USA > Vermont > Washington County > Barre > One hundred fifty years of Methodism in Barre > Part 4
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8
When Wilbur S. Smithers came to the Barre charge (1890-92), succeeding Mr. Beeman, he very soon found that the church was seriously divided on the Sunday school question. It was impossible to please everyone, so he un- hesitatingly followed the course which he considered best for the church. In consequence, many left the church, a number of them outstanding people, some to go elsewhere and others to cease attendance altogether. An independent and rival Sunday school was started and carried on for a time, and all in all, the outlook was dark. But Mr. Smithers won many new members by his zeal, and the large majority of the congregation continued to support the church whether or not they agreed with the policies of its ministers.
At this time the Junior League was organized with Mrs. Smithers as its first superintendent, and became a source of splendid training for the children, many of whom later be- came church members.
Again in 1891, the church was in the throes of indeci- sion, this time regarding a new parsonage which everyone agreed was a necessity. A number of committees were ap- pointed, endless meetings were held, motions were made and carried, and in one case at least, rescinded a few days later. The first committee thought the "Averill property on Chubb meadow" desirable. A second committee favored a site on Averill street "adjoining Newcomb Ketcham's." Still another did some dickering with the Congregationalists in regard to land they owned at the rear of the Methodist
50
Church but could not make a satisfactory deal. From all these discussions, majority opinion slowly emerged that they should build a new home for the minister, although the possibility of finding a suitable one already built had been considered. In the end, a lot was purchased on French street, and the parsonage and barn erected there at the total cost, including the land, of $3,248.45. Everyone was pleased with the new pastoral home. It was considered to be "an elegant structure", of character and proportions suitable to the size and prestige of the denomination it represented. The $100 debt which remained was quickly cleared by the pastor.
Having succeeded in getting a new parsonage built and paid for, the members now turned their minds seriously to- ward the question of a new church. They decided that the time had come to raise a building fund, with these specifica- tions, among others, that the cost of the new church should not exceed $15,000, and that there should be no rent charged for pews. Certainly the time must have been psychologic- ally ripe for the venture, for by the close of the conference year, over $10,000 had been secured in pledges, and this in the face of the severe membership losses and also of the fact that the community was in the midst of the most serious granite strike it had yet experienced.
In the last year of Mr. Smither's pastorage, the Rev. J. A. Sherburne organized the South Barre Mission which later became a church to which he was appointed pastor. This church continued for four years, then the members were transferred to the Barre Methodist Church. Mr. Sherburne loved this town and loved to serve here.
The new church, so long anticipated, became a reality in 1895. Walter R. Davenport, 1893-97, was pastor dur- ing the building process and doubtless the fact that his preceding charge, Waterbury, had successfully completed a similar program had much to do with his being sent to Barre at this momentous time.
Before the construction actually began, the vexing questions arose as to where the congregation should meet in the meantime and what should be done with the old church. In the end, the two problems solved each other.
51
The plot of land at the rear of the church, over which there had been some talk previously, was purchased from the Congregationalists, the church moved to that site, and ser- vices continued without interruption. In the years to fol- low, this building was leased for various commercial pur- poses. At one time, the main part was used as a gym- nasium, and many of the present generation have played basketball there. Many more remember Zekie Mills' small dry goods concern downstairs. Later, among other con- cerns, a shirt factory was located there, and still later, A. B. Coffin's woodworking plant.
The original plan for erecting the church edifice was to receive bids for the contract from various contractors, but this proved to be unsatisfactory, and in the end, it was built by day work carefully supervised by a very capable committee which consisted of George P. Boyce, Lyman A. Gale, Walter E. Barney, Fred D. Beckley, Virgil E. Ayers, and the pastor. Mr. Gale was chosen superintendent of construction, and Alfred Lane made foreman of the men. Mr. Boyce, as chairman of the committee, gave a large amount of time and thought to the project, and his counsel was invaluable. The result of all this careful oversight was that the building cost less than the sum asked by the lowest bidder, while the material used in the interior was of much finer quality than that called for in the specifications. The entire cost, including the land, was about $19,000.
