260
H I S T O R Y
O F T H E
I HR S T UHUR C H , C HARLES T OWN ,
IN N INE LECTURES, W ITH NOTES .
W
B Y W ILL IAM h ffiUD IN G TON ,
P A S T O R O F T H E C H U R C H
G od of our fath ers ! w h ile our ears
S h al l h ear th e ch ron ic les of o ldT h y wondrous deeds in a n cie n t years,W h i c h s i res u n to t h e i r sons h ave to ld
May we t h e ir sp i r i t catch , and giveOurse lves , anew , to T ruth and T h ee 5
A nd, l ike th ose worth ies, dare to l iveFR EEMEN m C H R I S T , th e on ly Free !
”
w -‘ fi
I3 O S IP O PI
P UB L I S H ED B Y C H A R L ES T A P P A N .
1 8 4 5 .
Entered according to A ct of Congress, in th e year 1845 ,
By W I L L IA M I . B UD IN G TO N ,
In th e C lerk ’s O fi ice of th e D istr ict Court of th e D istr ict of Massach usetts.
Press ofT . R. Marv in .
T H I S V O LUM E
R E S P E C T F U L L Y D E D I C A T E D
T O T H E
FIRST CHURCH AND CONGREGATION IN CHARLESTOWN,
B Y THE I R
F R I EN D A N D P A S T O R ,
T H E A UT H O R .
P R EF A C E.
T H E follow i ng D iscourses w e r e pr epared in th e ordi
nary cou rse of my m in is t ry, and de l ive red a t a st a t ed
mon thly l ec ture dur in g th e W i n t e r of 1842—3 . It was
or ig in ally my in t en t ion to conde nse t h e fac ts I h ad
gathe r ed, and publish th em in a small manual ; but
h aving delayed t h e ex ecut ion of th is purpose un til th e
commenc emen t of th e p r esen t year, I fe l t un abl e to per
form th e work of re-composi t ion , and obl iged to publish
eith e r what I h ad w r i t t e n or nothin g . I h ave th e r efore
revised my L ec tur es, and now publ ish th em substan tial ly
as th ey w e re spoke n , w i th a body of not es compr isin g
th e addi t ional mat te r col l ec t ed in th e course of my
inves t iga tions. I h ave enjoyed many pleasan t h ours,and be e n p rofi ted by many sol emn r eflect ion s, w h i le
en gaged in my h istorical s tudi e s, and fe e l th at I h ave
b e e n r epaid for my labor and if my book shall have a
similar moral effec t upon t h e p eopl e of my ch arge , and
such o the rs as shall h onor it w i th a p e rus al,I shall be
more th an r epaid.
I shall always r emembe r w i th pleasur e t h e cour t esy
and k i nd assist ance r ece ived from th e var ious gen tleme n
whom I h ave con sul t ed for info rmat ion or advic e . Mygrateful acknowledgmen ts are due to all of th em, and
6
especially to R ev. W illiam Jenks, D . D ., and R ev.
S amuel S ewall , as th e subseque nt pages will fr equen tly
show .
It wi l l be unn ecessary for me h e r e to e nume rat e th e
sources from whence my h istory is de r ived, as these w i ll
be suffi c i e n tly i ndicat ed in th e course of th e work ; it is
w i th gre at pl e asure , h oweve r , that I confess my obl iga
t ions to th e H on . James S avage , not only for h is valuable
il lus tra tions of W i n th rop , wh ich h ave t h rown so much
ligh t upon our early history, bu t also for th e encouraging
in te res t and assistance h e h as afforded me i n my labors.
l am also indeb t ed to R ichard F roth ingham, I r. , Esq.,
for valuabl e informat ion afforded by h is minut e acquain t
ance w i th th e an tiquit i es of th e town and t rust th at h e
w il l be amply e ncouraged in th e publ icat ion of h is
H ist o ry of C harlestown ,’on wh ich h e is now engaged.
T h e l ike n ess of R ev. John W i lson , p r e fi x ed to th e
volume as a fron tisp i ece , is an accura te copy of a po r t rait
p rese rved in th e Rooms of th e Massachuse t ts H is torical
S ocie ty.
I have only to say in conclusion to t h ose ofmy friends
w h o h ave be e n look i ng for my volume for seve ral mon ths,that t h e delay h as be e n unavoidable , and h as arise n in
par t from th e in tr insic diffi cul ty of car ry in g a work of
th is charact e r through th e p ress, and in part from th e
p r essure of othe r and more impor tan t duties.
C ru a nas'r own , D EC . 8, 1845 .
C O N T EN T S .
LECT URE I .S ett lement of th e T own— O rgan izat ion of th e Church of Boston and Ch ar lestown
Format ion of th e Ch ar lestown Ch urch— R ev. T h omas James— T h e Pur i tans.
LECT URE I I.O rig ina l Members of th e Ch urch— Ind ians— R ev . Zech ariah S ymmes— D ism iss ion
ofMr . James— S ynod of 1637— R ev . Joh n Harvard— R ev . T h omas A l len— S ynod of
1648—Elder Joh n G reene— Descr ipt ion of Ch ar lestown .
LECT URE II I .R ev . T h omas S h epard— T h e Bapt ists— S ynod of l GGQ— T h e Half-way Covenant
R ev . Joh n O xenbridge— Mr. S ymmes.
LECT URE IV .
Mr. S h epard’s Elect ion S ermon— H is death —Ecc les iast ical Counc i l— R ev .T h omas
S h epard th e th i rd.
LECT URE V.
S ynod of 1679-80 Mr. S h epard’s m in istry and death—R ev. Ch arles Morton .
LECT URE VI.Mr.Morton
’s advice to Cand idates for th e Min istry—H is death—R ev. S imon Brad
street—R ev . Josep h S tevens—Mrs. A nne Bradstreet.
LECT URE V II.
Mr. S tevens’s death—H is ch aracter— R ev. Hul l A bbot— R ev . T h omas Prent iceS tate of Re l igion— T h e Great Awakening.
LECT URE V I I I.Mr. A bbot’s A rt i l lery Elect ion
o
sermon— His death — B att le of Bunker H i l l— DeathofMr. Prentice—R ev. Josh ua Paine.
LECT URE IX .
R ev. D r.Morse— Unitar ian ism— Benefactors of th e Church .
N OTESN ote 1 . Ar rival ofW inth rop ,
2 . T h omas W al ford,
3 . T h omas G raves,
4. R ev . Franc is Brigh t,5 . T own Records ,6. O rgan izat ion of th e Church ,
Joh n “ 7inth rop,
T h omas Dud ley,
Joh n W i l son,
\V illiam B lackstoneInh abi tan ts rema in ing i n Ch ar lestown ,Mrs . \V i l son
,
O ld and N ew S ty le,T h e Records and comparat ive age of th e Church
,
T h e N ew England Vers ion of th e Psa lms,T h e S p i r i t of th e Puri tans
,
Increase N owe l l ,Capt . R ich ard S prague,L ist of Deacons
,
Meet i ng House and S abba’ D ay House,T h omas James
,
T h omas A l len,
T h e Cambr idge P latform ,
T h omas A l len ’s Letter respect ing th e ear l y Ind ian Miss ions,O r ig in of th e Bap t ist Church
,
O ld S outh Ch urch,
Franc is W i l lough by,Mr . S ymmes
,
Dan ie l Russe l l ,S eat ing th e Meet ing House,T o lerat ion,Ep i taph of T h omas S h epard,O akes
’s Elegy,
Letter of H on . J Q , A dams,
Letter to th e O ld S outh Ch urch ,S h epard’s Manuscr ip ts
,
Horsey ’5 Letter,
Morton’s Publ icat ions
,
Mode of ca l l ing and settl ingMin isters,Morton
’s Lat in Ep i taph ,
Ch ar lestown Lecture,
S tevens’s Pr ivate Records,
S ett lement ofMr . Pren t ice,T h e Earth quake,A bbot
’s Fam i l y,
A bbot’s Publ icat ions ,
R ev . T h omas Pren t ice,Meet ing House H i ll
,
En largemen t of th e Meeting House,Fo rmat ion of th e Par ish
,
T h e T able t,Ins tal l at ion of R ev . D r. Morse
,
Harvard and W in th rop Ch urch es,D r. Morse
,
Present Mee t ing House,S acramen ta l Furn i ture,T h e Russe l l Fam i l y,D ea . Froth ingh am and D ca. Mi l ler
,
CATA L O G UE o r A mussrons T O FU LL C ommumo s,
Inn nx,
H I S T O R Y OF T HE C HUR C H .
L E C T U R E I .
P S A L M x l i v . 1 — 3 .
W E HAV E H EA R D e H m m EA R S , 0 G e n ! O UR F ATHE R S HAV E T O LD us, W HATW O R K T H ou D i D S T I N T H ErR DA Y S , I N T H E T IME S or O L D . H ow THO U D ID S TD R IV E our T H E HEATH EN W ITH T H Y H A N D , A N D PLA N T ED ST THEM ; H ow T H ou
D ID ST A F F L I C T T H E PEO P LE, A N D CA S T THEM O UT . FO R THEY G O T N O T T H E
L A N D rN P O S S ES S IO N BY TH E I R O W N SWO R D , N ErT H ER D ID THE I R O W N A R M
S AV E THEM : B U T T H Y R I G HT H A N D , A N D T H rN E A R M,A N D T H E L I G HT or T H Y
CO U N T EN A N CE,B EC AU S E T H ou HA D ST A FA VO R UN TO T HEM .
T H ER E are few pursuits more pleasant and profitable than
the study of History . We const itute a l ink which unites the
past with the future, and we cann ot ful ly understand our
responsibil ities, as we ce rtainly cannot appreciate our advan
tages, without some acquaintance with the condition and
s ervices of past generations . A s Christians,it is our first duty
and principal happiness to know G od and to do this we must
examine h is Providence as well as h is Word. T h e command
o f G od to h is ancient people was,
“ Remember th e days of old,c onsider the years of many generations ; ask th y father— and
he will show thee th y elders— and they wil l tel l thee .” Deut.
xxxii . ‘
7. A nd accordingly he instituted anniversaries and
festivals to perpetuate the memory of h is deal ings with their
fathers from generation to generation .
T h e bel iever in the providence of G od, will find signal mani
festation s of it,in the successful planting of our Pilgrim F athers
on these shores. T h e Shepherd of Israel , he that led Joseph
like a flock,by the hand of Moses and A aron,
”
guided our
fathers over the waters,and gave them in possession
“ this
goodly heritage .
” If i t be instructive therefore to study the
history of ancient Israel,it cannot be otherwise to contemplate
2
10
the deal ings of the same G od with h is chosen peopl e of N ew
England. An d while we are pursuing the history of our
Church for more than two centuries,I trust we shall find it
profitable to converse with the pious dead, into whose labors
we are entered,
’ and whose names deserve to be held in lastinghonor
,as well by the inhabitants of the town , as the members
of the chur ch . In giving a history of this church,we must
begin with the settlement of the town .
It was in the month of June, that Winthrop, the
Father of Massachusetts,
first trod our soil . T h e Ar h ella, in
which he had crossed the A tlant ic,arrived at Salem on the
12th of the month ; and b y the beginning of July the whole
fleet had arrived,and the colonists began a permanent settle
ment in this place . But Winthrop and h is companions were
not the first settlers here . T wo years before , in the summer
of Ralph Sprague, with h is brothers Richard and
Wil l iam,together with three or four more , undertook a j ourney
from Salem,and after travell ing to the westward through the
woods about twelve miles,they l ighted upon this place .
“ Upon
survey ing,” our town records say, they found it was a neck
of land, generally ful l of stately t imber, and the country round
about a n uncouth wilderness.
” T his peninsula w as at that
time ful l of Indians,who bore the pleasing name of A bergin ian s,
and whose chief John Sagamore gave the new comers,“ a free
consent to settle about this hill .”
But the Spragues again were not the first occupants of the
soil,for they found here a single individual l iving al one
,
3
T homas Walford by name , a smith,— h e occupied a house , that
was“ th ach t and palisadoed,
” and situated on the southern
slepe of this hill , a“ l ittle way up from the side of Charles
River .” T homas Walford,therefore
,was the first white
inhabitant of this soil .
T h e following year, in June,
Mr . T homas G raves,
5
an experienced engineer, came from Salem ,with about 100 of
the Company’s servants
,and began to make preparation for
th e arrival of the colonists . He found here ten inhabitants
including the four already mentioned ; and these , together with
I S ee N ote I . Prince ’s Ch ron . p . QG I.2 Pr ince’s Ch rono logy, and T own Reco rds 5 N ote 3 .
3 N o te‘2.
1 1
the R ev . T homas Bright,1 minister to the Company s servants
,
are spoken of in our town records as being the first who
settled in this p lace , and brought it into the denomination of
an Engl ish town .
Mr . G raves buil t for the use of the Company , who were
shortly to come over, a large house called the G reat House,
”
which afterwards became the first meeting-house of this church .
He also laid out the streets around the T own Hill,and meas
ured out to each inhabitant a two acre lot,after which they
began to build their houses and prepare their fences . It was
al so agreed upon to change the name of the place from Misha
wum,by which it was known among the Indians, to Charles
town .
2 But it is not my design to give an account of the
settlement of the town ; this h as already been done by a gen
tleman,
3 who is preparing a History of the T own,in a manner
that will leave nothing to be desired on this subj ect .
Such is a brief outl ine of the transactions which had taken
place on this soil,when Winthrop landed with h is company .
We shal l be enabled by i t to form some idea of the welcome
that awaited them on their arrival . T hey were about
in number,and the spot which they were to make their home
must have looked dreary indeed. It was wearing its primitive
and savag e appearance , except in the immediate neighborh ood
of this hill . T h e primeval fores t of oak trees,which h ad for
unrecorded ages covered the peninsula, w as sti ll casting its
shadows around them ,except where the axe of Walford and
the Spragues had let the sun in upon this eminence . T h e
G overnor and some of the patentees were accommodated in
the G reat House but no hospital it ies were or could have been
afforded to the great majority . T hey accordingly erected
booths and tents of cloth about the hil l,and laid themselves
down upon the cold and dewy ground to sleep . T hey had h ad
a long passage over the A tl antic some of the ships were seven
teen,and some eighteen weeks, in coming. B ut the hearts of
the Pilgrims were so rej o iced by the safe arrival of their fleet,that the 8th of July was set apart by general consent both here
and at Salem,as a day of thanksgiving to G od. A nd now
,
forgetting their past trials, and their present dest itute condition,
1 N ote4 .9 Note .5 .
3 R ichar d FroLh ingh am, Jr. , Esq.
12
they h ad both time and heart for the expression and cult ivationof gratitude . We look back over the lapse of more than two
hundred years, and as we behold this trustin g and rej oicin gband of Pilgrim s upon this hill , on the 8th July, 163 0, we feel
that the beautiful stanzas of Mrs. Hemans are not more trueto feel ing than to history.
N ot as th e conquerer comes,
T h ey th e true-h earted came ,
N ot with th e ro l l of th e st irr ing drums,
A nd th e trumpet th at s ings of fameN ot as th e flying come
,
In s i l ence and in fear
T h ey sh ook th e depth s of th e desert’s gl oomW ith th eir h ymn s of lofty ch eer .
A midst th e storm th ey sang,A nd th e stars h eard and th e sea !
A nd th e sounding ais les of th e dim woods rangT o th e an th em of th e free !
T h ere were men with h oary h air,A midst th at pi lgr im band
W h y h ad th ey come to w i th er th ere ,A way from th eir ch i ldh ood’s land !
T h ere was woman ’s fear less eye ,L it by h er deep Iove
’s truth
T h ere was manh ood’s brow serene l y h igh ,
A nd th e fi ery h eart of youth .
W h at sough t th ey th us afar !B righ t jewe l s of th e m ine !
T h e weal th of seas , th e spoi l s of war !
— T h ey sough t a faith’s pure sh rine !
A y , cal l it h o l y ground,T h e so i l w h ere fi rst th ey trod
T h ey h ave l eft unstain ’d wh at th ere th ey foundFreedom to worsh i p G od !
But a wild and savage home was not the only welcome of
the Pilgrims. T hey disembarked from their vessels, many of
them s ick from long confinement on ship-board, and their
sickness w as greatly aggravated by their lodgings on the damp
ground, and want of protection against the weather .“ A nd although ,
”say our town records
,
“ the peopl e were
loving and p itiful , yet the sickness did so prevail , that the
whole were not able to tend the sick as they should be tended ,upon which man y perished and died, and were buried abou t
1 3
the T own Hill .” A nd thus the fi r st spot they made the ir
home,became to many of them their grave .
T o add to their distress, their provisions were growingscarce . Much of their suppl ies had been damaged during the
voyage ; much wasted in consequence of the prevailing sick
ness ; many had neglected to make adequate suppl ies, owin gto a report which prevailed in England when they l eft, that
there was now abundance in N ew England and besides this,
the season w as so far advanced, that they coul d expect nothingfrom planting. Under these circumstances the G overnor
despatched Capt . Will iam Pearce , with a ship of 200 tons, to
the coast of Ireland to purchase provisions.
I t would be diffi cul t to est imate the discouraging effect which
these things had upon the minds of the people . Leaving as
they did an old and popul ous country l ike England, where
they had been accustomed to the unnumbered conveni ences
which are the resul t of the labor of many generat ions, and
which we learn to appreciate only when deprived of them ,
they must have been in a great measure unconscious of what
awaited them here,and but poorly prepared, saving in faith
and patience , for the hardships of a settlement in the wilder
ness. T h e sufferin gs endured by the earl iest emigrants to the
new lands of the West,may give us some idea of the n ature
of the privations to which our fathers were subj ec ted, but not
of the number and magnitude of their sacrifices.
T hese distressing circumstances, however, did not deter the
Pilgrims from organiz in g a church, but rather hastened the
execution of their purpose .1 T h e 3 0th of Jul y was observed
as a day of fast ing and prayer, and after a ppropriate rel igious
services, G ov . Winthrop, D ep . G ov . Dudley, Mr . Isaac Johnson,and Rev . John Wilson
,subscribed the followin g church cov
enan t .
In the name of our Lord Jesus Chr ist, and in obedience to
h is holy, wise , and divine ordinances
We,whose names are here underwritten, being by h is
most wise and good providence brought together into this part
of America,in the B ay of Massachusetts and desirous to un i te
into one congregation or church , under the Lord Jesus Ch r ist,
1 N ote 6 .
14
our head, in such sort as becometh all those whom he hath
redeemed,and sanctified to himself
,do hereby solemnly and
religiously, as in h is most holy presence , promise and bind
ourselves to walk in al l our ways according to the rul e of the
G ospel, and in all sincere conformity to h is holy ordinances,and in mutual love and respect to each other, so near as G od
shal l give us grace .
”
Of the four highly distinguished individuals who entered
fi r st into this covenant,i t is unnecessary that I should say
much ; they were not only the founders of the Chur ch , but
also of the Commonwealth , and their history is inseparablyunited with that of Massachusetts.
John Winthrop, the first G overnor of Massachusetts,and the
first who signed the church covenant, w as descended of respect
able ancestors,wh o were distinguished for learning as well as
a ttachment to the reformed rel igion under the reign of HenryVIII. and Q ueen Mary. He received an accompl ished legal
education, and was possessed of a large estate of 6 or £700
per annum,the whole of which he invested in the settlement
of N ew England . He was highly esteemed and greatly be
loved by h is cotemporaries ; and he will never cease to be
reverenced and admired by the sons of N ew England for h ishonor
, generosity, and Christ ian principle . When he removed
from England he was about forty-three years of age .
1
T homas Dudley , the Deputy G overnor, had served under
Q ueen El izabeth as a soldier in France,and w as subsequently
dist inguished for h is prudent management of the large estatesof the Earl of Lincoln ; but becoming attached to the N onconforming interest , he came to this country in the 5 4th year
of h is age. He w as for many years Deputy G overnor, and
was at length chosen G overnor, which office he sustained four
years .
"2
Isaac Johnson,Esq.
,the third subscriber
,was a gentleman
of great amiableness , and enj oyed in an eminent degree the
confidence and affection of the peopl e . He was possessed of a
c onsiderable fortune,and had married the Lady A rbel la, a
daughter of the Earl of Lincoln .
T h e Rev . John Wilson,the first pastor of the Church , was
1 N ote 7. N ote 8.
16
one of the most humble, pious and benevolent men of the age.
H is ancestors had been eminent in the Church of England .
H is father was a clergyman of dist inguished rank in the reignof Elizabeth
,and by h is moth er he was related to Dr. G rindal
,
the excellent Ar chbishop of Canterbury .
1
On the 1st A ugust, Increase N owell , Esq. and four othersunited with the ch urch
,and signed the covenant, and seen their
number amounted to sixty-four men, and half as many women .
On the 23d A ugust ,2 the first G eneral Court
,or Court of
A ssistants as it w as then cal led,w as held
,—probably in the
G reat House . T h e record of that meeting is interesting, as
an exhibit ion of the Spirit of the colonists. Religion was the
obj ec t of their first solic itude,while as yet they had their
houses to build,and means to provide of subsistence for th e
approaching winter, and of defen ce against savage enemies.
T h e first question proposed was,h ow the ministers should be
maintained ! A nd it was ordered that houses be buil t for
them with convenient speed, at the publ ic charge — S ir Rich
ard Saltonstal l undertak ing to see i t done for Mr . Phill ips at
Watertown,and the G overnor at this place for Mr . Wilson .
In addition to this,their sal aries were fixed at £ 3 0 a year .
On the 27th A ugust ,2 another fast was observed
,and th e
church duly organized by the appointment of the proper -offi
cers ; these were a T eacher, Pastor, Ruling Elder, and Deacons.
T o define the duties assigned to each as briefly as possible ;the province of the teacher was to explain and defend the
doctrines of Scripture,— that of the pastor was to exhort and
apply the precepts of Scripture to practice ,— the rul ing elder
was to attend to the discipl ine of the church , and the duties of
the deacons were substan t ially then what they now are .
Mr . Wilson w as chosen teacher,Mr . N owell rul ing elder, and
Messrs. G ager and A spinwal l deacons . T hese were al l several
ly set apart to their offi ces by the imposit ion of hands withthe expl icit statement and understanding, however, that it did
not imply, so far as Mr . Wilson was concerned, the renunci
ation of the ordination he had received in England .
3
T hus was organized the third church in N ew Englan d,a society which became the fountain-head of influence
— and
1 N ote 9.2 Pr ince ’s Ch ron .
3 W inth rop ’s Journa l .
16
an obj ect of profound reverence and affection . Its officers and
members were the leading men of the colony.
“ Some have
been hear d to say,”says Hubbard,
“ they bel ieved it to be the
most glorious church in the world .
” 1
In the month of A ugust many of the colonists removed
across the river,and in a short t ime the G overnor and a
majority of the inhabitants were residing on the other side of
Charles river . T h e principal cause which led to this removal ,was the want of ru nning springs of water . T h e notion pre
vailed that “ no water was good for a town but runningsprings.
” 2 and they were at that t ime acquainted with but one
spring in this place , which , being situated in the sand,along
the margin of Charles r iver, was for the most part brackish ,and in adequate to supply the wants of the people . A t this
juncture Mr . Will iam Blackstone ,3 who was then l iving alone
in a cottage on the Boston side, acquainted the G overnor with
the existence of an excellent spring on that side and sol icited
him to remove thither . In addition to this,the sickness of the
people st il l continued, and numbers were dying, and by manyth is was attributed to the unhealthiness of the place .
Mr . G ager, the newly appointed deacon, died on the l st of
S eptember, of a fever . He is spoken of by G overnor Dudl ey,as
“ a right godly man,and skilful chirurgeon .
” But the spirits
of the Pilgrims were especially affected by the death of Mr.
Isaac Johnson,which took place on the 3 0th of September.
He was so highly esteemed by the people , that h is death was
l ooked upon by many as almost involving the failure of their
undertaking.
T here are few passages in the early history of N ew Englan d
more affect ing than the death of the Lady A rh ella and her de
voted husband .
“ She came,
”says Hubbard,
“ from a paradise
of pleasure and plenty, in the family of a noble Earl,into a wil
derness of wants,and al though celebrated for her many vir tues,
was unable to stem the tide of advers ities sh e saw herself
surrounded with,and in about a month after her arrival
,sh e
ended her days at Salem ,where sh e first landed .
” It were
hard to add,as he does, that sh e was on e who possibly h ad not
taken the counsel of our Saviour,to s it down and think what
I Hubb. H i st . p . 980 .
9 T own R ecords .
3 N o te 10 .
I8
affl ic tion, h is wil l be done . He is our G od
,and may dispose
us as he sees good
It was in the month of N ovember that the G overnor,Deputy
G overnor,and al l the A ssistants except Mr . N owell removed
their families to Boston . T h e frame of the G overnor ’s house
had already been cut, and was about to be erected,but i t w as
carried over to Boston .
1
A fter this,for a period of two years, the inhabitants of
Charlestown,were “ constrained to go to Boston on the Lord ’s
day to hear the word, and enjoy the sacraments before theycould be otherwise suppl ied.
” 2
T h e win ter was now approaching, and the scarc ity of pro
visions was continually increasing the peopl e were compel led
to l ive upon clams and muscles, ground nuts and ac orns,and
these were obtained with much difficul ty in the winter time .
Upon these accounts,”
say our town records,
“ the peopl e
became much tired and discouraged, especially when theyheard that the G overnor had h is last batch of bread in the
oven . A nd many were the fears of the people , that Mr.
Pearce,who w as sent to Ireland to fetch provisions, was cast
away or taken by pirates ; but G od who del ights to appear in
greatest straits did work marvel lously at this t ime , for before
the very day appointed to seek the Lord by fast ing a nd prayer,about the month of February or March
, (5 th of February, )3 in
comes Mr. Pearce laden with provisions upon which occasion
th e day of fast w as changed and ordered to be kept as a day of
thanksgiving. T h e provisions were distributed among the
people in preportion to their necessi t ies.
”
I shal l pass hast ily over the occurrences that transpired duringthe tw o years that the people of Boston and Charlestown were
united in the same church,
- these subj ec ts belonging rather to
the history of the F irst church in Boston and to the historyof this town .
In March of 163 1,the Rev . Mr . Wilson left for Engla nd,
4
intrust ing the spiritual charge of h is church to G overnor Winth rop, Deputy G overnor Dudley, and Mr . N owell the rul ing
1 N o te l l . 2 T own R ecords .
3 Ma th er says th at on th is day G ov . W in th rop was d i s tributi ng th e last liandfi i l of th emea l III th e barre l un to a poo r man d istressed by th e w o lf at th e door
,wh en at th at ins tant
t h ey sp ied a s h i p arr i ved a t t h e liarl io r’s i i ioui l i laden w i th pro v i s io ns fo r th em a ll .— V0 l . i . l l 'i .
4 N o te I'
L’ .
19
elder . H is place however, was s oon occupied by the Rev.
John Eliot,who came to our country the ensuing autumn ,
and was afterwards dist inguished as the apostle to the
Indians.
Mr . Wilson carried with him a letter to the Countess of Lin
coln,written by Mr. Dudley the Deputy G overnor of the
Colony . It contains an impartial account of the condition of
the plantation at that time , and I will therefore present an
extract from it .“ Having some leisure
,
” he writes,to discourse of the
motives for other men ’s coming to this plac e , or their abs tain
ing from it ; after my brief manner I say th is : T hat if any
come hither to plant for worldly ends, that can live well at
home,he commits an error
,of which he wil l soon repent him
B ut if for sp iritual, and that no particular obstacle h inder h is
removal,he may find here what may wel l content him v iz .
Materials to build,fuel to burn
, ground to plant , seas and rivers
to fi sh in, a pure air to breath in , good water to drink, t ill wine
or beer ca n be made which together with the cows, hogs and
goats, brought hith er already, may suffice for food as for fowl
and venison,they are dainties here as well as in England .
For clothes and bedding, they must bring them with them ,t il l
t ime and industry produce them here . In a word,we yet
enj oy l ittle to be envied , and endure much to be pitied in the
sickness and mortal ity of our pe ople . A nd I do the more
wil l ingly use this open and plain deal ing, lest o ther men
should fal l short of their expectations, when they come hither,as we to our great prejudice did ; by means of letters sent us
from hence into England ; wherein honest men out of a desire tod raw over oth ers to them
,wrote somewhat hyperbolically of
many things here . If any godly men out of religious ends will
come over to help us in the good work we are about, I think
they cannot dispose of themselves, nor of their estates more to
G od ’s glory, and the furtherance of their ow n reckoning : but
they must not be of the poorer s ort yet, for divers years. For
we have found by experience that they have hindered, not
furthered the work and for proph ane and debauched persons,their oversight in coming hither is wondered at, where theyshal l find nothing to content them . If there be any endued
with grace, and furnished with means to feed themselves and
20
theirs for e ighteen months, and to build and plant , let them
come into our Macedonia,and help us
,and not Spend them
selves and their estates in a less profitable employment : for
others I conceive they are not yet fitted for this business.
” 1
T h e return of the Rev . Mr . Wilson took place May 26, 163 2,
and in A ugust the congregation of Boston and Charlestown
began to build a meeting-house ; for which purpose , and the
erection of a dwell ing-house for Mr . Wilson , a voluntary con~
tribution w as made,amount ing to about £ 120 . T his building
was erected on th e south side of S tate street,in Boston ; its
roof was of thatch,and its walls of mud .
2
T his w as the last enterprise in which the united congrega
t ion of Boston and Charlestown were engaged . T h e division
of the church took place soon after . T h e more immediate
occasion of this,w as the arrival of the Rev . T homas James
,
who became an inhabitant of this place , and thus afforded the
peopl e an opportunity to establ ish a separate church . T h e
severity of the winter season seemed also to render the stepnecessary . We learn from Winthrop
’s j ournal
,that our peopl e
were unable to cross the ferry on some occas ions,in con se
quenco of the cold and the quantity of floating ice in the river .
T h e winter w as new setting in upon them ,and it w as destined
to be the severest one the Pilgrims h ad ever experienced .
3
T h e request of the Charlestown members having been made
for a dismission,the church appointed the 1 1th of October for
seeking the direct ion of G od,and on the following Sabbath
(14th ) 3 5 pers ons, 19 males and 16 females, were dismissed to
form this church .
Up to the period of th e separation , i . e . from July, 163 0, to
October,1632
,1 5 1 persons had been admitted to full com
I 1 Mass .I I . S . C o l l v i i i . 42 . For th e most accurate copy of th is in te res ti ng and va luable
letter sec Fo rce ’s H i st . T rac ts , vo l i i . In th is connec t i on th e fo l lowing ex trac t from Math e r
wi l l be found in terest ing . By computat ion th e passage of th e persons th at peop led N ew
En g l and cost at least T h e transpo rtat ion of th e i r fi rst sma l l s tock of cattle greatand
j
small cost no less th an bes ides th e
(pr
ice of th e cat t le th emse lves : th e pro
v is ions la id ih for subs i stence , t i l l ti l lage m igh t pro uce mo re , cost t h e mater i a l sfo r th e i r fi rst co tta lres cos t th e i r arms, ammun i t ion and great a rt i l lery
,cost
bes ides w i ich th e adven turers la id out in England wh at was no t i h r e nS ide rable . A bout 198 sh i ps were employed in pass ing th e per i l s o f th e sp as , in th e
.
accom
p lish ment o f th i s renowned sett lemen t ; w lieree l by th e way , but one m iscarr ied i n th ose
peri l s I . 64.0
2 W iii th ro i’
s J ournal , p . 87. Emerson’s H ist .
'
F irs t C li li .
3 “ A term i lo co ld wmte r,” says Jo h nso n ,
“W i th week l y snows , and fi e rce frosts be tween
w h i le congeal ing Ch arl es l l iver, as we l l from th e town to sea-ward , as above , ii i somuch th a t
men m igh t frequent ly pass from one is la nd to ano th er upon th e icc .
” IV. IV. P rov. c/i . xxv i .
2 1
munion,80 or 90 of whom were males, and constituted the
body of the inhabitants . T h e Charlestown members therefore
made up nearly one fourth of the church .
Friday , the 2d of N ovember, or 12th ,1 according to our mode
of reckoning, was set apart as a day of fasting and prayer,when a church covenant was formed
,and subscribed by 3 5
persons, 19 males and 16 females, and Mr . James elected and
ordained pastor . T h e covenant is expressed in nearly the sam e
words as the original covenant of the first church .
2
We have no record left us of the rel igious ceremonies of this
day ; but we may learn with sufficient accuracy what theywere
,from the particular account which Johnson h as given us
of the organization of the F irst church in Woburn , which w as
constituted out of this church ten years after . T h e congre
gatien assembled about eight o’clock
,—perhaps under the
Charlestown O ak,beneath which the first rel igious assembl ies
were held . A fter the publ ic exerc ises,— which in the case of
the Woburn church were performed by the Rev . Mr . Symmes,
pastor of th is church , who“ continued in preaching and prayer
about the space of four or five hours,
”— these who were to j oin
first in the covenant stood forth and gave a relation of their
religious experience— what the Lord had done for them by h is
word and providence— and also a profession of their faith in
those doctrines upon which their hopes were founded . T h e
messengers of other churches present questioned them on any
points they had doubt of, unt il al l were satisfied . T hey then
unitedly entered into covenant with on e another after which
they received the right hand of fellowship from the representa
t ives of the churches,and were recognized as a regularly con
stituted church .
A fter this they proceeded to elect a pastor, a nd chose Mr .
James,who w as set apart to offi ce-work in this church , by two
or three persons, who laid their hands upon h is head, and said,
“ We ordain thee to be pastor unto this church of Christ .” 3
1 N o te 13 .2 N o te 14
3 It was in th is manner th at Mr. Carter,th e fi rst m in ister of th e W oburn church
,was
orda ined . S ee Joh nson ’s W onder W ork ing Prov idence, ch . xx i i . But Hubbard te l ls us,
ch . x lv i i i , T h ere was some l i tt le d ifference about th e manner of h is ord inat ion ; for in regardth ey h ad no oth er offi cer in th e ir ch urch bes ides, nor any of th e ir members th at th ough tth emse lves fi t to so lemn ize such an ord inance, th ey were adv ised b some to des ire th e
e lders of oth er ch urch es to perform it,by impos ing h ands on th e sa id h r. Carter ; but o th ers
suppos ing it m igh t be an occas ion of introducmg th e dependency of ch urch es,&c. and
22
T h e first time this church assembl ed after its organization ,for publ ic worship , was on the 4th of N ovember
,0 . S . With
the close of this Sabbath,
1 therefore,two hu ndred and ten
years will have passed away , since this church commemorated
our Lord ’s resurrection for the first t ime . From that time to
this,with the exception of a l ittle more than three years, when
the town lay in ashes, and the people were dispersed, the
worship of G od h as been maintai ned,and h is ordinances duly
administered .
A nd here let me mention the order of publ ic worship ob
served by the Puritans i t wil l enable us to form some idea of
the manner in which our fathers spent the Lord’s day on which
they first assembled as a distinct church,as well as their S ab
baths generally .
T hey came together in the morning of the Sabbath as earlyas 9 o ’clock
,and frequently before . A fter prayer either the
pastor or the teacher read a chapter and expounded it, givingthe sense
,to cause the people to understand the reading, ao
cording to N eh . vii i . 8 . A psalm was then sung, which w as
d ictated by the ruling elder,2 and a sermon preached by the
one who had not expounded, commonly the pastor, and the
services were closed with a prayer and blessing by the teacher .
T h e sacrament of the Lord ’s Supper was administered in the
morning once a month , notice of which w as given a fortnight
beforehand,the ministers and rul ing elders si tting at the table ,
the two ministers sharing equally i n the services , which were
what they now are .
In the afternoon , after prayer by the pastor or teacher,the
Word w as again read and expounded, (if t ime allowed ,) by theone who preached in the morning, and a sermon preached by
so of a presbytery,were not so free to adm i t th ereof
,an d th erefore it was performed by one
o f th e i r own members,th ough not so we l l to th e sa t isfac tion o f some of th e mag i strates and
min i s ters th en p resen t ; an d s ince th at t ime i t h ath been mo re frequen t in such cases to des i reth e e lde rs of ne igh bor ing c h urc h es
,by V l l
‘
l l l C of commun ion of c h urch es,to o rda in such as
a re by th e c h urch es and peo p le c h osen to be th e i r o lh cers,wh ere th ere are no e lders before .
”
W h en Mr. Co tton was o rdained teach er of th e Boston C h urch , O c t. th e pas tor,Mr . W i lson
, and th e two rul ing e lders,la id th e i r h ands upon h is h ead , wh i le th e pas to r
prayed and gave h im th e c h arge o f th e con g regat ion . T h en th e ne igh bo ri ng mii i is te i s th atwere ) resen t gave h im th e r igh t h and of fellows h ip . \t i i no e ldersh i p ex i s ted prev ious l yin a c n i rc h
,i t w as h e ld n o ) cr th at some o f th e bre th ren sh ould be depi i ted by th e ch urc h to
o rda in ; and th i s ,says I uh ard
,was app roved of “ by th e learned D r . H o rnbeck , Professor
o f D i vmity in Ho l land,and a Presby ter ian in h i s judgmen t , and engaged in th e defence of
th at cause .
”B ut i t soon became th e usua l prac t ice to r th e o rd inat ion to be perfo rmed bv
t h e e lders of ne igh bor ing ch urch es,in V i rtue of th e comnnurion of church es. S ec Hubbard,
c h . xxvin .
1 N ovember l 3 , l 842.9 No te l 5 .
23
the other, commonly the teacher . A fter this , baptism was
administered, (if occasion requir ed , ) by either pastor orteacher,
’
in the deacons’ seat,which was under the elders ’ and higher
than the other pews . T h e minister commonly made an exhorta
tion to the ch urch and parents concerning the ordinance , and
prayed before and after . T his ended,the contribution followed
,
one of the deacons cal l ing upon the people and say ing, Brethren
of the congregat ion, now there is t im e left for contribution ,wherefore as G od hath prospered you, so freely offer . T h e
whole congregation then arose and proceeded to the deacons’
seat,the mag istrates and chief gentlemen first
,and then the
elders, and then the rest of the congregation , all the men, al l
single persons, widows, a nd women in the absence of their
husbands, came up one by on e,and put their offerings
into a box of wood made for the purpose , and then passed
another way to their seats again . T heir offerings were of
money , and goods and chattels of various descriptions ; and
from them,the deacons made distribution for the maintenance
of the ministers,the poor of the church , and other purposes,
such as the church appointed . T his custom was founded on
Deut . xv i . 16,A cts iv . 3 5
,and vi . 3
,1 Cor . i . 2 . A fter the
contribution,members were received
,and cases of disc ipl ine
tried,until it oftentimes became very late . If they had time ,
a psalm was sung, and the services concluded with a prayer
and blessing.
’
Before proceeding any further in our narrative , allow me to
give a brief account of the origin of the Puritans,that we may
obtain some general idea of their rel igious character , and the
principles that led to their dissent from the Church of England .
T h e Puritans had their origin in the convulsions into which
Europe w as thrown by the Reformation . Previously to that
memorable era,the Christian church had preserved for the most
part a visible unity , and the Bishop of R ome had graduallysubjugated the Christ ian world , and by the same insensibl e
degrees the most monstrous errors had crept into the creed and
worship of the church . When the conscience and common
sense of the world bega n to awake , and men inquired what
was of divine and what of human origin , as a matter of course
1 Cotton ’s W ay of th e G bbs. ch . iv. L ech ford’
s P la in Deal ing, 3 Mass . H . S . Co l l . i i i . 76.
24,
a great confl ic t of opinion ensued, and two great parties were
formed, one advocating the old establ ished order of things, and
the other maintain ing the necessity of a reformation to a greater or less extent .
T his great contest commenced early and raged long in
England— our father-land . Previously to the reign of HenryV III . the elements of the Reformation existed in England, and
many noble spirits had labored and bled in that cause . A t
length , however, that imperious monarch , wishing to obtain a
divorce from h is wife,and having appl ied in vain to the P epe ,
who for certain reasons could not grant it, declared the church
of England independent of the Roman See,and himself the
Head of the church . T his,of course
,w as rather a pol itical
than a moral revolut ion ; but i t afforded the friends of the
Reformation,both in the kingdom and on the continent
,a
favorable opportunity, which they dil igently improved in spread
ing among the people a correc t knowledge of the Scriptures.
S o that during the reign of Henry and the short reign of the
gentle Edward , the Reformation took such deep root inEngland , that no violence w as ever subsequently able to ex tir
pate i t .
Under the reign of the cruel Mary, popery was re-establ ished,
and everything done which persecution could do , to prevent
the spread of th e Reformation . It w as impossible ; the blood
of the martyrs was the seed of the church . Many bright
l ights were indeed extinguished, and much of the purest and
best blood of England shed . But this was all that persecution
could do i t killed the body, but the spirit of the martyrs fled
to the breasts of the people , and became omnipotent and im
mortal . It was in this sanguinary period that the Puritan or
leading portion of the Reformers,suffered most severely , and
testified by their sufferings and death , how hearti they had
espoused and how dearly they loved the cause of pure rel igion .
Under El izabeth the reformed religion was revived and perma
uently establ ished as the religion of the state — and now the
question arose,T o what extent shal l we carry the Reformation
what part of the ancient forms and services of the church
shal l be retained,and what part reform ed ! Upon this question
two great parties arose ,— the one for departing to a greater , and
the other to a less extent from the church,as they found i t at
26
scrupl es of the Puritans were disregarded, the ir intel l igent and
conscientious convictions were treated with contempt, and theywere required to bow to the authority of the church in respect
to outward ceremonies,which common sense as well as
Christ ian charity would require should be left to the discretionof the worshipper or minister .
T his spirit of tyrannical and absurd interference with the
rights of conscience,descended from Elizabeth to her suc
cessor K in g James ; and the hopes of the Puritans were final lycrushed by the issue of the con ference at Hampton Court . On
this occasion Dr . Reynolds stated,in behalf of the Puritans,
that all they required might be reduced to these four heads
purity of doctrine,
-the supply of the churches w i th good
pastors,— the scriptural administrat ion of church government,and the improvement of the Book of Com mon Prayer.
In regard to the first point nothing was obtained except a
new translation of the Bible —and for this nobl e translat ion ,now in the hands of all Engl ish Christians, the world are
indebted to the Puritans.
In reply to their scrupl e how far the ordinance of the churchbindeth
,without impeaching Christian l iberty ! James warm
ly declared, “ I will not argue that point with you, but answeras kings in Parl iament, L e R oy s
’
am’
sera . T his is l ike Mr .
John Black,a beardless boy, who told me the last conference
in Scotland,that he woul d hold conformity with h is Majesty in
matters of doctrine,but every man for ceremonies w as to be
left to h is own l iberty. But I wil l have none of that I wil l
have one doctrine,one discipl ine , one rel igion in substance and
ceremony . N ever speak more to that point h ow far you are
bound to obey !
In regard to church government , Dr. Reynolds desired that
the clergy might have meetings every three weeks for the dis
cussien of scriptural and theological quest ions .
“ If you aim
at a Scottish Presbytery, repl ied the k ing, i t agreeth as wel l
with monarchy as G od and the Devil . T hen Jack and T om
and Will and Dick,shal l meet and censure me and my council .
T herefore I re iterate my former speech ,‘Le R oy s
’av isera.
’
S tay I pray for one seven years before you dema nd that ! and
then if you find me grow pursy and fat , I may, perchance ,hearken unto you, for that government will keep me in breath
27
and give me work enough .
” A nd then repeating h is favoritemaxim
,
“ N o bishop, no king !” the king broke up the con
ference by saying, if this be al l your party hath to say, I will
make them conform,or harrie them out of the land, -or else
do worse 1
Such was the spirit of the temporal Head of the church of
England when the Puritans were struggl ing to advance and
secure the principles of the Reformation . A s a cons equence , theywere excluded from th e N ational church , although , for serious
piety, sound learning, and heroic sufferings, under the perse
cuting reign of Q ueen Mary, they were as much entitled to be
embraced within it, as any portion of the Engl ish people . T o
the church as now establ ished by law , the Pur itans could not
conform,— and h ence the ir name — N on -conformists. T hey
were at the outset a numerous and powerful party and theyincreased
,til l under the tyrannical reign of Charles I .
,they
overthrew the constitut ion of both church and state .
T h e Purit ans,however
,were by no means agreed among
themselves . T here w as among them a class of rig id Separatists
who looked upon the entire const itut ion of the Engl ish as well
as Roman church , as unscriptural and anti-Christian — theycame out from among them
,therefore
,and held themselves
separat e . T h e non-conformists general ly however did n ot for
mal ly separate from her, but held themselves ready to unite
with her as a true church,when releas ed from Observances and
tests,which in conscience they could not submit to .
Such were the Puritans of Massachusetts. T hey n ot onlyowned themselves Engl ishmen , but the church of England
also as their dear m other . A nd the letter which Winthrop and
h is companions addressed to thei r brethren of the church of
England, on taking farewell of them ,is a beautiful exhibition
of the mild spirit and rat ional principles, with which theybegan their enterprise : the sweetness of its humanity as well
as its simple and heart-touching eloquence h as made it and
will always make it,one of the dearest monuments to
their praise . It is ent itled T h e humble request of h is
Majesty’s loyal subj ects , the G overnor and Company late gene
for N ew England ; for the obtaining of their prayers, and the
4 S outh ey ’s Book o f th e Ch urch .
28
removal of suspi cions and misconstructions of their intentions.
[London, printed for John B el lam ie, 163 0. 4to .]1
REVER EN D FA T H ER S A N D BR ET H R EN
T h e general rumor of this solemn enterprise , wherein our
selves with others,through the providence of the A lmighty are
engaged, as i t may spare us the labor of imparting our occas ion
unto you, so i t gives us the more encouragement to strengthen
ourselves by the procurement of the prayers and blessings of the
L ord ’s faithful servants. F or which end we are bold to have
recourse unto you, as those whom G od hath placed nearest h is
throne of mercy ; which as it affords you the more Opportunity,so i t imposeth the greater bond upon you to intercede for h is
peopl e in al l their strai ts.
W e beseech you, therefore, by the mercies of the Lord
Jesus,to consider us as your brethren , standing in very great
need of your help, and earnestly implo ring i t . A nd howsoever
your charity may have met with some occasion of discourage
ment through the misreport of our intentions,or through the
disaffection or indiscretion of some of us,or rather amongst us,
for we are not of those that dream of perfection in this world ;
yet we desire you would be pleased to take notice of the prin
cipals and body of our company , as those who esteem it ourhonor to call the Church of England, from whence we rise,our dear mother and cann ot part from our native country,where sh e specially resideth
, without much sadness of heart,
and many tears in our eyes, ever acknowledging that such hope
and part as we have obtained in the common salvation,we
have received in h er bosom,and sucked it from her breasts.
We leave it not,therefore
,as loathing that milk wherewith we
were nourished there but blessing G od for the parentage and
education as members of the same body shall always rejoice
in her good , and unfeignedly grieve for any sorrow shal l ever
bet ide her,and while we have breath sincerely desire and eu
deaver the continuance and abundance of her welfare,with
the enlargement of her bounds in the kingdom of Christ Jesus .
Be pleased , therefore , reverend fathers and brethren , to
help forward this work now in hand ; which , if i t prosper, you
Hubbard,ch . xx i i i .
29
shal l be the more glorious howsoever, your judgment is withthe Lord
,and your reward with your G od. It is an usual and
laudable exerc ise of your charity to commend to the prayers of
your congregations the necessit ies and straits of your private
neighbors. Do the l ike for a church springing out of your own
bowels. We conceive much h ope that this remembrance of
us,if it be frequent and fervent, will be a most prosperous gale
in our sails,and provide such a passage and welcome for us,
from the G od of the whole earth , as both we which shal l find
it,and yourselves, with the rest of our friends who shall hear
of i t,shall be much enlarged to bring in such daily returns of
thanksgivings, as the specialt ies of h is providence and goodness
may justly challenge at al l our hands. Y ou are n ot ignorant,that the Sp irit of G od st irred up the A postle Paul to make
continual mention of the church of Philippi , (which was a
colony from Rome ) let the same spirit , we beseech you, put
you in mind, that are the L ord’s remembrancers
,to pray for
us without ceasing, (who are a weak colony from yourselves,)making continual request for us to G od in al l your prayers.
What we entreat of you that are the ministers of G od,that we
also crave at the hands of all the rest of our brethren, that theywould at no t ime forget us in their private sol ic itations at the
throne of grace . If any there be, who through want of clear
intel ligence of our course, or tenderness of affection towards us,cannot conceive so much of our w ay as we could desire w e
would entreat such n ot to desp ise us, nor to desert us in their
prayers and affections ; but to consider rather, that they are
so much the more bound to express the bowels of their com
passion towards us, remembering always, that both nature and
grace doth ever bind us to rel ieve and rescue , with our utmost
and speediest power, such as are dear unto us,when we con
ceive them to be running uncomfortable hazards .
What goodness you shal l extend to us,in this or any other
Christian kindness,we
, your brethren in Christ Jesus, shall
labor to repay, in what duty we are or shall be able to perform
promising, so far as G od shal l enabl e us,to give him no rest on
your behalfs, wishing our heads and hearts may be fountains
of tears for your everlast ing welfare , when we shall be in our
poor cottages in the wilderness, overshadowed with the spir itof suppl ication , through the manifold necessit ies and tribula
t ions which may not altogether unexpectedly, nor, we hope ,unprofi tably befal us.
A nd so commending you to the grace Of G od in Christ,we shal l ever rest your as sured friends and brethren .
JOH N W I N T H RO P,G ov. R i err : S A LT ON S T A LL,
C H A R LES F I N ES,
I S A A C JO H N S ON,
G EO R G E: PH I LL I P S , T a o : D UD LEY,
dcc. W I LL IA M C O D D i N G '
r O N,
&c .
From Y armouth , aboard th e A rh e l la, A pr i l 7, 1630.
S O l ikewise when Mr . Higginson , the first minister of Salem,
had embarked,and was about to leave England, he called up
h is children and other passengers, unto the stern Of the ship to
take the ir last sight of England, say ing,“ We will not say as
t h e Separat ists were wont to say at their leaving Of England,Farewel l Babylon farewel l Rome ! But we wil l say, Farewel l
d ear England ! farewel l the church Of G od in England, and
th e Christ ian friends there We do not go to N ew England
as separatists from the Church Of England though we cannot
but separate from the corrupt ions in i t but we go to practice
the pos i tive part of church reformation , and propagate the gos
pel in America .
” 1
In this spirit of Christian charity did the fathers of the Mas
sach usetts Colony leave their brethren in England, and begin
t o establ ish civil and rel igious ins t itut ions in this wilderness .
T hey were not separat ists, nor were they enthusiastic theorists.
S uch there might have been , and no doubt were among them ,
for they themselves intimate , that there were some“among st
them,who were not of them .
” But “ the principals and bodyOf their company
” were Of a far different spirit ; they went
forth as a colony, esteeming i t the ir honor to cal l the Church
Of England their dear mother .”
In this th ey breathed th e very Spirit of cathol icity, and
evinced their freedom from the sin of schism and sectarianism .
A nd if any among them , or Of their children after them ,have
evinced a contrary spirit , i t is shown to be manifestly a depar
ture from the Spir it of the Pilgrims.
” 2
1 Math er’s Mag . 1. 328. N ote 16.
L E C T U R E I I .
P S A L M l x x x . 8— 1 1 .
T H O U H A S T B R O U GH T A V I N E O UT O F EGY PT : T H O U H A ST CA ST O UT T H E HEA T HEN ,
A N D P LA N T ED l'
I‘
. T H O U P R EP A R ED ST R O O M BEFO R E I T,A N D D I D ST C A U S E IT T O
T A K E DEEP R O O T , A N D I T F I L LED T H E LA N D . T H E H I L L S WER E CO V E R ED W I T HT H E SH A D O W O F I T
,A N D T H E BO UG H S T HE R EO F \V E R E L IKE T H E G O O D LY CEDA R S .
S H E SEN T O UT H ER B O U GH S U N T O T H E S EA , A N D H ER B R A N CHE S UN T O T H E R I VER .
IN the first Lecture,I gave some account Of the F irst church
gathered upon this soil , the removal O f its pastor and maj orityOf its members to Boston
,and the causes which led to the
organizat ion of the present F irst church Of Charlestown , N O
vember 2,1632
,two years after the formation of the original
church .
I shal l now proceed to give some account of the founders or
original members, and the first pastor of the church , together
with a few Of the more prominent facts in our ecclesiastical
history.
T h e first name subscribed to the church covenant is th at Of
Increase Parnel N ow ell . 1
Mr . N owell was the only one O f the assistants or magistrates
who remained in this town,when the governor and others re
moved to Boston . He was also appointed ruling elder Of the
church ; an Offi ce which he held until a few month s before this
church w as formed,when the quest ion w as agitated whether a
person might be a civil magistrate and a rul ing elder of the
church at the same time . T his inquiry was proposed in
writing to the sister churches Of Plymouth and Salem , and
being answered by them in the negative , Mr . N owell laid down
h is Office in the church,and devoted himself exclusively , to
the end Of l ife,to the duties of a civil magistrate , for w hich he
1 S ee note 14. T h e meth od O f s ign ing th is covenan t is remarkable . Instead of IncreaseN owe l l and Parne l h is W ife, it is Increase Parne l N owe l l , a S ing le name
,afford ing a pleasmg
conformi ty to th e dec larat ion of S cr ipture, T h ey twain sh al l be one.
”
3 2
was well qual ified . H is father or grandfather, was brother to
the famous Al exander N owell,dean O f S t . Paul ’s in the reign
Of Q ueen Elizabeth , and prolocutor Of her first convocation .
He is mentioned in the charter of Massac husetts granted byK ing Charles I . as an associate to the six original patentees,and w as for a number O f years secretary Of th e colony .
1
Johnson,who resided in this town
,and must have known
him well, pronounces a high eulogium upon him ,
as an honor
able and upright hearted man,w h o, though brought up tenderlyand in the midst Of abundance
,w as yet contented with the
poverty and self—denial of h is wilderness home . A s a magistrate he w as j ust both to poor and rich , and the people expressed their sense Of h is faithfulness
,and
"
the constancy Of their
regard, by choosing him secretary many successive years .
2
He w as one of the owners of the ship Jewel,and probably
possessed a very considerable estate , but with nearly al l the fir st
and most active planters, he became poor . H e died N ov . 1,
165 5 . H is will,h earing date June 23
,165 5
,h as been pre
served in the probate Office . T wo Of h is sons,Samuel and
A lexander, graduated at Harvard college , the first of whom
entered the ministry, and subsequently occupied important
stations in the service of the col ony . T h e services Of Mr.N owell appear to have been held in grateful memory. Shortlyafter h is death
,the town released h is widow from pay ing the
town rates thenceforward . T h e G eneral Court h ad,in 165 0
,
made him a grant Of acres Of land .
I have been thus particular in regard to Mr . N owell , because
he,more than any other man , may be considered the father of
the church and the town . He was a zealous Puritan,an active
and devout Christian,and deserves to be held in grateful esteem
1 W inth rop ’s Jour . Emerson ’s H ist F i rst C h . Pr ince ’s Ch ron .
9 John son bestows th e followmg l ines upon Mr. Increase N owe l l .“ Increase sh al t th ou, wi th h onor now ,
in th is th y undertak i ng,
T h ou h ast rema ined,as yet uns ta ined ,
all errors foul forsak ing ;T o poor and r ich th y just ice much h ath man ifes ted been
,
L ike S amue l , N ath anae l , Ch r i st h ath th ee framed W i th in ;T h y fa i th fulness people exp ress , and S ecretary th eyC h ose th ee each year, by wh ic h a pear
,th e i r love Wi th th ee doth stay.
N ow Nowe l l see , C h r i s t ca l led h aili th ee , andwork th oumust fo r h im,
In beat ing down th e tr i ple crown,and all th at h i s foes been .
T h us doe s t th ou s tand by Ch r i s t , fra i l man,to te l l h is m i
gh t can make
Dust do h is Wi l l,w i th graces fi ll, t i l l dust to h im h e take .
W . W . P rov. ch .
3 4,
more . He subsequently became one of the seven founders Of
the church in Woburn,where h is descendants st il l l ive .
Ezekiel Richardson,the next in order
,beca me also one Of
the founders Of the Woburn church .
Henry Harwood , the eighth , w as a companion of the unfortunate Richard G arrett
,who attempted , in the month of De
cember,the first win ter after the arrival Of the planters, to go
from Boston to Plymouth in an Open shallop, against the advice
Of h is friends. G ov . Winthrop h as l eft us a particular account
Of this distressing occurrence .
1 T hey were driven to sea by a
storm ,and after suffering so much by cold that they gave
themselves up for lest, they made the shore Of Cape Cod .
Here they spent the night without shelter or fire,and in the
morning started for Plymouth , supposing it to be within seven
or eight miles, whereas it w as at the distance Of fifty . B y a
kind Providence,they fell in with an Indian , whose assista nce
was t imely enough to rescue al l from death , except Richard
G arrett,who died shortly after being landed , the first vic tim Of
the storm,where thousands have perished since . Harwood
,
after great suffering, partial ly recovered, and probably in con
sequence of h is disabi l i ty from this calami ty, he w as appointed
(163 2 ) to keep the milch cattle of the town in a herd on themain without the neck until harvest
,
“ driving them forth everymorning and bringing them into town every evening.
” He
was one Of the ear l iest members Of the Boston church, and
is spoken Of by G overnor Winthrop as a godl y man . He
l ived but a short t ime after the organization Of the church .
Robert Hale,the ninth in the l ist
,a nd Ralph Mousal l
,the
thirteenth,were the first deacons Of the chur ch .
2
Will iam F rothingham ,the twelfth
,is the ancestor Of the
large and respectable family that bear h is name , and is the onlyone of the original founders Of the church , whose l ineal de
scendan ts are stil l in the midst Of us ; three of h is posterity have
successively borne the Office O f deacon among us, and the name
h as been on the l ist Of members from that time to this.
I conclude these sketches,with the name of the Rev .
T homas James,the pastor O f th e church , whose name occurs
the eleventh in order . He was born and educated in England,
1 W in th rop ’s Jour. I. 3 9.9 N ote 19.
3 5
an d previously to h is removal to this country, he had been a
minister in Lincolnshire , h is native county, where Johnson
says he w as commended for h is courteous speech and work Of
Christ ian love . H is subsequent history will be given here
after.Before proceeding further in the history Of the church, i t
may be proper and interest ing to give some account Of the
general aspect O f the town and the external conveniences of the
people , as they may be gathered from the hints afforded us in
the town records.
T hat part Of the peninsula, east Of Main street, w as the great
corn field,commonly called the Eas t field each inhabitant
w as entitled to two acres to plant ; and the field w as enclosed
by a fence which extended from T homas Walford ’s on the
south side Of the town hill over to the east creek of the town,
and at the other end by a fence from Ralph Mousal l’s, (whose
house was“
probably buil t highest up on Main street,) carried
along by the high-way to the neck , where it met the Mystic .
T h e town was laid out around this hill,and most Of the houses
were buil t here,and along the road to the country , which run
in the general direction Of Main street .
T h e first place for Sabbath assembly was under the shade of
a great oak,which grew on this hill
,or in the square
,and
which stood for many years afterwards and was celebrated as
the Charlestown oak . A fter the organization Of the church,the great house , which was now no longer used as a govern
ment house,was purchased of G overnor Winthrop and the
other proprietors for the sum of £ 10,and fitted up for the
meeting-house of the town . It stood at the foot Of this hill inthe square
,and was occupied by the church , until 163 9, when
it w as sold,and a new meeting-house erected on the same
spot .1 Four individuals were admitted to the church before the
close Of the year ; and in January the first baptism took place ,which w as that of the pastor
’s son
,John
,the son of T homas
and Eli zabeth James.
A t this time,”say our town records
,began a most griev
ous and terrible sickness amongst the Indians, who were exceedingly numerous about us, cal led the A bergin ians. T heir
1 N ote 20.
3 6
disease was generally the smal l pox , which raged not onlyamongst these , but amongst the eastern Indians also, and in a
few months swept away multitudes Of them,both young and
Old . T hey could not bury their dead, the Engl ish were constrained to help, and that which is very remarkabl e is, that
though the Engl ish did frequently visit them in their sicknessnotwithstanding the infection , i t w as Observed that not oneEngl ishman was touched with the disease ; but i t was extra
ordinarily infect ious among themselves, and mortal where it
took any of them,insomuch that there was scar ce any of them
left .” T h e account which Johnson h as left us O f the ravages
of this pest ilence , is painful in the extreme . T h e poor
creatures,being very timorous of death , woul d have fled from
i t, but could not tell h ow ,unless they could have gone from
themselves . Relations were l ittle regarded among them at
this t ime,so that many who were smitten with disease died
helpless, unless they were near and known to the Engl ish
their powwows, wizards, and charmers, were possessed with the
greatest fear Of any . T h e winter ’s p ierc ing cold stayed not the
strength Of this hot disease , yet the Engl ish endeavoring to
visi t their sick wigwams, helped them al l they could, but as
they entered one Of their matted houses , they behold a mostsad spectacle, death having smitten al l but one poor infant,which lay on the ground sucking the breast Of its dead mother,seeking to draw l iving nourishment from her dead breast .
” 1
A nd here i t is a pleasing duty to stop awhile and contemplate
this exhibi tion Of humanity and Christian love . We look
around us and imagine that we see“ the matted houses
Of the A bergin ians stil l standing within the forest, and the
pilgrims regardless of infection approaching the sick and dying,
(from whom their own kindred had fled with savage am aze
ment, ) alleviating their sufferings, if not rescuing them from
death,and endeavoring to enlighten and comfort their benight
ed souls with Christ ian instruction and hope . G overnor Win
th rop says, i t made a deep impression upon their hearts, that
when their own people forsook them, yet the Engl ish ca me
frequently and ministered unto them .
”
In the month of December 163 3 , this disease attacked John
1 W on. W ork . Prov . ch . xxv.
3 7
Sagamore ,1 the A bergin ian chief, whose gentle and good dis
position, gave the earl iest planters a free consent to settle here .
”
A t h is own request he w as carried among the Engl ish, bywhom he was kindly received, and in h is last hours was
attended by the best and most honored of the p ilgrims. He
requested that h is two son s might be taken and taught“ to
know G od ; and accordingly the governor took one , and Mr.
Wilson the other ” to their respective homes! T h e dying chief
gave the governor a good quantity of wampompeague, or In
dian money, and besides making gifts tO many others, provided
for the payment of all h is own debts and those O f h is men .
He promised, if he recovered , to l ive with the Engl ish, and
serve their G od and when he died,it w as in the persuasion
that he should go to the Engl ishman’s G od . A nd in the same
manner,we are told
,that many of them
,in their s ickness
,con
fessed that the G od Of the p ilgrims w as a good G od,and that
if they recovered, they would serve him .
T hus passed away the race , whose lands we inherit, and
upon whose graves we have built the sepulchres Of our fathers ;and thus died in the bosom of Christ ian benevolence
,and in
the indulgence too Of Christian hope , the last of the A bergin i
an s. What inhabitant O f Charlestown does not involuntarilydrop a tear over the death O f the gentle John Sagamore , whose
boyhood was spent in the oak forests Of Mishawum ,and who
welcomed,with such un suspecting friendship, the pale stranger
to share with him h is home and h is dominion . A las ! h owhard h as been their fate . T h e very l ight Of civil ization and
Christianity, seems to have dissipated them they have passed
away l ike m ist over the western hills, when pierced by the
rising sun . But we have a bright page to read, in the historyOf the pilgrims
’ dealings with the sons Of the forest . T heycame to this country not merely to find freedom and a home
for themselves,but also to bring to the Indian a knowledge of
h is G od and Saviour . A nd in this connection it is a pleasingduty, to state that our fathers Obtained the lands upon which
they settled,by fair pur chase . T hey did not deny tO the Ih
dian h is rights, nor forget just ice in deal ing with him .
T here is on record a written agreement , under date of A pril
1 H is Indian name was W onoh aquah am . S ee Dud ley’s Letter, p. 6 ,Force’s H ist. T racts,
2 Compare W on . W ork . Prov . ch . xxv . wi th W inth rop s Jour. l . 120.
3 8
1 5 , 163 9, by which W eb C ow it and Squaw Sachem,after
making certain reservations to themselves, sel l to the in h abi
tan ts Of this town,the land within the l ines granted to them
by the cour t, and in ful l satisfact ion they acknowledge to
have received from Charlestown,21 coats
,19 fathom Of
wampum ,and 3 bushels of corn .
”
When it is remembered that the providence of G od had
swept away the great majority Of the race , and that these lands
could therefore have been O f l ittle intrinsic value to them ,i t
wil l be seen that the compensation paid by our fathers was not
only fair but even generous, and must have been so regarded
by the Indians themselves.
T o return new to the history Of the church . T h e settlement
Of Mr . Jam es appears not to have been a happy one . A fter a
l ittle more than a year , we learn from G overnor Winthrop, a
sp ir it Of j eal ousy arose between Mr . James and many Of h is
people , so as Mr . N owell and some others who had been dis
missed from Boston,began to question the ir fact of breaking
from Boston,and i t grew to such a principle O f conscience
among them ,as the advice O f the other ministers w as taken in
it,who after two meetings, could not agree about the ir con
t inuance or return .
” 1
It is difli cul t to understand h ow Mr . N owell or any one else
could have quest ioned the fact Of their having been regularlydismissed from the Boston church ; and i t would seem probable ,therefore
,that they desired a return to the mother church in
consequence Of dissatisfaction with the ministrations or temper
Of their pastor .
It is Obvious that a want Of harmony existed between pastor
and peopl e , and this dissat isfaction , no doubt , led them to seek
the settlement Of a teacher among them ,who should supply
the deficiencies O f their pastor . T his they were enabled to
accompl ish the following year by the arrival Of the Rev.
Z echariah Symmes . He w as admitted to the fellowship of
the church,with Sarah h is wife
,on the 6th of December
,163 4
,
and on the 22d Of the month,which w as kept as a solemn day
of humil iation,he was elected and ordained teacher . Soon
after he came over,he was invited to assist in plant ing another
1 W inth rop,I . 127.
3 9
church of Christ, but in consequence Of the place being remote
from the ministers already settled,he chose to accept the
call of this church .
1
Mr . Symmes w as born in Canterbury , England, A pril 5 , 1 5 99 ,H is father, the Rev . IVil l iam Symmes, was ordained in 1 5 88
,
and exercised h is ministry at a period in Engl ish history, when
it exposed him to great suffering. H is grand parents were
persons of piety , and befriended the Protestant clergy duringthe Marian persecution . He received h is education in the
University O f Cambridge , and gave evidence of p iety at a veryearly period Of l ife . A fter leaving the university, he was
chosen in 1621 to be a lecturer at A th ol ines in London ; but
being frequently har rassed by processes from the Bishops’
courts,for h is non -conformity to certain instituted ceremonies
of publ ic worship , he removed to Dunstable in 1625,and
thence,h is troubles stil l continuing, to this country
! Johnson
bestows marked praise upon h is wife Sarah ,“ whose courage ,
”
he says,“ exceeded her stature
,
” being“ indued with graces
which fitted her for a wilderness condition,
” and undergoingwith much cheerfulness the difficulties Of those t imes of
straits .
”
Previously to the admission of Mr . Symmes, fi fty-four had
been received into the church,twenty-fi ve males and twenty
nine females and sixteen had been baptized, nine mal es and
seven females .
In about a year after the settlement O f Mr . Symmes, the
difficulty between the church and their pastor, Mr . James, came
to a crisis,and resulted in h is dismission .
A council was convened in Mar ch,163 6
,composed princ i
pally of ministers,who were sent by the churches as bein g best
qual ified to j udge in the case of a fellow minister .
It seems that Mr. Symmes and many Of the brethren had
taken Offence at certain remarks O f the pastor, and had deal t
with him both in publ ic and private , but without receivingsatisfaction . Upon the hearing of the whole case , the council
j udged that the pastor (by h is natural temper a melan chol icman and subj ect to j ealousies ) had been to blam e , for speak ingas of certainty, that which he had only conceived out of
1 Joh nson’s W on. W ork . Prov. ch . xxxu.
3 Math er’s Mag. 1. 414.
40
jealousy and also that the rest had not been without al l fault,for Of the two witnesses produced against him ,
one was theaccuser . T hey advised , therefore , that if the breach could not
be healed,the pastor and such as sided with him
,should ask
a dismission,” and this w as accordingly done . l
A l though these facts compel us to bel ieve that Mr. James
was chiefly to blame , yet the distance of time at which we are
removed from the tran saction,should cause us to form as fa
vorable an Op inion as the c ircumstances will al low .
