Essex County, Massachusetts - Chapter with an unread heading (no. 18 of those read), 1922

The Town Of Danvers

From old records, and from the authentic writings of Mr. Alden P. White, it is learned that Governor John Endicott was the pioneer of Danvers. As he sailed from Cape Ann by the rocky hills of the North Shore and brought the "Abigail" to anchor off the few cabins of the old planters, near Collin's Cove, he looked out upon a landscape where in the midst of dense forests he was in a few years to settle and call it his home. Endicott landed at Salem in September, 1628, and about four years later his company under their charter claimed absolute right to all lands therein conveyed. This charter was dated July 3, 1632. Very soon Governor Endicott commenced to clear up his plantation. He had a large number of competent men, and within one year he had seven thousand palisades cut, and ground was broken for raising Indian com. The grant soon took the name of "Orchard Farm." Here he raised large numbers of fruit trees. Fifteen years later he traded five hundred fruit trees for a two hundred and fifty acre tract of land to Captain Trask. For some years his only neighbors were the howling wolves and the Indians; until his men had made roads, all travel had to be made by boats.

The river makes up from the ocean to Danversport, where it divides there much as one's three fingers might illustrate. These streams are known as Water's, Crane's and Porter's. The Orchard farm comprised the peninsula between Water's and Crane ; that between Crane and Porter's, where now stands the village of Danversport, was granted at the same time with the Orchard farm to the Rev. Samuel Skelton, a minister of Salem.

On the old estate of Captain William Hathorne, soldier, lawyer, judge and legislator, stands the Dan vers Lunatic Hospital - a dozen great buildings in one, and whose roofs and pinnacles with central tower can be seen for miles around, and served many a year as a landmark for the tempest-tossed fishing fleets far out from the harbor.

The three illustrious families of Putnams were of the pioneer band of what is now Danvers. John, the American ancestor, came from England when well along in years. He had three sons - Thomas, near Hathorne's Hill ; Nathaniel, near the mill-pond ; John, at Oak Knoll.

No history of Danvers will be complete without a full account of the part which it took in the settlement of the Northwest Territory. The earliest wagon train, under command of Captain Haffield White, a Danvers man, started on its long journey from here. General Rufus Putnam, Washington's friend, a famous engineer of the Revolution, presided in the convention at Boston, March 1, 1786, at which the Ohio Company was formed, and April 7, 1788, he laid out at Marietta the first permanent settlement in Ohio. Major Ezra Putnam, his cousin, also a grandson of Deacon Edward, was another of the Ohio pioneers. Nearer home, another descendant of Deacon Edward, Oliver Putnam, honored the family name by establishing at Newburyport the Putnam Free School.

Danvers became a separate municipality January 25, 1752. For a number of years the people of this section had desired to become independent of Salem, both as the Village and the Middle Parish. The full text of the Incorporation Act is as follows :

An act for erecting the village parish and middle Parish so called, in the town of Salem, into a distinct and separate district by the name of Danvers.

Whereas, the town of Salem is very large and the inhabitants of the village and middle parishes so called within ye same (many of them at least) live att a great Distance from that part of Salem where the Public affairs of the Town are transacted and also from the Grammar Schools which is kept in ye sd first parish.

And whereas, most of the inhabitants of the first sd Parish are either merchants, traders or mechanicks and those of ye sd village and middle parishes are chiefly husbandmen, by means whereof many disputes & difficulties have Arrissen and May hereafter arise in the management of their public Affairs Together & Especially touching ye Apportioning, the Publick Taxes For preventing of which Inconveniences for the future.

Be it Enacted by the Lieutenant Governor Council and House of Representatives, That that part of ye sd town of Salem which now constitutes the village and Middle parishes in sd Town according to their boundaries and the inhabitants therein be Erected into a separate and distinct District by the name of Danvers, and that said inhabitants shall do the duties that are Required and Enjoyned on other towns, and Enjoy all the powers, privileges and Immunities that Towns, in this province by Law enjoy, except that of chuesing and sending one or more Representatives to Represent them att ye Genii Assembly etc. Jany 25, 1752.

The name Danvers is still a disputed question. It may have been so called for D'Anvers, an English family, of French origin, however. There is only one other town of this name in America - that in McLean county, Illinois, which was named for the Massachusetts town.

After two years from organization, the boundary lines between this and adjoining towns were surveyed. This \vith other things made the citizens of the proposed town more anxious than ever before to become a real town, so February 3, 1775, they passed a vote "that in the minds of the inhabitants that the said District be erected into a separate Town Ship, & that said Daniel Epes, Junr., Esq., be and is hereby desired and impowered to prefer a petition to the Great and General Court and to use his Endeavours to get the same affected." However, the matter was deferred by the parent town of Salem until June 9, 1757. The population was then about 2,000 souls. In 1776 it had 2,284 ; in 1820 it was 3,646 ; in 1840 it was 5,030 ; in 1880 it was 6,600 ; while it now has 11,108.

In 1794 maps and corrected surveys were ordered made by the selectmen of the town, but nothing materialized along this line until the next year, when the work was so poorly done that sixteen years later three lawyers - Northend, Abbott and Proctor - were directed to make a complete survey for the correction of former plats.