A little over a year was required to build the new church. It was a triumphant day when it was finally com- pleted. The dedication service took place May 25, 1895, and Methodists came from miles around,-preachers, pre- siding elders, laymen, as well as many who were not Meth- odists. Bishop Randolph S. Foster preached the dedicatory sermon. Among the notables present was Senator William P. Dillingham, of Montpelier, ex-governor of Vermont.
Within two years of the completion of the new church, the members were considerably chagrined to find it involved in a law suit, when Dr. C. F. Camp brought a bill of com- plaint against the stewards, George P. Boyce, L. A. Gale, O. H. Reed, T. H. Cave, J. R. George, F. D. Beckley, Na- thaniel Chamberlin, J. L. Beckley, R. B. Vaughn, C. H.
52
Kenerson, John Wilson, C. W. Huntington, F. L. Page and "the Methodist Episcopal Church or society".
Dr. Camp had purchased from the Barre Congrega- tional Society the so-called parsonage property (now com- monly known as the Dr. McFarland property) located be- tween the Baptist and Methodist Churches on the site now occupied by the filling station, and he had established his home and office there. Relations were apparently harmoni- ous until the old church was moved. Then, according to the charge, the Methodists filled the land to a "great depth, to wit, more than six feet" so that it was higher than the doctor's land, and erected the new church within four feet of his line. The slate roof of the new building slanted in such a fashion that his property was at the mercy of the rains of summer and the snows of winter as they fell from the church roof.
Perhaps Dr. Camp could have and would have over- looked the inexorability of the forces of nature but, according to his allegations, the Methodists went considerably out of their way to lend nature a helping hand. In a bill of com- plaint charged with undertones of outraged dignity, the doctor averred that "the agents and servants of said de- fendants with the knowledge and by the directions of said defendants have shoveled and thrown great quantities of snow and ice, and do continually shovel and throw all of the snow and ice that falls or forms on said lower portion or slides on to such lower portion from the main portion of said edifice off on to the land conveyed to your petitioner as aforesaid."
This complaint was duly entered at the March term of Washington County Court, 1897, Edward W. Bisbee and Richard A. Hoar representing the plaintiff, and William A. Boyce and Walter E. Barney representing the defendants. There it was referred to a prominent Montpelier lawyer, George W. Wing, as special master to report to the Court. Dragging on for two years, it was finally entered, settled and discontinued at the March term, 1899, and thus never came to trial.
It was about this time that the Intermediate League was started. There is no record of another such organiza-
53
tion in the Vermont Conference, but the growth of both the Epworth and Junior Leagues made the step feasible. The Ladies' and Pastor's Union was also organized, and the Sunday school graded according to the most approved plan.
The Vermont Conference met here in 1896 and again in 1897. It was an unheard of proceeding for the Annual Conference to meet in the same place two years in succession, but Mr. Davenport was a young man of considerable initia- tive and originality. Since he had had the no small res- ponsibility of being pastor during the building of the church, he was intensely concerned that it should not lag financially. When he heard that the Conference heads had been unable to find a suitable meeting place for their annual session, he invited them to come to Barre again, but with the pro- viso that this time, contrary to all custom, each member should pay $1.00 a day. This invitation was accepted with the result that Hedding church cleared some $1,000 toward the debt. These Conference sessions were of genuine interest to the town generally, for outstanding speakers were always present.
During the 1896 session, Bishop Fowler, a powerful speaker, gave a lecture at the opera house on Abraham Lincoln that was considered one of the most superb accom- plishments along this line to which a Barre audience had ever listened. Sunday morning, the Bishop preached to a congregation numbering one thousand eighty-eight.
During this Conference, Edward J. Gale, who had been holding a local preacher's license, was received on trial into the Vermont Conference. Two years later, as was the custom, he became a full member and remained until 1903, when, due to his wife's health, he transferred to the Mis- souri Conference.
The 1897 Session of the Conference was led by Bishop Walden.
This story is also told regarding Mr. Davenport's in- geniousness in raising money. He had persuaded some of the well-to-do women of the parish, including Miss Agnes French, to purchase annuities for which they would be paid substantially six per cent interest during their life-
54
Rev. Elihu Scott 1837-1838
Rev. N. W. Culver 1839-1840
LES 1.