A fter Mr . James ’s dismission,which may be dated on the 1 l th
of March,163 6
,he removed to N ew Haven
,where he w as
employed in teaching, until 1642, when he j oined Rev. Mr .Knowles O f Watertown
,and Mr . T hompson of Braintree
,who
were on their w ay to V irginia, in compl iance with very urgent
letters which h ad been received in Boston from that colony,requesting that able and pious ministers Of the gospel might be
sent to them . T hey were received very affectionately, and
gladly heard by the people , but returned in about a year, in
consequence Of the interference Of the government of the
colony, who would allow none but such as were ep iscopallyordained
,to exercise the functions of a Christian minister !
T his enterprise is interesting, as the first home missionaryundertaking, and awakened deep interest at that time in Boston .
A fter this Mr . James returned tO England , and was settled in
the parish church Of N eedham ,but resigned h is charge A ugust
24,1662
,because he could not in conscience approve Of the
ceremonies which were then imposed upon the ministers of the
establ ished church in conducting the publ ic worship . A fter
h is ej ectment he gathered a Congregational church , and had a
pretty numerous society. He lived to a very advanced age,
and was regarded as a very holy good man .
I t is a painful proof of the extremes to which rel igious in
tolerance went in those days, that“ when he died
,the clergy
man who came in h is place would not allow him to be buried
in any other part of the church-yard , but that unconsecrated
corner left for rogues and excommunicates though the clergyman Owed h is -benefi ce tO th e noble uprightness Of Mr . James
’s
heart .” 3
1 Hubb. 190. W in th rop, 1. 182.
1 B acon’s H ist. D is. 5 7. Hubb. 410.3 Pr ince
,413 .
42
It is not necessary, and would be exceedingly difficul t if not
impossible , to define prec isely the points Of difference between
the Hutch i nsonians and the great body of the people and clergywho Opposed them ; they were , when theoretically considered ,extremely subtile
,to be apprehended by th ese only whose
minds are wel l informed on theological subj ects and trained to
metaphysical dist inct ions .
’T is bel ieved,
”says Mather , “ that
multitudes Of persons, who took in with both parties did neverto their dy ing hour understand what the ir difference was by
the same token,in the height and heat Of all the difference ,
when some ships were go ing from hence into England, Mr .Cotton in the whole congregation , advised the passengers to
tel l our countrymen at home , that all the strife here w as about
magnifying the grace O f G od ; the one person seeking to advance the grace Of G od wi th in us
,as to sanctifi cat ion and
another person seeking to advance the grace Of G od towards
us,as to j ustification ; and Mr . Wilson stood up after h im ,
de
clar ing on the other side,that he knew none that did not labor
to advance the grace Of G od in both .
” 1
But notwithstanding the small difference of the opposingOpinions, and
“ though the truth might easily have united
both,
” there grew at l ength to be a wide difference in doctrine
as well as spirit, some among the advocates Of the new Opinionsfall ing into gross and destructive errors this however may
have been the consequence of heated controversy and partizan
warfare . It is incredible at the present day what intense ex
c itemen t the new Opinions created, and to what extent the c ivil
as well as rel igious affairs Of the colony were involved . T h e
expedition against the Pequot Indians w as most shameful lydiscouraged , because the army was too much under a covenant
Of works ; and the magistrates began to be contemned , as beingOf a legal S piri t, and having therewithal a tang Of anti-Christ in
them ; nor could the ordering of town lots or town rates,or
any meetings whatsoever escape the confusions of this centre
versy .
”
A t. first the ministers , awakened by these noises about the
temple ,” had several meetings , but without effect in composing
the differences and then the G eneral Court cal led a synod Of
1 Magi ial ia, I I . 410 .1 Magualia,
43
al l the churches in the country . T h e synod met at Cambridge
(then cal led N ewtown ) 3 0th of A ugust, 163 7, and was com
posed Of about twenty-fi ve ministers, together with delegatesfrom the churches
,and the magistrates Of the colony . T h e
moderators were the Rev. T homas Hooker,of Hartford
,and
Rev . Peter Bulkley, O f Concord, “ two as able and judiciousdivines as any the country afforded .
” 1
In the first place , the erroneous Opinions that were prevail ingamong th e people , were reported to the assembly by a com
mittee,and then were debated on e day was given for the de
fendants,another for the Opponents, after which the synod
came to a result . Eighty—two erroneous Opinions and expressions
,which had been uttered in the country by several men
at several t imes,were condemned . Some were offended at the
number of the errors charged, and demanded who the authorswere ; deny ing that such errors existed, and that to say so was
a slander upon the country . But whatever may have been true
in regard to the existence or prevalence O f these errors, theywere condemned by the synod unanimously .
A fter this a conference ensued between Mr . Cotton,teacher
of the church in Boston,who w as regarded as having encour
aged the Hutchinsonians, and the synod, for the purpose of
establ ishing an agreement between this great divine and h is
brethren . F ive quest ions were proposed to him ,respecting
“ the order Of things in our union with the Lord Jesus Christ ;the influence of our faith in the appl icat ion of h is righteousness ;the use of our sanctifi cation in evidencing our justification ;and the consideration O f our Lord Jesus Ch rist by men , yetunder a covenant of works.
” 9
“ In the first handling Of these questions, says Winthrop ,“ either party del ivered their arguments in writing,which were
read in the assembly, and after, the answers to them ,which
spent much time without any effect ; but after th ey came to
Open dispute , the quest ions were soon determined ; for so theycame to understand each other better .” 3
Before the synod broke up , on the last day of the session,
the publ ic exercising Of women’s gifts, in a set assembly , as
h ad‘
been the practice Of Mrs . Hutchinson , who had been ac
1 Hubbard,p . 299 .
2 Magnalia, II. 444 .
3 W inth rop ’s Jour. I . 239 .
44
customed to meet sixty or more every week , to resolve ques
t ions Of doctrine and expound Scripture, was agreed to be
disorderly and without rule .
It had al so been the custom in many congregations for the
ministers to allow their people to propose questions after sermon ,and the practice having given rise to great abuses ; i t was de
cided that a private member might ask a question publ icly for
information, yet this ought to be done wisely, sparingly , and
with leave Of the elders ; but for a member to reprove the
doctrines which had been del ivered,and reproach the elders,
and that with bitterness,was utterly condemn ed.
In looking back upon the rel igious enthusiasm Of this period,we may characterize the sentiments then embraced as belonging to the A ntinomian school
,and as quite similar both in their
origin and moral influence , to the doctrines O f modern perfec
t ion ism .
T h e assembly broke up on the 22d September, and on th e
26th Mr . Davenport , who had just then arrived from England,and was soon after settled in N ew Haven
, preached by previous
request of the assembly from Phil . i i i . 16,
“ N evertheless,
whereunto we have already attained, let us walk by the same
rule,le t us mind the same thing.
” He laid down in h is sermon
the occasion Of differences among Christians, declared the
effect and fruit of the assembly, and with much wisdom and
sound argument persuaded al l to keep the unity of the spiri t
in the bond of peace .” T h e result Of the synod was in an
unusual degree productive Of peace in the churches and good
order in the community .
1
A fter the dismission of Mr. James,Mr . Symmes, who had
been settled as teacher,became the pastor Of the church . T h e
Office Of teacher was vacant for about three years ; during a
part O f this time , however, th e Rev . John Harvard suppl ied the
pulpi t as an assistant to Mr. Symmes .
T his gentleman,whose mun ifi cen t bequest to the cause O f
education h as made him immortal by giving h is name to the
college at Cambridge , w as admitted a member Of this church
with A nna Harvard h is wife , 6th N ovember, 163 7, having on
1 For a mo re m inute accoun t O f th e synod , see W in th rop ’s Journal , I . 23 7. Hubb . H ist .ch . x l . Ma th er
’s Mag. 1 Mass . H ist. C oll. ‘
ix. 26 .
45
the 6th of A ugust been admitted a townsman ,“ with promise
of such accommodations as we best can .
”
T h e confidence that was reposed in him by the inhabitants,is shown by their vote O f 26th Of A pril , 163 8, by which
“ Mr .Increase N owell
,Mr . Z echariah Symmes, Mr . John G reene
,
Mr . John Harvard,Lieut . Ralph Sprague and Will iam Learned,
were desired to consider of something tending towards a bodyof laws.
” In the distribut ion Of land and privileges O f com
mons,he was among the most favored inhabitants. T h e house
which he occupied was near the meeting-house on the side of
this hill,and was subsequently owned by the Rev . T homas
Shepard .
Mr . Harvard rece ived the degree of M . A . from Emanuel
college , Cambridge ,1 and died of consumpt ion in this place,
September 14, 163 8. T h e sum which he bequeathed to the
college was hal f h is estate,and amounted probably to £779,
173 . 2d.
Johnson,who must have known h im ,
as well as heard him
preach , h as composed a few verses upon him ; the sentiment
of which is,that If Harvard could have been satisfied with
the enj oyment of earthly riches, he would never have crossed
the ocean ; but the glory of Christ had so attracted him,that
nothing would content h is soul , short of an experience of h isl ove . A nd then he calls upon him from the midst of h is hea
ven ly j oys to tel l of h is bl essedness among the saints. He says
that Harvard preached and prayed with tears, and evidences O f
strong affection,and that h is own heart had been delighted
with h is ministrations. Scarce had he Opened h is eyes upon
the churches Of Christ here,before he was called to eye that
Saviour face to face ; death drew him away from h is scantyj oys on earth, because the ful l joy for which he longed could
only be found in heaven .
” 2
T h e precise spot of h is interment is at present unknown ; but
the summit of the burying hill h as been appropriated to a
monument to h is memory erected by the graduates of the col
1 Harvard rece ived h is fi rst degree, 163 1, and became M. A . 163 5 . S ee H ist. Co l l . 3dS eries, vol . 7 .
N
2 W on . W ork . P rov . B . it . ch . xn .
46
lege , to which he h as given h is name , and of which he is j ustlyregarded as the founder .
A fter the death Of Harvard,which took place on the 14th Of
September, Mr . Symmes was left without any stated
helper in the work O f the ministry, until about the year 1640,when the Rev . T homas A l len was chosen and ordained teacher
of this church .
T his gentleman was born in the city of N orwich,England,
in 1608,received h is education in Caius college in Cambridge,
a nd afterwards became minister Of S t . Edmu nd ’s in h is native
city ; he was s ilenced by Bishop Wren in 163 6 for refusing to
read the Book Of Sports. He came to this country at the age
of th irty, and became a member of this church December 22,163 9 ; the date Of h is ordination h as not been preserved, but i t
was probably in this or the following month!
T h e number admitted to the church during the precedingfi ve years from December 22
,163 4
,when Mr . Symmes was
ordained,to December 22
,163 9
,was one hundred and three
,
forty-fi ve males and fi fty-eight females the number baptized
was seventy-three , thirty-six of whom were males.
During the period of ten or eleven years, in which Mr . Al len
discharged the duties Of teacher to the church , there is l ittle
certain in formation to be Obtained respecting the state of rel i
gio'
n . T h e devoted Eliot was successfully prosecuting h is
labors among the Indians, and h is mission must have been
cal l ing forth the prayers and benefactions O f our fathers. A nd
i t was during this period, in 1648,that the churches were
cal led together in their second general synod , to form their
ecclesiast ical const itution . When our fathers arrived here,
their views Of church government and order, were as indeterminate
,as their views in respect to c ivil government . T here
w as no l it tle diversity among them at first, and the unanimityof views that prevailed was chiefly owing to the powerful influence Of Mr . John Cotton
,teacher of the church in Boston
,
whose book entitled “ T h e Book of the Keys,”w as by general
consent adopted as a guide in regard to the order Of the
churches.
It seemed desirable that the views and practices Of the
1 N ote 13 .3 N ote 22.
47
churches should be harmonized,and a general directory formed
for the guidance of the churches in future . A ccordingly theG eneral Court passed a bil l convening a synod, by w ay of in
v itation to the churches,rather than express command . Letters
were sent to the churches in the Plymouth and Connecticut
jurisdictions,and on the 1 5 th O f A ugust , 1648, the council as
sembled,and in less than fourteen days compl e ted the work
assigned them . For the present, instead Of framing for them
selves a confession Of faith,they received, for substance of doc
trine,the one which had then been recently set forth by the
assembly of divines at Westminster.
Our churches here,
”say they,
“as
,by the grace of Christ,
we bel ieve and profess the same doctrine of the truth Of the
gospel , which generally is received in all the reformed churchesOf Christ in Europe , so especial ly we desire not to vary from
the doctrine Of faith and truth held forth by the churches Of
our native country. N ew by this our professed consent and
free concurrence with them in all the doctrinals Of religion , we
hope it may appear to th e world, that as we are a remnant Of
the people O f the same nation with them ,so we are professors
Of the same common faith,and fel low—heirs Of the sam e com
mon salvation .
”
From the framers Of the Westminster Confession,however
,
and the dominant party in England at that t ime , who were
Presbyterians, they differed in regard to their principles of
church order and discipl ine . T h e chief points Of difference
were these two ; that none but visible saints should be received
to the seals or sacraments ; and that the decisions O f the pres
bytery or classis, should be only advisory, and not authoritative,the consent Of the brotherhood being necessary to make an act
binding.
T h e Cambridge Platform ,in which this synod resulted, is a
lucid exposit ion of the principles O f primitive Congregational ism ;i t became
,so far as the independency of our churches would
allow,the rel igious constitution O f N ew England ; and such
in the main it stil l continues to be .
1 In point of execution it is
1 S ee note 23 . W e are to ld by Math er th at Mr . Joh n Cotton,Mr . R ich ard Math er
,and
Mr. Ral ph Partridge were appo in ted by th e synod,each of th em to draw up a S cr ip tura l
mode l of ch urch ovemmen t,and th at it was ch iefly out of Mr . Math er
’s mode l th e P latform
was taken . Mat er, vol . I . p . 409, 11. 182.
48
unr ivalled ; no document of the kind can be produced ex h ibi
t ing more discrimination , or greater precision and strength Of
style ; and the principles, by which it is characterized, are a
perfec t vindication Of our fathers from the charge Of a selfish
and aspiring ambit ion . N O unprej udiced man can read this
const itution Of our churches without being convinced that its
framers were men of elevated principles, as free from sel f-seek
ing, as they were Opposed to the exerc ise of arbitrary power in
others .
1 In the possession Of sol id learning an d commandingabil it ies
,they were too sur e Of possessing a better sort O f influ
ence,to hanker after that which is attached to place , and con
ferred by human enactment .
A s I remarked in the last Lecture , most O f our churches were
formerly suppl ied with a teacher, a pastor, and one or more
ruling elders . In the Platform,i t is main tained that “ the
Office Of pastor and teacher is dist inc t . T h e pastor’s special
work is,tO attend to exhortation
,and therein to administer a
word Of wisdom the teacher is to attend to doctrine,and
therein to administer a word O f knowledge and either of them
to administer the seals of the covenant .” A nd then they assert
that forasmuch as both pastors and teachers are given byChrist for the perfecting Of the saints, and edifyin g of h is body,they should both be considered church Officers
,and not the
pastor for the chur ch, and the teacher for the schools. One Of
the most prominent pecul iarit ies Of our fathers w as an attach”
ment to a learned ministry i t was their aim— and in it theywere successful— to have ‘a scholar to their min ister in everyvil lage it w as not enough for them to be exhorted and
excited by extempore appeals from the sacred desk theylooked to the ir ministry also for sound instruction
,a nd treas
ures that were new as well as Old . T h e rel igion they professedw as eminently a thoughtful on e — its foundations were laid in
a personal examination Of the word Of G od its superstructurewas raised O f truth cemented with searching intell igence -a
rel igion as unlike to that which usurps the name Of orthodoxy
T h e N ew England P latform of church d i sc ipl ine,
says D r . El iot , composed at th edes i re of th e peop le by laymen and m in isters, conta ins ideas as favorable to th e w ish es ofth e
_
brcth ren as th e pas to rs. In all d isputes ,w h ere th em in i sters h ave been accused ofmak ingan improper use of th e i r powers, or usurp ing auth or i ty
, recourse h as been h ad to th e i r founda t ion of c h urc h overnmen t a nd enerall th e ir o osers h ave be a s c ful .! 1 MH ist . S oc . Co l l . 1
52.
g y PP e 11 0 6 88 as
5 0
a nd was probably seen after chosen elder, since the records of
the church are in h is hand-writ ing from its formation down to
the period O f h is death , which tO O k place A pril 22, 165 8. H is
hand-writing occurs frequently upon the records Of the town as
well as the church ; i t is so dist inct and beautiful , that it can
be read with perfect ease even now after the lapse of more than
two hundred years. H is grave is on the highest part Of the
burying hill , an d is covered by a tablet, which is now ly inglevel with the ground and partly overgrown with grass at the
foot of Harvard ’s monument . T h e tablet contains the follow
ing inscript ion .
Here l ieth the body Of Mr. John G reene , born at London
in O ld England, who married Perseverance , the daughter Of
JO h n son,
1 in Amsterdam,by whom he had six
children ; with whom and their children he came to Char l es
town,in N ew England, in 1632, was rul ing elder Of the church ,
and deceased A pril 22, 165 8, aged 6 5 , leaving behind two sons
and one daughter, v iz .,John
,Jacob and Mary, who erected this
monument to the memory of him and h is wife , their father and
mother .”
I shall carry the history O f the church no farther in this dis
course than the close Of Mr . A llen , the teacher’s ministry .
T his took place about the year 165 0. But there is no record
left us of the exact time of h is dismission ,or Of the causes
which led to it . We have no reason,however
,to think that
there was any al ienat ion Of feel ing between the teacher and h is
flock . Cotton Mather says that he approved himself a piousand painful minister O f the gospel in this place , and was greatlybeloved , as h is name A llen imports, which is the Engl ish pro
nunciation of the Saxon word a lwz’
n c, or beloved O f al l . A fter
h is return to England, he settled again in th e ministry in the
c ity Of N orwich , but was again s ilenced in 1662 in consequence
Of non-conformity to the ceremonies Of the church . A fter this
he preached upon al l occasion s that Offered, in a Congregational
church in that c ity t il l the t ime Of h is death , September 2 1 ,1673
,aged 6 5 .
Dr . C alamy says he w as“ a religious, able , pra ct ical preach
1 T h e. Ch r ist ian name of Mr. Joh nson is obl i terated from th e tombstone. I th ink I can detect th e fi nal letter 3 h owever. T h is confi rms me in th e O p in ion th at R ev . Franc is J oh nson ,
gastor of th e Engl ish Pur i tan ch urch in Amsterdam is meant ; of wh om
,see not i ces in
oung’
s Ch ron ic les of th e P i lgr ims.
5 1’
er.” He composed and printed twice in this country a treatise
entitled,
A n invitation to thirsty sinners to come unto their
Saviour .” He also began a work in this country, which w as
highly spoken of for usefulness and learning, cal led a Chain
of Scripture Chronology,” which he afterwards publ ished in
London,in He al so publ ished a treatise on T h e way
Of the Spirit in bringing souls to Christ,
” and several sermons
on the glory of Christ,a nd the necessity of faith . T here is
al so extant a letter O f Mr. A l len ’s,dated N orwich
,January 8,
165 2,in which he bears test imony to the real ity of the pro
gress Of the gospel among the Indians Of N ew England, which
seems at that time to have been called in quest ion !
From the period Of Mr . A l len’s admission to the church to
May, 16 5 0, one hundred and twenty-three persons were ad
mitted to the church . In the year 165 1 , when Mr. A l len
returned to England, there are no admissions recorded . T h e
number of baptisms registered is only seventy-three ; but the
baptismal record is imperfect , stopping with September 20,1642
,after which for a period of seventeen years but one or
two records are made,a nd these seem to have been entered by
Mr . Symmes . F or what reason elder G reene ceased to enter
the bapt isms after 1642, while he continued to record admis
s ions to the church until 165 6,i t is in vain to conjecture .
Here I will drop the narrative , after I have given a descript ion of the town
,written by Captain Johnson , while Mr . A l len
was st il l teacher,about 165 0 .
T h e town of Charlestown is S ituated on the north side of
Charles river,from which it took its name
,the river being
about five or s ix fathom deep ; over against the town, manysmall islands lying to the sea—ward of it
,and hills on either
s ide . B y which means i t proves a very good harbor for ships,which hath caused many seamen and merchants to s it down
there. T h e form of this town,in the frontisp iece thereof, is
l ike the head,neck and shoulders Of a man
,only the pleasan t
and navigable river of Mystick runs through the right shoul der
thereof, and by its near approach to Charles river in one place
makes a very narrow neck,by which means the chief part Of
1 A copy of th is work i s in possess ion of Rev . W i l l iam Jenks D . D . , of Boston ,wh ich waspresen ted by th e auth or to Governor Be l l ingh am . and contains h is autograp h .
2 3 H ist. Co l l . iv . 194. S ee Note 24.
5 2
the town,whereon the most building stands
,becomes a penin
sula . It hath a large market place near the water-side, built
round with houses,comely and fair, forth O f which there issue
two streets orderly built with some very fair houses, beaut ifi ed
with pleasant gardens and orchards. T h e whole town consists
in its extent Of about one hundred and fifty dwell in g-houses.
T heir meeting-house for S abbath assembly stands in the
market place , very comely buil t and large ; the O fli cers of this
church are at this day one pastor, one teacher, and one rul ingelder
,and three deacons the number Of souls about one hun
dred and sixty. Wonderful i t is to see that in so short a t ime
such great alterations Christ should work for these poor people
Of h is. T heir corn land in t il lage in this town is about
acres,their great cattle are about 400 head, sheep near upon
400 ; as for their horse you shall hear of them,G od
'
will ing,when we come to speak Of their mil itary discipl ine .
” 1
T h e same writer i nc identally mentions“ that a most terrible
fire happened in Char lestown , in the depth Of the winter Of
165 0,and was blown by a violent wind from on e house to
another to the consuming O f the fairest houses in the town .
”
T his is the earl iest mention of devastat ion by an element from
which this town h as suffered more than any other in the Com
monweal th .
I wil l bring this Lecture to a conclusion by just Observing,that the brief account we have al ready given of the early h is
tory Of our fathers,shows with what s ingular earnestness and
devotion they had consecrated themselves to the service Of
rel igion . N othing more clearly evinces this than the con stitu
t ion of their churches. Out of their deep poverty, and when
they were but a l ittle band , they cheerfully supported two
thoroughly educated men, that they might enj oy the fulness Of
the blessings Of the gospel Of Christ . N O people , probably,ever made greater sacrifices than did our fathers for the support
Of religious inst itutions. My fathers and brethren,
”says
Higginson , pastor O f the church in Salem ,in 1663
,this is
never to be forgotten that N ew E ng land is or ig in a l ly a p lan
tation of relig ion , n ot a p lan ta tion of trade. Let merchants
and such as are increasing cen t. p er cen t. remember this. Let
1 2 H ist. C ell. 11. 89 .
5 3
others who have come ever since at several t imes understan d
this,that worldly gain was not the end and design Of the peo
ple of N ew England, but rel igion . A nd if any ma n amongst
us make rel igion as twelve,and the world as th ir teen
,let such
an one know he hath neither the spirit of a true N ew E ng land
man,nor yet of a sincere Christ ian .
”
L E C T U R E I I I .
I K I N G S v i i i . 5 7 , 5 8 .
T H E LO R D O U R G O D B E W I T H U S,A S H E W A S W IT H O U R FA T HER S : L ET H IM N O T
LEA VE U S,N O R. FO R SA KE U S ! T H A T H E M A Y I N C L I N E O UR HEA R T S U N T O H IM , T O
W A LK I N A L L H IS W A Y S,A N D T O K EEP H I S C O MMA N DMEN T S
, A N D H I S S T A T UT ES ,A N D H I S J UD GMEN T S
,H E CO MMA N DED O UR FA T HER S .
IN the last Lecture we pursued the history Of the church ,down to the close Of Mr . A l len ’s ministry in 165 0. In
following the thread of the narrative to the death Of Mr .
Symmes in 1670, I shall have occasion to cal l your attention
to the fi r st case Of discipl ine on our church records, which
resulted in the formation of the F irst Bapt ist church in Boston,and also to the origin and nature Of the so called half-waycovena nt
,which had its commencement in the provisions of
the synod O f 1662.
A fter the return of Mr . A ll en to England, the church was
without a teacher until 165 9,when the Rev . T homas Shepard,
son Of the famous minister O f the same name in Cambridge ,was ordained to this Offi ce . For the period O f e ight or nin e
years therefore, Mr . Symmes was left alone in the ministry,with only such temporary assistance as the church were able
to procure from time to time .
Mr . Shepard was admitted to this ch urch on the 3 l st of
October,165 8
,by a dismission from the church in Cambridge .
T h e account Of h is ordination is thus recorded by Mr. Symmesunder the date Of 1 3 th of A pril , 165 9.
Mr. T homas Shepard was ordained with prayer and fast
ing unto the Office Of a teacher to the church Of Christ in
Charlestown,by me Z achariah Symmes, pastor to the same
church,Mr. John Wilson pastor to the church O f Christ in
Boston , and Mr. Richard Mather, teacher to the church Of
Ch r ist in Dorchester, at the des ire Of our church j oining with
5 5
me in laying on of hands upon the aforesaid Mr . T homasShepard ; and Mr . N orton , teacher tO the church at Boston, in
the name Of the rest Of the messengers of four churches,to
wit of Boston,Roxbury , Cambridge , Watertown, giving unto
him the right hand of fellowship .
T here was not perhaps among the many distinguished and
excellent min isters in the days of our fathers,one more
admired and beloved,than T homas Shepard Of Cambridge,
who came to this country in 163 5,bringing with him h is
infant son T homas. He w as received by the people with
the greatest pleasure , and soon after h is ar rival,settled in
Cambridge over a new church composed of the people that
came with him and perhaps a few members remaining Of the
original church , who , with their pastor the Rev . T homasHooker
,had gone to Hartford . Mr . Shepard died in 1649
,at
the age Of 43 , when h is son T homas was but a youth Of 14,just complet ing h is first year O f collegiate study . He gradu
ated in 165 3,and was one of the first fruits of th e college , as
well as one Of the most dist inguished of those who received
their education in this country . He was born in London,
A pri l 5 , 163 5 , but was bapt ized in N ew England in the follow
ing F ebruary .
T h e settlement Of Mr . Shepard w as undoubtedly a happyone ; h is father
’s reputation , and the kindred virtues Of h is
own character,must have greatly excited the expectat ions O f
the people ; nor were these hopes disappointed, except by an
early death, which cut him O ff in the v igor of l ife . But
the period of Mr . Shepard’s ministry w as not one of entire
harmony and peace . Rel igious differences, which had existed
to some degree from the first,were becoming wider in the
minds Of the children Of the new generation , who had never
fel t for each other that close sympathy, which bound the hearts
Of their fathers together, and which was the resul t Of their
common trials Of faith and character .
One Of the most decided tendenc ies Of the Puritan faith and
worship, was to excite the activity O f the mind, and impel
individuals to an examination of their rel igious doctrines and
usages . N othing therefore might have been predicted with
greater certainty, than that a diversity of speculative views
would ensue,after the pressure of persecution had ceased to
5 6
unite them by keeping their minds directed to a common
danger. But our fathers did not expect this, and they were
not prepared to meet the emergency . T hey imagined that
their views were so scriptur al, and their principles O f govern
ment so j ust,that all dissent and resistance must sprin g from
impur e motives. T h e age in which they l ived, had not yet
wrought out the problem h ow to unite toleration with a vigor
ous defence of the truth ; but they were upon the verge of
that discovery, the twil ight Of the truth w as about them , and
h ence the spirit of persecution appeared in them the more
prominent and lamentable .
T h e subj ect Of controversy in the church at this t ime was
bapt ism and when the somewhat casual and indecisive man
ner in which the Bible speaks of this rite, is considered, i t is no
wonder that a difference Of Op inion should exist in regard to it .
T oleration on this point at leas t shoul d be practised, as wel l as
modesty in the expression Of op inion .
T h e earl iest case of discipl ine on record, is that of T homas
G ould, a brother O f this church , admitted to its communion
Jun e 7, 1640, who , together with T homas Osborn,had em
braced the sentiments O f the Baptists. He refused to bring h ischild forward for baptism ,
and in consequence Of bein g ad
monished by the church , withdrew from its communion . T h e
first account we have of the dealings O f the church with h im ,
is under the date of June 6, 165 8. It was written by Mr .
Symmes— Mr. G reen,the rul ing elder, having died about two
months before and as i t is the only document left us by Mr .Symmes— Mr. Shepard, after h is ordination recording the
transactions Of the church— I wil l transcribe i t . It is also in
terest ing and important in itself, inasmuch as i t gave rise to a
Bapt ist church, new the F irst Baptist church in Boston .
'Upon th e 6th of 4th , 165 8.
Brother T homas G old,according to the agreement Of the
chur ch the Lord ’s day before,was cal led forth to give an
account Of h is long wi th drawing from the publ ic ordinancesamongst us, on the Lord
’s day . It w as asked brother G old
,
whither he had any rule from G od’s word so to do ! or whither
i t were not a manifest breach of rule and order of the gospel !
H is answer several times was to this effec t,that he had not
5 8
us,viz.
,1 . Because of infant baptism . 2. Our all owing none
but such as h ad h uman learn ing to be in the ministry. 3
Our severe dea l ing with those of a contrary j udgment from us.
N otwithstanding the refusal of these persons to appear, the
church voted to wait upon them with longer patience ; and it
was not until July, 1665 , after repeated efforts made during a
period of seven years, that they proceeded to the sentence of
excommunication .
It deserves to h e remarked here,that this act of excommun i
cation was not passed against them ,on the ground of heresy or
a difference of views on the subj ect of bapt ism ; but solely, in
the words of the vote,
“ for their impenitency in their schis
matical withdrawing from the church, and neglecting to hear
the church .
” T hey had broken their covenant,and denied
all connect ion with us ; and this is held now as much as
formerly, to be a sufficient ground for the h ighest censure of the
church . We freely concede that a difference of views upon
the subj ect of baptism is not sufficient ground for ex commun i
cation ; and there is no evidence that it was ever regarded as
such by the church . N or is there any reason w h y paedo and
ant i-paedo baptists should not commune together, unl ess suchundue importance is given to baptism ,
as to lead the parties to
deny each other’s church membership .
B ut the moderation of the church in their proceedings,evinces a better spir it than generally prevailed around them ;and al though they partook to some degree of the spirit of per
secution,i t is chargeable to ignorance and the temper of the
age, rather than to bigotry and the love of persecution .
G ould and h is associates were arraigned before the court of
assistants and admonished for their “schismatical rending of
the communion of the churches,
” and setting up a publ ic
meeting in opposition to the wil l of the magistrates .
” A fter this,
they were imprisoned for disobedience to the laws of the colony.
I t is due,however
,to the character of our fathers to state
,that
this execution of the laws by the publ ic courts aroused a senseof inj ust ice in their breasts . Several of the inhabi ta nts of this
place and Boston , sent in a petition to the Court , pray ing for
favor in behalf of G ould and others,but effected nothing, and
subj ected themselves to the censure of the authorities.
5 9
A fter this aconference was held between the Bapt ists and a
number of the ministers, among whom were the pastor and
teacher of this church,in the Boston meeting-house ; but it
failed to restore harmony of opinion .
In concluding this brief account, i t is due to the moral
character of the persons thus excommunicated from this church ,to say, that it was undoubtedly fair and Christ ian . Hubbard
says, that“ T homas G old and some of the rest, were men of a
grave and serious spirit, and of sober conversations .
” 1
But while a few were restricting the privilege of baptism to
adul t bel ievers, the people generally were studying how to
extend it to the children of all bapt ized persons, whether in
ful l communion with the church or not .
When the first settlers came to this country , they were
church members,and of course
,their children were al l bap
t ized. But,in the language of Cotton Mather
,
“ when our
churches were come to between twenty and thirty years of
age, a numerous p oster i ty was advanced so far into the world,
that the first planters began apace in their several famil ies, to
be dist inguished by the name of grand-fathers but among the
immediate parents of the grand—children , there were multitudes
of well disposed persons, who partly through their own doubts
and fears,and partly through other culpable neglects, had not
actual ly come to the covenanting state of communicants at the
table of the Lord . T h e good old generation could not with
out many apprehensions, behold their offspring excluded from
the bap tism of Christianity, and from the ecclesiast ical
inspection which is to accompany that baptism indeed it was
to leave their offspring under the shepherdl y government of our
Lord Jesus Christ in h is ordinances, that they had brought
their lambs into this wilderness.
” 2
Hence arose the desire in a large and respectabl e portion of
the community, to extend the privilege of baptism . T heythought it an unwarrantable strictness, which would abandon
the greater part of the country to heathenism ,to make no
ecclesiast ical difference between pagans who might happen to
hear the word of G od in their assembl ies,and those who were
desirous of renewing their bapt ismal covenant, and who would
1 Note 25 .2 Mag . 11.
60
submit to church discipl ine ; but could not come Up to that
experimental account of the ir regeneration , which was required
in order to admission to the sacrament .” A ccordingly the
practice w as growing up in our churches of admitting this
class of persons to the privilege of household baptism . But
the innovation met with such Opposit ion, that a synod of eldersand messengers from al l the churches in the colony was cal led
for and agreeably to the appointment of the G eneral Court, i t
was convened at Boston in the spring of 1662 .
T h e influence which the decisions of this synod had upon
the rel igious character and usages n ot only of this church but
of the N ew England churches generally , was so great and so
l ong continued, that I shal l offer no apology for presenting to
you a more particular account of th is part of our history.
T h e leading quest ion submitted to the decision of the
synod, was this “ Who are th e subj ects of bapt ism
But to this was j oined another,
“ Whether,according to the
word of G od,there ought to be a consoc iation of churches,
and what should be the manner of it
T h e answer to the first question,was given in seven propo
sition s,which were confirmed by extended arguments drawn
from the Scriptures.
T h e substance of these propositions was,— that ‘according
to S cripture , the members of the visibl e church are subj ects of
bapt ism — that the members of the visible church are such as
have made a profession of their faith in part icular churches,together with their children , who are members of the same
chur ch with their parents, and when grown Up are personal lyunder the watch of that church — that these adul t persons,however
,are n ot to be admitted to full communion
,merely
because they are members, without any further qualifications
but when they understand and publ icly profess the faith , are
not scandalous in l ife . and solemnly own th e covenant before
the church, giving up themselves and their children to the
Lord,and subj ecting themselves to the government of Christ
in the church,their children are to be bapti zed .
’ T his w as
the point upon which the Opinion and practice of the churches
differed,and in regard to w hich the controversy arose .
T h e answer of the synod to the second quest ion,seems to
have been universal ly satisfactory . It asserted the ful l power
6 1
and authority of each individual church , to administer al l th eordinances of Christ
,without being under any other ecclesiast i
cal jurisdiction whatever : it also laid down the duty of the
communion of churches,defined its nature
,and recommended
a method of consociation,which was advisory rather than
authoritative .
T h e answers of the synod to the quest ions proposed, beingreturned to the G eneral Court, were read over by them,
and onthe 8th of October, 1662, “ commended to the consideration
of al l the churches and peopl e of this j urisdic tion ,” and for that
end ordered to be printed.
T h e action of this church , in respect to the result of the
synod, is thus recorded by Mr . Shepard the teacher, and is the
first entry made by h im of the doings of the church . F eb
ruary 4,1663 . T h e decision of the late syn od about
goofizm n j was read,by the elders, at a church meeting (except
the preface of the book containing that decisive act, which had
been read before at a church meeting, January 7th , 1663 , and
general ly approved ) and l iberty given to the brethren to ex presstheir obj ections (if they had any ) against any part thereof
and after some discourse, the brethren did general ly expressthemselves (at least three four ths of them by word of mouth )that they did consent to the whole book for the substance
thereof,and desired that the wil l of G od therein might be
attended ; and upon a vote si len tiary propounded, i t was so
carried,nemine contradicente
,in the affirmative .”
T h e silentiary method of taking this vote— which was by
call ing upon those who dissented to express their obj ections
will account for the fact that i t passed unanimously in the
affirmative . T here were,no doubt
,some who disapproved of
the change recommended by the synod, and there seems to
have been a delay in carry ing it into effect . For,under date
of N ovember 27,1664
,we find th e following record by Mr.
Shepard .
“ T here having been many thoughts of hearts
touching the doctrine of the late syn od about th e ch i ldr en ofth e ch urch in order to the effectual practice of the same ; i t
was propounded to vote whether the brethren were satisfied so
far forth as that there might be a proceeding to the practice
thereof,and it passed in the affirmative by their s i len ce (the
test imony of their consent ) after l iberty was granted once and
62
again to any of them,that would, to Obj ect if they had any
thing from the word of G od to allege against it but there was
not one con tradicen t .
”
But while a good degree of unanimity was prevail ing in this
church,the people generally were much divided in their
Opinions. T h e church of Boston received the doctrine of the
synod, and proceeded“ to practice accordin g to its recommen
dations but a considerable number of the brethren were di s
satisfied .
” A division was prevented, however, by the indu
ence of the pastor, the Rev . John Wilson,who had been a
member of the synod, and subscribed its result . T his venera
ble man di ed in 1667,and the church became vacant for the
first t ime .
T hose who were a minor ity under Mr . Wilson, now became
a majority, and succeeded in elect ing for h is successor,the
Rev . John Davenport, who w as“ the greatest of the anti
syn odists.
” T o this procedure a large and very influential
portion of th e church were Opposed ; they were friends of the
synod, and to the number of twenty-eight, seceded from
the F irst church,and formed a new ch urch
,now known by
the name of the Old South . T his church was organized in
Charlestown in the month of May , 1669, after having received
the sanction of a council of ministers,who publ icly testified
their disapprobation of the conduct of the old church, amongwhom were Mr . Symmes and Mr. Shepard, the pastor a nd
teacher Of this church .
2
T his was the great event Of the day. It occasioned much
excitement,and divided the whole colony into two parties, the
friends of the old and friends of the new church,the latter of
whom were in favor of the synod , and the former against it .
It was not l ong, however, before the churches settled down
with great unanimity upon the practice recommended by the
synod .
Upon our records,besides the catalogue of persons in ful l
communion,we have the “ names of such children Of the
covenant,as have publ icly ren ewed th eir coven an t with G od
and this church, yet not taken into communion in the Lord
’s
Supper and in a separate l ist , the“ names of such as have
1 H ist. of F i rst ch urch .9 Note 98.
63
been admi tted into this church, but not unto full communion .
”
T h e distinction between these two classes, seems to have been
that the first were members of the church by infant baptism ;and the second were bapt ized at the t ime of their admission .
On 16th July, 1665 , Daniel Edmunds and three other per
sons, renewed their bapt ismal covenant, and were thus admitted
to the privilege of baptism for their children , but not to the
Lord’s Supper . T his practice was continued in the church
until 1793 ; in the beginning of that year, a committee was
appointed, consisting of Rev . Dr . Morse,Richard Devens
,Esq ,
Dea. Larkin,Dea. Mil lar
,Dea. James F rothingham , Mr . Joseph
Hurd,Mr . Barnabas Barker
,Dr . Putnam
,and David Wood
,
Esq ,to take into consideration the expediency of departing
from this usage . T heir report is interesting and valuable , asexhibiting the practical results of the half-w ay covenant,
”as
i t is called, and the necessity that grew up for a return to theoriginal practice of our churches.
T h e committee,after ascribing the origin O f their practice to
the seven proposit ions of the venerable synod of 1662,and
expressing their satisfact ion with the plan, if i t could be carried
out according to the intention Of its framers, although theyregard the original principle of limiting the privilege of bapt ism
to the children Of communicants,as less l iable to be abused
,
proceed to Show in what respects their actual practice dif
fered from the one recommended by the synod . T h e synod
regarded the children of believing parents bapti zed in infancy,not onl y as visibl e church members
,but also as “
personal lyunder the watch
,discipl ine and government of the church , of
which their parents were members.
” A nd when they grew
up, and renewed their covenant, and received the privilege of
bapt ism for their children, they were required to subj ect th emselves to th e discip lin e and g overnmen t of th e ch urch . A nd
when the plan Of the synod was first carried into effect, privi
leges and obl igations were united ; they who received baptism
held themselves accountable to the discipl ine of the church .
A ccordingly, after the adoption by this ch urch , of the plan
recommended by the synod, we find accounts of the discipl ineof persons described as
“ children of the covenant,but not in
ful l communion.
” T h e first case of discipl ine of th is sort,
deserves to be mentioned,as an evidence that the plan of the
64
synod in its true spirit and meaning, was,as stated in the
report, essential ly different from the hal f-way covenant of more
modern times.
September 1 , 1667. O ur pastor, says the teacher, Mr.
Shepard,“ac quainted the church with the complaint which
had been made to us concerning the scandal of Jn o. Lowden,
(our br . Serj eant Lowden ’s eldest son, ) and that we had ex
amined it, (referring to h is str iki ng the constable and watch
ma n late ih the night, when he was inflamed with dr in k , ) andthat we intended accordin g to rule to deal with him in a church
w ay and that if any of the brethren had any thing to Obj ect
against it they had their l iberty ; but none reply ing, their
sil ence was taken for a test imony of their consent that he
should so be proceeded with .
”
On the followin g Lord’s day, agreeably to the usage of the
fathers,
“ the assembly, before the pronounci ng of the benedic
tion in the aftern ooon,was mad e acquainted with the offence
in quest ion,and the young man , being called forth , made con
fession of h is sin .
” Inquiries were then made O f him,and
l iberty given to the brethren to Obj ect if any of them were n ot
satisfied . A t length,” it was voted
,that the repentance
held forth by the offender was satisfactory for the removing of
the offence that had been given to the church, so that theywould forgive him ,
and stil l confirm their love towards him.
A nd so i t was declared by the eldership that he was re
s tored .
” 1
T his act of discipl ine seems to have been conducted in the
S pirit of kindness, and been productive of a salutary reforma
tion . A nd there is no reason to doubt,that in al l similar cases
,
where the parents of the Offender were in ful l communion,the
watch and discipl ine of the church might have been exerc ised
with equally good effects. But the d ifficulties i n the way of
administering discipl ine to those children of the covenant,
whose parents were not communicants, were so great and
numerous,that it w as soon entirely neglected .
“ Baptized persons among us,
say the committee,“ have
not been accustomed to consider themselves as church members ,
1 S ix mon th s aflcr th i s,h e was adm i tted a member in ful l commun ion. H e seems
O
afler
wards , h owever , to h ave re lapsed in to mtemperance ,for W t h h e was publ ic l y admon ished,
July ‘26
, 1674, and excommun icated , January 10, 1675 .
66
incapacitated him for the act ive performance of h is duties, the
church was led to seek another helper in the ministry . In the
year 1669, the Rev . John O x enbridge, one Of the most popular
preachers and elegant writers of h is time , w as employed for
awhile,and with so much acceptance , that a strong desire w as
manifested to secure h is serv ices'
in the ministry . On the 8th
of October,1669
,
“ T h e church met at about 10 Of the clock
in the forenoon,
” and pas sed a vote of thanks to Mr . Oxen
bridge ,“ for h is laboring in the ministry of the word among
us hitherto ; and “ invited him to continue therein awhile
longer among us every Sabbath day, that so the mind of G od
may be further discovered with reference to our intent ion (G odw il l ing : as the Lord shal l make way in h is and our hearts ),in convenient time (being mutually satisfied in eac h other ), tocal l him to offi ce-work in this church .
” “ It was also voted
at the same time,that our honored magistrate Mr . Russel l ,
Capt . A l len, and our deacons with the elders, would presentlyacquaint the Rev . Mr . O x enbridge with the aforesaid invitation .
H is answer,however
,w as in the negative ; and they made
a second attempt, to take off Mr . O x enbridge’s reasons against
abiding with us,and to gain h is granting our request,
” but
with no success,for they found he had the day before
“ left
h is answer with the elders Of the F irst church in Boston,in
the affirmative to their invitation of him to themselves,and
that he w as resolved to go over to them .
” Mr . Shepard h asappended to this record , the initials D . R . ! (with a point ofexclamation
, ) probably for D eus R egn a t G od reign s l— ah ih
d ication of the severe disappointment the teacher and the
church received from this dec is ion . In the following springMr . O x enbridge became pastor Of the Boston ch urch
,and died
after a ministry of about four years . He w as suddenly taken
i ll while preaching the T hursday Lecture , December 23 , and
d ied Dec . 28,1674
,wt . 65 .
N ot long after this unsuccessful attempt to secure the services
of Mr . O x enbridge, th e Rev . Z echariah Symmes died, F ebruary4,
within a month of complet ing h is seventy-second
year, and in th e thirty-seventh O f h is ministry. Mr . Symmes
d eserves,if any one
,to be cal led the father Of the church . He
1 N ote 27.
67
was ordained its teacher two years after its organizat ion , and
upon the dismission of Mr . James, became i ts pastor, and for
a period of more than thirty years continued to discharge the
duties of that Office . He outl ived most of those who ex
tended to him the hand of friendship, when he arrived at
these infant settlements ; they had dropped away one after
another ; a few white haired old men might stil l be seen ;but the more active and prominent men had been worn out
by their severe privations, their anxieties and labors. T h e
early planters of this town , who had settled him in the min
istry over them ,were gone he had followed them one by
one to yonder burying hill , and laid them down with words
O f prayer and consolation ; and n ow a new generation— the
children he h ad baptized— were bearing h im forth to sleepin the midst Of the congregat ion with whom he had l ived .
T here are few things, in the private j ournals of the t ime,
more affecting than the allusions they contain to the burial of
the last remains of that first generation . T h e funerals of those
days were conducted with great solemnity , and attended with
a degree of expense which the straitness of their circumstances
could but il l afford . T h e early settlers regarded it as an im
perative duty to gather about the bier of each of their dimin
ish ing number ; and it afforded them a melancholy pleasure
to behold each other on occasions which seemed to re-un ite
them with their brethren who had departed . We can imagine
we see one of these sable processions, as it moves slowlyand silently along our streets ; s low ly and almost impercept ibly i t advances, for the feeble and tottering are h earing a
venerable form of their own to the tomb. We see them
stand upon the bury ing-hill , their thin white locks floatingupon the wind, and their trembl ing forms almost bending to
the blast . T h e services ended,they seem reluctant to leave
the familiar spot ; they revisit the graves of their brethren ,
notice every change in the yard , and look with solemn thought
upon the spot where they soon shall l ie ; they return to the
house of mourning to recount the virtues of the departed— the
scenes O f trial and hardship through which they have passed
and then with the approaching darkness they separate , each
feeling that for h is own burial may be the next gathering of
the fathers. It will be difficul t for us to understand what
68
strength of attachment these patriarchs of N ew England felt
for each other ; with what increasing interest they watched
their rapidly waning ranks and how tenderly they grieved for
one another, as a soldier for h is companion in arms, and a
Christian for h is brother .
T here were bonds of sympathy between the Old men of the
first generation , which did n ot and could not exist between
them and their children of the second,or such as h ad arrived
at a subsequent period . A nd there were important differences
of character also between the two generations. T h e warm
hearted and self-deny ing piety of the fathers,threw into the
shade the harsher features of their character ; we reverence
the on e so much , that we readily cast the mantle of charityover the other . But their sons, as a generation , were not
imbued with the same deeply rel igious spirit and yet, as the
forms and excrescences of rel igion are frequently retained after
the l ife is gone , they were characterized by many of the
repulsive pecul iarities of the fathers, unredeemed by the ir
high moral principle . I do not mean to say, that th e spiri t
of Puritan piety w as extinct in the hearts Of their sons.
Far from it . But,as I shal l have occasion hereafter to men
tion,a decl ine of spiritual rel igion had commenced, which in
the first place rendered the provisions of the synod of 1662
necessary, and afterwards perverted those very provisions to
the st il l more rapid decay of practical godl iness, and of the
conservative influence Of a watchful ch urch discipl ine .
Permit me to present an extract from a sermon , del ivered bythe minister of Dorchester, before th e assembled clergy and
l egislators of Massachusetts, shortly before the death of Mr.
Symmes .
It will give us some idea of the points of difference
between the first and second generations . In pressing h is
exhortation , the preacher directs h is remarks dist inctly, first,
to the remainders of the ancient stock among us and,second
,
to the present generat ion .
“ F irst,unto those who are yet abiding with us of the first
generat ion of the Lord ’s faithful servants
,those plants of re
nown wherewith G od set h is garden here at the first . Let me
speak a few w ords unto you, F a th ers,because you have known
that which w as from the beginning. Y ou have h ad a longand large experience of things ; you have seen al l the great
69
works which the Lord hath done for this people ; you have
been long rooted and satiated in the house of the Lord : as youought to be, and are , so we esteem of you, and account you tobe as a crown and an h on or in the midst of us : trials you have
seen, and trials youmay yet further see, but your triumph isnow at hand. You have by this t ime parted with most and
the choicest of your contemporaries, your companions in the
foundations Of the work of Christ here ; and your eyes behold
this day that another generation is risen up, and begin to stand
thick upon the stage and that even Of them,there is one
,to
whose l ot it falls to speak to you in the name of the Lord thisday . N ow what is the sum of your desires, and would be the
chief and top of your j oys, as to those you must shortly leave
behind you ! Is it not that your children after you may be
found walking in the truth , owning the covenant of G od,
maintaining and upholding the same interest of hol iness and
reformation wherein you have been engaged before us.
3“
A s long as you are in this tabernacle, st ir them up by puttingthem in remembrance
,that they may be establ ished in al l those
truths and practices,which to own and abide in hath been N ew
England’s glory, and must be its preservation and safety in
whatever times are coming upon us . You know what exam-r
ples unto this purpose you have in Moses and Joshua and
David ; the Lord plant in you the same love and zeal and care
for the name of G od and the welfare Of your posterity , before
you go hence and be seen no more .
”
A nd then turning to h is brethren and companions of the
generation risen and rising, he says :“ Look after the root of the matter in your souls. T here
are many outside custom—born Christians now -a—days. O let us
get good soun d p r in cip les , for want whereof the profession of
so many hath run itself out of breath, and broke its neck . It
hath been said that a loose Protestant is fit to become a stric t
Papist . A formal ungrounded professor, he will be fit for
Satan ’s turn in these days . Plead and improve the Lord’s
covenant with you, and in special your bapt ism , the first seal
of that covenant,that you may be establ ished and made faithful
with the Lord therein . If we forget and neglect the Lord in
that wherein he begins with us,and first visibly takes hold of
70
i ts, no wonder if we make no progress, but sit loose from G od
al l our days.
“ Consider and remember always, that the books that shall
be opened at the last day will contain g en ea log ies in them .
T here shal l then be brought forth a register of the genealogies
of N ew England’s sons and daughters. How shal l we
,many
of us,hold up our faces then
,when there shal l be a solemn
rehearsal of our descent as well as of our degeneracies ! T o
have it publ ished whose child thou art wil l be cutting un to
th y soul,as well as to have the crimes reckoned up that thou
art guilty of.” 1
Mr . Symmes appears to have been held in esteem by h is co
temporaries, and when we remember who they were , this is no
small praise . In respect to abil ity and literary attainments, he
appears to have been respectable but if we are authori zed to
form an opinion from the slender information we possess
respecting him ,he w as more distinguished for h is practical
talents and general usefulness.
“ H e knew h is Bible well,
”
says Cotton Mathe r, and he was a preacher of what he knew,
and a sufferer for what he preached .
He w as honorably interred at the expense of the town . H is
grave was covered and set com l ie,
” by a stone work laid in
lime,together with a tombstone , procured by the S electmen
and deacons,in compl iance with a vote of the town . T h e
epi taph, which is now entirely effaced by time, contained th efol lowing distich
A p roph et l ies under th i s stoneH is words sh al l l i ve , th ough h e be gone .
En land’s true Interes t no t to L ie .
” B M r . \V . S tougli ton, preach er of th egospe l in D orc tester . Preach ed i n Boston
,A pr i l 2‘Jt 1668.
2 N o te 28.
L E C T U R E I V
H E B . x i i i . 7 ,8 .
REMEMBER T HEM W H I CH H A VE T H E R U LE O VER Y O U , YVH O H A VE S P O KEN U N T O Y O U
T H E W O R D O F G O D : WH O SE FA I T H FO LL O W,CO N S IDER I N G T H E EN D O F T HE I R
C O N VER SA T I O N ! JE S U S CH R I ST T H E SA ME YEST ER DA Y, A N D T O -D A Y,A N D FO R EVER .
IN our last Lecture we brought the history of the church
down to the death of the Rev . Z echariah Symmes ; this event
left Mr. Shepard, the teacher of the church , alone in the
minist ry ; the duties of which he continued to discharge with
out a settled helper til l h is death, in 1677. During this inter
val very l ittle is to be gathered respecting our internal history.
T h e church records only give evidence that discipl ine w as
faithfully maintained . From the town records a few miscel
lan eous items may be gleaned, indicat ive of the spirit and
usages of the fathers . Under date of March 3 1st,1670
,
“ B y
order of the selectmen it w as left with our deacons to gratifi e
any minister cal led in to help Mr . Shepard on occasion of h is
weakness,and also that Mr . Shepard have £ 10 allowed him
by th e deacons in reference to entertaining of those who have
been helpful to him for the time past .” T his vote was passed
before the death of Mr . Symmes, and when the teacher, Mr.
Shepard, w as laid aside from h is duties for a while in con se
quen ce of sickness. But I quote it as one of many evidences
that the people procured for their pastor the assistance of a
number of ministers,as they had occasion and opportunity .
T here is to be seen n ew in our burial ground the monument
of the Rev . T homas G ilbert,who came to this place from
S cotland,in July , 166 1 , and soon after became the first minister
of T opsfi eld . A fter h is dismission from that church , however,he returned to this town
,and probably assisted Mr . Shepard
during the sickness and some time after the death of Mr.
72
Symmes. He died in Mr . S ymmes’s house on the 26th
October,
A fter this the Rev . Joseph Browne , a minister of considera
ble dist inction, w as employed as an assista nt to Mr . Shepard .
He w as the son of the Hon . Will iam Browne,a merchant of
Salem,and graduated at Harvard College , 1666 , where he had
a fellowship he died May 9th , 1678, shortly after receiving a
call to succeed Mr. Shepard i n the ministry . T h e church
also enj oyed the occasional services of Rev . Daniel Russell,
a native of th is town,and son of the worshipful Richard
Russell,
” who w as admitted to the communion of the church,
A pril 16 , 1676 . He graduated in 1669 at Harvard College ,and was invited to succeed Mr. Shepard in the minis
try, but died January 4,1679 . T en pounds were al lowed
by the selectmen , out of the sum h is father had bequeathed to
the church,towards h is funeral charges.
1
In the spring of 1672,the meeting-house was repaired and
enlarged ; and in 1675, gal leries were buil t, doubtless for the
first t ime .
In the month of May , 1672, Mr . Shepard preached by ap
pointment the elect ion sermon . It was printed the following
year at Cambridge , and is entitled“ Eye salve
,or a watchword
from our Lord Jesus Christ unto h is churches : especially those
within the Colony Of Massachusetts, in N ew England, to take
heed of apostacy : or a treatise O f remembrance of what G od
hath been to us,as also what we ought, and what we ought
n ot to be to him,as we desi re the prolonging Of our prosperous
days in the land which the Lord our G od hath given us . B y
1 N ote 29 .2 N o te 30 .
T h e fo l lowingep i taph
,wh ich Math er says
,Ma I . 5 44, ‘was in h is
upon Mr. G i lbert 3 tomb in Ch ar lestown,
’ is $1111 legib e .
Here is in terredth e body of th at reverend , s incere, zea lous devout an d
fa i th ful m in ister O fJesus Ch r istM R . T H O M A S G I L B E R T ,
some t ime Pastor O f th e Ch urc h O fCh r istat C h edle
,in Ch esh i re ; a lso somet ime Pastor
of th e Ch urch O f Ch r ist at El ing, in O ld England :wh o was th e p roto-martyr th e fi rst of th e m in isters th atsuffered depr ivation
,in the cause O f non-conform i ty
,
in England and afler, betak ing h imse l f to
N ew En y land,became Pas tor of th e
C hurc l of Ch r is t in T opsfi e ld 5a nd at s ix ty-th ree years of
age ,departed
th i s l i fe .
In terred O ctober 28,1673 .
74
the fal l and sinking whereof (which the Lord forbid ) I shouldlook at as presaging the ruin of this land also : Let it never
want a benign,
aspect for the flourishing of that dear nursery ;lest otherwise there come to be e ither no ministry, or an il l ite
rate and (and in that respect in former times accounted ) ascandal ous and insufficient ministry , neither burning nor
shining l ights . Keep the good old w ay here experienced of a
godly learned ministry, wherein the people of G od have triedand found so much of th e presence and glory of the Lord
,
crowning the same with so choice a blessing as he hath done
and G od hath no need of a N ew Cart,or of Uzzah ’
s hand to
save the shaken ark ; nor did a good intention excuse him from
death by G od’s immediate hand and stroke from heaven
,when
the Lord ’s in stitution is crossed in that matter .
2 . Let the l iberties of the churches also be preserved and
maintained for the church is as a light upon an hill ; the peo
ple of G od are to shine as l ights in the world ; therefore therebyalso the land is instrumentally kept from being a land Of dark
ness. Let the scripturally unworthy be debarred the holythings in the sacrament
,and
,which they have no right unto
by rule .‘Pulsent fores
,
’said Cyprian of Old, &c .
,though
they bounce at the door, yet let them not have it opened to
them,til l duly qual ified for the same . T here is much and
may be more danger of such bold~faced hypocrites and there
fore,0 that no such intruders may be suffered to disturb and
vex the dear people of the Lord in any of their just l iberties
and that a malignant spirit of proph anen ess (which this poor
people is in great hazard of feeling the woful impression of )may t imeously be crushed, and so not permitted to blow out
gospel light , even the lights of the sanctuary here . N or le t
there be any ludibr ia medicorum sp i r i tua lium,or what may
be any standing reproach to the healing ways and instruments
of Jesus Christ here,seeing there is suffi cient balm in G i lead
provided by Christ for every spiritual disease in h is church .
L et not the way of the rigid Separatists, and the l ike , be acted
over again here , til l the churches be buried in confusion . In
case of the divisions in churches, hath not the Congregational
way balm for this wound appointed by Christ, but Morel lius
must be raked out of h is grave to be the only physic ian!
3 . Let the ministry (who also should be instrumental , in
75
their sphere ,to keep this land from becoming a land o f dark
ness ) be duly encouraged . T here have been and are com
plaints this way respecting their outward subsistence in manyplaces, (I bless the Lord I am not under any temptation therein,being l iberal ly and abundantly well provided for by the good
people I l ive among ; and therefore I may speak the more freelyand boldly for others, ) I fear there is too sad neglect in diverstowns. It w as a sign N ehemiah was away when the Leviteswere fain to go into the fields
,N eh . xiii . 6
,10
,1 1
,when they
are forced to turn to the meadow,to the cart
,and to the pl ow,
&c .
,or else they cannot l ive, or at least not l ive out O f tor
men ting debt . Is this the fruit of G od ’s being no wildernessto us ! 0 generation , see the word of the Lord Mind the
example of good H ezekiah , 2 Chron . xxxi . 4 ; he encouraged
such ; (0 take heed that there be not on the other s ide found
among us a discouraged ministry, respecting such I mean as are
able and faithful ministers of the N ew T estament,who would
g ladly spend and be spen t for their people‘H e commanded
t h e people ,’
(it is there said ) and it w as not therefore left as a n
arbitrary thing, or as an alms ; and mind the fruit of i t , i . e .
v . 10,S ince the people began to bring their Offerings into the
h ouse of the L ord, we have had enough to eat for the Lord
h ath blessed h is people, and that which is left i s this great
s tore . ’ If particular churches or towns are really n ot able to
supply th e necessity of him that ‘ labors in the word ’ amongthem
,should not such a poor people be relieved ! might it not
do well if some additional provision were made out of some
publ ic bank or stock for an honorable rel ief of such ! and that
thereby we‘bear on e another ’s burdens ’ ! and ‘be we n ot de
ceived,G od is not mocked in this very matter . G al . vi . 6
,7 ;
1 C or. ix . 1 4 ; Ezra v i i . 24, &c . Mus t they be rated wi l l a nd
doom ! A h,when men ’s hearts die to the word, no wonder if
they soon die to the dispensers of i t : and then‘what means
this waste ! ’ and proud, covetous, dis ingenuous, unwise , capt ious
,carping, bold, selfish spirits and principles wil l be stirring :
and ‘ l et us take turns to preach,’
(and to govern the church
a lso as moderators in it, )
‘rather than have this costly s er
vice A nd ‘what a weariness is i t ! &c . If it must be
so,should we wonder if the Lord take them away that are
suc h a charge, and ease people of such a burden Oh, ‘muz
76
zle not the mouth of ’ that ‘Ox that treadeth out the ’ spiritual
corn .
’ A nd though anti-christ ian beggi ng friars l ive byalms
, yet let it not be said of a Protestant people, or of these
churches,that they are so sordid in their spirits as to truckle
under a mendica nt ministry ; and that will be a flattering and
an unfaithful ministry at length , that is made to bow under the
temptation of‘n eeding th e a lms of th e p eop le and remember
that a person or people may become guil ty of sacr i leg e by
withholding what is due this way , as well as by robbing or
taking away that which is already dedicated or given in to
G od,Mal . i i i . 8
,and that withholding is there called robbery
though I am far from pleading here for the quota p ass there
spoken of in particular, but only as to the sin in general , the
apostle ranks i t with , yea ag gravates that sin of sacrilege aboveidolatry in the N ew T estamen t . Rom . i i .
T h e ministry of Mr . Shepard, as I have before said,was
dest ined to be a short one. In th e year 1677, the small pox
prevailed very exten sively in this place, and caused great
mortal ity .
1 A t that t im e it was so l itt le un der the control ofmedicine
,that l ike the plague it spread death and consternation
on every hand . T o discharge the duties oi a pastor at such a
juncture,w as to incur the loss of l ife . But Mr. Shepard, w h o
since the death of the venerable Symmes had faithful ly performed all the duties of a pastor to h is people , was not deterred
from continuing to discharge them in the midst of these
dangers. One Of h is flock was taken with the disorder,an d
desired a visi t from him . He went with h is l ife in h is h and,
expecting to be arrested by the fatal contag ion ; as an elegyupon h is death expressed it,
Rath er th an run from h is work , h e ch ose to die ,
Running on death , sooner th an duty fly.
”
Behold,
”says Mather,
“ a shepherd, who was vir sui n om i
a man whose nam e expressed at once h is character
and h is office .
He tranquilly fel l as leep in the Lord Jesus, ,
says the
Latin epitaph2 upon h is tombstone, on the 22md December
,
T h e names of n inety-one persons are regi stered as h av ing d ied of th is d i sease dur ing th ewin ter of 1677 and 8 in th is town , and a s ec ial order was passed by th e se lec tmen th at th ebe l l s h ould on no accoun t be to l led more t ran th ree t imes a day, because of th e di scourag ingefl
'
ect it h ad upon th ose wh o were s ick of th e smal l pox .
Note 3 2.
77
1677, in the 43 rd year of h is age, wept over by the tears of al l
N ew England ; and evermore to be lamented .
” He is described
to have been “ a very holy man , much distinguished for h iserudition
,h is various virtues
,and winning manners ; a learned
theologian , and eminent preacher in h is faith and life a true
bishop : a meritorious promoter of the cause of le tters, havingbeen a watchful guardian Of Harvard College , and a primaryfellow of the academical government . He sought not h is own,but the things of Jesus Christ .
”
T h e following verses were also inscribed upon h is tomb.
L et fame no longer boast h er an t i que th ings,Huge pyram ids and monumen ts of k ings :T h is cab inet th at locks up a rare gem ,
W ith out p resumption may compare w i th th em.
T h e sacred re l iques of th at match l ess oneGreat S h epard , -are ensh r in ed be low th is stone.
H ere l ies en tombed an h eaven l y orator ,
T o th e great K ing of kings embassadorM irror of vir tues , magazine of arts,
Crown to our h eads and loadstone to our h earts
H arvard’s great son , and fath er too bes ide ,Ch ar lestown ’
s just g lory and N ew Eng l and’s p ride
T h e ch urch’
s jewe l , col lege’
s overseer ,T h e clergy
’
s diadem w i th out a p eerT h e poor man
’
s ready friend, th e blind man’
s eyes,T h e wandering w i ldered soul ’s conductor w i seT h e widow
’
s so lace , and th e orp h an’s fath er ,
T h e s ick man’s v is i tant, or cordial rath er
T h e genera l ben efactor , and yet rareEngrosser of al l good ; th e man of p rayer
T h e constan t fr iend, and th e most ch eerful giver ,Most orth odox divin e and pious liverA n oracle in any doubtful case ,A master-p iece of nature, ar t and g race.
In th is bed l ie reposed h is weary l imbs“
H is soul ’s good compan y for seraph ims.
If men h e dumb in p rais ing of h is worth ,T h is stone sh al l cry, for sh ame ! and set it forth
A nd then as if these lines were altogether unworthy of
their subj ect,a Latin distich is added
,which declares emph ati
cally,‘that if no verses but such as were worthy of Shepard,
should be inscribed upon h is tomb, i t would be left with
out any .
’
S i S h eparde tuo, n isi qute sint d igna sepul ch ro,
Carm ina nul la foren t, carm ina nul la foreut.”
Math er’s Mag. b. 4, ch . iv .
78
But notwithstanding the turgid extravagance of th e epitaph,the warmth and energy of its expressions afford suffic ient
evidence that Mr. Shepard was held in the highest esteem and
affection by h is cotemporaries . He seems to have been beloved
as well as admired . Cotton Mather tel ls us that “ the whole
country w as fil led with lamentation s upon h is decease ;” and
many expressed their feelings in the language of one of the
many elegies bestowed upon him
N e x t to th e tears our s i ns do need and crave,I would bestow my tears on S h epard
’s grave .
A t the n ext commencement,the Rev . Urian Oakes
,Presi
dent O f the College, and the particular friend of Mr . Shepard,
pronounced a w arm-hearted and eloquent eulogium upon h is
character,in the course of a Latin oration
,del ivered before the
alumni and Officers of the inst itution . From this tribute toh is memory, we learn that “ he was possessed of undissembled
piety and uncommon learning, united with modesty, amiable
manners,and noted industry . H is countenance was grave ;
h is words well-considered and weighty ; and h is gestures be
c oming and unaffected . H e w as of a very sedate turn,sin
cere and Open , possessed of a fertile mind, and a penetrat ingj udgment, and dist inguished for the mildness and sweetness of
h is manners.
” 1
Mr . Shepard’s will h as been preserved in the probate Office,
and bears date,June 5
,1676 . It commences as follows
I,T homas Shepard, being, through the Lord
’s mercy, in
good heal th at this present, yet not knowing how soon myearthly house of this tabernacle may be dissolved, do therefore
make my last will and testament as followeth , viz . committingmy soul into th e everlasting arms of my dear and blessed
Redeemer the Lord Jesus Christ,and bel ieving the glorious
resurrection of my body (after its decent interment ) at the
las t day ; and also leaving my dear wife , and my beloved
children T homas,A nna
,and Margaret , to him who is the G od
of the widow and the fatherless,and is ever mindful of h is
c ovenant,and [as] he hath been my father
’s G od and mine , so
let him be theirs and their portion forever .”
1 Note 3 3 . Math er’s Magnalia, 11. 102.
79
He left h is books and writings to h is son T homas ; and
bequeathed £ 5 apiece to h is aged and honored schoolmaster,
Mr . Elijah C orlet of Cambridge to h is honored guardian C apt .Daniel G ookin, whom he chose at h is father
’s death
,when a
lad of fourteen ; to h is brother Jeremiah, and to h is cousinT homas G raves and to this church
,
“ my dear Lord’s precious
flock ” the money to be expended for pieces of plate . T h e
wil l concludes with the Latin and G reek words,Pasce oves
,
Domine Jesu,a’
ezm ows r. H is estate was apprised to be worth
h is l ibrary, £ 100 .
T homas,who is mentioned in the will
,succeeded h is father
in the ministry , as will be mentioned hereafter . A nna Shepard was married to Daniel Q uincy, and became the maternal
ancestor of the venerable ex-president of the United S tates,their son
,John Q uincy, being the person after whom he was
named .
