Worcester County, Massachusetts - Chapter 120: Boylston - (co;/.//;/;/?,/.) Ecclesiasticai, History, 1889

The churcli was gathered on the 6th d.iy of October, 1743, Rev. Mr. Gushing and the church in Shrewsbury assisting, in obedience to a re.quest from Deacon John Keyes and twelve others. The precinct made choice of Mr. Ebenezer Morse to settle over them in the Gospel ministry. They agreed to give him £400 (old tenor) settlement and £160 (old tenor) annual salary, for the first two years, and £6 (old tenor) additional every year until his salary should reach £180 (old tenor), provided that Mr. Morse should, when so desired, give to the precinct a quitclaim of the ministerial lands that were in the North precinct.

These terms were not satisfactory to Mr. Morse, and at another meeting it was voted to increase his salary £10 per year for the first two years till it became £200 (old tenor) a year, and so to be higher or lower, as the price of provisions should rise or fall ; allowing, at that time, wheat to be twenty shillings per bushel, rye fifteen shillings, Indian corn ten shillings, oats six shillings in the North Precinct of Shrewsbury, and poik eighteen pence per pound and beef eleven pence per pound in Boston.

These terms wete accepted by Mr. Morse, and he was ordained on the 2tith day of October, 174.S. It is said that at the time of the ordination the meetinghouse was in an unfinished condition and had neither pulpit nor pew, nor floor laid, and neither windows nor doors.

the Revolutionary period, when he and a few of his friends became royalists, and they were called to an account by the town of Shrewsbury, disarmed and forbidden to leave the limits of the precinct. This so excited the indignation of his parish, the majority of whom were patriots, that a meeting was called, early in the year 1771, to take into consideration the difiiculties existing between them. At this meeting they voted, by a division of thirty-seven yeas to twelve nays, that the pastoral relations should be dissolved, and a committee, consisting of Daniel Whitney, Nathaniel Davenport, Jonas Temple, Frederick Albert and Silas Howe, were chosen to inform Rev. Mr. Morse that he was dismissed, and take measures to see that he did not enter the pulpit again as their minister.

The matters between pastor and people remained in an unsettled condition for some time longer, until finally the church voted to call an ecclesiastical council, which assembled and advised the precinct to reconsider their former vote dismissing Rev. Mr. Morse, which was done, and then, after a protracted sitting, dissolved the pastoral relations. Rev. Mr. Morse remained in the town, occasionally preaching to a few of his friends, until his death, January 3, 1802, at the age of eighty-three years and nine months. He was a native of Medfield, and was a son of Hon. Joshua Morse. He graduated at Harvard College, 1737. Soon after his settlement here he married Persis, daughter of John Bush, with whom he lived thirty-three years. He was a man of unusual ability, and, previous to his settlement, had studied law, with a view of entering that profession. He afterwards studied medicine and practiced that profession in connection with his ministerial work and after his dismis-ion. He also fitted many students for college ; among the number was the late Rev. Dr. Thaddeus Harris, of Dorchester, Mars.

After the dismission of Rev. Dr. Morse the church remained without a pastor a little more than a year, when a call was extended to Mr. Jesse Reed to settle with them. This call he declined, and, although urged to become their pastor, remained firm in his decision. In the following October the church invited Mr. Eleazer Fairbanks to become their minister, and he was ordained March 27, 1777.

The council met on the 26ih of March, and that day was spent in hearing Rev. Dr. Morse's objections to his settlement, which were overruled, and he was ordained on the following day. His salary and settlement were the same as had been offered to Mr. Reed, viz.: £66 ISs. -id. salary, and £133 Qs. 8d. settlement. His salary was afterwards increased to £70, and his settlement £180. Just previous to his settlement the church voted to dispense with the Half-way Covenant, so-called, and during his ministry important changes were made in the manner of conducting church music. During this time also the North Precinct of Shrewsbury was incorporated into the town of Boylston; and the erection of a new meetinghouse was undertaken, the location of which was the subject of a great controversy; several committees were chosen, both from this town and the neighboring towns. The town was surveyed to find the centre orin some way to fix upon a spot that would be satistory, but without success. Finally, upon the recommendation of a committee consisting of Nathaniel Longley, Esq., of Bolton, General John Whiting, of Lancaster, and Abraham Monroe, of Northbo rough, the location where the Centre School now stands was selected, and the meeting-house was completed in 1793, and the present Common purchased of the heirs' of Eleazer Taylor and Colonel Jotham Bush. In December, 1792, Rev. Mr. Fairbanks asked his dismission, which the church refused to grant, but afterwards consented, and he was dismissed April 23, 1793, after a pastorate of over sixteen years. He was born in Preston, Conn. ; graduated at Brown University in 1775 ; he married Sarah, daughter of Deacon Araariah Bigelow, and after his dismission removed to Wilmington, Vt., and then to Palmyra, N. Y., where he died in 1821.

