Essex County, Massachusetts - Chapter 34, 1888 (part 1 of 2)

Ecclesiastical

The Fibst Church. - By the terms of the act already referred to, which constituted Salem Village, all the farmers within the Village limits were to contribute " to all charges referring to the maintenance of a minister and erecting a meeting-house," and five persons were to be appointed " among themselves or town of Salem," to collect rates and levies, the constable of Salem to have power to make distress on the goods of any neglecting to pay. At the first meeting of the Farmers, about a month after the establishment of the Village, namely, November 11, 1672 (old style), five persons were chosen "to carry along the affairs according to the court order," - Lieutenant Thomas Putnam, Thomas Fuller, Joseph Porter, Thomas Flint and Joshua Rea.

The first preacher at the Village was then also formally engaged, - Rev. James Bayley. He was a young man, but little over twenty-one years of age, a native of Newbury, and a graduate of Harvard in 1669.

For some seventeen years there was no separate and independent church. The condition of things was anomalous. While a considerable number of the members of the church of Salem Town worshipped, for convenience, at a place nearer home than formerly, but yet were not allowed to sever their connection with the parent church, there was, on the other hand, a complete parochial organization, corresponding somewhat to the modern "society," in which, contrary to the usual Puritan polity, the franchise was not confined to church members. From this halfand-half state of things came, from the very first, trouble. The householders far outnumbered the church members. It can easily be imagined that certain non-church members, from the natural inclination to exercise newly acquired power, took too prompt and vigorous a part to suit those who had hitherto not been obliged to consult them. However that may have been, the young minister soon found his congregation divided into very marked factions for and against himself. A majority favored him, but the other side was a good instance of a " strongworking minority." Mr. Bayley was employed from year to year, and each renewal of his engagement added to the determination of the opposition. That he had the courage to stay some seven years, as he did, speaks better of his grit than of his wisdom. But, after appeals to the parent church from both sides, and a thorough investigation by the General Court, out of which Bayley came triumphant, " orthodox and competently able, and of a blameless and self-denying conversation," he at last, about the beginning of 1680, gave up. He continued to remain in the village for some time after his resignation on land given him by certain parishioners, among whom was his most conspicuous opponent, Nathaniel Putnam. The land consisted of about forty acres, situated in part on the meadow and hill east of the meeting-house. The deed, though dated after his resignation, seems to be in confirmation of a gift promised or actually given soon after his engagement to preach. The recitation that "the providence of God having so ordered it, that the said Mr. Bayley doth not continue amongst us in the work of the ministry, yet, considering the premises, and as a testimony of our good affection to the said Mr. Bayley," goes far to show that, after all, the spirit of fair play prevailed. Mr. Bayley eventually studied medicine, practiced in Roxbury, and died January 17, 1707.

In the latter part of 1672 it was determined to build a meeting-house "of 34 foot in length, 28 foot broad and 16 foot between joists." The first meetinghouse stood on the acre which Joseph Hutchinson donated for thut purpose ; its site is the northern side of Hobart Street, a little east of the old Hook house. Part of the meagre furnishings of this building consisted of the " old pulpit and deacons' seats " taken from that very meeting-house preserved in Salem by the Essex Institute, the parent church having about this time built a new meeting-house, and bestowed these things on the Farmers.

Mr. Bayley's successor was George Burroughs. He was engaged in November, 1680, having then been out of college ten years. He came from a rough experience in the wild district about Casco, where life was in peril from Indian assaults, but after three years stay he went back among the woods and savages, and, doubtless, preferred the certain dangers of the frontier to the treatment he received at Salem Village. The farmers voted sixty pounds for his first year's support, one-third in money, the balance in provisions at stated rates, but they neglected to fulfil their agreement, and compelled him to run in debt to pay his wife's funeral expenses. The unjust suit brought against him by John Putnam, in whose family he had boarded has been mentioned.

The third minister was one Deodat Lawson. Gift of God, his name implied, but Mr. Rice pithily says he could not have been divinely given to this people, save in the way of bare allowance. He remained from early in 1684, and left in the summer of 1688. Daniel Epj^s, the famous school-master who lived on the present Rogers estate, sui)plied the pulpit as a layman before Lawson was finally settled.

On the 19th of November, old style, 1689, a church was at length organized, and on that day began the pastorate of a man whose name will ever stand out most conspicuous in the blackest chapter of New England history, the Reverend Samuel Parris. For in his family broke out and by him was fostered to its direful end, the Salem Witchcraft Delusion. In Mr. Upham's book the events of the preceding years which had a bearing in the accusations and trials, especially the divisions and animosities which, commencing with the Bayley troubles, grew from bad to worse through Burroughs' and Lawson's stay, are all collected and told with the skill of a novelist unfolding his plot to the climax of the catastrophe. Elsewhere in this book appears a summary of the sad story. Only here let it be said that to Dan vers, this very town, and not to the present limits of the city of Salem, belongs the melancholy distinction of being the place in which the delusion had its origin. A little back from the present parsonage there is a distinct depression which marks the cellar of Parson Parris' house; here and there "witch houses" are still standing and lived in ; and about the present meeting-house of the First Church, in some manner as of lineal descent, centre those associations of the scenes of 1692 with which the whole region is filled.

The covenant "agreed upon and consented unto by the Church of Christ at Salem Village, at their first embodying on y*^ 19 Nov., 1869,'' was subscribed by these twenty -seven persons:

Eliz. (wife to Sam.) Parris. Rebek (wife to John) Putnam. Anna (wife to Bray) Wilkins. Sarah (wife to Joshua) Rea. Hannah (wife to John, Jr.) Putnam Sarah (wife to Benjamin) Putnam. Sarah Putnam. Deliverance Waloott. Persia (wife to William) Way. Mary (wife to Sam.) Abbie.

Parris rid the church of his ill-fated presence on the last day of June, 1696, having doggedly hung on to a position where he served but to perpetuate and keep alive the troubles for which he was so largely responsible. It is human nature to feel one's blood boil at the thought of the part this man, a minister of God, took in the murder of innocent people, but greater than he were not great enough to rise above the accepted ideas of their time. Through these poor instruments One that is greater than all was working in a way they knew not of. Only such a sacrifice could arouse mankind to the horror of their own unreason. The rocky summit of Gallows Hill bears witness that never again under civilization shall human life be imperiled by such superstition.

With the departure of Parris, a leaf was turned on the record of the dark days of the earliest history of the parish and church, and brighter days appeared, when after much effort to fill the vacancy, an invitation to Rev. Joseph Green was accepted. He was a Harvard man, and was not quite twenty-three years old when he was ordained, November 10, 1698. Before this he had preached many months, the people had ample opportunity to know him and to become settled in their own minds. It was with unanimity that he was called, and the response which he made he entered in the church book : " I gave an answer to the church and congregation to the effect that if their love to me continued, and was duly manifested, and if they did all study to be quiet, I was then willing to continue with you in the work of the ministry." As an evidence of the new peace brought about by his ministry, certain members who had had nothing to do with the church since the witchcraft days, came to communion February 5, 1699, a red-letter day in the history of the church.

Two years later, and a day of thanksgiving was observed for continued peace and prosperity. The change, says Mr. Rice, was permanent. " Nothing, scarcely, before the settlement of Mr. Green, had been done by a united people. Nothing of importance, scarcely, since, in the space of a century and threequarters, has been done in any other manner. No minister has been settled except with a practical unanimity ; and in each case but one, I think, there has been no dissenting vote in church or parish. Nor has there been, in all that long period, a single serious and obstinate contention among the members of this church and society."

With the beginning of a new century the people determined to have a new meeting-house. Very likely more room was needed, but there were plenty of reasons why the old building should be abandoned. It might well have been dragged where the gibbets had stood and there burned to ashes, but with less poetic justice it was taken down and set up again as a barn on the opposite side of the road, where it stood, Mr. Ilpham says, " until, in the memory of old persons now living, it mouldered, crumbled into powderpost and sunk to the ground." The new building was erected on " Watch-house Hill," the site of three succeeding meeting-houses, including that now in use. The hill had been leveled considerably and otherwise cleared ; it can easily be seen that the spot was wisely chosen by the earliest settlers for the location of a block-house defense against the Indians. The meeting-house of 1701 fronted north, facing Deacon Ingersoll's house. It was first occupied July 26, 1702. From the thirty -four by twenty-eight of the first building the dimensions were increased to fortyeight by forty-two. The building committee were Captain Thomas Flint, Joseph Pope, Lieutenant Jonathan Putnam, Joseph Herrick and Benjamin Putnam. The cost was about three hundred and seventy pounds, part of which was raised by subscription among persons outside of the village limits. Mr. Green contributed liberally and the town people helped somewhat.

A diary kept by Mr. Green has been preserved and printed by the Essex Institute, with notes by Deacon Fowler. It reveals the lovable character of the writer and gives many a glimpse of life in Salem Village during his pastorate. On the 26th of November, 1715, having just reached the age of forty years, and having completed eighteen years of ministry among his people, Joseph Green died, and was buried in the old cemetery which bears the name of one of his successors. Good and just man, the greatness of his work far exceeded the length of his life. Deacon Edward Putnam made this minute in the church-book.