1
T h e death of Mr . Shepard left the church without a m in ise
ter for the first t ime . T his vacancy continued for more than
two years, during which , an unhappy division grew up amongthe people , and the church were unable to unite in cal ling a
minister . T hey appear, however, to have united in extendinga cal l to the Rev . Joseph Brown, already mentioned , but he
declined for some reason,and removed to Boston . A fter this
a call w as given to Mr . Daniel Russell , of whom also mention
h as been made ; but to this a minority were so strenuouslyopposed, that a council was found n ecessary to compose the
difference . Some very curious papers2 have been preserved ,
respecting this case , in a col lection by John Winthrop, first
governor of Connecticut,‘
whose brother-in-law w as scribe Of
the council .
T h e council was formed on the 5 th of N ovember, 1678,and among their names may be found those of the governor and
others most distinguished both in church and state .
One of the papers preserved is entitled ,“ A Brief N arrative
of some of the most considerable Passages of this Church , and
their several Committees acting since the death of our dear
and revered T eacher,Mr . T homas Shepherd, who departed
this l ife the 22nd Dec . “ T his declaration was pre
1 N ote 34.
2 3 H ist. C e ll : 1.
80
sented by the church, and after reading in the publ ic meeting,was then voted by them as the substance of transactions in this
matter.”
F rom this Offic ial document,i t appears, that soon after the
death of Mr . Shepard, the church extended a unanimous cal l
to Mr. Joseph Brown , as h as been stated . A fter this, the com
m ittee were desired “ to provide transient help for carrying on
the worship of G od on the Lord ’s days ; and l ikewise some ofthe brethren desired
,that they would use means to obtain a
settled supply as soon as might be .
” A t this t ime the com
mittee had in view “ S ir Shepard, — the son of their late
pastor, and“ agreed to invite him to preach with us one ser
mon,that so
,having a taste of the gifts and graces of G od
bestowed upon him ,that then they might have the precedency
of any other people in that matter . But it was concluded that
they must apply themselves to the Obtaining an officer sooner
than he w as l ike to undertake such a work .
” F or this pur
pose the neighboring ministers were appl ied to for advice who
might be the fittest man to propound to the church . Capt .Laurence Hammond
,Mr . John Heman
,and James Russell
,
went to VVatertown Lecture,and after lecture
,went to the
house of Mr . Sherman,where w as also Mr . Wil lard of Boston ;
t o whom they declared the matter , and desired their advice .
Mr . Willard mentioned Mr . Woodbridge of H omin ossett ; but
they repl ied, they were not will ing to rob any place . Mr .
Sherman then mentioned Mr . Daniel Russell,and Mr . Isaac
Foster,and then concluded that Mr . Foster
,was the fittest
person they could think of at present . T h e Committee
next went to Rev . Mr. O akes ’s house,the President of Har
vard College , and he recommended Mr . Foster . A ccord
ingly Mr . Foster was propounded to the church the next
Sabbath day . N othing was said at this time about asking the
concurrence of the young Mr. Shepard, and this subsequentlybecame one of the sources of grieva nce on the par t of the dis
senting brethren. A t the same time,l iberty having been
given to the church to propose any other person , the followingcandidates were nominated
,Mr. Daniel Russel l
,Mr . T homas
Shepard , Mr . Samuel N owell , Mr. Zech ary S ims, Mr . G ershom
Hubbard,
” Hobart . ) T h e church were desired to signify their
choice at the next church meeting.
82
a call to Mr. Russel l and Mr . Shepard, and fi ve against it .
A fter some discussion who should be put to vote first,although
the eyes of th e church were upon Mr . Russel l for present sup
ply, yet , hoping to gratify some,it w as agreed that Mr . Shep
ard should be first voted, provided both were voted at that
time . A ccordingly both were called to the work of the
ministry .
T h e next Lord ’s day , the congregation were staid to desire
th eir consent to the act ion of the church . Mr . Shepard, in
answer to the call,
“ thankfully acknowledged the church and
town ’s l ove to h is hon ored father and himself,and gave them
very good encouragement that they might in time enj oy h is
help .
” Mr. Russell repl ied that he w as will ing to help them
at present in the work of the ministry . A nd the church
returned him thanks for h is acceptance as far as he had ex
pressed it, and desired him to continue in the work of the
ministry amongst us.
”
T h e dissenting brethren being stil l dissatisfied,the majority
decided upon calling a council ; and the three churches in
Boston,together with those of Cambridge and Watertown
were invited .
T h e reasons for dissen t presented to the council by the
minority were the following. 1 . T hey j udged their brethren
to have been too undel iberate,over-hasty, and precipi tate in
their motions for Mr . Russell . 2 . T hey h ad not used any
means to see whether Mr. Shepard could freely and cheer
fully j oin with Mr. Russell in th e work of the ministry.
3 . T hey j udged that,“ al though Mr . Russell might be of good
use in the work of the ministry in some other place , he was
not so meet for the managing of the work of a church Officer
in this place and consequently, that it is neither safe for the
church to cal l him thereunto,nor for him to accept thereof.
”
T hese reasons of dissent were signed by“ Laurence Ham
mond,T homas G raves
,Jonathan Hayman , A aron L udkin
,
Samuel Ward .
”
With the re sult Of council upon these particular premises,we are not acquainted . Whatever i t might have been , the
subj ect of contention was soon removed by the providence of
G od,for Mr. Russell died a few months after
,in January,
1679 . T his event left Mr. Shepard alone before the eyes of
83
the people , and he appears to have been quietly ordained in a
l ittle more than a year after .1 H is ordination is thus recorded
by himself on the baptismal register.“ I was separated unto
the work of the ministry, and ordained pastor of this church,5 th May, 1680. Pasce oves
,6 fl ower O
‘
rwrusf’
It will be seen by this record that Mr. Shepard did not succecd h is father to the office Of teacher ; this office was never
again filled by an Offi cer especially ordained to the work .
A fter this t ime the dis tinction seems to have been lost . B ut
Mr. Shepard was not ordained to both offices ; and especial
assistance seems to have been afforded him towards the supplyof the pulpit .
Upon the town books, under the date of September 1 , 1679,we find the following minute .
“ Mr . T homas Shepard havingaccepted to carry on the work of the ministry in this town : i t
is therefore ordered that he shal l have £ 100 per annum ,and
the usual allowance to be given to what transien t help he
see cause to get for the supply Of the minis try in this town .
”
A nd A pril 5 , 1680 . It was“ ordered
,that th ere be allowed
l 0s. per every sermon that is preached by strange ministers.
”
Mr . Shepard w as ordained by Mr . Sherman Of W atertown ,and received the right hand of fel lowship from h is father ’s
bosom friend,Pres ident Oakes. A ccording to the uniform
practice of the time , Mr . Shepard preached h is own ordination
sermon . H e took h is text from H ebrews xiii . 20 .
“ T hat
great Shepherd Of the sheep .
” A n introductory sermon ap
pears also to have been del ivered , which probably occupied
the place of our modern “address to the people ,
” and“ charge ; this discourse was founded upon Ez . xxxii i . 7,Son of man I have set thee a wa tchman .
” It concluded in
the fol lowmg manner“ Be much in prayer for your watch
man,and particularly for him,
who is this day to be establ ished
in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ among you ; you have
honored yourselves in thus expressing the l ove and honor
which you had for h is excellent father and as i t w as said in
Ruth ii . 20,— ‘Blessed be he O f the L ord
,who hath not left off
h is kindness to the l iving, and to the dead so I will say to
you, Blessed be this church Of the Lord, that you show kind
N ote 3 5 .
84
ness unto your dead pastor, and to h is l iving son . A s for him,
that is now to become your watchman , he needs your prayers ;I may say of h im as David of Solomon
,
‘My son is youngand tender
,and the house is magnificent .
’ I know not
whether any so young as he,w as ever left al one with such a
charge . N ow though the work be g r ea t, yet the Lord Jesus
Christ is able to carry him well through it all but i t must be
through the help of your p rayers , that he comes to have such
a supp ly of th e S p ir i t. Pray for him in particular, and that
every day Who knows what G od may do for you, in h im ,
and by h im ,as in and by h is fa th er before him ! Let it be
your prayer, that he would take of the Spirit that was in h is
f ath er and g ran dfa th er who were both of them great men in
their generation , and bestow thereof a double p or tion upon him .
A nd let that word encourage you,‘My Spirit which is upon
thee,and my word which I have put into th y mouth, shal l not
depart out of th y mouth, nor out of th e mouth of th y seed,
nor out of the mouth of th y seed ’s seed,saith the Lord .
’
Cotton Mather,who was an intimate friend of Mr. Shepard,
and only two years h is j unior in col lege , h as devoted a some
what extended chapter to h is l ife and it will perhaps be the
most appropriate conclusion Of the present Lecture to derive
from this source some account of h is ear ly education .
1
Mather says, in speaking of the three Shepards of N ewEngland , that
“ there was such a simil itude of spirit, descend
ing from the father to the son , and from the son to the grand
son i h this holy generation, that albe it they were al l of them
several ly sh or t ~lived,the two first n ot l iving more than for ty,
and the last not so much as th ir ty years, yet there might be a
sort of j oin ted long evi ty ascribed unto the generat ion for
when the father went away, n on totus recessi t, (he did not
entirely depart, ) we had him st il l surviving to the l ife in the
posteri ty.
”
T h e youngest of the three , and the last of the name , was
born in this place on the 3d July, 16 5 8 ; he is the only one of
our ministers who was a bapt ized chi ld of this church,having
received this ordinance on the 4th of the same month,shortly
before h is father ’s ordination as the teacher of the church .
Magnal ia, b. 1V. ch ap . ix .
85
T h e date of h is admission to the ful l communion of th e church
h as not been preserved ; for inasmuch as i t occurred after h isfather ’s death, and while the church were without a minister,there was no Officer to keep the records of the church . It was
the practice of the earl ier days to give a verbal , or more com
mon ly, a written account of the candidate’s experience before
approach ing the Lord’
s Supper .
Mather h as preserved a portion of h is address to the
church on this occasion and as it is interesting, I wil l quote
the whole of it . A s to the thing of that which is commonlycalled fi rst con version or reg en era tion , I have had manythoughts about it ; but have been afraid, and am still
,to deter
mine it unto this or that particular . What I have found bymyself, hath made me oftentimes to question , whether the
former op eration s of the Spirit of G od about me,were any
more than common or whether such and such sin s were con
sistent with saving g race ; that which hath helped me in thiscase
,hath been partly, what I have heard from a reverend man
of G od,
‘ that such as are from time to t ime disquieted with
such thoughts, the best, if not the on ly way to put i t out of
doubt,that they have true fai th is by exerci sing faith, to con
ver t aga in unto G od .
’ A nd putting my soul in the way of the
br ea th ings of G od ’s Spirit, and then observing the actings
thereof,I have by the help of the same Spirit, found something
of rel ief under those doubts . On my ch i ldh ood and youth , I
have too much cause to say (as Solomon of the things of thisworld ) van ity of van i ties
,a l l is van i ty Yet by the blessing
of G od on the faithful endeavors,and fervent prayers of my
religious parents ; especially on my honored, blessed , and most
exemplary father, who Of all as the most able to further, so was
most solici tous,studious and tenderly careful always about the
everlast ing well-being of a son,from the very beginning of my
days, to the end of h is,I do think I was by p recep t and holy
examp le, imbued with a n a tura l love and liking to the ways of
G od ; though not savin g, yet such as whereby a p rejudiceagainst r elig ion was prevented .
Young Shepard, while yet a child, was remarkable for h is
dil igence , and love of study ; h is memory was so retentive , that
on the evening of the Lord ’s day he was wont to repeat al l the
heads of the longest sermons preached in publ ic , and when the
86
l ength , as well as the multitudinous divisions, which ch aracterized the pulpit discourses of that period, are remembered, thiswill be acknowledged a notable instance of attention and
memory in a boy .
I must also trespass upon your patience to give briefly a
sketch Of the paternal counsels given Mr . Shepard upon h isadmission to college , inasmuch as they wil l reflect l ight upon
the character of both father and son . T homas entered college ,j ust as he had completed h is fourteenth year ; and h is father,to secure h is beloved and only son from the temptations of a
college l ife, gave him a paper of written instructions, imitatingin this particular the example Of h is own father
,T homas
Shepard, of Cambridge . T h e sum of these instruct ions to h is
son w as,
1 . T o remember that the great end of h is l ife was to glorifyG od through Christ, and of this period of preparation to fit h imfor the most glorious work of the holy ministry. For thisend
, your father hath set you apart with many tears, and hath
given you up to G od that he might delight in you. A nd (hewrote ) I had rather see you buried in your grave , than growlight , loose , wanton , or profane . G od ’s secrets in the holyS criptures are never made known to common and profane
spirits ; and therefore be sure you begin and end every day,
wherein you study, with prayer to G od ; reading some part of
the Scripture daily , and setting apart some time every day
(though but one quarter of an hour ) for meditation of the thingsof G od.
“ 2 . Remember that these are times of much knowledge ,and therefore one had almost as good be no scholar, as not to
excel in knowledge wherefore abhor one hour of idleness,as
you would be ashamed of one hour of drunkenness. T hough
I would not have you neglect seasons for recreation a little
before and after meals,and though I would not have you study
late in the night usually, yet know that G od will curse your
soul , while the sin Of idleness is nourished, which hath Spoiled
so many hopeful youths, in their first blossoming in the college .
Hence don ’t content yourself to do as much as your tutor sets
you about , but know,that you will never excel in learning,
unless you do somewhat else in private hours, wherein h is care
cannot reach you.
”
87
3 . He gave him several directions “ to make h is studies as
pleasant and fruitful as could be,” tel l ing him that “ reading
without meditation will be useless ; meditation without readingwill be barren . B ut here I would not have you forget a speech
of your blessed g randfa th er to a scholar, that complained to
him of a bad memory, which discouraged him from reading,‘L eg e, leg e, a liquid h rerebi t.
’ T hat sentence in Proverbs,
(xiv . deserves to be written in letters of gold upon your
study table,‘In all labor
,there is profit .
’ Pray much nOt onlyfor heavenly but also human learning for remember that
prayer at Christ’s feet
,for all the learning you want , shall fetch
you in more in an hour, than possibly you may get by al l the
books,and helps you have otherwise , in many years .
4 . In the fourth place , he exhorted him to be grave and
kind in h is carriage towards all the scholars and warned him
against certain V ices of many scholars.
5 . Remember to intreat G od with tears,before you come
to hear any sermon,that thereby G od would powerfully speak
to your heart , and make h is truth precious to you. N eglect not
to wr i te after the preacher always in handsome books, and be
careful always to preserve and peruse the same . A nd upon
S abba th days , make exceeding conscience of sanctifi cation
mix not your other studies, much less vain and carnal discourseswith the duties of that holy day , but remember that command,Lev . xix . 3 0
,Y e shal l keep my Sabbaths, and reverence my
sanctuary, I am the Lord .
’
6 . R emember that whensoever you hear, read , or conceive
any divine truth , you study to affect your heart with it, and
the goodness of i t . T ake heed Of receiving truth into your
h ead, without the love Of it in your heart, lest G od give you
to strong delusions. If G od reveal any truth to you, be sure
you be humbly and deeply thankful .”
T hese excellent instructions h is father concluded with these
words .
“ My son ! if thine heart be wise,my heart shall re
j oice,— even mine .”
T h e solicitudes and labors of a father,thus wise and faithful ,
were not in vain . Mather says, that no part of h is friend’s
character w as more conspicuous than this, A reveren ce for th e
p erson an d advice of h is fath er ; and that the whole of h is
academic l ife may be abridged into this brief account, that he
88
did make the hear t of h is worthy father to rej oice by h is con
scien t ious and exemplary attendance upon these instructions.
Whenever he h ad occas ion to speak of them,i t was in these
terms,
“ My, next to Christ , most beloved father’s advice .”
Such,my hearers, was the character of the father and son
,
under whose j oint ministry, of about twenty-fi ve years, thischurch and town were guided into the green pastures and bes ide the still waters of salvation . T hey were men , we have
reason to bel ieve , faithful to G od and to their generation ; longsince have they ceased from their min istry, and entered upon
their reward . T hey are now in heaven with the seal s of their
ministry and the crowns of thei r rej oic ing. T hey are n ow
before the throne of G od above ; and there th ey . h ave been
together, father and son , pastors and peopl e , for more than one
hundred and fifty years but oh ! how short a period is this to
be in heaven
A nd how glorious a place is heaven When we look upon
it as the present residence of the l iving spirits of those , who in
every age have loved the cause of G od, and man
’s salvation
,
how desirable its society ! It would be del ightful to meet with
them now,as they were when they left the earth ; but what a
change h as passed over their minds an d spirits since they are
in deed the same persons, who were born, renewed, and dis
c iplined here on earth , but all else how changed ! T here everytear is wiped away, there the source of tears is dr ied up, igno
rance is dispel led in the ligh t of heaven, the crooked made
straight, every imperfection and every infel ic ity of temper
chased away l ike clouds before the sun . T o meet such minds
now,to receive the fellowship and communion of hearts thus
rich in the experience of centuries in heaven what joy, whatcompl et ion of all our hopes and aspirations Blessed be G od
,
for the comfortabl e doctrine of the communion of saints ; an d
everlasting thanks, that by faith and patience through the same
Saviour, we may tread in their footsteps, and rise to their ihheritance of glory '
90
and each other ; and the G eneral Courts enacted laws to promote the work of reformation . B ut
,as is usual in such cases
,
there was a great diversity of opinion in respect to the occasion sor moral causes of th e divine indict ions under which they suf
fered . Many gave very strange reasons for the plagues of the
coun try ; each man’s opinion being formed in accordance with
h is private interests and views of rel igion .
T o determin e this quest ion,therefore
,and unite the minds of
the people , a synod was convened at Boston,September 10,
1679 ; a general fast having been first kept by the churches, to
seek the blessing of G od Upon their del iberations. T h e synod
proceeded to consider the two following quest ions
1 . What are the evils that have provoked the Lord to bringh is j udgments on N ew England !
2 . What is to be done that so these evils may be reformed !
In answer to the first question,the synod enumerated the
evils to be found among them— sins which had been acknow
ledged before the Lord on days of humil iation appointed byauthority, and yet not reformed ; many of which were n ot
punished or punishable by men, and were therefore (the synod
judged ) punished by G od. It is not within my present l imits
to detail al l the moral del inquencies which the synod mentioned
under thirteen general heads. B ut it wil l cast l ight upon the
moral aspect of that period, to notice the more prominent .
T o sum Up, then , as briefly as possibl e, the answer of the
synod,1 to the first question
,they declared
T hat there was a visible decay of the power of godl i
ness amongst many professors in these churches.
T hat pride abounded in N ew England, as evidenced in
a refusing to be subj ec t to order,according to divine appoint
ment in contention,and in respect of apparel . Servants
,and
the poorer sort of people are notoriously guilty in this matter,who (too generally ) go above their estates and degrees, therebytran sgressing th e laws both of G od and man . A lso
,many not
of the meaner sort,have offended G od by strange appar el , not
becoming serious Christians,espec ial ly in these days of afi l ic
tion and misery .
Magnalia, I I . 9273 .
9 1
T hat church fellowship, and other divine institutions are
greatly neglected . Many of the rising generation are not mind
ful of that which their baptism doth engage them unto , viz
to use utmost endeavors that they may be fit for,and so par
take ih all the holy ordinances of the Lord Jesus . N or is there
so much of discipl ine extended towards the children of the
covenant,as we are generally agreed ought to be done . O n
the other hand,human inventions a nd will-worship have been
set up even in Jerusalem .
T hat the holy and glorious name of G od hath been pol
luted and profaned amongst us, by oath and irreverent behavior
in the solemn worship of G od . It is a frequent thing for men
(though not necessitated thereunto by any infirmity ) to sit in
prayer-t ime, and some with their heads almost covered,and to
give way to their own sloth and sleepiness, when they should
be serving G od with attention and intention,under the solemn
dispensation of h is ordinances. We read of but one man in
Scripture , that slept at a sermon , and that s in had like to have
cost him h is l ife . A cts xx . 9 .
T here is much Sabbath-breaking, by absence from
publ ic worship, by not keeping a seventh part of th e t ime holy,in consequence of different apprehens ions about the beginningof the Sabbath by walking abroad and travell ing on the S ab
bath by attention to servile call ings and employments after the
Sabbath is begun, or before it is ended ; and by worldly and
unsuitable discourses .
T hey al lege that mos t of the evils that abound amongst
us, proceed from defects as to family government . T here are
many families that do not pray to G od constantly, morning and
evening and many more , wherein the Scriptures are not dailyread
,that so the word of Christ might dwell r ichly in them .
Children have n ot been kept in due subj ection, and thus Christian
parents have been l ike the Indians ; and hence they have, in
G od ’s righteous providence, been punished by the Indians .
T hey complain of inordinat e passions, sinful heats and
hatreds among church members themselves, who abound with
evil surmisings, uncharitable and unrighteous censures , back
bit ings, hearing and tel l ing tales— few that remember and dulyobserve the rule, with an angry coun tenance to drive away th e
92
tale-bearer— reproachful and revil ing expressions, sometim es to ,or of one another .
T here is much intemperance . T hat heathenish and
idolatrous practice of health-drinking, is too frequent . T rain
ing days, and other publ ic solemnities, have been abused ; and
not only Engl ish , but Indians have been debauched by those
who cal l themselves Christ ians,who have put their bottles to
them,and made them drunk also . T his is a crying sin
,and
the more aggravated in that the first planters of this colony did
(as is in the paten t expressed ) come into this land with a designto convert the heathen unto Christ ; but if instead of that theybe taught wickedness, which before they were never guilty of,the Lord may well punish us by them .
(9 . T hey complain of a want of truth amongst men,and inordinate affection unto the world . T here hath been
,in
many professors , an insatiable desire after land and worldlyaccommodations ; yea, so as to forsake churches and ordinances,and to l ive l ike heath en ,
only that so they might have elbow
room enough in the world . Farms and merchandisings have
been preferred before the things of G od . In this respect , the
interest of N ew England seemeth to be changed . We differ
from othe r outgo ings of our nation,in that it was not any
worldly considerations that brought our fathers into this wil
derness,but religion , even so that they might build a sanctuary
unto the Lord ’s name ; whereas, now ,rel igion is made subser
vient unto worldly interests. Wherefore,we cannot but sol
emn ly bear witness against that practice of settl ing plantat ion swithout any ministry amongst them ,
which is to prefer the
world before the G ospel .
(1 1 . 12 . T hey also complained of opposition to the work
of reformat ion,a want of publ ic spirit, and of impenitency and
unfruitfulness under the means of grace.
In answer to the second quest ion,
“ What is to be don e ! ” i t
w as recommended among other things, that the present genera
t ion should declare their adherence to the faith and order of the
G ospel , and that the churches sh ould solemn ly renew thei r
covenants,main tain d iscipl ine , especially towards the children
of the church,by which the disputes respec ting the subj ec ts of
baptism would be comfortably issued . I t w as also recommendedto th e churches
,to use their utmost endeavors to obtain a ful l
93
supply of offi cers, according to Christ’s institut ion . T h e defect
of these churches is very lamentable , there being in most of thechurches only one teaching officer for the burden of the whole
congregation to lie upon . T h e Lord Jesus Christ would not
have instituted pastors, teach ers, ruling elders, if he had not seenthere was need of them for the good of h is people and there
fore , for men to think they can do well enough without them ,
is both to break the second commandment,and to reflect upon
the wisdom of Christ as if he did appoint unnecessary officersin h is church . Where there are great congregations, it is im
possible for one man , besides h is labors in publ ic , ful ly to attend
to personal instruction and discipl ine . N otwithstanding thisrecommendation
,however
,the dist inction between pastor and
teacher was gradually lost sight of, although the practice ofhaving two ministers w as still adhered to by many of ourchurches .
T h e synod, to carry out their first recommendation ,assembled
again in the spring of th e‘
fol low ing year, May 12, 1680. T h e
result of this synod w as a confession of faith,drawn up in the
language of the Westminster confession , with a few variations
from that of the Savoy . T hey chose to express themselves in
the words of those reverend assembl ies, (to use their own lan
guage )“ that so they might not only with one heart
,but with
one mouth, glorify G od and our Lord Jesus Christ .
”
T his confession shows that our fathers held to the catholic
fai th of the Christian church,it being substan tial ly the same as
th e confessions of al l the reformed churches of Europe . It isan exposition of the theological doctrin es of N ew England C on
gregational ism,as the Cambridge Platform is of its discipl ine
and government . T h e sentiments and practice of our church es
d iffer in certain particulars from both of these documents ; but
with their general and characteriz ing prin ciples they still
harmonize .
We proceed now with our history of Mr . Shepard’s ministry.
He w as,at the period of h is ordination , a very young man, not
yet twenty-two years of age but h is mind and character seem
to have been precociously mature . T h e most judicious of h is
people were constrained to admit that h e was n o n ovice,and
such was the purity and dignity of h is example , that he let no
man desp ise h is youth . T h e gravity of h is deportment kept
94
up h is authority among al l classes, whil e h is courtesy won their
affection . H is outward circumstances being easy— for h isfather left a good estate for those days— h e was distinguished
for the charity of h is purse , as well as the benevolence of h isfeel ings. A s might be inferred from h is parentage and educa
tion,he was conservative in h is sympathies, a zealous promoter
of the measur es recommended by the reforming synod, and a
stric t adherent to the theology of the Puritan fathers . Mather
says, T here were none dearer to him than the good old peo
ple ; those holy, devout, aged souls,who had grown well
towards r ipe for h eaven under h is blessed fa th er’s ministry ;
he w as
'
much in their company, and he valued their prayers for
him,and their serious
,and savory, and heavenly commun ica
t ions at no ordinary rate . N or shal l I ever forget the consolation
which he told me he had received from the words which one
of those plain old saints used unto him,when he was under
discouraging fears how he should go through h is work : S ir ,said he, if you
’l l g ive up yourself to do th e work of th e L ord
J esus C h rist, n ever fear but h e wi l l h elp you to do yours .
In h is domestic relations he appears to have been very ex em
plary . He performed the worship of h is family by readingmorning and evening a portion of Scripture, an d offering a
prayer founded upon it ; on Saturday nights he chose to repeat a
s ermon,commonly one which had been preached at some lecture
the foregoing week , or one of h is deceased father ’s ;1 and on
Sabbath evening he repeated the sermon of the day . He was a
laborious student,and h is study was a beloved place . He n ot
only had“ a fine
,large , and continually growing l ibrary,
” but
h is books bore evidence of having been carefully perused , con
taining in h is own handwriting, a summary of their contents,
and memoranda of the most remarkable passages. Indeed,h is
health appears to have suffered in consequence of h is severe ap
pl ication . H is habits of study also , were remarkably devout .
He thought that he should never do any great things in feed
ing h is flock,if he did n ot great things in fast ing by himself.
”
A ccordingly he set apart one day in every month , for private
fasting, to examine h is own spiritual condition , and implore
blessings Upon h is peopl e .
Note 36.
95
In the preparation of h is discourses for the pulpit, he began
with prayer ; and then read over h is text in the original , and
fixed upon its meaning. He drew forth h is doctrines and the
other heads of h is discourse in the beginning of the week,that
he might avail himself of h is occasional thoughts . He arrangedh is ow n meditations before consulting other authors and when
he had finished h is composition , he concluded with a thanks
giving to the Lord, h is helper . In the del ivery of h is sermonshe appears n ot to h ave excelled but he felt what he spoke , andspoke what he felt .
In the course of h is ministry, he discussed in a series of dis
courses,a variety of subj ects. In reference to the calamities
and prevail ing iniquities of the time , he preached forty-fi ve
sermons on the prayer of Jonas ; the last of which, he del ivered
about a month before h is death . A t the same time,but on
another part of the Lord’
s day , he preached upon th e evils con
demned by the synod . In concluding these two courses, he
del ivered two sermons,the first
,to awaken the obstinate
,from
Jer. xiii . 17. If ye will not hear, my soul shall weep in secret
places for your pride .” A nd the other
,to encourage the peni
tent,from Matt . xi . 28.
“ Come to me all ye that labor, and I
will give you rest .” “ A nd he was never after heard speaking
in the name of the Lord .
”
So faithful were h is endeavors to discharge h is duty as a pas
tor— watching for souls as one that must give account— that,Mather says, Methinks I hear him give up this account unto
the Judge of all .‘G racious Lord
,I watched that I might see
what sort of temptations did most threaten my flock, and I set
myself to strengthen them against those temptations. I watch ed
that I might see what sort of affl ict ions did most assault myflock
,and I set myself to comfort them under those afflict ions.
I did watch to learn what sort of duties were most seasonable
to be recommended to my flock,and I vigorously recommended
them in the season s thereof. I did watch to see what souls of
my flock did call for my more particular addresses, and I often
addressed one or other of them . Yet not I,but the grace which
was with me .
’
T h e labors of Mr. Shepard were not in vain G od encouraged
him by making such additions to the church , as few churches
in the country at that time received . He h as recorded the
96
names of s ixty persons— twenty males an d forty females— as
received to the full communion of the church ; and this duri ngh is brief ministry of five year s, shows an average increase of
twelve for each year,which is a larger number than the average
of admissions under h is father, or since the organization of the
church .
T h e only vote of the church , recorded by Mr . Shepard duringthe period of h is ministry, is the following
“ March 8,1685 . Voted and concurred in by the church , that
men’s r ela tion s (their own p ron oun ci ng th em having been con
stan tly foun d inconvenient ) be for the future read : N emine
contradicente . T . S .
”
Originally, in the formation of the fi rst Puritan churches,
those who sought admission were privately examined by the
m inisters ; but in the year 163 4, one of the brethren was present
at an examination,and w as so much interested
,as to awaken a
desire in others to be present , until at length the whole church
attended . l It then became the pract ice for men to give a verbal
account of their rel igious experience , or relations, as they were
cal led,while those of th e women were written and read . I t
will be remembered that Mr . Shepard, on being admitted to the
church,made a statement of h is rel igious views and experience .
T his practice , however, being attended by many in conven i
encies,i t was resolved by our church at this date
,and by the
Old South also about the same time,to dispense with oral , and
receive written relations . T his latter mode becoming after a
few years a mere form,i t w as dropped, and our churches
returned to the former mode of examinations before th e ofi i cers
of the church,to whom is now commonly added a committee
of the brethren .
T h e above-mentioned vote of the church w as passed just
three months before the sudden and lamented death of their
youthful pastor . A bout this t ime he was preaching a series of
thirteen sermons on those words of the Preacher in Ecclesiastesxii . 5 : “ Man goeth to h is long home .
” H is friend tells us
that “ he had a strange and strong presage on h is own mind,
that he w as himself to be n ot l ong from that home .
” H is familywere short-l ived . H is grandfather, of Cambridge , died in h is
1 Magualia, l l . 209.
98
W as much smitten with the news. W as taken on Friday night
yet being to preach and administer the Lord’s supper on S ab
bath day, forbore physick , at least at first .”H is funeral took place on T uesday, June 9th . T h e gover
nor,l ieutenant governor, and magistrates, together with some
of the most distinguished clergymen , were present ; the facul tyof Harvard Col lege were also present, inasmuch as he was one
of the overseers of that institut ion— and the students walked
before the hearse . T h e pal l-bearers were Mr . Mather, Mr .
S immes,Mr . Willard
,Mr. Hubbard of Cambridge (Hobart of
N ewton ),Mr . N athaniel G ookin , and Mr . Cotton Mather . Judge
S ewall says“ that there were some verses
,but none pin
’d on
the herse this refers to a practice in those days, of compos
ing compl imentary verses upon the deceased, and attaching them
to the hearse .
In addition to the account which h as now been given of Mr .
Shepard’s l ife
,i t wil l not be necessary to say much of h is
character . For so young a man , he possessed an extensive
acquaintance with theology . He had no sympathy with the
new d ivinity of the day, but w as ardently attached to ortho
doxy, and able in defending the truth against A rminian oppo
sers.
“ He looked,
”says Mather,
“ upon many late bookswritten to undermine the orthodox articles of the Church of
England, by persons who perhaps had got into preferment bysubscribing those very articles, as books that indeed betrayed
the Christian religion under pretence of upholding i t .” Among
h is favorite authors,were Usher
,Caryl , Owen , Sherlock , and
Hooker .
T h e facts which I have given, have been chiefly derived
from Cotton Mather,who w as (as I have before said ) but two
years the junior of Mr . Shepard in college , and who h as drawn
h is friend ’s charac ter with the warm coloring of personal affect ion and admirat ion .
“ I confess,
” he says ,“ my affection unto
my dear Shepard to have been such,that if I m ight use the
poet’s expression of h is friend, an imm dimidium n i ece
,I must
say , I am h a lf bur ied sin ce h e is dead or,h e is but h alf dead
s in ce I am a live .
”
Dear S h epard, sure w e dare not cal l th ee deadT h o
’
gone, th ou’
r t but un to th y k indred fled.
”
99
B y the decease of Mr . Shepard, the church was again leftwithout a pastor and teacher ; nor do we know to whom the
minds of the people were directed, until the arrival in thiscountry, the following summer
,of the R ev . Charles Morton
,
whose celebrity for great and various acquisi tions drew towards
him at once the attention not merely of this town , but of the
community at large . T his gentleman was born at P endavy , in
the county of Cornwall,in the year H is father the
Rev . N icholas Morton,was minister of S t . Mary Overy s
,in
Southwark,where he died . T wo of h is brothers were also
clergymen . He descended from an ancient and honorable
family at Morton in N ottinghamshire , the seat of T homas Mor
ton,who w as secretary to king Edward III . in the fourteenth
century . A t the age of fourteen, he w as sent by h is grand
father to Wadham College in Oxford , where he appl ied himself
with great diligence to study, and became very zealous for the
rites and ceremonies of the Church of England, after the exam
ple of h is grandfather, who was a great royalist . When the
c ivil wars came on,however
,he observed th at the most virtuous
part of the nation were on the side of the parliament against
the king, and this is said to have led him to examine the con
troversy ; the consequence of which w as,that he sided with
the Puritans . IVh ile he w as fellow of the college , he greatlydist inguished himself by h is mathematical genius, as he did
indeed by h is general scholarship . A fter leaving college , he
settled in the ministry in Blisland, where h is father h ad se ttled
before him and from which he had been ejected for non-con
formity, and here he l ived comfortably for several years . From
this l iving, however, he was ejected by the act of Uniformityof 1662
,and afterwards l ived in a small house of h is own in
the parish of S t . Ives,where he preached to a few peopl e of a
neighboring village until the great fire of London . B y that
event he suffered great losses, and was compelled to remove to
London that he might take care of h is affairs . Here he was
prevailed upon to engage in the instruction of youth, for which
he was singularly fitted
,and which he prosecuted with distin
guish ed success for some years at N ewington G reen . He edu
cated some scores of ministers, and many of h is scholars attained
C alamy’s Non-Conformist’s Memor ial .
dist inc tion both in church and state . De Foe,the celebrated
author of Robinson Crusoe,w as one of h is pupils. H e is said
to have h ad a pecul iar tac t in winning youth to the l ove of
virtue and learning, both by h is pleasant conversation and a
familiar way he had of making difficul t subj ects intel ligible .
T h e design of Mr . Morton’s academy at N ewington G reen w as
to extend the privileges of a l iberal education to D issenters, who
were excluded from the national universities . H e carried h is
pupils n ot only through the l iterary and scientific studies pursued
at college , but also gave lectures to those who were preparingfor professional l ife . T wenty years of h is l ife were spent in
this useful and honorable empl oyment ; but during the whole
period he was subj ected to continual processes from the bish
ops’ courts, to which he was compelled at l ength to y ield, a nd
,
in consequence of the aspect of publ ic affairs in England , to
betake himself to this country . Among the motives that
induced him to remove to N ew England , w as the expectation
afforded him of presiding over Harvard College . But when he
arrived,the polit ical condit ion of the country was so changed
James II . having revoked the charter, dissolved the G eneralCourt
,and placed the colony under arbitrary rule— that i t was
inexpedient , if not impossible , to intrust the college to one so
obnoxious to the government as Mr . Morton . H is fitness forthe station , however, w as universally conceded ; the office ofvice-president w as created for him
,and he would
,n o doubt
,
have been elected president, had h is l ife been prolonged . He
w as fol lowed to this country by two or three young men , who
attended h is lectures on philosophy, which h e read at h is ow n
house and h is fame as an instructor w as beginn ing to draw to
h im several from th e college but this causing great uneasinessin the corporat ion , he was forced to decline teaching any
farther.
Of the w elcome reception w hich Mr . Morton received on h isarrival in this country , we have an account in the j ournal of
John D un ton,
l who h as left us a very l ively narration of what
he saw during a visi t he made to Boston in 1686,bringing with
him letters of introduction from various persons in England, and
among th e rest from Mr. Morton himself.
1 2 Mass. H ist . Co l l . l l . 1 15 .
102
word is now used in distinction from ordination , and is probablythe first instance in which this distinction w as recognised .
I t wil l be remembered that the R ev . John Wilson,and al l
the first Puritan ministers, who had received ordination in
England, were re-ordained with the imposit ion of hands afresh ,when they took upon them the charge of a particular church .
T h e design of this w as not to deny the val idity of the ir former
ordination,but to teach a principle of Congregational ism,
incor
porated into the Platform ,and there expressed in these words :
He that is clearly l oosed from h is offi ce-relat ion unto the
church whereof he w as a minister,cannot be looked at as an
officer,n or perform any act of office in any other church , unl ess
he be again orderly called unto office ; which when it shall be
we know nothing to hinder but imposition of hands ought to
be used towards him again .
” It was under the influence of
these sentiments that Mr . Cotton thought him self incompetent
to baptize h is infant son , born at sea, because there was no
church on ship-board, and as a minister he had no right to
administer the seals except in h is own church .
T his extreme and rigid Opinion w as now giving w ay , and
Mr . Morton,by the influence of h is character and example ,
contributed not a l ittle to bring i t into discredit . Indeed i t is
rather a feature of Independency , than Congregationalism .
Judge S ewall was present at the instal lat ion, and from h is
account 1 we learn that the new practice w as not pleasing to al l .
In the first place opportunity was offered to the church,and to
all,to offer obj ect ions if they had any, and then the vote of the
church w as taken . Mr . Morton preached from Rom . i . 16,
“ For I am not ashamed of the G ospel of Christ for i t is the
power of G od unto salvation,to every one that bel ieveth ; to
the Jew first,and also to the G reek .
” He alluded very pithilyt o the 5 th of N ovember
,the day of h is instal lation
,which
was the anniversary of T hanksgiving in England for their
del iverance from the G unpowder T reason he said that just the
contrary to what the Epistle to the Romans inculcated was
taught and pract iced at Rome . Mr. Mather gave him h is
charge , and“spoke in praise of the Congregational w ay, and
1 A nn. Q uart . R eg,
X l l l. 44 . In th is period ica l wi l l be found much valuable info rmat ionrespect ing our churc in a series of art ic les furn ish ed by Rev . S amue l S ewal l of Burl ington .
103
said, were he as Mr . Morton , he would have hands laid on him .
Mr . Moodey also in h is prayer alluded to the subj ect,and
intimated that that which would have been grateful to many(viz lay ing on of hands ) was omitted .
”
Mr. Morton was sixty years of age when he entered , in thismanner
,upon the duties of a pastor in this church— a period of
l ife much more advanced than any other of our ministers had
attained to at the time of settlement . During h is ministry of
nearly twelve years, fi fty-nine were admitted to full communion
with the church,and six hundred twenty-three bapt ized, two
hundr ed eighty-four males and three hundred thirty-nine
females.
Before concluding this discourse , I cannot refrain from makinga few observations upon the mutabil ity of human
,affairs.
Verily man walketh in a vain show ! In dwell ing upon the
events to which our attention h as been called,we have wit
nessed but a representat ion of the shifting scenes in which we
are ourselves actors ! We have been thinking over again the
thoughts of men long dead, we have been moving in the midst
of a generation of shadows,the magistrates and pastors and
peopl e of olden time have passed before us, we have beheld
them again agitated with the desires and h opes and fears of
l ife . It is an impressive thing to walk the earth in imagina
t ion,with forms that are dust now— whose voices and passions
have been left far behind us in the lapse of t ime— whose proj ects
and hopes are low beneath our feet, l ike autumn’s leaves ; for
the reflection cannot but recur with force to every mind, that
as they and theirs now are, so shal l we soon be ! H ow profi ta
ble the lessons of history ! Each tol l ing bel l, that marks the
passing away of l ife , utters the same lesson which t ime h as
been teaching s ince it first began to mete off man’s probation ;
vanity and change— the same allotments happen to all al ike !
With al l the variety of l ife— variety enough to interest and
exc ite each successive generation of men— the experience of
man is st il l the same . Upon this same theatre— for these houses
and lands— you contend, and then retire , and leave others to act
over the same scenes,and with a l ike result !
We have wept by the bier of the youthful Shepard, and have
looked with reverence upon the ancient men of that early gen
eration . So,too
,are the aged and the young among us ; and
104
among us the bl ighting of early promise , and the fall ing of
hopes that have opened to fade and drop . I have had occasi on
before,to allude to the few survivors of the Pilgrim generation .
A s we have seen a few leaves cl inging to a naked tree , and
sometimes the young and tender ones holding on til l mid-win
ter notw i thstanding frost and tempest ; so a few of that first
generat ion out-l ived the privations of their settlement in the
wilderness,and saw their children ’s children
,in an old age ful l
of years and honors . B y the kindness of the Rev . Mr . Sewall,
of Burl ington, I have been furnished with an extract from h is
ancestor ’s j ournal,which makes mention of the death and
fun eral of the rel ic t of Increase N owell,and a few others who
were probably among the last ofWinthrop’s companion s.
1687. March 22 . A considerable snow on the ground which
fel l last night . Mrs . Eliot,of Roxbury, dies. N ow about
,
G oodman Francis,an ancien t and good man indeed , of C am
bridge , dies. Friday, March 25 . Mrs . N owell,Samuel N owel l
Esq’s . mother dies . 28. Went to Mrs . Eliot ’s funeral,which
was a very great one ; no scarfs . 29. T o Mrs. N owell ’s,the
widow of Mr . Increase N owell,a Patentee . Mr. Danforth
,
Davie,Richards
,Russel l
,Cook
,Sewall
,bearers. N one else of
the old government were there but Mr . Secretary Rawson . I
helped to l ift the corpse into Mr. Shepard’s tomb
,and to place
it there,carry ing the head . Mr . N owell went not in . Eighty
four years old .
”
T hus have they passed away— the dead and they that buried
their dead H ow emphatically do the places that once knew
them— not only the plac es of their abode , but the places of their
sepulture— know them no more for ever. T h e memorials of
nearly al l the first settlers have been effaced by the action of
t ime,or destroyed by the desolating war,which , a century after,
laid the town in ashes,and left to the violence of soldiers the
hil l where the fathers were gathered together in the sleep of
the grave . You will search in vain,among the sunken and
incl ining stones of vour burying-hill , for the names so fami liar
to your early history ; not one of the names of t h e earlyrel igious teachers of the church , Symmes, Harvard, the elder
and younger Shepard , or the aged Morton , can n ow be found .
But they are not and never can be forgotten . T heir names
are now living freshly on the tablets of immortal hear ts.
L E C T U R E V I .
G E N E s xs x v i i . 7 , 8 .
A N D I W I LL EST A B L I SH MY CO VEN A N T BET WEEN ME A N D T H EE, A N D T H Y S EED A FT ERT HEE 1 N T HE I R GEN ER A T I O N S
,F O R A N EVER LA S T I N G CO VEN A N T , T o B E A G O D U N T O
T HEE A N D T o T H Y SEED A FT ER T HEE . A N D 1 W i L L G I VE U N T O T HEE A N D T o T H Y
SEED A FT ER T HEE,T H E L A N D W HER E I N T H ou A R T A ST R A N GE R ,
A L L T H E L A N D
O E CA N A A N,F O R A N EVER L A S T TN G P O S S ES S TO N ; A N D I W I L L B E T HE I R G O D .
A MON G al l the ministers of this church , no man enjoyed a
higher reputation for talents and learning with h is cotemporaries
than Mr . Morton . T h e circumstances of h is arrival in this
country, the welcome he received, together with h is previous
reputat ion ,afford evidence of this ; but ampler proof may be
derived from the writings he h as left us, both publ ished and
unpubl ished . It was Mr. Morton ’s practice to prepare essays
and tracts on various l iterary and scientific subj ects, and place
them in the hands of h is students to be C opied by them . One
of these h as been publ ished by Mr. C alamy . It was a paper
drawn up under the reign of king Charles II . and bears the title
of “ A dvice to Candidates for the Ministry under the present
discouraging circumstances .
” I shal l take the l iberty of pre
senting a few extracts from this essay, not only for their intrinsic
value,but for the l ight they will cast upon the author
’s views
of the ministerial office,and h is own character as a minister .
Presuming you will accept of advice from one you know
loves and wishes you well , and whose comforts are much
bound up in your well-doing— having observed some desid
eranda in divers who are entering into th e sacred work— I
thought i t my duty to deal plainly and faithful ly with you in a
few suitable and seasonable admonitions to you.
“ T his premised,my counsel in short is
107
1 . T hat in al l study and preaching, you chiefly mind JesusChrist . Remember you design the ministry of the gospel ;and the gospel is the doctrine of the S aviour
,and the tender
of salvation by the Mediator. T hink much of that passage of
Luther Omnes mew meditationes th eologicae in Christo
fluun t refluun tque .
’
(A l l my reflections upon theology lead meand bring me back to Christ . ) Is i t a sin you think of or men
tion ! remember i t st il l as a piercer, a persecutor, a crucifi er ofChrist . So look on i t and Him together, as may cause you to
mourn over both . Is i t a duty ! remember always whence
strength comes to perform it : Lex jubet ; Evangel ium juvat .
(Law commands ; G ospel assists. ) For without H im you can
do nothing ; no, not so much as think a good thought . Is i t a
threat ! let it be a spurr or a promise ! let i t be a lure ; both
inciting in their proper w ay to come unto Christ the former asthe rod of the law
,a schoolmaster ; the latter as a branch of
the covenant of grace , which in Christ alone is yea and amen .
Do you offer prayer or praise unto G od ! not only remember the
formal and customary close , (through Jesus Christ our Lord, )
but in every branch , let the hand of faith , with holy and hum
ble affection,tender and del iver it into the Mediator ’s hand
,that
it may be acceptable in the beloved . T hus you shall avoid the
unsavory way of moral philosophy lecturers, instead of gospel
preaching, more fit for the rostra or theatre of heathens, than
the pulpit or assembly of Christ ians ; and better comply with
the exemplary resolution of the apostle , who determined. to‘know nothing but Jesus Christ, and him crucified .
’
“ 2. T hat you often call to mind the end of preaching, which
is to teach what men should,not to show what you can do .
Direct your speech, not as if you intended to beat the air over
men ’s heads,but as desrgnmg to teach and touch the tenderest
part of their hearts. What we speak to G od, must be aimed at
h is heart ; and what from him to man , should be aimed at
theirs. T h e church is Christ ’s school . Every member is a
disciple or scholar . A minister is a teacher sent from G od . He
should, therefore , personate at least a tutor, if not a parent.
N ow a father or tutor does not make orat ion s or speeches to h is
children or scholars,but in a familiar way (h umane more ) he
inculcates h is instructions so as he judges will make the best
impression .
108
A s for probationership, and the opinions of men concerning
you, you neither need nor ought to be farther concerned than
with relation to the fru it of your labors, and the end of preach
ing. T hink often that your preparations are designed to serve
and please the great G od. What is it then,whether they are
pleasing or no,to this learned
,that curious
,or the other great
man In a word,le t the words of vain cri tics pass unregarded.
Only labor sincerely to approve yourselves to G od, and youwill
be also approved in good men’s consciences .
“ 3 . In connection with and reference to the last advice, I
counsel you to use notes, not proudly and foolishly, but humblyand wisely .
T h e proud use of notes is,when men of an affected curiosity,to scratch itching ears, are nice to note down all to a word or
t ittle,lest (forsooth ) the starched oration should be rufl
‘
led by a
rough expression . When these exact notes are prepared, then
they are either conned by heart, and recited l ike a school-boy’s
lesson,or read verbatim as a child does h is horn-book .
On the other hand,an humble
, prudent use of notes is, when
men out of a sense of their infirmity, have them ready as an
help, not presuming on their extempore faculty, nor despisingsuch a method
,or succinctness of discourse
,as may be best
understood and retained by the auditors . When things pru
den tly (not words curiously ) are so disposed of,as that when a
man is to del iver a certain sentence or parag raph of truth,he
may have the whole freedom of h is mind to express i t with its
proper affect ion , W ithout fear of losing the next consequent, or
an impertinent fil l ing up some interstitial t ime with an il l
favored heap of superfluous words, til l the mind can recover
i tself to think what should be next . T hose that will never
use notes often need them . Such are (in my thoughts ) l ike aman that holds a bundle of arrows in h is bow -hand ; the stead
iness and strength of whose draught is thereby hindered ;whereas
,the others are as one that disposeth of them in order
in h is quiver, and out of h is way, who , when he hath with ful l
strength drawn one shaft to the very head, and sent it to the
heart,can handsomely come at another
,and make use of i t
without interruption . I said before,things and not words . N ot
that I advise an utter neglect of proper and significant expres
sions but th e greatest care should be had of the matter and
1 10
without deacons,a meeting was held, and “ there were nomina
ted Mr . Joseph Kettle, Mr . John Call, and Mr . Samuel Kettle,”
of whom the two fi rst-mentioned were in the fol lowin g A pril
ordained in accordance with ancient usage .
A t the same time , the church also voted,“ that they thought
it needful to cal l one to be an assistant in the work of the min
istry, in order to offi ce i n this church ; and for that purpose a
church meeting was appointed on the 23 d of the month,at nine
o ’clock in the morning, when they“
proceeded and nominated
and chose Mr . Ebenezer Pemberton .
T his gentleman w as born in Boston,in 1672, and graduated
at H arvard College , 169 1 . A t the time of receiving the cal l of
this church, he was very young, and h ad j ust completed h is
preparatory studies . He decl in ed the cal l of the church , per
haps for the reason mentioned, and preferred a longer residence
at the college , to which he returned in the capacity of a tutor .
T h e peopl e, however, remembered him with interest, and made
a second attempt to secure h is services,as we learn from the
fol lowing memorandum written by Mr . Morton .
“ S ince mylast great sickness for about a year, the deacons provided tran
sient help to preach one part of the day . My weakness bein gmore than ordinary manifest this last winter, sometime in
January, divers, both of the church and town,came together
unto me,and asked if I were will ing to have a settled helper !
I answered in the affirmative . T hen they asked me what
method in order thereunto I would advise them,in which they
should proceed ! I answered, first ask counsel of G od,and
then of wise men .
“ A ccordingly ,” he writes
,
“ on this day , F ebruary 1 1 , 1697,we had a publ ic fast ; Mr . Willard and myself preaching, and
other ministers assisting in prayer . A fter this,a committee
,
const ituted bo th of the church and inhabitants,were chosen to
act herein , who made this return to the whole congregation .
”
T hen follows the report , which states that the major part of the
ministers of Boston advised to the choice of Mr . Pemberton,
and concludes with a recommendation,
“ that the inhabitantsdo convene on the next Friday come fortnight , at n ine of the
clock in the forenoon,being the 12th day of March next
,in
order to a free choice in that affair .
Before this meeting took place , however, the church met at
1 1 1
Mr. Morton ’s house , February 22d, and passed the followingvote : “ T hat, whereas, they did formerly in the year 1694,N ovember 23 , vote, and n ominated Mr . Ebenezer Pemberton tobe an assistant to Mr . Charles Morton , as a settled help in the
work of the ministry ; and we are so well satisfied in what
they have done herein, as to come to a free and general vote
with the inhabitants,at the time appointed by the committee,
in order to a settled help to the Rev . Mr . Charles Morton in the
work of the ministry among us.
A t the general town meeting (March 12 ) Mr. S imon Bradstreet was chosen assistant pastor, and a call extended to h imaccordingly. Whether the church contemplated such a resul t
or not,we do not know . A t their previous meeting they re
newed their call to Mr. Pemberton,and probably expected the
ratification of i t by th e town. B ut I can discover no evidence
of a disagreement between the church and the town , but on the
contrary, an unusual degree of unanimity . When Mr . Bradstreet
was elected,it seems to have taken place by general consent,
probably because it was ascertained that Mr . Pemberton would
not accept . However this may be, i t certainly does not appear
that the church designed to relinquish their undoubted right to
proceed first in the choice of a minister . T hey did make the first
move,and at their meeting on the 22d of February, although
for some reason they did not elect Mr. Bradstreet, they yet
expressed themselves so well“satisfied as to come to a free and
general vote with the inhabitants,” in the choice of a minister .
T his declaration was read to the inhabitants at the town meet
ing on the 12th of March,and it would seem that the church
supposed they had virtually, if n ot formally, made choice of
Mr. Bradstreet before he was chosen by the town .
But the method of procedure was deemed irregular and of
dangerous tendency by some in the vicinity . Under date of
the 9 th of May , 1697, we find the following record, the last
entry made by the trembl ing hand of the venerable Morton .
T h e church stepped— they voted th at the committee should
bring in their an swer to the three churches’ letters on the next
Lord ’s day . A nd at the same time,May 9, voted and declared
that they as a church of Christ,did vote Mr . S imon Bradstreet
to be a constant helper to me (their aged pastor ) in the work of
the ministry.
”
1 12
T his refers to a letter of admonition sent by the N orth church
in Boston to this church , for“ betraying the l iberties of the
churches in their late putt ing into the hands of the whole
inhabitants the choice of a minister .” T h e reply of this church
to the charge h as not been preserved, and we cannot therefore
know with certainty the merits of the controversy . But from
the facts with which we are acquainted, i t would seem that the
accusation arose from a misunderstanding, or the faul t from
inadvertence and that laxness wh i ch results from entire unan
imity.
T h e cal l of the church and town , however, as thus made out
to Mr . Bradstreet,was for some reason declined, and he was not
settled til l after the death of Mr. Morton .
1
Mr . Morton l ived about a year after the transaction narrated
above, probably in a very feeble state of health . Under th e
date of June 1,1697, Judge S ewall mentions h is attending
the funeral of Mr . T homas G raves,on which occasion he
says :“ Mr . Morton is very short breath ’d— sat upon a tomb
in the burying-place , and said for ought he knew he should be
next .” A nd in the month of February fol lowing, he speaks
repeatedly of riding over the ice to Charlestown to visit Mr.Morton . On the 8th of A pril he visited h im ; a nd, as i t is the
last interview with th e dying pastor of which we have any
accoun t,I wil l quote it .
I was told he was asleep ; but went in , and when I drew
n igh h is bedside , he earnestly stretched out h is flaming hand to
me,and strove to speak , but could not. I think the first I
heard h im say was,
‘I sir .
’ I asked him how he did in such
long il lness. He at firs t said,T hat which can ’t be cured
,must
be endured .
’ B ut seemed presently after to correct himself, a nd
say,‘I desire patiently to submit to the hand of G od.
’ A while
after,I said
, you cannot speak to me , but you can speak to G od,which is a thousand times better . I pray that G od would help
you to Speak to him ,and that he would graciously hear you
when you do speak . He seemed to l ie st il l in a l istening pos
ture,and made a l it tle pause and said
,
‘Excellent things ! if I
could receive them and l ive up to them !’ Before this
,he said
something about h is man T i ler, that he heard he was become a
Note 3 9.
1 14
h is l ife became so h ypocondriacal , that he was afraid to preach
in the pulpit, from an impression that he should die there .
In consequence of this,he del ivered h is sermons in the dea
cons’ seat ; they were general ly extempore , and pervaded with
the melancholy which attac hed so morbidly to h is own mind .
H is style of preaching was rather practical than doctrinal— forth e most part upon the state of man and the vani ty of the
world ; and this, together with h is fondness for T il lotson’s
sermons,exposed him to the charge of A rminianism . He sel
dom if ever appeared with a coat, but always wore a plaid
gown, and was commonly seen with a pipe in h is mouth . But
i t was [principal ly for h is classical attainments that Mr . Brad
street was distinguished ; and in il lustration of this,an ance
dote is told of him,that when introduced to G overnor Burnet
,
who was himself a fine scholar,it was said of him by Lieu
tenant G overnor T aylor, who introduced him ,“ Here is a man
who can lw h istle G reek .
” 1
F or about fifteen years, Mr . Bradstreet performed the duties of
h is office alone . In the month of June , 1712, a committee wasappoin ted by the town to confer with him respecting the selec
tion of a colleague . T h e church acceded to the desire of the
town,and both concurred in the appointment of a day of fast
ing and prayer for the blessing of G od in such a weighty and
important undertaking. A fter this,the church nomin ated
Rev . Messrs. Joseph Stevens, John Webb, and John T ufts ;and from these three the town proceeded to ballot, and chose
Mr. S tevens. Having accepted the invitation, he was ordained
October 13,1713 . T h e sacred charge w as given him by the
Rev . Dr . Increase Mather, and the right hand of fellowship byh is son Dr . Cotton Mather . Mr . Stevens preached h is own
ordination sermon,taking for h is text Daniel xii . 3 : A nd they
that be wise shal l shine as the brightness of the fi rmamen t ;
and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars for ever
and ever .”
Judge Sewall , who was present, says that“ Dr . Cotton
Mather made a n august speech , shewing that the Congrega
Judge Russel l of th is place, wh o d ied 1798, at th e age of 83,was present, a young lad,
and w i tnessed th e introduct ion . 1 Mass. H . S . Co l l . V 111 . 75 .
1 15
t ional churches declared early against Independency, that all
the reformation of the continent of Europe ordained as N ew
England did ; shewed that their ordination had no other
foundation . Declared what was expected of the ordained person
, what of the church , and then gave the right hand offellowship.
1 T h e three last staves of the thirty-second Psalmsung. Captain Phips set the tune , and read
]
it . ’
A n ordination occasion was formerly one of general publ ic
interest,and was celebrated with considerable expen se . F ifty
pounds were raised to defray the charges of the ordination of
Mr. S tevens, an amount equal to half a year’s salary .
Mr. Stevens was a son of Deacon John Stevens,of the F irst
or N orth church of A ndover,where he was born 20th of June,
1682. He graduated at H arvard College , 1703 , of which h ebecame a tutor and fel low . He preached h is first sermon at
Marblehead,September 16, 1705 , on Matt . xvi . 26, at the age of
twenty-three .“ For what is a man profited, if he shal l gain
the whole world and lose h is own soul ! or what shall a man
give in exchange for h is soul ! ” Mr . S tevens,l ike the elder
Shepard, was cut off in early manhood, and by the same dis
ease ; but he h as left behind h im an unspotted an d enviable
name . He was dist inguished for h is fervor and eloquence as a
preacher ; and the various excellencies of h is character won
the affections of h is people in a remarkable degree .
T h e next event of importance, after the ordination of Mr.
S tevens,was the erection of a new meeting-house, in 1716 .
It will be remembered that the G overnment House , or“ G reat
House,
”as i t was called
,w as purchased by the town , in 163 3 ,
and was the first edifice occupied for publ ic worship . In two
or three years, however, this was sold,and a meeting-house
built further up town , between the town and the n eck but
this arrangement w as only a temporary one . In 163 9,the house
w as sold for one hundred pounds, and a new meeting-house
buil t on the south side of the town hil l . T his house , havingbeen frequently repaired and enlarged, remained till 17 16, about
seventy-fi ve years . On th e 2 1st of June , 17 15 , it was voted bythe town
,unanimously , to build a new meeting-house , to stand
1 O ct . 13,17 13 . I made th e prayer before th e sermon
,and [ gave th e fe l lowsh i p of th e
ch urch es in a large Speech , wh ere in I enjoyed th e swnal ass istance of G od.
”— C otton
Math er’
s MS . j ourna l in th e li brary of th e A ntiq. S ea ,owes/er .
as near the old one as can be,with such additions of la nd as
shall be needful for i t .” T h e building committee were then
chosen,and consisted of the following persons :
“ Col . John
Phill ips, Col . Joseph Lynde, Capt . N athaniel Carey, Capt . Sam
uel Phipps, Capt . Charles Chambers, Capt . Jonathan Dows,
Capt . Michael G il l , D oct . T homas G reaves,Capt . Samuel Froth
ingham ,Mr. Daniel Russell
,and Mr . N athaniel F rothingham .
T h e house w as raised June 20th,1716 . Judge Sewall tells
us in h is MS . j ournal,that he went over to Charlestown on the
morning of this day, and“ drove a pin in Charlestown meeting
house,in the corner post next Mr. Bradstreet
’s,and sat in the
nearest shop and saw them raise the th ird post towards the
ferry from the corner post .” It was Opened for the publ ic wor
ship of G od,for the first t ime, A ugust 5 , 1716 . T h e first
lecture 1 in the new meeting-house, w as preached on th e 2 l st of
September, by Mr . S tevens, from Psalm lxxxiv . 4 : “ Blessed
are they that dwell in th y house .
“ He made,
”says Judge
S ewall,“ a very good discourse , worthy to be printed .
” On
the 20th of May, 1717, the committee chosen to build the
meeting-house , reported that,“
,by the blessing of G od,
” theyhad comple ted the work . T h e cost was 3 3 . 10d.
T h e sum received from the contributors, amounted to
T his meeting-house was in the square , as is wel l known,and
is stil l remembered by some among us. I t stood til l the day of
the battle of Bunker Hill,June 17
,1775
,and then “
our holy,and our beautiful house
,where our fathers praised thee, O
Lord,was burned up with fire
,and al l our pleasant things were
laid waste .
”
Mr. S teven s ’s l ife was a short one but of h is ministry and
personal character, there remain to us some interesting memo
rials of which I shal l make mention in the next Lecture .
Of Mr . Bradstreet I have been able to obtain l ittle,beyond
the few particulars al ready given . B y the kindness, how
ever,of a descendant of h is
,I have been put in possession
of a manuscript volume , belonging to the family, and handed
down to th e late Miss Catharine Bradstree t of this town . It
consists of the composit ions ofMrs . A nne Bradstree t,the daugh
ter of G overnor Dudley, and wife of G overnor Bradstreet, who
1 N ote 41.
1 18
3 . Youth is the t ime of getting, middl e age of improving,and old age of spending. A negl igent youth is usually attended
by an ignorant middle age, and both by an empty old age . He
that hath nothing to feed on but vanity and l ies, must needs l ie
down in the bed of sorrow .
“ 4 . A ship that bears much sail,and l ittle or no ballast, is
easily overset ; and that man whose head hath great abil it ies,and h is heart l ittle or no grace , is in danger of foundering.
5 . It is reported of the peacock , that, priding himself in h is
gay feathers, he rudies them up ; but , spying h is black feet, he
soon lets fal l h is plumes. So he that glories in h is gifts and
adorn ings should look upon h is corruptions, and that will damph is high thoughts.
“ 6 . T h e finest bread hath the least bran, the purest honeythe least wax, and the sincerest Christ ian the least self-love .
“ 7. T h e hirel ing that labors all the day, comforts himself
that when nigh t comes he shall both take h is rest and receive
h is reward . T h e painful Christian, that hath wrought hard in
G od ’s vineyard, and hath borne the heat and drought of the
day, when he perceives h is sun apace to decl ine , and the shad
ow s of h is evening to be stretched out,l ifts up h is head with
joy, knowing h is refreshing is at hand .
“ 8. Downy beds make drowsy persons, but hard lodgingkeeps the eyes open . A prosperous state makes a secure
Christ ian,but adversity makes him consider .
”
T hese meditation s are not selected,but the first eight in
order. T h e last,the seventy-seventh , is as follows
“ 77. G od hath by h is providence so ordered that no one
country hath al l commodities within itself,but what it wants
,
another shal l supply, that so there may be a mutual commerce
through the world . A s it is wi th countries,so i t is with men
there was never yet any one man that h ad all excellencies,l et
h is parts natural and acquired, spiritual and moral , be never so
large , yet he stands in need of something which another man
hath, perhaps meaner th an himself, which shows us perfect ion
is not below,as also that G od will have us beholden one to
another .”
T h e volume I am describing contains also,in the hand
wri ting ef her son,another production of Mrs . Bradstreet ’s
,
entit l ed,
1 19
“ A true copy of a book left by my honored and dear mother
to her children , and found among some papers after her death .
”
T h e manuscript begins thus
“T o MY DEA R C H ILDR EN .
T h is book , by any yet un read,
I l eave for you wh en I am dead ;
T h at, be ing gone , h ere you may fi nd
W h at was your lov i ng moth er’s m ind.
Make use of wh at I leave in love ,A nd G od sh al l b l ess you from above . A . B .
My dear C h i ldren ,— I knowing by experience that the
exhortations of parents take most effect when the speakersl eave to speak , and those especial ly sink deepest which are
spoke latest ; and being ignoran t whether on my death-bed I
shal l have Opportunity to speak to any one of you, much less to
al l thought it the best,whilst I was able,to compose some short
matters (for what else to cal l them I know not ) and bequeathto you, that when I am no more with you, yet I may be dai lyin your remembrance (although that is the least in my aim,
in
what I now do ) but that youmay gain some spiri tual advantage
by my experience . I have not studied in this you read to show
my skil l , but to declare the truth not to set forth myself, but
the gl ory of G od. If I had minded the former,i t had been
perhaps better pleasing to you ; but seeing the last is the best,let it be best pleasing to you.
”
She then proceeds to give an account of “ G od ’s deal ingwith her from her childhood to that day the influences
under which her rel igious character was trained the affl ict ions
through which sh e had been carried by trust in G od . T here
are interwoven with this personal narrative , quite a num ber of
original hymns and poems, which are imbued with the same
deeply rel igious spirit as her prose composit ions .
I cannot look upon this rel ic of the p iety and parental faith
fulness of a byg one age,without pecul iar interest and emotion .
T h e sol ic itude which this Puritan mother exhibits for the eter
nal welfare of her children in the lines sh e penned an d left for
them to read “ when sh e was dead,
” appeals to the tenderest
sensibil ities of the heart . A l though her poetry wil l not com
120
pare with that of many female writers of the present day ; yet
t h e mother and the Christian spoke in every l ine sh e wrote
a meed of praise to which but few of the daughters of songcan lay claim . T hat woman deserves more of posterity, and
h as a better title to immortality, who, l ike Mrs. Bradstreet,
by her wisdom and p ie ty h as bequeathed a sanctifying influ
ence to generation after generation of her descendan ts,than
sh e,who
,Sappho-l ike , h as caught the in spiration of gen ius,
and poured forth the sweetest strains of poesy.
When Mrs . Bradstreet came to this country, al though it wasfrom the bosom of cultivated society to a wilderness, sh e did it
without repining ; for sh e w as sustained by a lofty faith , and
a Christ ian mother ’s heart,desiring for her children a crown
of l ife, rather than earthly distinctions. But her maternal faith
ful ness was no more marked than the blessin g with which
G od followed her exertions, and sealed h is fidelity to that
covenant in which he engages to be the G od of the believer
and of h is children after him . Her son,who bore her h us
band ’s name,and to whom sh e dedicated her “ Meditat ions
,
”
spent h is days in the ministry at N ew London ; and h is son
was the pastor of this church for forty . years. T h e fourth
who bore the name of S imon Bradstreet, (the son of the last
named, ) was a baptized child of this church, and spent h is l ife
in the ministry at Marblehead . T h e reverence he was taught
to feel for h is pious ancestor is test ified by this book , for he
translated her letter of dedication to h is grandfather into Latin ,and also began the translation of the meditations.
A nna Bradstreet , her children, and children’s children
,to
the third and fourth generations, n ew sleep in death ; but her
influence l ives,— how widely G od only knows, how happi ly
e ternity only will reveal . Christian mothers ! your influence
must also l ive to mould the character and destiny of your posterity. May G od give you grace that when you and your
children appear in h is presence, i t may be to rej o ice together
in the fruits of parental faithfulness !
122
the following month . So that of a family which , on the l 6th of
N ovember,numbered a father
,moth er
,daughter, and two sons,
on the 8th of the fol lowing month only one remained, an infantson of seven months . T his member of the family, however,was spared , and hav ing completed h is education, entered the
ministry, and was settled at K ittery, in Maine , where he distin
guish ed himself as a preacher, and became extensively known
as the Rev . Dr . Benjamin S tevens. H is daughter married the
late Dr . Buckminster of Portsmouth,and became the mother of
the Rev . Joseph S tevens Buckminster, late pastor of Brattle
street church,Boston .