Rev. Isaac McAnn 1855-1857
Rev. David Packer 1861-1863
Rev. Peter Merrill 1871-1874
Rev. J. M. Puffer 1874
Ministers who served the Barre Methodist Church in the early years.
55
time. On one occasion, the interest money was late in reaching Miss French. Being of an exceedingly devout and also an exceedingly explosive temperament, she prompt- ly sat down and penned the following note to the pastor: "Dear Brother Davenport: I am saved and sanctified. Glory to God! Please send me my check for $30."
Special revival services were held every year while Mr. Davenport was here, twice by the Methodists alone, twice in conjunction with the Baptists, and once with the Baptists, Congregationalists, and Presbyterians. These services and the large amount of personal work done by the pastor and members brought tangible results, the five- year pastorage showing a net gain of one hundred thirty members. The records for one year disclose an average attendance of two hundred sixty at morning service, two hundred at Sunday school, two hundred thirty-eight at evening service, ninety-seven at Epworth League, thirty- one at class meeting, and forty-nine at prayer meeting.
Barre had been a city since 1894, and now with a population of about eight thousand, the church had lost the flavor of a village meeting house and had taken on urban characteristics.
Beginning Thursday, October 28, 1897, and continuing through the 31st, the centennial of organized Methodism in Barre was celebrated in the new church building which had been christened Hedding in honor of its most renowned pastor. The committee in charge consisted of Mr. Daven- port, O. H. Reed, and J. A. Sherburne who had settled here on his retirement. .
The centennial program from Thursday evening through Saturday evening consisted of the reading of nine historical papers mostly by members of the clergy. They were as follows:
The Moral Condition of Williams-
town a Hundred Years Ago and Now
J. A. Sherburne
Jesse Lee, the Apostle of New Eng-
land Methodism W. M. Newton, Waterbury
56
Elijah Hedding, the Patron Saint of This Church
A. L. Cooper,
Randolph
Methodism Then and Now
L. L. Beeman, Montpelier
The Beginnings of Methodism in Central Vermont
L. P. Tucker,
Northfield
Early Methodism in Barre The Spirit of Methodism
J. A. Sherburne
Joseph Hamilton, St. Johnsbury
The Benefits of a Church to the Community Mayor John W. Gordon
Methodism of the Future
Andrew Gillies, Montpelier
On Saturday evening Mrs. Davenport, wife of the pastor, also read an original poem, "One Hundred Years Ago".
Saturday afternoon, a reunion of former pastors of the church took place. Among those present were Isaac McAnn (the young man who refused to live in parsonage number one), Harvey Webster, and J. A. Sherburne. An old-fash- ioned class meeting was conducted by Father Sherburne, as he was now commonly called.
On Sunday morning Principal F. M. Smith of Mont- pelier Seminary delivered the sermon, "The Mission of The Methodism of Today".
Mr. Davenport's five years in Barre were very success- ful from every standpoint, and established a precedent for longer pastorates in the coming years.
57
CHAPTER VI THE TURN OF THE CENTURY
A. E. Atwater followed Mr. Davenport. Mr. Atwater had been engaged in Y. M. C. A. work in New York prior to entering to ministry, and had all the enthusiasm charac- teristic of youth leaders. He kept in close personal touch with all the young people's groups, without in any way neg- lecting his general pastoral duties with adult members.
Through the joint efforts of the pastor and Judge Barney, a home department of the Sunday School was or- ganized and successfully carried on throughout the entire parish, with ninety members enlisted the first year.
During the first year of this pastorate, the Methodists, in conjunction with the Congregationalists and the Baptists, sponsored the Gale Evangelical services which were held in the Congregational church.
Under the auspices of the Epworth League, the initial contract was made with the Howe Moving Picture manage- ment so that suitable entertainment of this type was brought to the city twice a year. This project brought the League two or three hundred dollars annually, and this money helped swell the pipe organ fund started when Mr. Davenport was here. Mr. Atwater also arranged to have a carload of "fresh air" children brought to Barre from Boston, a worth- while project that continued for some time.
The Thank Offering Movement ($20,000,000 was asked from the Methodist Churches in the whole country) was pushed at this time, and $3,000 collected at Hedding, much more than was believed possible by many of the members.