"Then was the choyces flower and grenest olif tree in the garden of our Lord hear cut down in its prime and llourisliing estate at the age of forty years and 2 days, who had ben a faithful ambasindor from God to us 18 years, then did that brite star seet and never more to apear her among us : then did our sun go down, and now what darkness is com upon us. Put away and pardon our Iniqutyes, o Lord, which have ben the cause of the Sore displeasure and return to us again in marcy, and provide yet again for this, thy flock, a pastor after thy one hearte as thou hast promised to thy people in thy word, one which promise we have hope, for we are called by thy name ; o leve us not."

June 5, 1717, a year and a half after Mr. Green's death, the Rev. Peter Clark was ordained. He was also a Harvard man, five years out, and about twentyfive years old. Hobart Street is named for Peter Hobart, the father of Mr. Clark's wife, who came here to live about 1730. Mr. Clark's pa.storate lasted fifty-one years. Mr. Rice says of him : " Mr. Clark was a man very unlike his predecessor, and yet well fitted to serve the people among whom he came. He had a sharp and vigorous mind, with a taste for theological discussions." A modern congregation would find it hard to sit through a single sermon such as the Rev. Peter's people had to endure every week. A delegation once went to him to suggest that he administer his teaching in less heroic doses ; but he said " No ; any could leave when they had heard enough, but the sermons must go on to their appointed ends." Two volumes of his works, as well as a number of scattering sermons have been published. One of these, which Mr. Rice seems successfully to have analyzed back to its original plan, presents a scheme of heads and sub-heads, fearfully and wonderfully made - in all, eighty-four separate divisions. No wonder he was widely known as a stalwart preacher, and was called upon to deliver choice specimens of his literary and oratorical skill on special occasions in Boston and elsewhere. Once he had neglected for some reason to join in the prayers of neighboring ministers for the cessation of existing drought, but having been formally requested so to do, he also the next Sabbath prayed for rain, and it soon rained. His negro man, who knew well his master's character, said "he knew that when Massa Clark took hold, something would have to come."

During Mr. Clark's pastorate the first church bell was hung, in 1725 ; the town of Middleton was incorporated, 1728, and a church there organized in 1729 occasioned the withdrawal of twenty-four members of the Village Church ; and in 1752 the Village was separated from Salem and became a part of Danvers. This entry in the church book, made by Deacon Asa Putnam more than half a century after Deacon Edward Putnam entered his touching obituary of Mr. Green, tells its own story :

" Now, it has pleased God in his holy Providence to Take away from us our Dear and Eev'd pastor by Death, Mr. Peter Clark, who departed this Life June ye 10, 1768 - in ye Seventy-Sixth Year of his age, and on ye 15th day was his funeral, itt was attended by Great SoUemnity ; his Corps was Carried in to ye Meeting-house ; a prayer was made by ye Rev'd Mr. Diman, of Salem ; a Searman Delivered by the Rev'd Mr. Barnard, of Salem, from Galatians, 3 Chap., 14 verse. Then Removed to his Grave with ye Church walking before the Corps, assisted by 12 Bears, with a great Concours of People following. . . . Now he is gone. Never to see his face no more in this world, no more to hear the Presious Instructions and Examples out of his mouth, in Publick or in Private, any more ; that ye God of all grace would be pleased to sanctifee this great and Sore bereavement to this Church and Congregation for good, and in his own Due Time Give us another Pastour after his own heart to feed this People with Truth, Knowledge and Understandiug, that this Church may not be Left as Sheep without a Shepherd, Jtc."

It was not until after more than four years that the vacancy occasioned by Mr. Clark's death was filled. The church repeated its action of a half century before. It took to itself another young man fresh from his studies, and relinquished the services of his lifework only when death called him to the fullness of his years. More than fifty-three years was Dr. Wadsworth pastor of this people. Over more than a hundred years the two pastorates of himself and his predecessor extended. It was but twenty-five years after the witchcraft times - they seem far back in our annals - that Mr. Clark was settled. The Missouri Compromise had been effected some years before Dr. Wads worth's death. What chapters of history were enacted while these two men preached at Salem Village and the First Parish of Danvers.

Benjamin Wadsworth was born in Milton, July 18, 1750, graduated at Harvard in 1769, and was licensed to preach a few months before his ordination in Danvers. This event occurred December 23, 1772, and it was an especially great time for the parish. Certain festivities incident thereto have been the subject of local tradition which gives some hint of the nature of the liquid refreshment dispensed by some of the villagers to numerous guests from out of town. Judge Holten made this minute:

" The utmost decency was preserved through the whole of the Solemnity and the Entertainment consequent, was generous and elegant, reflecting great Honour upon the Parish."

Mr. Wadsworth's salary was at first fixed at ninety pounds. Not long after his coming, came the stirring times of the Revolution. The young minister was among the Danvers men who flew to the North Bridge at Salem to repel Colonel Leslie's march. About 1784, by way of compromise for a new parsonage, the parish gave Mr. Wadsworth an acre of land on the road west of the old parsonage lot, upon which he erected the rather stately mansion which still bears his name. At this time, too, the square hip-roofed meeting-house which had stood the use of some eighty-four years, was considered too old and small, and in 1786-87 a new meeting-house, the third in the history of the parish, was erected. It was sixty feet long by forty-six wide, twenty-seven feet post, with an ordinary pitch roof. A square tower ran up in front, surmounted by a belfry which in turn was surmounted by a tall and slender conical steeple. The old bell of 1725 was hung in the belfry, but in 1802 a new bell was procured weighing six hundred and seventy four pounds and costing $299.56.

This meeting-house was burned on the morning of September 24, 1805. " It was supposed to be set on fire by some incendiary," wrote the parish clerk. The accused person was so evidently insane that he " was therefore sentenced to receive no punishment but that of confinement as a lunatick." The greater part of the plate was stolen and suspicions were strong and well grounded that the real criminals were certain persons who used the poor imbecile for a cats-paw, but through lack of evidence they escaped conviction. The ruins had not ceased smoking when the standing committee, - AmosTapley, Asa Tapley and Jonathan Porter, Jr. - issued their warrant for a meeting to be held the next week at the Upton Tavern, to consider rebuilding. It was voted to rebuild, that the new building should be of brick, that it should have a dome. The dimensions of the " Brick Church " were sixty -six feet by fifty-six feet, twenty-eight feet to the eaves, and the tower was " sixteen feet four inches square, having two wings, covered with a cupola, and terminated with a vane ninety-six feet from the foundation," - Dr. Wadsworth's words. The corner-stone was laid May 16, 1806, and the finished building was dedicated November 20th of the same year. Dr. Wadsworth's sermon, then delivered, was published. Its rhetoric, especially in descriptions of the fire, is sufficiently lurid to meet the demands of the occasion. By an act of the Legislature, March 8, 1806, a number of Danversport people were transferred with their estates, from the South Parish to this parish ; they had for some time maintained a practical connection here, though the territory of Danversport was never within the original limits of Salem Village and its inhabitants, belonged to the Middle Precinct or South Parish. " Ten respectable characters with their families," Dr. Wadsworth calls them. They were Samuel Page, John and Moses Endicott, Nathaniel Putnam, Samuel Fowler, Caleb Oakes, William Pindar, Jasper Needham, John Gardner, Jr., and Amos Flint, the last three being from what is now West Peabody.

In March, 1825, Dr. Wadsworth felt the approach of the end. Previous to that time he had scarcely known sickness. On the 18th of January, 1826, he died, in the seventy-seventh year of his life and the fifty-fourth year of his pastorate. In his last sickness he bought the old burial-ground which bears his name and gave it to the parish, and there is his own grave. An outline of his character, as presented by Mr. Rice, is here condensed :

"Dr. Wadsworth was a man of fine personal appearance, and with the bearing of a thorough gentleman of those days. He is described by the Ute Judge Samuel Putnam as 'of great bodily vigor, with limbs finely proportioned ; about five feet ten inches in height, with a handsome and florid countenance.' But there ai-e those of yourselves, with whom the figure of this former pastor is still familiar. ' I can see him now,' says Dea. Samuel Preston, ' precisely at the minute appointed, with a dignified step passing up the broad aisle, dressed in surplice and band, cocked hat in hand, the curls of his auburn wig gracefully waving over his shoulders ; slightly recognizing the powdered dignitaries, such as Judge Holten, Judge Collins and others, as he passed ; ascending with an agile step, the stairs of his high pulpit, and taking his seat under the huge canop3' or sounding-board which hung suspended over his head.'

" The doctor was formal and ceremonious, but courteous without exception to all, and warm and kindly, withal, at heart. He kept his position, as the manner of those times was with ministers, a little apart from his people. The children looked upon him with a kind of awe ; and the feeling extended to his family and the house in which he lived. The lad who drove his cows to their pasture was not expected to enter the yard by the front way. He could keep persons at a distance from him whenever he chose to do so. with wonderful civility and ease. He was reckoned by many to be reserved ; and he was so with many, but not with his intimate friends. In his intercourse with hi.s brother ministers he was often facetious and witty, which may be thought a singular circumstance. But even with his brother ministers he was understood to be a pereon of dignity. By one of them, Mr. Huntington, of Topsfield, it used to be said that ' when any of the brethren called upon Dr. Wadsworth, they were civil enough,' but when they came to his house 'they threw in their saddles at the front door.' The former part of this only should be believed.

' He was conservative in all his tastes and habits, and did not enter readily into new methods. He introduced the observance of the monthly concert near the end of his ministry, held in the afternoon of Monday ; but there w-ere at that time no other prayer-meetings.

