USA > Vermont > Washington County > Barre > One hundred fifty years of Methodism in Barre > Part 3
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A long and bitter war of words ensued. As was to be expected, each church stood pretty solidly behind its own pastor, and before long, the whole town was divided into warring camps. In order to demonstrate fully the justice of his case, Mr. Royce issued a pamphlet of considerable length, entitled, "Considerations for the People of Barre Respecting the Hostility of the Methodists in this Town Against the Congregationalists." Another pamphlet of some fifty pages of small type was promptly forthcoming from the Methodists in reply, and the battle proceeded more hotly than before, for these two pamphlets gave tangible body to the accusations and recriminations that till now had been hurled more or less hit or miss.
While the controversy was raging, the end of the con- ference year came, and Mr. Slauson, having served his two
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terms, was sent to another church. Dr. Alonzo Webster succeeded him, and found an aroused parish embroiled in strife with the sister church. Dr. Webster may have been sent to Barre at this particular time because of an amiable disposition. At any rate, he remained neutral in the de- nominational controversy and, as far as was in his power, poured oil on troubled waters. But the quarrel had gone too far, the wounds made by harsh words were too deep, for any semblance of good feeling to be restored at this time. The harmful effects of this affair on the church were to persist for a long time, and what was worse, the controversy gave Christianity a black eye in the community and brought church members into contempt with those not identified with either church.
Dr. Webster, a Vermont boy by birth and upbringing, was one of the most all-round men who ever served here. A fine speaker, he was in much demand for special occasions. While in Vermont, he was for nine years editor of the VER- MONT CHRISTIAN MESSENGER of Montpelier, and made it a paper of influence and prestige. Some twenty years later, at the close of the Civil war, he was assigned to work in the South, and in 1870 became the first president of Clafflin University in South Carolina.
In the second year of Dr. Webster's pastorate, 1845, the Vermont group at the annual Conference detached themselves from their sister state, New Hampshire, and meeting at Rochester formed the Vermont Conference numbering nine thousand three hundred sixty-five mem- bers. The establishment of this independent Conference meant much to Vermont Methodists. Not only did it signify the growth in members, wealth, and churches in northern New England; it also gave the preachers some de- gree of home rule since all Conference sessions were held on Vermont soil now, and this brought about an effective esprit de corps among the clergy of the state.
The Barre Methodist Church at this time had one hundred sixty members, Montpelier lagging a little with one hundred twenty. These comparatively small enroll- ments were paralleled in all the larger places. It was the small towns, Rochester, Craftsbury, Newbury, etc., which
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were reporting memberships of over two and three hundred. Methodism very early seemed to find an enthusiastic wel- come in outlying regions, partly because these had been neglected by other denominations.
It was during the pastorate of Dr. Webster that the first Sewing Society was started. From this initial women's group were to evolve, one after the other in their turn, several women's organizations. Among these, the Ladies' and Pastor's Union, the Ladies' Aid, and the W. S. C. S. (Wo- man's Society of Christian Service) ring the bell of recogni- tion for many of the present generation. These groups of consecrated, ambitious, capable women have been of in- estimable value to the church and its pastors ever since they were first organized.
In connection with the practical affairs of the church at this time, 1844, a record states that the sum total (exclu- sive of rent) of $276 was raised for pastoral support for one year, and that $5.37 was donated to missions. Very little could be given to benevolences as the members were hard put to sustain their own services.
The Sunday school now reported one hundred students and seven teachers, and a library of one hundred fifty books.
During the pastorate of Dr. Webster and the two who succeeded him, church membership fell off. While this is in part a result of the unfortunate quarrel with the Congre- gationalists, it is also true that there was something of a decline throughout the whole Conference at this time, for the church, like any organization, has its periods of growth and retrogression. Probably most significant of all is the fact that Barre itself suffered a serious loss of population during the years between 1840 and 1860 which was not fully regained until after 1880.
While the local church was having its trials, it is in- teresting to note that the missionary program, always powerful in Methodism, was slowly advancing. In Sep- tember 1847, Methodist missionaries arrived in China. One hundred years later they were to claim seventy thousand living converts and eight hundred fifteen churches in China, besides continuing their work in forty-nine other countries of the world.
