 1847- Publication date: 1911 Publisher: Burlington, Vt., Free press printing company Number of Pages: 1280

Author: Lovejoy, Mary Evelyn Wood, 1847-
Publication date: 1911
Publisher: Burlington, Vt., Free press printing company
Number of Pages: 1280