T h e sudden and ‘
affi ictive c ircumstances attending the death
ofMr . Stevens,appear to have produced a deep sensation . H e
was at this time preaching a series of discourses on Hebrews
xi . 16 : “ But now they desire a better country, that is, an
heavenly. T h e subj ect of h is first discourse was,
“ T hat
there is another world after this,even an heavenly.
” On the
5 th of N ovember,he preached the second of this series, which
was th e last he ever del ivered,in which
,with great elevation
of thought and feel ing, he endeavored to Show “ that the
heavenly world is a better world than this.
” In the two next
discourses,i t was h is purpose to show that we should chiefly
desi re this better country, and that all true bel ievers do so ; but
before the middle of the week,he was seized with the pest i
lence,and died on T hursday of the week following, but n ot
alone,for on Saturday evening h is only daughter, and h is
sister,were borne with him and laid in the same tomb. A
most affecting il lustration of the instabi l ity of al l human plans !
Before he had finished a short course of four sermons on the
heavenly country, he w as cal led to enter it,a nd experience the
j oys he w as designing to portray for the benefit of h is people .
A nd such w as the interest with which these discourses were
l isten ed to , and so cherished h is memory , that , at the request of
many of the flock,they were published , under the superintend
ence of the Rev . Dr . Colman,minister of the Brattle-street
church,B oston , w h o prefaced them with some account of their
author .From this source
,we learn that Mr . S teven s was possessed
of great personal beauty, and no l ess dist inguished for the bril
l iant qual ities of h is mind. H is countena nce was grave and
123
florid,of a sweet expression , and ful l of l ife a nd vigor . He
excelled in conversation,and the modesty of h is deportment,
gave a singular grace to a n air of superiority and dignity that
was natural to him . In the del ivery of h is sermons, he was
distinguished for h is animation ; h is eyes as well as h is tongue
were wont to speak with such majesty as well as solemnity,as commanded the ears and hearts of h is audience . Indeed
,
h is natural accomplishments were such , that while they formed
a distinguished divine , they might have qual ified him equallyas a judge or commander, had Providence cal led him to the
bench or the field .
“ T h e first t ime I saw Mr . S tevens, says Dr . C olman,
“ he
gained my esteem . It w as as he stood for h is first degree,when he so dist inguished himself in the exercise for the day,that I sought out h is chamber to encourage h im in h is studies,and congratulated h is father upon the favor of G od to him in so
promising a son . Others also, better judges than I , spake of
him that day with great esteem and applause nor did he failthe expectations he had raised in us. Being formed by the
Father of spirits for thinking, and loving h is studies,he soon
became eminent for h is years in acquired learning, and was
chosen a tutor in the college whereof he w as an ornament .From the college he was called into the pastoral office at Charlestown ; and a precious gift of Christ he was to them
,to whom
I need not say how he was among them , laboring in the word
and doctrine,and ministering to their souls. He was eloquent
and fervent in the pulpit, solemn in pray ing and preaching,cheerful and grave in h is common conversation ,wise in h is con .
duct, gentle as a father, and naturally caring for the flock
,
endearing and endeared more especially he w as an example of
profound respect to the senior pastor, the Rev . Mr . Bradstreet,
who,through the favor of G od
,stil l continues with us
,and is
every w ay the fittest person to have prefaced these sermons,
and most able to have spoken of h is dear deceased colleague ,who was with him as a son with a father in the work of the
ministry . In short,he w as a pastor deservedly beloved and
desired by h is peopl e . I might j ustly repeat here much of th e
character that was given some years ago, upon the death of the
Rev . Mr. Brattle and Mr. Pemberton , the beauties of whose
souls seemed to survive in Mr. S tevens ; the meekness of the
124
one, and the fervor of the other. How bright this shade ! H e
was early chose a fellow of the corporation , and of a dutifuland affectionate son
,he became a careful and tender father
,and
a very faithful servant of the col lege, of the rights and interestswhereof he was a wise an d rel igious j udge . When I remem
ber the sp irit and force with which he conversed and taught
among us, methinks he yet seemed meant for many a year to
come,and that h is children ’s children might have known h is
aged face , and been taught by him ; but the burning and
shining l ight was lent us for a few days to rej oice in and who
shal l say unto Him that formed and gave him ,w h y is he so
soon taken away ! T o himself it seemed not too soon or
sudden, being h elped by G od to meet h is death with a most
happy composure, calmness, constancy, serenity an d peace ;committing himself to G od with becoming devotion , namingand taking l eave of h is friends with devout affection , prayin gfor the flock
,and blessing h is family with h is dying breath .
But the sovereignty of G od is unsearchable in the great and
wide breaches on h is family himself,h is wife and two child
ren dying of the small—pox within a few weeks, and only one
singl e branch left, h is Benjamin whose blessin g let be (by thewill of G od ) according to h is name :
‘Beloved of the L ord,
and dwell ing in h is temple and covered by h is sanctuary.
Deut . xxxii i .
I have also been put in possession of a manuscript volume,originally owned by Mr . S tevens
,in which he h as written a
sermon,and various memoranda of a l iterary and personal char
acter . 1 T h e sermon was preached by him ,on the 23d of
A ugust, 1707, and is, therefore , one of h is earl iest discourses.
I t is founded upon Luke xiii . 2, 3“ A nd Jesus answering, said
unto them,Suppose ye that these G al ileans were sinners above
al l the G al ileans because they suffered such things ! I tel l you
nay but except ye repent ye shall al l l ikewise perish .
” It isa very serious and pungent disceuse
,teaching
“ that the
sharpest miseries, or saddest periods of this l ife are no demon
strat ive arguments to conclude the greatest sinners and “ that
al l those who do not unfeignedly repent of their sins will
certainly perish .
” A nd having discussed these points at con
N ote 42 .
126
general , became less significant than formerly. T h e members
of the church were,in n ot a few instances, confessedly igne
rant of experimental rel igion . A similar degree of laxity in
admitting candidates to the ministry, had produced similar re
sul ts,and the character of the clergy corresponded, as i t always
will,with that of the churches.
T his unhappy decline was caused in the first instance, per
haps, by the conn ection of our churches with the state . I t is
to be remembered that at the t ime our country was settled,the
independence of church and state was a thing entirely unknown
throughout Christendom ; nor was i t supposed possible that
e ither could exist without the assistance of the other. Our
Puritan fathers, in the establ ishment of their c ivil and eccle
siastical institutions,went further than any before them had
ever gone in rendering the church independent of the state ; but
stil l there w as a real union between the two . N o man could
vote or hold an offi ce unless he were a member of the church .
T his principle , al though in al l its modifications i t is unjust and
hurtful,would have been accompanied with less inconvenience
in practice , had the terms of communion been in this country,what they were in England, a good moral character, or rather
exempt ion from scandalous vices. But when it came to beappl ied in connection with the very strictest terms of communion— distinct and satisfactory evidence of regeneration— a
condition of membership which was regarded by the fathersas essential to the l ife of our churches ; i t became of all princi
ples the most preposterous and pernicious. F or as a matterof course
,when church-membership was a condition of the
right of suffrage, i t became an obj ect of worldly ambit ion , as
much as any thing else which might be necessary to obtain
the rights of a freeman . A t first,the number of those who
were outside of the pale of the church w as comparativelysmall but very soon
,by the rapid increase of population, and
by continual immigrat ions from England, not only the number ,but the proportion of the disfranchised was increased
,and
thousands began to clamor for their rights. It required but
l i ttle acquaintance with human nature to foresee,that
,as a con
sequence of this il l-advised law,the constitution of the churches
would be trampled under foot, and the stric t terms of com
127
munion, establ ished by the fathers, be reduced so as to extend
the right of suffrag e to the multitudes who desired and deservedit. T his result was at length effected , not indeed by the
aggrieved, but by those who introduced the half-way-covenant ,a covenant which went hal f way to ful l communion , far enough
to give those who embraced it the right of church-member
ship, and the privilege of baptism for their households, but not
far enough to entitle them to par take of the Lord’s supper . I t
required that those who entered into it, should renew their
bapt ismal vows, and subj ect themselves and their families tothe watch and discipl ine of the church . Had the theory of
that covenant been carried out, i t might have been the source
of al l the good anticipated ; but probably it was the vice of the
system that it could not be carried out faithfully . It was
looked upon by many as a form,devised to procure a respecta
ble standing in the community and it was practiced as a form,
with no intention to discharge the duties, or submit to the dis
c ipl ine it impl ied . In this way i t happened that the discipl ine
of the churches was neglected ; indeed, so num erous had the
children of the covenant become,that it became well nigh im
possible to exerc ise a faithful discipl ine , inasmuch as almost the
whole community were members of the church by baptism .
In addition to these causes,i t became
,about the beginning
of the eighteenth century, the prevail ing op inion that the sacra
ment of the Lord ’s supper was a converting ordinance , and con
sequently that all who were seriously disposed to use the means
of grace, were to be invited to it . T his of course put an end
to discipl ine , and soon destroyed the distinctive character of the
churches. It was also disseminating a new theology, which
taught that man’s duty was to attend upon the means of grace ,
in hope that G od would, at some future time , see fit to bestow
renewing grace . T his w as the seminal principle of A rminian
ism,as dist inguished from Calvinism . T h e fi rst-mentioned
system did not deny any of the cardinal doctrines of the Scriptures
,but was chiefly to be distinguished from the last by its
practical sp irit . T h e A rminian,while he admitted the doc
trines of the G ospel , would speak rather of its precepts ; while
he bel ieved in the necessity of regenerat ion by the Spirit of
G od,and the doctrine of justification by faith alone , he would
exhort sinners to the faithful performance ofmoral duties, trust
128
ing in G od that he would secretly perform h is work in the
heart . Such was the state of things the fi rst quar ter of the
eighteenth century . A rminianism was not publ icly avowed,for i t was general ly the people
’s abhorrence but it was secretly
cherished, and it was gradually gaining strength in conse
quence of the lax practices of the church . In a word, i t was
the beginning of an apostasy from the principles of the fathers,which h as issued in the present century in a division of th e
Congregational churches into two denominations.
In the book of admissions to the church, we find the years
1728 and 1741 , dist inguished for the number received into our
communion . T h e first mentioned,was the year after the great
earthquake,which took place October 29, 1727, and shook the
whole country north of the Delaware river. It was on the
night of the Sabbath, a calm and serene evening.
“ A bout
forty minutes past ten o’clock
,
”says Mr. Prince, pastor of
the Old S outh church,
“ was heard a loud,hol low noise,
l ike the roaring of a great chimney on fire,but inconceivably
more fierce and terrible . In about a half a minute,the earth
began to heave and tremble . T h e shock increas ing, rose to the
height in about a minute more ; when the movables, doors,windows
,walls
,especially in the upper chambers, made a very
fearful c lattering, and the houses rocked and crackled, as if
they were all dissolving and fall ing to piec es. T h e people
asleep were awakened with the greatest astonishment ; manyo thers affrighted, ran into the stree ts. But the shaking quicklyabated
,and in another half minute
,entirely ceased .
” l T h e
next morning a large assembly convened in the N orth church ,Boston
,for rel igious services and in the evening, the F irst an d
S outh churches were crowded with attentive auditories. T h e
ministers availed themselves of this opportunity, and preached
the gospel with renewed faithfulness to an awakened people .A nd as a consequence of these efforts, and by the blessing of
G od, large numbers were added to the several churches in
Boston , and upwards of seventy to the communion of our ownchurch during a period of six months. In the year 173 5 , a
remarkable attention to religion took pl ace in N orthampton ,under the ministry of th e Rev . Jonathan Edwards. T his may
W isner’s Hist. O . S . C h h . p . 25 . S ee a lso Note 44 .
13 0
of people, as soon as they landed . A nd one of our worthy
gentlemen expressing h is wonder at the remarkabl e change ,informed me
,that whereas he used with others on Saturday
evenings to visit the taverns, in order to clear them of town
inhabi tants,they were wont to fi nd many there, and meet with
trouble to get them away ; but now,having gone at those
season s again , he found them empty of all but lodgers.
” 1
A bout eighty persons appear to have been gathered into our
church as fruits of this revival .Had these been the only consequences of that excitement,
we should have occasion for unmixed grati tude to G od. But a
wild fanaticism sprung up, to which even the sober and judi
cions for a t ime gave their influence, and which brought the
genuine work of G od into discredit with no small part of the
community. T h e fervent piety and Christian zeal of Mr.
Whitefield,are as unquestionable, as h is eloquence and power
over human hearts. But h is career,for brill iancy and success
,
was so bewitching, that many lost sight of its errat ic character,and seemed to forget that if it should be sanctioned as a pre
cedent,i t would be the destruction of the regular ministry, and
in the end productive of infinitely more evil than good.
T h e confusion a nd extravagance which followed in the
train of the, great revival of 1740, const itutes one of the saddest
and yet one of the most instructive lessons of our religioushistory . T here is a great law in the moral world, as in the
natural,that action and re-action are equal . T o whatever
extent we go beyond the bounds of reason in our eflorts
to promote the cause of truth,to at least an equal extent
will that cause recede,and error gain ground . Before the
days of Whitefield, pract ical rel igion was
,no doubt
,at a
low ebb ; and when the awakening began , one extreme begat
another— the new movement derived an impulse from the pre
v ious neglect into which spiritual rel igion had fallen . But the
final issues of that rel igious“ awakening,
” l ike those of everyother, have ful ly proved that true rel igion can never be permanen tly advanced, except by the instrumental i ty of G od ’s
appointment- a regular and settled min istry . It cannot admitof a doubt
,that
,while Mr . W h itefi eld’s apostol ic labors were
1 T racy ’s Great Awaken ing, p . 120.
13 1
attended by many of the happiest results, they were l ikewise
product ive of no small amount of evil , by giving dignity to
itinerants,who
,as a class
,always have been injurious to a
community, in which the institutions of rel igion are estab
l ish ed .
Mr .Whitefield was succeeded,as might have been anticipated,
by men who had l ittle else than their zeal to commend them ;who
,mistaking a bl ind impulse for a monition of the Spirit of
G od, left their appropriate sphere of action , and taking upon
themselves the supervision of the ministry, and the care of all
the churches, proceeded to examine their brethren and fathers
in the ministry, pronounce upon their character and usefulness,and thus trumpet their ow n censoriousness
,while they spread
division and al ienation through the community. T hese cleri
cal i tinerants were again, in their turn , imitated and followed bylay exhorters,who added ignorance to zeal , and rapidly brought
their cause into c ontempt .
Of the former class,one of the most notorious was the Rev.
James Davenport, of Southold, Long Island . Impelled by
enthusiast ic impulses, he left h is own peopl e unprovided for,and began to itinerate among the churches . He arrived at
Charlestown,Friday evening, June 25 th , 1742. T i l l this
event,the revival of religion had happily advanced among the
people . On the Lord ’s day he attended publ ic worship, and
communed with this church. From a manuscript j ournal,1 I
learn that Mr . Prentice preached that morning from Matthew
v . 6 Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteous
ness,for they shall be fil led .
” In the afternoon Mr. A bbot
preached from 2 Corinthians v . 14,1 5 : “ For the love of Christ
constraineth us,
”(See . but Mr. Davenport
“stayed at h is lodg
ings from an apprehension of the ministers being unconverted,which greatly alarmed us,
”says Prince . T h e next day Mr.
Davenport went to Boston, and the associated pastors of Boston
and Charlestown being then assembled, they sent a commun ication to him, and requested an interview ,
to which he readilyconsented . In the declaration which they publ ished on Friday,they say that Mr . Davenport
“ appeared to them truly pious ;”
1 By th e k indness of G . A . Kette l l, Esq.
, 1 h ave been put inCpossess
ion of severa l l i ttle
MS . vo lumes con tain ing very ful l notes of th e sermons preach e in Ch ar lestown for manysuccess ive j eers .
13 2
but so misguided that he was acting to the great disservice of
rel igion, and that they therefore judged it to be their duty not
to i nvite him into their places of worship. But they availed
themselves of this opportunity to repeat their“ test imony to th e
great and glorious work of G od among them .
T his was signed by the two pastors of this church , and all
the ministers of Boston , except Dr Channey .
“ B y this declaration , however, says Mr . Prince,“ many
were offended ; and some days after, Mr . Davenport thought
h imself obl iged to begin in h is publi c exercises to declar e
against us also naming some as unconverted,representing the
rest as Jehoshaphat in A hab’s army, and exhorting the people
to separate from us : which so diverted the m inds of many from
being concerned about their own conversion,to think and dis
pute about the case of others, as not only seemed to put an awful
stop to their awakenings, but on al l sides to roil our passionsand provoke the Holy Spiri t, in a gradual and dreadful measure ,to withdr aw h is influence .” 1
A disputatious and censorious Spiri t prevailed ; and lamenta
ble was the state of things that ensued after the“
greatawakening.
”
S o strongly were a large portion of the ministers excited
against these recent disorders and extravagances, that the G eneral Convention of Congregational Mini sters in Massachusetts,at their annual meeting, in May, 1743 , bore testimony against
several errors in doctrine,and disorders in practice among
which were “ i tinerancy ,” lay preaching, censorious judgment
of others,and enthusias tic emotions mistaken for the operations
of the divine Spirit .
While al l these errors no doubt existed, and as such deserved
censure,stil l the action of the Convention gave ofle ii ce to a
large proportion of the ministers of the colony, because no
recognition was made of G od ’s grace in the recent gloriousawakening.
A ccordingly a meeting was called of such as were “
persuaded
there h as of late been a happy revival of rel igion , through
an extraordinary divine influence .” A bout ninety pastors of
churches responded to this call , and met in Boston, July 7, 1743 .
Ch r is tian Hist. 11. 408,quoted by T racy .
134
and that both errors and disorders were greatly magn ified and
mul tipl ied, and existed to the greatest degree. in those places
where the ministers Opposed the work .
1
Indeed,i t is manifest, that the great body of the pastors were
disposed to make a just discrimination ; while they acknow l
edged with gratitude the fact of the late revival , they were
Opposed to irregul ar min istrations, and to the excesses with
which some of the friends of the work were chargeable .
But besides this moderate class, there were others who were
verging to Opposite extremes.
T here were on the one hand th ese h ot-headed, but well-mean
ing men, who were so intent upon immediate results, as to be
careless of the principl es upon which they acted,and the con
sequences that were l ikely to ensue . Of these,the most promi
nent was the Rev . Jam es Davenport. But it is due to this
gentleman to say, that during a portion of h is career, he was
obviously insane, and that he was finally brought to perceive
h is errors,and publ ish an humble confession .
T here were those on the other hand who confined their at
tention to the disorders and errors that were to be found in con
nection with the revival , and were unwil l ing to admit the ex is
tence of a work of G od, but pronounced it all a pernicious en th u
siasm . Of these,the principal leader and champion was Rev.
Dr. C h auncy, one of‘ the pastors of the First church, Boston .
T his gentleman wrote and publ ished much in opposit ion to
the religious movements of the day . While Edwards and
o ther friends of the revival,from the warmth of their interest
in it, gave too much encouragement to mere ebull itions of
excitement,and spoke with indiscreet lenity of errors
,which
they ought po intedly to have condemned ; Dr . Channeywas l ed by h is disgust for the excesses of the day, to
overlook and deny what was real ly a “
great awakening”
of our slumbering churches to truth and righteousness . It
is melancholy as well as instruct ive,to observe the pro
gress of Dr . C h auncy’s mind . Putting himself in the attitude
of an opposer, and starting with premises which were in the
main both scriptural and reasonable , he prosecuted the course
he had taken,t il l he left the platform of the Fathers
,and in
1 T racy ’s Great Awaken ing, ch ap . xvi .
13 5
the advocacy of heresy, drew after him the venerable churchof Wilson and Cotton , of which ours had been the twin sister,and with which
,t il l then
,i t had been united in the same faith
and hope .
T h e great lesson which the history of this period is
fitted to teach,is,that the mistakes and indiscretions of the
friends of truth,are of al l the most hurtful
,and instead of
being pall iated and forgiven because of their connection, theyshould on that very account be the more severely dealt with .
One extreme begets another. A nd when our churches,awaken
ing from deep lethargy, pushed certain truths of our rel igionto an extreme which disturbed the analogy of faith
,they paved
the way for the introduction of fundamental error.
L E C T U R E V I I I .
P S A L M l x x v i i . 1 1— 1 3 .
I W I LL R EMEMBER T H E W O R KS O F T H E L O R D ; S U R ELY I W ILL R EMEMBER T H Y
W O N DER S or O L D . I W I LL MED I T A T E A L SO O F A L L T H Y WO R K , A N D T A LE or T H Y
D O IN G s . T H Y W A Y , O G O D,Is IN T H E SA N CT UA R Y : W H O I s S O G R EA T A G O D A s
O UR G O D !
IN the previous Lectures I have detained your attent ion upon
memorials of the first century ;— of the last hundred years I
shall speak more briefly— the facts are for the most part famil iar,and of some of them the time h as not come to write a ful l and
impartial history . Besides this,during the last century religion
occupied a smal ler share of the publ ic attent ion than previously ;ecclesiastical affairs receded from the field of publ ic discussion,and pol it ical matters grew in importance and interest, until at
length the energies of both clergy and people were absorbed in
t h e struggle for national independence . I shall , therefore, pas s
v ery rapidly over our later history, and avoid for the most part
th ese personal details which I have made it a point to collect
in regard to the previous pastors.
After the great awakening which followed the visi t of
Whitefield to our country, and of which a narrative was given
in the last Lecture,l ittle or nothing occurred to di versify our
rel igious history t il l the Revolution . T h e church remained
under the j oint ministry of Rev . Messrs. A bbot and Prentice,
until the death of Mr . A bbot,which took place A pril 19, 1774,
after a ministry ofmore than fifty years, a longer period of time
than any other pastor ever served the church . He was honor
ably interred by the town, and the body was borne to the grave
by Dr . A ppleton, Mr. S torer, Dr. Mather, Dr. Byles, Mr. Pren
13 8
cates of what are called “peace principles ;
” but would beobj ected to by all classes of Christians at the present day, asbeing alike untrue to the interpretation of Scripture and to
the spirit of the gospel . T here is no doubt that our fatherslooked upon war with different feel ings from what we are
accustomed to do ; and that in this respect the spirit of Christian ity is more correctly apprehended now,
than formerly yet
the sermon of which I have just given a synopsis, can hardlybe looked upon as a faithful index of the publ ic sentiment at
that day, or indeed of the author ’s ow n principles ; i t h as a
greater apparent than real contrariety to the reigning opinionsof modern Christ ians. B ut if a choice must be made between
two extremes,the error of our fathers is a less mischievous
one than that modern extravagance which denies to individualsand communities the inal ienable right of self-defence
,dissolves
the bands of government , and supplants the authority of law
with idle talk of moral suas ion .
T h e death of Mr. A bbot,left Mr . Prentice the sole pastor of
the church,and dissolved the last colleague pastorship which h as
existed in this church . T here is a tradition that an unhappydifference existed between these assoc iate ministers ; a nd the
story is probably not altogether without foundation ; and thiswe may believe without charging these excellent men with
any greater in fi rmities th an belong to men generally . T h e
occasion if not the cause for this,lay in the indeterminate and
somewhat inconsistent relations of two pastors, sustaining the
same relations to the same people . T his infelic ity did not
original ly attach to the associate ministry, as establ ished bythe puritan fathers of our churches. T hey, you wil l remem
ber,divided the duties of the ministry into two dist inc t classes,
to correspond with the scriptural titles teacher and pastor, givingto on e the business of doctrinal instruction , and to the other
that of exhortation and pastoral visitation . T h e only practical
obj ection that can be brought against this dist inction , is the
d ifficul ty of maintaining i t —after the death of the elder Shepard
,i t seems to have been lost sight of, and each minister was
settled with the title of pastor, and ordained to the discharge
of the same duties. Hence arose those pract ical diffi culties
which have resulted in the general discontinuance of a col
13 9
league ministry . N o man,however excellent h is disposition ,
or superior h is qual ifications, can work happily and well , unlessh is duties and h is rights are clearly defined and careful lyrespected . T h e experience of mankind , in al l the relations ofl ife
,h as shown this to be the principal law upon which the
harmony of men is dependent ; most of the bickerings and
al ienations of human life,arise in the beginning from a m isap
prehension of common rights or mutual obl igations ; and
oftentimes the only method of composing these differences,notwithstanding th e utmost good feel ing on one or both sides
,
is that adopted by A bram ,when he said unto Lot
,
“ Let there
be no strife,I pray thee , between me and thee , for we be
brethren . Is n ot the whole land before thee ! Separate th yself
,I pray thee , from me if thou wilt take the left-hand, then
I will go to the right ; or, if thou depart to the right-hand, then
I will go to the left .” T hat must indeed be a perfec t char
acter,which
,in the continual friction of daily contact, does
n ot present unevenness enough to fret and inflame some pecul iarities of disposition in another . It is dangerous to interfere
with the regular operation of the laws which the Creator h asestabl ished . T here can be no unity without some one ackn ow ledged head ; and without unity th ere can be no harmony.
G od,therefore
,h as organized individuals into famil ies, and
famil ies in to communities . Some du ties and rights belong ex
elusively to the individual others to the head of the familyand others again to the head of the community . If these
relat ions of society are disturbed, these rights and duties commingled, confusion and confl ict will inevitably be the con se
quence, and that too , notwithstanding the utmost excellence
of personal character . We should be inclined,therefore
,to
refer any differences that may have existed between Mr . A bbot
and Mr . Prentice,to the confusion of their relations to the
church ; and would n ot remember them to the prejudice of
either, but forget them ,or remember them only in connection
with the important moral lesson they il lustrate .
Mr. A bbot died,as the date shows
,j ust before the outbreak
of the Revolution . On the 17th of June,in the following year,
the battle of Bunker Hill was fought, the town reduced to
ashes, and the people, with their surviving pas tor, scattered to
140
find temporary homes as they might , in the neighboring towns.
I may not dwell upon this memorable scene it belongs rather
to the civil than the ecclesiastical historian . It is impossible to
portray, as without experience it is impossible to conceive , the
dismay of the people , when flying from th eir homes, the sepulchres of their fathers
,and their ancient sanctuary, they looked
behind them only to behold one wide conflagration spreadingdesolation from sh ore to shore . We cannot doubt that as the
combatants on yonder hill , saw the flames shoot up and wind
around the spire of our church , t ill , l ike a faithful sentinel , the
first to meet the enemy , it fel l first among the dwell ings over
which it had seemed to watch for three quarters of a century ;we cannot doubt that the sight sent a more desperate determi
nation to the hearts of the patriots who were immortal iz ingthemselves and the soil on which they stood
,by their deeds of
heroic valor,and deepened , in the minds of the spectators on
the heights of Boston, the conviction, that the last t ie was
sundered which bound the daughter to the mother countryWe cannot tel l h ow much w as lost in that conflagration
h ow much that would have cast l ight upon the antiquities of
this church and town— how much that might have served to
connect us with the pilgrim fathers ; our communion plate,however
,bearing in their inscriptions test imonies of
‘ the ear ly
piety of the church— our ancient and invaluable records,to
gether with those of the town,were by some trust-worthy
hands preserved ; and that this much was accompl ished amid
the bewildering excitement and terrors of that day, cannot fail
to be a matter of grateful surprise .“ A t this t ime
,say our church records
,
“ upwards of three
h undred and eighty dwell ing houses and other buildings, valued
at 183 . 8d .
,were consumed
,and two thousand per
sons reduced from affl uence and mediocrity, to the most aggra
vated exile .
T h e Rev . Mr . Prentice retired to Cambridge , where he
continued to reside during the remainder of h is l ife . In a short
t ime,however
,the people began to return in considerable
numbers,and the town to rise again from its ashes. A fter an
interval of something l ike three years, the publ ic worship of
G od,and the ordinances of rel igion , were re-established under
142
several interesting an ecdotes i llustrative of the character of the
pastor, and the simple habits of the people . T hey tel l us that
Mr . Prentice w as an energetic speaker, and retained h is warmth
of manner to the last, and that sometimes, through the quick
ness of h is motions, h is w ig, in those days a princ ipal article
of dress,would be displaced ; and on such occasions
,h is
daughter noislessly ascended the low platform upon which the
sacred desk was placed , and re-adjusted h is head-dress with her
hands. On on e occasion,through the failure of h is memory,
he omitted,for two successive Sabbaths previous to the annual
thanksgiving, to read the proclamation , and h is faithful daughter
stepped into the aisle , and with fil ial obeisance,reminded him
of the omission,which the father gratefully acknowledged,
but h is attempts to perform the duty were, through the in
fi rm ity of age, and the confusion of the moment,fruitless
,
and he was rel ieved by the proffered assistance of one of the
deacons— Dea . Frothingham . T hese simple incidents, occur
ring as they did , in the solemn worship of G od, without
disturbing the gravity of the worshippers, represent the minis
ter in the l ight of a father giving instruction to h is family.
We are told,that at length, through the utter failure of h is
memory, the pastor preached the same sermon over again inthe afternoon
,which h e h ad j ust del ivered in the morning ;
and this is said to have been the last Sabbath of h is publ ic
ministry . He fell asleep and was gathered to h is fathers, onthe 17th of June
,1782
,at the age of eighty . He was h onor
ably interred in the burying-ground hill, at the expense of the
town .
1
A bout this period of t ime,an effort w as made to rebuild the
meeting-house . T h e former meeting-house , i t will be remem
bered,stood in the square ; but in the month of October
,
1 782,the town granted to the parish the T own hill , for the
purpose of erecting thereon a house for the publ ic worsh ipof G od, on condition that the building be erected with in the
Space of five years! A ccordingly, the requisi te exertions were
immediately commenced , and as the people were unable to perform the work without assistance
,an appeal was made to the
surrounding towns, by a brief from the legislature , which met
1 N ote 47 . N ote 48 .
143
with a generous response and in a meeting-house wasraised, seventy-two feet long, fi fty-two wide , and twenty-sevenhigh, to the eaves, with a lefty and beautiful steepl e . A bel l
,
1 3 00 pounds weight, w as presented by Messrs . Champion ,Dickason and Burgis, merchants of London , through the interest of T homas Russell
,Esq.
l T h e meeting-house w as n ot
finished however for a number of years .
It deserves al so to be mentioned here,that a separation took
place about this t ime , between the town and parish business .
Previous to the Revolution,al l parish matters were attended to
in the general meetings of the town but subsequently to this,the first parish was organized in connection with this church,and succeeded to all the rights and duties of the town , in refer
ence to the support of the gospel .2
F or about five year s after the death of Mr . Prentice, the
church and town were without a settled pastor . Publ ic w or
ship w as,notwithstanding, maintained for the greater part of
the time and when no minister could be obtained,the people
crossed the ferry and j oined some of the congregat ions in B os
ton . T h e church and parish made a number of attempts to
obtain a minister,but without success
,unti l N ovember
,1786,
when a unanimous call w as extended to Mr . Joshua Paine,Jr .
who accepted it, and was ordained January 10,1787. T his
gentleman was the eldest son of the Rev . Joshua Paine,minis
ter of the church in S turbridge , in Worcester county . He
graduated at Harvard College , in 1784,with distinguished
honor,having the salutatory oration awarded him— the second
honor of h is class . He died in the twenty-fi fth year of h is
age, on the 27th of F ebruary, 1788, having been pastor of
the church only thirteen and a half months . H is disease w as
the consumption, which he contracted by steeping over a
low tabl e,upon which he was accustomed to write in h is
study . He is represented by those who knew him ,as a young
man of decided piety, amiable manners, and promising talents
as a preacher .“ H is sermons
,
”say our church records, in
narrating the circumstances of h is ordination and early death,“ exhibited the piety of h is heart ; and the exalted and social
1 2 Mass. H . S . C ell. 11. 170. N ote 49.
2 N ote 5 0 .
144
virtues of h is mind secured the esteem and friendship of all h isacquaintance
,and presented an ag reeable prospect of h is useful
ness in the ministry . He was sincerely lamented by al l who
knew him,and especially by the flock committed to h is charge .
”
B ut I can in no w ay bring before you the character of Mr.
Paine so wel l,as by quoting from the conclusion of the sermon
preached on the occasion of h is funeral,by the Rev. Dr.
T hacher, pas tor of the Brattle-street church , in Boston . T h e
text was taken from Job xiv. 19 T h ou destroyest the h ope
of man .
” “ N ever,
”says the preacher,
“ was the declaration
of the word of G od upon which we have been meditat ing, more
strikingly verified than it is this day . We had formed the most
sanguine hopes of the future eminence and usefulness of our
friend . We rej oiced in the union and harmony which so
remarkably prevailed in this place . We looked forward to the
temporal and spiritual prosperity of this town, which its pastor
appeared so well calculated to promote . We anticipated the
day when h is praise should be in al l the churches, and h is value
should be known universally to others, as i t w as then to h is
particular connections ; and many of us hoped that, instead of
being called to perform the sad offices which we are now pay ingto h is remains
,he would have l ived to perform them for us
“ But G od A lmighty hath seen it best to disappoint our
expectations, to destroy our hopes, and to show us that we
should not trust in princes, nor in the sons of men . We see ourfriend and brother cut off in the morning of h is days we are
called once more to mourn with this widowed-church,and we
are sorrowing most of al l this day, that we shall see h is face no
more .
’
T here is a melancholy satisfaction in beholding the pic tures
of our friends when they are taken away from us ; but there isnot only a satisfaction , there is an advantage al so in recollectingtheir characters
,in recall ing to our minds their good properties,
that we may‘follow them so far as they followed Christ .
’
With this design, and by no means with the intention of flatter
ing my departed friend , for alas h is ears are closed in eternal
s ilence,he can l isten no more to the voice of flattery or of
fr iendship you will permit me to mention some leading traits
of h is amiable character.
146
devotion . In h is pastoral office, he natural ly cared for the stateof h is flock
,and discovered the most earnest desires to promote
their best interests,for time and eternity. He rejoiced in their
joy— h e mourned in their sorrow,and he took pains to know
their S ituation,
‘visiting them from house to house .’
“ But piety, true piety, deeply rooted in the heart, and acted
out in the l ife,formed the brightest part of this good man
’s
character ; but h is piety was not glaring and ostentatious ; i t
proclaimed not itself at the corners of the streets ; but at the
same time,i t scorned to hide itself when it was prO per for it to
appear. It burnt with a pure and a steady flame,and others
,
beholding i t, have glorified their Father, who is in heaven .
’
“ A man of this character could not be inattentive to relative,
duties . He must have been dutiful as a son,aflectionate as a .
brother,agreeable as a companion , and faithful as a friend.
T hat Mr . Paine deserved all these epithets, the tears of those towhom he sustained these relations
,are an ample test imony.
“ It was this piety which supported him with such exemplarypat ience , through a long and painful sickness. I t was h is hopein the gospel, h is rel iance on the perfect righteousness of the
S on of G od,which gilded to him the dark valley of the shad ow
of death which enabled him to exclaim,in the moment when
the taper of l ife was quivering in the socket, and the agonies ofdissolving nature racked h is whole frame,
‘0 death,whe re is
th y st ing ! O grave , where is th y victory T h e sting of deathis s in
, and the strength of sin is the law,but thanks be to G od
who giveth me the victory, through the Lord Jesus Christ !’
It was this hepe , this assurance of h is interest in the great
atonement,which enabled him so frequently to say in the awful
hour of death,
‘Come,L ord Jesus
,come quickly w h y are th y
chariot wheels so long in coming !’an d i t w as h is firm faith
in our divine and glorious Redeemer, which induced him to
expire with the prayer of the martyr S tephen,‘Lord Jesus
,into
th ine h a nd-I commit my spirit,’ quivering on h is l ips ! C ome
,
my breth ren ,‘see h ow a Chris t ian can die ! ’ see the triumphs
of true rel ig ion over the most formidabl e enemies which are
known to mankind ! ‘Mark the perfec t man,and behold the
upright , for the . end of that man is peace It is but a short
11 “ Mr. Paine’s modesty and unostentat ious d ispos i t ion did not suffer h im to say much-dub !
147
time,my brethren of this church and congregation , since we
rej oiced with you at the introduction of this our beloved brother
to the work of the ministry among you. A t this moment,I
recollect the exultation of that day, and the bright and agreea
ble prospects which were before our eyes ! Your un ion , your
Spiritual advantage , and the prosperity of this town , newlyrising from its ashes were prospects not too flattering for us
rationally to indulge .
T hus suddenly and moru'
nful ly were the prospects of our
church cut off,just as the people were beginning to fancy them
selves secure once more in the enjoyment of their rel igious
privileges . A nd when this bereavement is taken in connection
with the external condition of the town at that time , i t wil l
appear the more severe . T h e people were few in number, and
l imited in pecuniary means. In the year 1785 , the houses and
inhabitants of the town were numbered, and the buildings on
the peninsula, many of which were temporary and soon taken
down,were found to be 1 5 1
,and the population 5 5 0. T h e
buildings without the neck , were 128, and th e population
Mr . Paine was the last of a long series of pastors who died
in the ministry of this church,and were interred in this town .
F or more than one hundred and fifty years an unbroken line of
ministers,whose united ministry amounts to two hundred and
seventeen years, died, as they h ad l ived , in the pastoral office ,and laid down their bones with th ose of their people . T h e
ashes of Symmes, Harvard , the Shepards— father and son,Mor
ton,Bradstreet, S tevens, A bbot, Prentice and Paine , all now rest,
ing h is i l lness : H e conten ted h imse lf wi th discovering a savor of re l igion upon h is sp i r i t, andexpressing h is subm iss ion to th e wi l l of h eaven . B ut on th e last n igh t of h is l i fe, in w h ich h ewas attended by h is reverend fath er and ano th er Ch r ist ian fr iend , h e a pee red to g ive moreindulgence to h is fee l ings and to express more pla in ly th e tr iumph s of us h o ly soul . In th e
agon ies of death , h e not on l y used th e express ions above rec i ted,but exc la imed w i th a smi le
,
‘0 my Jesus , wh y may i not come to th ee Is not my S av iour ready for me but at th e
same t ime expressed h is des i re and determ inat ion to be pat ien t and to wa i t God ’s tun e . H e
kept call ing upon h is fath er to pra wi th h im and to give h im up so lemn l y to G od , wh ich wasrepeated ly done ; and in th ese solemn offi ces of re l igion h e expressed th e greates t satisfac
t ion . H e appeared to h ave a very quick sens ibi l i ty of h is pa ins and d is tresses , for h e sa id,
T h is is h ard work,but th is is no th ing to wh at Jesus underwen t fo r me and my s ins !
W h en , th rough ex treme weakness,h is S igh t fa i led h im,
h e ca l led for a cand le ,but perce iv ing
th is fa i lure was a s mptom of immed iate dea th , h e exc la imed, ‘ I am just go ing ! Farewe l l,
all my fr iends . arewe ll all th is wor ld ‘
! and th en exp ired wi th th e exp ress ion abovere lated
,in h is mouth . T h ere can be no doubt of th e exact truth of th is accoun t ; it was g iven
me by a person of unquest ionable veracity wh o was present , and I th ough t it proper to publ ish it , to th e h onor of free grace, and for th e sup ort of th ose sa in ts w h o, ‘ th rough tear ofdeath
,are all th e ir l ife t ime subject to bondage .
’ Pious and humble Ch r is t ians often tr iumphth e most sens ibly in th e i r last momen ts
,and G od causes th e ir setting sun to sh ine wnh merri l
ian br igh tness . Ma we die th e death of th e r igh teous, and may our latter end be l ike h is.
’
l 2 H ist. Co l l . i i . 1 9.
148
with the thousands to whom they ministered , in yonder burying
ground . But,what is certainly a remarkabl e circumstance , you
will not find a single memorial to design ate the spot wh ere their
once loved and honored remains are deposited. Some of them
were laid in the ministers ’ tomb, and this you may distinguish
by reading upon it the name of Captain Richard Sprague— that
most mun ifi cen t benefactor of this church— who left h is house
for the ministers to reside in while they l ived , and h is tomb that
they might l ie with him when they died . Where the remainder
were interred,we may conjecture , but cannot know ; their
sepulchres are indeed with us unto this day ; but we shall strain
our eyes in vain to decypher the inscript ions they bore— the
flood of years that h as swept over them h as worn them nearlysmooth . Surely, their memories ought not to be suffered to
perish on the soil,which in l ife they honored and bl est ; and
i t affords me pleasure to witness the cordial manner in which
the proposit ion h as been received , to place a tablet in the walls
of our church , upon which the ir names shal l be graven, to
remind us and those who come after us,of their virtues and
their services .
1
In leaving behind us these venerated men , and the times in
which they l ived , and advancing to what remains of our history,we leave behind the historic part, and come , almost immedi
ately, into the present— agitated with exciting controversiesthat have n ot yet subsided . Hitherto the children of the Puri
tans had been of one faith and communion ; they had walked
to the house of G od in company— they had taken sweet counsel
together in the social interchanges of a community as closelycemented
,and homogeneous, as any upon earth . T h e t imes
were now coming for suspic ions, heart-burnings, and angrydiscussions, which resulted in the running of division-l ines
through communities, churches and famil ies. T h e faith which
bore our Fathers over the waters, for which they braved the
horrors of the wilderness and of savage warfare , which ulti
mately prepared them for, and made them worthy of the largest
freedom any people ever enj oyed,- this faith was brought into
d iscussion ; at first,i t was secretly suspected, then indirectly
attacked,and at last
, publ icly renounced . Of course,I shall not
1 N ote 5 1 .
L E C T U R E I X .
E C C L E S I A S T E S v i i . 1 0 .
S A Y N O T T H O U , WH A T I S T H E C A U SE T HA T T H E FO R MER D A Y S W ER E BET T ER T HA NT HESE ! F O R T H O U DO S T N O T I N Q U I R E W I SELY CO N CER N I N G T H l S .
A FT ER the death of Mr. Paine,the church was without a
pastor for about fourteen months. In the month of N ovember,
however,a unanimous call was extended to the Rev . Jedidiah
Morse ; and h is installation1as pastor of the chuch took place
A pril 3 0, 1 789 . T h e sermon,appropriate to the occasion , was
preached by the Rev . Jeremy Belknap, D . D .,of the Federal
street church, Boston ; the charge was given by the Rev . Mr.Jackson
,of Brookl ine
,and the right hand of fellowship by the
Rev. Mr. Osgood, of Medford .
Of this gentleman’s personal history and character, i t does
not enter into my plan to say much . He occupied a large space
both in the l iterary and theological world, and to present a ful l
ac count of h is varied labors and multipl ied services,would far
transgress my l imits. A s I intimated in the conclusion of the
last Lecture,the administration of Dr . Morse was dest ined to be
one of general agitation and severe trial . A t the period of h is
settlement, and for some time after, although there was not
entire unanimity of rel igious sentiment,there was no other
house of publ ic worship in the town than that in which he
ministered . Our present religious divisions do not date back
beyond the beginning of this century . T h e Baptists erected
the ir house of worship in 1800 ; and the Universalists in 18 10.
But it was not until 1817, that the Congregationalists were
divided in this year, several members of this church were dis
missed for the purpose of j oining with others in the formation
1 Note 5 2.
15 1
of a ch urch in a Second Congregational society.
1 T his society,though Congregational in order, was Unitarian in faith
,and
originated in a controversy which began in 18 15 , and resultedin separating
”our church into two distinc t communions .
Dr. Morse w as prominently, if not principally engaged in
this controversy, a nd in effecting a separation , by the suspen
sion of exchanges with those clergymen , who embraced the
tenets of Unitarianism . It is incumbent upon me , therefore, to
give some account of this great event and I shal l endeavor to
do i t in the Spirit of a Christ ian, and not of a partizan, by presenting the facts in the case as I have been able to obtain them
from authorities on each side of the question .
I t will be unnecessary to recapitulate any of the facts alreadyment ioned
,for the purpose of showing what the original faith
of the churches of N ew England was,or that they were united
in that faith . A s early as 1648,our fathers gave in their
unanimous adherence to the Westmin ster Confession this theydid
,as they say, that they might express their belief and pro
fession of “ the same doctrines which had been general ly re
ceived in all th e reformed churches in Europe .” A nd in 1680
,
the ch urches of the Commonwealth drew up a confession of
faith,affirming the same doctrines and using nearly the same
words as the Westminster. T his is the authorized faith of
the Congregational churches— the only faith which h as ever
been professed by the churches assembled by their pastors
and representatives in synod or council . A nd th is h as been !
not only the publ icly professed faith of our churches,but it
h as been the real or impl ied faith of every church call ing itself
Congregational . N o doctrine h as been taught in our pulpits
contrary to our received standards,until within thirty years '
past ; previously to this, our churches were in outward fellow
ship ; and disbelief, if entertained, was privately expressed .~
But as at the t ime of the division,a large number of our
churches,together with the university, were found prepared
to reject the cardinal doctrines'
of the orthodox faith , i t is ap
parent that these doctrines had been a long t ime discussed and
secretly rej ected by many in th e bosom of our churches . T h e
history of this change , inasmuch as i t was covered, and h ad
but few outward events to mark it, cannot be traced and
l ‘No te 5 3 u
15 2
developed to the satisfaction of every in quirer. If the causes
of this defection are sought for, some of them may be dis
covered far back in our ear l iest history ; the first may be found
in the union of church and state— a union of al l the most
unnatural,but in the time of our fathers
,every where estab
l ish ed,and supposed by all to be fit and necessary. F rom this
union the church h as always suffered more than the state . It
h as been injur ious to the state, but destructive to the church .
It increased the power of the c ivil rulers,but deprived a
portion of the people of their j ust rights, and by convert ingthe church into an engine of the state , i t deprived her of her
great ornament— the spiritual ity of her mi nistry and people .
T h e principal tie which connected the church with the state in
the days of our fathers, w as the law which confined the right
of suffrage to members of the church . T his,as I have al ready
mentioned,l ed the way to th e adopt ion of the half-way cove
nant and so eventual ly neither membership in the church , noreven admission to the ministry, became evidence of an ex peri
mental persuasion of the doctrines professed and taught amongus.
T h e great rel igious excitement which preceded and followed
the visits of Whitefield,created a difference of feeling rather
than of doctrine among the clergy ; i t showed chiefly the differ
ent tendencies then in the church and it was not before the
second or third generation, that this difference of sympathyresulted in a different system of faith . We have evidence
that in the latter part of the last century, a few both am ongthe clergy and laity, rej ected the doctrine of the divinity of
the Saviour,so that about the beginning of the present
cen tury, A rianism prevailed quite extensively in Boston and
its V ic inity . T h e denial of the supreme divinity of the Lord
Jesus Christ,was the first
,and for a long t ime the only point
of departure from orthodoxy . T hose who had taken this step,held that Christ was not equal to the Father
,but that he was
a created being, and yet inconceivably greater than any other
created being, so that he might be made even the obj ect of worship . T hey who held this doctrine respecting the person of
Christ, generally held to all the other doctrines of orthodoxy.
B ut this stage of religious declension was not of long continu
ance ; i t prepared the way for a more general skept ic ism ,and
more vital departures. T h e tendency of this mode of speen
15 4
Unitarianism in this country, disclosing facts which had been
made known to him in a private correspondence . Dr. Morse
caused this chapter to be publ ished in a pamphlet form,under
the t itl e of “ American Unitarianism or,a brief History of the
progress and present state of the Unitarian Churches in America,compi led from documents and informat ion communicated bythe Rev . James Freeman
,D . D .
,and Will iam Wells
,Jr.
,Esq.
,
of Boston,and from other Unitarian gentlemen in this coun try .
”
T his pamphlet passed through several edit ions, and awakened
general inquiry. It narrated the circumstances in which the
first Episcopal church in Boston , then called K ing’s chapel ,
became Unitarian,by expunging from their l iturgy, under the
influence of their pastor , Dr . F reeman , all recognitions of the
T rinity and atonement ; this event took place in 1785,and
made this the fi r st Unitarian church in the country. T h e worksof Dr . Priestley were also introduced among us, by Dr . Free
man,and placed in the l ibrary of Harvard Col lege , a nd in other
l ibraries,by which means, as well as by private circulation,
they were read very extensively. In consequence of these,and
similar efforts, at a time when there w as but one church where
Unitarianism was publ icly professed and taught, its tenets had
spread very extensively and in regard to Boston , i n particular,most of the clergy and respectabl e laymen were Unitarian . In
V iew of these facts communicated in the private letters men
t ioned above,Mr. B elsh am says near the end of h is chapter
“ Being myself a friend to ingenuousness and candor, I could
wish to see al l who are truly Unitarian s, openly such,and to
teach the doctrine of the simple indivisibl e unity of G od, as
wel l as to practice the rites of Unitarian worship .
”
T h e publ ication of this pamphlet , was followed by a review
of i t in the Panopl ist , attributed to the pen of Dr . Morse . T h e
question was pressed with great earnestness, whether these
statements were correct and charges of dupl ic ity and dishon
orable concealment began to be made with great bitterness .
T his drew forth the controvers y between Dr . Channing and Dr.
Worcester ; and when this, together with the others occasioned
by i t , subsided , th e churches and ministers w ere prepared to
take their stand either as Unitarian or Orthodox . A l l the
ancient churches of Boston were ranged among the advocates
of the new opinions, with the except ion of the Old South . A l l
15 5
the superiors in age, and al l the cotemporaries of our own
church,left her to stand alone upon the foundation of the
Fathers ; and the church of Robinson in Plymouth , of H igginson in Salem ,
of Cotton in Boston— all have ren ounced the
system of faith in which they were bapt ized, and for which
they were nurtured by their pious founders .
In this manner were the sacred ties of Christ ian fellowshipbetween sister churches severed ; and I envy not that man ’s
heart who can contemplate the separation without feel ings of
peculiar sadness. lVe do not indeed deplore the separation, asdistinct from the circumstances which led to
,and made it
necessary . On the contrary, since such fundamental differen
ces actually existed, it was better that a separation should take
place . It w as better for those who no longer held to the doc
trines of the Congregat ional standards, to declare openly their
dissent,and advocate boldly their real sentimen ts ; and it w as
better for those who stil l maintained the original faith of N ew
England , to know with whom they were associated . Each,in
a separate organizat ion , was abl e to act more con sistently and
effectively than when bound together . A nd the eas e with
which this separation was effected,we quote as a happy ex h ibi
t ion of the excellence of Congregationalism as a system of
church pol ity . N ever was a branch of the church of Christ
more severely tried , than w as ours in this con troversy and
defection ; and never did any church pass through such trials
so happily . T rue,if we had had a hierarchy l ike that of the
Engl ish or Roman church over us— if we had had a l iturgychained to the pulpi t, it might have been more diffi cul t, if not
impossible to change our creed or profession . B ut these things
never could have preserved the minds of the people or clergyfrom the incursions of unbelief and heresy ; and we say, whatevery person will be forced to admit upon reflection ,
that it is
better, where rel igious differences exist, that they should beavowed— it is better that men should express their real conviet ions
,rather th an conceal them and dishonor them by the heart
less profession of different sentiments . Hence,we regard it as
no defect,but a pecul iar excellence of Congregational ism ,
that
it affords facil ities for each church to manifest its inward l ife,
and make its creed and its pract ice at once conform to its actual
belief. We say, therefore, with truth and soberness,that we
15 6
l ove Congregationalism the more for the trial sh e h as passed
through . T hey who h ave gone out from us,have gone out
with a consistency of character which they could neither have
possessed nor maintained so long as they remained under a
banner they did not honor and love ; and we who remain,can remain only while our principles are l ivi ng verities in our
hearts.
It h as been in time past customary with some to denounce
those ministers who refused to exchange pulpits with their
seceding brethren, and charge them with il liberal ity and all
uncharitableness. Subsequent events,we are most happy to
believe,have put an end to th is unjust imputation . He who
dispassionately considers the differences subsisting between
Orthodoxy and Unitarianism ,cannot fail to perceive and al low
that i t is due to consistency and to the holy cause of truth , for
the advocate of the first system to protest against an d refuse
communion with the last . T o expect any thing less than
this,is the height of i ll iberal ity ; i t is to ask one to lay him
self on the ground, and as the street for h is opponent to pass
over— to renounce self respect, to prove a traitor to the cause of
h is G od, and the highest interests of h is race , as th ey commend
themselves to h is understanding and heart . T here are some
principles which all must admit are essential to Christ ianity .
Our Fathers,in accordance with the prevail ing sentiment of the
church in al l ages, placed the doctrine of the divinity of Christ
foremost among the essentials of revelation . It was,therefore
,
but a necessary part of their bel ief to refuse fellowship with
those who rej ected this truth . A nd in this they acted not onlyupon a proper, but upon a necessary principle . N o man can
have a serious faith in Christianity, without embracing certain
essential ideas involved in it ; and no man can do this without
refusing h is fel lowship to systems which exclude and oppose
these ideas . We honor,therefore
,those men who bore a full
and unwavering protest against what they regarded as an essen
t ial departure from Christ ian truth . We honor them for cousis
teney, for their fidelity to the cause of truth , to themselves and
to us.
In presenting the history of this church,we are happily
rel ieved from the necessity of mentioning the worst part of the
controversy, which resulted in a division of our denomination ;
15 8
extremely perplexing) the error is of the head, and not of th eheart . I have done what I could in the station in which the
Head of the church h as placed me . With h im is my j udgment .” 1
Dr. Morse 2 resigned the pastorship in the month of A ugust,1819— h is resignation being referred to the council which should
be convened to ordain h is successor. He was succeeded by
the Rev . Warren F ay, whose instal lation took place February23 , 1820, and h is ministry continued unt il A ugust 16, 183 9 .
T h e present pastor was ordained A pri l 22, 1840 ; and here he
might cease h is labors in reference to the past history of the
church . It should be mentioned,however
,that the house of
worship in which we are n ow assembled— the fifth erected
for the accommodation of this church,was buil t in the year
183 4, and dedicated July 3 , of that year .3
Before bringing this course of Lectures to a close , i t was myin tention to have devoted some space and time to the memory of
our numerous and exemplary benefactors. It h as been to me a
pleasing and edifying task to examine the wills of the early mem
bers and devoted friends of our church, preserved in the publ ic
offices. T hey almost uniformly begin them with a recapitu
lation of the great doctrines of the gospel , and the grounds of
their hope for eternity, and then resigning their souls to G odthrough Jesus Christ
,according to the terms of the covenant,
and their bodies to the grave in the hope of a glorious resur
rection,they proceed to distribute their worldly possessions
among their relatives and friends. A nd in this distribution,
they were accustomed with great un iformity, to remember
their Christ ian teachers and brethren,the church
,and the
poor of the town ; thus evincing in the simpl ic ity of their
primitive pie ty, that theirs was H is spirit, who“stretched forth
h is hand toward h is disciples and said , Behold my mother and
my brethren ! F or whosoever shall do the will of my Father
which is in heaven,the same is my brother, an d sister
,and
mother ! It wil l be impossible for me to present a complete
l ist of all these benefactors. If you wil l read the i nscriptions
1 Church Book 11. 171. 9 Note 5 3. 3 Note 5 5 .
15 9
upon our communion plate ,1you will see, first of all , the name
of our generous friend , Richard Sprague, Esq.
,who
, besidesother mun ifi cen t gifts, bequeathed to the church several large
silver tankards and fi agons for sacramental use. You wil l also
see the name of Mary Lemmon , as the donor of a silver flagon ;sh e was admitted to the church in 170 1 . One tankard w as the
gift of Mrs. Elizabeth Smith,in 1717 ; another of Mrs . A bigail
S tevens,in 1763 ; another of Capt . John Miller, in 1793 . A nd
still another bears the initials of “ R . R . to C . C .
” —probably
Richard Russell,Esq.
,to the church in Charlestown . He died
in 1676,and was the ancestor of a long and honored line, who
have in every generation been benefactors to this church . T h e
name of one of h is descendants,that of H on . T homas Russell
,
the most distinguished merchant of h is day, in Boston , isinscribed as that of donor on the face of yonder clock . He
was the son of the Hon . James Russell,another distinguished
friend of this church and town,of whom President Dwight
says,“ Few men of any age or country have presented a better
character,a fairer image of excellence to the eyes of mankind .
A s a son , a husband, a father, a neighbor, a friend , and a citizen ,he adorned life with a pecul iar native amiableness of character,and the superior worth of a Christian . I w as intimately ao
quain ted with this venerabl e man,and can
,therefore
,speak of
him extensively from personal knowledge . I know n ot that I
have ever seen a man less sol ic itous to shine,or more anxious
to do good, or to whom I should more readily apply without
reserve,the honorable character given to N athanael by th e
Saviour : ‘Behold an Israel ite indeed,in whom is no guile .
’ 2
T h e silver basin,which h as been used for more than a cen
tury, as the baptismal laver, bears this inscript ion in Latin“ Henry Phillips dedicates this laver to the church of Charlestown
,in N ew England, for the use of baptism ,
the l st of May,
Besides these,there are many other names and characters
which deserve a grateful and honored remembrance . But I
wil l detain you to mention two only, who died within a few
months of each other,in the year 1807, Rich ard Devens, Esq.
,
and Dea. John Larkin . A s a Christian,Mr . Devens was
,during
1 N ote 5 6.9 Dwigh t’s T ravels, 1. 476. N ote 5 7.
160
a long l ife, a pillar of this church— eminent for h is attachment
to the ancient faith of N ew England, and for the depth of h is
spiritual experience . N ot to mention the stat ions of publ ic
honor and trust which he occupied , he w as distinguished stil l
more in private, by h is secret benefac t ions to the poor, and h is
zealous endeavors to spread the Scriptures, and the knowledge
of salvation .
1 We may not dwel l upon the benefactions of the
generous and devotedly pious Dea . Larkin ; h is character as a
Christian,and a venerable officer and pil lar of this church ,
should long be kept in remembra nce , as h is name cannot fail to
be,through the yearly distribution of the charit ies this church
dispenses in h is behalf. T h e pastor of the church was present
and witnessed h is death , and h as left h is test imony that never
did he behold such a scene of mingled sorrow and joy. T here
was n othing in it ghastly or awful . N ot a l imb was convulsed ,nor a feature of the face distorted . A smile of joy even beamed
on h is dying countenance . Closing h is own eyes, he sweetlyfell asleep, not to awake again t il l the resurrection .
”
But I must check myself in these rec itals, and hasten to a
conclusion,by giving the final impression left upon my mind,
by the preparation of these discourses, respecting the rel igious
character of our ancestors .
I should not indeed attempt to give a ful l analysis, or final
est imate of the Puritan character ; i t is a theme beyond th e
compass of my reading and power ; and it may be doubted
while their institutions are stil l in a course of experiment ,whether the wisdom and value of their principles can be judged
of with perfect accuracy. Much h as been written of them
eloquently, affectionately, truly. He who would deny them
merit,and exalted merit
,must either be ignorant of their true
character,or insensible to the highest elements of greatness and
goodness. T hey were not only lovers of truth, but of the
noblest and best kind of truth . T hey not only loved and cul
t ivated virtue , but they loved and practiced those virtues most ,which are encompassed with the severest self-denial— which are
most essential to the prosperity of a community, a nd most
intimately connected with the glory of G od . T heir principles
must ever be the foundation of every truly great a nd noble
Panop l ist 111. 23 9. Panop l ist 111. 429. S ee Note 5 8.
162
susceptible of a much higher enj oyment , in consistency with
our thrift as an industrious, and our seriousn ess as a religious
people .
I wil l conclude this discourse, and with it the series to which
I have so long sol ic ited,and you have so patiently accorded,
your attention, by addressing a few remarks to my respected
hearers.
Brethren and friends of this anc ient church and congregation !
A llow me to express the h O pe that these rec itals may be perma
nen tly useful to you, and through you to those who shal l stand
after you within this sacred enclosure,and upon these ancient
foundations. You have succeeded to the labors and prayers of
men venerabl e for their varied excell encies. Let the history of
your fathers and predecessors stimulate you to follow them as
they followed Christ . Y ou are encompassed by a great cloud
of witnesses ; and if the spirits of the blest are permitted to
revisi t spots once famil iar and dear to them ,we doubt not there
have been,and will be in our midst
,many shining and rej oicing
ones,who once wept, and toiled , and prayed as we do now .
Oh ! shall we not love these ancient seats ! Among other and
more powerful considerations, are we not moved by a tender
regard for the pious dead whose names are recorded alike in our
books, and in the book of l ife,to give our heartiest services
,
and our warmest prayers to this portion of our Redeemer ’schurch ! He h as watched over this ‘vine of h is own right
hand ’s planting — h e h as carried it through fire and through
water— and he st il l remembereth h is covenant,and will yet
spread above us the clouds of h is mercy , and pour them down
in honor of the prayers which have gone up from this hill
F inal ly, permit me to say to the inhabitants of the town ,who have honored me with their attention
,In your ancestral
recollections you have a rich inheritan ce . N o people on earth
can claim a worthier original than N ew England , and amongher communities few are more distinguished in this respect than
yours .
’
Said a gentleman to me the other day, who had come
to revisi t the place of h is birth , and who h ad visited the spot
where is deposited the dust of the noble and mighty dead of
England ,“ In no place on earth are nobler men sleeping, than
in your burial-ground !” I care not whether
,in a worldly
163
sense , this be true or not . But I am persuaded that no spot con
tains the ashes of men, whose principles were more elevated,whose benefi cence was more genuine and extensive , or whose
piety was more sincere and act ive . If you are n ot sprung from
the loins of kings, and a titled aristocracy, it is a higher glorythat you are the sons of
“sires that have passed into the skies .
T h e nobil ity of your ancestors w as not “ the accident of anaccident
,
” but something wrought out by themselves, the native
product of their own hearts and minds. T hey were ennobled
by the gifts of G od’s grace . You are justly proud of the
memories of yonder hil l ; but there are also ante-Revolutionarymemories . You have reason to be proud of another hill , where
the ashes of your fathers repose— slain indeed,but slain by a
conquered enemy. T hey sleep in Jesus. With them may i t be
your lot to sleep ; and with them your blessedness to rise
166
well . O ne of my men h ad th em at Hampton ,but h e was soon well
again . W e are,in all our eleven sh ips, about 700 person s , passengers,
and 240 cows and about 60 h orses . T h e sh ip wh ich wen t fromP lymouth carried about 140 person s, and th e sh ip wh ich goes fromB ristowe carrieth about 80 person s . A n d n ow (my sweet soul ) I muston ce again take my l ast farewe l l of th ee in O ld Englan d. It goethvery n ear to my h eart to l eave th ee but I know to wh om I h ave com
mitted th ee,even to h im wh o loves th ee much better th an any h usba nd
can,wh o h ath taken accoun t of th e h airs of th y h ead, and puts al l th y
tears in h is bott l e,wh o can
,and (if it be for h is g lory) wi l l bring us
togeth er again with peace an d comfort . O h,h ow it refresh eth my
h ear t,to th ink
,th at I sh al l yet again see th y sweet face in th e lan d of
th e l iv ing — th at love ly coun ten an ce,th at I h ave so much de l igh ted in ,
and beh eld with so great con ten t I h ave h ith erto been so taken upw ith business
,as I coul d seldom l ook back to my former h appiness ;
but n ow,wh en I sh al l be at some leisure
,I sh al l n ot avoid th e remem
bran ce of th ee,nor th e grief for th y absence . T h ou h ast th y sh are
w ith me,but I h ope th e course we h ave agreed upon w ill be some ease
to us both . Mondays and Fridays , at fi ve of th e c lock at n igh t, wesh al l meet in spirit ti l l we meet in person . Y et
,if al l th ese h opes
sh ould fail,blessed be our G od
,th at we are assured we sh al l meet one
day, if not as h usban d and wife, yet in a better con dition . L et th at
stay and comfort th y h eart. N eith er c an th e sea drown th y h usban d,n or enemies destroy, n or any adversity deprive th ee of th y h usband or
ch i ldren . T h erefore I w i l l on ly take th ee n ow and my sweet ch i ldrenin m in e arms
,and kiss an d embrace you all
,and so leave you w ith my
G od. Farewe l l,farewe l l . I b l ess you all in th e n ame of th e L ord
Jesus . I salute my daugh ter W in th . Matt. N an . and th e rest,and all
my good n eigh bors and friends. P ray all for us. Farewe l l . C om
mend my blessing to my son Joh n . I cannot n ow write to h im ; but
tell h im I h ave committed th ee and th in e to h im. L abor to draw h imyet n earer to G od, an d h e w i l l be th e surer staff of comfort to th ee. Icannot n ame th e rest of my good friends, but th ou can st supply it. Iwrote
,a week sin ce
,to th ee and Mr . L eigh and divers oth ers .
T h ine wh eresoever,
“ Jo . WIN T H R O P .
O ur Ch arlestown records say th at Win th rop an d h is company,amoun ting to about person s in al l
,were brough t over in twelve
sh ips. P rin ce supposes th at th e Mary and Joh n,wh ich sailed from
P lymouth , March 20,and arrived May 3 0, at N an tasket
,was one of
th e twe l ve. G ov. Dudley, in h is l etter to th e coun tess of L in coln,says
th at seven teen sh ips arr ived in N ew England during th e year 163 0,for th e in crease of th e plan tation h ere but made a long, a trouble
some,an d a costly voyage , being al l windbound long in England, an d
h indered with con trary winds after th ey set sai l,an d so scattered with
mists and tempests th at few of th em arrived togeth er .
”
“ W e began to con sult of th e place of our s itting down,
says
Dud l ey, for Salem,wh ere we l anded
, pleased us not .”
A nd to th at purpose, some were sen t to th e bay, to search up th e
rivers for a con ven ien t place ; w h o , upon th eir return ,reported to h ave
found a good place upon Mistiek ; but some oth er of us, seconding
167
th ese, to approve or disl ike of th eir judgment, we foun d a place l ikedus better , th ree leagues up C h ar l es R iver ; and th ereupon un sh ippedour goods in to oth er vesse l s
,and with much cost and l abor
,brough t
th em in July to C h ar l estown but th ere receiv ing advert isemen ts (bysome of th e late-arrived sh ips ) from L ondon an d A msterdam
,of some
Fren ch preparation s again st us, (man y of our peop l e brough t with usbeing sick of fevers
,an d th e scurvy, an d we t h ereby un abl e to carry
up our ordn an ce and baggage so far, ) we were forced to ch ange coun
sel,and for our presen t sh e l ter to p l an t dispersed ly, some at C h ar l es
town,wh ic h stan deth on th e n orth side of th e mouth of C h arles R iver ;
some on th e south side th ereof,wh ich p l ace we n amed Boston (as we
in tended to h ave done th e p l ace we first reso l ved on ) ; some of us upon
M istick,w h ich we n amed Meadford ; some of us westward on C h ar l es
R iver,four mi les from C h ar l estown
,wh ich p l ace we n amed Water
town oth ers of us two mi l es from Boston,in a p l ace we n amed R ox
bury oth ers upon th e river of S awgus, between Sal em and C h ar l estown an d th e Western men
,four mi l es south from Boston in a p l ace
we n amed Dorch ester . T h is dispersion troubl ed some of us,but h e lp
it we could n ot,wan ting abi l ity to remove to any p l ace fi t to bui ld a
town upon ; and th e time too sh ort to de l iberate any longer , l est th ewin ter sh ould surpr ise us before we h ad bui lded our h ouses . T h e bestcoun sel we could fi nd out was to bui ld a fort to retire to
,in some con
ven ien t place , if any en emy pressed us th ereun to ,after we sh ould h ave
fortifi ed ourse l ves again st th e injuries of wet an d co ld.
”
It w i l l appear from an atten tive reading of th e above accoun t,th at
Ch ar l estown was n ot th e site,wh ich was se l ected eith er by th e first or
second exploring party. G overnor Win th rop was probably of th e firstparty. H e says, under date of T h ursday, Jun e 17
,W e wen t to
Mattach usetts,to fi nd out a p l ace for our sitting down . W e wen t up
M ist ick R iver about six mi l es .
” T h e n e x t party, w h o were sen t,as
Dud l ey says,“to approve or disl ike th e judgmen t
”of th e first
,found
a p l ace th ey l iked better , th ree l eagues up C h arles R iver . Mr . Savagesays th at th is p l ace was C h ar l estown ,
supposing th at Dud ley represen tsth e mouth of Ch ar l es R iver at th e outer ligh t-h ouse . B ut th is suppo
sition is in con sisten t with Dud l ey’
s n arrative,in wh ich h e gives as a
reason for th eir sett l ing at C h ar l estown and oth er p l aces , th eir in abi l ityth rough sickn ess to go so far as th e p l ace th ey h ad se l ected
,t h ree
leagues up C h ar l es R iver . Besides,h e descr ibes C h ar l estown as
standing on th e n orth side of th e mouth of C h ar l es R iver .