"The weekly meeting on Friday evening dates from the settlement of his successor. The sei-vice of public or social prayer by the brethren of the church had fallen, indeed, considerably into disu.se at this period, so that at the establishment of the Sabbath-school there was some difficulty in finding persons who were willing to offer the opening prayer.

"But, if Dr. W'adsworth had the weakness of a conservative temper, he had also its strength. He was steady and judicious in his work. He did little that ever needed to be undone, either by himself or by anj one else. He was a lover of peace, .and had wisdom to maintain it. He was able in his own life to illustrate, in a good degree, the principles of the religion he taught. He exhibited remarkable patience and calmness in the midst of difficulties, and resignation in time of trial. He had a .steadiness of devotion and of trust, the power of which was not lost upon his people. And thus, if in its later years his ministry failed somewhat in general and marked popular effect, it did not lack in thoroughness aud beauty of impression upon those that cherished its iufluences. It was long afterwards to be noticed that among those whose lives had been moulded by his ministry, there was to be found a rare and admirable type of Christian character."

In a little less than three months after Doctor Wadsworth's decease there was another ordination in the village. Once again the church took unto itself a young man who, in his turn was to grow old in its service. The young man, Milton Palmer Bra- man, had preached somewhat during Doctor Wadsworth's sickness, and was si:)eedily and unanimously called to become his successor. The date of the ordination was April 12, 1826. He resigned March 31, 1851, after a pastorate of nearly thirty-five years. Nearly one hundred and sixty three years before, the revered young Joseph Green came to Salem Village, and only four lives bridge the span between his coming and Doctor Braman's resignation. A single pastorate of half a century is here and there met with in the history of other churches, but a series of life pastorates like this, aggregating so many years, will not be easily paralleled.

The present parsonage property was purchased May 26, 1832, and was tirst occupied by Mr. Braman January 8, 1833. In 1835 a vestry or chapel was built on Hobart Street, east of the parsonage, where it stood until 1871, when it was bought and removed by G. B. Martin. In 1838 an act of the Legislature incorporated Samuel Preston, Samuel P. Fowler, Jesse Putnam and their associates under the name of the First Religious Society in Danvers, and a month later, April 18, 1838, this act was repealed, and a new act passed, beginning, " The North Parish in Danvers, of which the Rev. Milton P. Braman is pastor, is hereby made a corporation," etc., and slightly altering the provisions of the former act so that the society " may assess the pews in any meeting-house hereafter erected by them or conveyed to them.''

The new meeting-house to be " hereafter erected " was not long in coming. Fears were entertained of the safety of the brick meeting-house. " A certain cracking and settling of the walls which had for years been noticed, became too serious, it was thought, to be longer neglected." There was a unanimous vote to pull it down and build once more a new house. The present meeting-house, the - fifth in line of succession, was finished and dedicated November 21, 1839. Its cost was about twelve thousand dollars. Jesse Putnam, Samuel Preston, William Preston, Nathaniel Pope, Peter Cross, Daniel F. Putnam (on his decease, Nathan Tapley), and John Preston were the building committee ; Levi Preston, master carpenter. Dimensions of the building, eighty-four by sixty feet.

Early in Mr. Braman's ministry, 1832, a Benevolent Circle was formed among the ladies of the parish. Mrs. Braman was its first president. Some interesting reminiscences, written by Harriet P. Fowler, are here condensed :

" Let yuur readers come with me in imagination to some old-fashioned farm-house in the North Parish, now Danvere Centre. It is fifty years ago. From one to two in the afternoon the members are arriving, some in chuises, some in wagons, while others walk over tlie hills and pastures, not much impeded by stone walls or fences, as trains and pullbacks are not in vogue. At two o'clock quite a large company has assembled, the President reads a chapter from the Bible, and business commences. Some of the ladies have brought large bags and boxes. In one corner a smart, energetic woman is dealing out shoes to bind ; a trying ordeal for novices to sit by an old shoe-binder and try to turn off as many as she does. In another part of the room a lady is giving out material for stocks, those elaborate structures of hair-cloth, bombazine and Satin, in which men of that generation arrayed their necks. Wonder they were not stiff-necked for life ! Press-boards, holders and flat-irons show that the ladies mean business.

" A group of elderly women are deftly plying their knitting-needles - wise women, who know that cold hands and feet make cold hearts - so they are providing warm mittens and stockings for fathers, husbands, sons. There is a table where shirts and collars are being made for the luckless wights who have neither mother nor wife to provide for them. A bevy of young misses are tastefully arranging patch-work for quilts, to be given to invalids, or sold to increase the funds of the society. At twilight work is suspended, and after a cup of tea and simple refresh nients, it is again resumed till nine o'clock. In the evening the men drop in, making themselves useful by holding yarn for the young ladies or perchance threading the needles for the older ones, and generously responding when the collection was taken at the close of the evening.

'- With the money earned we relieved the wants of the poor, clothed Sabbath school children, and bought them books; we carpeted the church and helped to build the chapel ; we gladdened the heart of the home missionary, and accumulated quite a little fund found useful in subsequent emergencies. In such a meeting in one of these old-fashioned rooms could be seen the graceful and energetic Mrs. Braman, the quiet but efficient Mrs. Kettelle, and many others whom we of the present might be proud to claim as mothers or grandmothers."

In the year 1844 the church suffered the loss of those of its members, who formed what is now the Maple Street Church, at the Plains. This division occurred chiefly through consideration of convenience. The earlier losses, when Middleton was incorporated, and when the South parish was established, were of the same nature. But from time to time in the history of the church, members have separated from it to accept the doctrines of other denominations. All of the churches hereafter to be mentioned, except the Catholics, have drawn for their organization in a greater or less degree on the strength of the parent church. Yet the numerical strength of the First Church, in 1867, when there were two hundred and two members, was greater than ever before. The congregations were largest just before the withdrawal of the Plains people, a fair attendance on a pleasant Sabbath being about four hundred.

March 31, 1861, has been mentioned as the date of Dr. Braman's resignation. He had a number of times previously expressed a desire to be dismissed, but his people would not let him go. This time he had decided. " I have reached that time of life when I wish to retire from the labors which the ministry imposes on me, and when it is usually better to give place to younger men."

Dr. Braman was the son of a minister, Rev. Isaac Braman, of Georgetown, and his mother was the daughter of a minister. The father, in response to an invitation to attend the George Peabody reception in 1856, wrote : " If Barzillai, the Gileadite, when only four score years old, could think himself excusable for not going up to Jerusalem with his King, whom he highly esteemed and loved, much more may one who is in his eighty-seventh year be excused from going to South Danvers." The son, Milton Palmer Braman, second in a family of five children, went from Phillips Academy to Harvard, graduated from there in 1819, and after a year's teaching entered the Andover Seminary. He preached his first sermon at Danvers, in December, 1825. He married Mary Parker, of Georgetown, in November, 1826, seven months after his settlement here. He moved to Brookline shortly after his resignation, then to Auburndale, where he died April 10, 1882, in his eightythird year. He was buried in the town of his birth after a brief service at the home of his aged mother.

Dr. Braman was a strong man. Some have placed him at the head of eminent divines reared in Essex County. He was greatly assisted by his wife, one of the wisest and best of women, who relieved him of family cares, so that he could devote his time to parish duties, and in these she was ever a thoughtful assistant. The son, grandson and great-grandson of ministers, all of whom were exemplars in their generiition in the discharge of the pastoral ofiice, he likewise, by his earnest and faithful preaching, made a deep impression upon his hearers, many being led to a saving knowledge of the truth and a devoted Christian life, of whom shining examples yet remain.

The present pastor of the church, Dr. Braman's successor. Rev. Charles B. Rice, was installed September 2, 1863, and is api^ruaching the twenty-fifth anniversary of his settlement. Mr. Rice is a nativeof Conway, Mass. His father. Colonel Austin Rice, who died July 15, 1880, at eighty-six years of age, was for fifty years one of the leading men of western Massachusetts in religious and educational movements, but a few years before his death was sent to the Legislature, was one of the founders of Mt. Holyoke Seminary and a trustee of that institution at the time of his death. Rev. Mr. Rice has always taken an active interest in town affairs, has served on the school committee almost continuously since 1865, has represented his fellow-citizens in both houses of the Legislature, and has served on the State Board of Education. A permiineut monument to the memory of Mr. Rice is the published " History of the First Parish in Danvers,'' which is an amplification of the address delivered by him at the celebration of the two hundredth anniversary of the parish. This book has been chiefly followed in the preparation of this short sketch of one of the oldest, most historic, and in all respects most interesting churches to be found in thiscountry. Many interesting details have been altogether omitted for the reason that they are there easily accessible. Doctor Braman was living at ihe time of the anniversary. Something more must here be said of him, and from a sermon delivered by Mr. Rice, April 28, 1882, these extracts are taken :

"His strength was in the pulpit. Preaching stood foremost with him, and it was preaching fit to stand in that place of forwardness. His mind was logical, and thus he went clear of all mist and vagueness, j and his thoughts ran steadily toward some point he meant to reach. But he was not dull and dry in reasoning. Along with his logical movement there went a certain enlivening measure of imaginative and almost poetical fancy. Then he had a clear, shrewd sense concerning common life and common things, so that his style was terse and direct and struck sharply on actual practice. And then, hiding hehind this shrewd practical sense, or in it, was a line of humor, ready to come into play where it might, and not coming into sight where it ought not. And then he had a gift of sarcasm at hand for use when it might be called for. By all these means he held attention to what he said, and his hearers were interested and entertained, and sometimes in a manner fascinated, even while they might be severely smitten upon.