Commencing in 1816 and continuing a half century, it was the custom in Danvers for her people to be reminded of the dinner hour and of bedtime by the ringing of the church bells. This cost the taxpayers $25 per year for each church in the town of Danvers. In 1784 there were only twenty-three persons able to own or "ride in chaises" in the town of Danvers.

Resolved, That this town entertains a high opinion of Vaccination and considers it (when skilfully conducted) a sure and certain substitute for Small Pox.

Resolved, That this Meeting deems it the indispensable duty of a community to make use of the means that Divine Providence has given us to guard against every impending evil to which we are exposed, especially those which involve the health or the Lives of the Inhabitants. [This was very soon after the discovery had been made by Jenner, of the effectiveness of vaccination].

There were a few slaves owned in Danvers before slavery was abolished in Massachusetts. At the time Danvers was separated from SalUHN G. WHITTIER lem, there were twenty-five such chattels, sixteen of whom were women. Among interesting documents along this subject, still carefully preserved, is the following:

Danvers, April 19, 1766. Rec'd of Mr. Jeremiah Page Fifty-eight pounds thirteen shillings and four pence lawful money and a Negro woman called Dinah which is in full for a Negro girl called Combo and a Negro girl called Gate and a Negro child called Deliverance or Dill, which I now sell and Deliver to ye said Jeremiah Page.

John Tapley

The great anti-slavery advocate, William Lloyd Garrison, a native of Essex county, Massachusetts, had many followers in and near Dan-* vers. With the birth of the Republican party in 1856, Danvers voters promptly wheeled into line. Out of a total vote of 1,382 cast in 1856, 1076 were cast for the Republican candidates. In 1860, John G. Whittier (poet) received 564 votes to 125 for S. Endicott Peabody, of Salem, for presidential elector. Later votes were as follows: 1868 - U. S. Grant, Republican, 720; Horatio Seymour, Dem., 204. 1872 - U. S. Grant, Republican, 545 ; Horace Greeley, Dem., 195. 1876 - R. B. Hayes, Republican, 701 ; S. J. Tilden, Dem., 335. 1880-^Gen. James A. Garfield, Republican, 637; W. S. Hancock, Dem., 295. 1884 - James G. Blaine, Republican, 565 ; Grover Cleveland, Dem., 276.

June 16, 1852, Danvers being one hundred years old, celebrated the event with much interest. A procession wended its way for a mile and a half. The town raised nearly a thousand dollars to entertain visiting guests. The greatest entertainment was showing off the fire-engines "Ocean" and "Eagle." Speeches and toasts were a part of the long pro-» gramme, and the two hundred page booklet now filed in many homes in Danvers, gives an account of the "Centennial."

The town records show that there were two old offices that ore not now known to the taxpayers of these later generations. Under the Act of February 13, 1789, any town might "give liberty for swine to go at large during the whole or a part of the year," provided they were yoked throughout the spring and summer, and "constantly ringed in the nose," the legal yoke to be "the full depth of the swines neck, above the neck, and half as much below the neck, and the soal, or bottom of the yoke full three times as long as the breadth or thickness of the swines." To see that this law was properly enforced, officers known as "hogreeves" were regularly elected until 1827.

In 1752, Daniel Rea was commissioned "to take care of ye lawa Relating to ye Preservation of Deer be observed." "Deer reeves" were chosen from 1765 to 1797. The last to hold such position were Eleazer Putnam and Timothy Fuller.

Chase ; Town Treasurer, A. Preston Chase ; Selectmen : W. Arthur Webb, David S. Brown, and J. EUis Nightingale; Assessors: John T. Carroll, Henry G. Hathorne, Benj. S. Newhall; Town Counsel, Harry E. Jackson; Auditor, Frank L. Winslow ; Overseers of the Poor : James O. Perry, E. Beecher Williams, J. Fred Hussey ; Superintendent of Streets, Josiah B. Brown; Pound-keeper, Michael H. Burns; Superintendent of Schools, Harrie J. Phipps; Chief of Police, Timothy J. Connors; Inspector of Animals, Charles S. Moore, D.V.S.; Tree Warden, Thomas E. Tinsley; Forest Fire Warden, Michael H. Barry; Burial Agent, Isaac E. Frye; and numerous appointive officers and committees.

In 1900 the population of Danvers was 8,542; in 1910 it was 9,407 and the last Federal census gives it as 11,108. The present lodges included these - Masons, Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, Knights of Columbus, Ancient Order of United Workmen. The present churches, which are treated in a general chapter for the county of Essex, include these: Maple Street Congregational Church, Roman Catholic church, Methodist Episcopal church. Baptist church and the Episcopal.

The present industries are confined to the Marsh Consolidated Electric Lamp Factory and the following shoe factory plants: Clapp & Tapley, Ideal Baby Shoe Company, Marston & Tapley (incorporated), Herbert A. Miller and John P. Nangle. There are two other manufacturing plants, the Massachusetts Iron & Steel Company's plant and the Standard Crayon Company's.

At a very early day in the history of Danvers, there were several large brick-making plants, with plenty of good clay at hand to supply the people with brick, but for some reason few took advantage of thi3 nature's best building material, and constructed most of their houses from lumber. The same is true today - nearly all the houses are frame.