” Prin cesupposes th at th is p l ace , described as th ree l eagues up C h arlesR iver
,
”was at th e p l ace wh en ce th e Dorch ester peop l e were ordered
to remove,
” wh ich was afterwards cal l ed Watertown .
It is certain,th erefore
,th at C h ar l estown was n ot
,as h as been sup
posed, th e p l ace fi xed upon by th e co lon ists for t h eir first sett l emen t .A nd it is apparen t, also , th at th e prec ise date of th e l anding and set
tlemen t of Win th rop and h is compan ion s in C h ar l estown ,can not be
determined. G overn or Everett,in h is address de l ivered before th e
C h ar l estown L yceum ,ca l l s th e 28th Jun e
,183 0
,N . S .
,th e second
cen tenn ial an n iversary. T h is date is derived probably from th at givenbyWin th rop , Jun e 17 ; but th e day corresponding to th is
,would be
June 27,not 28 and besides
,th is date refers to t h e exp l oration of th e
Mistick,not to th e settlemen t of th e town byWinth rop and h is com
168
pany. T h e nearest approx imation to th e date of th e latter even tw h ic h can be reac h ed
,is th at given by P rin ce , wh o says ,
“ it seems as
if th e fleet arr ived at C h ar l estown July 10, by Mr . Wi l son ’s yearly
allowan ce out of th e publ ic treasury beginn ing on th at day.
”
N O T E 2, page 10.
T HOMA S W A LFO RD .
A s th is indiv idual was th e first wh ite inh abitan t of Ch arlestown,it
may be in teresting to l earn wh at may be kn own respecting h im.
H e appears not to h ave l ived amicably with th e n ew sett l ers,for in
A pri l , 163 1, h e was fin ed £ 10,and enjoin ed
,h e and h is w ife
,to
depart out of th e l imits of th is paten t .’ In th e fo l lowing mon th
,h e
was fin ed £2,an d h e paid it by k i l l ing awolf ;
”and in th e fol l owing
September , it was ordered th at h is goods be sequestered,
“to satisfy
t h e debts h e owes in th e B ay to several person s .
”A fter t h is
,h e
became a valuabl e c itizen of Portsmouth,N ew Hampsh ire, wh ere h e
is men tion ed as being on e of th e trustees,or warden s of th e ch urch
property.
l
N O T E 3, page 10.
T HOMA S GRA VES .
D R . MO R S E says th at th is gen t l eman,wh om h e calls T h omas G reaves
,
but w h ose n ame is spe l t G raves on our town records,was th e son of
Joh n G reaves , and was born in Ratc l iffe,England, Jun e 6 ,
1605,and
was th e an cestor of th e G reaves fam i ly of th is p l ace . Oth ers h avesupposed th at th ere was anoth er T h omas G raves
,and th ere are many
t h ings to favor th is opin ion . T h ere was a Mr . G raves wh o was mate
of th e T albot,wh en H iggin son came over
,and on e of th e mates of t h e
A rh e l la, wh en Win th rop came,an d wh o subsequen t ly became master
of a vesse l,an d of wh om Win th rop says in h is journ al , under date of
June 3,163 5
,th at h e h ad come every year for th ese seven years.
”
P rince says th at t h e T h omas G raves,wh o desired to be made a free
man in I63 0, afterwards became a rear-admira l in England. N ow th e
Mr . G raves wh o h ad ch arge of th e servan ts of th e company of P at
ten tees ,” beforeWin th rop
’
s arrival,is spoken of as a person ski l l ful
in min es of iron,l ead
,copper , m ineral sal t, and a lum
,for tifi cat ion s of
al l sorts,surveying, an d speaks of h imself as a trave l l er
,w h o h ad
been in Hungary it would seem,th erefore
,t h e more n atura l con clu
sion,th at th e M r . G raves of w h om W in th rop speaks, was th e on e
appoin ted rear-adm iral by C romwe l l , for h is bravery at sea,in cap
tur ing a Dutch privateer , under great disadvantages .
”
l S avage ’s W inth rop, l . p . 5 3 . 2 H ist . Co l l . V . p . 220.
170
sown or plan ted prospereth far better th an in O ld England. T h e
in crease of corn is h ere far beyond expectation ,as I h ave seen h ere by
e xperien ce in bar l ey, th e wh ich because it is so much above yourcon ception I wi l l not men tion . A nd catt l e do prosper very we l l , an dth ose th at are bred h ere far greater th an th ose w ith you in Eng l and.
V ines do grow h ere p l en tiful ly l aden with th e biggest grapes th at everI saw
,some I h ave seen four in ch es about
,so th at I am bold to say of
th is coun try, as it is common ly said in G ermany of Hungaria, th at forc att l e
,corn and win e it e x ce l l eth . W e h ave many more h opeful com
modities h ere in th is coun try, th e wh ich time wi l l teach to make gooduse of. In th e mean -time we abound w ith such th ings wh ich n ex tunder G od do make us subsist ; as fi sh
,fowl
,deer
,and sundry sorts of
fruits,as musk-me lon s
,water-me l on s
,Indian pompions, Indian pease,
bean s,and many oth er odd fruits th at I cannot n ame ; all wh ich are
made good and pleasan t th rough th is main blessing of G od,th e h eal th
fulness of th e coun try, wh ich far e xceedeth al l parts th at ever I h avebeen in it is obser ved th at few or non e do h ere fall sick
'
,un less of th e
scurvy, th at th ey bring from aboar d th e sh ip with th em,wh ereof I h ave
cured some of my company on ly by labor .
” 1
T h e en th usiasm of th e immigran t under th e excitemen t of novelty,and before th e trial s of a n ew coun try h ave been e xper ien ced, is suffi c ien tly apparen t in th e above. It reminds us of th e h igh ly coloredrepresen tations of l ife in th e West
,sen t back to us by some of th e
ear ly emigrants.
It is very poss ible th at G overnor Dud l ey al luded to th is letter of
Mr . G raves,wh en h e spoke of “ h on est men out of a desire to draw
over oth ers to th em ,wr iting somewh at h yperbolical ly of many th ings
h ere.
” 2
N O T E 4, page 1 1 .
REV . FRA N C I S B R IGH T .
T H I S clergyman was trained up un der th e R ev. Mr . Davenport, andwas a Puritan
,but probably more disposed to con form to th e ch urc h of
Eng l and th an many with w h om h e found h imse l f associated h ere. H e
arrived in Sa l em in th e L ion ’
s Wh e lp , June, 1629 ,and in con sequen ce
of a disagreemen t in judgmen t with Messrs . Higgin son and Ske l ton,
h is assoc iates,came to C h arlestown . H e remained h ere
,h owever
,but
1 I H ist. Co l l . 1. p . 124. T h e H istor ical Co l lections g ive on ly an ex tract from th is letter,
and th i s is a ll I h ave ever metwi th .
In th e Ii iblio th ecae Americanae Pr imord ia,pub l i sh ed 1713
,by W h i te Kennett
,th ere is
a no tice of th i s le tter as be longing to th at l ibra ry . A copp ie of a Le tter from an Ingineersen t out to N ew Eng land wr i tten to a friend in England, A . D . 1629 , g iv ing an A ccoun t ofh is lan d ing W i th a sma l l company a t S a lem , and th ence go ing and mak i ng a sett lemen t at
Massach usetts B ay , and lay i ng th e Foundat ion of a T own , to wh ic h th e G o vernour gat e th ename of C h ar lestown
,wi th a p leas ing desc r i pt ion of th e exceedm P leasantness and Frui t
ful ness o f th e Ce n tury . and of th e c iv i l i ty of th e nat ives.
’ In one s ieet MS . [Ex dono R ev .
A lexandn Y ormg , S . T .
9 S ee th e ex trac t from h is letter to th e Countess of L inco ln , quoted Lecture I . p . 19 .
71
l ittle more th an a year , wh en h e returned to England. Joh nson speak s
of Mr . Brigh t and Mr . B l ackston e,as two th at began to h ew stones in
th e moun tain s,for th e bui l ding O f th e T emp l e ; but wh en th ey saw all
sorts of stones would n ot fi t in th e bui lding, as th ey supposed ,th e one
betook h im to th e seas again ,and th e oth er to ti l l th e l and, retain ing
no symbol of h is former profession ,but
’
a can on ical coat .‘
N O T E 5, page 1 1 .
T OW N RECO RDS .
T H E facts men tioned in th e L ecture,respecting th e sett l emen t of th e
town,h ave been der ived from our T own Records . T h ese records
,
says Pr in ce , page 25 0, were written by In crease N owe l l . B ut if th eywere origin al ly written by h im ,
th ey were subsequen t ly copied for th e
h andwriting in wh ich th ey n ow appear , con tinues down to N ovember25 , 166 1. T h is fact may accoun t for th e obv ious mistake wh ichappears in th em ,
by wh ich th e lan ding of Win th rop is said to h avetaken place in 1629
,and al l th e even ts of th at per iod are an tedated
a year . T h e time,h owever
,wh ich th e records fi x for th e arrival of th e
Spragues, 1628 , is con fi rmed by Prin ce , page 25 0.
B ut notwith stan ding th is error,wh ich is th at of th e tran scriber
probably, th ese ear ly records are e xceedingly in teresting and valuab l e ;and I h ave
,th erefore
,copied out a few pages , l eaving bl ank s for th e
words th at are effaced,and en c l osing in brackets th ose wh ich I was
able to decyph er on ly in part .
Captain Joh n Smith,h av ing (in th e reign of our sovereign L ord
James,by th e grace of G od
,king of Engl and , Scot l and , Fran ce and
Ire l and,Defender of th e Faith ) made a discovery of some parts of
A mer ica,l igh ted amongst oth er p l aces upon th e open ing betwi x t Cape
C od and Cape A n n,situate and lying in 3 15 degrees O f-L ongitude ,
and 42 degrees 20 minutes of n orth L atitude,wh en
,by sounding an d
making up , h e fe l l in amongst th e Is l ands , and advan ced up in to th e
Massac h usetts B ay ti l l h e came up in to th e R iver between Mish awum(afterwards called Ch ar l estown ) and Sh awmut , (afterwards cal l ed B oston ) and h av ing made discovery of th e l an d, R ivers, Coves and Creek s
,
in th e said B ay, an d al so taken some observation s of th e n atures and
d ispositions and sundry customs of th e numerous In dian s,or N atives
in h abiting th e same,h e returned to Engl and, wh ere (it was re
ported t h at ) upon h is arr ival,h e presen ted a map of th e Massach u
setts B ay to th e K ing ; and th at th e P r in ce, (afterwards k ing C h ar l es
th e first ) npon en quiry and perusa l of th e foresaid R iver , and th e situation th ereof upon t h e map , appoin ted it to be cal l ed Ch ar l es River .
N ow,upon th e fame th at th ere wen t abroad of th e p l ace, both in
Engl and and Ho l l and,several person s of qua l ity sen t over [several] at
1 W onder W ork ing Prov. ch . 9. Hubb. ch . 19. Pr ince’s Ch ron. 25 7—261.
172
th eir own cost,wh o planted th is coun try in several [parts] ; but for
wan t of judgmen t , care, and order ly l iv ing, divers died ; oth ers meet
ing with many h azards , h ardsh ips, and wan ts , at length being reduced
to great penury an d ex tremity, were so t ired out,th at th ey took al l
opportun ities of return ing to Eng l and, upon wh ich several p l aces werea l togeth er deser ted ; and on ly some few th at upon a better pr inc iple , tran sported th emse l ves from England and Hol l and
,came and
sett l ed th eir P l an tation a litt l e with in Cape C od, and cal led th e same
P lymouth .
N otwith standing all th eir wan ts,h azards
,and sufferings,
several years in a man ner al on e,at wh ich time th is coun try was gener
al ly cal led by th e n ame of N ew England.
A t length , divers gen tlemen and merch an ts of L ondon,obtain ed a
paten t and ch arter for th e Massach usetts B ay, (from our SovereignL ord
,K ing C h ar l es th e first ) gave in v itation to [ as would,
(tran sport th emselves from O ld Engl and to N ew England , ) to go and
possess th e same and for th eir encouragemen t, th e said P atten tees,at
th eir own cost,sen t over a company [of] servan ts , under th e governmen t
of Mr . Joh n Endicott,wh o
,arriv[ing] with in th is B ay, settled th e first
Plantation of th is jurisdiction,cal led Sal em ; under wh ose wing th ere
were a few al so th at settle and p l an t up an d down,scatter ing in several
places O f [th e] B ay, wh ere, th ough th ey met with th e dangers , diffi culties
,and attending n ew plan tation s, in a so l itary wi lderness,
and so far remote from th eir N ative Coun try, yet were th ey n ot [l eft]w ith out company ; for in th e year of our L ord on e th ousand six h un
dred twen ty-eigh t , came over from Engl and, several people at th eirown ch arge, and arrived at Salem
,after wh ich
, peop l e came over yearlyin great numbers. In years , many h undreds arrived
,and
settled not on ly in Massach usetts B ay, but did sudden ly spread th emselves in to oth er colon ies al so .
A mongst oth ers th at arrived at Salem,at th eir own cost
,wereRal ph
Sprague with h is breth ren ,R ich ard andWil l iam
,wh o
,w ith th ree or
four more,by join t con sen t, an d approbation of Mr . Joh n Endicott
,
G overnor,did
,t h e same Summer of A nno 1628
,undertak e a journey
from Salem,and trave l led th rough woods about twelve mi l es to th e
westward,and ligh ted of a place situate and lying on th e north side of
C h arles R iver,full O f Indian s
,called A bergin ian s ; th eir old Sach em
being dead, h is eldest son ,by th e English ca l led Joh n Sagamore
,was
th eir ch ief,and a man n aturally of a gen tle and good disposition ,
bywh ose free con sen t th ey settled about t h e h ill of th e same p l ace ,
by th e
said n atives cal led Mish awum,wh ere th ey found but one English pal
Iisadoed and th atch ed h ouse,wh erein l ived T h omasWalford
,a smith
,
situate on th e south end of th e westernmost h ill ofth e east fi e ld, a l ittleway up from Ch arles R iver
’
s side ; an d upon surveying, th ey found itwas a n eck of land gen eral ly ful l of state ly timber
,as was th e main
,
and th e land lying on th e east side of th e river,cal led Mistick R iver ,
from th e farm Mr . Craddock’s servan ts h ad plan ted, cal l ed Mistick ,w h ich th is river led up un to
,and indeed general ly all th e coun try
round about was an un couth wilderness , ful l of timber .
T h e In h abitan ts th at first settled in th is place , and brough t it in tot h e denomin ation of a n English town , were in A nno 1628, as follows,viz
174
streete,wh o brough t along w ith th em th e Ch arter [and] Patten t for
th is Jurisdiction of th e Massach usetts, with wh om also arrived Mr .
Joh n Wi l son an d Mr . P h i l l ips, min isters, and a mul titude of peop l e,amoun ting to about fifteen h undred brough t over from Eng l and intwelve sh ips . T h e G overn or and several of th e P atten tees
,dwe l t in
th e great h ouse wh ich was last year built in th is town by Mr . G ravesand th e rest of th eir servan ts.
”
N O T E 6, page 13 .
O RGA N IZA T IO N O F T H E CHURCH .
T H E c ircumstances wh ich led to th e formation of th is c h urch,and
th e meth od pursued, we learn from a letter written from Sa l em,July
26 , by Samuel Ful l er , a ph ysic ian of P lymouth , and EdwardWin s l ow ,
at th at time on a visit to th e n ew colony. T h ey write as follows '
T o our loving B r eth ren and C h r istian F r iends, h fr . W m. B radford,
Mr . R a lp h S mith , and Ai r . W m . B r ewster,th ese be.
B e loved, &c .
Being at Sal em,th e 25 th of July, being th e Sabbath
,after th e
even ing exerc ise,Mr . Joh nson h av ing received a l etter from th e G ov
ernor,Mr . Win th rop, man ifesting th e h and of G od to be upon th em
,
and against th em at C h ar lestown,in v isiting t h em with sickn ess
,an d
taking divers from amongst th em,not sparing th e righ teous , but par
taking w ith th e wicked in th ose bodi ly judgmen ts ; it was , th erefore,by h is desire, taken in to th e god ly con sideration of th e best h ere
,w h at
was to be done to pac ify th e L ord’
s wrath and th ey would do n oth ingw ith out our adv ice. I mean th ose members of our ch urc h th ere knownun to th em
,viz . : Mr . Fuller
,Mr . A llerton
,and myself, requiring our
voices as th eir own,wh en it was concluded
,th at th e L ord was to be
sough t in righ teousn ess ; and so to th at end,th e si x th day (being
Friday) of th is presen t week , is set apart, t h at t h ey may h umbl e th emselves before G od
,and seek h im in h is ordinan ces and th at th en a l so
,
such god ly person s th at are amongst th em ,an d known each to oth er
,
publ ick ly at t h e end of th eir exercise,make known th eir godly desire,
and practice th e same,viz . : solemn ly to en ter in to coven an t w ith th e
L ord to walk in h is ways ; and sin ce th ey ar e so disposed of in th eiroutward estates
,as to l ive in th ree distin ct p l aces , each h av ing men of
abi l ity amongst th em,th ere to observe th e day, and become t h ree dis
tinct bodies ; not th en in tending ras h ly to proceed to t h e ch o ice of
offi cers,or th e admitting of any oth er in to th eir society, t h an a few
,to
wit : such as are we l l known un to th em, promising after to receive in
such,by con fession
,as sh a l l appear to be fi tly quah fi ed for th at estate
and as th ey desired to adv ise w ith us,so do t h ey ear n estly en treat th at
th e ch urch at P lymouth would set apart th e same day, for t h e same
ends,beseech ing G od, as to with draw h is h and of correction
,so to
es tablish and direct th em in h is ways ; an d th ough th e time be very
175
sh ort, yet sin ce th e causes are so urgen t, we pray you be provoked to
th is god ly work , wh erein G od will be h onored, and th ey and we un
doubted ly h ave sweet comfort in so doing. B e you all k in d ly saluted
in th e L ord,togeth er with th e rest of our breth ren ; th e L ord be with
you, and h is Spirit direct you in th is an d all oth er action s th at con cernh is glory, and th e good of h is.
Y our breth ren in th e faith of C h rist,A nd fel l owsh ip of th e G ospel ,
SA MUEL FULLER,
EDW A R D WIN S LO W .
S a lem,July 26 , A nno
N O T E 7, page 14.
JO HN W IN T H RO P .
T H E ch aracter of Joh n Win th rop wi l l bear close study. H e was
on e of th e few indiv idual s wh o,l ikeWash ington ,
combined great andgood qual ities in a un ion as rare as it is h appy. H is ch aracter is wor
th y of th e more atten tion,because th e Puritan s are so common ly rep
resen ted as men of cold sen timen ts and rigid prin ciples— cultivatingth e sterner v irtues to th e n eglect and con tempt of th ose wh ich givesymmetry and grace to th e ch aracter
,an d con stitute th e prin cipal
c h arm of domestic and soc ial l ife . W e do n ot mean to imply th at th ePuritan s were perfect men ,
or th at th ey h ave not often e xposed th emselves to such ch arges as th ese. B ut it is not too much to say, th atwh en tried by th e spirit of th e times- th e on ly fair meth od of judgingfew ch aracters can be found on th e records of h istory, wh ich , for n oblen ess
,dign ity, and th e beauty of a just proportion ,
are superior to th atof Win th rop , and h is associates of th e same rank in th e several p l antation s. It wi l l be diffi cul t to paral l e l th e magn an imity ofWin th rop,under th e tr ial s h e sustain ed
,of th e loss of property, th e enduran ce of
severe pr ivation s , and th e unjust, n ot to say mal ic ious aspersion s castupon h is fair n ame. A nd h is domestic ch aracter was as l ovely as h is
public was n obl e. A s a h usband and a fath er,h e was ch aracter ized
by th e strongest affection s. O f th is,we h ave a singularly beautiful
proof in h is l etters, publ ish ed in Savage’
s edition of h is journ al . N o
lover of th e domestic v irtues,can read th ose letters with out admiration
and de l igh t. H is letters to h is wife are remarkable for th e in ten seaffection
,as we l l as se l f-con tro l l ing faith in G od th ey express . H is
farewell to h er— for h er situation did not permit h er accompanyingh im— is singularly beautiful . [S ee p .
T h e l etters of Mrs . Win th rop , are of th e same ch aracter in on e of
th em sh e writes I h ave many reason s to make me love th ee, wh ereofI wi l l n ame two first
,because th ou lovest G od and second ly, because
th at th ou l ovest me. If th ese two were wan ting, all th e rest would beec l ipsed.
”
l 1 H ist. Co l l . 111. p . 75 .
176
T h is was Margaret, th e th ird wife of G overnor Winth rop . S h e was
married to h im,A pri l 29 , 16 18, an d died Jun e 14 , 1647, aged about
fi fty-six years ; a woman
,says t h e G overn or
,in recording h er
death,
of singul ar v ir tue, pruden ce, modesty, and piety, and espe
cially beloved and h on ored of all th e coun try.
”
For h is last w ife,h e married Marth a C oytmore, a member of our
ch urch,and w idow of T h omas C oytmore, wh o lost h is life by sh ip
wreck,on th e coast of Spain , December 27,
N O T E 8, page 14 .
T HOMA S DUDLEY .
G O VER N O R DUDLEY lived first in Cambridge, but upon Mr. Hooker’sremoval to Hartford
,h e removed to Ipswich , and at length fixed h is
h abitation in Ro xbury, wh ere h e died July 3 1 , 165 3 , in t h e seven tyseven th year of h is age. H e was a man of great in tegrity an d strength
of ch aracter,distinguish ed for h is love of justice, h is zeal for good
order,an d h is attach men t to th e faith and order of th e ch urch es . T h e
following verses were found in h is pocket after h is death ; th ey mayfurth er illustrate h is ch aracter.
D im eyes, deaf ears, co ld stomach sh ew
My d isso lution is in v iew ;Eleven t imes seven near l ived h av e I
,
A nd now G od cal ls,1 W i l l ing die .
My shutt le’s sh ot, my race 18 run,
My sun is set,my deed is done
My span is measured, ta le is told,My flower is faded and grown o ld
,
My dream is van ish’d
,sh adow’
s fled,
My soul wi th Ch rist,111 body dead ;
Farewe l l,dearwife ! c ildren , and fr iends
Hate h eresy,make blessed ends ;
Bear poverty,l ivewi th good men ,
S o sh a l l we meet wi th joy again .
L et men of G od in courts and ch urch es watchO
’
er such as do a to lerat ion h atch,
Lest th at i l l egg bring forth a cockatri ce,T o po ison all with h eresy and V ice .
If men be left,and oth erwise combine
,
My ep i taph’
s,I died no L iber tine 3
N O T E 9, page 15 .
JO HN W ILS O N .
REVER EN D JO H N WILS O N was born at Windsor,15 88 . H e was
th e th ird son of D r . Wil l iam W i l son,a prebend of St. Paul ’s, of
1 For a more part icular accoun t of Governor W inthrop , see Math er’s Magnalia, and
S avag
e’s W in th ro
agnel la 1. 1221: N . E. Memor ial , p . 25 5 .
178
neigh boring town s at th eir weekly lectures, un til preven ted by th e
weakness of age . A nd it was a deligh tful th ing, says Math er,
to
see upon every recurr ing oppor tun ity, a l arge company of C h r istian s,
and even magistrates an d m in isters among th em,an d Mr . Wi l son at
t h e h ead of th em,v isiting t h e lecturers in all th e v icin age , with such
h eaven ly discourses on th e road,as caused th e h earts of th e discip l es
to burn with in t h em ; and it was remarked,th at th ough th e C h ristian s
th en spen t l ess time in th e sh op, or field,th an th ey do now
, yet th eydid in both prosper more .
Mr . Wi l son was emph atical ly a man of prayer , and th e an swers h eis said to h ave received
,are among th e most remarkable any wh ere on
record. T h e bl essings , too , wh ich h e pronoun ced upon individuals,seemed proph etica l ; in so much
,th at many, and th ose of th e most
con siderat ion in th e colony, came from great distan ces , bringing t h eirc h i ldren w ith th em
,to receive h is patriarch al ben ediction s. R ev.
T h omas S h epard, of our ch urch,wh o composed an
‘
elegy upon h im,
and seems to h ave been a pupil of h is, alludes to th is circumstan ce as
followsA s aged Joh n , th e apostle
,us
’d to blessT h e peop le
,wh ich th ey '
udged th e i r h app iness,S o we did coun t it worth our p i lgr imageUnto h im
,for h is bless ing in h is age
Mr . Wilson was famous for h is sk ill in mak ing an agrams, wh ichcon sisted in a witty con ceit of tran sposing th e letters of a n ame so as
to make a differen t word or sen ten ce . H e was accustomed to make
an agrams upon al l h is fr iends,an d upon th e n ame of any remarkable
person h e met with . Such verses were common ly attach ed to th e
h earse at fun eral s ; and it l ooked,says Math er
,l ike a piece of injus
tice,th atWi l son ’
s fun eral,among th e many poems it produced, brough t
out so few an agrams . Some,
” h e says ,“th ough t th e Muses looked
very much dissatisfi ed, wh en th ey saw th ese l ines upon h is h earse
JO HN W i L S O N .
A nagram,
JO H N W I L SO N .
0 h l ch ange it not ; no sweeter name or th ing,T h rough out th e wor ld ,w i th in our ears sh a l l r ing.
Mr .Ward
,th e w itty auth or of T h e S imp l e Cobler of A gawam,
said with reference to Wi l son ’s we l l -known h ospital ity, th at t h e an a
gram of Joh n Wi l son was , I prag/ come in , you ar e h ea r ti ly welcome.
”
H e died A ugust 7, 1667 , in th e seven ty-n in th year of h is age.
l
S ee Math er’s Mag ; New England Memor ial ; W in th rop’s Journal , &c.
179
N O T E 10, page 16 .
W ILL IA M B LA CKS T O N E.
O F th is gen tleman,th e first wh ite in h abitan t of Boston ,
l iving al oneth ere
,as T h omas Wal ford was on th e Ch ar l estown side
,th e fo l lowing
n otices wi l l be in teresting.
H e h ad been living th ere four or fi ve years wh en Win th rop an d h is
company arr ived,and resided th ere about as l ong after . H e was an
Episcopal c l ergyman,w h o l eft Eng l and because h e l iked not th e
L ord’
s bish ops an d Boston,afterwards
,because h e l iked not th e
L ord’
s breth ren .
Mr . B l ackstone l ived in th e western part of Boston ,wh ere
,n ear a
spr ing, h e h ad bui l t a cottage , cul tivated a garden p l ot , and p l an tedan orc h ard— th e fi rst in Massac h usetts .
In th e year 163 4 , h e so l d h is property for £3 0, each h ouseh o lderpaying h im 63 . or more. With th is h e purch ased catt l e
,and removed
to th e south about th irty-fi ve mi l es, and sett l ed near P rov iden ce . H is
h ouse was situated n ear a stream c al l ed A bbot’s R un
,on a kn o l l
wh ich h e ca l led “ S tudy H i l l it was surrounded by a park , wh ich issaid to h ave been h is dai ly favorite walk . H e died May 26 ,
1675 and
was buried on S tudy H i l l , wh ere a flat stone marks h is grave.
N O T E 1 1 , page 18.
IN HA B IT A N T S R EMA IN IN G IN CHA RLES T O W N .
IN th e mon th of September , (28th ,) a levy was imposed upon th e
several p l an tation s, of wh ich C h ar l estown was to pay £7 , and Bostonc£1 1 . S o th at it would seem th e major ity h ad removed across th e
r iver at th is time .
2
A fter th e separation h ad taken place , in th e autumn of 163 0,we fi nd
th e following en try made upon our T own Records.
A list of th e n ames of such as staid,and became in h abitan ts of
t h is town,in th is year fo l l owing
Increase N owe l l,Esq.
, W i l l iam H udson , Ezek ie l Rich eson,
M r. W i l l iam A s p inwa l l, Mr. Joh n G lover, Joh n Baker,
Mr.Rich ard Pa l sgrave, W i l l iam B rakenburry, Joh n Sa les .
Edward Con verse, Rice Co le,W i l l iam Penn , H ugh G arrett,Capt. N orton ,Mr. Edward G ibbons, h ese four went and bui l t in th e ma ine , on th e north
Mr. W i l l iam Jennings s ide of th e north west creek of iblS town .
”
Joh n A bignal l ,
1 2 Mass . H is t. Co l l . x . 170. S avage’s W inth rop, I . p . 44 .-2 Prince
,p . 8 18.
—3 1630,it
sh ould be . S ee Note 5 .
180
N O T E 12, page 18.
M R S . W ILS O N .
T H E object of Mr . Wilson ’s return to England, was to persuade h is
wife to accompany h im ,wh ich h e could n ot do wh en h e first came.
H e seems to h ave fai l ed,h owever
,in th is second endeavor
,as we
learn from th e fol l owing e xtract of a letter written by Margaret W int h rop ,
to h er son,in May or Jun e
,163 1 .
“ Mr. Wilson is n ow in
L ondon,and promised me to come and see you. H e cann ot yet per
suade h is wife to go , for al l h e h ath taken th is pain s to come and fetch
h er . I marvel wh at mettle sh e is made of. Sure,sh e wi l l yie ld at
last, or e l se we sh al l wan t h im exceeding ly in N ew England .
” Mr .
Wi l son made an oth er v isit to Eng l and in 163 5 ,and h is wife probably
return ed with h im at th at time. A fter Mrs . Wi l son h ad been per
suaded to accompany h er h usban d in to th e A merican wi lderness,
Math er says h e h eard th at sh e received for h er con so l ation,a curious
presen t from h er kin sman,old Mr . D od . H e sen t h er at th e same
time,a brass coun ter
,a si l ver crown
,and a go ld jacobus all of th em
several ly wrapped up, with th is in struction to th e gen t l eman th at car
r ied it : th at h e sh ould,first of all
,de l iver on ly th e coun ter ; and if
sh e received it w ith any sh ow of discon ten t,h e sh ould th en take n o
furth er n otice of h er ; but if sh e grateful ly resen ted th at small th ing,for th e sake O f th e h and it came from
,h e sh ould th en go on to de l iver
th e si l ver,and so th e go ld ; but with al , assure h er
,T h at such would
be th e dispen sation s of G od un to h er,and th e
‘
oth er good peop l e of
N ew Eng l and if th ey would be con ten t and th ankful with such l ittleth ings , as G od at first bestowed upon th em ,
th ey sh ould,in t ime
,h ave
silver and gold enough .
’ Mrs. Wilson,according ly,by h er ch eerful
en tertainmen t of th e least remembrance from good old Mr . D od, gave
th e gen t l eman occas ion to go th rough with h is wh ole presen t , and th ean nexed advice
,wh ich h ath in a good measure been accomplish ed .
” l
N O T E 1 3, page 21 .
N EW A N D O L D S T Y LE.
A C C O R D I N G to th e old style, th e length of th e year was computed tobe 3 65 days and 6 h ours ; so th at every four th year— cal l ed bissex ti l eor leap year— w h en t h e 6 h ours amoun ted to 24
,an addition al day was
reckon ed, and th e year made to con sist of 3 66 days .
B ut th is meth od of computing time was erroneous , because th e
length of th e year was n ot 3 65 days and 6 h ours,but 3 65 days , 5 h ours ,
48 m inutes , 49 so th at by t h e o ld styl e, th e year was reckon ed 1 1minutes
,an d seconds too l ong.
T h e O ld styl e commen ced in t h e 45 th year before C h rist , and was
in troduced by Jul ius Cesar , from w h om it h as received th e n ame of th e
1 S ec Math er I . 23 1 . W in th rop l . 382.
182
baptism was th at of th e pastor’s son
,Joh n James
,l 1 th mon th , 9 th day,
1632,old style ; or , January 9 ,
163 3,n ew styl e . In th e course of th is
work I h ave n ot preserved th e doub l e dates,but h ave given th e on e
wh ich makes th e year begin w ith January.
1 sh ould n ot h ave th ough t it n ecessary to be th us particul ar ine xp l ain ing th e differen ce of th e sty l es , after so much h as been wr ittenupon it , were it n ot ev iden t th at mistakes are sti l l made in regard to it.It h as been customary to add 1 1 days in ch anging old styl e in to n ew
sty l e, w ith out regard to th e cen tury to wh ich th e date be longs . T h iswas indeed th e differen ce between th e styl es in th e last cen tury but it
was on ly 10 days in th e two preceding cen turies . e . g. Wash ingtonwas born February 1 1 , 1732, O ld sty l e ; and we r igh t ly observe th e
an n iversary of h is birth on th e 22d of February, for th e differen ce of
sty l es was 1 1 days during th e wh o l e O f th e l ast cen tury. T h e P i lgrimslanded on Plymouth Rock
,Monday, December l l ,
‘ 1620,O ld style ;
and it is an error to commemorate t h e an n iversary of th is even t onDecember 22
,because th e differen ce of th e styl es was th en 10
,and
n ot 1 1 days .
It h as surprised me much , to fi nd th e same error comm itted in th e
in scr iption p l aced upon th e monumen t erected to th e memory of H ar
vard,in our burying-ground ,
by th e alumn i of th e co l l ege. Harvarddied September I4 , 163 8, old styl e, as we l earn from Dan forth
’
s A lma
n ac for 1649, pr in ted at Cambr idge, a copy of wh ich is in possession
of R ev . Mr . Sewa l l,of Bur l ington . G ov. Everett
,in h is address
de l ivered at th e erection of a monumen t to Joh n Harvard,September
26,
says , H e died on th e 14th September , of th e year following h is arrival
,correspon ding in th e n ew style, to th e 26th of Septem
ber . T h is date,according ly, is in scribed upon th e gran ite sh aft
erected to h is memory, as th e date of h is death .
B ut w ith deference to th e emin en t auth ority of th e gen tlemen con
cerned,may it n ot be said t h at th is is ev iden t ly a m istake !
I t will be admitted,th at at th e time w h en Harvard died
,th ere was
a differen ce of 10 days between th e reckon ing of th e old styl e and of
t h e n ew in oth er words,th at th e day on wh ich Harvard died
,wh ich
was ca l led in N ew England September 14th , was reckoned in Rome,and in al l coun tries wh ere th e n ew styl e prevai l ed, September 24th ,Harvard did n ot die
,th erefore
,September 26 , 163 8, new styl e, un l ess
th at styl e , as th en reckon ed in C ath o l ic coun tries,was in correc t ly com
puted, wh ic h n ever h as been main tained .
Perh aps it w i l l be said,th at al th ough th e difl
'
eren ce of styles wason ly 10 days in th e seven teen th cen tury, it h as n ow in creased to 12days . If t h is be true
,th e inscription upon th e monumen t wi l l sti l l be
in correct,for it dec l ares th at Harvar d died September 26 , 163 8 , wh ich
was two days later th an h is death upon an y supposition . B ut besides
1 Bradford and W ins low’s journal , as publ ish ed by th e R ev . Mr. Y oung, in h is valuable
Ch ron ic les of th e P i lgr ims ,”g ives th e date of Monday as December 12 , or th e S aturdaypreced ing, as December 10 . p . 16 1 . If th i s were th e true date , December 22 would be th eann iversary of th e ever memorable land i ng . B ut it is O bv ious l y a m istake , as W i l l appearfrom a compar ison of th e p reced ing and succeed i ng dates g iven i n th e journa l—W ednesdaybc in men t ioned as December 6 , w h i le S aturday is g iven as December 10 . Pr ince , quo t ingB ra fo rd
, g ives th e ri h t date for Monday , December l l . T h e 2 l s t of Decembe r, th erefo re,is th e an n iversary of t ie land ing O f th e P i lgr ims on P lymouth Rock ,
th e 22d h av ing been
fi xed upon on th e erroneous Suppos i t ion th at i t corresponds to December 1 1 o ld sty le .
183
th is,it is obv iously a mistaken notion
,th at after a date of th e 17th or
18th cen tury h as been ch anged to th e n ew style in th ose cen turies,by
adding 10 or 1 1 days, any n ew correction is deman ded for errors
accumul ated since. N O such errors can be accumul ated by th e n ew
style, but on ly by th e old,wh ich reckon s on e more l eap year in four
c en turies th an does th e n ew styl e. February 22 , 1832 ,is just on e
h undred years after February 22, 1732 , new style, or February 1 1,
1732,old styl e . If it were n ot so
,we ough t n ow to observe th e ann i
versary of Wash ington’
s birth day, February 23 d, on th e suppositionth at th ere are 12 days difleren ce n ow between n ew and old styl e, wh ichis p l ain ly absurd . Just so
,September 24, 183 8 , is th e secon d cen
tenn ial ann iversary ofHar vard’s death,being exactly two h undred years
after September n ew styl e, or September 14 , 163 8 , old sty l e .
I fi nd th ese v iews corroborated i n a brief but lucid note appended to
Professor K ings l ey’s discourse
,on th e second cen tenn ia l an n iversary O f
th e settlemen t of N ew Haven . S ee al so a ful l and accurate e xp l an ation of new an d old styl e, and double dating, by R ev . Samuel Sewal l
,
of Burlington , in th e A merican Q uarterly Register, vol . x iv . p . 25 4.
N O T E 14, page 21 .
T H E RECO RDS A N D COM PA RA T I VE A G E OF T H E CHURCH .
T H E following very accurate and minute descr iption of th e firstvolume of our ch urch records
,was drawn up w ith great labor by th e
R ev. Samuel Sewal l,for th e A merican Q uarterly Register, volume x ii . ,
page 247.
T h e Records of th is Ch urch are, it is bel ieved, th e on ly records in ex istence of any ch urch in th e Coun ty ofMidd lesex formed as ear l y as th e seventeen th cen tury, wh ich h ave been kept in regular, and (in th e main ) unbrokenseries from th e beginn ing, except th e records of th e Ch urch of L ex ington ,gath ered 1696. T h e Ch urch of South Reading, (formerly First Ch urch ,Reading,) gath ered 1645 , h as some very ancient records
,but th ey are not
entire nor do th ey reach quite bac k to its foundation .
T h is precious re l ic O f an tiquity is a sma l l quarto vo lume of 386 pages, of
wh ich 3 81 are numbered. O f th ese, th e fi rst 3 5 7 pages are occupied by th eT it l e, T abl e of Con ten ts, Covenan ts, A dmiss ions to th e Ch urch , O wners ofth e Covenant, Bapt isms, and Marriages so lemn ized by Mr. Morton . T h e
remain ing pages, commencing w ith th e last page, (th e book being inverted,)are ap propriated to recording Ch urch votes, censures, th e ch oice and ordina
tions of Ch urch ofli cers, (as pastors and deacons,) &c., th ough severa l O f th e
las t named matters of record are inserted among th e A dmiss ions.
Subjoined are copies or accounts of some in teresting matters of record,
contained in th is venerable volume.
1. T H E T rT L E.
T h e book th at be longs unto th e Ch urch of G od in C h arl towne : wh ich
Ch urch was gath ered, and did enter into Ch urch Covenant th e 2d. day of th e
9th . month — Elder G reen , l st page of blank leaf at th e beginn ing .
1811
II. “ T H E CO N T EN T S .
163 1 T h e names of th ose w h o did Enter into ye C ovenan tj i rst,
T h e Covenant to particul ar persons for th eir Consent, wh enth ey are to be admitted
1632. N ames of persons admittedN ames of t h e B ap tized
1665 . N ames of ye Bapt ized as h ave publ iquely ren ewed Cove
nan t w ith G od th is Ch urch , yet not taken intoCommun ion in ye L ord
’
s Sup per1677. N ames of such as h ave been admitted into th is Ch urch
but not unto ful l Communion“ 165 8. Ch urch Censures V otes past in XV eigty
(W eigh ty ) “ Cases by th is Ch urch of
Ch ris t at Ch ar l es T own1687. N ames of persons Married by y
6 min ister 283M r . Morton , l stp a
g e of blank leaf at beg i nn i ng .
T h e above T able of Conten ts is in th e h and writing of Mr. Morton , wh owas th e fi rst and th e on ly min ister th at recorded marriages in th is book .
Before h is day, min isters in th is country were not auth orized to so l emn izemarriages. It is remarkab l e, th at h e sh ould h ave prefi x ed th e date ‘163 1 to
th e two fi rst artic l es of record, wh en , accord i ng to th e tit l e of th e book justabove it, th e Ch urch was not gath ered ti l l 1632.
III. “ T H E N A MES O F T H O S E W H O D 1D EN T ER 1N T 0 T H E CO VEN A N T F i R S T .
Increase,Parne l , N owe l l .
T h o '
,Ch r ist ian
,Beech er. T h eforme of th e C ovenant .
A braz,G race
,Pa lmer.
R al h Jone,S ra ue.
a Edfv’
ap,’S arah!a vers.
In th e N ame of O h Lord G od,and in
( 4 N ich o las, A my, S towers.
obed ience to h is h o l y wi l l and d iv ine ord iEzekz
, S usan ,R ich eson .
nances.
Henery,El izabeth
,Harwood.
Robert,Jone , H ale .
G eoz,Margerit, Huch eson .
T h oz, Elizab:, J ames .
W i l l iam, A nuz, Fro th ingam.
Ra l ph,A l ice
,Mousall .
R ice, A rrold
, C o
S
l
’
e .
R ich ard , Mar r ue
Joh n,B eth iah
'
i’
H a
pul
a
tfr
W i l l iam l ) ade .
T h omas M i nor.
T h omas S qui re.
T h ese were d ism issed from Bos tonCh urch th e 14th O f th e eaigh t mone th
P ago l st.
IV . A D M i S S i O N s.
A mong th e A dmissions to th is ch urch recorded in th is book,are th ose of
a lmost al l its min isters before Mr. Pa i ne, ordained in 1787, (wh en a new vol
ume h ad been substituted), and a l so of many oth ers, both c lergymen and
l aymen , wh o were men of eminence in th e i r day.
Subjoined is th e sum of admiss ions to ful l communion in th is ch urch downto th e year 1768, as recorded in t h i s fi rs t vo lume of its records. T h e occa
s ioual omission of given names in th e records, or th e occurrence of such as
W ee wh ose names are h eer wri ttenB eeing by h is most wise and good prov idence brough t toge th er, and des i rous to
un i te O r se lus in to one Congre ation or
C h urch,under o f Lord Jesus ‘
br ist our
Head : 111 such sort as becometh all th ose
wh om h e h ath Redeemed and S anc tifi edun to h imselfe
,D oe h eer S o llemn ly and
Iteligeous ly as in h is most h o ly resence ,
From iee and bynde o f~ se lus to wa h e in allor wayes accord ing to th e Rules of th eGospe l ]
,and in all smceer con fo rmi ty to h is
h o ly O rd inances ; and in mutuall Love and
R espect each to o th er : so near as G od sh al lg ive us grace .
”
186
Memorandum, taken 21 A ug . 1771 .
T h e R ev. Mr. G ordon wh o came from London, came to vis i t me on theday abovesaid and borrowed the C h . Books, that h e might fi nd by the Bapt isms, the Proportion of Males to Females, that had been born among us.And upon search he found them equal from the Y ear 1632, when th e O ldBook was begun. And from that year to the present year 1771 according tohis C alcula t ion there were 2889 males, and 2889 females baptized. N. B . hefound a C hasm in the R ecords, wherein no Entries were made of the C h i]dren B aptiz
’d for 17 years. T his Acc t he gave me, when he return
’d the
Books un to me.”S ubjoined is the resul t of an enumeration by the wr i ter of th is articl e, ofthe bap t isms recorded in th e O ld Book ” alone : premis ing, that the occurrence in the records of unusual g iven names has sometimes left the sex ofthe persons baptized undeterm ined ; and that the occas ional omiss ion both ofnames and of numbers has in a few other instances made it uncertain h owmany were bapt ized. In cases of th e l atter descript ion, the smal les t numberposs ib l e, under the c ircumstances g iven, has been assumed as the true one.
S um of B ap tisms.
R ecor ded by Y ear s. M al es . F emales. N'
o. Sex . T otal . Infants . fl dulu.
T h e R ul ing E l der from 163 3 to 1642 81 82 O O 163 163 0
Mr . Symmes,
165 8 1663 5 6 5 5 16 16 0Mr. Shepard , sen . 165 9 1677, 30 1 274 0 O 5 75 5 69 6
Mr. S h epard, jun . 1680 1685,
13 5 149 14 14 298 286 12
Mr . Morton,
1686 1697,
3 3 8 0 0 623 5 62 6 1
Mr. Brad s treet, 1698 173 1,
95 2 944. 0 0 104
Mr. Abbo t,
173 1 1768, 0 5 41
T o tal recorded during 13 5 years , 19 24 224
In the above schedul e of baptisms, al l have been reckoned among adul ts ,w h o are noticed express ly as be ing “ young men,” w i ves, w idows, persons of14 years ol d and upwards, or whose names are gi ven alone, wi thout thenames of their paren ts , as wel l as those wh o are exp ress ly cal led adul ts . A l lare accounted as “ Infants ,” w h o are said to be the sons or daughters or chi ldren of such
,or of such parents ; both those whose age is s tated to be l ess
than 14, and those whose age is not mentioned, and w h o cons t i tute more thann ineteen-twentieths of the whol e. T h e earl ies t adul t baptism recorded inthis ancient volume, that has been observed, was i n 1673 .
Perhaps I sh al l find no more appropr i ate p l ace to mak e a fewremark s respect ing th e sen ior i ty of our churches .The first ch urch of Plymouth was gathered i n 1602
,or i n
when the or ig i n al church became two . T h is church removed,after i ts
organ i z at ion,to Hol l and
,and thence to Plymouth ; and al though the
major i ty of the church,with the i r p astor
,John Rob i nson
,r emained i n
Hol l and,yet i t was determ in ed th at “ those who go fir st
,shoul d b e
an absol ute church of themsel ves,as wel l as those th at stay ; with th i s
p rov iso,th at as any go over or retu rn
,they shal l be reputed as mem
ber s,without further d ismi ss i on or test imon i al ; and those who tarry
to fol l ow the rest as soon as they can .
” 2 Th is was obv iou sly not a n
organ i z at ion of a new church,but a tempor ary ar r angement
,created
by the exigency of the i r s i tuat i on,an d des igned to cease with i t .
The firs t church of Sal em was organ i z ed Augus t 6,1629 .
1 Prince,100.
2 Y oung’s Chron ic les
,77.
187
The first church of Dorchester was organ i zed i n Jannary , in
the New Hosp i tal at P lymbuth , i n Engl and . They set sai l March,and
settl ed i n Dorchester , i n June , the same year . In 163 5 , however , th ischurch removed to Connect icut
,and se t tl ed the town of Windsor .
T h e present firs t church of Dorchester was formed August 23 , 163 6 .
O n the 3 0th July,163 0
,church covenants were formed and sub
scr ibed in Char l estown and Watertown .
The Charl estown church,with the ir pastor
,Rev . John Wil son
,soon
hel d the i r meet ings i n Boston . The present first church of Char l estown was formed from the Boston church , November 2 , 1632 . Thewr i ters upon our e arly h istory , before Mr . S av age ,
2 h ave representedour church as be ing the or ig i nal , and the Boston church as the off
shoot . But th i s i s d isproved by the records of the respect i ve churches.The church i n Roxbury was gathered i n 163 2
,and another i n
Lynn the same year ; the l ast , however , was r eorgan i zed a few year safter .The church in C ambr idge was organ i z ed O ctober 1 1
,163 3 but i n
163 6,they went with the i r p astor
,Mr . Hooker
,as the Dorchester
peop l e h ad done,to Connect icut
,and settled the town of Hartford .
T h e present first church of Cambr idge was formed Feburary 1 , 163 6 .
From the above,i t wi l l appear that the order of the churches
,i n
r espect of age,i s as fol l ows : 1 . Plymouth ; 2 S al em ; 3 . Windsor
,
Connect icut ; 4 . Bos ton and Watertown ; 6 . Roxbury ; 7 . Char l estown 8 . Hartford , Connect i cut . A fter these , come , 9 . Ipswich
,1634 ;
10. Newbury,163 5 ; 1 1 . Weymouth
,163 5
,Ju ly ; 12. Hingham
,163 5
,
S eptember ; 13 . Cambr idge,Febru ary
,163 6 ; 14 . Concord
,1636
,
July ; 15 . Dor chester , August, 1636 .
NOT E 15,p age 22.
T H E N EW EN G LAN D VER S ION OF T H E PSALM S .
T H E vers i on of Ps alm s,commonl y u sed by the Father s of New
Engl and in pub l i c worsh ip,was that by S tern h old and Hopk ins
,wh ich
was pr i nted at the end of the i r B ib l es . With th i s tr an s l at ion theywere d iss at isfied
,bec au se i t al tered in so m any i n st an ces
,both the text
and sense of t h e i nsp i r ed P salm ist ; and i t was agreed upon , therefore ,by the m ag i str ate s and m in ister s
,th at a n ew vers i on shoul d be pre
pared . The ch ief d i v ines of the country took each of them a port ionto tr ans l ate ; but Mr . Welde and Mr . El iot of Roxbury , and Mr.Mather of Dorchester
,were the respon s ib l e ed i tor s of the work .
T he i r poet i c ab i l i ty,however
,seem s not to h ave met with gener al
commendat ion ; Mr . Shep ard of C ambr idge , addressed to them thefol l owing l in es
Y ou R oxbu ry poets,keep clear of th e crime,
O f mi ssing to gi ve u s very good rhyme .
A nd you of Do rches ter , your verses lengthen
,
Bu t W i th th e text’s own words,you wrl them s trengthen .
”
1 1 Hi st. Coll . v. 166, and ix . 148.3 W inth rop i . 94.
1 88
Th i s ver s ion was pr inted at C ambr idge,1640
,and was the fi rst book
pub l i shed 1n New Engl and . The fi rsto
th ing wh ich was pr inted wasthe freeman ’s oath
,the next was an A lman ac
,made for New Engl and
,
by Mr . Wil l i am Pe i rce,mar iner ; the next was the New Vers i on of the
P salms . The work be ing thought,however
,to r equ ire a l i ttl e mor e
art,
’ ’
it was comm itted to Mr Dunster,p res i dent of Harvard Col l ege
,
whose ed i t ion was i n use among ou r churches t i l l supp l anted by Watts .The gre at char acter ist i c of the New Eng l and ver s ion
,was an exact
conform ity to the or ig i n al Hebr ew and G reek .
“ I mu s t con fess,says
Mather,
“ th at the P salm s h av e never yet seen a trans l at ion,th at I
know of,nearer to the Hebrew or ig in al .” Mr . Prin ce
,who
,at th e
r equest of the O ld South church,p rep ared a r ev ised ed i t ion of the work
in 175 7,says i n h i s preface of the or ig in al authors
,th at “ they n ot
on ly h ad the happ i n ess of approach ing nearer to the i nsp i red or ig i n al,
th an al l other v ers i on s i n Eng l i sh rhyme ; but i n m any p l aces of excell ing them in s imp l i c i ty of sty l e
,and i n affect ing term s
,be ing the words
of God,wh ich more strongly tou ch the sou l ; on wh ich accounts , I
found i n Eng l and,i t was by some em in ent congr egat ion s preferr ed to
al l others i n the i r pub l i c wor sh ip,even down to 1717
,when I l ast l eft
th at p art of the Br i t ish k ingdom .
” S t i l l,i t mu st be con fessed
,not
wi ths tand ing i ts correctness as a tr ansl at ion,and the occas i onal excel
l ence of its sty l e,th at i t h as but l i ttl e beau ty or el egance
,and th at
m any of the l in es ar e fi l l ed out with ins ign ifica nt p ar t i cl es wh ich generally en feeb l e the sty l e .
T h i s vers ion was l ong i n u se among ou r churches— h av ing p assedthrough more th an twenty ed it ion s— and was r el uct an tly exchanged bysome congregat ion s only after the Amer ican Revol u t ion .
The church of Plymouth u sed A i n sworth ’s ver s ion,and d id not
adopt th e New Engl and vers i on t i l l the l atter p art of the seventeenthcentury .
1
I t was the pr act i ce for one of the offi cers of th e church to read thehymn s and g i v e out the tune . Somet imes other person s were desigh ated to per form th i s duty . March 7
,173 1
,i t was voted by the town
,
“ th at Mr . S tephen B adger,Jr .
,be des i r ed to read and set the P sal m s
i n the meet ing-house,i n the t ime of pub l i c wor ship . Then voted that
Mr . Badger be excu sed h is pol l-tax so l ong as he offi ciates i n sai dwork .
”
NOT E 16,p age 3 0.
T H E SP IR IT OF T H E PUR ITAN S .
I DO n ot flatter myself th at th e imper fect account I h ave g i ven of th eor ig i n and char acter of the Pur i tans
,wi l l commend i tsel f to al l as
be ing j u st even as far as i t goes . I t i s not an easy matter,at a ny t ime ,
to portr ay the character of a body o f men who h ave or ig in ated somegre at movement ; much l ess IS i t so
,wh i l e that movemen t i s st i l l fel t ,
and i ts final i ssues are yet unknown . Another d ifficu l ty in the way of
Maganha i . 3 67 . 1 H i s t. Co l l . vu. x ix . and v i i i . 10. W in throp i . 289. W i sner’s H i s t .O . 8 . chu rch
,p . 99 .
190
with the godly p arty of the k ingdom of Engl and,and r ather to study
un ion th an d i v i s ion ; v i z .,h ow near we m ight poss ib ly
,withou t s i n
,
c lose w ith them,r ather than i n the l eas t measure to affect d i v is i on
,or
sep ar ate from them .
” 1
And accord ing ly,those Pur i tan s
,who i n Eng l and woul d
,for the
s ake of peace and un i ty,have suppor ted a moder ate Ep i scop acy an d a
reformed l i turgy,when they h ad crossed the ocean and settl ed i n a
w i lderness,to escape persecut ion and to pr act i ce the pos i t i ve par t of
church reformat ion,
” were prep ared,with no surrender of pr inc ip l e
,
but r ather from the same sp i r i t of deference for the supreme author i tyof the Scr iptur es , and of r egard for Chr i st i an un ion , to go han d in handw i th thei r P lymouth b rethren
,i n order i ng the i r church est ate by th e
l ight of God ’s word .
NOT E 17,p age 3 3 .
IN CR EASE N OW ELL .
IN CR EASE NOW ELL appe ars to h ave m arr i ed P arn el,the daugh ter of
Cathar in e C oytmore ; for the l atter i n her wi l l , dated 3 0. 2 . 165 8,g i v es to the five ch i l dr en of her son
,Increase Nowel l
,and to the five
ch i l dr en of her d aughter,Cath ar ine G reves
,Thomas
,N ath an iel
,
Joseph,Rebecc a
,Susann a
,
“ the dwel l ing house l ately i nh ab i ted bymysel f
,now by Mr . Thomas Shep ard
,near the meet i ng-house
,to be
sol d and d i v ided equal ly among them .
” Th i s house i s r eferred to i nthe fol l owing i n ter est ing extr act from Sewal l ’s manu scr ipt j ournal .J anuary 26
,1697. I l odged at Ch arl estown
,at Mrs . Shep ard ’s
,who
tel l s me Mr . Harvard bu i l t th at hou se . I l ay i n the ch amber next thes treet. As I l ay awake p ast m idn ight
,i n my med it at ion
,I was affected
to cons i der h ow l ong ago God h ad made prov is i on for my comfortab l el odg i ng th at n ight— see ing th at was Mr . Harvard ’s hou se— and that l edme to th ink of he aven
,th e hou se not m ade with h ands
,wh i ch G od for
m any thou sands of year s h as been stor ing with the r i chest furn i ture,
(sai nts th at ar e from t ime to t ime p l aced there , ) an d th at I h ad somehopes of be ing entert ained i n th i s magn ificent
,conven ien t pal ace
,
every way fitted a nd furn i shed . These thoughts were very r efresh ingto me .”
The ch i l dren of Increase and P arne l Nowel l,not i ncl ud ing three
who d ied in i n fancy,were
1 . S amuel,born November 12
, 1634. G r aduated at Harv ard Coll ege
,16
5 3 . He became a preacher of th e gospel,but was never set
tled i n the m in istry . He p re ached frequently,however
,and notes of
many of h is sermons h av e been preser ved among the Ma ther manuscr ip ts in the Anti quar i an l ibr ary
,at Worcester . O ne of h i s sermon s
was pub l ished . I t i s ent it l ed,
“ Abr ah am in A rms ; or,the firs t
Rel ig ious General with h is army engag i ng in a war for wh ich he h ad
S ee Chron . Pi l . p. 398.
19 1
wisely prepared , and by wh i ch not only an em inen t v ictory was ohtain ed, but a b l ess i ng gained al so . Del i vered i n an art i l l ery el ect ionsermon
,June I am so wel l pl eased w ith h i s preface , th at
I have tr an scr ibed i t .
T o th e R eader“ Fr i endly r e ader
,a des i r e to gr at i fy my fr i ends
,h ath made me
,
against my own j udgment,to con sent to t h e pub l i c at ion of these notes
,
t aken by on e of the audi tor s ; to wh ich I am not ab l e to make th atadd i t ion
,by mean s of my i n ab i l i ty to wr i te
,through infirm ity 1n my
r ight h and,wh ich God hath been p l e ased to exer c i se me w i th
,almos t
whol ly t ak ing away the u se of my hand ,what i s
,therefore
,made pub
l i c,i s not mine own notes
,but agree ing i n the subst ance w ith what
was del i ver ed . Th i s argument al so prev ai l ed with me to l et th i s comeforth . I thought other s more ab l e
,see ing th i s imperfect work to find
accept ance wi th some,might thereby be provoked to pr e ach and pr in t
someth ing th at m ight b e mor e effectu al to rev i ve our mil i t ary d isc ip l i n e
,and the sp i r i t of sold iery
,whi ch seems to be i n its wane
,i n an
age when never more need of i t . The lov e I h ave for th is country ,where I drew my first bre a th
,hath made me run the gauntl et by expos
i ng th i s to the wor l d,hop i ng that they th at fau l t i t
,wil l endeavor to
mend i t by some mean or other,and to pr ay for the author
,who i s a
fr i end to al l of such a sp i r i t,
SAMUEL NOW ELL .
Mr . Nowel l i s mention ed by Mather, (vol . II . as ch ap l ai n i n th e
army emp l oyed against the Narragan setts . He was al so,for sever al
years,tre asurer of the col l ege . He afterwards su stai ned importan t
c i v i l trusts,and was chosen
,i n 1680
,an ass i s tant of the colony
,i n
wh ich offi ce he continued unt i l 1686 . The pr ec ise d ate of h is deathhas not been pr eserved
,but i t was wh il e
,Rev . Increase Mather was i n
London,for there i s preserved among the Mather m anu scr ipts belong
i ng to the O ld South church,a note of i n v i t at ion for Mr . Mather to
attend the funer al of Mr . Nowel l .Mary
,the wi dow of S amuel Nowel l
,we l earn from Sewal l ’s manu
scr ip t j ou rn al,di ed in Charl estown
,Monday
,Augu s t 14
,1693 . Fu
ner al Augu st 15 . Bearers,Mr . Cook
,Major Hutch inson
,Sewal l
,
A l l en,Wil l ard
,Bai ly . She was l ai d i n Mr . U sher ’ s tomb .
2 . Meh etable,born Feb ru ary 2
,1638 . She was adm i tted to ful l
commun ion w i th th e church,Febru ary 24
,1666—7
,under the n ame of
Meh etable Hi l ton,hav ing marr ied Mr . W i l l i am H i l ton
,who was ad
m itted to the church Augu st 14,1670
,by l etter of dismiss i on from the
church in Newbury . Thomas Shep ard,second
,cal l s Wil l i am Hi l ton
h is cous i n . The ch i l dren of Wil l i am and Meh etable Hil ton wereNowel l
,born May 4
, 1663 ; Edward , born March 3 , 1666 ; John ,b apt i zed May 24
,1668 ; Richard , born Sep tember 13
,1670 ; and
Charl es,born Apr i l 19
,1673 . Mr . Hil ton dy i ng 7th 7 mo . 1675
,
sh e afterwards marr i ed Dea . John Cutl er,and d ied September
, 17 1 1 ,aged seventy-three years eight months . Her gr ave-s tone i s st i l l standing in our bury ing-ground .
Th i s Wil l i am Hil ton was a mar iner,and I suppose h im to be the
author of a book I found in the extens i ve and h ighly v aluab l e l ibr ary
192
of Peter Force,Esq .
,ofWash ington c i ty . I t is ent itl ed
,A Rel at ion
of a D i scovery l ately made on the coas t of Flor i d a, (from l at i tude 3 1
to 3 3 degrees,45 minutes north l at i tude
, ) by Wil l iam Hil ton , commander and commi ss i oner w ith Capt ai n An thony Long and PeterF ab i an
,i n the sh ip Adventu re
,wh ich set sai l from Sp i k es Bay
,Augu s t
10,1663
,an d was set forth by sever al gentl emen and merch ants of the
Is l and of B arb adoes .” It g i ves an interest ing “ account of the n atur ean d temper atu re of the soi l
,the m anners and d i spos i t i on of the n at iv es
,
an d whatsoever el se i s r emark ab l e there in .
” Pr inted i n London,1664 .
3 . Increase,b apt i zed May 19
,1640. He appear s to h ave fol l owed
the seas .4 . Mary
,born May 26
,1643 . She j oined th e church Febr u ary 23
,
1668,under the n ame of Mary Wins l ow
,h av ing marr ied Is aac Win s
l ow,Augus t 14
,1666. A fter h is death sh e marr i ed Mr . John Long
,
September 10,1674 .
5 . Bes i des these,there was A l exander
,who gr adu ated at Har vard
Col l ege,1664 ; was the author of several almanacs , and d ied 1672 .
The substance of Mr . Increase Nowell ’s wil l i s as fol l owsMy wil l i s
,th at my son In crease
,h i s own i ncl in at ion be ing to sea
,
be brought up a seaman . Next,my wi l l i s , that my son A l exander , i f
he incl in e to l e arn ing,be brought up a schol ar
,i f the est ate be ab l e to
bear i t,and he prove towardly and capab l e ; i f not , i n some other
hones t tr ade,and my executor s and overseer s th i nk meet .” He
ordered h i s es tate to be d i v i ded i n to s i x p arts,of which S amuel was to
h ave two,Incre ase
,A l exander
,Meh etable and Mary , on e . He be
queath ed £40 to h i s p astor , Z ech ar i ah Symmes , and the same to Mr .Wil son
,and 205 . ap i ece to the Rul ing Elder
,John G reen e
,an d the
two Deacon s,Ralph Mousall an d Robert Hal e . He appoin ted h i s
wi fe and h i s son S amuel,h i s executors
,and the two deacon s h is over
seers . The whol e estate amounted to £5 92,bes i des acres of
l and,gr an ted by the General Court
,i n 165 0
,and s i tu ated near the
Merr im ack R iver,i n New Hampsh i re
,but not then l ai d out .
NOT E 18,p age 3 3 .
CAPT . R ICHAR D SPRAG UE .
T H E or ig i n al w il l of Capt . Spr ague i s preserved i n the p rob ate offi ce,
and an ancien t copy of i t i s among the church p apers . I t b ears d ateO ctober 5
,1703 .
F i rst and pr i nc ipal ly,I r ecommend my sou l to A lm ighty God my
Creator,hop i ng and bel i ev ing to r ece ive ful l p ardon a nd free remi ss i on
of al l my s i n s,and to be saved by the prec iou s death and mer i ts ofmy
b l essed S av iour and Redeemer Chr is t Jesu s,and my body to the earth
,
from whence i t was t aken,to be there in bur ied i n a decen t and Chr i s
t i an manner,accord ing to the d irect ion s of my executor s here i n afte r
n amed .
”
After prov id ing for the payment of h is deb ts,he bequeaths,
194
NOT E 19,page 3 4.
LI ST OF DEACON S .
T H E fi rst th ree deacon s of the church were Ralph Mousall,Rober t
Hal e,and Thomas Lynde . Ralph Mousall and Rober t Hal e were
among the or ig inal member s of the church,and were prob ab ly ap
pointed when the church was organ i z ed the first d ied Apr i l 3 0,165 7
,
and the second July 16,165 9 . Thomas Lynde was adm itted to the
church Febru ary 4,163 6 ; but of h is appoi ntment to the office of
deacon,no record i s l eft . He died December 3 0
,1671 . Wil l i am
S t i l son and Rober t Cutler were ordained deacon s O ctober 16,165 9
,
the former of whom was adm itted to the church March 22,163 3
,and
died Apr i l 1 1,169 1
,aged n inety-one years ; and th e l atter was adm it
ted to the church at the same t ime w ith John Harv ard and A nn a h i swi fe
,November 6
,163 7
,and d i ed March 7
,1665 . John Cutl er
,th e
son of De acon Robert,and A aron L udk in
,
~were ordained deacon sFebr uary 25
,1672
,and both d ied the s ame year
,1694 the first
,Sep
tember 18,and the second
,March 26 . O n the 28th Apr i l
,1695
,
three deacon s (th e church be ing th en whol ly dest i tu te ) h av ing beenformerly and regul ar ly nom in ated
,and decl ar ed i n the whol e congre
gat ion ,n amely
,Mr . Wil l i am Foster , Mr . John Cal l , and Mr . Joseph
Kettl e ; Mr . Foster excu sed h im sel f bec ause of the i nfirm i ty of h i sage
,and therefore the other two only were th is day ordained .
”
There i s i n the bury i ng-ground,t h e gr ave-ston e of Deacon Edwar d
Wi l son,who d ied December 3 1
,1706
,aged seventy-three . He was
admitted to the church July 29, 1660 but of h i s el ect i on or ord in at ion
to the ofi i ce of deacon,no record remain s .
In add it ion to those men tion ed above,the fol l ow ing persons h av e
success i v ely fil l ed the office of deacon
Jonathan C ary , chosen DeaconSamuel Frothingham
,
Jonathan Kettel ,M ichael Brigden, February 5 , 175 2.
T homas S ymmes,Wil l iam Kette l l , January 21 , 1763 .
John F roth ingham,
David C heever, January 20, 1768T imothy Austin,John L arkin
,June 8 1787
T homas Mi l lerJames Frothingham,
January 21, 1793 .
Amos T ufts, July 5 , 1804.
Matthew S kel ton, 18 18.
John D oane, Jr., ordained Deacon January 10, 183 3 .
Enoch Hun t,chosen D eacon O ctober 13 , 183 6.
Ebenezer Ford, . November 8, 1839.
O l i ver D ickson, February 3 , 1842.
1 R ecord by Mr. Morton .
195
NOT E 20,page 3 5 .
MEET IN G -H OUSE A N D SABBA’-DAY H OUSE .
T H E town records say,under date of November 26 , 1639 , Mr .
Wil l i am R ain sborough bought the old meeting-hou se and p aid for i t i nful l payment
,to Mr . Nowel l and Thomas Lind , one hundred pounds
for the church ’s use,wh ich mon ies went towards charge of bu i ld ing
the new meet ing-house .
”
And i n the m arg i n i s th e fol l owing : Mr . Wil l i am R ain sborough
p ays for the old meeting-house th at st ands between the town and theneck
, £ 100 to Mr . Increase Nowel l and Thomas Lind towards bu i l di ng the new meet ing-house
,newly bu i l t i n the town
,on the south s i de
of the Town Hil l .”
It wou l d seem from th is,th at the G re at Hou se was ei ther ab andoned
an d another bu i l t farther up,or el se was moved from the p l ace where
i t was bu i l t . But th is i s the only noti ce I h ave found of any meet inghou se between the town and the neck .
In Winthrop ’s j ourn al,under the d ate of Jun e
,163 6
,i s t h e fol l ow
i ng not i ce : Mr . Winthrop,Jun .
,gave £ 5 towards the bu i l d ing of
the meet ing-house at Ch arl estown . I sen t i t by J ames Brown .
” Th i si t woul d seem from the d ate
,mu st h ave been g i ven for the hou se
between the town and the neck .
”
In th i s connect ion i t w i l l be interest ing to i ntroduce an order fromthe town records
,which exh ib i ts the c are of ou r ancestor s to prov ide
for the comfort of those who come from a d i st ance to attend worship .