" He was forcible, direct, clear and pungent. He laid hold on the intellect and sensibilities of his hearers both together. To an unusual degree his sermons ran close to life. I think this was their most distinguished characteristic. They were apt to concern, in some manner, those that heard them ; and thus they entered into their thoughts and clung upon their memory. They were not unifoim in strength, a thing not to be expected ; but they were apt, all of them, to be in some part thoughtful, and of a quality to move one to some thoughtfulnees for himself.

" He preached upon all Christian doctrines, and with frequency upon some. The doctrine of justification by faith was dear to him. He was skilled in depicting the lives of men, and he called often into use the great Scriptural biographies. The dead of those former ages rose up here, with bones and flesh and breath, and lived again under his hand. He dealt in this way with the good and the bad, with Moses and David and Pilate and Judas, and he may seem sometimes to have had a certain grimness of satisfaction in the work he might thus make with the bad.

"Dr. Braman drew great attention upon what are termed 'occasional sermons,' discourses preached upon the occurrence of the Fourth of July on a Sabbath day, or in connection with the death of prominent men, as General Harrison or Daniel Webster, or upon the annual days of Fasting or Thanksgiving. On these days this house was filled. People came sometimes in barges from the neighboring towns, and strangers were here often from a greater distance.

" His sermons were always written. He never spoke in the pulpit without notes. Upon one occasion, as he went to preach at South Danvers, now Peabody, his manuscript was forgotten, and he was greatly disturbed when he made the discovery, and unwilling to attempt to preach ; but when the time, in the midst of the service, was come, and while yet he scarcely knew upon what he should speak, he went down to the platform before the pulpit, that he might not seem to preach, and there he did preach and in a manner which seemed to those that heard him to surpass his usual powers. He preached also, though he did not call it preaching, in the prayer-meetings he held in the chapel. It is remembered thus that at the chapel prayer-meeting, held on the evening of the day of Daniel Webster's burial, he spoke for a full hour, dwelling upon the burial scenes of great men, and making emphatic as he drew to a close, the insignificance of all earthly honors to one who had just entered into the presence ©f the holy angels and the Saviour and Judge of men.

" He spoke usually with little of gesture and nothing of oratorical art. His ordinary manner could not be called graceful. He had a wellknown habit of rolling a strip of paper upon the fingers of his right hand, and after a certain established order of procedure, and he might be troubled if this resource failed. But when he was once under way in the pulpit upon a theme that stirred him, and was kindled with his topic, his ungraceful manner was either forgotten or it was changed, he gesticulated often with force and freedom, and the spirit of an orator was upon him.

"Dr. Braman was faithful and utterly fearless in rebuking wherever it seemed to him rebukes were needful. He was a conservative man. He was not changeable. He was not like the Apostle Peter. He was apt to stand for the cool side of things. But he stood for the cool side of things sometimes, it must be admitted, in a hot way, that would not have been unbefitting even to Peter.

"He was a strong opponent of slavery. They have misjudged him who from anything that occurred in his later years have thought of him differently. But in this matter his natural conservatism, and his legal habit of mind, had much force in shaping the course he took. As events moved rapidly forward, he himself advanced less rapidly, and in his dislike of all that seemed revolutionary in its origin or nature, he was led, we may think, too far in distrust or opposition toward those great popular movements which were designed under the shining providence of God, to bring the gigantic evil he himself deplored - though by ways that did not please him - fearfully and gloriously to an utter end.

" Dr. Bramau was a member of the School Committee of the town for twenty-five years, and Chairman of the Board for a considerable portion of that period.

"He was also a member from this town of the Convention held in 1853 for revising the Constitution of the State, and he bore an active and influential part in its proceedings.

Mr. Rice reached the twentieth anniversary of his settlement, September 2, 1883. Even then his pastorate was longer than any other in the Essex South Conference. In the twenty years, one hundred and ninety-one had been added to the membership ; the number of members was then two iiundred and seven ; largest number in the history of the church, two hundred and twenty-three, in 1877. In 1882 the ratio of church membership to the population of the parish, was larger than ever before. Nearly one-quarter part of all who had ever been members were then still living. Mr. Rice had married one hundred and twenty-six couples, one hundred being of the parish, had attended three hundred and fifty funerals,preached five hundred and thirty-four written sermons and three hundred and ninety-eight unwritten, of which he says with characteristic humor "all ought to have been better, and some ought not to have been at all." Mr. Rice observed the anniversary by a discourse from the pulpit from which the foregoing statistics have been taken, and the following evening the event was made the occasion of a gathering of his own parishioners, friends from other parts of the town, ministers from neighboring churches, and others, for congratulations and social enjoyment. Augustus Mudge presided, and after remarks reviewing the period, he presented Mr. Rice an envelope containing a very substantial token of the esteem of his people. Among the letters read during the evening was this :

" Dear Friend: - I very much regret that I am not able to be with you at the gathering this evening. I am, it is true, better acquainted with the gentleman whom you so deservedly honor on this occasion, as a kind friend and neighbor, as a public-spirited citizen, than as a minister ; but the fact that he has held his pulpit for twenty years is proof that he has done good service in it. During this long period I have never heard that his parish have been troubled by the bodily presence of that evil and disreputable Personage with whom his predecessor, Parson Parris, fought such a losing battle. As a consequence of this he has had no occasion to spend his time in searching for witches among the elderly ladies of Uis congregation ; and the sound theology of his people under his ministrations has made heresy-hunting so unnecessary that the solitary Quaker who has sojourned within the parish limits still remains unchanged I

The Sabbath-school was organized in 1818, in Dr. Wadsworth's pastorate. The names of an even hundred of the first scholars are given by Mr, Rice, fiftysix females, forty-four males. The largest number at any time connected with the school was in 1867, four hundred and four, with an average attendance of nearly three hundred. The school had its origin at a meeting held at Dr. Wadsworth's house, July 30th of the year mentioned. Those present were the first teachers, - Samuel Preston, Eiwin Joselyn, Edith Swinerton, Betsey Pope, Eliza Preston, and Betsey, Hannah, Harriet, Nancy, Eliza and Clarissa Putnam, The latter, Mrs, Preston, now living, has been mentioned in another connection. The idea of having a Sabbath-school seems first to have been entertained by Miss Betsey F. Putnam, who had seen the working of such a school in Beverly, started some years previously. The fiftieth anniversary of the Sabbath-school was observed August 9, 1868. Mrs. Emma Putnam Kettelle, who died the year before, had been a teacher from the first year. The first superintendent was Samuel Preston. His successors have been Porter Kettelle, Nathan Tapley, Samuel B. Willis, John Peabody, Ebenezer Putnam, George W. Endicott, Ahira Putnam, Wm. R. Putnam, Moses W. Putnanj, Augustus Mudge, Edward Hutchinson, George W. French, Samuel A. Tucker, William Siner.

A number of the above served several different times. The longest consecutive term was that of Mr. Mudge, from 1848 to 1868. There were in 1886, connected with the school three hundred and four members, with an average attendance of one hundred and sixty-seven.

A List Of Deacons Standino Commit'

Baptist. - ^On the authority of a letter written in 1817 by Israel Hutchinson, clerk, the Baptist Society was formed November 12, 1781. The first recorded meeting was November 26, 1781. Captain Gideon Foster was chosen Moderator ; Dr. Nathaniel Gott, clerk ; and Jere. Hutchinson, Israel Porter and Nathaniel Pope, a committee to supply preaching. On the 10th of December, Nathaniel Pope, Samuel Fairfield and Captain Foster were chosen to procure a spot of land to set a meeting-house upon ; later they were directed to "go on the spot or spots and see which is most comodose for the society and what it can be purchased for." Ebenezer Moulton and Benjamin Jacobs were added to the committee and the dimensions of the building fixed, " sixty feet in length and forty-five in wedth." January 9, 1782, it was voted "to Build the Meeting-House on Hooper's Plane, so called." In April this vote was reconsidered, and at a meeting held in Mr. Aaron Cheever's house it was voted to " chuse a committe to purchis the Land for the Meting-House." Captain Foster was retained on the new committee, and Aaron Cheever and Ebenezer Dale were the others. They were directed " to purchis a Land to Sett the meting- House on, and agree for a fraim and Git the underpinning." Charles Hall, Brickmaker, conveyed to this committee the land on which the building was erected, twenty-nine poles, by deed dated September 20, 1783, the consideration being twenty-six pounds.

Early in November, 1783, "Voted to Except of Mr. Henry putnams plan for the pews. Voted, that the pews be Sold at Vandue. Voted to choose a Committee to attend the Vandue and make sale of the pews, and to Notify to attend the Sale in ways and manner the Committee shall think proper. Voted that this committee consist of Seven persons." Colonel Israel Hutchinson, Nathaniel Webb, Jona. Sawyer, Nath. Pope, Ebenezer Moulton, Joseph Osborne and Samuel Fairfield were this committee.

A meeting was called jus*, before the following Christmas at the house of the Rev. Benjamin Boltch, to consider the method of settling the outstanding accounts for work on the new meeting-house ; the matter was entrusted to Colonel Hutchiusbu, Nathaniel Webb and John Felt. Jonathan Sawyer was here appointed the first treasurer of the society ; he was already "dark," Dr. Gott having early resigned.

