Worcester County, Massachusetts - Chapter 26, 1889

Relkuon. - One of the conditions upon which the new town was chartered, which is exjiressed in the act of incorporation, was that within two years from the publication of the act the said inhabitants should "erect and finish a suitable House for the public worship of <Tod, and procure and settle a learned Urtho dox Minister of good conversation," etc.

vote, copied verbatim from the records: - "Voted, That they would Sett ye meeting House on ye South side of Drabble Tail Brook. But seeing it would be inconvenient to Set the meeting House where the First Vote Specified, they recalled s'' vote and passed a vote that They would Sett ye meeting House within the Fence of Eben' Read's Pasture, on a place which they had Viewed for, and Judg'd convenient for that purpose."

October 1, same year, " voted that they would maintain the public preaching by way of Rate, till ournext annual meeting." Also voted at same meeting, "that they would accept of Mr. Terry's proffer of preaching to us for Iwenty a sabbath, till ye next anniud meeting; and also that all the money that should be put iu unmarked, should be lo<iked upon ;is given gratis."

It is a matter of some interest, that the pay of a minister to occupy the pulpit in 1888 is about four times greater than in 1727, or twenty dollars per Sunday, instead of twenty shillings; and it also seems that the good ]>eople of that early day might ofl'-set against the parish tax any money put into the contribution-box, which they were careful enough to mart, probably meaning marked with contributor's name, and claimed as paid in anticipation of tax.

It was also voted at said meeting, "that they would build said meeting h(uise forty feet in length and thirty-five feet in brcadgth, and twenty-nine feet between joynts."

How acceptably Mr. Terry preached to our hardheaded forefathers is matter of some doubt, for at the annual meeting in March, 1728, his name is not mentioned in the records, and the town voted "that a committee be chosen to provide somesniteable person for to preach unto us." That they sadly needed some suitfablc person to preach unto them is manliest from the succeeding votes relative to church and meetinghouse, viz. : " Voted at said meeting that they would notyVre the Quaiem," which means that all those unhappy followers of George Fox who had settled in this town should be taxed the same as the orthodox believers, to sustain orthodox preaching, even though (as now) they had conscientious scruples against it; a system of religious intolerance which the progress of a century and a half has, in a great measure, corrected.

It was also " voted, that there be fifteen gallons of Gond Rum provided for ye raising of ye meetinghouse." A suitable minister in that early time might, and undoubtedly did, approve of this strong auxiliary force, then considered necessary for the proper and successful raising of even an orthodox meeting-house, whose huge timbers, rough hewn and unseasoned, should stand against storm and flootl and Indian foes, monuments of the people's devotion to the living God.

So lately as twenty-five years ago, in this same town, the writer has seen the prodigious effect which a few tjuarts of "good rum" has had in raising some of the dwelling-houses and barns which grace the hillsides, and it is a question fit for the decision of the prohibitionist of 1888 whetlier churches and dwellings raised by the strong aid of strong drink are more prone to decay and destruction, and more the object of divine wrath than those raised upon cold water? At all events the religion of 1728, and many years since, recognized without serious criticism the use of intoxicating liquors upon all important occasions ; while the religion of the present day, thanks to a more enlightened public opinion, has not only ceased to appi'ove, but severely condemns its use. The next record concerning preaching is of the meeting held November ye 8th, 1728, when the town voted "that they would continue preaching this winter amongst them ; " but January 13th, following, they voted " not to do anything at present about settlement of a minister;" though on the 28th of the same month they voted "that there be five men chosen to be a committee to see about providing one to preach among us, and that said committee shall provide a suUeable person to preach to us by the first Sabbath in April next, and that said committee shall stand while (until) there is a minister settled among us." For more than a year following no mention is made in the records, concerning the success of the committee or the building or completion of the "meeting-house." So it may be presumed that the spiritual needs of the people were satisfactorily provided for.