Smal l hou ses were bu i l t,cal l ed S abb a ’-day houses
,for such to assem
b l e i n as l i ved too far to r eturn home at noon . Under date of May 9,
163 9,i s the fol lowing record : I t was ordered th at a watch-hou se
shoul d be bu il t w i th a chimney i n i t of conven ient l argeness to g i v eentertai nment on the Lord ’s day to such as l i v e remote from the meeti ng-house
,and th at there shal l be a smal l room added or t aken out of
i t for widow Morly to l i ve i n . The two const ab l es and Robert Hal ewere appointed to order the bu i l d ing of th e watch-hou se .Th is proceed ing may reveal
,perh aps , the cau se of the erect i on of a
meeting-hou se towards the n eck,and the condi t ion upon wh ich i t was
r ebu i l t i n the squ are . But,however th is may be
,i t i s i n terest ing
,as
exh ib i t i ng a u sage of those early d ays .It was customary i n country town s
,to erect several smal l houses for
the purpose for wh ich our watch-house was bu i l t . The fol l owing i san extr act from the centenn i al address of the Rev . G r ant Powers
,
of Goshen,Connecticut .
These hou ses gener al ly con s is ted of two rooms ten or twel ve feetsqu are , with a ch imney i n the cen tre between them ,
and a fi re-p lacei n each room . They were general ly bu i l t at the un i ted expen se oftwo or more fam i l i es . Dry fuel was kept i n each hou se
,r e ady for
k indl ing a fire . O n the morn ing of the S abbath , the owner of eachroom depos i ted in h i s saddl e-bags th e necessar y refreshmen t for h imsel f an d fam i ly , and a bottl e of beer and c ider , and took an early star tfor the sanctu ary . He first c al l ed at h is S abba ’
-dny h ouse, bu i l t h im afire, depos i ted h i s l uncheon , warmed h imsel f an d fami ly ; and at the
196
hour of worsh ip,they were al l re ady to sal ly forth
,and to sh iver i n th e
cold , dur i ng the morn ing serv ices at the house of worsh ip . A t noonthey returned to the ir S abb a’-day house
,with some inv ited fr i ends per
haps , where a warm room rece ived them ; the fire hav ing been i noper at ion dur ing the morn ing exerc ises . The saddl e-bags were n owbrought forth
,and thei r conten ts d i scharged upon a prophet ’ s t ab l e
,of
which al l partook a l i ttl e,an d each i n tu rn dr ank at t h e bottl e . Th i s
ser v i ce be ing per formed,and th ank s r eturned
,the patr i arch of the
fam i ly drew from h is pocket the notes he had taken dur ing the morning serv i ce
,and the sermon c ame under renewed and d i st i nct con sid
erat ion,al l enjoy i ng the utmos t freedom in the i r remark s . Somet imes
a wel l-chosen ch apter or p aragraph was read from an author,an d the
ser v i ce was not un frequen tly concl uded by p rayer ; then al l returned tothe sanctu ary to seek a b l ess ing there . I f the col d was severe
,th e
fam ily m igh t return to the i r house to warm them before they soughtthe i r h ab i t at ion . The fire was then ext ingu ished
,the saddl e-bags and
the fr agments were gathered up,the house l ocked
,and al l r etu rned to
the ir home .
”
NOT E 21,page 41 .
T H OMAS JAMES .
MR . SAVAGE,the l earned ed i tor of Winthrop
,though t i t mor e
p rob ab l e th at Mr . J ames d id not return to Eng l and,but was the
Thomas J ames who d ied in East Hampton,1696 . He i s now
,h ow
ever,sat i sfied th at they were d ifferen t person s . T he test imony of
P r ince and Hubb ard woul d seem dec i s i ve ; and th at he had a son whowas s tudy i ng for the m in istry
,we l e arn from John son . Pr ince says
,
p . 4 13,When I l i ved at Comb ’ s i n Suffol k
,from 17 1 1 to 16
,Mr .
Thomas Denny,a p i ous and anc ien t gentl eman there
,i n formed me
that he knew the Rev . Mr . Thomas J ames,min iste r of Needh am
,
about four m il es O ff,who he said c ame from New Eng l and .
” Hu bb ard says
,p . 19 1
,that he continued in the work Of the m in istry t i l l
t he year 1678,when he was abou t th e e ighty-s i xth year of h i s age , and
m ight be l i v ing at the time he wrote . John son bestows the fol low ingl i n es upon h im
T h y native so i l , 0 James , d id thee approve ,
G od ’s peop le there in L inco lns ln re commendT h y cou rteou s speech , and wo rk of Ch ris tian love ,
'
1‘
1ll Ch r i s t l h ron h seas d id thee on mes sage send\V i th learned sk i l l ns mind fo r to unfo l d
,
H is peop le in N ew England thou mu s t feed ;Bu t one sad breach did c u t that band shou l d ho l d ,T hen part W i l t thou les t farth er jars shou l d breed ,
Y e t part thou \V l ll no t w i th Ch r i s t ’ s tru th . th y crown .
But my muse wal l s that any so ld ier shou l dIn fi ght i ng s l ip ; wh y , James , thou fa l les t no t down !B ack t h ou re treat
’s t— then va l ian t fi gh tin ho l d
Fas t on th y Ch r i s t , w h o thme may rai se w it 1 thee ;H is h ands increase when leaders h e provndes ;
T h son , young s tuden t . may suc h bles s ing h e .
h y loss l‘C a '
,and Ch r i s t thee crown besides .
” l
1 W onder W orking Prov idence, ch . 26 .
198
As the t ime for the synod to meet,drew near
,i t was propounded to
the churches,and the same or s im i l ar Obj ect ions were r ai sed as had
been made by the deput ies . Those who wer e pr incip al ly concerned i nr a is ing these Obj ect ions
,were some per son s i n Boston who h ad recently
come from Eng l and,where the l arges t l iberty was c l aimed and al l owed
by the Independents,and the gre ater part of the House of Commons .
Governor Winthrop has preserved a p art i cu l ar account of the deb atehel d on th i s subj ect
,i n the Boston church . The quest ion was ag i t ated
and no concl u s i on r eached,two Lord ’s days ; and the el ders sat down
much gr i eved i n sp i r i t,but tol d the congregat ion they fel t i t the i r
duty to attend the synod notwithst and ing ; not as sent by the church ,but as cal l ed by the cour t .The assemb ly met at Cambr idge
,l st September . The next day
,
be ing th e Boston Lecture,Mr . Norton of Ipswich
,preached a sermon
to a v as t aud i tory,on Moses and A aron k iss i ng e ach other i n the
mount,i n wh ich he l ai d down the n ature and power of synods as only
consul tat i ve,dec i s i v e
,and decl ar at i ve
,not coact i ve ; and spoke wi th so
much effect upon th i s subj ect,and upon the duty of churches to y i el d
Obed ience to the c i v i l m ag i str ate,and the gr e at scandal of re fus ing to
do so,th at on the n ext Lord ’s d ay
,a m aj or ity of the church voted to
send three messengers with the i r el ders to the assemb ly .O wing to these c ircumst ances
,the synod
,upon com ing together
,
d i scussed the ques ti on as to the mag istr ates ’ power i n matter s ofr el ig i on ; and after a sess ion of fou rteen days , del i vered the ir j udgment i n the fol l owi ng propos i t ion T he c i v i l m ag istr ate
,i n matters
of rel ig i on,or of the fi rst t ab l e
,hath power c i v i l ly to command or
forb i d th ings r espect i ng the outward man,wh ich are cl e arly com
m anded or forb idden in th e word,and to infl i c t su i t ab l e pun ishments
,
accord ing to the n ature Of the same .”
Th i s p ropos i t i on,with argumen ts and test imon ies i n confirm ati on of
i t,was p r i n ted at London
,165 4
,together with a d iscourse upon the
doctr i ne,by Thomas A l l en . I t was bound up with a smal l tre ati se
about the n ature and power Of synods .I t bei ng near w inter
,and few of the el der s from other colon i es
be ing present,the synod adjourned to June 8
,1647. A t the second
sess i on,no bus i n ess was accomp l ished in con sequence of an ep i dem i c
d isease,wh ich prev ai l ed through the col on ies
,among Ind i an s and
Eng l i sh,French and Dutch
,Of wh ich d ied
,the very day before the
synod assemb l ed,the Rev . Thomas Hooker
,of Hartford
,and j u st on e
week after,Margaret
,the w i fe of Gov . Winthrop .
The synod me t agai n by adjournmen t,August 15 . Mr . A l l en
,of
Dedham,pre ached from A cts xv .
,a chap ter conta in ing the h i story of
the counc i l of Jerusal em . The Pl atform,fr amed by the synod at th is
t ime,was p resented to the Gener al Court
,i n the month of O ctober
,
1648,and by them accepted and approv ed .
From th at t ime to th i s,the P l atform
,for subs t an ce
,h as been recog
n ized as the st and ard of Congregat i on al d isc ip l in e . Th i s Pl atformhas been once sol emn ly re-afi i rmed . A synod convened by the GeneralCourt
,at Bos ton
,September 10
,1679
,h av ing read and con s i dered i t ,
u nan imou s ly approved of i t,for the substance of i t
,
” des i r ing thatthe churches may cont inue ste ad fast in the order of the gospel , accordi ng to what i s there in decl ared from the word of G od.
”
199
It deserves espec i al not ice,th at the Pl atform was re-affi rmed for the
subst an ce of i t,
” for i n some part i cu l ars,there w as an e arly
,and at
l ength,a un iversal dep arture from the Pl atform ; but these p art i cu l ar s
were then,an d are now
,few in number
,and by no means essent i al to
i t . Mather enumer ates four Of these departures or mod ificat ion s . Thefirst respected the power of the p astor to admin i ster the sacraments toany but h i s own congregat ion . The Pl atform does not deny th i spower
,but i n asmuch as Cotton and others had
,i t was n ot ful ly
asserted . [See chapter v . section Th is power,however
,was very
soon un iversal ly conceded and by a meeting of the ne ighbor ing ministers
,at C ambr idge
,i t was decl ared to b e the i r j udgment that the
P l atform approved of i t .2 . The doctr ine of the d ist i nct Offi ce of ru l i ng el ders
,was al so
early quest ioned .
3 . Lay ord in at ion al so was r arely pr act ised , and as r arely approved .The r ight and val i d ity of such ord in at ion s
,when necessary
,h as been
always admitted ; bu t the propr i ety of them ,i n the p resence of or
dained m in isters,was from . the first ques t ioned
,and has been so gen
erally di sapproved of, th at the i r occurrence has been very r ar e .4 . The pr act i ce of pub l i c examin at ion s
,for adm iss i on to the church
,
has been d i scont inued .
And bes ides these,the doctr ine of the power of the c i v i l m ag i str ate
,
i n m atters eccl es i as t i cal,has been modified s i n ce the adopt ion of the
con st i tut ion of
NOT E 24,p age 5 1 .
T H OMAS ALLEN ’ S LET T ER R ESPECT IN G T H E EAR LY IN D IANM ISS ION S .
H onored S ir
IT seems th at some of l ate h ave been so impudently bol d (wh ichI c annot suffi c i ently wonder at ) as to report and publ iquely affi rme,th at there was no such th ing as the p re aching and d ispen s i ng of theGospel ] amongst the N at i ves i n New England . Ver i ly S i r
,I doe be
l i eve th at the D evill h imsel fs (wh o i s the F ather of Lyes ) woul d not ,yea
,durst not h ave uttered such a notor i ou s un truth as t hat was .
Now,al though I confesse I h ave n ot been present at the p l aces where
the Ind i an s are wont to mes te,to heare such as doe preach unto them
,
by r eason of my bodi ly weakness,and ind i spos i t i on to tr avel ] so farr e
i nto the W ildern esse, yet thu s much I can test ifi e, (i f my Test imony
may be of any u se ) , be ing l ately come over from New Eng l and , th atthere are d iver s persons i n severall p l aces
,who doe take pa ines
,an d
l abour i n that W orke there ; v i z .
,not onely Mr . El iot of Roxbury
,
wh o hath preached among them for many yeares, up and downe i n theJur isdi ct ion of the Massachusets and Mr . Mah ew
,wh o for a good
1 W in throp Magnalia 11. 179-212. H ubb. ch . v. s.
200
wh il e h ath taken p aines among th e Ind i an s,at an Is l and cal l ed Mar
t in ’s V i neyard ; but O f l ate , al so Mr . Lever idge , i n the Jur isd i ct ion of
Plymouth,and Mr . B lynman
,who l i ves now i n a new Pl antat ion
,i n
the P equott'
s Country . As for the successe of the preach ing of theG ospell unto the N at i ves , I h ave heard Mr . El iot affi rme , th at he i s sowel l perswaded of the Works of gr ace i n some Of them
,as th at he
coul d comfortab ly j oyn e i n Chu rch fel l owsh ip with them . Mr . Mah ew,
al so, (who c ame to see mee a l i ttl e before my com ing from thence , )
tol d me that after Mr . W h itefi eld’
s com ing thence, (for he had been
upon th at Is l and,as he c ame to the Bay
,and was p resent al so with Mr .
Mah ew amongst the Ind i ans, ) there were neer upon one hundred (I
th ink he sa id N i nety and odd ) per son s of them m i ne who came i n toheare h im p re ach un to them
,and some P awaws al so
,an d on e Of some
em inency amongst them,who d id acknowl edge h i s ev i l ] i n such doings
,
and made a Decl ar at ion of the manner how he came at first to be aP awaw
,the wh ich al so Mr . Mah ew d id rel ate unto mee. S i r
,th at
there i s such a work in h and in New Eng l and,as th e p reach ing Of the
Gospel u nto the Nat i ves there,al l the Mag istr ates and Min isters
,and
peop l e i n th at p l ace (who know any th ing ) wi l l be readie to attest ; andtherefore
,such as dare affi rms the contrary
,may as wel l s ay t hat th e
Sunne doth not sh ine at Noone day,when the sk ie is cl eere
,and doe
i ndeed deserve a Pub l i que W itnesse to b e borne aga inst them for sucha Pub l ique and so notor iou s an untru th ; the good Lord humb l e themdeep ly for i t
,i f i t be h i s good wi l l
,and p ardon i t to them through h i s
gr ace in Chr ist .Thu s
,S i r
,not h av ing fur th ur at th i s presen t to be troub l esome
unto you,des i r i ng an in terest i n your e arnest pr ayers for mee
,beseech
i ng the Lord to l et h i s presence and b l ess i ng b e with you, and uponyour gre at and we ighty bus i nesses , I t ake l e ave , r est i ng
Your humb l e Ser v ant i n the Lord,
TH OMA S ALLEN .
N orwich,8th 1 1mo. , 165 1 .
NOT E 25,p age 5 9 .
O R IG IN O F T HE BAPT I ST C H UR C H .
I H AV E thought it best to tr an scr ibe fr om the records,al l th at re
main s respect ing the cases of Thomas Goul d and Thom as O sborn .
The fol l owing extr acts fol l ow,at i n ter v al s
,t he one to be found on
p ages 5 6 an d 5 7,and together wi th th at
,p resent the whol e h istory of
the case,as l eft by the records of the church .
Nov . 18,1663 . Bro . Thomas O sburn be ing l eavened with pr inc i
p l es of A nabap tisme was (the brethren con sent ing ) admon ish ed for
frequent i r regul ar w ithdrawing h imsel f from the pub l i ck worsh ip ofG od
,hol ding i t to be no s in to neg l ect the pub l i ck ord inances of God
upon the Lord ’s day,even when they might con ven ient ly be enj oyed
an d for continu ing impen i ten t i n h i s s i n . O n the s ame day al so, i t
202
min ist ry ; 3 . our severe dea l ing with those of a contr ary judgmentfrom u s ; and therefore said he shou l d not come to the church . O ur
S is ter O sburn ’ s was th at sh e des i red not to cont in ue with the church,
but woul d be d ismissed wh ich way they would, and th at she coul d not
come to the church,she shoul d s i n aga in st her consc ience i f she d id .
These member s thu s re fus i ng to appear,the church judged i t meet
to wa it with some further p at i ence upon our brethren abovesaid,and
s is ter : and they d id therefore des i r e our Deacon s again,with our
b rother Ens ign T i dd,to car ry th i s message followih g to them ,
v i zto tel l them that they are under the fur l /ter ofi
'
ence Of the church forthe i r sep ar at ing from our commun ion
,and refus i ng to hear the church
,
and th at the church doth des i r e,and requ ire them in the n ame of
Chr ist that they r eturn to u s,and come and hear the church and g i ve
an account the next Lord ’s day of the i r wi thdr awing .
July 23,1665 . O ur messengers h av ing del i vered the message
abovesaid to Bro. G O O ],Bro . O sburn
,and S ister O sburn ; the an swer
returned by them was the s ame (i n a m anner ) they gave the weekbefore ; Bro . G oo] deny i ng h is r el at i on to the church i n Char l estown
,and th at they h ad noth ing to do with h im
,and al so said th at
they were to have the Lord ’s Supper adm in istered i n the i r chur chthe next Lord ’s day and therefore he shou ld not come : Bro. O sburns aid he shoul d not come to the church and th at the church m ight proceed as they p l e ased w ith h im : our S i ster O sburn ’s an swer was as
formerly,refus i ng to come . Whereupon i t was propounded to vote
(after a propos al Of i t h ad been made by some of the brethren ) Thati f there d i d come i n noth ing of r ep en tan ce man ifested by these person sto the church between th is and the neat L ord
’
s day ,whether then
the chu rch shou ld proceed (see ing these matters h ad formerly beenso fu l ly and often debated ) without fur ther deb at ing the m atter then ext Lord ’ s d ay
,an d (i f n oth ing of more th an ord in ary weight to
h inder d id fal l out i n the inter im ) th at then these our brethren an d sh e
our s ister shoul d h ave the censure of er rommun ica l ion p assed again stthem ! I t was un an imou sly car r i ed by a si len tiary vote in the affi rma
t ive,n ot one Of the br ethren p resent express ing a word against i t .Ju ly 3 0
,1665 . Noth ing of r epentance i nter ven ing , Bro . Thomas
G oo ],Bro . Thom as O sburn
,and h is wife our S ister O sburn
,were
(wi th the con sent of the bre thren ) excommun ica ted for thei r impen it en ey i n the i r sch i smat i c al w i thdr awing from the church and negl ecti ng to hear the church .
”
A documen t has been preserved by Back us,and in corporated into
h i s h i s tory of the B ap t ists,purport ing to be a n arr a t i v e wr i tten by Mr .
Goul d h imsel f,o f h i s t reatment by the church . Th i s document , he
s ays,he met w ith among Mr . Cal l ender ’s paper s
,and had good reason
to th i nk i t genu in e . In order that both s i des of the controversy maybe p resented
,I h ave thought i t best to g i ve the substance of Mr .
G oul d ’s own account,abr idg i ng i t
,but prese rv ing i ts sp i r i t and s ty l e .
He say s,th at h av ing h ad scrup l es a l ong t ime i n regard to in fan t
b apt ism,he refra i ned from offer ing h i s ch i ld
,born i n 165 5 ,
for thatord in ance
,keep i ng s i l ence
,an d wai t i ng to see wh at the church woul d
do . O n a th i rd d ay of the week,when there was a meet ing at h i s
hou se to keep a day of th ank sg i v i ng to G od for th e mercy shown toh is wi fe , he rece ived a note from t he elders of the church, des i r i ng
203
h im to come down to the i r hou se on the morrow , and l et them knowwhen he woul d come
,and they woul d stay at home for h im ; and i f h e
could not come that d ay,to send them word . He was p revented from
accep t ing th is proposal by a p rev iou s engagement , and sent back wordaccord ingly . O n the fifth d ay
,meet ing with Elder G reen , he tol d h im
how i t was ; and the elder p romised to see th e p astor , and appoin tanother day an d send h im word . A fter a s i l en ce of two mon ths , hewas requested to s top on a firs t day i n the afternoon , and meet thechurch . He was then cal l ed out
,an d Master S ims ” tol d the church
that he withheld h is ch i l d from bapt ism,and h ad refused to meet them
or appoin t a t ime for i t , when they wrote to h im to take h i s own t imeand send them word . Thi s l ed to an angry al ter cat ion as to wh at thel ette r contained— Mr . Symmes ch arg i ng Mr . Goul d wi th fal sehoodwhen Brother Thomas Wilder producing the l etter
,substan ti ated Mr .
Gou ld ’ s statement,and forced Mr . Symmes to con fess that he was
m istaken . A fter th i s,Mr . Goul d was quest ioned in regard to h i s
r e ason s for withhold ing h is chi l d from b apt i sm . The fol l owing week,
at a meeting Of the church,held at Mr . Russel l ’s hou se
,efforts con
t inned to be made to sat isfy h i s con sc ience,when Mr . Symmes i s rep
r esented agai n as be ing very pos i t i v e,and be ing ob l iged to con fess
h imsel f i n the wrong .
A t another meet ing,dur ing the d iscu ss i on , W . D . s tood up i n th e
church and said twi ce,put h im in the court .
” Mr . Symmes said,
pr ay,forbear such words ; but Mr . Goul d sai d i t proved so , for he
was soon put into seven or e ight courts,wh i l e he was s t i l l l ooked upon
as a member of the i r church . The elder pressed the church to l ayh im under admon it ion
,but they were backward to do i t . A fter th is ,
he went out at the spr i nkl ing of ch i l dren but becau se i t was a greattroub l e to some honest hearts
,he was p revai l ed upon to st ay h e sat
down,however
,dur ing the adm in i str at ion
,and then they deal t w ith
h im for i rreverent conduct ; one accu sed h im of stopp ing h is ear s,but
he den ied i t.A t another meet ing
,he was asked i f he woul d suffer the church to
fetch hi s ch i l d and b apt i z e i t ! He rep l ied,yes
,i f i t m igh t be made
known that he h ad no hand in i t ; then some of the church wer eagain st doing so. A brother stood up and said
,Brother Gou ld
, you
were once for i n fant b ap t ism,why are you fal l en from i t ! He rep l i ed
,
why were you once for cross i ng i n bapt i sm ! Th is gre atly offendedMr . Symmes
,who des i r ed the church to take noti ce th at be comp ared
the ord in ance of Chr is t to the cross i n b ap t i sm ; and th i s was madeon e of the offences for wh ich he was deal t wi th . A fter th i s , the Deputy Governor
,meet ing h im in Boston
,des i r ed h im to l et the church
b apt i ze hi s ch il d,to wh ich he con sented
,i f they d id i t on the i r own
account . He then cal l ed to Mr s . Norton,of Charl es town
,and pr ayed
her to fetch Goodman Gould ’s ch i l d and bapt i z e i t . She,through
m isapprehen s ion,however
,gav e the impress i on that h e woul d br ing
h i s ch i l d out . Th is l ed to another i nterv iew wi th the church,when
on e of the brethren said i f he woul d not br ing h is ch i l d to one ord in ance
,i t was meet he shoul d n ot p ar take of the other . So many of
the church concluded to l ay h im under admon i t ion ; but before theydid i t
,Mr . Symmes tol d h im i t was more according to ru l e
,for h im to
withdr aw from the ord inance,th an for them to put h im by— quot ing
204
Matt . v . 23,24. But he rep l i ed th at he d id not know th at h i s brother
h ad any th ing j ustly against h im,and therefore he durs t not withdr aw
from that ord in ance th at he h ad found so much of God i n . A fter th i s,
they proceeded to admon iti on . Elder G reen s aid,Brother Gou l d
,
you are to t ake not ice th at you are admon ished for three th ings ; thefirs t i s
,that you refu sed to br ing your chi l d to be b apt i z ed ; the second
i s , for your con ten t iou s word s an d unreveren t car r i age i n the t ime oft h at ord in ance ; the th i rd is , for a l ate l i e you tol d ; and therefore , youare to take noti ce
,th at you are not to part ake any more of the ord i
n ance of Chr i st w i th u s t i l l you g i v e sat isfact ion for these th ings .”
Mr . Gould says he does not know what th is “ l i e ” refer red to,unl ess
to th e l etter ment i oned above . Th i s admon it ion took p l ace seven ore ight years before he was cas t out. A fter th i s
,he went to Cambr idge
meet ing,which was as near to h i s house as the other ; upon that , he
was put i n to court,because he d id n ot come to hear ; but i t appear ing
th at he went cons t antly to C ambr idge,he was cl e ared . A fter th is
,he
was deal t w i th for sch ism,or rend ing from the church . But he tol d
them he d id n ot rend from them,for they put h im away .
“ Mas terSymmes was very e arnest for another admon it ion
,which most of the
church were again st ; but i t seems he set i t down for an admon it ionon a b i t of p aper .”
Th ings remained i n th is cond i t ion for a l ong t ime . In the meant ime some Bap t ist fr i ends h av i ng come from Eng l and
,they began to
hol d meet ings at Mr . Goul d ’s hou se,on the Lord ’s day . For th i s he
was agai n summoned before the church . His answer was,
“ I knownot what r eason the church had to cal l me for th .
” Being asked i f h ewas not a member of the church
,he rep l i ed
,
“ they had not acted toward me as a member— they had den ied me the p r i v i leges of a member
,who had put me by the ord i n ances seven y ears ago. They asked
whether I l ooked upon admon it ion as an appointment of Chr is t ‘
! Itold them yes
,but not to l i e under i t above seven years , and to be put
by the ord i n ances of Chr i s t i n the church ; for th e rul e of Chr is t i s ,fi rs t to deal wi th men i n the firs t and in the second p l ace
,and then i n
the th i rd p l ace befor e the church ; but the firs t t ime th at ever theydeal t w ith me
,t hey cal l ed me before the whol e church . Many meet
ings were hel d abou t th is th ing,whether I was a member or not ; but
they coul d come to 11 0 concl us ion,for I st i l l affi rmed that thei r act ings
r endered me 110 member . Then Mr . Symmes tol d the church I wasr ipe for excommun ic at ion
,and was very earnest for i t
,but the church
woul d not con sent .” He then des i r ed a counc i l,but Mr . Symmes
an swered,we are a church of Chr ist oursel ves
,and you shal l know
that we have power to deal w i th you oursel ves .” Mr . Russel l sa id,
we have not gone the r ight way to gai n th is our brother , for we havedeal t too h ar shly wi th h im S t i l l M r . Symmes pressed the church toexcommun i cate h im . Mr . Ru ssel l said
,
“ There were greater error si n the church i n the apostl es ’ t ime
,and yet they d id not so deal w it h
them .
” Mr Symmes asked h im what they were ! He rep l i ed Howsay some of you that there i s no resurrect ion of the dead 1 Mr .Symmes was troub l ed
,and said
,I wonder you w i l l br ing th i s p l ace of
Scr iptur e to encou rage h im in h is er ror 1” Mr . S ynn nes was earnestfor another admon i t ion then stood up Solomon Ph ips
,and said
,You
may cl ap on e admon i t ion on h im upon another,but to what end
,for he
206
proceeded agains t me th at day , and del i vered me up to S atan for nothear ing the church .
”
Such i s Mr . Gou l d ’s own account of th is unhappy controversy . Ap art of i t
,i t w i l l be seen
,respects proceed ings of wh ich we hav e no
account on the part of the church , and i f, t h erefore , i t should recei veall the con s i der at ion wh ich s im i l ar ex p ar te representat ions are commouly hel d ent i tl ed to
,i t wou ld not be suffic ient to prejud ice a can did
m ind against Mr . Symmes and the church , i n the par t icul ars i n wh i chi t bear s so hard against them . We do not mean to say that noth ingwas s aid or done by the church and p astor
,i n t he exc i tement and
heat of the controversy , of wh ich Mr . Goul d might n ot j ustly comp l a i n ; we woul d on the con tr ary g i v e to h i s n arr at i ve al l the con fidence which i s due to n ar r at i ves of the k ind ; but , when we rememberhow much i s to be al l owed for the color i ng wh ich the i nteres ted p artycannot fai l to imp art to such a n arr at i ve
,how l ong a per iod of t ime it
covers,how much which respected the act ion of the church he was
n ecessar i ly ignorant of and coul d l earn only from others,and how
l ong after the tr an sact i on s he menti on s h i s n arr at i ve was i n al l prob ability wr i tten , we shal l n ot be d isposed to regard the ent i re n arr at i veas a ver i t ab l e h istory
,and condemn a p astor and peop l e unheard i n
sel f-defence,on the tes t imony of a s ingl e w i tness
,and he
,an i nteres ted
p arty,though we doubt not of honest i n ten t ion s .
Between Mr . Gould ’s n arr at ive an d the church records some contr ad ict ion s wil l be observed . He den ies the correctness of Mr . Symmes ’
account,and imp l i es th at i t was wri tten l ong after the tr ansact ion s
ment ioned . Mr . Symmes,however
,concludes h i s record of the meet
i ng of June 6,165 8
,thus Th i s tr an sact ion was speedi ly
,after the
acti ng thereof,truly r ecorded by the then only elder of th i s church
,
Z ech : S ymmes .
” He al so says,th at the church records r ead i n the
d i spute i n Boston,were dr awn up at th at t ime by Mr . Shep ard
,and
th at he was not an eye or ear w itness to the church ’s act i ngs abovehal f the t ime . These records no doubt are the s ame which st i l l exist
,
and they h ave every appear ance of hav ing been wr i tten at the t imethe d ates spec i fy
,being i n terspersed with other votes and tr an sact ion s
r ecorded in l i ke manner under the i r respect i ve dates . And to al l thetr ans ac t ion s wh ich he recorded
,Mr . Shepar d was undoubtedly a wi t
n ess. Mr . Goul d was excommun icated July 3 0,1665
,and Mr . Shep
ard was settl ed Apr i l 13,165 9
,mor e than s i x years before and l ess
th an a year after the commencement of th i s case of d isc ip l i n e,as
recorded by Mr . Symmes June 6,165 8 .
I h ave no d ispos i t ion to r ake over the as hes of th is anc ien t controversy, or unnecessar i ly to s ay on e word i n d isp aragement of Mr .Goul d . But when h i s n arr at i ve i s adop ted as unmingl ed truth
,as i t
h as been by Backu s and Bened ict,who have incorpor ated i t i nto the i r
respect i ve h istor i es,notwi thstand ing i ts contr ar iety to the offi c i al
r ecords of the church,and apparently without an effort to s i ft the ev i
dence on both s ides,i t i s suffi c ien tly obv ious that great i nj ust i ce i s
done to the memory of our fathers . Whoever wi l l t ake the pains tol ook i n to VVillard ’
s Rep ly to Ru ssel l ’s Nar r at ive,wil l fi nd that the
s t atements made by Mr . Gou ld and re i ter ated by wri ters of that denomin at ion s i n ce
,were from the firs t con trad icted . Increase Mather , i n
the prel im inary address to the Reader,s ays he ver i ly bel i eves that the
207
A n abapt ists , by the i r fal l ac i ou s n arr at i ve , h ave offended God , i n asmuchas the th ings they have m isrepresented were not done afar off
,but at
home,where r ight in format ion was easy to be had ; i f they had been
wi l l ing to h ave known and that others shou l d know the truth . Asfor those
,
” he says,
of the A n tipedobaptistical persu as i on , who d ifferfrom us only i n that p art i cu l ar
,I woul d speak to them as unto breth
ren,whom (thei r error— for so I bel i eve i t i s— notwi thst and ing ) I l ove,
and woul d bear w ith,and exerc ise the same indulgence and compas
s i on towar ds them,as I woul d h ave others do to me
,who feel mysel f
comp assed with in fi rmities . I have been a poor l aborer i n the Lord ’sv i neyard
,i n th is p l ace
,upwards of twenty years and i t i s more th an
I know,i f,i n al l that t ime
,any of those that scrup l e i n fant bapt ism ,
have met with molest at ion from the mag istr ate merely on account ofthe i r op i n'ion . I truly profess
,
” he s ays,
“that i f any men , e i ther
of the Presby ter i an or Congregat ional (or never so much of my ) pers uas ion
,i n matter s r efer r ing to church d i sc ip l i ne , shou l d behave
themsel ves as the Anabapt i s ts i n Boston,i n New Engl and
,have done
,
I th ink they woul d h ave deserved far gr e ater pun ishment than anyth ing th at to th i s day h ath been infl i cted upon them .
”
And in regard to the p art i cu lar cases of Goul d and O sborn,Mr .
Wil l ard,at that t ime pastor of the O ld South Church
,says
,i n reply
i ng to Ru ssel l ’s N arr at i ve,that the n arr at ive and truth are str an gers
,
whereof there is suffic i ent test imony to be found i n the records of thec hurch at Char lestown
, (whereof they were members and there areman y faithful w i tnesses yet al i v e— wh o were present at these tran sact i ons
,and can say i f these th ings be n ot so— which ought to outweigh
the story of a pr ejud i ced person,who h ath al l by hearsay
,whose very
bu s iness 15 to pal l i ate and l i ck over matters to shape them to h is ownturn .
” And then he proceeds to ment ion the p art i cu l ars i n wh ich theNar r at i ve h ad m i s-st ated the reason s for Mr . Gould ’s d isc ip l ine andexcommun icat ion . He asserts th at he was admon ished
,not for wi th
hol ding h is ch i l d from b apt ism,or because he coul d not be conv inced
of error,but for speak ing contemp tuou s ly of the ord in ance
,and unbe
coming conduct i n the t ime of admin istr at ion,by wh ich
,he . acknowl
edged before the congregat ion he des igned to cast d i srespect upon i t .N ow l et the Anab apt i sts themsel ves j udge
,whether there be not a
v ast d ifference,between doubt ing about an ord in an ce
,and professedly
v i l i fy i ng of i t by unhandsome words and carr i ages ; and W hether theywil l bear wi th any member of the irs
,th at wi l l so contemn any of
those th ings wh i ch are to them s acred,and a cknowl edged as Chr i st’s
1n st1tut10 n s .
”
But I do not intend to go i n to the mer i ts of th is controversy . Myonly des ign h as been to do j us t i ce to th e church and i ts p as tors
,i n
oppos i t ion to th ose p art i z an representat ion s,whi ch by adopt ing w i th
out exam i n at ion the statement of one of the p art i es , throws al l theb l ame upon the other .‘
1 Backus ’s H i s t . of th e Bap tis ts,chap . 6. W i l lard ’s Ne Su tor u l tra C repidam.
208
NOT E p age 62.
OLD SOUT H CH UR CH .
T m: O ld South Church was not only organ iz ed in Char l estown ,but r ece ived its most import an t member from thi s church— the Rev .T homas Thatcher
,who was el ected and ordained the i r first pastor .
He was admitted to th is church,O ctober 24
,1669
,by a l etter of d i s
mi ss ion from the F i rs t Church i n Boston,g i ven O ctober 9 . The
or ig i nal l etter of th i s church,d i smiss ing and recommend ing Mr .
T hatcher to the O ld South Church,i s pr eserved among the paper s of
th at church .
NOT E 27,p age 66 .
FRAN C IS W I LLOUG H BY .
IMMED IAT ELY after the n ame of Mr . Symmes,i n the reg i ster of
death s,i s th at of Mr . Franci s Wil l oughby
,who d ied Apr i l 4 , 1671 .
His ch ar acter and ser v ices demand a p ass i ng noti ce . He was DeputyGovernor of the col ony from 1665 to 1671 . He l eft an estate of
Hi s wi fe afterwards marr ied Cap t . Lawrence Hammond,
wh o was l i k ewi se a d i st ingu i shed c it i zen and l ead ing member of thechurch .
T here i s a cur iou s old manuscr ip t v ol ume,bel ong ing to the Ant i
quar ian Soc iety at Worcester , contain ing a journ al wr i tten i n a veryd iffi cu l t cypher
,wh ich appear s from certai n i ntern al ev idences
,to
h ave been wr i tten by G ov. Wil l oughby , I found a l arge l oose sheet,
folded between the p ages of the journal,i n the hand-wr it ing of Thomas
S hepard the 2d,and seem ing to be a k ey
,i n p art
,to the cypher . But
n otw i thst an d ing the aid thus afforded,and the ass ist ance of sk i l fu l
fr i ends,I h ave been un ab l e to decypher i t
,or even j udge of the com
parat ive val u e of i ts contents . It i s ent it l ed A cont inuat ion of mydai ly observ at ion
,
” and compr i ses a per iod of t ime from 1 . 9mo . 165 0,
to 28 . 10mo . 165 1 . It was certainly wr i tten in Char l estown,for on
the fi rst page i s a br i ef account,not wr i tten i n cypher
,of a fire
,which
con sumed el even or twel ve hou ses,2 1. 9mo . l 65 0. In an anc ien t
i nter l e aved al manac,i n the possess i on of Rev . Mr . Sewal l of Burl ing
ton,i s a noti ce of th is fi re
,under th e same date
,as happen ing i n
Charl estown,p rov ing concl us i vely th at the journ al was wr itten in
Charl es town . And no doubt th is i s the c al am ity to wh ich Johnsonal l udes i n h i s Wonder Work ing Prov idence
,
” and wh ich he descr ibesas a ter r ib l e fir e wh ich happened i n Charl es-Town
,i n the depth of
Winter,165 0
,by a v iolent w ind b l own from one house to another
,to
the con suming of the fai rest houses i n the Town .
” 2
Mi sprin ted 28.2 2 H is t. Col l . v ii i. Q4.
2 10
godly preacher,th at was h id i n the hou se of 'Mr . Wil l i am Symmes
,the
father of Wil l i am,from the rage of the Mar i an persecu ti on .
”
I n0 te i t as a spec i al mercy of God,
’
(he wr i tes i n a l eaf of th atbook , )
‘ that both my father and mother were favorers of the gospel,
and hated idol atry under Queen Mary ’s persecu t i on . I came to th i sbook by th i s means : going to S andwich in Kent
,to p reach
,the fi rs t
or second year after I was ordained a m in ister,Anno 15 87 or 88
,and
p reach ing i n S t . Mary ’ s,where Mr . P awson
,an anc i ent godly preacher
,
was min i ster,who knew my p aren ts wel l
,and me too
,at school ; he ,
after I had fin i shed my sermon s,came and brought me th is book for a
p resent,acqu aint ing me with th e above-ment ioned c i rcumst ances ;
’ andthen he adds
,I charge my son s Z echar i ah and Wi l l iam
,before Him
th at shal l j udge the qu i ck and the dead,th at you never defi l e your
sel ves with any i dol atry or superst i t i on whatsoever,but l earn your
rel ig i on ou t of God ’s holy word,and worsh ip G od
,as he h im sel f h ath
p rescr ibed,and not after the dev ices and tr ad i t ion s of men . S cr ipsi,
December 6,
O f the ch il dren of Mr . Symmes,Mary was marr ied to Capt . Thom as
S av age,15 th 7mo . 165 2 . El i z abeth m arr i ed Hezek i ah Usher
,and
another daughter m arr ied S amuel Hough .
Z ech ar i ah gr adu ated at Harv ard Col l ege,165 7
,and marr i ed Su san
n a G r aves, of th is town , November 18 , 1669 ,
and the b i r th and bapt ism of the i r d aughter K ath ar ine
,i s r ecorded Marc h 29
,and Apr i l 2
,
1676. He was ordai ned December 27, 1682 , th e fi rs t m in ister ofBradford
,where he h ad prev ious ly pre ached four teen year s . He died
there 1708,aged seven ty-one .
Hi s son,Rev . T homas Symmes , was born February 1 , 1678, gr adu
ated at Harv ard Col l ege,1698
,and was ord ained i n 1702
,the fi rst
m i n i ster of Boxford . But be ing d ismissed i n 1708,he was i nstal l ed
th e s ame year i n Br adford,successor to h i s father
,and died O ctober
6,1725
,aged forty-e ight . From an in ter est ing and val u ab l e memoi r
of h im,by Rev . John Brown , of Haverh i l l , publ ished i n 1726 , we
le arn that he was d i st ingu i shed for h i s eloquence as a p re ache r,h i s
p i ety as a C h r istian,an d fai thfuln ess as a p astor . He rece i ved h i s
p rep ar atory educ at ion i n the gr ammar-school,at Char l es town
,under
th e ins truct ion o f the famou s mas ter Emerson,who was afterwards
school-master at S al em,where he d ied . He was su sta ined at col l ege
by the help of benefactors,an d d ist ingu i shed h im sel f by h i s schol ar
sh ip and real p i ety . He was marr i ed three t imes . His first wi fe wasEl i z abeth Bl owers
,of C ambr idge ; h is second ,
Hannah,daughter of
Rev . John P ike,of Dover ; and h is th i rd , Mrs . Eleanor , widow of
El i ez er Moody,of Dedham
,and d aughter of Dr . Benj am in T h omp
son,of Braintree , who su rv i v ed h im . He l eft e ight ch i l d ren
,the
eldest of whom,Thomas
,res i ded in Charl estown
,and bec ame a dea
con i n the chu rch . I have been qu i te des i rou s to make some extr actsfrom h i s memoir
,espec i al ly from the farewel l adv i ce he composed and
l e ft for h is ch i l dren,and in wh ich he al l udes very feel ing ly to the bap
t ismal covenant , i n wh ich he had g i v en them to God . But I mu s t referto the “ p l ai n memorat i v e account ” of h im
,annexed to the sermon
p reached on occas ion of h is death .
1
I S ee al so G age’s H i s t . of R ow ley .
2 1 1
NOT E 29,p age 72 .
DAN IEL R USSELL .
A N el egy , composed on the death of th is gentl eman , i s now i n possess i on of the Rev . Char les Lowel l , D . D .
,of Boston . Some fur ther
noti ces r espect ing h im,and the d i st i nguished fam i ly to wh i ch he
bel onged,wil l be g i ven in note 5 7.
NOT E 3 0,p age 72.
SEAT IN G T H E MEET IN G -H OUSE .
FE B R UAR Y 1,1675 . Agreed wi th John Fosd ick and N ath an i el
Froth ingham,to prov ide al l t imber
,and bu i l d three gal l er ies
,on e i n
the front,and one on each s i de i n the meet ing-hou se , and to m ake two
seats,one before the other
,i n the gal l er i es
,and to m ake a pai r of s tai rs
to each gal l ery,and to al ter the l ower st ai rs going up to the men ’ s gal
leries,so as may be most conven ient for an outlet ; the s i de gal l er i es to
run from the front gal l ery home to th e oppos i te w al l ; the town to findboar ds an d n ai l s
,and to p ay for the sa id work
,when comp l etely fin i shed
,
£46 in town p ay ; and i f i t shal l appear a h ard bargain , twenty sh i l l i ngsmore . A ttest
,L . HAMMON D
,R ecorder .
”
The bus i ness of ass ign ing seats to the peop l e,belonged formerly to
the sel ectmen of the town . Frequent orders may h e met with on thetown books for seat i ng i ndi v idu al s . The men and women appear tohave s at on d ifferent s i des of the house . The boys h ad on e of th egal l eri es ass igned to them ,
and con s t i tu ted a part of the congregat i onwh ich the father s of the town found i t d iffi cul t to man age . The foll owing extr act exh ib i ts one Of the exped ients they dev ised .
A t a meet ing of the sel ectmen,March 23
,1674 . The person s
here in after mentioned,are appointed to l ook after the boys
,and keep
them i n order i n the mee t ing-hou se,upon the S abbath and l ecture days
,
for the year en su ing,twenty-four person s be ing ordered to s i t two for
e ach mon th ; viz .,
Month 1 . John Lark in,
Month 7. Wil l i am Everton,
Thomas Lark in Thomas Hett ;2. Gy l es Fyfi eld, 8 . John Bennet
,
Luke Perk in s ; John Goodwin3 . Thom as Adams
, 9 . N athan iel Kettl e,
Richard Adam s ; Henry Bal com4. John Kn ight
,Jr.
,Rich ard T ay l e r
,
Thomas lB rigden ; Rober t B arret ;5 . John Cutl er
,Jr .
,Joseph Frost
,
John Dowse ; John S imson6 . S amuel Dowse
,Jon athan S imson
,
Tymothy Cutl er ; Nath an ie l Hutch i nson.
2 12
T o th e respec tive persons above wri tten
G EN T LEM E N — The sen se of the n ecess i ty of the i nspect ion andgovernmen t of youth
,at t imes of pub l i c wor sh ipp ing of God i n our
meet ing-house,and finding th at the way t aken to that end the l as t
year,th rough the care and d i l igence of the person s attend ing th at
work,d id very much reach our end propounded
,we are encouraged to
proceed the same way th is year al so,and accord ing ly r equest you
respect i vely to take your turn s i n attend ing the sai d work,accord ing
to the method hereafter propounded,i n wh i ch we do des i r e you to do
you r u tmost,that al l ch i l dr en and youth th at are under age
,may be as
much wi th i n your i n spect i on as the conven ien ce of seats wil l admi tof ; not permi tt i ng them to scatter up and down in obscure p l aces ,where they may b e from under a due observance
,wherein
,i f n eed be
,
you shal l h av e th e ass i st an ce of the con s t ab l e . You r fai th ful attendance hereunto wi l l doubtl ess be a ser v i ce accept ab l e to God and yourb r ethren
,remember ing th at to be a door-keeper i n th e house of G od
,
was of h igh esteem wi th holy D av id . We further des i r e your care top revent the d i sorderly r unn ing out of you th i n t ime of pub l i c wor sh ip .
By order of sel ectmen,
L A W R . HAMM ON D,R ecorder .
T h is p r act i ce was cont inued unt i l 1682,when Luke Perk in s was
appoi n ted to atten d to th i s bu s i ness,for wh ich he was to r ecei v e 55 3
per annum . The exper i en ce,however
,of both anc ien t an d modern
t imes,has shown th at ch i l dren ought not to b e separ ated from the i r
p arents,bu t that fam i l i es ought to sit together i n the house of God .
NOT E 3 1,p age 73 .
T OLERAT ION .
IT has been v ery common to reproach our fath er s as h av ing exh ib i tedt h e sp i r i t of i n tol er an ce and persecut ion i n the worst forms . Theyh ave been represented as nar row-minded b igots i n the i r attachmen t tothe i r own sent iments
,and fierce persecutors i n the i r i nd iscr im in ate
h atred to al l who d iffered i n any measure from them . N O can d id person
,acqu ainted wi th th e ch ar ac ter of the Pur i tan s and wi th the t imes i n
wh ich they l i v ed,wil l hes i t ate to pronounce th is representat ion fal se
an d s l anderou s . They were the p ioneer r eformer s of the age in wh ichthey l i v ed and i f they fai l ed to c ar ry ou t the i r p r i nc ip l es con s i stently
,
they on ly fel l,i n these respects
,i n to the op i n ion s th at r e igned un i ver
s al ly around them . Those who came after them,and took thei r pr i n
c iples for gr an ted , were ab l e , i n the l ight of the i r exper i ence , to seecl e ar ly the resul ts to wh ich those pr i nc ip l e s l ed . The father s of NewEng l and effected a wider separ at ion between the church and the s tateth an had ever exi sted before— erected a w ider p l atform of rel ig i ou sfreedom than the l aws of any other peop l e al l owed ; and i f they d idnot go to the ful l extent of what we now regard as j us t and expe
d ien t,we conv i ct oursel ves of b igotry
,i f we severely cen sure them .
2 14
th e end of c i v il au thor i ty,th at men may live a quiet and peaceable life,
in godl iness as well as h onesty ! but not i n the ways of ungodl iness , nomore than i n the ways of d ishones ty ; i n a word , the gospel of JesusChr is t h ath a i i o h t p aramoun t al l r ights i n the wor l d i t h ath a divineand sup reme r ight to be rece ived 1n every n ati on
,and the knee of ma
g istracy is to bow at th e n ame of Jesus . Th i s r ight c ar r i es liber tya long with i t , for al l such as p rofess the gospel , to wal k accord ing tot h e faith and order of th e g ospel . Th at which i s con tr ary to
tD
th e
gospel,hath no r ig h t , and therefore shoul d h ave no l iber ty . But th e
l aws wh ich have been made for the c i v i l government her e,w i th r espect
unto rel ig i on,whereby you h ave decl ared your p r ofessed subj ection to
t h e gosp el , and your n on-tolerat ion of th at wh i ch i s con trary th er euntot h i s wil l be a n ame an d a gl ory to New Eng l and so long as th e sun and
moon endure.
" l
C ircumstant ial dif er ences ought not to breed substan tial divisions ;th at wou l d be a monstrous and g igan tine bir th . It i s a wrong don e tothe Chr i st i an n ame
,so much as to question ,
whether th at d i vers i ty ofappreh en s i on i n l esser an d dub i ou s matters amongst the Lord ’s peop l e
,
ought to be borne with all,wh ich can and doth suffer a regul ati on
,i n
o rder to the un i ty and peace of the whol e . But yet,the tru e Chr i s
t i an,gospel l iber ty ,
was never unto th i s day a wom b b ig with l iceut iousness . And here there i s one pos i t i on , th at meth ink s can never beden i ed by any t hat h av e bu t the common p r i nc ip l es of r e ason en t i reviz .
,
‘T hat n o per su as i on or pr act i ce c an ever,i n the con sc i en ce of
th e contr ary-m inded , h ave a good r ight to pub l i c l iberty and coun te
n an ce,wh ich
,bei ng thorough ly attended to
,doth indeed tend to th e
u nderm in ing,and so i n the i ssue
,to the overthrow of the st ate O f t hese
c hu rches,i n th at where in i t i s of G od
,and h ath been l argely and
pl ent i ful ly owned by h im . And of th i s case,and the app l i c at i on
t her eof, those who are i n au thor i ty may , and ought to j udge . A nd
fur th er , wh o can therefor e th ink i t much , i f such op i n ion s (as are not
on ly i n themsel ves , but even i n the m inds of those who hol d them ,un
c hurch ing to so many pr ec iou s soci et i es of Chr i s t, I mean as to the i rv i s ib l e church state ) h e v ery h ar sh and unp l easant , and the uncontrol l edscope of them much more d i stastefu l ! C er tain ly ,
a weaker body cann ot
,ought not to do that
,or suffer th at upon i tsel f
,or in i tsel f
,upon
t h e account of ch ar i ty to another , wh ich a stronger body may , and i nsome case s may b e bound to do or suffer .” 2
1 Rev . John B ig inson’s Elec tion Sermon
,May 27, 1663 .
R ev . W . S tong ton’s E lec tion Sermon
,A pri l 29
, 1668.
215
NOT E 32,p age 76 .
EP ITAPH OF T H OMAS SH EPAR D .
T H E fol l owing Latin ep i taph,Mather s ays
,was engr aved on Shep
ar d ’s tomb-stone :
D . O. M. S .
R epositae sunt h ie R el iqu iae T h omas S h epardi,V iri S anctissimi,
Eruditione,v irtu te
,omn i ena
,moribusq . suavissimis omatissimi ;
T heo ogi C onsultissimi,C oncionatoris Ex im ii
Q ui Fi l iu s fu i t T h omas S h epardi C larissimus ,Memoratissimi Pas tori s o l im Ecc les iae C antabrigiensis ;
Et Ecc les ia C aroliensi I’resbyter docensFide ac v itaveru s EpiscopusOptimede R e l i teraria Meritus
Q uaCurator C ollegii H arvardini v igilantissimusQ uaMun icipii A cadem ic i Soc iu s P rimariu s .
T a 1 00 I qO ofi X gi or ofi , 0 17 T o: eavr ofi e r wr .
In D . Jesu p lac ideO bdormivit, A nno 1677, D ec. 22.
fEtatis suae 43 .
T otius N ov-ang l iae L ach rymis D efletus 3Usq et Usq 5 D eflendus.
NOT E 3 3,p age 78.
O A KES’
S ELEG Y .
A s a fur ther test imon ial of Mr . Shep ard’s worth of char acter , and
Mr . O akes’s affect ion for h i s fr i end
,I h ave tr an scr ibed a con s ider ab l e
p ar t of the el egy wr i tten by Mr . O akes,on occ as ion of h i s fr i end ’s
death . The el egy,
” say s Dr . Holmes,
l r ises,i n my judgment , far
above the poetry of h i s day . I t i s of P indar i c measure,and i s p l a in
t i ve,p athet ic
,and ful l of imagery .”
An el egy upon that reverend,l earned
,em i n en tly p i ou s , and s ingu
larly accomp l i shed di v in e, my ever honored b rother , Mr . ThomasShepard
,the l ate fai thful and worthy teacher of th e church of Chr i st ,
at Charl estown,i n N ew Eng l and
,who fin ished h is course on earth ,
and wen t to rece iv e h is crown,December 22
,1677
,i n the for ty-th i r d
year of h is age .— In fi fty-two s t an z as.
O h ! that I were a poe t now in grain !H ow woul d I invocate th e muses al l
T o de ign t he i r presen ce , len d th e i r flow ing ve in ,A nd h elp to grace dear Sh epard
’s funeral
H ow would I pain t our gr iefs, and s u c cors borrowFrom art and fancy , to lim-n out our sorrow !
I I H ist Col l . vn . 5 3 .
2 16
XXII .Art , N ature , G race, in h im were al l combined
T o sh ow th e w or ld a matc h less Paragon ,In W hom of rad ian t v i r tu es n o less s h ined ,T han a w h o l e con s tel l ation ; but h e ’
s gone !H e
’
s gone , al as ! down in th e dus t m us t lieA s m u c h of th is rare person as could die .
XX I I I .If to h ave sol id j u dgmen t , pregnan t par ts,A p ierc ing w i t, and compre h en s ive brain
If to have gone th e roun d of al l th e arts,Imm un i ty from Death ’s arres t wo u ld gain ,Sh epard wou l d h ave been death -proof and secureFrom th at al l-con quer ing h an d , I
’
m very sure .
XX IV .
If h ol y l ife , and deeds of c h ar i tyIf grace i l l u str ious, and v ir tue tried
If modes t carr iage, rare humi l i ty ,Cou ld h ave br ibed death , good Sh epard h ad not d ied.O h ! but ine x orable Death at tacksT h e bes t men , and promi scuous h avoc makes .
X XV I .T o be descended wel l , doth th at commen d !C an sons t h e i r fath er’s g l ory cal l the ir own !
O ur Sh epard justl y m igh t to th is p re ten d ,(H is b l e ssed Fath er was of h igh renown ,
Bot h Englands speak h im great, adm ire h is name ,)B u t h is own personal wor th ’
s a be t ter c laim .
XXV I I .
G reat was h is Fath er, on ce a glorious l igh tAmong us, famous to a h igh degree
G reat was th i s son : indeed , (to do h im r igh t,)A s great and good (to say no more) as H e .
A do uble por t ion of h is Fath er ’s sp ir i tD id th is (h is eldes t) son , th rough grace inh er it.
XXV I I I .H is look commanded reveren ce and awe ,
T h o ugh mi l d and am iable , not au s tereW el l h umored was h e as I e ver saw ,
A nd rul ed by love and w i sdom, more th an fear.
T h e M u ses and th e G races too , consp i redT o set for th th is rare p iece , to be adm ired .
XX IX .
H e governed wel l th e tongue , (th at busy th ing,Unr u l y , law l ess , and pragmat i cal ,)
G rave l y reserved , in spee c h not l av i sh ing,N e i th er too spar ing, nor too l iberal .H is word s were few , we l l seasoned , W isel y weigh ed ,A nd in h is tongue th e law of k indness swayed .
XXX .Learned h e was beyond th e common s i ze ,B eh -iended mu c h by N atu re in h is W it,
A nd T emper , (swee t, sedate ,i ngen ious , w ise ,)
A nd (w h i c h c rowned al l) h e was H eaven ’
s Favori te ,O n wh om th e G od of al l grace d id command ,A nd shower down blessings w i th a l iberal h and .
218
S ee w h ere our S ister Ch arlestown , si ts and moans !Poor w idowed C h arlestown ! al l in d u st , in tear s !
Mark h ow sh e w r ings h er h ands ! h ear h ow sh e groans !S ee h ow sh e w eep s W h at sorrow l ike to h ersCh arles town , th at m igh t for joy compare of lateW i th al l about h er, now looks desolate .
X L I .
A s you h ave seen some pale , wan , ghas tl y look ,W h en gr isl y death , th at w i l l not be sai d nay,
H ath se ized al l for i tself, possession took ,A nd t u rned th e soul out of i ts house of c laySo v i saged is poor Ch ar l es town at t h is dayS h epard , h er very sou l , is torn away .
X L I I .Cambridge groan s under th is so h eav y cross,A nd sympath i zes w i th h er sister dear
R en ews h er griefs afresh for h er old lossO f h er own S h epard , and drops man y a tear.Cambr idge and C h ar les town now join t mouh ers are,
A nd th is tremendous loss be tween th em share .
XL I I I .
Must learn ing’s fr ien d (ah wor th us al l ) go th us !T h at great su ppor t to H arvard ’s N u rsery !
O ur Fel low (th at no fel low h ad w i th us)Is gone to H eaven ’
s great U n iversi ty .
Our’s now in deed ’s a l ifeless corporat ion
T h e soul is fled th at gave i t animation !
Farewel l , dear Sh epard ! th ou art gone before ,M ade free of H eaven , w h ere th o u shal t s ing loud h ymns
O f h igh tr iumph an t p raises evermore ,In th e swee t c hoir of Sain ts and Seraph ims.
Lord ! look on us h ere , c logg ed w i th sin and c layA nd we , th ro ugh grace, sh a l l be as h app y as th ey .
My dearest, inmost bosom-fr ien d is one !
G one is my swee t compan ion ,sou
’
s del igh t !N ow in a h udd l ing c row d I
’m al l al one
A lmost co u l d bid al l th e wor l d good-n igh t .B l e s t be my R o ck — G od l i ve s— O h ! let H im be
A s H e is al l , so A l l in all to me !
T h e bereaved,sorrowful UR IA N C A KES .
”
NOT E 3 4,p age 79 .
LET T ER OF H ON . J . Q . ADAM S .
I AM perm itted to make the fol l ow ing extr act from a l etter wr ittenby the Hon . J . Q . Adam s to the Rev . G . W. Bl agden , of the O ldS outh Chur ch
2 19
In 1682,D an iel Qu incy was marr ied to A nna Shepard
,daughter
of the second Thomas Shepar d , and first of th at n ame,m in i ster of
Charl estown . O f th i s marr i age the issue were two ch il dren , Anne ,born the l st and bapt i z ed the 7th of June , 1685 , and John , born the2 1 5 1: and bapt i zed the 28th of July
,1689
,both at t h e Sou th Church .
Th i s John Qu incy,son of Dan iel and Ann a Qu incy , was the person
whose n ame I bear . He was the father of El i z abeth Smith , (wife ofWil l i am Smith
,min ister of Weymouth , ) my mother
’s mother . Hewas on h is death-bed at the age of 77, when I was bap t i zed ; and i twas at h i s daughter ’s reques t th at h is n ame was g i v en to me . He hadbeen an orph an al mos t from h i s b i rth . His father
,D an iel Qu incy
,
h av ing d ied at the age of 40,abou t on e year after h i s b i r th
,i n Augu st
,
169 0. He was gr aduated at Harv ard Col l ege in l 708,and w ith in a
year afterwards h is grandmother,Mrs . Ann a Shepard
,d ied
,and be
queath ed to h im a farm at Mount Wol l aston , where he ever afterr es i ded and di ed .
The fol l owing i n teres t ing anecdote has been k i ndly cop i ed for me,
from the Common Pl ace Book of Judge Sewal l,by h is descendant
,
Rev . S amuel Sewal l of Bur l ington .
“ Thursday,November 9
,1682 . Cou s i n Dan iel Qu in cy marr i es
Mr s . Anna Shep ard before John Hul l,Esq . S amuel Nowel l
,Esq and
many person s present,almost Capt . Brattl e ’s gre at h al l ful l . Capt . B .
and Mrs . Brattl e there for two . Mr . Will ard began with p r ayer— Mr .
Thomas Shep ard concl uded . As he was pr ay i ng,cous i n S av age
,
mother Hul l,wife and sel f c ame in . A good sp ace after
,when h ad
e aten cak e and drunk win e and beer p l en ti ful ly,we were cal l ed in to
the gr e at h al l agai n to s ing. In s ing i ng t ime,Mrs . Brattl e goes out
,
be ing i l l ; mos t of the comp any go away , th ink ing i t a qual m ,or
some fi t but she gr ows wor se,speak s not a word
,and so di es away i n
her chai r,I hol d ing her feet
, for she h ad sl ipped down . A t l ength,
out of the k i tchen we c arry t h e chai r,and her i n i t
,i n to the wedd ing
hal l,and after a wh i l e l ay the corpse of the dead aunt i n th e br ide ’s
bed ; so th at n ow th e str angeness an d horror of the th ing fi l l ed th e(j ust now ) j oyou s house wi th eju l ation . The b r idegroom and br id el i e at Mr . A i rs
, (Ey res ! ) son-in-l aw to the deceased,going away l i ke
person s put to fl ight in b attl e .”
NOT E 3 5,page 83 .
LET T ER T O T H E OLD SOUT H CH UR CH .
T H E or ig i n al l etter m i ss i ve from th i s church to the O ld South , inviti ng the i r ass i st ance at the ord in at ion of Mr . Shepard , h as been p reserved among the O ld Sou th p aper s
,and i s as fol l ows
H onored, reverend , and be loved in our Lord Jesu s Chris t :“ I t h av ing p l e ased God after h i s affl i ct ing h and upon u s , by the
death of our fai thful Shep ard,and fru strat ion of other endeavors for
supp ly,to g i v e u s some rev i v al
,by r ai s i ng up the son of our b l essed
220
Shepard,whom
, judg i ng by th e obser v at ion and exper ience we h ave h adOf h im
,n ot only to h ave drunk i n th e pr i nc ip l es , but al so to b e very
con s i der ab ly endued w ith the am i ab l e and Chr i st i an sp i r i t of h i s father ,we h ave un an imou s ly cal l ed and prev ai l ed with to undertake
,with the
help Of G od,the offi ce of a pastor among u s . In order to the execu
t i on of the offi ce,we do
,accord ing to the custom Of the churches in
these p ar ts,by these our l etters entr eat you to afford u s the presence
Of your teaching offi cer,wi th such other messengers as shal l seem
good to you,upon May
,the fifth n ext com ing
,at n in e in the morning
,
to j oin w i th the elder s and messenger s of other churches we h ave sen tunto
,i n the ord in at ion Of the Rev . Mr . Thomas Shep ar d , th at so by
the l ay i ng on of the h ands of the Presby tery,he may be l awful ly au
th or ized to d i scharge the work O f a pastor i n th is p ar t of God ’s flock .
S O cr av ing your p r ayers to the gre at Shepherd , for such an in fluence upon the l abors of our Shep ard as may c au se an i ncrease Of h i sflock
,and the sp i r i tu al growth Of e ach mem ber there in
,we commend
you al so to the same God,and the word Of h i s gr ace
,and res t
Your br e thren and ser vants i n Chr is t Jesus,
S igned in th e n ame,and by the order Of th e
Chur ch Of Chr i st,i n Charl estown ,
L A W R . HAMM ON D,
JOH N CUT LER,
JO SE PH LY N D E,
JOH N PH ILLI P S,
TH OMA S GR EAV E S .
C h ar lestown , Ap r i l 4 , 1680.
T h ese for M r . Samuel W i l lard , pastor of th e South Ch ur ch in Boston .
T 0 be commun i cated to you r c h u r c h .
”
Rev . T homas Shep ard and Mr s . Mary Lynde , widow ,were mar
r i ed before Mr . S amuel Nowel l , ass ist ant, July 27, 1682 .
” l
NOT E 3 6,page 94.
SH EPAR D ’S MAN USCR IPT S .
IN th e ant iqu ar i an l ibr ary several manu scr ipt sermon-book s Of Rev .T homas Shep ard the second
,are preserved . O n e vol ume contain s
ten d iscourses on the cxx . P salm ,del i vered on success i v e S abbath s
,
from Jan u ary 1,165 9 —60 to March 4
,165 9—60. Another conta in s
twel ve,on P salm cxxv i i . 3 -5
,and P salm cxxv i i i .
,del i vered at i n ter v al s
,
from November 22,1663 to May 252
,1664 . Another conta in s twel ve
s acr amental d i scourses on Canti c l es,del ivered every fou r week s
,from
Apr i l 4,1669 to March 6 ,
1669 —70 . Another contai ns el even l ectureson Matthew vi i . 13
,14
,del i vered at i nterval s Of two and four week s
,
1 T own R ecords .
222
The fol l ow ing votes Of th e church , r espect ing the cal l and inst al l at i on Of Mr . Morton , ar e r ecorded on smal l p i eces Of paper
,mar ked
N O . 25 an d 26,i n the s i xth vol ume of the Mather manu scr ipts
,belong
i ng to the O ld Sou th Church,and depos i ted i n the Massachusetts Hi s
torical Soc i ety ’ 3 Libr ary .
O ctober 24; 1686 . A t a meeting Of the church,the church d i d
unan imously vote th at app l i c at ion shoul d be made to the elder s of thethree churches Of Boston
,to des i r e the i r help and ass istance in the
m anagement Of th at work O f sett i ng ap art or i n st i tut ing the Rev . Mr .Morton to be the pas tor of th is church
,and to Mr . Mather
,sen ior
,to
t ak e upon h im the work and p l ace Of a moder ator for the d ay,an d i n
p art i cu l ar,to g i v e the s aid Rev . Mr . Morton h i s charge .
”
O n another p i ece Of p aper,and i n a very d ifferent h andwr i t ing
,
24 O ctober,
’86 . The congregat ion here in Charl es town was
stay ed . I t was then pu t to vote,i f i t be the m ind Of th i s congregat ion
to des i re the Rev . Mr . Morton to t ake upon h im the work Of the m inistry i n th i s p l ace , and so to be your m in ister
,your s i l en ce may man i
fest you r con sent here in . Th i s vote passed without on e obj ect ion . A tthe same t ime the member s of the church were st ayed— those i n ful lcommun ion ; and i t was put to vote , th at i f i t be the m ind Of theb rethren Of th is church to des i re the Rev . Mr . Morton to t ake uponh im the Offi ce Of a p astor i n th i s church
,man i fest i t by t he u sual S ign
Of l i ft ing up your h ands . Th is vote p assed unan imous ly .”
In s t i l l another h andwr i t ing,
A l so th e Rev . Mr . Morton d id m an i fest h i s r e ad iness an d w il l ingn ess to comp ly with the church ’s des i r e and call Of h im .
”
NOT E 38,page 109 .
MOR T ON ’ S PUBLICAT ION S .
S EVER AL Of Mr . Morton ’s work s are p reser ved i n the Ant iqu ar i anL ibr ary at Worcester
,and some are al so to be found i n the l ibr ary of
the Massachusetts His tor i cal Soc i ety . For t he fol l ow ing l i s t of h i spub l i c at i ons
,I am indebted to Rev . Mr . Sewal l
,who der i v ed i t from
El iot and A l l en .
T hey were,1 . The Li ttl e Peacemaker
,on Proverbs x i i i . 10 .
2 . Fool ish Pr ide , the makeb ate , 1674 .— 3 . Deb ts D i sch arged
,Roman s
x i i i . 8 .— 4 . The G aming Humor cons i dered and reproved .
— 5 . Theway of good men for wise men to wal k i n .
- 6 . Season B i rds : an inqu iry i n to the sen se Of Jeremi ah v i i i . 7 .
— 7 . Med itat ions on the firs tfourteen chap ters of Exodus
,&c .
— 8. The Sp i r i t of Man : med i tat ion son 1 Thessal on i an s v . 23 ,
— 9 . O f Common Pl aces ; or,Memor i al
Book s — 10 . A D iscourse on Improv ing the County Of Cornwal l .l l . Cons i der at i ons on the New River .— 12 . Letter to a Fr i end , t op rove money not so necessary as imag i n ed — 13 . The A rk
,i ts l oss and
recovery .
223
I h ave met w ith sever al cop i es of h i s “ Compend ium P h ysicae , a
ph i l osophi cal tre at ise,wh ich h is students cop i ed .
He composed al so a system Of l og i c,wh ich the students of the col
l ege were requ ired to copy.
NOT E 3 9,page 1 12 .
MODE OF CALLIN G A N D SET T LIN G M IN IST ER S .
T H E fol l owing p aper,h av ing r eference to the del ay Of Mr . Brad
street’s ord in at ion,was k indly cop i ed and sen t to me by the Rev . Dr .
Jeuk s .
T o th e h onored James R ussell, E sq. , to be commun icated to th e breth
eren of th e C h ur ch of C h ar lstowne.