The Danvers Historical Society was organized July 29, 1889, and meets monthly in its home headquarters in the old Page residence. Its officers in 1921 were as follows: President, Charles H. Preston; Vice- Presidents: George B. Sears, Lester H. Couch; Secretary, Hamet S. Tapley; Assistant Secretary, Alice F. Hammond; Treasurer, Annie G. Perley; Collector, Mrs. H. Freeman Kimball; Curator, Captain Henry N. Comey; Assistant Curator, Mrs. George W. Towne; Librarian, Lawrence W. Jenkins; Historian, Andrew Nichols; Executive Committee: Walter A. Tapley, George W. Emerson, Loring B. Goodale, Olive F. Flint, Annie W. Hammond; Publication Committee: Andrew Nichols, Harriet S. Tapley, Charles H. Preston. The membership of this society is upwards of five hundred, and the annual dues are one dollar. The Page residence, in which the headquarters of the society are kept, is among the very first good frame buildings erected in Danvers, and was constructed back in the eighteenth century. It has been occupied all these years by members of the Page family, and the custodian of the premises is a granddaughter of the original owner and builder. Herein are collected many ancient relics, papers, furniture, etc.

The Danvers Home for The Aged was established here in June, 1903. Peabody Institute was founded by that great philanthropist; George Peabody, and was incorporated by the Massachusetts Legisla^ ture in March, 1882. A public library connected with this institution was founded as early as 1866, and has many rare and valuable volumes. From a very early date Danvers has been known throughout the Union by its prolific growth of "Danvers Early Red" onions, making it as widely known among gardeners as the Wethersfield section of Connecticut id by its wonderful growth of onions. The soil seems peculiarly adapted for the growth of excellent vegetables, including the onion.

The famous Endicott pear tree at Danvers, which was set out by Governor John Endicott in 1631, is still bearing its annual crop of pears, although it is now two hundred and ninety years old. It was planted by Governor Endicott in a sheltered spot near the Danvers river. Once it was surrounded by other pear trees, but all have long since decayed. An Endicott, seventy-five years ago, sending fruit from this pioneer tree, said to a friend that this tree had outlived ten English monarchs. Since the statement was written, two more British Sovereigns - Queen Vic-' toria and King Edward VII - have reigned and died, and the old tree at Danvers continues to bear fruit. It receives loving care and is accounted priceless by the Endicott family as well as by all who see it. In its vicinity camped General Gage's British army, and General Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Daniel Webster are among the giants of American history who have visited it and eaten of its fruit. A substantial fence now protects it, save from the touch of the severe elements. This pear tree is now in possession of the ninth generation in ancestral line from Governor Endicott.

Church History - The following is by the Rev. A. V. House : Since the comprehensive history of Essex County was issued in 1888, events in connection with the churches of Danvers have been largely of a routine nature. The former history, from the hand of Judge Alden Perley White, gave a full account of the different ecclesiastical organizations down to about the time when the work appeared, relating the story with fine appreciation and insight. Anyone interested in the early church history of Danvers is referred to that source of information. It would be a labor of love to enter into those chapters of earlier history for the setting of the picture of these later times. To two of the churches, the First and the Baptist, and, in lesser degree, the Universalist, there have been granted length of days and long life. Their history is replete with the interest and significance attaching to the beginning and gradual moulding of community life. But all this we must turn aside from, however reluctantly, and give ourselves in the main to a review of the brief period since the former publication. If it must be said that this later span has been characterized by few features of dramatic interest or of unusual departure from the steady progress of institutional life, perhaps that fact of itself reveals a condition honorable and praiseworthy. The churches of Danvers are a well-established element in the life of the town. They are thriving and successful, and their very steadiness of effort and progress is an indication of normality and health.

Approximately the territory now embraced within the limits of Danvers was originally known as Salem Village, being included within the confines of Salem, the mother town. What was in effect a church was instituted in 1672 in the section of Salem Village which later under the town organization came to be designated as Danvers Centre, (now Danvers Highlands). The people of Salem Village had their own meeting house and resident minister, though, owing to the disinclination of the mother church in Salem to part with so large a portion of her numbers, the separate church organization was not formed till 1689. Church life in Danvers, however, properly dates from 1672, when the congregation was gathered and preaching begun. The church later organized is now incorporated as The First Church of Danvers.

The First Church of Danvers - At the time of the former writing, the pastor of the First Church was Rev. Charles Baker Rice, D.D. Dr. Rice was settled as pastor September 2, 1863. During his administration the church observed the two-hundredth anniversary of the beginning of preaching in Salem Village. At the time of that notable celebration, October, 1872, the church was worshiping in a beautiful meeting house of colonial type erected in 1839. This house, shortly after having been remodelled at considerable expense, was totally destroyed by fire, January 28, 1890. Steps were immediately taken to rebuild. While plans were in progress, after worshiping for a time in the Methodist Episcopal Church in Tapleyville Sunday afternoons, the use of that house having been graciously offered by the sister organization, a temporary building was erected on Hobart street, just east of the parsonage. This was called the Tabernacle, and was the scene of hearty and hopeful church activity until the completion of the new permanent building. This building, the present meeting-house, was dedicated September 2, 1891; the cost for building and furnishing was about $25,000. The house is finely appointed and affords excellent facilities for worship, Sunday school and social work.

