USA > Vermont > Washington County > Barre > One hundred fifty years of Methodism in Barre > Part 2
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Difficult as were the weather conditions, the oftentimes ungracious behavior of the people was harder to bear. Methodism was a new sect, with a new accent in its doc- trine at a time when disagreements over doctrines were fighting disagreements. The circuit riders were many times subjected to both verbal insults and the physical ignominy of peltings from the very ones they came to serve. But as so often happens, persecution only made them more resolute in their determination to reach the hearts and minds of the people, and Methodism went ahead in trium- phant strides.
Among the many able men who served the Barre cir- cuit, two stand out like giants against the backdrop of time, -- Elijah Hedding and Solomon Sias.
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Elijah Hedding, with the junior preacher Dan Young, had charge of this circuit in 1805. He himself was only twenty-five years old at this time, but he had had much ex- perience. At an early age, he had become intensely in- terested in religion, and while still a youth, was given a preacher's license and called to take charge of a circuit .. This he did in outstanding fashion. In the decade before his marriage, at the age of thirty, he rode 3,000 miles a year on horseback, his pay averaging $450 a year. Once, he had charge of a circuit that was so large he was obliged to travel four weeks to complete one round trip. On another oc- casion, for reasons of health, he accepted what he considered to be a "light Charge", preaching only seven times a week. During his career, he served as presiding elder in several places, and in 1824, at the age of forty-four, was elected seventh bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church of
Bishop Elijah Hedding 1805-1806 A great Methodist, second pastor of the Barre Circuit
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America. This office he discharged with the same tenacious adherence to principle that characterized all his work. He was a man of commanding presence and powerful voice, a born leader. Militant in his preaching, he carried on un- relenting warfare against the opposing doctrines of his day. Long after most men would have laid down the burdens of service, he continued to make the arduous, wearying trips about the countryside. Methodism claims him as one of its truly great.
Three years later the circuit was in charge of another outstanding pioneer of Methodism-Solomon Sias. His pastorate is characterized as "remarkable" in the archives of the church. This adjective meant the size of the congre- gations, and the number of converts and additions to the church. In his case, it also meant the number of towns added to his circuit, which was a very large one. Although most of his life was spent in Vermont, Mr. Sias' service to Methodism was by no means limited to this state. Among the list of his many achievements are the following: he rescued the Zion's Herald from bankruptcy and put it on a successful working basis; be started the pension system for aged and retired preachers (an early forerunner of today's social security programs); he established the first Methodist Sunday school in New England; he was the virtual founder of Newbury Seminary (later Montpelier Seminary). He was in great demand in churches in and near Boston, and did exceptional work there. Eventually this arduous life, which included the usual quota of weary hours of traveling, caught up with him and his health failed. For this reason, he refused to allow his name to be considered for a Bishopric in 1824, suggesting Elijah Hedding in his place. His in- come, of which he kept careful track, was incredibly small most of the time. One year he received exactly $1.04 for a year's work; another, $5.53.
The circuit riders went not only from town to town but also from neighborhood to neighborhood in the same town. There were no newspapers to give advance notices of meet- ings, but the messages were passed from one to another by word of mouth, and were surprisingly effective. If Mr. Newell came to the house of Jotham Carpenter in the after-
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noon, Mr. Carpenter immediately sent someone through the entire neighborhood with the news: "Methodist preaching at our house tonight." The next morning, word would have been spread of preaching services to be held that day in two or three additional places in town. In this way, a large proportion of the people were reached.
The years between 1805 and 1816 found the member- ship of the Barre circuit either decreasing slightly or barely holding its own. This was largely due to the fact that time and again, towns were shifted from one circuit to another, and not to the fact that the church itself was slipping.
In fact, the position of the Barre Methodist Church was an enviable one. By virtue of being a circuit town so early, the Conference to which it first belonged was the New Eng- land Conference, and thus it had contacts with the out- standing Methodist preachers of this whole region. Also, because the local circuit was a prosperous one, clergymen welcomed the chance to come here, and it has been said that Barre held the record of the Conference for eminent pastors and presiding elders.