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In 1848 the Vermont Conference held its annual ses- sion in Barre for the first time. It now numbered seven thousand five hundred seventy-four members, Barre claim- ing one hundred thirty-two. As usual, the laymen rose to the occasion as hosts, and it is recorded of one Confer- ence, probably this one, that Mr. and Mrs. David French entertained seventeen members at their home during the session! A pastoral address given at this time deplored the neglect of class meeting and family prayer by church mem- bers.
Not until 1849-50 is there a record of another revival in Barre, this time under Caleb Fales. It was successful and had a beneficent effect on the church for sometime to come. Following him, came John G. Dow who was very popular in the church and community, and who had the reputation of being the "best sermonizer" in the Conference. Of him it is noted that he "was never a terror to his hostess when entertained." Just what implication is there con- cerning the rest of the clergy can only be surmised! The church membership declined at this time to an all-time low of eighty-seven, again somberly reflecting the serious loss of population Barre was undergoing.
Edmund Copeland followed Mr. Dow. At the end of his first year he preferred to go elsewhere and was stationed in Montpelier. Apparently the capital city was a disap- pointment to him for he only stayed there one year, then gladly accepted a return appointment to Barre. Like a number of others who served here, he came to love the town and settled here on his retirement. Elijah Robinson held the charge in 1853, between Mr. Copeland's terms of service.
Shortly after the half-century mark was passed, in 1854, the forces of nature took a hand in Methodist affairs when a cyclone of considerable violence struck the town. It did considerable damage to the parsonage property (the site of the present Episcopal Church). It is believed that the wind lifted the roof of the house and carried it across the street, depositing it in front of the church. But so greatly do events of this kind become enlarged in the telling, that fifty years later this report of it was made in good
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faith: a most extraordinary cyclone took the parsonage barn, lifted it up bodily, took it over the parson- age . . . carried it on over the Methodist Church, and finally landed it on the French Meadow in the rear of the church."
This literal upheaval focused the minds of the members anew on the need of a building program. Already $1,000 had been given by J. Keith of New Orleans to start this fund, but once more the people procrastinated.
It took the pastorate of Isaac McAnn, 1855-56, to bring matters to a head. On arriving in Barre, Mr. McAnn asked the location of the parsonage. He was told to keep going until he came to the worst looking house in the entire town; that would be the parsonage. Subsequent events in- dicate that he agreed wholeheartedly with his informant. Later, when his goods arrived, he returned to the parsonage and found eight of the leading men and their wives ready to assist him in unloading and settling. One of the men said to the new minister, who was, by the way, extremely young-and Irish: "Brother McAnn, you do not seem to be feeling very well today."
"No," replied the minister, "I do not feel very well. In fact, I do not believe I will have my goods unpacked just yet. I have come to the conclusion that I will not live in the parsonage this year. I have looked the town over and find that it is much worse than the average of houses, and have reached the conclusion that no one would think that a man could preach who would live here, or that he had preach- ed a good sermon if they had heard him. Now we will not have any trouble, I will find my own house, and will work just as hard as if you had given me a palace in which to live, and you can charge me what rent you please. But I will not live in the parsonage."
The officials were considerably startled and not a little shocked by this frankness. Orin Beckley remonstrated with him, calling attention to his youth. But Mr. McAnn, if a young man, was a witty and astute one. He answered the reprimand with a story that brought a laugh and released the tension of what might have become a very serious mo- ment. In the end, a compromise was suggested by Leonard
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Keith. The members agreed to make some minor repairs on the parsonage at once if the minister would live there, and to build a new one on the same lot the following year. Both parties lived up to the terms of the agreement. The old parsonage was eventually sold and moved to Church street, where another story was added to it and where it now stands in a state of sad disrepair. It is superfluous to state that Mr. McAnn had a happy and successful term.