58
The South Barre work was taken up again now, and a local preacher, John Gates, sent there from Hedding Church. Among later preachers who supplied this Mission appear the names of Arthur W. Hewitt and John C. Prince, both gradu- ates of Montpelier Seminary. In fact, at the tender age of seventeen, Mr. Hewitt preached his first sermon here on September 23, 1900, while still a student at the Seminary. These services in South Barre were well attended for a time, but were eventually discontinued.
The growing membership of the church and all its or- ganizations necessitated the pastor's employing a deaconess on two occasions to help with the work. This established a precedent that was followed for a number of years.
About this time, the church received some valuable property as gifts of devoted members. Mrs. J. R. George deeded a new apartment house on Averill street, valued at $4,000, to the Methodist Society subject to certain condi- tions, and $800 was promised the Woman's Foreign Mission- ary Society at her death. Two lots on Prospect Hill had previously been given by her husband. Miss Agnes French donated a small lot on Franklin street.
Mr. Atwater proved himself to be a man of outstanding executive ability, and accomplished a great deal while he was here. He left a vigorous, growing church of four hun- dred seventy-six members and probationers. His business acumen was marked, and the always irksome task of raising money was comparatively easy under his direction.
Mr. Atwater was invited to return to the Barre charge, but he wished to leave this Conference to be near his mother in New York state. The Bishop, on request of the church, sent Ralph F. Lowe, a New Englander by birth and a gradu- ate of Wesleyan University. He proved to be an admirable pastor and an indefatigable worker, knowing every member of his large constituency by name. A magnetic personality and an unusually friendly and warm disposition drew people to him and made him well loved in the church and the community.
By this time, the pipe organ fund had reached a size- able amount. In his second year Mr. Lowe, with the aid of a capable committee, bent his energies to complete the sum
59
required to purchase an instrument suitable to the size and character of the sanctuary. In the spring of 1904, the organ was bought and installed at a total cost of $2,740, and was formally inaugurated April 26 at a concert given by out- side artists in conjunction with the Hedding choir under the leadership of W. H. Goodfellow. Among the items that made up the organ fund was the following: "From sale of old church bell-$50."
Rev. Ralph F. Lowe 1902-1907 Oldest living pastor emeritus of Hedding Church.
This period of the church's history finds relationships with other churches most harmonious, with union gospel meetings being carried on with the Congregationalists and Baptists.
Both the Woman's Home Missionary Society and the Epworth League held annual conventions at Hedding in 1904, indicating in some degree the prestige of the local church throughout the state.
60
Mr. Lowe was chairman of the Conference Board of Deaconesses, and the importance of this branch of service was stressed. Within a three-year period, three Hedding young women, Miss Elizabeth Hanson and the two Robertson sisters, were graduated from deaconess training schools. They were the first of a group of outstanding young women to go into this work from the Barre Methodist church.
At this time, and in no small part due to efforts of this pastor, the North Barre Mission was founded to become one of the brightest jewels of Hedding Church's achievements. The history of this Mission will be given in full in a later chapter.
On the first two days of the New Year, 1905, Hedding Church observed the centennial of the organization of the Barre circuit. Methodism had come a long, long way in Barre in one hundred years. When the Barre Church be- came the circuit head, the local church claimed but seventy- three members out of a total three hundred thirty-seven. Now the roll of Hedding numbered five hundred seventy-five members and probationers, the largest membership in the Conference.
Mr. Davenport returned for this occasion to preach a reminiscent sermon Sunday evening which fell on the first day of the new year. The next day, a large number of members and friends met together at the annual New Year's dinner, after which they adjourned to the sanctuary. The time on this occasion was passed very pleasantly with stories and anecdotes of past events, and with happy prophecies for the future.
This same year, 1905, Mr. Davenport (he was not given his doctor's degree until some years later) published in the BARRE DAILY TIMES a series of articles entitled METHODISM IN BARRE. These articles incorporated in them Father Sherburne's historical paper read at the 1897 celebration. Members of Hedding Church owe a debt of gratitude to these two men, and this history could never have been written in its entirety but for their earlier works. In addition to this history of Barre Methodism, Mr. Daven- port wrote a number of other histories of Methodist Churches and Methodist institutions in the state.