Dr. Rice resigned in 1894 to become secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Pastoral Supply. His pastorate closed September 2 of that year, exactly thirty-one years from the date of his installation. His was the last of the old-time long pastorates, those preceding being the pastorates of Joseph Green, Peter Clark, Benjamin Wadsworth and Milton Parker Braman. The average term of these five, consecutive from 1698 to 1894, was thirty-seven and two-fifth years. The ministry of Dr. Rice was on the same high level as those of his distinguished predecessors, and his memory is cherished in the parish and throughout the town.

The membership reported January 1, 1921, was as follows: Church 195; Sunday school, 181; Young Peoples' Society of Christian Endeavor 35 ; Ladies' Benevolent Society, 80 ; Men's Club, 65.

The Men's Club is a social organization among the men of the community and is not organically connected with the church. It was projected, however, as an outcome of the interest of the church in the social life of the neighborhood, and conducts its work in sympathy with the parent institution.

The Sunday School of the First Church was one of the first to be organized in this country. It observed its centennial on Sunday November 17, 1918. At the morning service of the church an historical address was given by Deacon George William French, and on the following Tuesday evening the event was further commemorated with addresses by both present and old-time members, and the reading of let* ters from absent ones.

Of recent years, the old double organization of church and society or parish has been abolished. The institution is now incorporated as the First Church of Danvers, Congregational.

The field of the church, territorially speaking, has inevitably narrowed as time has gone by. At the beginning she had all of Salem Vili^J^fJ^ ^^*^^^ "P^^- Worshipers came from as far as Will's Hill, now Middleton Square, and Phelp's Mill in West Peabody. In a day when churchgomg was well-night universal, the house was filled from Sabbath to Sabbath. For over one hundred years the church stood alone in this wide region. With the institution of Baptist and Universalist work and the founding of the Middleton church, she began to suffer loss, though the plentitude of her strength was such as to make that loss almost negligible. Far down into the nineteenth century her life was maintained in its original dignity and impressiveness. As late as the day of Dr. Braman, who closed his pastorate in 1861, the meeting-house at the Centre" was on each recurring Sunday the mecca for thronging hundreds.

But since then, the organization of other churches, needed where they are placed, has materially reduced the territory she serves. Modera methods of transportation have also turned to other churches many who m former days were of her constituency. But, in spite of all this, she feels that her future is ahead of her. Her people of "today cherish the memory of the great personages, ministers and laymen, who have adoraed her history and dwell lovingly upon her sacred traditions. Yet their look is a fonvard look. They steadfastly hope that "the best is yet to be. In the old days a citadel of Puritan thought and later, having a name as conservative, the church today, as always, "loves the light," and IS endeavoring to adjust herself to the demands of the new times. - J^^cognizmg the requirements for a broader outlook and effort than in the past, yet not abating her emphasis upon the things of the spirit, she IS striving to maintain and perpetuate her old prestige and influence.^^ Her foi-mal confession of faith, the so-called "Kansas City Platform set forth by the Congregational National Council in 1913, is designed to afford standing ground for any true Christian, and the church has coupled with this confession the following minute, composed and suggested by the pastor, Rev. A. V. House: "While we adopt as our own this statement as comprehending the essentials of our faith, we do not regard it as a finahty in revelation or impose a creedal test for

The two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of "the beginning of preaching in Salem Village" will occur in 1922. Committees have already been appointed to plan for its proper observance.

The Baptist Church - Second only in point of age to the First Church and boasting more than a century and a quarter of organized life, is the Baptist Church at Danverspoii;. As in the case of the First Church, a congregation was gathered and stated preaching enjoyed some years previous to the formal organization of the church. As far back as November 12, 1781, a society was formed for the prosecution of Baptist work. The movement which led to this consummation was largely the result of labor by Rev. Benjamin Foster. Mr. Foster, a brother of General Gideon Foster, was bom in Danvers in 1750. While a student in Yale he espoused Baptist views, and after graduation was ordained as a Baptist minister. While engaged in pastoral service elsewhere, he preached as occasion permitted in his home town. Gradually a company devoted to Baptist principles was formed. When in course of time a measure of strength had been attained such as to warrant regularly organized work, a society was constituted, as before mentioned. The people felt the need of a settled minister and naturally turned to Ben-* jamin Foster, and he became their acting pastor in 1782. The first meeting house was occupied the year following. Mr. Foster continued his relation to the little company in Danvers until his call in 1788 to the pastorate of the First Baptist Church of New York. For a time after his departure there was no resident minister. Rev. Thomas Green, who was the next to settle in that capacity, took up the work in April, 1793, and on Tuesday, July 16 of that year, the formal organization of the church was effected, Mr. Green being chosen the first pastor. The territory covered by the church included Salem, Beverly, Wenham and Middleton, the churches of the first three named having since been set off from its membership.