" Jona. Sawyer, bid of No. 8 at 82 dollai-s. " And sold to Colonel Israel Hutchinson. "James Richardson, Bid of No. 35 at 81 dollars. "Joseph Smith, Bid of No. 32 at 77 dollars."

The first pastor really settled over the new society was Eev. Benjamin Foster, and the society was remarkably fortunate at having such a man at hand. He knew his people and they knew him, for he had grown up among them. His father was Gideon Foster, a native of Boxford; his mother, Lydia Goldthwait, of Danvers. He was born in the house which formerly stood on Lowell and Foster Streets. South Danvers, June 12, 1750. His brother Gideon, about a year and a half older, the hero of Lexington, was one of the founders of the church. Benjamin attended the town schools, and when about twenty years old entered Yale College, from which he graduated in 1774. In college he became a decided convert to the belief that immersion is the only valid mode of administering the ordinance of baptism. After graduating he joined the First Baptist Church in Boston, under Rev. Dr. Stillman, who directed his theological studies. He was ordained pastor of a Baptist Church in Leicester, Mass., October 23, 1776. He evidently had preached somewhat at New Mills as a supply during the latter part of 1783.

January 27, 1784, the society met " at the house where they commonly met on the Sabbath days " to see if they would agree with the Rev. Benjamin Foster to preach any longer. They voted to request him to fill the pulpit for the nextSabbath, adjourned over, and then sent Joseph Osborne, Nathaniel Upton and Thomas Stevens " to waight upon him " with a result thus reported, - "the Rev'd. Mr. Foster will Stay with the Society six months unless something extraordinary prevents." When the six months were out, December 8, 1784, it voted to agree with Rev. Mr. Foster to preach till May next, and he, cautious as before, agreed " if sickness don't prevent."

cepted a call to Newport. Another two years and he was pastor of the First Baptist Church of New York. In 1792 the College of Rhode Island (Brown University) conferred upon him the degree of "D.D./' probably because of the talent and learning displayed in his work, " A Dissertation on the Seventy Weeks of Daniel, the particular and exact fulfillment of which Prophecy is considered and proved."

Dr. Foster was a fighter with arguments, and he stood manfully by the guns of Pedo-baptism. He had a controversy with Rev. John Cleveland, of Ipswich, on the baptism question, and his pamphlet, "Primitive Baptism Defended," published September 3, 1784, was widely noticed and a second edition called for and published in 1788. The introduction to this pamphlet, which is really a letter to Mr. Cleveland, contains a passage revealing the character of the man, which it would be well for every minister in the land to adopt:

" May God grant that my pen be directed by truth, and governed by candor and moderation, while I attempt to correct the mistakes of one whom I trust I shall ever have reason to respect ! And the more we imbibe of the happy temper of our divine Master, the greater caution we shall use to suppress language which is bitter and censorious towards Christians who differ from us in those points of religion which are of lesser importance."

In the year 1798, in his forty-ninth year, he died in New York, the death of a hero. Not in that glory of military renown, clothed with which his brother Gideon lived to a very old age, but in a scourge of yellow fever. When panic was everywhere and people fled from the city, he remained at his post and fearlessly visiting the sick and dying, he took his life in his hands and lost it. True heroism ! When the general roll is called how these instances of unselfish devotion, untrumpeted from the house-tops, will far outshine and outnumber the brave deeds of war.

Dr. Foster was buried in the Baptist Cemetery, N. Y., and on the marble over his grave are these words written by an eminent Presbyterian clergyman of that city :

" He excelled as a preacher ; as a Christian he shone conspicuously ; in his piety he wag fervent ; the church was comforted by his life, and now laments his death."

At a meeting, early in 1786, Nathaniel Putnam, Benjamin Kent and Simon Pindar were chosen to provide preaching for that year. A similar committee the next year were Jonathan Sawyer, Aaron Cheever, Nathaniel Webb; 1788, Nathaniel Upton, INathaniel Webb, Israel Hutchinson; 1789, Messrs. Upton, Hutchinson and Ebenezer Dale ; 1790, Israel Porter, Eleazer Wallis, Colonel Hutchinson; 1791, the same ; 1792, the latter two and Newall Wilson. Bnt little other business was transacted in these years. A vote, of 1789, that the committee provide preaching once a month and as much oftener as they can, is significant. In 1792 the clerk, Israel Hutchinson, Jr., was directed to draft three subscription papers for the committee to see " how much money they can

In the fall of 1792, we have a hint of a law-suit in which the Society was involved with the Second Parish in Beverly. Richard Waitt had been representing the society and Joseph Batchelder, Israel Porter and the clerk were chosen to help him fight. March 26, 1793, the society met to see what measures they would take "respecting the Rev. Thomas Green preaching for the present year." Ebenezer Wallis, Israel Porter, Josiah Swett, I. Hutchinson, Jr., and Nathaniel Upton considered the matter, and their report was accepted "Respecting giving the Revd. Thos. Green all the monies that may be Subscribed on the subscription papers, and that he shall Have all the Light Contributions and all other advantages witch may arise by sd society."

Subscription Paper

A proprietors' meeting was held in April, 1793, to further consider the settlement of "accounts and disposal of unsold pews. The committee were directed to hang the pew doors and make the end doors to the house ; James Richardson was given a certain time in which " to cap his lot of pews." The next year a subscription paper was again passed around, " to see how much they can get sined for Rev. Thomas Green ; " and he was also given the light contribution. It may have been from excessive lightness that Mr. Green resigned, November 26, 179(5. The next March it was voted " to procure sum person who possesseth a good Carrictor to preach for the Society this year, and the committee is to promise the minister all the contribusian that arises by the Society or otherwise all the money that the committee shall see proper." Nothing like having these little financial matters between pastor and people plainly understood. It is not shown in the society records who first succeeded Mr. Green. There was no settled minister for six years. Elder Joshua Young was supplying in the fall of 1800. In December. 1802, the standing committee made a report on Lord's Day evening, after the service that they have agreed with Mr. Jeremiah Chaplin " to preach to the Society one year Exclusive of Two Days the committee agreed to give him ; we are to pay 312 dollars, equal to 6 dollars pr. day, wich the Society appeared to be very well satisfied with, and also voted to pay the same."

$132.43 '- By a box of Glass 100 f 8 by 10 Inches. "Given by Deacon Waitt, of D. Stilnion's "Church cost $13.75 cents. "1804, Sept. 13, I Reed Eight Dollars of -' Deacon wild, it being a Remnont Not " paid to Collector when Mr. Chaplin reed "The above money." 8.

Dr. Stillman was the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Boston, with whom Benjamin Foster studied. The society sent grateful acknowledgment of the prompt and liberal assistance thus aftbrded in repairing the meeting-house.

In 1805 Mr. Chaplin's salary was raised to four hundred dollars, but the ordinary formula of the annual meetings was a vote for a subscription paper, " to see how much could be raised for the continuance of the gospel, as the Revd. Jeremiah Chaplin's time is nearly expired." Contributions were taken, one year every Sabbath ; again, by passing the box around twice in every three months to collect the money of the subscribers. To be impartial in this business, in 1816 Samuel Whipple, collector, was directed "to carry Round the Book in the gallery at the time they pass Round below to colect the Subscription."

There were at this time fourteen churches within the association, namely, the First Haverhill, the pioneer of Baptist Churches in this vicinity, founded in 1765 ; [Chelmsford, 1771; Rowley, 1786; Danvers,

That the meeting was quite an event may be judged from the preparations. A month before, there was a special meeting of church and society, at which there were appointed to act with the standing committee, a special committee of ten, - -Dea. Isaac Porter, Benjamin Kent, Captain Thomas Putnam, William Trask, Captain Thomas Cheever, Captain Edward Richardson, Major Joseph Stearns, James Carr, William Johnson, Israel Hutchinson. They met at Mr. Hutchinson's house, to perfect arrangements. Major Black was made chairman. Messrs. Kent, Porter and Hutchinson were detailed to see that provision was made for the care of horses; Captain Putnam, Major Black and D. Hardy - the latter not of the ten - were directed "to visit the Nabours to see what entertainments they will make both as to provisions and Lodging for the ministers and messengers who may attend the association ; " " to Seete the Ladies " - there the ten passed around sly jokes, of course, at the expense of each other, but they settled down with commendable fitness on the three men with handles to their names most suggestive of chivalry, - Captain Putnam, Captain Cheever, Captain Richardson ; " to kc^'p the Dores of the meetinghouse," Dea. Porter, Messrs. Kent and Hutchinson ; " to attend in the galleries and place the people at the best advantage to prevent Disorder," Major Stearns, Mr. Allen Gould ; " to examine the meetinghouse and report what it will be necessary to do," Captain Putnam, Messrs. Trask and Kent. The general committee met again and " maid a report what they had Dun for the association, as it Respects vitling & Lodging, & Likewise to the Keeping of horses. Rev. Mr. Chaplin, Messrs. Kent and Hutchinson, were appointed to make a division of the guests among the people ; it was voted " that Mr. John Dock have the Sole Care of the Singing, & that he may invite what assistance he may think necessary, to assist him." One more meeting the committee had ; William Trask and Major Black were appointed "to keep good order round the meetinghouse in Divine Sarvis." The only record which Mr. Hutchinson made of the occasion, which presumably was carried out with [pleasure and profit, was in regard to the singing ; he himself was called upon to manage this part of the service, owing to John Dock's previous engagement. He employed, he writes, Mr. Kinne, of Salem, Mr. Carey, of Salem, Mr. Timothy Berry, of Beverly and many others attended with them. " Kinne's bill, $14 - Berry's bill, 4$50 - Mr. Carey came with others gratis."