He was followed by Andes T. Bullard, an aggressive sort of man who rather relished a scrap. He knew exactly what he wanted and wanted it with all the force of his temperament. Since he undoubtedly wished the church to succeed, the following comparison with his predecessor is understandable: "Brother McAnn convinced men of their need of a Savior and Brother Bullard drove them into the kingdom."
It must have seemed to Barre people of this period that the Methodists were always building, renovating, or re- pairing, and there was considerable good natured jesting about it among the ministers and townsfolk. Some member of the Universalist Church remarked that the Methodists had built their church steeple fifteen feet higher than they owned. The pastor, Dr. Packer, hearing this, promptly replied that the Methodists could "read their title clear to mansions in the skies."
In the first year of Dr. Packer's term of service, 1861, the Vermont Conference assembled here for the second time, with Bishop Scott presiding.
During this pastorate and largely due to the influence of the pastor and W. A. Boyce, Methodism was brought to the front in the community. Methodist students at Barre Academy were granted a social standing previously denied them. In these days of denominational tolerance and good will, it is difficult to realize that belonging to any sect could have carried with it a social hazard.
During Dr. Packer's pastorate, the Barre Church sent the fourth man in six years, P. H. Carpenter, into the field of the ministry. Two of the others were Elisha Folsom and James H. Hale, but the name of the third has not been recorded. Dr. Packer's title came, by the way, not from a
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theological degree, but because in addition to being a cap- able clergyman, he also practised medicine extensively.
These were the hours of the nation's great travail, for the Civil War was now raging. Brother faced brother on the battlefield, and families were rent apart, not only by physical separation but, much more inexorably, by differences of belief. Of the effects of the great conflict on the Barre Methodist Church, no record has been found, but the maj- ority opinion of the northern church was strongly opposed to slavery, and in 1844 this burning issue split the church into two factions. That great man of New England Methodism, Solomon Sias, was at one time an agent of the famous "underground railroad", and helped many a desper- ate slave to reach Canada.
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CHAPTER IV END OF AN ERA
In the year 1866, it was decided that Newbury Semi- nary should be moved to a more central location in the Conference (now the Vermont Conference). Four towns, Waterbury, Montpelier, Northfield, and Randolph, were eager for the new school and feeling in this matter ran high. The VERMONT CHRISTIAN MESSENGER took an active part in the discussion. The capital city was finally chosen and the buildings located on the beautiful site later known as Seminary Hill. The doors were opened to students in 1868 although the construction work was not fully completed.
The year 1866, when the discussion concerning this change began, was a propitious one in which to undertake new and bigger projects in the name of Methodism. Over eighty years had passed since the denomination first got started on these shores. They had been hard and trying years, but they had been singularly triumphant ones too. The Methodist Church was now one of the largest in the country and the attention of Methodists everywhere was being focused on their proud heritage and the many achieve- ments of a century.
Methodists of those days (as of today) were inclined to consider their denomination as one of small prestige and cultural background. Quite the contrary was true. Method- ism traced a rich heritage straight to the home of John Wesley. He himself was a graduate and "Fellow" of Oxford University. His father, grandfather, and brother Charles
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were also graduates of this same institution. Very early in his career, John Wesley established schools for preachers and laymen.
The reason that Methodism was so often stigmatized as an ignorant denomination in the lay mind was that its early growth in this country was so tremendous and wide- spread that there were, literally, nowhere near enough trained leaders. Therefore, men of little formal education, but of a depth of sincerity and good will, were used as leaders of the innumerable Societies and Classes. In this very set-up lies part of the reason for Methodism's astounding and continued success for nearly one hundred seventy-five years. In the middle years of the far distant twentieth century, Methodism was to have to its credit the founding of nine large universities, fifty-nine colleges, and twenty- five junior colleges, most of which were established in the previous century.
During the larger part of its history, Montpelier Semi- nary was the only institution sponsored by the Vermont Conference. Since the Barre Church was for a considerable number of years the strongest church in this Conference, generous financial support for the school was expected of it. The church came through nobly in this matter, and again and again reports creep into the records of generous donations made to the Seminary. Many Barre Methodist young people attended this school, and through the years a good number of local laymen have served on its Alumni Board and Board of Trustees.