Mention should be made, even at the risk of delving too deeply in old-time matters, of Rev. Jeremiah Chaplin. He came to the pastorate a youth of twenty-six, in May, 1802, and prolonged his stay sixteen years. He was a man of great ability and scholarship, and distinguished his pastorate by establishing a school for the training of young men looking to the ministry, said to have been the first Baptist school of its kind in America. After the manner of the olden times, the parson was the whole faculty of instruction. Dr. Chaplin had at one time as many as fourteen students pursuing their work under him, a responsibility which he cheerfully carried in addition to the burden of his pastoral duties. He relinquished his office in 1818 to accept the presidency of Wateryille College, Maine, later known as Colby University.

successful and beloved was he that he was recalled and began his second term m the pastoral office, April 1, 1889. During this second period the centennial of the church was observed, 1893. Mr. Holbrook was the historian of the occasion, and gathered up the histoiy of Baptist work in Danvers in an accurate and comprehensive way. His address has been preserved and will be cherished as a repository of trustworthy and valuable mfonnation. He was still wearing the robes of office when death took him, October 1, 1903. Under that date is the following minute in the church book : "Today news flew over the town that our beloved pastor, Mr. Holbrook, had passed away. A good man has gone, and one greatly beloved by his church and people. We need the grace of God to say 'Thy will be done' ."

Recent years have seen the passing of two laymen who had wrought nobly and long, for the church and Kingdom. Deacon William A. Jacobs 7ai ^ u ^^*^ ^ number of different offices over many years, died May 2?' - io% ^^ been deacon almost thirty-four years, and a member since 1868. Deacon Charles H. Whipple, his companion in labor, passed away December 2, 1916. He united with the church in 1850 and had been deacon over sixty years. "They were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and m their death they were not divided."

Under the present pastor. Rev. Walter G. Thomas, great progress has been made. The meeting-house has been repaired and remodeled at heavy expense and a fine Hastings organ installed. An impressive feature of the service when the new organ was formally dedicated was the presence of Miss N. Charlotte Porter, whose father, Captain Benjamin Forter, gave the old organ, now displaced, in the year 1848. Miss Porter was seventeen years old at that time. She had been baptized in the church the year previous. She became the organist and continued so for many years. The old instrument having well served its day and generation, Miss Porter gladly and sympathetically participated in the consecration of the new. The pastor called attention to her presence and paid an appropriate tribute for her long and devoted service

The Baptist Church has during its long history had no serious dissension withm its ranks, and now, with a membership of two hundred and twenty IS harmonious and hopeful. Changes of population incident to the establishment of modem industrial plants in the section of the town neighboring to the church have been great. The stream of American and Protestant life flows less full than formerly, yet the church taces the future with consecration and courage. The difficulties serve only to call out m the people their reserves of faith and power and to stimulate in their hearts the challenging query - "Who knoweth whether thou art come to the Kingdom for such a time as this."

The Universalist Church - The story of the beginning of the Universalist Church m Danvers is the story of the liberal movement in Christian thought m the last of the eighteenth and the first of the nineteenth ceiituries. The hand of Calvinism lay heavy upon many in the Churches. Men were exercising new freedom in the interpretation of the Gospel. Elements long neglected in Divine Revelation were claimincr attention and demanding to be considered in the formulation of Chris" tian doctrine Under the impulse of John Murray and Hosea Ballou a strong revolt was m progress against the prevailing idea of a limited atonement by Chnst. The first Universalists were Calvinists, and claimed to be the only consistent Calvinists. Accepting the historic teaching of the Puritan church that Christ died for "the elect," they asserted scriptural basis for their doctrine of universal salvation by the contention that all are of "the elect," for, said they, "does not the New Testament declare that 'Christ died for all?' " The arguments both pro and con do not possess their original force to the mind of the present day. Now men approach such questions on the broad ground of the necessary implications of divine love, without resort to proof texts, but for the times with which we are dealing, the ocnsiderations adduced had strong validity. They were times of earnestness in religious quest, and of quickened thought as to the real teaching and intent of Scripture. Danvers of course had her contingent of revolters against the extremes of Calvinistic teaching. Among them was Captain Edmund Putnam. He had led his company to Lexington on the morning of April 19, '75, was a member of the influential Putnam family, and a deacon in the First Church. Taking issue with the thoughts then finding utterance in this and the majority of churches, he resigned his deaconship in the First Church, which he had held for twenty-three years, and, with a few of his neighbors of kindred mind and spirit, gave himself to the propagation of Universalist doctrine. The Universalist Church of Danvers is the outgrowth of this effort. Deacon Putnam did not live to see the church actually organized. He died in 1810, at the age of eighty-five years.

The longest pastorate in the history of the church was that of Rev. J. P. Putnam, 1849-1864. Mr. Putnam was a man of great talent. He was for many years an active and valuable member of the school board, and served the town two years in the General Court. Rev. G. J. Sanger, after a ministry of six years, 1869-1875, removed to Essex, but later returned and for many years made his home in the town. He was a man of inclusive spirit and had many friends in other communions. The close of a century of church life was fittingly marked April 18, 1915. In 1919, as a result of the modern trend toward unity and co-operation, the church, without surrendering its identity, entered into a federation with the Unitarian Church of Danvers. The joint organization is known as the Community Church, and will be treated under that head.