When the second war with the British broke out, in 1812, there were twelve towns in the Barre circuit. These were served by nine local preachers and two regularly stationed preachers, which explains in part how the circuits, though so large, prospered so well. Every town had two or three preaching places, and often a local preacher spoke twice the same day. These local preachers, as has been said previously, always served without pay, meeting their own expenses except as they were entertained. Preaching as they did in many places, they could use one sermon again and again, and many of them earned their living carrying on farms at the same time.
The Class leaders at this time were sub-pastors. Each was expected to care for the members of his own Class,- to meet them in Class once a week, to call on the sick, coun- sel those in difficulty, bring back those whose interest had flagged, comfort those in trouble, and soothe the dying. The regular circuit preacher could call on a family but rarely, and leaned heavily upon these zealous laymen for counsel and assistance.
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For some eighteen years now the Methodist Church had occupied the very heart of the town, and had housed most of its many town meetings. It had, however, never been completed. One wintry December day, December 7, 1819, the Methodists found themselves the center of town meeting interest, and this was certainly their hour. The town not only voted to pay the Methodist Society for the past use of their meeting house, but also, on a tide of generous gratitude, voted to raise $500 to be expended in completing the structure. While this sum was not enough to pay for it entirely, it was soon supplemented by contribu- tions from church members and at last the building was finished.
The very next year (1820), however, this church building was moved from the Common to a site between the present Methodist and Baptist Churches. Why this was done is not known. It would seem that the location on the Common would have been a most desirable one, and the decision to move an entire building must have been a momentous one for the church fathers to make. The Methodists never used the Common again for religious purposes, although they retained title to the land. Even after the town took over the Common and assumed proprietorship of it, no effort was made to transfer the title until the year 1947 ..
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CHAPTER II GROWTH
The Barre Methodist Episcopal church began a definite advance again in 1816, and this continued for a number of years. Many enthusiastic revival meetings were held, re- sulting in conspicuous leaps in membership. The circuit had made a gain of 164 in the five years ending in 1821.
That year in June, the New England Conference held its annual session in Barre, with Bishop George presiding. Not on trains, nor in stagecoaches, nor in their own carri- ages did these men come; they could not afford such luxuries. For the most part, they traveled the hundreds of miles on horseback, riding by day and preaching by night. But though their hardships were many, there was a wonderful fellowship among them, the more marked because there was little intermingling with the clergy of other churches. There were many inspirational meetings held during these Con- ferences; they also represented the only lull the preachers found in a very strenuous life.
At this time, due to the phenomenal growth of the Barre circuit, a new circuit was carved from its territory, called the Mad River circuit. In fact, the next few years saw the local circuit again and again whittled down as new towns became circuit centers. While the actual number of Methodists increased enormously, the Barre membership shows nowhere near as spectacular an increase as it would have if the original circuit had been left untouched.
Another great man of early Methodism, Wilbur Fisk, was appointed presiding elder of the Vermont district of
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the New England Conference in 1823. Born in Brattleboro, graduated with honor from the University of Vermont, he was one of many native sons of the state to win national recognition. He was a fine orator, and also had many quali- fications for an educational career. In 1826, he became principal of Wilbraham Academy, and later, in 1830, be- came the first president of Wesleyan University. He was twice elected a bishop, once in Canada, once in this country, but both times declined the honor, believing he could be of more service as head of the university.
At the time Dr. Fisk was presiding elder here, the Barre circuit paid $2.97 toward his support. At this same time, $28.64 was raised for the salary of the two regularly stationed ministers here. These sums represent, not Barre's portion alone, but the amount raised by the entire circuit.
In connection with the history of the pastorates, it is interesting to note that, as a general rule at this time, the pastors stayed but one year. There are three exceptions: David Kilburn, who came in 1813, remained two years, as did Joel Steel following him. A year later, Leonard Frost came to Barre and remained three years. This was the only time that this occurred during this period and it is suggested that some unusual influence with the Conference brought this about, although Mr. Frost was undoubtedly a very popular and able man, and the church thrived under his leadership.