November 1, 1793, the church voted to invite Mr. Hezekiah Hooper, of Bridgewater, to settle over them according to the Cambridge Platform. This call was concurred in by the town and accepted by Mr. Hooper. In the month of February previous to his ordination the church observed a day of fasting and prayer, and, in accordance with the usual practice of the times, invited several of the neighboring clergymen to unite with them and assist on the occasion. Eev. Drs. Reuben Puffer, of Berlin, Joseph Sumner, of Shrewsbury, Nathaniel Thayer, of Lancaster, Reuben Holcomb, of Sterling, and Rev. Peter Whitney, of Northborough, were present. They convened February 6, 1794, and were met by Rev. Mr. Morse, and an attempt was made to adjust the difficulties between him and the church. It was a delicate and difficult affair, and whatever may have been the result of the coundl, it is certain that the matter was not fully settled until some time after the ordination of Rev. Mr. Hooper. At the same time important changes -were made in the church covenant, and the practice of receiving members on the Half-way Covenant, socalled, was renewed, which practice continued for more than twenty years afterwards.

The onlination of Mr. Hooper took place on the 9th of March, 1794 ; the churches in Shrewsbury, Northborough, Bridgewater, Holden, Sterling, Berlin, Marlborough and Lancaster assisted in the ordination. The council convened at the house of Deacon Daniel Andrews, and organized with Rev. Dr. Joseph Sumner, of Shrewsbury, as moderator, and Rev. Dr. Reuben Holcomb, of Sterling, as scribe. The inhabitants of the westerly portion of the town presented a paper to the council, signifying their intentions to Ibrm a new religious society by themselves, and manifesting their perfect neutrality in the proceedings of the council and in the choice of a minister. A remonstrance was also presented by Rev. Mr. Morse and his adherents " against any person being ordained over him or the church, until he had been regularly heard in an ecclesiastical council, as he presumed he had never had a regular dismission." The first of these two papers was the result of the controversy between the two sections of the town in relation to the location of the meeting-house then recently erected, and is the first intimation on the church records of the intention of the inhabitants of the westerly portion of the town to form a separate church and precinct. The council, having voted that they considered neither of these papers as any bar to the ordination, proceeded to the public exercises of the ordination. When Rev. Mr. Hooper began his labors the church consisted of one hundred and eighteen members. His salary was £115 per year. He was a young man of much talent, and gave great promise of success in the work of the ministry.

The discordant elements in the church were united. Rev. Mr. Morse and his adherents returned and became members of his congregation, and he received the harmonious support of the church and town. His ministry, was, however, brief, failing health forced him to relinquish the duties of the pastorate and he returned to his friends in Bridgewater, where he died of consumption, December 2, 1795, having been the minister of this people one year, nine months and twenty-five days. During his pastorate he received into the church fifteen members on confession of faith and five by letter from other churches. , Agreeably to the desires of the deacons of the church and the selectmen of the town, the 24th day of December, 1795, was set apart and observed as a day of fasting and prayer, that the death of Rev. Mr. Hooper " might be sanctified to the church and town, and the church and town might be directed to the choice of an able minister to settle with them in the work of the ministry."

After the death of Rev. Mr. Hooper several candidates were heard and several meetings were held to take action in regard to the settlement of his successor. On the 19th of September, 1796, the church made choice of Mr. Ward Cotton, of Plymouth, to settle with them, which choice was concurred in by the parish by a large majority, and the same salary granted him as was paid Rev. Mr. Hooper, viz., one hundred and fifteen pounds per year. This call was accepted by Mr. Cotton and he was ordained June 7,

The following October the church assisted m the ordination of the Rev. William Nash as the first minister of the Second Precinct. The town was now divided into two precincts, each having its own church and minister; this necessarily lessened the First Precinct in numbers and strength, but had the effect of restoring harmony to the two sections of the town, a result which could hardly have been hoped for had both parishes remained together, and Mr. Cotton found himself the pastor of a church united both among themselves and in him as their minister. Mr. Cotton continued as the minister of the towa twenty-eight years, until June 22, 1825, when he was dismissed by a mutual ecclesiastical council. His pastorate during nearly its entire period was characterized by a high degree of harmony.