Maple Street Congregational Church - Maple Street Church is the direct offspring of the First Church, and willingly confesses its lineage. Its list of charter members records the names of forty-two persons, all but two of whom had been members of the First Church and were dismissed by that body to aid in inaugurating the new enterprise. Distance from the mother church and the increase of population at the Plains, indicating the need of more immediate religious ministration, were the factors leading to the inception of the venture. The church has grown coincidently with the town, and has long held the primacy in wealth and numbers among Protestant religious societies in Danvers.

Unlike the First Church, Maple Street has had no life incumbency on the part of any of its pastors, yet two of them extended their services over somewhat lengthy periods. Rev. James Fletcher covered in his ministry the time from 1849 to 1864, fifteen years in all; and Rev. Edwaxd C. Ewing gave sixteen years of loyal and effective work to the ministry of this church. Mr. Ewing was the minister at Maple Street at the time when this article takes up the thread of her history. He was installed November 1, 1883, and ended his labors November 1, 1899, a term of exactly sixteen years, and the longest in the record of the church. The work of Mr. Ewing was of a strongly religious nature and bore remarkable fruitage in accessions to membership and the spiritual tone of the church life. Partly as a result of his devoted labors and partly due to special revival services under the guidance of a visiting evangelist during the year 1895, ninety-nine persons united with the church, seventy-six of them on confession of faith.

A conspicuous feature in the life of the church is its interest in missions. It contributes generously to the support of all denominational missionary agencies, both home and foreign, and since 1902 has contributed to the maintenance of Rev. E. C. Fairbank in India, as its representative under the American Board.

Maple Street Church, situated as it is at the center of population, has always assumed its full measure of responsibility for civic condi-" tions. Under two of its recent pastors. Rev. Robert A. MacFadden and Rev. F. W. Merrick, D.D., it has been notably active in behalf of the larger interests of community life.

Pastors during the period covered by this narrative have been: Edward C. Ewing, 1883-99 ; Chauncey J. Hawkins, 1900-02 ; Robert A. MacFadden, 1902-09 ; Melville A. Shafer, 1910-13 ; Frank W. Merrick, 1915-21. During Dr. Merrick's administration November 30, 1919, the church observed its seventy-fifth anniversary with an elaborate program of addresses. Dr. Merrick resigned nearly in 1921 to become executive secretary of the Indiana Federation of Churches, and at this writing Maple Street is without a pastor.

The membership is about 490. The Sunday School, including Home Department and Cradle Roll, has a list of 635 names. The Men's Club also is in a very flourishing condition. With a good plant and enterprising people the promise for future usefulness is great.

Annunciation Church, Roman Catholic - Danvers, as the rest of New England, had, from the first, citizens of Irish blood. After the famine in Ireland in 1849 her Irish population, as also that of New England, was largely increased. Naturally at about that time Roman Catholic work would have its origin. Rev. Thomas H. Shahan, then pastor of the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Salem, held the first ser-* vice at the house of Edward McKeigue, 305 Maple street, November 1, 1854. Shortly afterward regular services began. The first resident pastor was Rev. Charles Rainoni, who was appointed in 1865. From the first the parish has extended its bounds beyond the confines of Danvers, including the nearby towns of Middleton and Topsfield in its field of labor. Moreover, the increase of Catholic population in the town has been marked, the original company of Irish being supplemented by many hundreds of other races cherishing the Catholic faith, so that now the parish is the strongest numerically in Danvers.

Rev. Thomas E. Power was appointed to the Danvers parish in April, 1885, and continued his labors here till 1902, a period of seventeen years. He was succeeded by Rev. H. A. Sullivan, who had been long connected with the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston. Father Sullivan delivered a notable patriotic sermon before his people at the time of the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the town, June 15, 1902. His appreciation of the opportunities of American freedom was profound and he finely set forth the meaning of Danvers history as related to the larger principles of American life.

Father Sullivan died in 1914, and was succeeded by Rev. Francis W. Maley. Father Maley labored here only two years, but in that time made a distinct impression upon the whole community as a man of broad sympathies and a practical Christian worker. He gave great care to the Sunday School and the welfare of his parishioners living at a distance from the house of worship. He went to Topsfield every Sunday and celebrated mass in Grange Hall, and "had plans for a church there which would have been a delight to him and a comfort to the parishioners." As a result of the great Salem fire in 1914, a number of French families made their home in Danvers. These were added to the parish during Father Maley's stay. In November, 1915, Father Maley was transferred to Boston, and Rev. Daniel F. Horgan succeeded him. Father Horgan is now pastor. A number of assistants have served the parish. Father Power was aided by Rev. Michael F. Crowley and Rev. Joseph O'Connor. Father O'Connor sustained the same office to Father Sullivan for a time, and gave way to Rev. Michael J. Sullivan, a brother of the pastor. Father Maley first had as assistant, Rev. Elphege J. Cloutier. Father Cloutier died of influenza in 1918 and was succeeded by Rev. George H. Chaput, who is still assisting Father Horgan in the work of the parish.