61
Father Sherburne had passed away the previous year, 1904, and was buried beside his wife in Elmwood cemetery. His life had been a psalm of Christian living dedicated to his Maker. Integrity, strength and complete kindliness were the stamp of his countenance and the mark of his character. Along the streets of Barre, and especially in the halls of the church he so greatly loved, the saintly, white haired figure was sorely missed.
62
CHAPTER VII
TRANQUIL YEARS
When Mr. Lowe left Hedding charge and E. O. Thayer came, it was the largest and strongest church in the entire Vermont Conference. Not only did the membership exceed that of any other church, the Sunday school and Epworth League were also in the lead. The probable value of the church edifice, listed at $27,500, was highest of any, with that of St. Albans second at $25,000. This was at a time when only thirteen out of the one hundred twenty-eight charges had church buildings valued as high as $10,000, and four of the charges had no church at all.
1
The minister's salary, at $1,000 with a $300 allowance for house rent, was one of the highest paid, St. Johnsbury paying the most at this time, exceeding Hedding by $500.
Dr. Thayer's first fourteen years of service were spent in the South in educational work which culminated in his appointment to the presidency of Clark University, Atlanta, Georgia, in 1881. Later, in 1889, he entered the Maine Conference, and following that, the Vermont Conference where he served in Springfield for four years prior to coming to Barre.
Dr. Thayer was a tall, handsome man of exceedingly dignified presence, and was accorded considerable respect by the Conference members generally. At the 1906 Session, in Morrisville, Bishop Hamilton appointed him to the chair to preside in his place on various occasions. This was con- sidered a mark of honor.
63
At Conference time, it was the custom for some of the other pastors of the town to invite outstanding members of the Methodist clergy to preach in their churches. At this same Session, Dr. Thayer was invited to preach to the Con- gregationalists while the Bishop held a service at the town hall, and the Rev. J. M. Frost was speaker at the Univer- salist Church.
The Annual Vermont Conference met in Barre for the sixth time in 1908, with Bishop Earl Cranston of Washington, D. C., presiding. The members were cordially entertained by the people of the city, and the other churches showed many courtesies to them, the Baptist and Congregational Churches being opened for their use. A telephone system was installed in the vestry free of charge by the New Eng- land Telephone Company for the convenience of the pastors, and this, with other features, gave this Session a modern flavor as compared with any held in Barre before.
At the opening meeting, Conference members were saddened by the news that one of their former members, Isaac McAnn, had passed away the day before, two months after the death of his wife to whom he had been married sixty-four years.
The Vermont Conference took vital interest in important question of the day, and this Conference sent a resolution to the General Conference meeting in Baltimore in May, re- questing that a Secretary of Church and Labor be elected whose business it should be to bring about a more cordial understanding between the church and the laboring man. A year later, the Conference deeply deplored the growing divorce rate, and the clergy pledged themselves to observance of the church laws regarding remarriage of divorced persons.
Some of the members did not find the Vermont Confer- ence an easy field in which to serve, and one of them had this comment to make in a district report tinged with melan- choly: "Yet some experiences that come to a Vermont pas- tor might well acidulate the sweetest temper and turn the milk of human kindness to bonny-clabber!"
Despite many economic obstacles, however, especially in the smaller communities, Methodism was very strong in Vermont at this time and could claim a larger proportion of
64
the population of this state than of any other state in New England.
Arthur W. Hewitt, earlier connected with the South Barre work, was ordained elder at Hedding Church by Bishop Cranston at the third session of this Conference.
The final Sunday of the Conference was a stirring oc- casion. Bishop Cranston preached to a congregation of more than 1,000, while the Rev. J. M. Frost and the Rev. F. E. White were speakers in the Baptist and Congregational Churches respectively.
At two-thirty that afternoon, an evangelistic service was conducted by Dr. J. P. Brushingham, D.D., Secretary of the General Conference Commission on Aggressive Evan- gelism. Fifty-five young people came forward and conse- crated their lives to any work of the church to which they might be called.
To the pastor went many congratulations for his no small part in making this Conference Session a success.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.