H onored and Beloved B reth erenG r ace an d peace be mul tiplyed unto you . We , Observ ing th at the
o rd in at ion of the Rev . Mr . S imon Br adstreet intended to be car ryedon at C h arlstowne
,to h ave been l ai d as i de by an unexpected Obstruo
t ion put thereunto,occas ioned e ither upon the m isunderst and ing Of
some matters between the person s concerned therein,or the suggest ion
of some non-cogent r easons,or some misapplyed T exts and i nstances
Of Scr iptu re, (wh ich m ight eas i ly admitt O f an an swer as we appre
hend,) to the great d issat isfact ion Of severall per son s , upon al l wh ich,
an d severall other con s i der at ion s th at m ight be added,h ave though t
good to adv ise and persu ade you,the B reth eren of the church Of Chr ist
at C h arlstowne,upon a rev iew of the th ings th at occas ioned th e
Obstru ct ion th at you proceed to the ord in at ion Of the Rev . Mr . S imonBradstreet
,upon such T erm s as he l ately decl ared and y i el ded unto ;
and th at you be re ady wil l ing ly to embr ace h im,n ot on ly as a member
of your Ecclesiastical l Soci ety,but as an offi cer whom you have al re ady
chosen to the P astor al ] Offi ce among you,he be ing orderly d ismi ssed or
R ecomended from the Church Of Chr i st i n Andover i nto wh ich,as
we underst and,he was some years S in ce formal ly adm itted ; and that
you qu ietly and freely subm it to h is admin i str at ion Of h i s Offi ce amongs tyou
,accord ing to the Rul es of G ospell ; des i r i ng also , that al l former
errours an d m ist akes on al l s i des be forg i ven,l ai d as ide and forgotten
,
and th at there may be an endeavor on al l hands,to wal k together i n
l ove,pur i ty an d peace
,th at thereby you may Obt ai n the God of Love
and peace to be with you as he hath prom ised , which i s the T ru edes i r e of
Your s in th e G ospell Of Chr is t .”
(N O s ign at u res are given , and no date .)
I am not en ti rely sat isfi ed w ith th e exp l an at ion g i ven pp . 1 1 1 , 1 12,and am di sposed to th ink th at there was some ground for the censure
From th e W yllys papers,” belonging to A shur A dams, Esq.
224
east upon our church by th e Boston churches . The fol l ow ing extr actsfrom the town records
,wi l l exh ib i t the me thod pur sued i n the cal l ing
and settl ing O f min isters .March 12
,1696—7 . James Ru ssel l , Esq .
,moder ator . Mr . S imon
B radstreet was chosen an ass ist an t to Rev . Char l es Morton in the ministry. £80 sal ary voted .
June 20,1697. Mr . Bradstreet an swered th at h e cou l d not come
for a month or S ix week s,and then would
,and i n the meant ime preach
or p rov ide help .
May 13,1698. Worsh ipfu l J ames Ru ssel l commun i c ated to the
town the fact of the choi ce by the chu rch Of Mr . S imon Br adstreet forp astor
,and ask ed the concurrence of the town . Voted i n the affi rma
t i ve by the general l i ft i ng up Of the h ands . £ 100 sal ary voted .
July 12,1693 . Rev . Mr . S imon Br adstreet met w ith the sel ect
men and decl ared h i s accep t an ce Of ‘ the c al l of th e chu rch and town,
and d id promi se to c ar ry on the whol e work Of th e m in i stry among u s .A nd then by the sel ectmen ordered th at Deacon Kett l e p ay h im out Ofthe contr ibut ion money the propor t ion ab l e sum every week
,after the
r ate Of £ 100 per annum,accord ing to vote Of i n hab i tants
,May 13
,
May 2 l,1 712 . V oted by th e town
,
‘ th at they woul d h ave anothersettl ed m in i ster i n the town .
’ ‘The sel ectmen were appointed anddes i red to i nform Mr . Br adstreet Of the vote
,and ask h i s concurrence
,
and make return the n ext general meeti ng,the l as t Monday i n June
n ext . ’“ June 16
,l 712 . Mr . Bradstr eet answered
,prov ided the person was
agreeab l e to the town,and al so one th at was agreeab l e to h im
,he d id
b el i eve i t wou l d be an adv antage both to the town and to h imsel f.June 3 0
,1712 . Voted th at a committee be appointed to d iscour se
w i th Mr . Br adstreet , and acquain t h im th at the town h as impoweredthem to des i re h im to acqu ai nt the church O f the i r i ntent i on to choseanother settl ed m in is ter
,and pr ays the i r as s is t ance and d ir ect i on
there in .
Ju ly 21,1712. A t a l egal and gener al meet ing of the i nhab i tants
of Charl estown,Col onel Joseph Lynde was chosen moder ator . Then
the an swer Of the church to the town,concern ing t he gett ing another
settl ed m in ister,was pub l i c ly r ead
,wh ich was as fol l oweth
A t a meet ing O f the church Of Chr i s t i n Charl estown,Ju ly 18,
17 12 . The church h av ing been acqu ainted wi th and cons idered Oft he town ’s des i r e O f the i r d i rect ion and ass i s tance i n th e choice O f aper son to be sett l ed amongs t them in the work Of the m in i st ry . I t wasdecl ar ed and voted
,th at as the church doth approve of and concur
w ith the des i r e Of the town,to h ave another settl ed m in i ster
,so they
woul d des i re the town to j oi n with them in an humb l e an d heartys eek ing unto God through Jesus Chr i st
,by fast ing and pr ayer for h is
gr ac i ous presence,conduct and b l ess ing to gu ide and prosper them in
such a weighty and important undert ak ing . The t ime in tended andvoted for the aforesaid fast ing and prayer
,is to be (God w i ll i ng ) the
s econd Wednesday i n Augus t next .A ttes t
,SIMON BR AD ST R EET
,P astor .
A tru e copy of th e church ’s return .
A ttest,NAT H AN IEL D ows
, T own C lerk.
226
NOT E 41,p age 1 16 .
CH AR LEST OW N LECT UR E .
FR OM Judge Sewal l ’ s man u scr ipt j ourn al , we l earn th at i n Mr . Mor
ton ’ s day,and probab ly before
,there was a s tated lecture hel d at
Char l estown . T h i s l ecture,l i k e the Boston fi fth -day or Thursday
l ecture,was or ig in al ly des igned for the expos i t i on Of Scr iptur e ; i t was
hel d once a month,on Fr iday . I t was cont in ued by Mr . Bradstreet
,
and was pr e ached al tern ately by h imsel f an d Mr . S tevens , h is col l eague.In Mr . Abbot ’s t ime , i t seems to h ave been converted i nto a l ecturep reparatory to th e Lord ’s supper
,such as i s now common .
There Is a manu scr ip t vol ume In the possess ion of the Anti qu ar i anSoc i ety at Worces ter
,conta in ing a ser i es O f l ectu res on Matthew vi i .
13,14
,del i vered i n Charl estown
,by the second Thomas Shep ard
,
1668,and wr i tten out fai r ly with h i s own han d . The dates of the
l ectures,r espect ive ly
,are May 15
,June 12
,July 10
,Augu st 7
,Sep
tember 4,O ctober 2
,O ctober 16
,O ctober 3 0
,November 13
,Novem
ber 27,December 1 1 .
I t w i l l be seen th at the l ectures,down to O ctober 2
,were g i v en
every four week s ; and al l these were upon Matthew v i i . 13 . Ther emainder wer e g i v en every two week s ; and these were upon Matthewv i i . I4.
I t woul d seem prob ab l e,therefore
,th at the l ecture was hel d once a
fortn ight,and th at Mr . Symmes and Shepard al tern ated .
T he fol l owing not i ces Of the Char l estown Lecture i n Judge Sewal l ’s
journ al , wi l l be re ad w ith in terest .
1687,May 27. Went to Charl estown Lectu re
,and heard Mr .
Morton from these words : ‘Love i s a fru i t Of the Sp i r i t . ’ Mr . D an
forth sat i n the Deacon ’s se at .” “ 1687,Augu st 19 . Mr . Morton ’s
t ext,out Of the fru i ts Of the Sp i r i t
,fal l s i n cou r se to be PEACE
,i ndeed
very season ab ly,as to the exer c ise that town i s under respect i ng the i r
common,p ar t Of wh ich was l a i d out and bounded to p art i cu l ar per
sons .” 1688,May 1 1 . G O to Charl es town Lecture .” “ 1688,
Fr iday,June 8 . S i r Wi l l i am at Charl estown Lecture .
”1688
,Sep~
tember 28 . I go to Char l es town Lecture . Mr . Lee preaches fromMatthew xxv . 6 . A fter l ectu re
,d ined at “ 169 I,
Fr iday,O ctober 9 . Mr . Bai ly pre aches the l ectu re at Charl estown .
A fter l ectu re,Mr . Morton d ines i n h i s new hou se
,on e room be ing
c losed . Were at t ab l e,Mr . Morton and M rs .
,my Lady Phips
,Mr .
Moody and Mrs,Mr . A l l en
,Mr . Bai ly , l i ttl e John Bai ly .
”1715 — 16
,
J anuary 13 . I go to Charl estown Lecture . Mr . Brads treet p reachedexcel l ently from Lam . i i i . 25 . Madam Brads treet was at meet ing.17 16
,September 2 l . Go to Char l estown Lectu re
,wh ich i s the fi rs t
i n the i r new meet ing-hou se . Mr . S tevens pr eaches from P salm lxxx i v .4 : ‘Blessed are they th at dwel l i n thy hou se . ’ Made a very good d iscourse
,worthy to be pr inted . Two fi rs t st av es l xv . P s . sung L . D i n ed
w i th C 0 1. Phil l ips .” 17 17,A ugus t 23 . Went to Charl estown
Lectu re . Mr . S teven s gave u s a very good d iscourse from Revel at ionx i v . &c . 17 17
,Sep tember 20. Went to Char l estown Lectu re
,
where Mr. Brad street p re ached from Psalm cxl i i i . 10 : ‘Teach me to
227
do thy wil l .’ D i ned with Mr . G r aves . 1718,O ctober 17. G O to
Charl estown Lectu re . Mr . Bradstreet pre ached from Hebrews xi i i . 14.
Mentioned the sudden death s several t imes . Have been four of l ate ;v i z .
, Pl ummer , Mico , Sheaf the fer ryman ,”&c . l 720—2 l
,Febr u ary
3, Fr id ay . Mr . Bradstreet preaches the l ecture from Job x i v . 14 : Iw i l l wai t .’ The Governor a nd C O ] . Dudl ey (Wil l i am ) d ine with theCourt , but were n ot at l ectu re .” Anci ently the Super ior Court washel d at Charl estown and Cambr idge al tern ately
,and the above i s an
ins tance in wh ich the judges seemed to h ave adjourned court to attendl ecture
,as they were accus tomed to do when l ecture fel l i n cour t
t ime . l
NOT E 42,page 124.
S T EVEN S’
S PR IVAT E R ECOR DS .
TH IS vol ume,wh ich bel onged or ig i n al ly to Mr . S tev en s and after
wards to Mr . Abbot,contains the fol l owing records i n the h andwr i t ing
Of Mr . S tevens .
The new meeti ng-hou se at Ch arl estown was r ai sed the 20th day ofJune
,A . D . I7 l 6 . We met i n i t Augu st 5
,1716 .
“ Joseph S teven s,son of Joseph and Mary S tev en s , was born at
Andover,June 20
, 1682 .
“ S ar ah Linde,daughter Of Joseph and S ar ah Linde
,was born at
Ch arl estown,Febru ary 23
,1693 —4 .
September 16,1705 . I pre ached my firs t sermon at Marb l ehead
,
on Matthew xv i . 26,I being then twenty-three years
,two months an d
twenty-seven days Ol d .
I was chosen a fel l ow of Harv ard Col l ege December 24,171 1 .
I was ordained at Char l estown,O ctober 13
,1713
,by the Rev .
D r . Increase Mather ; had the r ight h and Of fel l owship by h is son ,Dr .
C . Mather . I pre ached from D an i el x i i . 3 .
Joseph S teven s and S ar ah Linde were marr ied July 1714,by
th e Rev . Mr . Br adstreet .S arah S teven s was born May 5
,1715
,and b ap t i z ed by mysel f
the 8 th .
S ar ah S tevens d i ed Augu st 20,1716 .
S ar ah S teven s the second,was born Febru ary 18
,1716—17
,an d
b apt i zed by Rev . Mr . Bradstreet , th e 24th .
Joseph Stevens was born June 3 0,1719
,and bapt i zed by mysel f
,
July 5 t h .
Benj am in S teven s was born May 4,1721 , and bapt i zed by Mr .
Bradstr eet,7th .
1 Fo r a fu l l and in teres ting accoun t of th e origin and natu re of these anc ien t lec tu res,see
R ev . Mr . Sewa l l ’s No tes , American Q uarter ly Regis ter, vo l ume x i i i . p . 5 1.9 T h e T own R ecords say Ju ly I4 .
228
Th i s book al so con tain s a record of marr i ages sol emn i zed by h imfrom September 28
,17 14
,to Augu st 1 1
,I72 1 ; and al so a l i s t Of the
ch il dren he had bapt i zed from 171 3 to 172 1 .
NOT E 43,p age 125 .
SET T LEMEN T OF MR . PR EN T ICE .
T H E fol l owing accoun t O f th e proceed ings of the church i n referenceto the se ttl ement of Mr . Prenti ce
,was wr i tten by Mr . Abbot
,i n the
m anu scr ip t vol ume j ust al l uded to .
MEMOR ANDUM.
A t a Chur ch Meeting at Ch arl es town,21 May
, l 73 9 .
A fter the meet ing was opened w ith sol emn and earnest p r ayer toGod
,for h i s Presence an d D i r ect ion
,the church came into the fol l ow
i ng votesFi rst . They voted a Concurrence wi th th e Town
,i n th e vote they
h ad p assed at a gener al Town meeting,on the 14th O f May
,where i n
they decl ared The ir Incl in at ion and Des i re to hav e another Settl edP astor
,to tak e p ar t of the M in i stry wi th me . [N . B .
— There wer eabou t 3 1 th at voted for i t
,and abou t 20 that appe ared against i t
,be
s i des some th at were Neu ter s,espec i al ly the T wo Deacon s
,who d id
not act i n the affai r}Secondly . They voted (agreeab l e to the Cu stom of the Churches
in T h i s Land , and ofTh i s Church i n p art i cu l ar,i n such affai rs ) to set
ap art a D ay for Sol emn pr ayer w i th Fast ing,to imp l or e the p r esence
Of the G l or i ous Head O f the Chu rch w ith Them,and th at they m ight
be both d i rected and p rospered i n so weighty and Important an undertak ing
,as That O f the Settl ement of a P astor i s to God ’s gl ory and ou r
Edifi cat ion . And accord ingly,They agreed to set apart Wednesday
,
the S ift th of June, for th e Observ at ion of the F as t .Th i rdly . They voted to Des i r e the Town to jo in w i th Them in
the Sol emn i ti es of the Fas t,wh ich They Judged the F i rst step proper
to be taken in an affai r O f Th i s N ature and Impor tan ce,th at rel ates to
the K i ngdom and Interest Of Chr i st i n the Worl d .
Fourthly . The Church h av ing des i red th at the Elder s &c . thatcome to ass i st u s on the Fas t
,might meet at My Hou se
,d id vote that
The Deacon s should supp ly u s with what was N eedful for the i r Entertainmen t on T h at O ccas i on .
Then I d i smi ssed the Church w i th the Apos tol i cal Bened i ct ion .
June 6 . We Observed th e P r i v ate Fast as was p roposed by theChu rch
,2 1 May . D r . Sewal l opened the Sol emn i ty i n the morn ing by
pr ay er ; Mr . Cooper preached,xv i . John
,23
,4 . Mr . W elsteed closed
the Forenoon exerc i se with pr ayer .Mr . G rey began w i th prayer i n the A fternoon . I p reached l xv i i i .
P salm,18 : T h ou h ast receivcrl g ifl s j br men ,
”an d Mr . By l es pr aye d
23 0
They h ad rece i ved for the Rents of the Church ’s pastures,an d th e
Lett ing O f the Funeral P al l,
Th ird ly . They voted That some Of the Church ’s Mon ies Shoul dbe devoted to p i ou s and Char i t ab l e u ses .Four thly . They part i cul arly voted th at the sum O f£ 10 shou l d be
d is tr ibuted by Mysel f and the De acon s,to proper Obj ects Of Chr ist i an
Char ity,espec i al ly to such as bel onged to the Church .
Fi fthly . They voted th at the Deacon s shoul d h ave the Improvemen t of the Church ’s Pasture
,by Mr . Hutch in son ’s . for The i r T roub l e
i n the management Of the Secul ar affai rs Of the Church,t i l l further
order from the Church . N . B .— T he Deacon s were S amuel Froth
i ngh am and Jon ath an Kettel l .Then I d ismi ssed the meeti ng with a Bened i ct ion . From thence
we went to Joi n w ith the Town in the choi ce Of an other Pas tor,when
Mr . Pren t i ce was chosen .
A t a Church Meet ing at Ch arl estown,28th Augu st, 173 9 .
A fter Sol emn Prayer s were made to the G l or iou s Head of theChurch
,the Church came into the fol l ow ing votes
F irs t . They voted (G od wil l ing ) th at they woul d proceed to th eIn stal l at i on Of Mr . Prenti ce
,who had accepted The i r cal l to O fli ce
,
with al l Conven i en t Speed .
Secondly . They voted th e fir st Wednesday i n O ctober Next,
(wh ich i s t he 3 d O f the month, ) to be the D ay for Th at Sol emn ity .
Th irdly . They voted to Des i r e five Chu rches with the i r P as tor sand Delegates
,to ass ist i n Counc i l upon th at O ccas i on .
Fourthly . The Chu rches Nom in ated and Determ ined , were ThoseOf whom Dr . Colman
,&c .
,D r . Sewal l
,&c .
,Mr . W elsteed
, &c .,at
Boston,were P astors ; and the Church Of Cambr idge , and th e Church
at Medford . N . B .— [Upon a motion made i n Mr . Pren ti ce
’s beh al f,
th at He m ight b e excused from preach ing on the Day of h i s Ins t al lment ; the Church were not d isposed in Gener al to g i ve up the Customth at T hey h ad b een in
,of th e P astor ’s p re ach ing Him sel f at such a
T ime ; and therefore des i red th at he woul d then p reach ]Fi fthly . Voted T hat there shoul d be a Pub l i c Col l ect i on to defr ay
the charges O f the D ay aforesaid .
S ixthly . Voted to h ave the Entert ai nment at the House i n wh ichMr . Pren t ice i s to Li ve
,i t be ing l arge and Conven i en t for that Pur
pose and that The O rdi n ati on Counci l be inv i ted to Meet There onthe Morn ing Of t h e In stal lment .
Seventhly . Voted that the Committee for prov id ing Mr . Prent i ce ’shou se
,v i z .
,Mr . Ru ssel l
,Jenner
,Cary and Foye
,be a Committee to
p rov ide for the Entertainmen t and that there be Joined to them,Cap t .
Cheever,Foster
,Mr . T rumbal
,and the Two Deacon s
,for that pur
pose . Upon a mot ion I m ade,the Church des i r ed I woul d fr ame an d
send for th i n due T ime,C i rcu l ar Letters to the Chu rches afore-men f
t ion ed,i n the i r n ame and behal f to In v i te them to Joi n i n such an act
Of Communion as th at O f an ord in at ion or Ins t al lment Of a P as tor i s.Then I d ismi ssed the meeting with a Bened i ct ion .
A t a Chu rch Meeting at Charl estown,24 Sep tember
,173 9
, at 9O
'
c lock,A . M .
23 1
A fter p r ayers were offered up to the G re at Head of th e Church .
1 . The Church voted the i r accept ance of the Form of the Lette rth at I drew up to send to the Churches They h ad before voted to In v i t eto Join in Counci l for the purpose Of Mr . Prent i ce ’s Inst alment
,an d
des i r ed that I wou l d subscr ibe and send the Letter s to them i n the i rn ame .
2 . They voted to Des i r e th e Rev . D r . Col eman to g i ve th e S acredCharge to Mr . Prent i ce
,at h i s Instal ment ; and i n C ase He Shoul d
refuse,or were detained by I l l ness
,th at the R ev. Dr . Sewal l b e des i red
to t ake th at p ar t upon Him .
3 . They voted Mr . Prent i ce h i s admi ss i on in to our Church fel l owsh ip and Commun ion .
4 . They voted that what h e want ing more th an was gathered byt h e Town for th at purpose
,be taken out Of the Church S tock for to
Defr ay the Charges O f the Pub l i c Enter tainment,on th e D ay Of Mr .
Prenti ce ’s Ins t alment .Then I d i smi ssed the meet ing with a Bened ict ion .
NOT E 44,p age 128 .
T H E EAR T H Q UAKE.
T H E fol l ow ing not i ce Of th i s e arthqu ake i s t ak en from th e manuscr ip t d i ary O f Mr . Thomas Abbot
,Of Boston— the b rother of Rev .
Hul l Abbot— wh ich i s now owned by Mr . Benj am in Edmands .
O ctober 29,1727 . Th i s n igh t
,betwixt 10 and 1 1 O ’cl ock
,there
was i n th is p l ace and many mi l es d i s tant,a terr ib l e Earthqu ak e
,i n
wh i ch th e earth and the inhab i tants thereof tremb l ed much ; butthrough the goodness of God
,who
,i n j udgment d id remember mercy
,
we don t hear Of any hu rt done , or that so much as one person l ost h i sl i fe . T here were several shock s at some hours ’ dist an t from on e ah
other,but the first exceeded the rest . O n the day fol l owing , many
peop l e be ing assemb l ed at the O ld North Church,there were abou t
three hour s,from 1 1 to 2 O’cl ock
,spent i n p r ayers and in p reach ing ;
and at 5 O’cl ock,the peop l e assemb l ed at the O ld Br i ck and O ld South
Churches,and spent between three and four hour s more in holy exer
c ises as i n the morn ing,cry i ng might i ly to the God of al l gr ace
,that he
woul d san ct i fy h is awful prov idence to th is whol e peop l e,and th at h e
woul d p ardon these gr eat and cry i ng s i n s th at were the p rocur ingc au se Of h i s j udgments ; and th at he woul d n ot enter j udgment wi thu s
,but spare u s accord ing to th e gre atn ess Of h i s mercy i n Chr i st.
T he Lord hear al l the p r ayers that h ave been and ar e going up , andg i v e a gr ac iou s answer of peace
,and prepare th is
,h is peop l e i n th i s
town,for the day of sol emn fast ing an d pr ayer
,on Thur sday approach
ing, th at i t m ay be such a fast as he h as chosen .
The e arth was fel t to sh ake for seven or e ight months after i n somep l aces
,and the roar ings thereof ever n ow and then hear d. But
through God ’s goodness we are spared st i l l.”
282
NOT E 45,p age 1 3 7.
ABBOT ’S FAM I LY .
FR OM the m anu scr ipt vol ume to whi ch I h ave al l uded,I extr act the
fol l owing memor anda,i n t he h andwr i t ing Of Mr . Abbot .
Moses Abbot and Rebecc a Kn igh twere marr i ed 1 1 September ,1 70 1 . He was l os t at se a Febru ary
,171 7— 18 .
Hul l Abbot was born on Monday,I5 June
,He was th e
el des t of e igh t ch i l dren,four Of whom d ied in in fancy . The b i r ths of
the other three are g i ven as fol lows : El i z abeth,born 10 March
,1706 ;
Moses,Augu st 3
,I7H Rich ard
,May 29
,1715 .
El i z abeth d i ed July 13,173 8 , at Pr inceton , an d was bur ied at
Ch arl es town,i n the tomb wi th her husband
,15 th i nst an t . Moses d ied
May l st,173 4 ; Rich ard d ied Ju ly 6 , 175 4, N . S .
Memor andum . O ctober 3,I741 . My dear mother d ied abou t 8
O ’cl ock i n the even ing,after abou t a twel vemonth ’s v i s i t at ion w ith a
cancer i n her b re ast ; very much d i stressed wi th p ain s about s i x month sof the t ime ; and I doubt n ot , d i ed i n the Lord , and s l ep t i n Jesus .Lord , l et me d i e the death Of the r ighteou sMary Br adstreet
,daughter to the Rev . Mr . S imon and Mary Brad
street,was born at Charl estown
,September 9
,1703
,be ing T hursday .
Hul l Abbot and Mary Bradst reet were m arr i ed July 27,173 1
,
(be ing Tuesday , ) by her father , Rev . S imon Bradstree t . She d iedMay 10
,about m idn ight
,1763
,after l ong confinement and great weak
ness .” They h ad seven ch i ld ren,thr ee Of whom died i n i nfancy . The
r ecord Of the res t i s as fol l ows
3 . Mary Abbot was born Thursday,November 7
,1734
,be ing a d ay
of Pub l i c Thank sg i v i ng . I b apt i z ed her i n my arm s,on the 10th day
of second month .
“ 4 . Moses,born Fr id ay
,Apr i l 14
,1738. I b ap t i zed h im in my
arms,on the fol l owing S abb ath
,Ap r i l l 6th .
“ 5 . Rebecc a,born Thursd ay
,Apr i l 19
,173 9 . I bap t i zed her in
my arms,on the S abbath fol l ow ing
,Apr i l 22 . She d ied November
7 . T hom as,born T hur sday
,May 2
,1745 . He was bapt i z ed by
Mr . Prent ice,May 5
,
The fol l ow ing records are wr i tten in another h and .
Thomas,son of Hul l and Mary Abbot
,born May 2
,1745 .
Hannah H esilr ige ,daughter Of S i r Robert and S ar ah H esilrige,
was born August 20,175 7 .
Thomas Abbot and Hannah H esilr ige were m arr i ed July 18, 1776 .
Mr . Gordon made the first pr ayer,and per formed the marr i age . Mr .
J ack son,O f Brookl i ne
,concl uded w ith pr ayer .
D av id Henl ey was born Febru ary 12,1749 .
S ar ah H esilr ige was born March 26 ,175 9 .
Dav id Henl ey and S arah H es ilr ige were mar r i ed by Mr . Parker ,Ep i scopal i an
,Bos ton
,March 2 1
,1782 .
A rthur H es ilrige Henley was born Nov ember 13 , 1782, and chr i stned by Mr . Parker . Spon sor s
,D . Hubb ard
,A . Babcock and wi fe.
234
In 173 7,the Ind i an War commenced
,and the church was di spersed i n
con sequence of wh ich,Mr . Prent ice returned to h i s n at i ve p l ace with
h i s wi fe and three ch i l dren,where he soon r ece i ved three i nv i tat ion s
for settl ement,from the N ew North Church , Boston , from West C am
b r idge,and from Charl estown ; th e l atter Of which he accepted , and
th e same day decl in ed the other two. Hi s wi fe d ied 1745,l e av i ng
three d augh ters,Irene
,Mary
,and Margaret. In O ctober
,1746
,he
m arr i ed Rebecc a Aust i n,daughter of N athan i el and Rebecc a Au st in
,
Of C h arl es town,by whom he h ad on e daughter
,Rebecc a
,wh o mar
r i ed Joseph Kettel l,Of Boston . Hi s second w i fe d ied O ctober
,1748
,
aged t h i r ty-th ree ye ar s . In 175 0,he marr i ed widow Mary Butman
,Of
O ld York,by whom he had no ch il dren
,and who surv i ved h im
,an d
returned to York after h is death . A fter the burn ing O f the town,he
r epai red to Cambr idge,and l i v ed t he remainder O f h i s l i fe i n the hou se
i n wh ich he was born,wh ich was then owned by h im .
Hi s d aughter M ary,marr ied Dr . Frost
,O f Cambr i dge
,1762
,wi th
whom S h e l i ved two years ; and after h i s death , she m arr i ed N ehemi ahRand
,Esq .
,O f Charl estown
,1766
,and fled w ith her husband
,dur ing
the war,to Lyndeborough
,New Hampsh ir e
,where they l i v ed unt i l
thei r d eath .
Mr . Prenti ce pub l ished sever al d i scou rses,four of wh ich I have
seen,and poss ibly there are others .
The firs t was a sermon preached July 18,1745
,on a Gener al
Th ank sg i v i ng,for the reduction Of Cape Breton .
The second,a sermon pre ached J anuary 28 ,
1747—8 , on a Pub l i cF as t
,after the des tr uct ion Of the Prov in ce Court House by fire .
The th i rd,a sermon p re ached at the T hur sday Lecture
,i n Boston
,
Jan u ary 1,175 6
,on occas i on Of the Earthqu ake
,November 18
,p re
c ed ing.
The fourth was a Sermon on the death of Mr s . Ann a Cary,wi fe Of
Mr . Richard C ary , and el dest d aughter of Richard Bradl ey,Esq .
,
A ttorney G ener al of New York,pr eached the Sabb ath after her
death,March 2
,175 5 . Th i s l ady was remark ab l e for her p i ety an d
general excel l en ce . I h ave now ly ing before me a copy O f some OfMrs . Cary ’s say i ngs a few days before her death .
” They appear toh ave attr acted con s ider abl e attent ion
,and been treasured up through
vener at ion for the author ’s p i ety . Th is copy has been preserved by anaged member of the church .
NOT E 48,p age 142 .
MEET ] N G -H OUSE H I LL .
T IIE meet ing-hou se,wh i ch was destroyed when the town was bu rnt
,
was s i tu ated on the northwes t s i de O f the squ are . W hen the town wasr ebu i l t
,i t was fel t to be des i r ab l e th at the square shoul d be kep t Open
and unobstructed by bu i ld ings O f any sor t ; and accord i ng ly a new s i tewas appropr i ated for the meet ing-hou se in l ieu Of the old one .
T he fol l ow ing vote was passed by th e town,O ctober 27, 1782
23 5
Whereas,by the destru ct ion of a great p art O f th i s town in the year
1775,th e inhab i t ants of the firs t p ar i sh were very gre at sufferers
,and
the hou se for pub l i c worsh ip i n said p ar i sh,as wel l as the dwel l ings
Of sa id inh ab i t ants,were destroyed by fire
,and as the affect ion s Of
k indness and brotherly l ove are among the br ightest orn aments ofhuman n ature
,and as i t i s i n the power of the town
,wi thout any in
j ury to the general i nterests thereof,to furn i sh said p ar ish wi th a p l ace
on wh ich to erect a bu i ld i ng for the pub l i c worsh ip of God— Therefore
,th i s town
,act i ng on the pr inc ip l es and re ason s above-mentioned
,
do h er eby vote to gr ant,and do grant
,con vey
,and rel i nqu i sh to t h e
fi rst p ar i sh i n th i s town,th at p i ece of l an d commonly cal l ed Town
House H il l,for the sol e purpose of erect i ng thereon a hou se for the
publ i c worsh ip of God,prov ided said p ar i sh bu i ld ing be erected
thereon wi th in the sp ace of five years,otherwi se th i s gr an t to be void .
With in a year from the p assage Of th is vote,the meeti ng-hou se was
erected ; and the r ight thus acqu i red by the p ar ish to the h i l l , wasconceded and care fu l ly r espected by the town . In the year 1800
,
when the town were about bu i l d i ng the present Harvard school-hou se,
for the accommodation O f the school s,town meet ings
,and other
pub l i c bus i n ess,
” the p ar ish committee were requested to c al l a p ar ishmeeti ng
,
“ to know of t h e p ar ish whether they wil l g i v e the town aspot to erec t a school-house upon
,i n fron t of the old one .
” The meeti ng was hel d accord ingly
,and i t was voted
,T hat the p ar ish w i l l
r el inqu ish to the town al l the r ight they may hold i n the l a nd front O ft he school-hou se
,suffi c i en t for the er ect ion Of a school-hou se and
town hal l,reserv ing n ot l ess th an S i xty-fi v e feet on a paral l e l l i ne
north of the meet ing-hou se .
” The wel l between the school-hou sean d meeti ng-hou se (in wh i ch the pump now s tands ) was dug a fewy ear s subsequent to the erect ion of the school-hou se
,when the p ar ish
con sented to h ave i t done,as i t was for the pub l i c good.
NOT E 49,p age 143 .
EN LA R G EMEN T OF T H E MEET l N G -H OUSE .
IN the year 1803,the popul at ion Of the town hav ing i n creased so
much as to r equ i r e a l arger hou se o f worsh ip,th e p ar ish dec ided to
en l arge the meet ing-hou se. They at fi rst determ ined to make a c ircul ar al ter at ion on the nor th and south S i des
,so as to mak e an add i t ion
of about twenty feet on e ach s i de . Th i s des ign was subsequentlyr el inqu ished
,and a p l an adopted for en l arg i ng the house by add ing
fifteen feet to each s i de. The d imens i on s of t he house,as thu s eu
l arged, were 84 feet w ide by 74 l ong .
T he tower and st eep l e were al so at th i s t ime rep ai red and p ain ted ;the tower was seventy-two feet h igh
,and t h e height of the steep l e
,to
t h e top O f the bal l,was on e hundred and S i xty-two feet from the ground.
A aron Putn am,Esq .
,Z abdi el B . Adams
,Esq .
,and Mr . Amar i ah
Ch i lds , were the committee appoin ted to super intend the work .
The n ames of the present propr i etor s (and where they are notk nown , the p resent occup i ers ) Of the pew s, with the number annexed
236
to the i r respect iv e n ames,of the pews ass igned them
,after the al ter a
t ion s and en l argements of th e meet ing-house ar e comp l e ted agreeab lyto the p l an the other pews the property of the subscr ibers wh o are tocomp l ete the al ter at ion s . May 3
,1804 .
PEW S BELOW .
S amuel Brads treet,T homas Harris,S amue l Swan, Jr.,John Larkin,
Artemas W ard,John Harris,Nathan T ufts,Est. of D av id D evens,
N o. 1
2
3
4
Phil l ips , Payson, Samuel Sol ey, 5
6
7
8
9
C otton C enter,Samuel S wan, Jr.,Ma tthew Bridge,L arkin G oodwin,Isaac Mal lett’s es t.,John Austin
,
Perkins N ichols,John Pratt,Jos iah Barker
,
Poor’s pew, 17 Richard Frothingham,
Bartlett Payson, 26 B enjamin F rothingham,Francis Hyde
,27 Ammi R. T ufts ,
D anie l T ufts, 28 T imothy T hompson,
T homas O sgood, 29 El iphalet Newel l,
John Edmands , 3 0 W i ll iam W i ley,
W idow Barker, 3 1 Peter Edes,
Edmands 8L Fosdick, 3 2 Poor’s pew,
Poor’s pew, 3 3 R ayner and Frothingham,
Jonathan Kettel l , 3 8 Est. of Samuel C onant,Widow Larkin, 39 Nathaniel Austin,Jos i ah Bart lett, 45 Mercy Farnsworth,Ebenezer Breed, 4 1 T homas W. Pratt,Frothingham Goodwin, 42 W i l l i am G oodw in,D av id W ood
,43 James F rothingham,
Jr.,M inis ter’s pew, 44 Poor’s pew,
T homas Brooks, 48 Holmes Pratt,
T homas Hooper, 49 T imothy Walker,Aaron Putnam, 3 6 Samuel C ary , &c.,
Carleton Stetson,
5 1 G eorge Bartl ett, &c.,
Benjamin Hurd, 5 2 W idow Henley,
Richard D evens, 5 3 Joseph Hurd,Benjamin Mirick, 5 4 Es t. of John S tanton,Amos T ufts , 5 5 Est. of James Russel l
,
Andrew Kettel l, 62 G i les A lexander,R ichard Boy ls ton, 63
PEW S IN T H E G ALLE RY .
Joseph Parker, N o. 1 17 Aaron Putnam,
Jabez S tevens, 1 18 Joseph S weetser,Jonathan Lock, 1 19 James Cal l ,Joseph Brown, 120 John Lark in,Nehemiah Wyman, 12 1 John Harris ,Wil l iam N ewhal l, 122 Ma tthew Bridge,John Edmunds, 123 T homas C . Hayward,John R uney, 124 W i l l i am L eathers
,
Wil l i am W i l ey , 125 D av id Edmands,
Benjamin Hurd, 126 Manning 6L Mans i r,
Benjamin Hurd, 1 3 1 N ichol as Brown,Parish
,13 2 Isaac Pratt,
Joseph Hurd,
133 Joshua Hooper,Mrs . W al lace, 134 Jos iah Harris,S amuel Jaques, 135 Parish pew,
23 8
NOT E 5 1,page 148 .
T H E T ABLET .
A T AB LET,b ear ing th e fol l owing in scription ,
‘
is p l aced i n th e vest ibule of the church .
I N M E M O R Y O F
THE PASTORS AND TEACHERS OF THIS CHURCH.
T H OMA S JAMES ,grad . C am. Un iv . Eng , Eman . Col l . A . B . 16 14, A . M .
16 18 ; ins. N ov . 2, 163 2 ; dis . M arc h 1 1 , 163 6 .
ZEC H A R IA II S YMMES ,Born ,
Can terbur y , Eng . ; grad . C am . Un iv . Eng , Eman . Col l . A . B . 1620 ;in s . D ec . 22, 163 4 ; d ied Feb. 4 , 1671 , a t. 72.
JOH N H AR V A R D ,
Born grad . C am . Un i v . Eng , Eman . Col l . A . B . 1 63 1 , A . M . 163 5
adm . to ch h . N ov . 6 , 163 7 d ied Sep t . 14, 163 8.
T H OMA S ALLEN ,
B orn , N orw i c h , Eng ; grad . C am . U n iv . Eng Cai u s Col l . A . B . 1627, A .M . 1 63 1 ,ins. 1 63 9 , dis. 165 1 , d ied Sep t . 1673 , a t. 65 .
T H OMAS SH EPAR D ,
Born ,London , Eng ; grad . H arv . C al l . 165 3 ; ord. Apr i l 13 , 165 9 ; d ied
D ec . 22, 1677 , art. 43 .
T H OMAS SH EPAR D , JR .
Born ,Ch ar lestown ; grad . H arv. C O 11. 1676 ; ord. M ay 5 , 1680 ; d ied
J une 7 , 1 685 , eat. 27 .
CH AR LES MOR T ON ,
Born , P endavy , Eng ; grad . O x . Un i v . Eng ; ins. N ov . 5 , 1686 ; diedAp ri l 1 1 , 1698 , set. 72.
S IMON BR A DST R EET ,
Born , N ew L ondon,C t . grad . H arv . C 0 11. 1693 ord. Oct. 26 , 1698 ;d ied D ec . 3 1 , 174 1 , ac t. 72.
JOSEPH ST EVEN S ,Born , Andover ; grad . H arv . C 0 11. 1703 ; ord. Oc t . 13 , 17 13 ;
died N ov . 16, 1721 , a t. 3 9 .
H ULL ABBOT ,
Born , Boston , G rad . H arv. C 0 11. 1 720 , ord. Feb. d ied Apr i l a t. 72.
T H OMAS PR EN T ICE ,
Born , Cambridge ; grad . H arv . C 0 11. 1726 ; ins . O ct. 3 , 173 9 ; d iedJ une 17 , 1782, a t. 80 .
JOSH UA PA IN E ,
Born , S turbridge ; grad . H arv . C 0 11. 1784 ord. January 10 , 1787 ;d ied Feb. 27 , 1788, eat. 25 .
A l l of w h om, e x cep t T h omas James and T homas Al len , w h o re t u rn ed to England ,d ied in th e mi n i stry of th is c h u rc h , and were in terred in
th e an c ien t bu ry ing gro u nd of th i s town .
W hose fai th fol low,— con s idering th e end of th e i r con versation : Jesus Ch r i s t , th e
same yes terday and to-day and forever . H eb. xiii . 7 . 8.
23 9
NOT E 5 2,p age 15 0.
IN STALLAT ION OF R EV . D R . MOR SE.
D R . MO R S E had been ordained i n 1786 ,i n New Haven
,Ct . as an
Evangel i st,to t ake the p l ace of Rev . Dr . Holmes
,afterward s of Cam
br i dge , who had rece ived a s im i l ar ord in at ion the year befor e in th esame p l ace
,for th e purpose of t ak ing the p astor al care of a Congrega
t ion al church i n Midway,G a.
The churches i nv i ted to the counc i l of in stal l at ion were n ine,v i z
the church i n Brook l ine,Rev . Joseph Jack son ; i n S turbr idge , Rev .
Joshu a Paine ; Cambr idge , Rev . T imothy Hil l i ard ; B os ton , Rev .Jeremy Belknap
,Rev . Peter Thatcher
,Rev . John El iot
,Rev . Joseph
Eckl ey ; Medford , Rev . D av id O sgood ; and Woodstock , Ct . Rev .El iphal et Lyman . Dr . Belknap ’ s sermon was pub l ished at the r eques tof the p ar ish
,together w ith the charge by Mr . Jack son
,an d the r ight
h and of fel l owsh ip by Mr . O sgood .
The churches i nv i ted to attend the counci l convened for the ord in at ion of Mr . Pain e
,were the churches i n S turbr idge
,R ev. Joshu a
Paine ; i n B rook fi eld ,Rev . Mr . Fi sk Brookl ine
,Rev . Mr . Jack son ;
Cambr idge,Rev . Mr . Hil l i ard ; Medford , Rev . Mr . O sgood ; Boston ,
Rev . Mr . Th acher , and Rev . Mr . El iot . The p res i dent,professors
,
and tutor s of Harvard Col l ege,and m in i ster s of al l denom in at ion s
,of
the town of Boston,were inv ited to d in e wi th the ordain ing counci l .
NOT E 5 3,p age 15 1 .
HAR VAR D A N D W IN T H R OP CH UR CH ES .
T H E second or Harv ard Church was formed Mar ch 26,18 17.
The ir first min ister,Rev . Thomas Prent iss was ordained March 26 ,
18 17,and d ied O ctober 5
,18 17
,at the age of 25 . The ir second
min i ster,Rev . J ames Walker
,D . D .
,was settl ed Apr i l 15
,1818
,and
was d i smissed 183 9,h av ing been el ected Professor of Mor al P h iloso
phy i n Harv ard Un i vers i ty . The Rev . George E . Ell is,the i r present
pastor,was ordained M arch 1 1
,1840 .
The th ir d Congr egat ion al or “ Winthrop Church,
” i s orthodox infai th
,and was gathered J anu ary 9
,183 3 . T h irty-four person s , four
teen O f whom were m al es,were d i smi ssed from th is church , for the
purpose of be ing organ i zed by a counci l i nto a n ew church . The i rfirst m in ister
,Rev . Dan iel Crosby
,was i n st al l ed Augu st 14 ,
183 3, and
d i ed Febru ary 28,1843
,i n the 44th year of h i s age , h av ing r es igned
h i s p astor al charge about a year before h is death . The i r pr esen tp astor
,Rev . John Humphrey
,was ordained November 3 0, 1842 .
The other churches i n th i s town,are three Bapt ist
,a Un i ver s al ist,
Me thodist,Roman Cathol i c
,Free-wil l Bapt i st
,and Ep iscopal i an .
240
NOT E 5 4,p age 1 5 8 .
D R . MOR SE .
D R . MOR SE was born in Woods tock,C t .
,and gr adu ated at Y al e
Col l ege,i n 1783 . In the summer after h i s d i smi ss i on from th is church
,
he rece i ved a commi ss i on from the Pres i den t to tr avel umong theInd i an tr ibes Of the Western Country for the purpose of ascer tain ingthe i r actual condi t ion . His r eport to the Secretary of War
,hav ing
been submitted to Congress,was pub l ished at New Haven
,in 1822
,
under h i s own i nspect ion . He died in New Haven,June 9
,1826 .
As an au thor he was gre atly d is t ingu ished by h i s geogr aph i cal work s,
and h i s other pub l i c ati on s were numerous . I h av e been in formed byS . F . B . Mor se
,Esq .
,that h is broth er Rich ar d i s now engaged i n
prep ar ing a b i ogr aphy of h i s father .
NOT E 5 5,p age 1-5 8.
PR ESEN T MEET IN G -H OUS E.
T H E cost of th is ed ifice was 77,not i n cl ud ing the mate
r i al s of the old hou se,much of wh ich was sound and v al u ab l e . The
bu i l d i ng i s 78 feet l ong and 68 feet w ide.
NOT E 5 6,p age 1 5 9 .
SACRAMEN TAL FUR N IT UR E .
IN the year 1800,the s acramental furn itur e of the church con s is ted
of 4 fi agon s , I4 t ank ards , 1 cup , 1 bason , and l spoon , al l of s i l ve r,
and al so 8 pewter d ishes and 2 t ab l e cl oths . O f these,3 flagon s ,
7 t ank ards , and 4 pewter d ishes , not h av ing been u sed for man yyears
,were sol d
,an d the p roceeds l o an ed to the town of Charl estown
,
to be again i nvested i n p l ate for the use of the commun ion tab l e,at
the p l easu re of the church .
As a p art of the p l ate sol d was g i ven to the church by RichardSp rague
,Esq . and Mrs . S teven s , the n ame of Mrs . S tevens was in
scr ibed on on e of th e tank ards bel ong i ng to the church ; and on thebottom of the t ank ard then i n u se
,and g i v en by Richard Sprague
,
Esq .
,the fol low ing i n scr ip t i on w as engr aved : “ Th is t ank ard
,wi th
three l arge fl agon s,were g i v en to the chu rch i n Ch arl estown by
Rich ard Sprague,Esq . a l iberal benefactor to the church and poor of
said town,A . D . 1703 . The flagon s not be ing needed for sacramen
t al u ses,were sol d by vote of the church
,June 17, 1800, an d t he
p roperty vested i n a town note . See Church Book,N O . 1
,p age 5 8 ,
an d Church Book,N O . 2, p age
242
NOT E 5 7,page 15 9 .
T H E R USSELL FAM I LY .
T H E ances tor of th is d ist i ngu i shed fam ily was the Hon . Rich ardRu ssel l
,who came from Herefordshi re i n Eng l and
,i n 1640
,at the
age of 29,and settl ed i n th is p l ace . He was on e of the most em inent
merchants of h i s t ime,and d ied at the age of 65
,i n 1676
,possessed
of a l arge est ate . He bequeathed to th i s town a val u ab l e farm ly i ngi n L ynn fi eld, the income of wh ich was to be d i str ibuted among thepoor of Charl estown
,at the d i scret ion of the sel ectmen and de acon s .
He gave al so two other l ots of l and to the town,the in come of one of
wh ich he approp r i ated for the support of school education the otherfor the rel i ef of the poor of the church
,to be d istr ibuted by th e de a
con s . He gave al so handsome l egac i es to the then m in i ster s of B oston , Char lestown , Cambr idge, Watertown , Newton , Roxbury , an dD or chester .H on . James Ru ssel l
,eldes t son of Richard
,was born i n Charl es
town,O ctober 4
,1640
,and succeeded h is father i n h is mercant i l e
profess i on and i n h is pub l i c Offices . He died A pr i l 28,1709 .
Hi s son,the Hon . D an iel Russel l
,was born November 3 0
,1685
,
and d ied December 6,1763 . The fol low ing ch ar acter of th i s excel
l ent man was wr i tten immed i ately after h i s death : The H on . Dan ielRussel l
,for upwards of twenty years
,was a member of h i s majes ty ’s
counc i l for th is prov ince he al so served the prov ince as commi ss i onerof impos t
,and the coun ty of Middl esex as treasurer
,for more than
fi fty year s ; i n the d isch arge of al l wh ich offices , such was h i s consc ien tious fidel i ty and un sul l i ed integr i ty
,as procured h im un i ver sal
approb at ion and esteem in pub l i c and p r i vate l i fe . Hi s whol e conductwas such as ev idently showed h i s i n v ar i ab l e des i r e and endeavor topr eserve a con sc i ence voi d of Offence
,both towards G od and toward s
man ; and by the rect i tude of h i s behav ior , to adorn and recommendthe holy rel ig i on which he professed
,and to approv e h imsel f to the
all-sear ch ing ey e of the F ather of Sp i r i ts . Hi s memory i s gre at lyhonored by al l who were acqua inted wi th h im
,i n whose esteem he
was tru ly th at nob l es t work of God,A N H ON E ST MA N . I t i s observ a
b l e,that i n al l the sever al Offi ces wh ich he su st ai ned
,he succeeded h i s
worthy father and gr andfa ther,both of whom hel d and d i scharged the
s ame,for a great number of ye ars
,with unspotted repu tat ion .
”
The Hon . J ames Ru ssel l,second son of D an i el
,was born i n
Charl estown,August 5
,17 15 . Hi s mother was the only d aughter of
the Hon . Charl es Chambers . Hi s wi fe was the d aughter O f H on .
T homas G r aves,whom he m arr i ed at the age of 23 , and with whom
he l i ved nearly forty y ears . He d ied Apr i l 24, 1798 , in the 83 d year
o f h i s age . From the sermon pr eached by Dr . Morse,the S abbath
after Mr . Ru ssel l ’ s death,we l earn th at h e bore a most exemp l ary
ch ar acter,an d th is i s amp ly attested by many st i l l l i v i ng wh o remem
ber h im . He was s ingul ar ly a t tached to h is n ati ve town,and i n some
i n st ances he made the interests of h i s own family subord in ate to thoseo f the town . He was d ist ingu i shed
,l i k e h is ancestors
,by h is char i
t i es to the poor ; and was much occup i ed i n dev i s i ng and executing
243
p l an s for thei r good . The l ast pub l i c bus i ness i n wh i ch he was engaged
,was to disen ibarrass some val uab l e l egac ies bequeathed to the
poor of the town,wh ich had dur ing the war become m ixed wi th other
funds,for wh i ch bus i ness no other person possessed so compe tent
i n format ion,and by wh ich he restored and secured to the poor a
h andsome and regul ar i n come . Hi s gre at obj ect was to do good,and
he was conti nual ly dev is i ng l iberal th ings . O f th is,
” says Dr .Morse
,
“ I mysel f h ave been a frequen t w itness . A fter I h ad takenmy l as t l e ave of h im
,p rev iou s to my l ate j ourney
,he said to me
,I
h ave been th ink ing of a p l an for the benefi t of the poor Of th i s town ,whi ch I wil l communi cate to you when you return .
’ Dr . Mor se d idn ot return
,however
,before h is death
,so that he h ad no opportun ity
Of knowing what the p l an he contemp l ated was,but says th at i t or ig i
n ated i n h i s mind from read ing Count Rumford ’s essays . He wasal so warmly en l i s ted in behal f of the cause of educat ion
,both in the
town and st ate,i n pr i v ate school s and in pub l i c sem in ar ies . He was
a gre at advocate for soci al l ibr ar i es,p art i cu l ar ly for the u se of the
cl ergy‘ i n the country ; and often expressed a wi sh th at gentl emen of
property and benevol ence would beque ath l egac ies for such est ab l i shments . Mr . Russel l was al so
,says h is p astor
,a p rofessor
,and a
s i ncere,i nfluent i al and un iform fr i end and supporter of the Chr ist i an
r el ig i on . The rel ig iou s dut ies of the S abb ath,of the fami ly
,and the
c loset,he regul ar ly and devoutly per formed . He not only bel ieved
,
but he exemp l ified i n h i s pr act i ce the rel ig ion wh ich he professed .
And he exper ienced i ts comfor ts and suppor ts i n every per iod of h i sl i fe
,and p art i cu l ar ly i n h is l as t s i ckness
,which he endured w ith a
calmness and res ign at ion wel l-becom ing a good man . Two th ings hep ar t icu l ar ly des i r ed
,th at he m ight not outl i ve h i s u seful ness
,
’ andthat he m ight h ave an easy death .
’ In both,h is des i res were com
pletely fulfi l l ed . His j udgment,memory
,heal th
,and soc i al powers
con ti nued,i n a remark ab l e degree
,un imp aired t i l l a few week s before
h i s death . Hi s s i ckn ess was short,and not extremely p ain fu l ; and
when the t ime of h is dep arture arr i ved,wi thout a groan or a struggl e
,
he fel l as l eep .
”
Hon . Thomas Russel l,the second son of James
,was born i n
Charl estown,Apr i l 7
,1740
,and died in Boston
,Apr i l 8
, 1796 . Hewas the fifth gener at ion i n the mercant i l e profess i on
,and became the
first,or one of the firs t merchants i n Amer ic a. The sermon s of D r .
Th acher and Dr . Morse,on occ as ion of h is death , and the eu l ogy by
D r . Warren,afford amp l e test imony to the excel l en c ies of h i s ch ar ac
ter. A l though abounding i n weal th , and surrounded by the mos t d ist inguish ed char acter s Of h is own and other countr i es , there was noth inghaughty or assuming abou t h im . By h i s affab i l i ty
,eas i ness of
'
access,
and engag i ng condescens i on,he possessed h i s immen se for tune unen
v i ed,and was un i versal ly l amented i n death . A t a t ime when infidel i ty
was fash ion ab l e,and neg l ec t of rel ig i on common
,he was not ashamed
p ub l i c ly to profess rel ig ion ; and he ever m ain tai ned a firm,but unos
1 I am happy to s tate that a good beginn ing h as been made for a Pas tor ’s l ibrary , in th e
enerous donat ion by James H unnewe l l , Esq .,of th e Massachuse tts H i s to r ica l Soc iety ’s C ul
ect ion , in twenty -fi ve v o l umes , for th e use of th e pas tor of th e church . T hese vo l umes havebeen of very e ssen tia l serv ice in th e preparation of these lec tures .
244
t entat ion s adherence to h i s rel ig i ou s pr i nc ip l es . By b irth,educat i on
,
and res i den ce for many year s,as wel l as by ancestral recol l ect ion s
,he
was att ached to thi s town,and was i n tend ing shor t ly to become an
inhab i t ant,and spend the even ing of h i s days i n i t .
The fol l owing i nterest i ng facts r espect ing the manner i n wh ich Mr .Russel l acqu ired h i s property
,ar e der i v ed from Dr . Warren ’s eu l ogy .
Hav ing ob t ai ned h i s mercant i l e educat ion under Mr . Thomas G reen,
an honor abl e and d i st i ngu ished merch ant of Boston , he went to Quebec i n 175 9
,where he rece ived a cons ignment , by wh ich he made
cons i der abl e profi t . In 1762,when war existed between France an d
G reat Br i tai n,and the oce an was i n fested wi th French p r i v ateers
,he
emb arked with a c argo for the Wes t Ind ies,and was persuaded to take
a l etter O f i n troduct ion to a French gen tl eman i n Mart i n ico,wh ich he
r ecei ved with i nd ifference,as the i s l and was i n possess i on of th e
French,and he was bound to another por t . He was captu red
,how
ever, on h is voyage , and carr i ed in to Mart in i co. A l l h i s property fel l
i n to the h ands of the enemy,and he was subj ected to severe con fi n e
ment . Whi l st i n custody,th e c ir cumst ance of the l etter occur red to
h is m ind,and he was perm itted to v is i t the gentl eman to whom i t was
d ir ected . No sooner h ad he peru sed i t , th an , being i n a s i tu at ion of
author i ty,he obt ained Mr . Ru ssel l ’s r el ease
,and offered h im hi s own
hou se as an asy l um from inj ury . N or d id h i s fr i endly offi ces term in atehere . He loaned h im a sum l of money
,with a p art of which Mr .
Russel l was ab l e gre atly to rel i eve the m i sfortunes of h i s fel l ow pr i soners . And th i s
,together w i th another sum belong i ng to h i s father
,
wh ich happen ed at th at t ime to be p l aced in the Wes t Ind ies,and a
s trong recommendati on from the s ame fr i end,en ab l ed h im to enter i nto
a v ery l u cr at i ve tr ade,and thu s l ai d the foundation of h i s subsequen t
success. But as i f P rov idence had determ ined to g i v e h im an earlyl esson of the p rec ar iou s n ature of property , a vessel and cargo wascons igned to h im from New Eng l and and d i sposed of for b i l l s on ahou se i n G reat B r i t ai n . Soon after h i s r eturn to th is country , hefound the b i l l s p rotes ted , and bei ng h imself th e endorser
,he had every
re ason to suppose h imsel f ru ined . Mr . Ru ssel l immed i ately embarkedfor London
,and ob t a ined an in terv iew w ith the dr awer
,who , out of
regard for Mr . Ru ssel l,from the fai rness and honesty he d iscovered i n
h is deal i ngs with h im,immed i ately adopted such measures as secured
h im against loss . Th is occurrence , l i k e most of h i s apparen t misfort unes
,turned out to h i s adv an tage , by l ead ing h im to an acqua in tance
w ith a house of gr eat cred i t and em inence in Eng l and . The acknowledgemon ts wh i ch M r . Russel l afterwards had an opportun i ty of mak ingto th at firm
,under the he avy l osses wh ich they h ad suffered , exh ib i ted
the s i ngul ar phenomenon of a European house,der i v ing i n i ts es tab
l ish men t , a powerfu l suppor t from the cap i tal of an Amer i can merch ant
.The generous feel ings of Mr . Ru ssel l ’ s heart were al so
grat ified,by a prov ident i al c i rcumst ance
,wh ich enab l ed h im to repay
t h e i n terpos i t i on of h i s French fr iend , to a son or other rel at iv e of h i sb enefactor
. O n h is r etu rn from Eng l and , Mr. Ru ssel l opened a stor ei n Boston
,but soon after removed
,and carr ied on h is bus i ness i n
Char l estown . A t t he beg i nn ing of the Revol utionary war, he was
possessed of a h andsome f or tune,but l os t a part of i t i n the dest ruction
of the town . Dur i ng h i s exi l e, he res i ded in D unstab l e , and aga in
246
at the corner on the northwest s ide of the road that leads from the Concordroad to Malden bridge. T h e house was l arge and elegant. It stood a l i ttleback from the road
,and in front O f i t was a flower-garden , enclosed w i th a
brick wal l w i th a wooden fence on th e top of it. A person,then a chi ld
,
recol lects gathering tul ips and other flowers among th e ruins of the house.An ancien t mulberry tree near by, on the land of Mr. Archibald B abcock
,is
now the only remnant of this once sp l endid seat.Col . A l ford owned upwards of seven thousand acres of l and in the county
O f G loucester, in N ew Jersey. From his having accoun ts to settle w i thpeopl e of London, i t is probab l e he was a merchant. He bequea thed upwards of £600 to Harvard C ol lege, and also £400 to N ew Jersey C ol lege.Bes ides th e funds on which is founded the professorship in H arvard C ol lege,h e gave exclus ively for the ins truction and ‘
gos pel iz ing of t h eIndi ans .’ 1 A sum was also left for charities , to be distr ibu ted by R ev. D r.
C ooper and others ; and accordingly , th e executor paid £20 to R ev. Mr.Webs ter
,of S al isbury , whose house was burnt ; to a man w h o suffered
by l ightning, £2 ; and £7 10 to R ev. Ezra Carpenter, ‘a poor minister.’Judge T rowbridge and Richard C arey were e x ecutors to Mr. Alford
’s w i l l,
but the la tter only acted, taking advice of the former. A l etter of JohnLocke
,the celebra ted au thor of the Essay on the Understanding, wri tten
to John Al ford, Esq .
, father of Col. A l ford, is pub l ished in the C hristian D isciple, for July, 1818.
T h e fol low ing extracts from Sew al l’s manuscrip t journal , communicated to
me by my kind friend R ev. Samuel Sewal l , are too interesting to be omitted,and are therefore introduced, al though out of their proper p l ace.
“ O ctober 13 , 1703 . Capt. Richard Sprague is buried. Mr.Russel l , Capt.Hayman
,Capt. Belcher, Mr. Leverett, Cap t. Cary , Capt. Fow l , bearers . Is
buried in Mr. Morton’s tomb . I was there . Most of the scholars , Joseph forone. My gloves were too l i ttl e. I gave them him. Governor there.
1717, August 20. Went to the funeral of Mrs. Mary Hayman, whosemaiden name was Anderson. Her fi rst husband’s name was Lynde, by whomsh e had Mrs. T oft (T ufts P) ; her second, Rev . T homas S hepard, by whomshe had Mrs. Smi th ; her third husband was Samuel Hayman, Esq .,
whosew idow she was : died in the s ixty-seventh year of her age. W as buried inh er husband’s (Shepard
’s ) tomb , which she buil t for him as I was told. Bearers,John Usher, Esq .
, Elisha Hutchinson, Esq . ; Samue l Sewal l , Edward Bromfi eld
,Esq. ; Mr. L everett, pres ident, John C lark, Esq. Has the reputation of
a pious gentl ewoman.
“ 1725 , Monday , May 24. W ent to C harl estown , where I heard of th edea th of Madam Bradstreet. T uesday , May 25 . W ent to Madam Brads treet’s funeral . Bearers , D r. Mather,Mr. C olman ; Mr. Nathaniel W i l l iams ,Mr. Peter T hacher, of Boston ; Mr. App l eton, Mr. Abbot. Mr. Bradstreetthanked me as he w ent from the grave . Madam R ussel l shewed me greatcurtes ie . I went and sat in her house before I wen t to the house of mourning. Mr. Colman and W ebb came in and sat w i th me. Had gloves at thefuneral . C ous in W endel l rode home w i th me in my calash, be ing somewhatl ame.”
2 Mass. H i s t. C 0 11. 11. 46 .
C A T A L O G U E
A DMI S S I ON S T O FUL L C OMMUN ION .
[T h is l is t embraces al l th e names on record previous to th e sett lemen t of D r. Morse in
mo. day. 1 6 3 2 .
10. 6. W i l l iam Learned and G oodit h h is w ife.
10. 20. W i l l iam B rakenbury.
10. 27 . A l i ce Mo l ton .
1 1. 5 . A nne B rakenbury. 4. 1 1. T homas Miche l l and Anne h is w ife.
12. 2. Jane Mo l ton . 11. 8. Joseph Ki tch e rin, T homas C artar , Ph i l l ip
12. 9. E l ias Maverick . Drin ke r and Mary Gou ld.1 6 3 3 . 12. 12. W in ifred H arrod and A l ice W ick s.
1 . 9. Edward Jones. 12. 27. R obert Sedgw ic k w i th Joanna Sedgw ic k .1 . 15 . John W oo lrych and Sarah h is w ife. 1 6 3 7 .
1 . 22. W i l l iam St i lson and E l izabe th h is w ife. 5 . 10. H ennery Smi th and Dorothy Smi th1 . 29. John Greene and Perseverance h is w ife . 9. 6. John H arvard and Anna H arvard h is w ife3 . 25 . Jonathan Wade and Susanna h is w ife. w i th R obert Cu tt ler4. 1 . Wa l ter Pamer and R ebeckah h is w ife, 12. 18. Samue l l and T homas R ich esson and A bi
and G race Pamer thei r daughter. gai l Maverick .4. 8. Dan ie l ! S h eph eardson. 1 6 3 84. 29. Edward C arrin ton. 1. 25 . John Gou ld
,W i l l iam Joh nson, and John
5 . 3 0. R ichard Ke tte l l and H ester h i s w ife. B rimsmead w i th A nna Jones .6. 7. George Wh i tehand. 2. 6. S teeven Fosdick
,H anna H e ipbourne,
24. W i l l iam Baker E l i zabeth D rin ker,R ebeccah C u t ler and3 1. A l ice Pemberton , D oroty Dade , Jone B a Joannah H au le .
ker. 7. 7. Isaak Co le and Joanna Co le, James G ar21. Edmond H ubbard, Jr., w i th E l izabe th h is ret and Deborah Garret , Katherin Coyt
w if'e . more , and S arah Fosdike W i th Marge19. Abraham Me l lows and Martha h is w ife , ri te Lew is .
and Edward Me l lows the ir son , and 11. 8. Se th Sw i tzer, E l izabe th T ay lor and JoEdmond H ubbard , Sen ior. anna Lark in .
3 1. James T omson and E l izabe th h is w ife. 1 6 3 9 .
30. Ben iam i ne H ubbard and A l ice h is w ife. 1. 10. W i l l iam S ergeant, Josuah T ydd and12. E l izabe th A twood and Mary Sne l l . Mary N orton .
27. Josuah H ubbard and R ebeckah h is s is ter. 1. 17 . Sarah Sargean t.1 6 3 4 3 . 12. T homas Mart in and R ebeckah T rarice.
T. 10. James B rown and H es ter Morris . 4 . 3 . Abraham H i l l w i th Mart h a C oytmo re.
4. 14 . E l i zabe th Brown . 7. 2. John Mart i n,R ebeckah Martin
,H annah
6. 23 . John Mowsal l and h is w ife. C artar and Sarah L i i ry.
6 . 30. W i l l iam N ash and Mary h i s w ife, T homas 7. 9. Sarah T ydd , J one R icheson, B etli ia Sw i tGoble and A l ice h is w ife,and Sarah zor and Mary Leach .
O ake ly. 7. 16 John P ent icos t W i t h J oanna P en ticost .9 . 21. Jone S tutt in and Anne H aukes .10. 6. Mr. Zacharias Symmes and Sarah h is w ife
mo. day. 1 6 3 6 .
R obert H auk ins , R obert Long. GeorgH e ipbourn , Mary Jefi
'
reis,E l izabeth
Long , J udi th Bun ker.
2. 17.
7. 23 . Edward Lark in,W i l l iam Ph i l l ips w i th
Mary Ph i l l i ps .1 1. 4. E l ishua C rowe
,Joh n B lacks and Susanna 8. 7. T homas Graves , Katherin G raves , Anna
h i s w ife .
11 . 10. W i l l iam Bache l ler and E l izabe th Peerce.
12 . 4. T homas Lynde and Margeri te h is w ife .
12. 13 . W i l l iam Johnson and E l i zabet h h is w ife .
12. 21.be th R usse l l and John SybleySarah h is W ife .
1 6 3 5 .
10. 8. F rancisMaveric k w i th Mary Eaglesfe i ld.
8 . 24. John Cau le . Mary B rimsmead.
W i l loughby and Marylough by .
Vv l l
T homas Pee rce, Georg B uncker, E l i za 10. 22 . T homas A l len and Jane Sm i th .w i th 11. 19. E l i zabe th Fe l t
12. 2 . Ma ry Co le , Joseph H i l l , Rose H i l l , and
Susanna Seers .
2 . 3 . A l ice Chubbuck and Mi l l icen t Sprague. I2. 16. T homas C oytmore and B enn itt C uule .
6 . 3 0. Mr. P eete r Hubberd.
7 . 13 . Margery Eames and James H aydon.
10. 5 . H anna Me l lows and M i les B ii s tow , wi thMarcia h is w ife , and T homas B rigdenw i th T omazin h is w ife.
10. 12. Sarah Ewer.
1 1. 8. E l i zabe th Davis,Mary H an k ins , A l ice
R and, Susanna H alsteed and T homasEwer.
12 . 21. Mary R icheson.
l 6 4 0 .
1 . 3 0. T homas W i lder and Edward Wood.3 . 24. R uth Wood, R ichard Robbins, w ith R e
beckah Robins.3 . 3 1. John B aker .
4. 7. Sarah Baker, T homas Gou ld and H annahGou ld.
7. 23 . Augus tin Wa l ker, John Pa lmer, AnnaSmi th and El i zabeth H ancoc k.
248
mo. day. 1 6 4 ll . 28 . John Seers and W i l l iam Pa lmer.2. 4. Lambert Sutton .
2 . l l . Mary Bu rrage and Anna Wa l ker.3 . 22 . J ohn A l len
, R i chard R usse l l and MaudR uS S e l l .
3 . 3 0. R icha rd Cook.5 . 5 . Susanna Jones .3 1. John We igh tman , E l izabeth Broun and
Joanna W ood.
1 1. 15 . R ichard Lowden and S ol lomon Ph ips.l l . 28 . Anna James and E l i zabeth S awfe rd.
l 6 4 2
2. 10. John Ba rrage and F ranc is N orton2. 17. John Scott , John G reen and Sarah Symms .3 . 15 . John March, Gardy J ames and mother
Ph ips.29. R ebe ckah March and E l i zabeth Chamber
la i ne.
9. 3 0. VV i l lram Wa l l is , Isaak Whee ler, SusannaW e igh tni an , Ellene r Cary, M a rgeri teH urs t, S ure trust R oos , Elrz i i be t h
G reene,Sarah Bee l , and B ody H arri s .1 6 4 3 .
2 . 13 . E l i zabeth H auk ins, An na Jaque and E l i zabet h Pi tts.
5 . 1 . Mathew Sm ith and Fai thfu l l Rou s .8. W i l l iam Sm i th.
9. 4. W i l l iam G reen , T homas Lynde ,R al ph
W oorey, Fai i i tno t W inds , E l l i nor Mil ior
,Sarah A l len , Sarah N icho ls , and
Mary C artar.
9. 30. Abraham H auk ins , Sarah Coo ke ,Sarah
Ki tc h erin , P errcrs B r idges , Ma ry H ad
loc k , and ou ld goodw ife G rove r.10. 9. E l i zabet h C ooper, Marge ry R and. Mercie
R eus,E l i zabeth H arring ton and Abra
h am J aqu i th1 6 4 4 .
N at h an ie l l H adlocke , T homas O sborn ,
J ohn Lew is,Hopesti l l M i r i ck , E l i za
be th Grover,E l izabe th Wood and Sarah
H i l l .1 6 4 5 .
F ranc is \V h ee ler,Mary Shawe, A l ice
Barnard, Katherin Waffe , B ridge tW i nds , Samue l C arter and Mih e l lSm i th.