The Salem Association met with the New Mills Church again in 1836 and again in 1854; in the latter year it was comprised of twenty-four churches.

hundred dollars, to be raised by tax assessed on the polls and estates of those persons who are or who may be petitioners for an incorporation act, and as if to give comfort and encouragement to the minister, a copy of the record of this action was sent to him. But a month later he accepted a call to another position. For sixteen years he had lived and labored among this people, how devotedly and with what mutual affection can be judged from the extracts of letters which follow. The meagreness of his salary forced his domestic economy into narrow straits ; it is said that he often was seen fishing from Spite Bridge, and whether or not he had a weakness for angling, doubtless the catch was welcome to the frying-pan. It is a pleasant thing to record that his reputation for sterling manhood, conscientious work and scholarly attainments brought to him an invitation to accept the presidency of the institution since known as Bates' College.

May 18, 1818, his release was reluctantly granted, and the unfeigned thanks of the society were tendered him for his long and faithful services. Further, three persons were chosen " to form an address to be presented to him." Their names appear below :

" Bev. Jeremiah Chaplin : " Rev. & Dear Sir, - We are authorizid by tlie unanimous vote of tlie Baptist Society in Danvers, in belialf of the same, to present yo\i our unfeigned thanks for your long and faithful labors with us as a minister of the Gospel and preacher of morality ; and to express our sincere wishes that wherever you may in providence be called the smiles of Heaven may accompany you. You would deem it superfluous were we to enlarge upon the high estimation which we have ever placed on your ministerial performances or the love which we have ever borne toward you as a citizen. The reluctance with which we have lately assented to your dismission sufficiently bespeaks these sentiments. Nothing but a sense of duty in consideration of your present feelings has drawn this assertion from us. Although your removal is to us not joyous, but grievous, yet the occasion of this removal and the circumstances under which you leave us, afford us a very pleasing reflection. We have the satisfaction to believe that no want of attachment to us, love of honor, pecuniary Tiews nor sinister motives, of whatever nature, had any part in Inducing you to request a dismission. And much as we regret the loss which we must sustain by this separation, we are not disposed to complain of any injustice on your part. No, Sir ! We are rather disposed to feel grateful for the privileges which we have already enjoyed, and to hope that the usefulness of your labours will bo more extensive than it could be with us. We sliould be criminally contracted and selfish in our views were we to wish the general good to be sacrificed to our particular interest. That yourremoval will be for the general good we have not undertaken to decide fi'oni our own knowledge, but have acted with deference to your superior judgment, and so far as self denial would admit have acted with cheerfulness.

" We request and trust we shall ever have an interest in your supplications at the throne of Him who gave and whotaketh away. Be assured dear sir, we possess the most affectionate feelings for yourself and family. Wishing you may receive a hundred-fold in this time, and in the world

Many years after Mr. Chaplin's departure, one of his successors wrote : " The parting scenes as they still linger in the memories of the aged, and as rehearsed by them with tearful eye, show how deep a hold he had upon his people."

It was at the beginning of Mr. Chaplin's ministry that the Beverly people withdrew to form a church of their own, and by reason of their dismissal and from other causes, the parent church was left in a low condition, with but thirty-eight members. At the close of Mr. Chaplin's ministry the membership was seventy-four.

On the 21st of June, 1818, the next Sabbath after Mr. Chaplin left. Rev. James A. Bos well preached. Three or four weeks later a meeting was held to see if the society were so "satisfied with the gifts and tallants " of this preacher as to wish to have him supply longer. The meeting left it to the committee and the committee engaged him for three-quarters of a year. A well-known lady who was then a young Miss attending Miss Martin's " Dame's School " at New Mills, remembers being present at his installation, and that the new minister looked very young and small when the old divines were talking to him. Very likely any man would have felt somewhat diminutive on such an occasion.

The first meeting under the new act was held at School-house, No. 2, on Monday, March 29, 1819, at six o'clock, P.M., to choose officers and levy a tax for support of the Gospel and other expenses for the ensuing year. Sixteen votes were cast for moderator, all for Thomas Putnam ; twenty for clerk, all for Israel Hutchinson. Thomas Putnam, Moses Black and Benjamin Kent were elected assessors ; Joseph Stearns, treasurer; Hercules H. Joslyn, collector. The first votes of money under the new order were in this wise : " Voted to Raise $400 for the Benefit of the Gospel ; Voted to Eeconsider the Vote for $400 . Voted to raise $350 Dollars for the Benefit of the Gospel ; Voted to Reconsider the Vote for $350 ! Voted unanimously to Raise $300 for the support of the gospil in Said Society the present year." Evidently a case of a strong working minority. The sum finally voted was not, however, let it be hoped, the limit of the minister's salary. The old subscription was not abandoned, but the committee were directed to present it to those persons who did not " come under the incorporation act," or any others d'sposed to help.

In April it was voted without, dissent - his " gifts and tallants " had stood the test - to give Mr. Boswell a call to settle. On his acceptance, it was voted unanimously to give him an ordination on the second Wednesday of June, and that the Rev. Benjamin Wadsworth and the Rev. Samuel Walker be invited to attend. Ten dollars was subsequently voted to Benjamin Chaplin to defray expenses of singing on the occasion.

At the beginning of the next church year, March, 1820, there was not a unanimity in the invitation to Mr. Boswell to continue, and after careful consideration he asked to be dismissed. Dismission was granted, but the fact that both a letter of recommendation and - what was of much greater import, judging from the monetary votes of the society - a present of one hundred dollars, were given him, goes far to remove the idea that any ill-feeling existed between pastor and people.

Rev. Arthur Drinkwater preached more or less dur ing the following spring and summer, and in August the society met to consider his gifts and talents, and requested him " to make them a visit and supply the pulpit for a certain term of time as the Society may think proper." In September advice was received from Dr. Chaplin, their old pastor, "respecting Mr. Drinkwater's character as being a good gospel minister," and he was invited to settle over the church. December 7, 1821, was appointed for installation.

In November, 1822, there were certain votes passed which must have had a meaning to somebody, - " Voted that there be a committee chosen to wait on the man who stole the wood from the Society. Voted that the man that stole the wood be allowed 24 hours to produce the man he bought the wood of, and if he does not he must take the course of the law."

In 1824 Abednego Rust and Nathaniel Tuttle were chosen "thything men to keep the boys still ;" about the time of Mr. Drinkwater's installation William Johnson had been empowered to present to the grand jury any persons making any disturbance in or about the meeting-house on the Sabbath ; in 1825 Daniel Hardy was deputed to take care of the boys in the galleries, and the tything men chosen by the town were requested "to take cognizance of the boys that throng the porch before divine Service, to the inconvenience of the females that are going into the

In January, 1826, Gideon Foster, Benjamin Kent and Briggs R. Read were commissioned to draft a bill and secure its passage by the Legislature, authorizing the taxation of pews ; such a bill became a law in the following March. By its provisions a person must own, in order to vote thenceforth in the society meetings, at least one-half a floor pew or the whole of a gallery pew.

The year 1828 is conspicuous in the annals of the Baptist Society as the year of a new house of worship. Though the first house was but forty-five years old, suspicions were entertained as to its strength. An association of subscribers, afterwards proprietors, was formed to build a new house.

The proprietors of the new meeting-house, though composed, of course, of the leading Baptists, were separate and distinct from the society. They held their own meetings and kept their own records, Samuel P. Fowler acting as clerk. At their first meeting, in March, 1828, it was voted, " That if the proprietors of the old meeting-house are willing to dispose of their house and the land on which it stands, for a reasonable consideration we purchase it for the purpose of removing the house and erecting a new one in its place, to be governed by the present incorporation. The property in the house to belong to the subscribers to the new meeting-house. It is understood, in case we purchase the old meetinghouse, a new one will be erected on its site within eighteen months." Eben Hunt, Arthur Drinkwater and Moses W, Wilson were appointed to see if the proprietors of the old meeting-house were willing to dispose of their house under such conditions.

The society held a series of meetings about the same time, at which the standing committee were empowered to sell the building " for four hundred dollars and nothing less, and more if they can get it," the purchasers to remove the same before the following June; and the "subscribers" were permitted to erect a new meeting-house on the old lot for the use of the church and society, to be governed by the act of incorporation already in force.

That old church is still in existence. It was bought by John A. Learoyd and removed to the Plains, not far from Lindall Hill, where its timbers grew, and has ever since been used as a currier-shop. It was thought, as has been said, old and unsafe when sold, but as Mr. Rice, with characteristic humor, remarks, " it has upon it at the present time a certain air of breadth and settlement in configuration of such a sort that the eye of the beholder may not readily discern to what end it should ever fall down."

The new building committee were Samuel Fowler, Arthur Drinkwater, Daniel Hardy, Briggs R. Reed, and Ebenezer Hunt. The chairman was directed, among other things, to ascertain whether any compensation could be obtained for the land belonging to the meeting-house lot, but used as a highway since the widening of the road in 1802, and he found that the society had slept too long on their rights. The proprietors held meetings through the summer and fall, and from time to time instalments of subscriptions | were paid in. In December, 1828, they wished to ] know whether their subscription paper was an instrument sufficiently binding to sue upon for non-payment, and Messrs. Fowler, Hunt and Reed were sent to obtain advice from Rufus Choate, then at South Parish, and 'Squire Benj. Merrill. The advice was that the paper would hold.