In the early part of his ministry he inaugurated some important changes in the church policy and discipline, and in 1S17 the custom of receiving members on the Half-way Covenant was discontiuued. In 1818 the present Sabbath-school was organized. The only breach of harmony, which seemed to have occurred during his early ministry began about 1810, when several of the members of the church withdrew and united with the Baptist denomination. A church and society called the Shrewsbury and Boylston Baptist Society, was organized in 1812, holding services alternately in the two towns, and the following year, 1813, a church building was erected in Shrewsbury twenty-five by thirty-two feet, at a cost of four hundred and fifty dollars, and Rev. Elias McGregory was ordained, in 1818, as its regular pastor. This church soon became divided, and the services were afterwards occasionally continued in Boylston, Rev. Henry Archibald and others officiating.

During the ministry of Rev. Mr. Cotton ninetyeight members were added to the church in full communion ; there were also four hundred and one baptisms, three hundred and si.xty-five deaths and one hundred and sixty-seven marriages in the town, exclusive of those who were married by justices of the peace. After his dismission Rev. Mr. Cotton preached for some time to a congregation of his friends and adherents at the Town Hall, and continued to reside in the town until his decease, November 15, 1843, at the age of seventy-four years.

Rev. Mr. Sanford says of him : "As a man, Mr. Cotton was amiable, with strong sympathies for those who were in affliction, obliging in his disposition, took pleasure in conferring favors and never sought to give unnecessary paiu and trouble to those around him." He took a deep interest in the affidrs of the town and especially in the education of the young. He was for many years a member of the School Committee, and for eight years represented the town in the General Court. He was a son of Rev. John Cotton, of Plymouth, and was born there March 24, 1770. He graduated from Harvard College in 1793. He descended from a line of ministers, illustrious in the religious annals of New England. His father graduated from Harvard College and was settled as the first minister in Halil'ax, Mass., in 1735, where he remained until 1756, when he resigned on account of ill health and returned to his native town of Plymouth, where he was chosen register of deeds for Plymouth County, in which office he died. His grandfather was Rev. John Cotton, Jr., born March 15, 1640, gradu- ated at Harvard College 1657, and preached first at Wethersfield, Conn., and from 1664 to 1667 to a congregation of Indians and white people at Martha's Vineyard. He was settled as the minister at Plymouth June 30, 1669, and remained there until October 5, 1697, when he went to Charleston, S. C, and gathered a church there, of which he was the pastor until his death, September 18, 1699. His church erected a handsome monument over his grave. He was distinguished for his knowledge of the Indian language and the whole care of correcting and revising the second edition of Elliott's Indian Bible, published at Cambridge in 1685, was entrusted to him. His greatgrandfather was the distinguished Rev. John Cottou, minister of the First Church in Boston.

After the dismission of Rev. Mr. Cotton the church remained without a pastor for nearly a year, when, after having heard several different candidates, the church, by a unanimous choice, determined upon Mr. Samuel Russell. This choice was concurred in by the parish by a large majority and a call was extended to Mr. Russell to settle with them in the Gospel ministry at a salary of five hundred dollars per year. This call was accepted, and on the 21st of June, a.d. 1826, Mr. Russell was ordained by a council selected by mutual agreement. The examination of Mr. Russell was vigorous, the council frequently assuming the appearance of a heated theological discussion and " in it, says Rev. Mr. Sanford in his anniversary sermon, preached on the completion of the twentieth year of his settlement, in 1853, "were represented all the isms that distracted the Congregational churches of Massachusetts at that time," which was a peculiar crisis in the religious history of New England, and especially in Massachusetts, the condition of this church and people being similarly disturbed with the other Congregational Churches of all this region, and, in liict, through the whole of the New England States', by the conflicting doctrines which had for some years divided their harmony. Some of the church and parish looked for a new pastor from the liberal school, while others were more in sympathy with Calvinist doctrines. These conflicting doctrines and the lack of harmony resulting therefrom had been the cause of the severest trials during the last years of Mr. Cotton's ministry. His dismission bad by no means removed them and it was hardly within the bounds of possibility or reason that the next pastor should unite them. To this arduous and difficult task Mr. Russell had been called. He was at the time of his ordination twenty -seven years of age, having been born at Bow, N. H., September 24, 1799. He was the eldest child of his father's fitmily and had early been intended for the ministry, and at the age of fifteen years had united with the church in Dunbarton, N. H., of which the Rev. Dr. Harris was then pastor. He was graduated at Dartmouth College in the class of 1821 and from the Andover Theological School in 1824. Soon after coming to Boylston he was united in marriage to Miss Mary J. Howe, daughter of Rev. Nathaniel Howe, of Hoplcinton, Mass. His religious faith aud teachings when he entered upon his ministry agreed essentially with the Shorter Catechism of the Westminster Assembly. During his pastorate here the church covenant was changed and the present articles of faith adopted, to which all who should unite with the church in the future should be required to give assent, and to a large extent the entire policy of the church was changed.