1 6 4 6 .
1 1. 15 . R obert Cha l k ley, T homas C artar, jun .
J ames G reene , Mary h ewe l l and JohnWai te
12. 7. Mary Gwin .
l 6 473 . 3 . James Cary, R ande ll
'
N icho l ls , ManesSa l ly, Edward H arrington , James P i keand John Gobe.
l 6 48 .
5 . 9. Samue l H award, Sarah H award,’ Es therJenner
,Mary Sa l ly
,Mary Symms and
R ebeckah G raves.1 6 5 0
R ichard Stower. Jacob G reen , T homasVVe Is h , John T ucky ,
Mary O rton . E l i zah e t h Shop py and H annah Ladk in .
Margery Kn igh t,Anna W i lder arid
C artar.
5 . 10
2. 12.
7.
1 6 5 2 .
Joanna Dav i son , Sarah B roune , JoannaStower and R oger Morgan
S teeve n S treete r U rsu l a S tree ter, JohnC lo righ , Jone dlough , T homas Gou ld,H anna Gou ld, J oh n Fou l and Ma ryFou le, Law rence Does , Marv C utt rn ,G ua l te r Erlmonds and DorothyEdmonds
6. 15 . W i l l i am Foster.John Pe i rce .
7. 23 . A nne Foste r, Mrrry G ibbs , Sarah Smi thrind El i zabe th Symms .John Cut le r A nna Cu t ler, E l izabe thT rumble, Mary R idgway and l lulda h
S yrnms
10. 4. Gee rtru id S pencer, Mary Fosdike and
Joanna Long.
1 . 14.
21.
mo. day. 1 6 5 512. 21. Mary R usse l l and Joanna G reene.
1 o 5 b
l . 9. Samue l l N owe l l , R ebeckah Booth , Kathe i in R oswe l l
,Mary Ke rn p t h e rn, H an
na h G ri fi in,Mary N as h and A biga i llS l ubbs .
6. 9. Samue l ] Ward, F ranc i s Ward, JaneC loyes , E l i zabe th We lsh
, Maudl i neB raz re r, Annah T ynge, E l izabet hC leugh . M ary C lough
,A my H arri s,
Crouch and Goodw ine.
I6 5 8 .
5 . 18. Mis Bun ker by a dismis . from ch h .
of Watertow n
John H a le, and my sonne Zech ary Symms .29 . M r. Mo r ly and h i s W i fe : be by a d i smis.
from Bra in tree , sh e by a di smis fromDorches ter.
29. Braz ier,W i l l iam Crouch and S ibi l
N u t t.3 1. Mr. T homas Shepard by a diamia. from
ch h . of Cambridge .
1 6 5 9 O
9. 20. R oger A l ie and h is w ife Jane A l ie ; by adismis e rn W eymo i h ebb.
9. 20. Mrs. Mary K ing.1 6 6 0 .
2. 29. Ahiga l , t h e w i fe of John Longe, T h omasR and and Sarah h is w ife , Ben iaminB un kor, J enne r t h e w i le ofT homasJenno r, R uhamah th e w i fe of JohnKn ight , t h e w i fe o f M’
rlson .
Kat liarrn t h e W i fe of Jo h n Ph i l i ps.5 . 29. G P ric lie t , and A nne h i s w ife and
daughter T emp le r by a d ism is from t h e
ch h . of C h ris t at Y arn i e t h . i n N ew Engl and, and t h e same day a lso, Mrs . J ohn
so n by a d ram i s . from a ebb. o f X t. inCan te rbu ry i n O ld Eng land Mr.Ze c h aryB rigden on t h e same d ay, G . EdwardVV i lIs on. G oodw ife Ma rt h a Lath rop andB rigden ,
t
gt
é
w ife of T homas B rigden .
l lGoodman W i l l iam C lough.N at h anee l Hut ch eS un and Sarai h is w ife ;Mary
,t h e w i fe of h re . Edward W i l l son
,
Mrs . Mary G reen (t h e W i fe of bro. JacobG reen ) a nd t h e same day, T homas O sbu rn a nd h is w i fe by a le t te r of drami s8 10 11 from t h e ch h . of Ch ris t at Ma lden .
l 6 6 2 .
4. 29. Mr. Lau rence H ammond, G . John Ca l l andG oodw. Lyd ia Wood.
i 6 b‘ 42. 17. Hannah Ca l l t h e w ife of bro. John Ca l l ,
SusannaG raves and El isabeth Edmundst h e w i fe of Joshua Edmu nds .
9. 6. Mr. John C h ick ring and E l isabe th h is w ifeby a d ismiss ion from t h e ch h . ot . at
D edlram.
12. 5 . Mrs . Deborah Wade (\Vors h ipfull T h omasDudley ’s daughter .)I 6 6 5
7 . 17. Mr T homas G rave-r , Anne T ay lor th e w ifeof R ichard T ay lor . and R uth A l l i n (aw idow ) marr i ed afterward to Mr. Km“.
1 6 6 6 - 7
6. G oodman Abraham Sm i th and Goodw ifel l i i nna h Ilurry.
Me h it i i h c l l l i lto n (VVorsh ipfull l ncreas eN owe l 's daughter ) , and E l izabethG r ave s (‘Ve rsh ipful l R ichard R usse l ’sdaugh ter.)
1 6 6 7 .
8. 13 . Abiga i l K n ight (s is ter S tower’s daugh ter) ,Mrs. Margare t W i l loughby and Mrs.
A bi gai l H ammond.l l . 26. G . J ohn K n igh t.12. 23 . G . T homas Lo rd by a dismiss ion from th e
chu rch of C hrist at Ipsw ich , G . A l iceLord h is w ife (S i ster R and’s daua h te r)and Mary W ins low . (W orsh rpfui l 1ncrease N owe l ’s daugh ter.)
12. 23 .
11.
12. 24.
25 0
1 6 80 . 19.
Ju ly 4. G . Joh n G u ppy an d E l isabet h G u p py h i s l ‘2.w i fe , by d tsmtsswn from t he c h u rch of C h rts t i nM’
eymout h . 12.
A ug . 15 . Mr. S amue l B a l l a rd , Mary Eade s , t h ew 1fe of Joh n Ead es
,a n d S a ra i C h apman , t he
w1fe of T homas Chapman .Oc t . 1 7. Mrs . Ma ry L ong , t he d augh te r o f Mr.
B a rr, m i n i s te r o f D orc l to
ester, andc
w t le of MrZech ar i a h L ong , by v i r tue of a le t te r o f d1smiss i o n from N ew bu ry .
D ec. I9. G Jno. Swe t t , by d i sm i ss i o n from N ew
6. S a rai B arnal l w iddow.
6. Sa r a i , th e W 111} of A nd re w Ph i l l i ps.C l u t te rb uc k .
27. Samue l P en h a l low , A n n a, t h e w i fe ofBe nj am i n P h t l l 1ps.
1 6 8 7 .
6. J oh n Ca l l j u n i o r. a nd Ma rt h a h is w i fe,Samue l R ead a n d E l i za be t h h is w rfe ,W i l l i 1n1 Metcal l.
10. Sam ue l L o rd , Sa ra i , t h e w i fe o f Pa t r ic kMa r k , Ma ryy , w i fe of Pau l W 1 lson
,Pris
c1 l la,w i fe o f Thomas Croswe ll.
bu ry c h u rc h . 3 . 8. Ma ry , w 1fe of Ca leb Car te r.Jan . 9 . A l l i ce Adam s th e w i fe ef G . T hos . Adam s 6. Q I. N i c ho l as Mo r ton
Sn y n e p h e w . )
Ma ry K n igh t th e W tf e o f ou r b ro Jno. K n ig h t , 7. 95 . T i mothy Ph i l l i ps , an n ah ,wrfe of G eorgeSa ra i C h yrch , the W tfe o f Co r n e l i us C h yrc h , S ted ma n .Jo h n Cu t le r
,Ju n i o r , t he so n o f ou r De a . Cu t l e r 8. 3 0. Sam ue l H u n t i ng.
J a n . 3 1) Emme L y n d , t he w i fe o f ou r b ro Mr 9. 20. Ma ry H a le .J osep h L y nd, H 1nnuh Me l vy n , th e m fe o f Jno . 12. 12. Th omas S h epp a rd , Jr.,El izah eth D i ckerMe l vy n , H a n n a h M1l ler, th e wrfe of o u r b r o . man .J ose p h
M l l 1 6 8 8 .
J ame s 1 e r.2. 8. Sa ra h , w i fe ofJoh n Ca r te r.
1 6 8 1 . 9. 18. E l i zabe t h w i fe of J on a th an W ade,Esq.
March 6. S u san n a T arbol (w iddow ) , E l i sabe th 11.Me ad e , th e w i fe o f Mr. N i c ho l as Me ad e , Ma ryDow se
,th e w 1fe o f J ose p h Dowse . 4.
Ma rt-h l 3 . Mr. Jo h n L ong a nd Mr. Thomas J e n n e r 12.A p r i l 3 . G . Be n ia m i n P h 1 l | ips , so n of Dea . Ph i l l i pso f Weymo u th , G. J aco b H u rd
,by d ismissw n 3 .
from Bos ton l s t c h . 4.
A pri l fi l . G . S .1 rab Edm i s te r,t h e w i fe of 6 .
by d ism i ss i o n from Read i ng c h u rch , S u sa n n ah 10.Demmon , by (h emiss ion from d oJ u n e 26. Mr N i c ho las Me : ,1d e H an n a h N e we l l , 3 .
t he w i fe o f Mr. Jo s. N ewe l l , Sa ra i W a l te rs , t he 11.w i fe of S te ve n W a l te rs .S e p t . l l . G . Samue l B l a nc h a rd .Oc t 16 . G . W 1l l 1am J 1mm1son, H an n ah Ba r re t ,w iddow , Mrs. Sa ra i Mo re
,w iddow, a n d t h e
d augh te r o f Mr. Fos te r,Sa rai Pan i c k
,th e
w i fe o f Mr.1 6 8 l - 2
J a n . 29 . G . Thoma s R an d,Ju n i o r
,G r ace I re land ,
t h e w i fe of Jo h n 1re l an d .
Feb . 12 . Mrs R ebeckah Ly nd , w idow.
l 6 8 2 .
May 7. Jon a th an Ca ry , Debor a h C ham be r l ain ,t he w i fe o fJ u n e 4. Mrs E l i sabe th More , t h e w i fe ofO c t. I5 . T imot h v P r-l t te .N ov . l ! Sa ra i W a l te rs , t he w i fe o f G. J acob iW a lters .
R ya l l . t he w i fe o f Jose p h R yal l ,
w!‘
9 .
3 .
4
8.
9
1
J a n . I4. Ma ry
13 . Dorcas , w ife of Joseph Pr a t t.1 6 8 9 .
3 0. Ma ry Da v i e,w iddow, Me rcy Mar k.
23 . Be nj am i n P 1e rpont.1 6 9 11 .
11. J oh n G eo rge a n d Ma ry h i s w ife.1 1. Ma ry
,w i fe of Ed wa rd L a r k i n .
28. Mrs. Ma rga re t S h ep pa rd .14. Mary
,d aug h te r 0 1 J o h n Fow le.
1 6 9 l .
3 1. Ab iga i l , w i fe of Mr John So l ey .10. Joseph W h 1ttamore, R oge r H i l l i a rd an d
Ex
p
pe ricnce h ts w ife , R u th , w i fe o fW 1 ll iam E v e r ton.
1 6 9 2 .
6. Mose s C leav e l a nd .29 . S tephe n Kiddar, Ma rga re t Pa rk e r , w id
dow , H an n a , w ife of T homas W a l te r,A n n , w i fe ofD amel Pa r k e r, R u th B ake r,w iddow .
13 . Marg are t,, d augh9
te r o fMr. Josep h Lynde.
l b 4
27. J u d i th w i fe o f Samue l Ingers ton.
24. Elrzabeth , d augh te r o f br.cl
S amuel Lo u d .14. Th oma s [son S o lomon (dece ased ) , and
Ma ry W lt l0 \ Ph ips.Q I. Samu e l 11yman , Esq.
6. Me l1 1tabel ,yw 1dow of R ich a rd A us t in,deceased .1 6 9 5 .
H a n n ah Ca ry , the w i fe of Jonat h an Ca ry . 2. 9 1. U r i t h N ix , w i do w.
J a n . 28. A nd re w S t i mson a n d A btgai l h i s w i fe. 9 . 98 . Ma ry We bbe r . w idow.
1 6 8 3 . 3 . 19 . Ma ry , w i fe of Ma t t hew Case wel l.J u n e 3 . S u sa n n a h P i k e. t h e w i fe ofJnseph P i k e. 4. 23 . Ma h e l, v. 1fe 0 1'
1‘
h omes P h eppy, Sa ra,J u n e 99. Mrs . El 1sabe t h W h i t i ng d augh te r o f t h r w ife o f A rc h i ba l d Macquerry.
R ev. Mr. W h i t i ng , pas to r of t h e c h . in B tl lrecai. 1 6 9 6 .
M 8 4 . 5 . 12. Joh n Mousal l , se n i o r, G eo rge Ingerston ,
Mar. 9.
ou r b ro. Jno. K n igh t . by d i sm is s io nl st c h n re h , A n n a
oH ardy, t h e w rle o f ou r b ro. Ja 8.
cob H ard, Sa ra i R and , t h e w i fe of ou r h ro . IC .
Thomas R an d .
Mar. 3 11. Mrs . Lyd i a Ma rsh a l l , th e w i fe o f Mr. 1.
W i l h am Mars ha l l 2.
May l8. Mrs . Ma ry S h e pa rd , (my w i fe . )J a n . 4. E l i sabe t hyCary,d aug h te r of Mrs. Cary 7.
t he w id ow .
Feb. 92. G . Jno . S i m pso n a n d Ab iga i l h i s w rfeG . J on a t h an S i m pson an d W a i t h is wrfe .
1 148 5
Mar. 22. G . N a t ha n i e l Ket t le, G . Jon a t h a n K e t t l e 9.
Samue l Ingers ton, K a t h a r i n e , w i fe ofG e o rge Inge rs tonJo h n Fosdtke . se n ’r Sam ue l B rac k e nbu ry.R e be cca, w i fe o f Ebe ne ze r A u s t i n .
1 6 9 7
98. H an n a h , w i fe of W 1lh am A u s t i n .1 1. Ma ry Fo rd , w iddow ,
J ames A dams,h er
son i n l aw .
26. Ma t he w March .
11.
3 1.
fl dmittcd to ful l commun ion 111/me S . B r ads tr eet,s i n ce O ct . 26 , 1698.
6. W i l l i am R a nd a nd h rs w ife , t h o w ife o fMay 3 . H an n a h K e t t l e , the W tfe o f o u r b ro . N a J ose ph W h tt t amo re .
t ha n i e l Ke t t l e , S u san n a h Logy a , t h e w i fe of G . J a n . 1. Sa rah . w i fe o f N a t han i e l C loves .
A le xand e r L ogy a . J a n . 8. Eh snbe t h , w 1fe of Edward W al ker.J a n . 99 . H an n ah F ros t.
A dmit ted i n to full commun ion by 7110 Ch ar les Feb. 96. R e be k a h, wrfe o f t l iam Fosse t .
Mm ton . l 6 9 9 .
mo. day 1 6 8 6 . Mar. 96. J am es Tu rn e r,Mrs . Cu t l e r
,the w ife o f
10 . 13 . Cap t . R i c h a rd Sp rague,Mrs. E l i s abe t h
t’
lutterh uek .
l l. 3 N a th an i e l Dowse.Mr. Joh n Cu t l e r .Ap r i l J acob H u rd
,t he w i fe o f Robe r t Scot.
May 16. Mrs. Lydia, W ife ofMr. R i c hard Wai t.
25 1
May 21. M rs . Sa rah Newe l l, w i fe o f M r . Joseph M a y 11. M rs. M a r t h a , w i fe of Mr. A b r a h am H i l l .Newe l l , se n ior. J u n e 8. M e rcy , w i fe o f Robe r t Fosk i t .
Ju ne 18. H an n a h, w i fe of J ames Tu rn e r. July 6. Be nj a m i n l i urd .
J u ly 16. E l i z a be t h , w ife ofJacob l l urd. A ug. 3 . M r s l lo rcas l i it iy, K a t ha r i ne N ancy.A ug. 6. M rs . K a tha r i n e , W i fe of M r. Robe r t A ug. 24. M r s. B le rio t , w i fe of M r . W i l l i a m W i re.K now l e s . M rs . R u t h , re l i c t oe . J oh n Row. A ug . 3 1 M r s . Jo li irnna h , re l i c t o f M r. S a mue l
O c t 8. A b iga i l P ie rce , H an n a h , w i fe o l' b‘
amue l Eve r t on .
Cou n ts,t he w i d ow S a r a h W hee le r. O c t . 26 . M r Jone s Ca pe n a n d H a n n a h h i s W i fe.
N ov . 5 . M rs . E l i z a bet h (l e i i ne i s . N o v . S a ra h , w i fe o f JtN t ' p li ll a i id .
Dec . 24. M r . Na t h an ie l C a ry and E l iz a be t h h i s D ec . 21. W i fe o f W i l l i a m Sh ea f, S en i o r .w i fe. l 7 ti 7 —8 .
J a n 27. H annah , w ife o f S a mue l B l u n t . Feb. 15 . M rs . A b iga i l,w i fe o f M r. N ic h o laus
Mar. 17. A lexa i ioer P
it l l l l pe, M rs . A b i ga i l R a i ne r Law re nce
,S ara h , w i fe o f Thoma s W h i te , J r .
7 0 0 . 1 7 0 8 .
A p r . 21. M rs . R ebeka h C ham be rs,M rs . Sa ra h A p r i l 1 1. E l i z a be t h D anrmon .
Fos t e r , M rs S u s a n n a (Jh ickering. J u l y 4. S osanna h , w i fe o f M r . J oh n Tucke r.Se p t . 8. G . A be l llenja i i i in. S ep t 26. M r . J a co b W '
n ters .
Fe b. I6. M r . R i c h a rd Fos te r , Do ro t hy , w i fe of N o v. 2 l . Kat h a r i ne w rfe oe . . h eopl.i l i is Ivo ry.M r N a t h a n i e l l lows . D ec . l9 . M rs. E l i z a be t h W ad e , Ex pe r i e nce S te d
Fcb. 23 . M r . J on a t h a n Dow s , A b iga i l w i fe ofA n ma n .d re w M i tc he l . I 7 0 8—9M a rc h 23 . J oseph A u s t i n . J a n . 16. Sa r a h
,w i fe of J ose p h M i r i ck .
1 7 0 1 . 1 7 0 9Oc t . 5 . M r. J acob G ree n . A p r i l 10. A b i g a i l , w i fe of M r JamesMi l ler.
N o v. 23 . M a ry , w i fe o f M r. Joseph Lemmo n. J u l y 3 1. A n n a H o rd1 7 0 2 . S e p t . 25 . R u t h . w i fe o f Mr. J o n a t h a n Edmu nd s ,
A p r i l l 9. Su sa n n a h , w i fe o f A lex a n de r M i tc he l . El i zabetb, w ifc of M r J ames Uapen , Jr.M ay l7. M rs. P a r ne l , w i fe o f M r. R i c h a rd Fo s te r O ct . 23 . Mrs . l lo ro t liy T re r i ce .
S e p t . 6. M r . A b r a h am l l i l l. se n i or, M rs . A biga i I, N ov . 20 . Ma rgi i ri t , w i fe o f M r . Robe r t W a rd ,w i fe of M r J o h n W a tk i n s M a ry
, W i fe o f Amos S t o ry .N ov 29 . B lues B r igd e n , J o h n D ammon . 1 7 1 0
Dec. 27. Re l ie f, w i fe o f M ic h ae l G i l l , M a ry , w i fe A p r i l 9 S a rah Mi i ick .
of S imon B ra d s t ree t . M a y 7. Th e t low A b i ga i l H a t ho r n , H a n n a h ,1 7 0 3 . W i fe of M r. W i l l i a m P at te n .
A p r i l 18. Sa mpson (negroe. ) May 14. M r . J os h ua B l a nc ha rd .J u n e M a ry
,w i fe of E l i s ha D ou b led a y
,M a ry J u n e l8. H a n na h , w i fe o f M r . J ames Low d e n .
C a l l . J u ly 9. M rs . P rud e n ce , w i fe o f M r. Ebe nezerJ u l y l l . Sa ra h w i fe o f Jo h n Edmu nd s . S wa n . 1 7 l 0 — 1 1 .
Se p t N a t h a n ie l Hes ton . Ma rc h l l .Mrs . A b iga i l Hurry.O c t . 3 . Th e w i dow H a n n a h We l s h , W i l l iam 1 7 I l .
P arkeman . A ug . 26. M r . J on a t ha n K e t t le , J r.O ct 3 0. The w i fe o f Sa m ue l G r i ffi n . 1 7 I 2
N ov . 28 . Ro be r t Cu t le r , D a n ie l B a d ge r . Apr i l 6 M rs Re beka , w i fe of M r. D an ie l R u sse l .D ec. 5 . W iddow A b iga i l K e t t le . J u ne 29. R ach e l K i d d e r
1 7 0 3— 4. 1 7 1 2—1 3 .
J an . 23 . A n n a w i fe of N a t h a n i e l L o rd,S a r a h Ja n . 1 1. M a ry . w i fe o f M r Ebe neze r H a r t s ho r n .
F r o t h i ng h am . Fe b. 8. G r ace H a l l,A n n e D ou b led a y .
1 7 0 4 . M a rc h 8. M rs . A n n a,w i fe of M r . ll a lph Mousn lM a y 14. Kat h arin w i fe o f J o h n Ta i lo r
,A b i ga i l M rs . H a n n a h
,w i l e of M r Be n] . A nd rews , M r sw i fe o f W i l l i a m Ket t le. M a ry , w i fe of M r . T h oma s F r ot h i ng h am ,
Mrs .
Ju ly 19. H an n a h w i fe o f Joh n P r i ce,E l i z abe t h A n n e , w i fe o f M r . J oseph Newe l .w i fe o f Be nja m i n S weetzer. l 7 I 3 .
O ct M rs Rebeckah W i fe o f M r. Isa ac Fow l. M ay 3 1 . M r. R a l p h Mouse ] a n d h i s son , R a l phFeb. 18. M e rcy H i t . Mo ri sa l, Re becc a W li i ta ino re .
1 7 0 4— 5 . J u ne 28 . M a rge ry , w i fe o f M r E be neze r P u tman .M a rc h 18. M r. Sam ue l Fro t h ingh am ; th e w i fe of A ug 23 . w i fe o f M r . T hom a s Ca l l ; ReJ oh n l lom i rion . becc a , w i fe ofJosc p Ii C aswc l lJC l i zabet h C rowc h ,A p r i l I5 . S u sa n n a h w i fe o f Na t h a n ie l Hea ton
,a nd he r S i s te r
,M a ry C rowc h .
A b ig a i l Sym p so n,Deb o r a h Symp son. A u g . 3 0. t he w i fe of M r . F ra n c i s Basse t .1 7 0 5 . S ep t. 20 . Ha n n a h
,w i fe o f M r . l lan ie l L a w re nce.
M ay 13 . M a ry S to r y . O c t 18. R ac h e l , w i fe o f M r . S am ue l K n ig h t .A ug. 5 . T h omas a n d (h i s w i fe ) E l i za be t h Lo rd . N ov . 15 . Mrs . Sa r a h Fey, w rfe of C a p t . J oh n Foy.Se p t. 3 0. M r . T imo t hy Cu t le r , Mr. W i l l i am M rs A b iga i l , w i fe or M r . Jo h n R ay ne r , Jr.,Ket t le. S a ra h , w i fe o f J oh n Ca r te r .
O ct . 28 . T he w iddow S u s a n n a h C ook. D ec . l 3 . S a ra h,w i fe o f M r . A b r a h am M i l le r .
N ov . 25 . M r . E lea ze r P h i l l i ps. 1 7 1 3 - 1 4 .
J a n 20. M r . T h omas C rossewel l, Joh n F ro t h i ng Ja n . 10. E s t he r N ic h o l le.
h am , Jose p h lta nd . Fe b. 7 . S a r a h W i l son,J oh a n n a h La rk i n , E l i z aFe b. 17. N a t h a n i e l F ro th i ng h am an d Ha n n a h be t h H u rd
h i s w i fe. Ma rc h 7. E l i zabe t h Tow n sen d .1 7 0 6 1 7 I 4
A p r i l 14. Do rot h y w i fe of J o h n Mousa l l. A p r i l 4 Ka t h e rine , w i fe o f M r. Jon a t h a n K et t le ,J u ne 9. M r . Ele ii zer [ low s a nd M a ry h i s w i fe . Mrs . R u t h Row
,Jr., Mary, w i l e o f M r . S ti rnoo lSe p t 1 . M rs . Sa ra h S wee t ze r, w i fe o f M r. S e t h W h i te he a d .
S weetzer, Lucy , w i fe o f Be njam i n l ’ lri l l ips . May 2. M r. Jose ph H a r r i s,M r Ca le b Ca r t e r .
Se p t . 29 . S u sa n n a h , w i fe of Jo h n F ro t h i ng h am. M ay 30 . M r . J o h n Fow le,Lyd i a H i l l , a n d he r
Dec. 22. H a n n a h We l s h S i s te r , E l i za be t h H i l l.1 7 0 6 - 7 . J u ne 27. M rs . H a n n a h , w i fe o f M r . V i nce n t C arJ a n . 19. E l i z a bet h , w i fe o f Jonatban S he rma n . te r . S a ra h , w i fe o f M r. W i l l i am Me landy.
J a n . 26. M a ry , w i fe o f Be nj Ket t le . J u ly 25 . M a ry S wan .Fe b. 16. Sa r a h w i fe o f J oh n W a te rs . 1 7 1 4 .
Ma r. l6. Rut h .w i fe of Ro be r t W i re , A b iga i l C a ry . A ug . 22. M . S a ra h , w i fe o f t h e R ev. M r . Jo. S teA p r i l 6. M r. Ebe neze r A u s t i n
,Mei cy, w i fe of M r . ve n s w i fe of M r . T h e. C a l l , J r.
S tep hen B adge r. Sept. 10. M r. Samue l Web.
25 2
N ov . 21. The w id ow Ma ry Ph i l l i ps ; t he wi M a rch 1 . Amb rose Co l eby .Mr. Na t han ie l W e b be r . A p r i l 5 M rs . H a n na h
,w i fe of Mr. E ben B reed .
D ec . 12. Ro be r t W a rd , Benj am i n Dews , S tephe n J o ne Q l . J oh n D ams , J acob Deny ; W i fe of M r .Badg e r , J u n i o r s . T im ot hy Read . J r .D ec . 19. Sa r ah , w i fe o f M r . J oseph G r a n t . J u ly 26. J a be z T at t le .
1 7 1 4 I 5 . A u g . 16 . M r . Ed wa rd B raz ier.
J a n . 9. Mrs . Ma r t h a, w i fe of Mr. E p h ra im Oc t . l l . M r s . Ru t h,w i fe o f Mr. W i l l iam D a dy
,B reed . H a n nah J oh n son a n d h e r s i s te r,A b iga i l J oh n
J an . 16. Mrs . Es t h e r Ke t te l . sen
Fe b . 6. Ma ry , W i fe of M r . Joh n G r i ffi n . Oc t . 18. Mrs . Sa ra h , w i fe o f Mr. R ich a rd R a ndo l.Ma rc h 6. A n n
,W i fe of Mr. Th omas Ch apman . D ec . 90. Mrs. Pa i ne l , W i fe o f M r . J oh n Codman ;
1 7 1 5 . W i fe of Mr. Jnmes Fow l .Ma rch 27.Mr. R icha rd M i l le r . Ja n . 3 1. M rs Es t her
,w i fe o f Mr. Ja mes Ke t te l.
A pri l 3 . Do rot hy , W i fe o f M r. Jose ph K i dde r . Fe b . 7. W i fe of M r . Ste ph e n K i dde r .M ay 8 . Sa ra h , w i fe of Jo n a t h an Ke nd a l l . M a rc h 6. Mrs . Es t he r H a l lMay 29. Mr. VV i lIinm B rown 1 7 2 0 .
J u ne 5 . M an y , W i fe o f M r. R ich a rd M i l le r. M a rch 97 M r s . A n ne , W i fe o f M r . J oh n Asbu r y ,A ug. 2 1. Mrs . E l i za bet h P i e rce. M r. Thomas Symmes
,Ma ry N essne r , M a rySe p t . l l . A n n a l i M i r ic k . C a te r .
Se p t . 18. J o n a t h a n P ie rce , Edwa rd L ark in , Jr. A p r i l 3 . Mrs . Sa ra h , w i fe of Mr. Th omas J a c kOc t . 16 . M r . S a m u e l B l u n t , Sam ue l K i dde r. so n , M rs . Ha n na h P ie rce .N ov . 20. Mr. Th oma s Ca l l , J r A pr i l 94. Mrs. M a rga r i t , W i fe o f Mr. J ames S he rDec. l l . M rs Mabe l J en ne r . Mr . J oh n Ra nd , J r . m a nD ec. 18. Joliannah , w i fe of M r. J oh n Ca l l , J r. M a y 1 . Mrs . A b i ga i l , w i fe of Mr. Edwa rd W i re.
1 7 1 5 - 1 6 . M ay A b iga i l Ru sse l .J a n . 29 . Mrs. E l i z a be th , w i fe o f Mr. J oseph M a y 98. A blgd l l Add a ms .L emmon . June 19 E l i za be t h
,da ug h te r of Mr. N a t ha n ie l
Ma rc h l l .Mrs . T readwa y . F rot h i ngh am.
1 7 1 6 . J u ly I7. M r s . L uist,w i fe o f Mr. Ro be r t
May 6. Mr. Ca l v i n Ga l p i n , J r . L uist .
Oc t . 2 1. N a t h an ie l Boyn t on . J u l y 94. Mr. Thomas J ac k son .N ov 19 . The w idow Mrs . Ha n na h P ie rce. A u g . 2 1 Benjam i n Read , Edwa rd Ends.Dec 9. Thom a s W e l s h . Se p t. 18 M r Isa a c P a r ke r.Fe b . 3 . T he W i fe of M r. Jon a th an Fosd ic k . No v . 6. M rs . E l i z a be t h , w i fe o f Mr. Eze k ie lFeb. 10 . M r s . Re l ie f Row s . Cheeve r.Ma rc h 3 . M r s. M a ry , w i fe of M r . J oh n P O W ] . 1 7 2 0
Ma rc h I0.Mrs. Su s a n n a h , w i fe of Mr. Sam ue l J a n . 1. Mrs. Ca l l , w i fe of Mr. Ca le b C a ll .H i l l . J r. Fe b . 5 . Mr . T h omas J e n ne r.
Ma r. 3 1. Mr. James L owde n , S en’r, Mr . Jos iah 1 7 2 1 .
T re adway . A p r i l 2. Ma r t h a Read1 7 1 7 , M a y 21. M rs . Ma ry , W i fe of Mr. J oh n Sm i t h .
A p r i l 7. W i l l i am Ea to n . M a y 28. M rs . A b i ga i l Sm i t h,d aug h te r of Mr.
A p r i l 28. T h a n k fu l W i l son . W' i l l i am Sm i t h .
May 5 . Mr. Ebe ne ze r Hartsliorn , th e w i dow A ug 13 . M i s . Elener.w ife of Mr. T h e H arris,8r.E l i za be t h Bon ne t
,Mrs . M a ry
,w i fe o f Mr. W i l A u g . 90. M r s . A n ne Foste r.
l ia m H onni Se pt . 10 . W' i fe o f M r. Edwa rd S h oafl'.a
J u n e 2 . Mr. J oh n Ca l l , Mrs. A n ne Pu t t, w i fe Oc t . 15 . Mrs . C l iz W i fe o f M r J a mes T urner .
o f Dec . 3 | . M r . M ic h a e l B i igdcn , Mrs . Ma ry,w i fe
J u ne 93 . Mr. H en r y Somme rs . of M r . R ic ha rd Sut ton .J u ne 3 0 . M r. J oh n T ea l , t h e W i dow Hopk i n s , 1 7
M r s. M a r y, w i fe o f M r Sam ue l Ca rey . J a n . 7 . Mrs . M a rga re t , W i fe of Ca p t J oh n Fey ,J u l y 7.M r s A b i ga i l , w i fe o f M r . S a m ue l W ' e b b M r R ic h a rd l loy lx i on a nd h i s w i fe .
Au g . IS . T h e W i fe of M r . T homas B ra z ie r , M r s Feb. 4. M r . Zec ha r ia h C h i cl.er ingS arah C i i t ler. l
‘
n h . Na t ha n ie l Lo rd .
Oc t . l it. T h e W i d ow S h oapard. M a rc h 4 The w i f e o f M r . Jose ph A u s t i n , J r.Oc t “20. Mrs. L vd ia ,
w 1l0 of Mr . E lea z a r P li l l~ A p r i l I. ivl rs . S i le n ce H a r r i sl i ps
, A loxa iider'
L e ve l . M a y 97. M r . Sam ue l T rui i i h a l l , a n d h i s W i fe.D ec l 5 . Mrs. Re becc a , w i fe of Mr. Ch a r les B u r A u g . 10. Mrs . A b i ga i l , w i fe o f M r. Benj a m i nrou gh s . B u n ke r .
1 7 1 7 - 1 8 . N ov l l ."si r . Jose ph St im pson
,t he w iddow Mrs
J an . 5 . M r . Sam ue l Co rey. E l i z a be t h K idde r .Jan 19. A b i ga i l , w i fe o f Mr E l i as S tone, J r . 1 7 9 9 — 9 3 .
Fe l i. 2 . C i i p t . J oh n Fey, Mr. Benjam i n l i fl fl “ Jan .
‘27. Mrs. S a ra h Sm i t h .re nce
,M r . P h i l i p (Ji i t lo r, Mr. S a m ue l H i l l , Jr .
,Feb. 17 . Mr. S a m u e l C a l l.
M r.T homa s B r a z ie r . M a rc h 94 M rs . A b ig a i l , w i fe o f M r. Sa m u e l Ca l l .
Fab 9 C a p t . C h a i los C h am be rs , M r . T im o th y M a y 26. M r s . W i l l i a m Sm i t h .J i i ii e l ti i
‘
t l rs A b i g a i l Swee tse r , (w h o t h e n wasMa rc h 2 A ii na li Mous n l . b a pt i zed a l so . )
1 7 I 8 J u ly 2 1 M rs l-Zl iz . w i fe o f Mr. J oh n S t a n l yA p r i l 6 . Mr . Ca l e b Ca l l . A v ; 18 . fi l i s . A n n a , i n fo o f Mr. R ic h a rd Ket te l .J u ne I. l lcp li /A ba h l i a t r i s , W i fe of Mr. T imo t h y “ cc . M r s . Lyd i a S t i in ps o n .
G oodw i n . - 2 4 .
J u l y Q0.M rs G race , w i fe o f Mr. J oh n En d s . Feb. 9 . R i-v . D. l l n l l A b bo t , bv le t te r d ies . from
A ug . 3 ,M r . Po l a r Fow l . c l i i i i c l i o f Ton t o i i ; M r . J ose ph F r os t ; t he w i fe
A ug . 17.E l i z a be t h
,w i fe of M r J on a t ha n Ca l l . o f M r. J oh n l l i lton .
Sp in , I4,M r . Il n n ry -Ie r , J oh n B adge r. M a rc h ( Ta l l , W i l l ia m Badge r , J oh n
Oc t 19 .M r s l l zl fl l l fl ll w i fe o f Mr J oh n D y inon . W e b b-i r , .\ l l l gfl l l l
‘
.i ow n .
N o v. 9 .
T he w idow o f M r . C i i lu li C ro s sow e l l. Mii i c h ‘JD o f M r . Jo s e ph l’ i eat .Dec
. 7 .M r . lTIi n s St o ne , Jr., M r s Sa r a h , w i fe 0 A p r i l ‘26 . fi l i‘ r Fow l , w id ow o f M r l snnc Fow l .
M r.M a x im i l i a n fl ow s . J u ne Q l . S a mu e l S te ve n s
,M rs . A n ne , W i fe of M r .
D oc I4.J on a t h a n ll i i ins i lo l.
Ph i l l i p s . A ug. 9 . Pe te r B rides,Mrs . A n na h
,w i fe of M r .
1 7 1 8 - 1 9 . Benjam i n Ba nc roft.Feb. 1 . H a n nah She rw i n .
25 4.
1 7 3 2 Se p t. 21. T he w idow o f Thomas Tay lor.Ma rch 19 B r i dge t , w i fe o f Josiah Wood . O ct . 19 E l i za bet h W e bb . Ma ry Ii rrrzrer.May I4. M r. J o h n "and N ov . 16.
J u ne 4. Mrs . De bo ra h N u rse . w i fe o f J ames T rumba l, t he w in o f J ona t h a nSe pt . 94 Mr . Ro be r t L uiat G a rd ne r , Re becca . w i fe of '
l‘
h omas Wood , l 'h rlOc t . 99 . Th e w i fe o f Jos ra lr VV h it temore. l i p A twood a n d h i s w i fe .1 7 112 - 11 13 . D ev . 14 J ose p h Swee t se r , E l i za be t h N ewe l l ,Fe b. 18. Joa n n a
,w rfe o f J acob W i nd e t . (V rdua ,) A h rja h W r ig h t . Samue l H ul l a nd B e
I 7 3 3 t h i a l i . h is w i l e , J o h n Cod ma n , J r t he w i fe o fA p r i l I . A b iga i l , w i fe o f Ed wa rd S hea f, J r . Josep h W h i t t emo re , 3 t ins
,Ag n i s Sm i t h a n d
May I3 . Mr E lea ze r l ‘h i l l ipe , M r. Sa m ue l Ph i p ps Ma ry Sm i t h , s i s te r s .(c le r i c , ) J oh n Frot h i ng h am , (P i l D raco . ) I 7 4 1 .
A ug . 5 . T he w rdow Ma ry Iia teniarr. Jan . I I. Sa m ue l B r ad s t ree t , J ames l o o lls , l saac
Sep t 3 0. T he w id ow Ma ry W h ood . R a nd a nd Ma rga re t , h i s w i fe , A h ra anr Ba teOc t . Q I. T he w i dow o f Benja m i n Wa te rs. man , E l i za be t h , w i fe of J a mes Fosd ic k , Me h e taN ov 95 . Ma ry M i l le r , (F rl ta R ic h a rd t . ) b le e it te n io re , A n n Bad ge r , H a n n a h N ou se l l ,Fe b 24. Ha n n a h , t h e w rfe of G eo rge Bu r roug h .
i l i za bet h a nd Ma ry , d a ug h te rs of E lea za r P h i lMa rc h 17 J a mes M i l l e r . J r . I' p
=. Ma ry N ewco n rb.
1 7 3 4 . Feb 8. Josep h W h i t temo re , 3 d, Isa be l Jell 'o rds ,A p r i l I4. G eo rge Bu r roug h
,J ames Hay, Jr . Re becc a Mo re , Mer cy Wo lcot t , Ma ry Fo s te r,
May 5 . T homa s B ras te r, Jr., W i l l i a m K e t t le . E l i z a be t h Sew a l l , A n n Pa r ke r, Sa ra h a nd F ra nJ u ne 3 0. Ebeneze r R a nd . J r. ce s . d a ug h te rs o f J oh n E l i za be t hSe p t I . Da v i d Wood
,R ic h a rd R and, Zech a r i a h Da v i s
,d a ug h t e r o f Zech a r i a h D avrs , Es t he r Mi
Ila v is,J r . n o r
,Sa ra h Sca mmon
Oc t . 27. T he w i fe of Mr. Samue l H u tc h i n son . Ma rc h 8 Da n i e l R u sse l , Esq.,S amue l Bu r r
,H an
Fe b . 16. Ed mond R a n d . n a n W e l s h .I 7 3 5 . p r i l 5 . S a m ue l Sp rague , Jo h n St e phen s .
A p r i l 13 . Ed wa rd Good w i n . May 3 . T homas w i fe ofJonaMay II. M i ld red Da v i s . t h a n Ed mund s .Jti ly 6 . T h e w i fe o f J o h n K i d de r . May 3 1 J o h n So ley , Sam ue l Ke t t le, S u sa n n a h ,Dec. 6 G race , t h e w i fe o f Ze c h a r i a h Symmes . w i fe o f R o be r t Sc reec h , A nna Symmes . L ydeaJ a n . IS . A n n a , t h e w i fe of J on a t h a n H i l l. S t im ps on . Su sa n na h Fosd i c k E~t he r R a nd .
Fe b. l 5 H a n n a h l l i l l . J u ne 28 H u ld a h , w i fe o f Sa m ue l E r l es . A n n , w i feMa rc h I4.T h e w i fe o f Jon a t h a n Edes . o f J oh n L o t h rop, Mrs . E l i za be t h C hee ve r , A nn
1 7 3 6 K e l tt-l l (fi l d i ae ) Ma ry Town sendA p r i l 11 . T he w id ow Ma rg a re t G i b bs . J u ly 26 . W i l l i a m Je n k i n s A b i ga i l N i c ho l l s , SuMay 9 . A n n M i l le r , R u t h S t im pson . san rra h , w i fe o f Sa m ue l Fosd ic k , Me h e table
J u ne 6. E be neze r F ro t h i ng h a m,J ose ph H o p Swa n , G r ace , w i fe o f Ca le b Tee l , E l i za be t h ,
k i n s , J r , Ed wa rd L a r k i n , Jr .,Ca l eb Ca l l , Jr.. d a ug h te r o f w id ow E l i za be t h W yer, S usannaht he w i fe o f J a mes B oo h le rson . H a n n a h B ra z i e r. L ogan , Sa ra h L eem a n .J u l y 4. N a t h a n i e l , son o i T im ot hy Good w i n . A ug 93 . R o be r t St on e . Sa r a h Ph i l l i ps .
Se p t . Q6. H a n n a h . w i fe of S i l a s I vo ry . S -pt . 90 . J o h n H a r r i s and h rs w i fe . Da n i e l Pa rOc t. 94. T he w i fe of Elkanub Os b u r ne, Sa ra h , k e r , Sam ue l A u s t i n , K a t h a r i n e We l s h , Bet li ialiw i fe o f J oh n W ye r . Fow le.
N ov. 2 l . E l i z a be t h l iurd, Ma ry P i n son . Oc t 18. Mr J oh n T rumba l, Mr. R i c h a r d R u sse l ,1 7 3 6 - 3 7 . Ph i l l i p l i e ven s , Sa ra h Ca ry .
J a n 16 S am ue l Ma xe y , J on a t h a n Kct tel, (F i l No v. IS . I sa a c Sm i t h,l iava l Chee ve r.
Benj Da v i d Town se n d,J r. l lec. 13 . T h e w i fe of J on a t h a n Ilo w se, J r .
Ma rc h I3 .
'
I‘
h e w rfe of I saac K i d de r,t he w ife 0 Jun 10. T he w id ow E l i za bet h P ll tpprl , t he w i feJ a mes C upon , Jr. o f J on a t h a n Wood
,S a ra h R a n d
,Ma ry D a v is ,
1 7 3 7 . Pene lopy Bo t t re l l .A p r i l 10 . J ose p h F ro t h i ng h am, Jr., Sa ra h , w i fe 0 Feb 7 . R omeo , t h e w id ow of Ca p t . A nd r ew
W i l l i am Fo rd . N ewe l l , R i c h a rd K e t t l e , Jr .,Su sa n n a h Fosdrck,
May 8. T he w i dow H a n n a h H u s s i n g , R ebecca a w i dow .
S ymmon il s . 1 7 4 9J u ly 3 1. Benj am i n F r o t h i ng h am
,N a th a n i e l R a nd May 3 0. Samue l La r k i n
, Jr . , A l i c e . w i fe o f BenN a t h a n i e l l iav is. j am i n K e t te l l , Re becca , w i fe o f Th adde u s Ma
Se p t . 25 Samue l Ha r r i s . so n , E lea n o r , w i fe of I saac Fos te r , Ma rga re t ,Dec . 18. R ebecca S t im pson , Ha n n a h M i l le r. w rfe o f Sa m ue l Ca r y , J o h n Ca r te r a nd h i s w i fe.
1 7 3 8 . Jrrly 9 5 . H a n na h . w i fe o f J acob H ow a rd .J a n . 15 . The w i fe o f E l eaze r V V
yer, Ma ry , t he Se p t 19 . Mrs . Re h t c ca A u s t i n .w i fe of R i c h a rd R a n d
,Sa ra h F rot h i ng h a m No v . 14. O l d Mrs . Budge . K a t h a r i n e , w i fe o f Mr.
Fob l '2. N l l l h fl n t l ! l R a nd a nd Meh e table h rs w i fe . J a me s R u sse l l , t h e w i fe o f Mr. “ an d N ewe l l ,A p r-1 9. Ma ry, W i fe o f J o h n S to re r , J ud i t h Up H a n n a h , w i fe o f Mr. Thoma s l i ras re r , Jr . M 1 8
h a m . H t 'pz rh a h F rot h i ng h a m , (fi l ia d i acon i ,) E l i z aJ u l y 2 . Ba r n a ba s Da v i s,Jr., J ames Kot te ll. bet lr W oodwo ll .
J u l y 3 0 Sa m ue l A u s t i n . D r-c . IQ . S u sa n n a h , w i fe o f W i l l i a m Lea t he rs.N ov I9 . A n n a G ood w i n . Fe b. 6. H a n n a h S te vens .
Dec . 17. Mabe l Town se n d . I 7 4 3 .
1 7 3 9 . May 99. E l i za bet h S p ragu e, ti l . of Jo h n decea sed.
Se p t . 24. R ev. D. P ren t ice,ad m i t ted in t o comma A u g . Da n ie l Law re nce , t he w i d ow Me rc y
n i o n W i t h u s . F ro t h i ng ha m , Mrs. A l i ce Lo rd , H a n n a h . W 'fc fi f
N ov. l8. Sa ra h Lo r i ng . Mr . Set h Swee t se r,Sa r a h
,w i fe o f Mr. Sa mue l
Dec. 16. Edwa rd to h rte . B rad s t ree t1 7 4 0 . Oc t l b J a mes C apon , Jo h n H a ncoc k , E l i za be t hJ a n 13 . K a t ha r i n e , w i fe of Samue l Good w i n , F rot h i ng h am
l .ydea B o y ls tone . N o v . Iii l l a nonh , w i fe o f Joh n Tow n send , A biFeb . IO Ma ry F ro t h i ng h a m . ga i l S t one , Ma ry l l luc lt fo rdA p r i l 6. S a ra h , w i fe o f J o se p h F ro t h i ngh a m , P e h 5 . Ma ry
,w i fe of N a t h a n i e l G o r h am , Jo
A b iga i l W ' e b b. st 'plr Ph i p ps .Ma 4 . Da v i d Town se n d
,S h i p py Tow n se nd Ma rc h 4 T he w i dow EIiza h et h G oodw ia.
h a rrh a,w i fe o f Sh ad r ac k I re l a n d
,A b i g a i l 1 7 4 4 .
Fow le . A p r i l 29 . S usannah , w i fe of Cha r l es W h i te.
A ug. 24. T h e w i dow of Dan ie l Man n i ng.
25 5
Ju n e 94. The w i fe of Thomas W i l l i ams , t he w i fe A p r i l 27. E l i zabe th , w i fe o f Robert H ussey.o f Benjam i n Reed . J u l y ‘20. S a ra h R an d , Sa ra h Sou t he r, H u ld a hA ug . 19. J ose p h A twood . Edes .Oc t . 14 Ma rga r e t , W i fe of Samue l Sp r a gue . N o v. 9 A b i ga i l Mon k .
D ec. 9. Ma ry , W i fe o f T i mot hy T rumbal, Ma ry Dec . 7. T he w i fe o f J on a t h a n R a nd,Jr.
,E l i za
w i fe o f T i mo t hy A u s t i n be t h Sou t he r, A n ne C ha m be r l i n .J a n . 6. N a t h a n ie l F ro t h i ngham
,J r. and Ma ry, 1 7 5 6 .
h i s w i fe. Ja n . 4. Jose p h La r k i n a n d w i fe, Ma ry , w i fe of
I 7 4 5 . H ammond G owen ,Joa ii na ,w ife of S am i ie l Swa n ,Ma rc h 3 l .S usannah Ha ncoc k
,F i l o f Joh n
,E l i z a S u sa n n a h , w i fe o f J oh n A u s t i n , Jr .,
A l ice,w i fe
be t h L am son , F i l . of N a t h a n i e l . of Benj am i n B i as ie r, Jr. , A n n a R a n d .
Se p t . 15 . E l i za be t h Ca rey,Eu n i ce Da n a
, S u Fe b. 99 J em ima , W i fe o f Jon a t h a n Cha pman ,sannah , d a ug h t e r o f N a t h a n ie l F rot h i ng ha m . Ma ry EGG S . (fi l Da n . )Oc t . 13 . A b i ga i l , w i fe o f J o h n As be r ry. A p r. 25 . Josmh H a r r i s a nd h i s w i fe
, Mrs Pa rne lFeb. 2. R ebecca Swee tse r
, a W i dow , Ma ry , w i fe a nd E l i z . a nd Ma ry Codm a n,J a ne Sewa l l , Re
of Jo h n Pen n y,J r . becc a Ma so n .
1 7 4 6 A ug . 15 . L ydea Tee l .J u l y 20. Jo h n N ewe l . aged abou t 82 yea rs . Sep t . 12. Ma ry . W i fe o f Mr . J oh n W h i te.
A ug . 17. E l i za be t h Ph i pp s . Oc t . 10. E l i za bet h , w i fe o f W i l son Chamber l in ,N ov. 9. Ed wa rd M i r i c k . J oa n n a T rowe
, Ma ry Ra nd .J a n . 4. Josep h Lew i s
,Me rcy , w i fe ofJoh n H aye . N ov. 7. Lyden
,W i fe o f A lex a nde r Wa tson.
1 7 4 7 Dec . 5 . E l i z a be t h T rowe, Ma ry Ca l l.Oc t. 11. A n n e
,w i fe o f Mr. W i l l i am B a r be r. 1 7 5 7 .
1 7 48 J a n . 9 . E l i za be t h Sa l te r.May 22. H a n n a h Ca lde r (V i d u a ,) Jo h n Web be r , J a n . 30 . J oan n a Powe rs
,a w i dow .
A b iga i l , w i fe of Joh n Webbe r , A n na H u rd. A p r. 24. He pliZibah Wo lco t t .Sept . 1 1. N i c ho l as H op p i n g . J u ne 19 E be neze r K i n g a n d h i s w i fe Ma r t ha,
1 7 4 9 . E l i z a be t h R a n d, (fi l. of W h afl' R an d a t
May 9 1. A b i ga i l , w i fe of Jo h n Pa r ke r. B os to n )Oc t . 8 . Pr i sc i l l a G a rd ne r (o f N a n t uck e t .) Oc t . 9. Jo h n A u st i n , T homas a n d A n ne R a nd ,D ec . 3 1. The w i fe o f Benj am i n H u rd
,J r H ep h z i ba h , w i fe of S amuel La r k i n , Jr.
,A b ig ai l
J a n . 98 . Me h etable , w i fe o f E beneze r Ma r ab le. and Es t he r fi l pa t r i Edes.Fe b. 25 . R u t h A u s t i n , (V i d u a of Thom as ) N ov. 6. Ma r th a Tro we.
I 7 5 0 1 7 5 8 .
A pr il Q l . Mr . J ames R u s se l l,Ka t h a r ine, w i fe 0 Jan . 1. N a t h a n i e l Ph i l l i ps
,K a t h e r i n e W h it te
Jo h n La r k i n . more , H a n n a h R hodes,d a ug h te r o f J aco b
May 2d . H a n n a h Lo rd . R hod es .N ov. 4. J osep h F ro t h i ng h am
,J r. J a n . ‘29. Ha n n a h , w i fe of E l i as S tone ; F r a nces
Dec 2. Mr . R i c ha rd Ca ry . W e b b, he r s i s te r ; M i l d red W h i t temore ; m yFe b . 24. Ma ry , w i fe o f Mr. R i c h a r d B oylston , Jr. d a ug h te r Ma ry A bbo t tMa rc h 24. Mr. Ed wa rd S h eaffe
,Jr. , t he w ife of Fe b 26. H a n n a h , W i fe o f Mr. N a than iel R and,J ames Ke t te l l
,J r . Sam ue l Townsen d a nd h i s w i fe .
1 7 5 1 . Mar. 26. Mrs J a n e F luckerA p r i l 91 . R ebecc a , w i fe of Mr. Da v i d Wye r , Mar A p r . 23 . Ma ry , w ife of E be nezer Kent ,Jr., Sa raht h e , w i fe o f Mr. Ed wa rd Good w i n . Edea.J u ly 14. S te p hen Ba dge r
, 3 t i u s. May 2 1. Me rcy , w i fe of M r . J a bez W h i t temore.A u g . 11. Mr . Sam ue l Hend l y . J u ne 18. Lo i s , w i fe o l’ T h omas Hoo pe r.O ct . 3 . Mr. Ed w a rd S h eafi '
e. Se p t . 10. Ma ry , w i fe of Joh n Os bu r ne .1 7 5 2 . Dec. 3 . Ma ry Co l l i n s .
A p r i l 19 . A l i ce Da v i s . Dec . 3 1. J oh n La r k i n , J r Sa r a h P re n t ice,N ov. 12. Sa r a h W hee le r . d a ug h te r of So lomon P . , E l i z a be t h H ugg i n s .
1 7 5 3 1 7 5 9 .
Jan . 7. Mary , w ife o f W i l l iam Hop p i n g , Jr. J a n . 28. Zech a r i a h L arkin ,T h omas W h i t temore.
F e b . 4. Sa r a h Pa r ke r . Fe b . 25 . M i ld red R a nd .Ma rc h 4 T i mot h y A u s t i n a n d Lyden , h is w i fe , Mar. 25 . Sa m ue l Con a n t.A n n , v i d u a o f Benj am i n M i r i c k , A b ig a i l , W i fe A p r . 22. E l i z a be t h , w i fe of R i c h a rd P h i l l i ps,of Sam ue l L o rd
,J oan na, W i fe o f A n de rson A bie IS rn i t h , V i d u a , A n ne B ra z ie r , v i d u a .A d am s . May 20 . T he w i fe o f S te p hen G ul l i s h on , R e becca
A p r i l 1. E l i za bet h Joh n son . (61. of Ma t t h ew ,) S p r ag ue , I re ne a n d Ma ry P ren t ice , (fi l . R evdi . )A n n W ye r , (ti le o f W i l l i am . ) J u ne 17. J ose p h R a nd Ma ry M i r i c k.A p r i l 29 . Ma ry , w i fe o f R i c h a rd R usse l l . J u l y 15 . H a n n a h , w i fe o f Ep h r a im B reed , MaryMay 27 . Sa ra h , W i fe o f R o be r t Ca l l y, Ma ry Swee tse r .Pa r k e r , (fi l . of Isaac de fu nc t .) 1 7 6 0
J u ne 24. Sa ra h,w i fe of T homas A us t i n , (61. o Ja n . 27. J ames F ro th i ng ham an d Ab iga i l h isJose ph . ) w i fe.
A ug. l9. Debor a h , w i fe of Jose ph F ro t h i ng h am . Fe b . 24. R u t h Ket te l l .Se p t . 16. A b i g a i l
,w i fe of Ch a r les W h i te . Mar. 23 . A b i ga i l F ro t h i ng h am .
D ec . 9 . Joan na ,w i fe o f Sam ue l Bodge . A pr 90. Sa ra h , W i fe o f W i l l i am Con an t .
1 7 5 4 . J u l y 13 . H a n n a h , w i fe of Jo h n Ca ry .J a n . 6. Eu n i ce , w i fe o f A b ra h am R a n d . N o v. 3 0. E l i za bet h , W i fe o f R obe r t Ca l l y .Fe b . 3 E l i za be t h Town se nd , (61 of Da v i d .) Dec . 28. T he w i fe of J a mes Ke n ny .Ma rc h 3 E l i a s S t on e
, Jr., J oh n We l s h, J oa n na,1 7 6 1 .
w i fe o f J oh n S t a n to n . Mar. 92 Mr. Da v i d Newe l lMa rc h 3 1 J o h n W ye r
,Joh n K i d de r , A b ra h am Mar . 19. P he be , W i fe of Wm . Ma n n in g
,J r .
S now , Me rcv, w i fe o f J osep h F ro t h i ng h am,J r. J une 14. Sa ra h G rea ves .
A p r i l 28 . E l i zabe t h H o p p i ng . J u l y 12. Mr. Jose p h Ly nd e a n d h i s w i fe.J u l y 9 1. H a n n a h , w i fe o f E beneze r K e n t, J r. Se p t . 6. Sa r a h , ( l a ug h te r o f C apt . Jo h n H ancock.A u g 18. A gi i is. W i fe of I s a i a h Edes . O c t. 4. Hep h z i ba h B rad is h ,duugh te r ofJames 11.S e p t . 15 . S te phen K i d de r , (fr om N a n t ucke t ,) Jan e No v . 1 . Ma ry , w i fe of T homa s Edes .H o lmes , w i fe of N a t h a n i e l Ho lmes. No v. 29. Sa r a h We l s h , Sa r a h B rad is h .Oc t . 13 . Mr. B art lio lemew Trowe. 1 7 6 2 .
1 7 5 5 . May 16. A n ne R a n d .Jan . 5 . W i l l i am Hopp i ng, Jr., Rebecca, w ife A ug . 8. Sa ra h . w i fe o f N at haniel Ken t .Samuel Conant. Oct . 3 . Jonath an R and.
25 6
D ec. 26. S arah , w i fe of T imoth y B r igden. N ov . 20. Sar a h , t he w i fe o f H en ry Ph i l l i psI 7 6 3 . Swee tse r .
Ja n . 23 . A a ro n T ownsend, Ma ry , w i fe o f Benj Dec . 18. A biga i l, t h e w i fe of J ames B raz i e rF rot h i ng h am , J r . , H an na h L am son , d aug h te r A b i g a i l K e t te l l .of Ca le b La m son . 1 7 6 9 .
D ec . 95 . Mr. Jo h n Mi l l e r , fa r ad va n ced i n yea rs , J a n . 15 . W i l l i am a n d J osep h Ket t le.
R e becca, d aug h te r o l' T h omas We ls h , decea sed Ma ry , w i fe o f W i l l i am Fosd i c k .1 7 6 4 . A p r . 9 . K a t h a r i ne , t he w i fe o f J o h n Ke t t le .
Feb. 19 H an nah H u t c h i n son. Se p t . 24. Ma ry , W i l e o f Ebcu’r L a r k i n .Mar. 18. N e hem i a h Rand. Dec . 17. R ebecc a
,w i fe o f N at h ’l G o r h am.
A p r . 15 . Ma ry D av rs . 1 7 7 0 ‘
Ma y 13 . Con s ta n t F reem a n . J a n . 14. W i l l iam W ye r.J u l y 8. L ydea G reen lea f. 7 7 1A ug 5 . J oh n I vo ry a nd w i fe , Ma ry B rown , v i d . A p r . 7 . Sa ra h Ho p p i ng .t h e w i fe o fG en rge Ca lde r . No v. 17 . 19 4 3 0 K i d de r .Se p t. 9 . Su sa n n a h H u t c h i n son . 1 7 7 9 .
Se p t. 30. K a t h a r i ne, W i le o f Mr . Sam ue l Hend l ey . May 3 1. Benj am i n H u rd , J r.Oc t . 28 . W i l l i a m L ea t he rs,Jr .
, a nd h i s W i fe. A u g . 23 . I s aac Pa r ke r .N o v . 9 5 . Benj am i n G ood w i n , E l i z a be t h , W i fe of S ept . 20 . Ea ton .
T homas l la rd ing. H an n a h , W i fe o f Jo h n So l ey . Oc t 18. Jose p h H ard, Ma ry , w ifo of James C a l l ,D ec . 23 . T homa s Wood , R i c h a r d Boy l s ton , B le a S a l l y B road s t ree t
,Ma ry E a ton .
ze r Dowse . 1 7 7 3 .
1 7 6 5 . May 2. E l i z abe t h Lo pp i ng ton.A p r . 14. Sa r a h Tow n se n d . 1 7 7 4 .
J u ne 9. R u t h H u tch i n son. A u g . 22. R ebecc a Daw s .l 7 6 6 . Ma r . 6. W i l l i a m a n d E beneze r F ro t h i ngham
.
A u g . 3 1. H an n a h , w i fe of Joh n B u r n . Ap r . 3 . Is aac H uri l.D ec. 21. Mr. J ames B ay, (fa r ad va nced i n years . ) 1 7 7 9
1 7 6 7 . J a n . H en ry Ph i l l i ps Swee tse r .May 10. Mar
,w i fe o f W i l l i am G ood w i n . 1 7 8 3 .
J u ne 7. W i e o f J ose p h R a n d , J r. J u ne 22. Thomas an d R e becca F ro t h i n g h am.
A ug . 2 . J a mes B raZ ie r . 1 7 8 7 .
Se p t . 97 . S am ue l Good w i n ; t h e w i fe o f Thomas S i nce 1786, Mrs E l i za bet h Swee t se r,w i do w
,
S hep he rd . Mrs N a t h a n i e l A u s t i n,M rs . E l i za be t h Ed
1 7 6 8 . m o nd s , Mr. J a cob a n d M rs . Fos te r .J a n . 17. H a n n a h , w i fe o f Da v i d N ewe l l , J r. J u l y 8. Po l ly H op k i ns
,F r a nc i s t ‘
h i i rc h i l l.J u n e 5 . Sa ra h , w i fe o f Ed wa rd Good w i n , J r . A u g . 12. B a r n a bas Ba r ke r
,J ame s G a rd ne r
.
S e p t. Thom as P ren tice , a s t ude n t of H o l l i s N o v . l l . R e becca Co rd i s,w i fe o f J osep h C o rd i s,
ton. S a r a i , W i fe of J ona t h a n T hompso n .
25 8
Impos i t ion of hands , 102 . Q ues tion s after se rmon , 44.
l a uc tion of Mr. Mo r to n , 101 .Ins ta l l a t ion s and o rd i na t i ons , 102 . Reco rds
,town . n o te 5 c hu rch
,no te 14.
l t ineran ts,13 1. Refo rma t i o n
,Eng l i sh
,24 .
Re l a t i ons o f re l ig i ou s expe rience, 96.
James,Rev. Thomas, 20, 34, 38, 3 9, 40 ; R emo va l to B os to n , 16.
n o te 2 1, Revwals,128— 130 .
James,Rev . Thomas , of Long Is l and, 41. R ic hards on
,Ezek ie l
,3 4.
J ohn son,Isaac
,13
,14
,16, 17. Ru l in e l der
,15 , 49 .
Rus se 1,Rev . D an ie l
,72
,79
, 82 ; R ichardLark in
, D ea. ,160 . 15 9 ; J ames , 1 14, I5 9, 223 ; Thomas, 143
Learned,W i l l iam , 45 . 15 9 ; fam i ly, n o te 5 7.
Lec tu re,Char les tow n
,no te 41 .
Lemm on, Mary , 15 9 . S abba
’day h ou se , n o te 30.
L i n c o ln,Coun tess of
,19. S ac ramen tal fu rn i tu re . no te 5 6.
Lo rd ’ s day,22
,2 S a
gamore
,J ohn
,10
,37.
Lo rd ’s su ppe r,22
, 65 , 141. S a tonstall , S ir Ric hard, 15 .
Lo wden,J ohn
, 64. carcity , 13 , 18.
ea t ing mee t ing-h ouse,no te 30 .
Mee t ing-hou se,1 1
, 20, 72, 115 , 1 16, 142, 15 8 ; h epard , R ev . Thomas,of Cambr idge
,5 5 ;n o tes 20 , Re v . Thomas
,2d , 5 1 , 72
— 78,208 ; n o tes
Meet inv -hou se H i l l , 1 1 12, 142 ; no te 48. 3 1,3 2
,33 , 3 6 ; Rev . Th omas , 3d , 80—87,
M iler/b eat n o te 5 8 93 — 98, 245 .
M i l ler,Cap t . John
,15 9 . S icknes s
,12 , 16 , 17, 3 5 , 36.
Mi n i s ters,15
,147
,48 ; mode of cal l ing, no te S ma l l-po x , 121.
3 9 . S m i th,E l izabet h
,15 9 .
Mi shawum , 1 1 . S p ragu e , R a l ph , 10, 3 3 , 45 ; R ich ard, 10, 33 ,M i ss i on s , Ind ian , 199. n o te. 18 ; W i l l i am
,10.
Mo rse,Rev . D r. , 15 0— 15 8 ; no tes S teven s
,A b iga i l
,15 9.
Mo r ton,R ev . Cha r l es
,99— 103
,106— 1 13 ; S te v en s, Rev . J oseph
, 121— 124; n o ten o tes 37 , 42.
Mousall,Ra l ph
,34. tough ton , R ev . VV .
,68— 70
,213 .
ty le,old and new
,n o te 13 .
N o we l l , Inc rease , 15 , 3 1, 32, 3 8, 45 ; no te 17 . ymmes . Rev . Zec har i ah,3 8, 39, 45 , 66, 70 ;
N o we l l,Pa rne l
,104. n o te 28.
N o we l l, S amue l , 190 , 91. S ynod of 1637
,41— 44 ; o f 1648. 46— 48,
n o te 23 ; of 1662, 60—62 ; of 1679- 80,
O akes . Rev Ur ian , 78 ; no te 33 . 89— 93 .
O ld S o ut h Chu rc h , B os ton , 62 ; no tes 26, 35 .
O rd ina t i on , ear ly , 21 . Tab l e t , 148 n o te 5 1 .O rgan , 23 7. Teacher
,o fi ice of. 15 .
O sbo rn , Thomas , 5 6 , 5 7, 5 8. Tes t im o ny to t he Rev i va l,13 3 .
O xenbridge, Rev . Joh n,66. Thac her , Rev . D r .
,144— 147, 243 .
Than ksg i v ing, 1 1, 18.
Pa ine , Rev. Joshu a , 143— 147, 239. Tha tc her , Rev . Th omas,208.
Pa lmer,Abraham , 3 3 . To lera t ion , 5 6 ; n o te 3 1.
Pa r i sh,143 ; no te 5 0. To w n o f Char l es to w n
, 1 1, 35 ; records of,
Pas to r,offi ce of
, 15 . no te 5 .
Pea rce,Cap t . , 13 , I8.
Pembe r ton,Rev . Ebenezer
,110. Un i tar ian s , s eparat i on from ,
15 1 , 5 5 , 5 6.
Pews,o w ners of
,236. Un i tar ian i sm
,o r igin o f, 15 2— 15 5
Ph i l l i ps, l lenry , 15 9. Un i versal i s t mee t ing-h ouse
,15 0.
P i lg r im s,10— 17
P la tfo rm,Camb r i dge
, 47 ; no te 23 . W a l fo rd,Th omas , 10 ; n o te 2.
P ren t ice,Rev . Th omas
,125 , 13 1, 138
— 142 ; W es tm i n s ter con fes s i on , 47.
n o tes 43 , W h i te fi e l d,129 .
P r in t i ng,ear l
,188. W i l l oughby , F ranc i s , 208
P ro er ly o f t i e c hu rc h,241. W i l s on
,Rev . J ohn
,13— 10
,62 ; note 9 ;
Psa ms, New Eng land vers i on , note 15 . w i fe o f
,n o te 12.
Pub l i c wo rsh i p,22
,23 . W in te r
,18
,20.
Pu r i tans , 23—30, 5 2, 68, 160— 162 ; Wl
int
éi rop, G ov . J ohn
,10
,13
,14
,17 ; no tes
n o te 16.
W in th rop c hurc h,note 5 3 .
C OR R IG EN D A .
P . 11,l st l ine
,for “ Thomas
,read F ranc i s .
P . 77 , las t l ine, for fo ren t,
” read fo ren t.P . 120, 28th l ine, for Ann a
,
” read Anne .P . 182
,2d l ine
,for J an uary 9th ,” read January lgth .
I am indeb ted to Mr. Rich ard F roth ingh am , J r . for a co rrec t i on of the s ta temen t made onp age 33 . Cap t . Ric hard S prague
,wh o d ied in 1703
,was the nephew of R ic hard and the so n
o f Ralp h S p rag ue. S ee Froth ingh am’s H i s to ry of Char les town , p . 22.