On the 17th of March, 1829, the house was finished, and the committee were directed to " inform the Baptist Society at their annual meeting (when it is understood that the house will have been accepted) that the house is ready for their use, and that they be desired to make arrangements for the opening of the house with appropriate religious services."

May 1st, John Porter, Benj. Kent and Benj. Porter were chosen to arrange for dedication. May 25th Mr. Kent and Daniel Hardy were authorized to sell the pews in the new church at public auction by bidding for choice over and above the appraisal, the appraisal to cover the cost of the house ; and they were also directed "to obtain a legal title to the land under a part and adjoining said meeting-house of the family of the late Captain Thomas Putnam, deceased." A summary statement of the cost of the church is this :

At this time when the people moved out of the old house into the new, the relations of pastor and people and of the people to one another should have been particularly harmonious. Mr. Drinkwater closed his pastorate June 26, 1829. During the last year of his service some very unpleasant differences of opinion arose in the society which resulted in the organization of the Uuiversalist Society, weakening not inconsiderably the society in which the division occurred. Universalism had its beginnings in Danvers much earlier than this, as will hereafter appear. A hint at the feeling which existed in 1829 may be found in a vote that the committee be instructed " to inquire into the story that has gone abroad that the Unitarians want to get the new meeting-house."

Mr. Drinkwater is remembered by certain old people as one of the sort of men that Caesar liked to have about him, not a bit " lean and hungry." He was of a light, florid complexion, of talents not rising high above the average; he made many friends outside of his own church.

In the spring of 1830 the Rev. James Barnabee was by unanimous vote invited to fill the vacant pulpit. He is remembered by old people as a man with a very loud voice. Mr. Barnabee's year commenced on the first of May, and six hundred dollars was voted for his support and incidental charges. His pastorate was short, ending in May, 1832, but very eventful ; soon after he came the great revival all through the churches was felt here with so great effect that the membership was increased from ninety-three to one hundred and thirty-nine. At the old church, Dr. Braman's, there were added in the same period one hundred and twelve members, increasing the membership from about one hundred, in 1828, to one hundred and ninety-five in 1833.

July 23, 1832, the society united with the church in giving a call to the Rev. John Holroyd, at a salary of five hundred dollars for the first year. Five years later, November 8, 1837, Mr. Holroyd died while at Providence, R. I., - the only instance of a vacancy in the pastorate caused by death. During his labors the membership of the church reached its highest limitone hundred and fifty-five. He was about sixty years old at his death ; a quiet, venerable appearing man, greatly beloved and lamented by all who knew him. He left a widow, but no children ; she was the daughter of Dr. Benedict, of Providence, a somewhat noted Baptist preacher and writer.

May 26, 1838, Rev. E, W. Dickinson accepted a call of the church and society, at a salary of six hundred dollars. His stay was short. He resigned in October of the next year; in his letter of resignation he wrote : " The causes which lead to this step, it is presumed are already known, and their capitulation at this time is not needed. The subject has long been before our minds, and although the separation, to me at least, is painful, still the feelings natural to such an event are less poignant than if it had been sudden."

Rev. J. Humphrey Avery supplied the pulpit some of the time, and in January, 1841, he was invited to become settled. In response he wrote that he would come on the following conditions :

"That I receive the ninety dollars now due for supplying your pulpit, before the close of the present week ; that my salary commence the first day of Febiuary; that I have seven hundred dollars per annum, to be paid quarterly ; that I have two Sabbaths during the year to dispose of as I may think fit ; that the church and society havs the rijjht to dismiss me at any time by giving me three months notice ; that duplicates of this contract be signed by the committee of the church and society and myself, in presence of competent witnesses ; that one of the duplicates be left with the clerk of the church or the clerk of the society and the other with me. Should any apology be deemed proper, brethren, for the formality of this statement, I have only to say that in mere business transactions I have but one method "

The business men at New Mills were evidently not displeased with a business-like pastor; the conditions were accepted. After seven or eight mouths he addressed another letter to the committee in equally plain terms, giving them the choice of accepting his resignation February 1, 1842, or of making his salary six hundred dollars after that date and, in addition, furnishing him " with a good room near the meetinghouse, to which he might remove his library," and of giving him a regular installation as soon as might be convenient. And the terms of the latter alternative were promptly accepted. Mr. Avery had been a Congregationalist.

On the Sth of July, 1843, the society voted unanimously to concur with the church in giving the Rev. Joseph W. Eaton a call, at a salary of five hundred dollars for the first year. His letter of acceptance is dated July 17, 1843. The next spring he wrote:

"The satisfaction, which you have been pleased to express with my poor services for tlie past year has been particularly grateful to my feelings. . . . The union which I am informed pervades jour body gives me reason to hope that my labors among you may yet bo useful, and so long as this state of things continues I shall be encouraged to exert myself for your Bjiiritual benefit."

But times were hard for the church and society during Mr. Eaton's pastorate. Among the founders of the church, it will be remembered, none were more prominent than Gideon Foster and certain other South Parish men, and for a number of years the New Mills Church was supported by all people of that denomination, far and wide in this vicinity. But we have seen how, in 1801, the Beverly people withdrew to form a church of their own; then, in 1804, the First Baptist Church of Salem was established, and, doubtless, a number of South Parish people who found themselves more conveniently situated to Salem than to New Mills, at once associated themselves with the Salem Church. But in the meantime there had been a growing desire among those parishioners of the New Mills Church who lived in the southern part of the town to have a church of their own. They began to hold meetings in Armory Hall in 1843, settled a minister and built a chapel that same year. This was about the beginning of Mr. Eaton's pastorate at New Mills, during which thirteen of his church-members were dismissed to join the new church. These dismissals, though not great in number, came at a time when the parent church could ill afford any loss of strength. But a much more serious element of disturbance was the storm of the anti-slavery movement which centered on the old church and struck hard. An account of the " Come-outers " appears elsewhere. About the only mention of anti-slavery which apj^ears on the society's records are these votes :

April 4, 1839. " Voted that the Lectore on Pees, Temperance and antislavery be free of expense, after having the Concent of the Standing Committee.

April 21, 1810. " Voted it be left with the Standing Committee whether there shall be lectures in the meeting house on the subject of slavery the ensuing year."

six hundred dollars after the first year, but it was not easy to raise the money. They asked him to take five hundred dollars. " On listening," he replied, " to the description you gave me of the financial concerns of the society, I stated that I was at a loss to know exactly what my circumstances were, but promised that if I could do anything to help to extricate the society from its embarrassments, I would cheerfully do it. On looking over my accounts, however, I find mj'self much more largely indebte<i to others than I supposed myself to be, and that my salary has been barely sufficient to enable me to meet my expenses. I do not see how they can be reduced. The idea of being in debt without having the means to pay it, is to me distressing, both from the sinfulness of the thing and from its influence on the cause of religion. I have nothing to depend upon for a support but the compensation I receive for my services, and must look therefore to the people whom I serve for the means of a comfortable maintenance. Still, I cannot endure the thought of being a burden to the society ; hence, hoping we may have health and strength, considering the dull state of business, and desirous of affording the society what relief I can, I will try, though I know not how I shall succeed, to do this year with five hundred and fifty dollars."

To add to the difficulty of the situation, on the morning of September (5, 1847, the church and vestry were destroyed by fire, and there was no insurance. An adjoining dwelling, owned by Aaron Eveleth, was burned at the same time.

The standing committee pluckily issued a warrant before the close of the day, calling upon the society to take action as to building a new house. In one week from the date of the warrant, the shortest time allowable, the society met and voted " that we feel it our duty to make an eftbrt to erect a new house in place of the one destroyed by fire," and appointed twelve men to circulate a subscription paper for the purpose, - Daniel Goodhue, Jr., Tristram Woodbury, Hiram Preston, David H. Caldwell, William Putnam, Henry Johnson, Benj. Porter, Moses Black, Rev. J. W. Eaton, Abijah Porter, Peter Waitt and Jacob F. Perry. Both the Universalist Society and the new society at the Plains promptly tendered the use of their churches to the Baptists. Arrangements were made with the former.

On the 20th of September, Benjamin Porter, Moses Black and David H. Caldwell were instructed " to select such a model of a house as they think will best suit the society."

On the 18th of October a building committee were chosen to carry out the vote of its society to rebuild, - Benjamin Porter, David H. Caldwell, Moses Black, Henry Johnson and Josiah Ross. The third meetinghouse of the society was erected within the next year and is the one now in use. The present church bell was then purchased by certain "proprietors," and was hung in the tower on the following conditions :

"That the bell be rung by the sexton of the Baptist Society on Sundays, the Universalist Society paying one-half the expense ; that the bell be rung at any other time by either Society, not interfering with our religious services, by each paying their own sexton ; the door to be locked - one Key to be kept by the sexton, one to the care of the Fire Department. The remains of the bell, if ever burned, to ge to the proprietors of the bell. The bell to be hung on a good substantial bell frame secured to the deck."

Notice. The Ladies of the First Baptist Society in Danvers will give a Tea Party on Wednesday, Oct. 4th, in Citizens' Hall, New Mills, to aid in furnishing the new house of worship, now erected on the site of the one destroyed by fire last year. Good music will be secured for the occasion, etc., etc.