While this same controversy was going on in the Congregational Churches of Eastern Massachusetts, the Evangelical Churches of New England experienced one of the most powerful revivals of religion which had been felt since the lime of Rev. George Whitefield. This revival was felt in the Boylston Church, and many were added to its membership.

During Rev. Mr. Russell's ministry in Boylston one hundred and four persons were added to the church - ninety-nine on profession of laith and five by letter from other churches. There were also one hundred and nineteen baptisms, twenty-five marriages and sixty-three deaths in the town. February 13, 1832, Rev. Mr. Russell, by letter, requested his dismission, which was granted by the church and parish, and on the 17th of the following April the pastoral relations were dissolved. His ministry in Boylston covered a period of five years, nine months and twenty-six days. Soon after leaving Boylston he received a call to the church in Norwich, in this State, where he was installed September 5, 1832, and where he remained sustaining the most harmonious relations with his people until his death, which occurred from consumption, Jan. 27, 1885, at the age of thirty-five years. Rev. Dr. John Todd, of the Edwards Church at Northampton, in his sermon preached at the funeral of Mr. Russell, says of him : " In his manners and appearance he was simple, unaflected and kind. His judgment was clear, sound and discriminating. As a husband, a friend, a pastor and a brother he was respected and beloved. As a preacher he was plain in manner and plain in matter, but he was uniformly judicious and practical."

On the 9th of August, 1832, the church and parish, by a unanimous vote, invited Mr. William H. Sanford, of Belchertown, to become its pastor at an annual salary of five hundred dollars. This ofier Mr. Sanford accepted, although at great personal sacrifice, and on the 17th of October, 1SS2, was ordained as their pastor. At the time of his ordination the church consisted of one hundred and forty-eight members. Soon after assuming the pastorate the present church edifice was erected, and was dedicated December 10, 1835. So harmonious was the condition of the church and society at this time that only eight parish meetings were held for the purpose of transacting the business connected with the erection of the house. When the first house of worship was erected, in 1742, not less than fourteen precinct meetings were needed for completing the house, and the erection of the second house, in 1791, was the cause of about twenty town-meetings and a subsequent division of the church, parish and town. During twenty years of Rev. Mr. Sanford's pastorate, from 1832 to 1852, one hundred and thirty-five members were added to the church. There were also one hundred and forty-five baptisms, ninety-one marriages and two hundred and fifty deaths in the town. He had also preached one thousand aud twenty-eight Sabbaths. He was dismissed on account of ill-health, September 15, 1857, after having been the pastor of the church a little less than twenty-five years.

Eev. Mr. Sanford was independent and fearless in his manner and preaching, never hesitating to proclaim what he considered to be the truth, and in all his ministrations was greatly beloved by his people. He ever took a deep interest in the afi'airs of the town, and especially in all matters relating to education. During nearly the entire period of his ministry he served as chairman of the School Committee of the town. In 1857' he represented the town in the General Court. He was a graduate of Harvard College in the class of 1827. Previous to coming to Boylston he married Harriet S., daughter of the late Rev. Ethan Smith, A.M., for some time city missionary of Boston, and the author of several theological works. After the termination of his pastorate in Boylston Rev. Mr. Sanford removed to Worcester, where he engaged in the book aud publishing business, which is now carried on by his sons. He died in Worcester, November 27, 1879, aged seventy-nine years, nine months and thirteen days.