May 4, 1729, about two years after the town at its first meeting voted to build a meeting-house, the record says, " the freeholders and other inhabitants met att ye meeting-house ;" &o that now, for the first time, we are certain that the town complied with the conditions of its act of incorporation, and did, " within two years from the publication of the act, erect and finish (?) a suitable house for the public worship of God; "but the other condition of said act "procure and settle a learned Orthodox Minister of good conversation," etc., was not fulfilled for some time after, though they evidently tried to make literal compliance.

July 1.3, 1729. the town voted " that they are willing to settle Mr. Othniel Campbell to be their minister, and that if be will .settle amongst us as our minister, that they will give him 70 pounds a year for his sallary, and \00 pounds settlemt'id for encouragement."

It must be remembered that it is pounds sterling herein referred to, and that to a new people in a new country, dependent on the earth for their living and burdened with the expense of building for themselves houses, and developing their farms from the wild woods and rocky hillsides around them, the payment of a sum equal to nearly five hundred dollars, as " encouragement" to a minister of the Gospel to settle among them, and an annual stipend or salary of about three hundred and fifty dollars, was an undertaking which shows more than anything else in the early history of this town what sterling, loyal, public-spirited and religious men these first citizens of Uxbridge proved themselves to be - a lesson which the wealthy and independent citizen of to-day may study with pleasure and profit.

Mr. Campbell seemed to have trouble in getting dismissed from his previous pastoral relations to some other town, for Uxbridge voted February, 1730, " to pay not exceeding 100 pounds per year if he could get to preach for us by the first Monday of March next."

May 4, 1730, it appears of record that Mr. Campbell couldn't come, for the town " voted for Mr. Webb and Mr. Wales, and Mr. John Wales had y' major vote," and on May 7th it was " voted that if Mr. Wales will accept of their call and settle among them as their minister, that they will confer on him y'' sum of one hundred ])oundsin good passable money for his settlement, and ninety pounds a year in good passable money for his satlery." In May of the same year Mr. Campbell comes to the front with a demand for payment of his services for supplying the pulpit ; for on the 29th of May the town " voted to give Mr. Campbell y' sum of five pds. for y' 7 Sabbaths he has been absent from y' town since we had y'' Minister's advice for y" hearing of others, and for y' damage he has .sustained since he preached to us or had a call from us ;'' and also " voted that they do dismiss Mr. Campbell from any tie that the town has upon him for preaching among us;" "and likewise voted that they will have preaching continued among us."

Mr. Campbell is not so easily disposed of. Like some ministers of the present day, he knew how to stick, and about how much he wanted for ihe privilege of going ; for in June, same year, after demanding further satisfaction for damages sustained, the town voted " not to do anything further in respect to Mr. Campbell's request for satisfaction for getting off from his obligations when he was called to Uxbridge." At the same meeting it was " voted to follow the minister's advice and give Mr. Nathan Webb a call, or renew Mr. Campbell'ss call." That some of the town did not take kindly to the proposition to " renew Mr. Canipbetl's call," appears from the vote passed. July 9th, " Voted that they will give Mr. Nathan Webb a call in order to settle with us as our minister, and that they give him for encouragement ye same for settlements and salary as were voted Mr. Wales, when they voted to give him a call." This is the first intimation given in tbe records that Mr. Wales had declined the call.

September 4, 1730, Mr. Campbell carried his point, and received from the town the sum of twenty-one pounds for all his damages, for dismissal, etc. ; and his receipt, recorded at length on the records of the town gives evidence that a legal mind advised, and a careful hand drew up, an acknowledgment that held this litigious minister of the gospel so tightly that his name does not again appear upon the records of the town-meetings.

of February, 1731 ; so that it was nearly four years^ instead of two, before the other condition in the act of incorporation was fulfilled. Mr. Webb died March 16, 1772, after a ministry of over forty years. He was deeply lamented, and goes down to posterity as a faithful preacher, an earnest, true-hearted man, whose influence upon the minds and hearts of the early inhabitants of Uxbridge was extremely beneficial and conducive to that growing prosjierity which made Uxbridge one of the leading towns of Provincial Massachusetts.