Prosperity in all branches of local church affairs was marked in 1866-67 in the pastorate of Lewis Hill. Member- ship rose appreciably, and Mr. Hill reported at one quarterly conference that eight Teachers' Journals, forty Sunday School Advocates, and fifty Mission Advocates were sub- scribed for by members of the congregation. At this time, extensive repairs, variously estimated from $4,000 to $8,000, were begun which resulted in a thoroughly remodeled church.
These repairs were completed during the next pastorate, 1868-69, when Joshua Gill was stationed here. A dedica- tion service was held, and the sermon preached by the Rev. Samuel T. Upham, for many years professor in Drew
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Theological Seminary. This remodeled church served the Methodists as a church home for over twenty-five years longer.
In the year 1870 Joseph A. Sherburne returned to the locality from which he had gone forth as a youth to study for the ministry. Among other noteworthy things that he did, it was at Mr. Sherburne's insistence that an energetic attempt was made to clear the $600 debt that had been accumulating for several years. This was accomplished in a short time, and Mrs. Merrill Bassett hastened to the church to ring the bell in joyous celebration. The Sunday morning congregations during six months of this pastorate
"Father" Sherburne 1870-1871 Native son, beloved pastor, and Conference leader.
averaged one hundred eighty. At the conclusion of his year in Barre, Mr. Sherburne was appointed presiding elder of the district, in large part because of outstanding efficiency demonstrated here.
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Another native Vermonter, Peter Merrill, followed Mr. Sherburne. He was a brother-in-law of Caleb Fales, former pastor here. Born in that "cradle of Methodism", Corinth, he came to Barre at the height of his powers. Mr. Merrill was deeply interested in community affairs, and made it a point to attend town and school meetings, where he did not hesitate to speak on public matters. He also wrote for the county papers on questions of importance, and all in all, made his presence felt throughout the entire com- munity.
For the first and only time now, a pastor, J. M. Puffer, died at the parsonage in 1874. In his place, Walter Underwood was stationed in Barre, and under his leadership an enthusiastic and widespread revival swept the town. This was, however, one of those unfortunate times when most of the people were converted, not to the Lord, but to the minister, and when he left, they lost whatever interest they had in the church. During this same pastorate, the belfry was repaired and the church painted. Mr. Under- wood must have been an exceedingly dynamic man, for he was either thoroughly loved or thoroughly hated, and departing, left behind much ill feeling. He joined the Dutch Reformed denomination when he left Barre, but later returned to the Methodist Episcopal Church. He and his wife were lost at sea while returning from England.
Mr. Underwood's successor was William H. Wight, and the troubled affairs of the church could not have been placed in better hands. Besides being unusually wise and kindly, he was slightly deaf and used this minor affliction . to great advantage. When the conversation turned to the irritations left by the preceding pastor, he made it a point not to be able to hear one word that was said!
It now became necessary to raise money to pay for repairs made previously. This was accomplished only after considerable delay, for the stewards, for some reason, were most reluctant to sign the necessary note.
The hand of personal sorrow was heavy on the pastor's family and the church at this time when Mr. Wight's small daughter died. She was buried on a Wednesday, and four
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days later the burial service was read for the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. E. E. French.
During Mr. Wight's last year, 1877, the Vermont Conference met in Barre for the third time with Bishop Foster presiding.
The next preacher to serve Barre Methodists, 1878- 80, was Harvey Webster, brother of Alonzo Webster, who was stationed here in 1844-45. During his stay, all previous indebtedness was liquidated. The church grounds were graded and beautified, the parsonage was repaired, and there was general prosperity.
During the pastorate of Joshua R. Bartlett, 1881-83, the Sunday afternoon preaching services were discontinued. The Church street road was laid through the Society's land and the church was involved in minor litigation in connection with the laying of this street, when an appeal was taken to County Court from the decision of the select- men as to damages sustained by the Society. Some mem- bers thought the sum awarded too small, but it was not increased. Mr. Bartlett bought the VERMONT CHRIS- TIAN MESSENGER, which had more or less gone to seed due to lack of aggressive managership and the rivalry of other papers, and ultimately changed it to a temperance journal.