After the close of Rev. Mr. Sanford's labors a period of supply intervened, and several clergymen were acting pastors, among them the late Rev. William Murdock, of West Boylston, and Rev. Daniel Wight, afterwards for many years librarian of the Morse Institute at Natick, Mass., until October 17, 1861, when Rev. Abel Hastings Ross, a graduate of Oberlin College, Ohio, was ordained. During his pastorate the country passed through the great Civil War, and Rev. Mr. Ross was away from his parish for some time in the service of the Christian Commission. He was a minister of growing ability, and a talented and eloquent preacher. He resigned to accept a call from the Congregational Church at Springfield, Ohio, and was dismissed from the Boylston Church aud Society January 16, 1866. He has been quite prominent in the Congregational denomination, and has received the degree of Doctor of Divinity. He has been for several years Southworth lecturer on Congregationalism in Andover Theological Seminary and special lecturer on Church Polity in Oberlin College. He is now located at Port Huron, Mich. Soon after the close of Rev. Dr. Ross' pastorate Rev. Andrew Bigelow, D.D., became the acting pastor of the church, and remained here until April, 1873. During his service the interior of the church was re- paired and improved by the addition of a fine organ. Rev. Dr. Bigelovsr was a native of the town, and the son of Andrew' and Lydia Bigelow. He fitted for college at the Amherst Academy, under the care of Rev. Dr. Cotton, and graduated at Amherst College in 1838 in a class of forly-two members, nineteen of whom became clergymen. Before en'teriug the ministry he was for two and a half years principal of Rochester Academy, Mass. He read theology with his brother, Rev. Jonathan Bigelow, and Rev. Dr- Thomas Robbins ; was licensed by the Old Colony Association, and ordained over the church at South Dartmouth in 1841. He afterwards was settled at West Needham, West Hampton and Medfield, where he remained eleven years. His pulpit and parish labors were characterized by soundness of theology, spirituality of discourse, and boldness in proclaiming what he thought to be the truth. He took a deep interest in all educational matters, and served during nearly all of his residence here as chairman of the School Committee, and labored earnestly to bring the schools to a high standard. He was twice married - first to Emily Louisa, daughter of Hon. William Marblehead, who died at Medfield July 4, 1857, and second to Nancy J., daughter of Hon. Marshall P. Wilder, of Boston. After finishing his labors here he removed to Southborough, Mass., where he died September 23, 1882, at the age of seventy -two years, nine months. In his will he made provisions for the benefit of the Boylston Church. From April, 1873, to October 1, 1877, the pulpit was supplied by Rev. W. H. S. Packard and Rev. Francis F. Williams and in 1873 the present parsonage was erected. October 1, 1877, Rev. Henry S. Kimball became the acting pastor, and remained until April, 1882. During this period the church debt was paid, largely by J. Avery White, Esq., of Fraraingham, Mas«., and Thomas W. White, E-q., of Brooklyn, N. Y., sons of the late Aaron White, of this town, John B. Gough, Esq., and family, and Rev. Dr. D. O. Mears and others of Piedmont Church, Worcester. During this time, also, a deep religious interest took place.

April 29, 1884, Rev. Israel Ainsworth was installed as pastor, and remained until Sept. 21, 1887, when he was dismissed at his own request. He is now the pastor of the Congregational Church in South Peabody, Mass. Rev. Mr. Ainsworth is a native of England and came to this country about 1870, at the age of eighteen years, and had been for two years previous to that time a preacher in England in fellowship with the Methodist denomination. In 1875 he entered the regular ministry among the Methodists in the New Hampshire Conference, and for the last two years previous to coming to Boylston was pastor of the church in New Boston, N. H. On his change of denominational connection he became a member of the

Congregational Church at Amherst, N. H. He is a man of fine talent, and of independent thought and action, and a pleasing and eloquent speaker. During his pastorate the church building was repaired and thoroughly painted and beautified, and a neat and commodious barn erected for the parsonage by the young people of the parish. Many additions were made to the church membership and a large and flourishing society of the Young People's Christian Endeavor was organized. Rev. Austin Dodge, a graduate of Amherst College, 1861, and of the Andover Theological Seminary, ISGG, came in December, 1887, and is the present acting pastor.

The following persons have served as deacons of the church : John Keyes, Esq., and Cyprian Keyes, chosen 1743, and were formerly deacons of church in Shrewsbury; Jonathan Keyes, chosen 1743; Amariah Bigelow to 1779 ; Levi Moore, 1770-1815 ; Jonathan Bond, 1779 -1793; Jonas Goodenow, 1794-1811; Cyrus Houghton, 1794-1797; Daniel Andrews, chosen 1794; Jonathan Bond, Jr., 1797-1821 ; Joshua Stiles, 1809-a828; Rob't Andrews, Jr., 1821-1829 ; Abijah Flagg, 1829-1837 ; Dr. John Andrew.s, 1829-1837; Wm. HrMoore, 1837- 1846; Jotham Bush, Jr., 1837-1844; Simeon Partridge, 1844-18fi5 ; Henry H. Brigham, 1846-1888 ; Harvey A. Stowell, 1867-1877; Preston P. Lane, 1877-1881. Lyman S. Walker, chosen 1876, and A. V. R. Prouty, chosen 1888, are the present officiating deacons. Of all the persons holding the office, Deas. Levi Moore and Henry H. Brigham held it for the longest period, about fifty years each. At the time of his death, June 1 9, 1888, Dea. Brigham had been town clerk for thirty-eight years and parish clerk for fifty years, and had represented the town twice iu the General Court. He was a man of great usefulness, and in all his long service to both town and church labored with untiring zeal for their best interests.