In 1824, three pastors were sent to Barre, due to the growing demands of the work. This appeared to pay divi- dends as the circuit gained 210 members that one year. In 1825 and 1827, three men again served here, but this never happened afterward, probably because the constant cutting away of the Barre circuit into new circuits so nar- rowed the territory and centralized the activity that two men were sufficient. This repeated division which appears strange today was not at all out of the ordinary. The constantly increasing population of the state, and of the Methodists, made a vastly greater amount of pastoral labor necessary, within a much smaller circumference. Besides, other towns did not relish Barre's ministerial monopoly,
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and wished to become circuit centers themselves, having a clergyman in their midst.
The great Methodist revivals continued. At this time of the church history, almost every year witnessed one. Many persons joined the church on these occasions, prac- tically all of them adults as it was not customary to receive children into church membership.
In 1827, Sister Noyes is reported to have been instru- mental in bringing about a revival that resulted in material gains not only for the Methodists but for the other denomi- nations as well. This often happened, that the revival meetings of one sect accelerated the membership not only of the church sponsoring them but of the others in town also. Sister Noyes was a remarkable woman, full of energy and fire. She was also very plain spoken and did not hesi- tate to sharply rebuke those who did not adhere to the church ruling on plainness of dress.
A year after this revival, the Montpelier circuit came into being at long last. For many years, however, Method- ism did not flourish in the capital city with anything of the same exuberance that characterized its early history in Barre.
Now, in 1830, for the second time in its history, the Barre Methodist Church, numbering three hundred four members, was host to the annual Conference. Division had again been the order of the day as Methodism increased its membership by leaps and bounds all through the East, and this time it was the New Hampshire Conference, or New Hampshire and Vermont as it was sometimes called, newly carved from the original New England Conference, that held its first session in Barre. Bishop Hedding re- turned to the church he had served in its earliest years to preside at this Conference.
The fact that the annual Conference met in Barre eleven times in one hundred fifty years is itself a commentary on the people of the church. They were enthusiastic Chris- tians, openhanded as well as warmhearted, for they enter- tained conference members enthusiastically for an entire week.
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The years that followed now were quiet ones of which history has left little record. But subsequent events prove that the church continued to flourish and grow solidly in strength.
Newbury Seminary, later Montpelier Seminary and still later, Vermont Junior College, was founded at Newbury in 1834. The history of this institution was to be closely intertwined with the history of the Barre Methodist Church for a great many years. The same men, some of national repute, influenced both. Solomon Sias, formerly head of the Barre circuit, was the founder of the Seminary. He intro- duced the resolution proposing such a school, championed it through Conference (New Hampshire and Vermont), helped select the site, and raised a considerable sum of money for it. Willbur Fisk, presiding elder here in 1823 and now president of Wesleyan University, drew the plans for the building. Enrolled in the first class of eighty-one pupils, was Joseph A. Sherburne.
A short time later, the first Methodist theological school in this country was started here. Later, removed to Concord and then Boston, it became the nucleus of what is now Boston University. Newbury Seminary, during its thirty- four years of existence as such, sent out into the world ten men who became university or college presidents.
The founding of Newbury Seminary was local evi- dence of the intense interest Methodist leaders everywhere felt in education, and was but one of a great many similar Methodist schools mushrooming up all over the country.
In 1837, due largely to the persevering efforts of Elihu Scott, now serving in his second year, a new church building was erected near where the present Methodist church now stands. For the times, it was an unusually fine structure and gave the Methodists considerable prestige in the com- munity. The Reverend John Currier, who later served the church as pastor (1840-41), preached the dedicatory ser- mon, using for his text, "Of the increase of His government there shall be no end."
When the old church was no longer needed, it was sold to a group of Barre business men, and it is now located on
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the west side of North Main Street and is known as Reynolds & Son hardware store.