The Woman's Home Missionary Society was organized in this state at St. Albans in April, 1883, and like its sister society, organized earlier, the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society, was soon flourishing. These two organizations did splendid work in their respective fields for many years, and although there was considerable active though good- natured rivalry between them, many church women be- longed to both.
Peace prevailed everywhere now, in the nation, in the church, and between sister denominations. General prosperity marked the work in all departments of the church.
The last years of an era were slowly passing away. Barre, as a sleepy, New England village of one hundred years, had come to the turn of the road.
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CHAPTER V THE NEW DAY
With startling suddenness, almost overnight it seemed, the picture changed. Barre came to life and was 'on its toes, experiencing one of the phenomenal transformations that, repeated again and again on varying scales in other towns in this country, were the marvel of the century. The granite industry finally came into its own. The sound of saw and hammer was on every hand; stone sheds and tenements were springing up like magic, and stores began to line both sides of Main street. Every dollar that could be obtained was invested in real estate or business.
The new pastor of the Methodist Church, Abram Wheeler, (1884-86) proved to be the man for these chang- ing times, for the growth of the church kept pace with that of the town.
Following close in the wake of the boom, immigrants, mostly of Italian extraction, began to pour into the town on every train, immigrants who were to put their fine and lasting stamp on Barre's unique culture for all the years to come. Between 1880 and 1890, Barre saw a population increase of over four thousand seven hundred, the greatest increase ever recorded by a Vermont town for the same space of time. During the next decade, the census recorded sixteen hundred fifty-eight more persons, bringing the total to eight thousand four hundred forty-eight in 1900. Since most of the newcomers were young and ambi- tious, hope was the keynote of the day, and almost any enterprise was assured of success.
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Following Mr. Wheeler, Leonard L. Beeman was ap- pointed to the Barre charge and stayed three years, 1887- 89. Mr. Beeman heard the thunder of the new day, and with the help of his parishioners, accelerated the pace of the church activities to meet the challenge. The town, rapidly approaching city status now, was divided into sections, each section being placed in charge of certain out- standing members of the church. These laymen called on newcomers in their section, invited them to church, and notified the pastor so that he could welcome them to their new homes. Many other wise and expedient methods were devised in approaching this problem.
It soon became apparent that the church accommoda- tions were altogether too limited for the various services. Especially was the Sunday school overcrowded, for its numbers had increased greatly and it was in flourishing condition. W. A. Boyce was superintendent, a position he filled very capably for a period of twenty years. The aver- age attendance was two hundred. Throughout his pastor- ate, Mr. Beeman strived to press home the point that either a new church building should be erected, or the old one satis- factorily enlarged and improved. Committees were ap- pointed to investigate and raise money, but no definite progress was made.
In the process of their many negotiations, however, the members did come to a decision to sell the parsonage prop- erty. Since the parsonage was also in need of repair, and since the size and location of the lot had created a demand for it, this was a good decision. It was sold for $3,000 to Dr. C. M. Scribner, who removed it to Spaulding street, where it still stands on the rear of the lot where it was first erected. It is now the property of the Episcopalians.
The reluctance of the church members to undertake a church building program was due in part to the fact that the project seemed overambitious for their circumstances. It was also due to serious trouble that had risen over the control of the Sunday school. Mr. Beeman set about to reorganize the Sunday school in accordance with the law of the church, which held that all Sunday school business should be done by a select number of duly elected persons. But
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Vermonters are slow to accept change. Many of the mem- bers felt that the old way of conducting business in open school, as the other churches of the town did, had been good enough for their fathers and should be good enough for them. The radical change, when it was finally effected, caused much ill feeling, most of which came to a head in the succeeding pastorate. In spite of these difficulties, Mr. Beeman left the church in good condition. The member- ship had grown once more, the benevolences had greatly increased, and the number of church periodicals subscribed for by the members had doubled. Also, during this pas- torate, the Epworth League was organized and got off to a good start.
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