Calvary Episcopal Church - The Episcopal Church in Danvers dates back to the decade 1840-1850. It grew out of the rehgious needs of a number of English families who came to Danvers about that time and found work in the carpet factory at Tapleyville. They had been accustomed in tlieir old home to the services of the Church of England, and felt the need here of similar religious privilege. Joined by a number from the Provinces and others "who were devoted to the doctrines and rites of the church," they formed a church organization April 14, 1858. A building was erected at the corner of Holten and Cherry streets, the cornerstone being laid May 11, 1859.

Our period opens during the rectorship of Rev. George Walker. He became pastor in 1877, joining with his work here the rectorship of St, Paul's, Peabody, where he resided. A parish house was built in 1886, during his ministry. Mr. Walker resigned in 1888 and was succeeded by Rev. A. W. Griffin in April of that year. Mr. Griffin served the church until May, 1890, when his condition of health forced him to relinquish his duties. Mr. Griffin's successor was Rev. J. W. Hyde, who began his work in June, 1890. It was during Mr. Hyde's term of service that a large and finely appointed rectory was built. This was done "in anticipation, and with her consent, of a bequest by Mrs. Daniel J. Preston, who was one of the most active of the founders and sustainers of the parish. She died in October, 1894, and the rectory stands as a memorial of her."

Rev. William R. Hudgell succeeded Mr. Hyde in 1899, and resigned in 1904. Under Mr. Hudgell a boy choir was organized, and the church remodeled. A chancel window, a memorial to Mr. and Mrs. Daniel J. Preston, was placed at this time. Rev. Marcus Carroll was rector from December 18, 1904, to 1908. He was followed by Rev. Henry Winkley in March, 1908. Mr. Winkley continued as pastor till his death in February, 1918. Mr. Winkley was a man of genial temperament and fine scholarship, untiring in his parish labors, and interested in th^ noT,- cems of the town as a whole. He has left a fraS memory The ber'Tg'ls'" Xdlv^'r; ''- f Matthews who began his Iabo"sTn olto!

^l^ft^^^^S^^^J^"^^ -- 'y -" '-- P>a^" nf rZ!!if U"^^.^"f", Church - Unitarianism had its rise in the movement of revolt against the severities of Calvinism which culminatTd in the early nineteenth century. It grounded its protest against the teaching nlf.f-^"''*^'' '^""'tM^^^ '° ^"^h "P«" differences of Scripturalfnter? pretation as upon philosophical distinctions. Its view of the fundimental nature of God and man made at the time a sha?p d^erentia tion between Unitarian thought and that of the older CongreStional churches. The liberal departure led to the f ormaLn of many S^^^^ churches in New England in the first quarter of the centuTynamed Th. J ! S^?7^^'« c^^ch was, however, a little later in its beginnins The first Unitarian service held in the town was in August 1865 The place was the Tovyn Hall and the preacher. Rev. A. P Putnam Plans for reguar worship were formed and carried into effect the pubi^ belly''''^aII^? r^^%'"^ r^^^^^^i *"^ the organization of the Church fn 1867. At that time Rev. Leonard J. Livermore began the effective min istry which closed with his death in 1886. The ministers of our Deriod have been: Rev. J. C. Mitchell, 1889; Rev. Eugene DrNormandTe 1890 97; Rev. Kenneth C. Evans, 1897-1902; Rev. jfhn H. Ho ^6^^902^^^^^^ Rpv Ir^'L^T?"^" Elbei;field, Supply; Rev. William ri. Barte', 1906-08- Rpv'^M^ ^'T''"' ^?P?.-^l' ^^"^- E^^^^^ H. Cotton, 1911-21 ' wafllv^'Sr Cotto'n' TnT'T '' ""'''' J^^ ^^'''' longetinl!^^ nh.tl f ^^^^^^' In his ten years he labored effectively for both church and community at large. It was largely through his effort and influence that the Community Church, a fedemtioTof th^UnTtarian and Umversahst churches, was brought about in 1919 Mi CotSn served as pastor of the joint organization for two years when he re signed to become associate editor of the Christian RegS

Ihe church has been favored in having the uninterrupted service Nichds'^'L'igl^^fh''" its beginning to the present TyX AnS^ew with fL f 11 ^^ *^^ ^^'^l^*^ presented to Mr. Nichols a loving cup with the following inscription: "Presented to Andrew Nichols bv thp ^h'Sw^.K Congregational Church for his efficient se^ces in he clerk ship of the parish from 1866 to 1917 " iha Si,^^*?°Jl^* Episcopal Church - Previous to the organization of tt^r^l^'^'f ?hVrch in Tapleyville there had been fof some time neighborhood religious services in Lincoln Hall. These were of such a manent supply, taking up his duties December 24, 1871. A Sunday school had been organized the month before, with seventeen members. Mr. Hodge was made formal pastor and covered in his service the years 1872 - 1875. The meeting-house was dedicated March 27, 1873.