On the 23d of April, 1849, Mr. Eaton addressed to the society a letter of resignation. Like his other communications it is full of Christian manliness and forbearance ; and it gives an insight into the state of things which, by reason of circumstances beyond his control, made his pastorate not a bed of roses. " Just before your former meeting-house burnt, I was led to canvass the question whether I ought not to resign my office, but after the occurrence of that event I concluded it was my duty at any rate to remain with you and aid you in every way in my power until another edifice should be erected." It was after the completion of the new church that he resigned. In explanation he wrote : "I do this not because as great an amount of success has not been realized as could have been anticipated, considering the distracted state of things when I came among you, the adverse influences with which I have had to contend, the disaster you experienced in the burning of your meeting-house, the many removals of whole families from town, the deaths that have occurred among you, some of whom have been your prominent men, the formation of two new societies at the Plains, the excitements of diiferent kinds that have existed in the place, and the low state of religion. If I mistake not, this society is in a'far better condition than any one, acquainted with the facts in the case, could reasonably expect it to be in. I take this step not because, could a change be effected which might easily be done, I could not labor on with zeal and hope ; but because of the want of that spirit, energy and co-operation, which characterizes new enterprises ; which allows nothing to be undone which should be done, and which is essential to success."

In March, 1850, a call was extended to Rev. Aaron W. Chaffin. This was his first pastorate, and he remained here fifteen years, an average preacher and an excellent pastor, greatly beloved not only by his own people but by his fellow-citizens generally, for he took great interest in all that pertained to the good of the town, and especially in the schools. Genial, kind, witty, " everybody liked him." He accepted a call to Manchester, N. H., died at Lynn in 1874, and was buried here in Walnut Grove Cemetery. Rev. Foster Henry succeeded Mr. Chafiin, and occupied the pulpit from December 5, 1862, to May 1, 1865. Then followed Rev. Charles H. Holbrook, from November 14, 1865, to September 2, 1870 ; Rev. J. A. Goodhue, from November 22, 1870, to May 1, 1872; Rev. G. W. McCullough, from June 20, 1873, to April 1, 1876 ; Rev. Lucien Drury, from August 3, 1877, to April 29, 1883 ; Rev. Gideon Cole, from July 1, 1884, to the present time.

These notes have treated chiefly of the Society. The Baptist Church was organized July, 1793, with thirty-six members. The first deacons were Eleazer Wallis and Israel Porter. Benjamin Kent was appointed 1823 ; Hercules Joselyn, 1832 ; John Hood, 1835; Parker Brown, 1838; Ichabod Sawyer, 1839; Abijah Porter, 1845 ; Henry Johnson, 1855; James Felton, 1855; Charles H. Whipple, 1855 ; Monroe B. Brigham, 1859; Francis Bowen, 1874 ; Wm. A. Jacobs, 1880. Deacons Whipple and Jacobs are the present incumbents.

The committees appointed " to supply preaching " in the earlier years of the society have already been given. They were the precursors of the regular standing committees. A complete list of the latter cannot be given for lack of space, but the names which appear at the beginning of each decade of this century will give some idea of the prominent supporters of the society from time to time :

The first clerk of the society, chosen November 26, 1781, was Dr. Nathaniel Gott, but he did not serve through the successive adjournments of the first meeting, and Jonathan Sawyer, chosen in his place, held the oflice about five years, until 1786, when Nathaniel Fowler's name appears. Ebenezer Dale was clerk in 1789, Israel Porter in 1790. On April 5, 1792, Israel Hutchinson, Jr., was chosen, and after thirty years of continuous service, his neatly kept records end with the oath administered by him to his successor, Stephen Whipple, April 17, 1821.

Hercules H. Josselyn was chosen at the annual meeting of 1822, and he served till April, 1841, nineteen years, when it was voted " that the Thanks ot this Society be presented to Hercules Josselyn for his long and faithful services as Clerk of the Society."

Last April, 1887, the Sunday-school observed its sixty-ninth anniversary. The original records, if there were any, are not to be found. John Hood, Peter Waitt and Captain Benjamin Porter were superintendents before 1854, since which time, thirtythree years, Deacon Charles H. Whipple, has been in continuous service. There are now one hundred and sixty connected with the school.

January 26, 1879, the standing committee were instructed " to inquire into the cost of buying the land adjoining that of the society on High Street, and of building thereon such a building as the Society needs." This vote was the beginning of the new chapel which was dedicated this spring, 1887.

" Among the favorable causes under the blessing of God," these were Mr. Chaffin's words thirty years ago, " which have conspired to keep this somewhat ancient church in existence, we should not fail to notice the general unanimity of its members and their steadfastness in sound doctrine and wholesome discipline. Besides, there never has been a time when there have not been some noble, self-denying brethren and sisters whose faith in the darkest hour faltered not. In the early, as well as the later history of this church, especially will the names of Porter, Kent, Richardson, Whitney and Hardy, with others of kindred spirit, now at rest in Heaven, be held in long and sacred remembrance. While living they were known in the churches, and, though dead, their deeds live."

Univeesalist. - The pioneer of Universalism in Dan vers was Edmund Putnam. He was born here in 1724, moved to Topsfield in early life, returned when about thirty-five, and occupied the well-preserved old house off Locust Street, afterwards the home of his distinguished grandson, Elias Putnam, and at present owned by Augustus Fowler. Edmund Putnam was for twenty-three years, from 1762, a deacon of the old Church. Probably his changed views oi' theology led to his resignation in 1785. Dr. Nichols" centennial poem contains this :

An item in the records of the old church is significant in this connection, - " In 1788 rates were abated of Samuel Cheever, Jer. Hutchinson, James Smith, John Swinerton, Henry Putnam, Nath'l Webb, Wm. Giflbrd, and Mrs. Eunice Hutchinson, because they entertained religious sentiments diflering from those professed by the church." Though, as has been seen, this was about the time the Baptists organized their church, some who were thus " differing " are known to have been early Universalists.

It was in the little community at Putnamville - Deacon Putnam's neighborhood - that the new ideas were most thought about and talked about, and where they first assumed organic form.

Rev. Henry P. Forbes delivered a historical address of the society on the occasion of its fiftieth anniversary, October 19, 1879, which is here liberally used in connection with the series of historical letters written by Rev. Dr. Alfred P. Putnam, a greatgrandson of Deacon Edmund. Mr. Forbes has thus well and concisely spoken of those families in Putnamville in which Universalism was especially fostered :

"In true Danvers fashion, they were nearly all related to each other. Israel Putnam, 2d (Dea. Edmund's son), married Anna, sister of Elias Endicott, Jr. Zorobbabel Porter married Mary, another sister. Elias himself, when a young man, worked at the currier's trade in Gloucester, where John Murray was settled over the First Universalist Society organized in America. He returned to Danvers, and, having married, came to live in the house where dwelt his sister Anna. This family of families - Endicotts, Porters, Putnams - seems to have been of one mind in religious matters. They were all persons of character and influence, and chiefly from them came the impetus toward the formation of an Universalist Society. But they were not alone. The Browns, the Richardsons, the Bakers, and Woodburys of Wenham, with various others, had come to be more or less earnest believers. In the year 1815 the fluid sentiment began to crystalize into an organization. On the 22d of April a company of them assembled, organized themselves into a society, and drew up a Declaration of Principles."

At this first meeting, Israel Putnam, 2d, was chosen moderator and treasurer ; Colonel Warren Poi'ter, clerk; John Baker, Joseph and Zorobbabel Porter, committee. The committe were instructed "to inquire after a minister as soon as funds can be obtained to pay him, and invite any suitable person that may be willing to preach." The committee found a very suitable person in Rev. Hosea Ballon, who came up to preach occasionally in the little school-house and gave the new movement the impetus of his powerful help. For a number of years there was slow and quiet progress, the number of members recorded in 1823 being thirty-six ; in 1825, forty-four. Besides Mr. Ballon many other ministers came to preach in the school-house, among others Rev. Charles Hudson, who, at the semi-centennial was living, in his eighty-fourth year, at Lexington, Mass.

astical stream sinks from the ledges of Blind-hole into the sands of the Plain, and working its way southward bubbles up at the New Mills." This latter place, the thriving commercial centre of quite an extensive territory, by all odds the liveliest portion of the town, having but one church, and that of rigid tenets, seems to have been good ground for the larger growth of Universalism. It has been shown from the records of the Baptist Society how about this time defections were occurring, and how in 1829 a considerable number of Baptists formally withdrew. This withdrawal marked the occasion of the formation of the Danvers Universal Society, which was brought about by a sample agreement of association in the handwriting of Dr. Ebenezer Hunt, dated October 15, 1829, and signed by William Francis, Hathorne Porter, Josiah Gray, John Ross, Moses W. Wilson, Nathaniel Boardman, Joshua Silvester, B. C. Brickett, William E. Kimball, Daniel Woodman, Ebenezer Hunt, Benjamin Potter, Isaac Caldwell, William Rogers. A petition was immediately issued to Dr. George Osgood, justice of the peace, and by him a warrant was issued for a first meeting for the legal establishment of a new religious society. Upon this petition are the additional names of John Hines, Joseph Porter, Sylvanus Dodge and Simeon Pendar. These eighteen men are regarded as the charter members of the present society; five were living at the serai-centennial, 1879, and four were present, but today but one of all the number is surviving, Joshua Silvester. (Since writing, he, too, has passed away).