In connection with the building program of the Metho- dists in Barre, it is of interest to note that they have owned three parsonages. The first two were located on the site
Barre Methodists worshipped in this church from 1837 to 1895.
of the present Episcopal Church, almost opposite the Metho- dist Church. The third parsonage, still in use, was built on French street.
The inspiration of the new church building spurred the Methodists with a desire to have the Barre Church made a "station", that is, having the services of a minister exclusively to themselves. This wish was granted one year later, in 1838, when N. W. Aspenwall became the new pastor. The church's new status as a station was con-
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sidered a definite step forward, but in becoming one, the local church lost the membership of the other towns that had comprised the Barre circuit. The Barre Methodist Church started out on its independent road with one hundred fifty-two members. The territory originally embraced by the Barre circuit had by now been cut up into eight circuits and stations served by fifteen preachers, and comprised fifteen hundred members.
The following year, Newel Culver, a man of unusual force and ability, was appointed to Barre. In later years he devoted himself to writing, and from his pen comes this story of one of the outstanding events of Barre Methodism, the conversion of Joseph A. Sherburne. Mr. Culver writes: "On old Barre station, in Vermont, some thirty-four years ago, I went into a school district in a remote part of the charge, and held a series of evening meetings. God graci- ously blessed the effort. Some twenty persons were gathered into the fold in a short time. The first convert at that meeting was a young man, perhaps eighteen years old. He had a good gift and an excellent influence. I formed a class which embraced the few older members of the church and the new recruits, among whom was that young man's father. The young man I appointed leader. He was faithful in his duty. Soon, feeling it to be his duty to preach, he left the place for Newbury seminary, preparatory to his life work, and was licensed to preach
If Barre Methodism had done nothing but give Mr. Sherburne to the ministry, it would have accomplished a great deal. Born in Orange, Vermont, he lived most of his life in this vicinity, and on retirement, made his home in Barre. During his career he served as presiding elder of this district, president of the Board of Trustees of Mont- pelier Seminary, and president of the Vermont Bible So- ciety. He was friend and counsellor alike to bishops, pastors, and laymen. Methodists here have a strong feeling of personal devotion to him, and of personal pride in his many achievements.
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CHAPTER III MID-CENTURY YEARS
During the next twenty-five or thirty years, the history of Methodism in Barre centers largely around the activities of its devoted lay members. Beckley Hill was pretty solidly Methodist at this time, and so strong was the denomi- national feeling there and so aggressively evangelistic were the people that they decided to hold annual camp meetings on the hill. Tents were set up in the grove, a platform erected, and people, both church members and non-church members, came from far and wide to the meetings. Many conversions took place and the tide of religious fervor ran high. These meetings were held every fall for a number of years, then suspended for a time, to be revived for another period in 1857, during the pastorate of A. T. Bullard.
The people of this little neighborhood were always in church when possible. Orin Beckley, a prominent man of this group, was accustomed to drive a family group of from twelve to twenty persons to church every Sunday with a four-horse team. Entering the borders of the town, he would crack the whip, and the horses would come trotting smartly up the street to stop with a flourish before the church.
Other sections of the town, if not so solidly denomina- tional, were also peopled with many energetic Methodists. The laymen as a whole were characterized by enthusiasm and initiative. Sometimes narrow, sometimes fanatical, unable to adjust themselves to what they considered com- munity worldliness, they were completely sincere and de-
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voted. From the very earliest days, as evidenced by the town records, many of them were people of influence and prestige in the town, and this at a time when Methodism held scant social esteem. They supported the church well, with their purses and with their persons. Of them it has been said, "They knew what they believed, and why they believed it; religion with them was not a form, nor a theory, but a sublime and ever present reality. They had never heard of the Higher Criticism, but they believed in Moses and the prophets. They could not read the New Testament in Greek, but they did accept Jesus as an atoning Savior. They knew little of modern philanthropy, but they realized that religion meant both service and sacrifice, so they freely gave both time and toil to build up the king- dom of Him who was once rich but for their sake became poor. Let their names be held in grateful remembrance, and let us of this generation seek to be worthy of the patri- mony which we have inherited."