A natural starting point for the later history is the coming of Rev. William M. Ayres as pastor in 1883. Mr. Ayres served the three years customary in the M. E. Church at that time, and in later years has made his home in Danvers. During this period of residence he has been a faithful servant of the Tapleyville Church in the character of a layman, assuming the functions of a minister only when his help is specially needed. Mr. Ayers is universally honored in the town. His bow abides in strength, afid today at the age of eighty-eight years it can almost be said of him that "his eye is not dim nor his natural force abated." Some years ago the church made him pastor-emeritus

A good organ was installed in 1891, largely through the efforts of the late A. W. Home, who was chorister for a number of years. During the pastorate of Rev. W. F. Lawford, in 1896, there was a fitting observance of the twenty-fifth anniversary. A parsonage was built in 1898, on a lot given by Mr. Gilbert Augustus Tapley. Rev. Mr. King was the first occupant. The present pastor. Rev. Jonathan Cartmill is a valiant worker and under him the church has made great strides. The membership is two hundred and seventeen. All departments are flourishing.

The Seventh Day Adventist Church - There is nothing to add to the facts already set forth as regards the Adventist Church. The church was organized in 1877, and a chapel was built in 1878. The people are doing a faithful work with small numbers and equipment. The membership is around forty. There is no pastor. A Sabbath school is maintained and the people are content to go on their quiet way.

The Community Church - The institution knov/n as the Community Church is, as indicated in the story of the constituent bodies, a federation of the Universalist and Unitarian Churches in Danvers. It is the direct outgrowth of the demand arising out of the World War for cooperation in church work, and registers an advance toward the unity all pray for. Rev. Edward H. Cotton, the Unitarian pastor, was influential in bringing about the federation, though he found many in both bodies willing to respond to his leadership and help in promoting the object. The union is one for work and worship only, and each church preserves its "corporate rights and individuality." The federation was formed in 1919, Rev. Mr. Cotton being the first pastor. On his, resignation in 1921, Rev. John H. Hayes became the minister.

The experiment is regarded with great interest, and up to the present time has worked with success. There is an encouraging prospect that this, one of the pioneer endeavors in joining churches of different sectarian interests and associations, will prove permanently effective.

Comment on the Community Church affords opportunity for a word as regards the "esprit de corps" of the churches of Danvers. Their spirit is one of harmony and co-operation. Ill feeling seems not to exist. They recognize their common office as servants of the Kingdom and stewards of the mysteries of God. They join forces in community work, as witnessed by the fact of the Danvers Federation of Churches, while each accords to all others the freedom of Christ to do their spiritual work in their own way. If it can truly be said that "the past at least is secure," there is ground, in this catholicity of spirit, for the belief that that security extends to the future as well.

Danversport is a village and railway station within the town of Danvers. Besides the previous mention made of its situation, etc., it should be recorded that the pioneer shipbuilder here was Timothy Stephens, of Newbury. Presently a number of young men came down from tlie North, worked with Stephens, learned his trade, and permanently established themselves in business at this point.

For nearly half a century after the building of the first mill on the Crane river, a tide-power on the other two rivers remained unutilized. "About 1798 Nathan Read (says a work on the early history of Danvers) enters into the history of Danvers. He was a graduate of Harvard, 1781, a tutor there of Harrison Gray Otis and John Quincy Adams, and afterwards studied medicine and kept an apothecary store in Salem. There he married, in 1790, Elizabeth Jaffrey, and built the house in which the historian Prescott was bom, on the present site of Plummer Hall. Among the achievements of his inventive mind was the first machine for cutting nails. He purchased the water-power on the Waters river, and with associates erected the Salem and Danvers Iron Works. At the same time he bought part of Governor Endicott's old Orchard farm, and on a sightly eminence overlooking the river built a mansion, which, after the successive ov/nership of Captain Crowningshield, Captain Benjamin Porter and the heirs of the latter, still retains much of its original stateliness. When the company was incorporated, March 4, 1800, Nathan Read is described of Danvers. There were also seventeen others of Salem. The corporation was authorized to hold $30,000 of real and $300,000 of personal property, and reference is made in the act to the date of the original partnership. May 5, 1796."

In the mill-pond in front of his residence. Read experimented by applying steam to paddles of a small boat, before Robert Fulton made his larger and now well-known experiments in steamboating on the Hudson river. Mr. Read was the first man to apply to the government for a patent, and himself framed the first patent law. He represented the district in Congress in 1800-03, as a FederaUst.

Old newspapers show in their files (still well-preserved) certain arrivals of vessels at the "Port of Danvers" as late as during the summer of 1848. From April 1 to November 30, 1848, there were 172 arrivals, including 58 cargoes of lumber, 31 wood and bark ; 43 flour and grain, 17 lime, 3 molasses, 2 of salt, 4 of coal, 12 in ballast. There were 17 vessels loaded for other ports, two cargoes being sent to the coast of Africa. It is said that the first cargo of coal ever landed here was owned by Parker Brown, but nearly as early was the shipment of J. W. Ropes in August, 1849.

As the years went by, ship-building and shipping interests became less and less, until today the place is of no considerable consequence. The business of present Danversport is that of any ordinary small village along the New England coast, the railway and a few small factories constituting the bulk of commerce. Like numerous other Essex county villages and towns, the history-making periods of the place are quite far remote. With the expansion of many large cities nearby, with tjje change in ocean shipping, etc., the general changes wrought by transportation, all tend to lessen the interest and development of the smaller places.