The following names, many of them still familiar in modern Barre, are recorded as prominent in the life of the church during this mid-century period:
Bancroft Fisk
Keith Noyes
Bassett
Freeman
Kenney
Scott
Beckley
French Kinsman
Sherman
Chandler Gale
Lamb Webster
Dodge
Howard
Nichols Wheeler
The most noted woman of this period, and probably of the entire church history, was Lucy Thompson, born in 1809, the daughter of Joseph and Lois Thompson of Twing- ville (now North Barre). This is very likely the same Joseph Thompson who features prominently in the earliest town records, being one of the first group to take the Freeman's oath, and who acted as one of the trustees for the Methodist Society when the deed was signed for the Common. There is no evidence that she is in any way related to Isaac and Catherine Thompson of the historic first Class. At a time when few girls sought education beyond the district school, she went to Newbury Seminary and graduated as valedic- torian of her class in 1838. Sometime later, the story
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goes, one of her teachers, Osmon C. Baker, later a bishop of the church at large, told Jason Lee, whose wife had died in Oregon while he was on his way east, that she would make an admirable partner for him on his return trip to the west.
Some time previous to this, in 1833, Willbur Fisk had sent forth in THE CHRISTIAN ADVOCATE AND JOURNAL a stirring appeal for missionaries to go to the great Northwest. "A great Proclamation, Missionary Intelligence, Hear! Hear!" rang the call. Fisk had al- ready written Jason Lee, a previous Academy student of his, and Lee had agreed to go. He was a strong, handsome young man, six feet three, well suited for such an enterprise. Starting in the spring of 1834, he headed the first trans- continental missionary expedition to Oregon. He it was, on one of his trips east, who married Lucy Thompson of Barre and with her made the long, wearying trip west again, undergoing great hardships. Neither Jason nor Lucy Lee lived very long after this. Today Jason Lee is credited with having made an heroic and successful attempt to lay the foundations for a Christian civilization in this great territory, and with having done much to save the Oregon country for the United States. Lucy Thompson Lee was a valuable helpmeet to him in their brief years together.
There occurs now, in 1842-43, one of the sorriest epi- sodes in the history of local Methodism. The church be- came deeply and bitterly embroiled in controversy with the Congregationalists. Looking back across the breadth of a full century, it seems incredible that such a controversy should have arisen, and worse, that it should have grown until it took on all the emotional texture of a real feud.
In briefest terms, without any attempt to judge issues or place responsibility, this is what occurred. Mr. Royce, then minister of the Congregational Church, held the strong opinion that the presence of the Universalist Church in the community was objectionable and wrong. Being a man of some force and decision, he set about to correct this state of affairs by inviting to Barre Rev. Mr. Smith, a preacher who had the reputation of being, in controversial matters,
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a "heavy weight theological pugilist." It was, apparently, the opinion of Mr. Royce that when Mr. Smith finished the task for which he had been secured, nothing would be left of either the Universalist Church or creed. In order to have all possible backing, Mr. Royce invited the Methodists to attend the creed-smashing service in a body. This, after an official meeting, they refused to do. Instead, they held a service of their own at the same hour. It cannot have been the usual procedure, when Barre was still a village, for one church to hold a meeting in the face of the fact that another church had brought in an outside speaker for that particular time. Probably underlying tension was even then present concerning this issue.
Mr. Royce was much chagrined at this reaction of the Methodists. He claimed that Mr. Slauson, the Methodist pastor, when he came to report the result of the Methodist meeting, had told him that he personally, and his parishioners as far as he knew, would gladly attend the meeting in ques- tion, but that he feared if they planned to attend in a body, it would look like a combination against the Universalists and, as a result, the Universalists themselves would not at- tend and would not, in consequence, become convinced of their theological heresies. The Methodist minister im- mediately took exception to this statement and denied having made it.
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