The second settled minister was Hezekiah Chapman, who was settled January 27, 1774, and was dismissed April 5, 1781. It is a lamentable fact that the cause of Mr. Chapman's dismissal was intemperance.

The third settled minister was Rev. Josiah Spaulding, who was settled September 11, 1783, and was dismissed at his own request October 27, 1787. After the dismissal of Mr. Spaulding, Mr. Samuel Mead preached for some time ; and in December, 1791, the town voted to concur with the church in giving Mr. Mead a call to be settled over them in the ministry; but it does not appear upon the records what answer Mr. Mead made to the call. It probably was not loud enough in a pecuniary sense. The fourth settled minister was the Rev. Samuel Judson, who was settled October 17, 1792, and dismissed in 1832, and died in November of the same year. The First Congregational Society was incorporated in the year 1797 ; and from this time all connection between the town and the " Congregational Society " ceased. The town occupied the meeting-house for town-meetings and business purposes until it was taken down for th( purpose of building a new church, in 1834. Many ol the present residents of the town attended church in the time of Mr. Judson, and can bear testimony that " he was a man of remarkable conscientiousness rare good nature, much native common sense, and deep in the love and confidence of the people of his charge.'' At the dismissal of Mr. Judson the elements of religious o[)inion came to an open rupture, and those who had formerly been united under his ministrations formed themselves into separate societies, and the two houses for religious worshij) which now stand upon opposite sides of the Common were erected, and the members of the two societies, who unitedly had paid Mr. Judson a salary of $400 a year, settled the Rev. Samuel Clarke at a salary of $600 a year, and the Rev- David A. Grosveuor at a salary of $600, and from that time to the present, when the salaries of the ministers of these two churches aggregate $2600, both societies have been exceedingly prosperous.

The new church of the First Congregational Society was dedicated in .January, 1835, the pastor, Rev. Samuel Clarke, preaching the sermon. This building, still standing, was thoroughly repaired in 1864, at a cost of about $4500 ; and again in 1878 it was remodeled inside, new pews put in, and the walls and ceiling elegantly frescoed, at a cost of some $4000, and to-day it is one of the finest country churches in the State. During the present year a new and elegant organ, costing some $3000, has been put in at the right of the minister's desk, and its full, deep, musical tones would astonish the early choirs who, at the other end of the church, succeeded in drowning the accompanying music of the little organ which Mr. Rogerson so artistically played.

The meeting-house of the Evangelical Congregational Society was built in 1833 and dedicated in the autumn. It has been several times repaired, has been lately remodeled and fitted with handsome furniture and a new pipe-organ, and, like its neighbor across the Common, is a fine, convenient and comfortable church.

Referring to the records of the town, we find that the original meeting-house, though erected within the limit prescribed by the act of incorporation, was not finished till long after ; for a vote was passed in February, 1733, " that they will have but one pew built in ye meeting-house, and that they will have ye men's seats on ye one side of ye alley, and ye women's seats on j'e other side ; " and in August, 1735, " the sura of one hundred pounds was appropriated to finish ye meeting-house." So it appears that for several years the people met in a cold, uncomfortable, barn-like structure, sat upon hard benches or cushionless seats without backs, and listened to the word of God under circumstances that would appal the stoutest heart and chill the marrow of the most consistent and earnest Christian of the present generation.

We wonder, as we sit in our comfortable, steamheated, electric-lighted, soft-seated, floor-carpeted, well ventilated churches of the present day, and listen to the rich music of the modern pipe-organ, and the operatic warbling of our thousand dollar quartette singers, how those old pioneers and great-grandfathers of ours could possibly have lived through such hardships as they endured, and enjoyed the blessings of religion obtained under such discouraging circumstances as attended them.

The pastors who have served God and the people in the First Congregational (Unitarian) Society since its incorporation have been : Rev. Samuel Clarke, who was installed January 9, 1833, and died November 19, 1859, " a faithful and beloved pastor for nearly twenty -seven years ;'' Rev. Charles Taylor Canfield; ordained and installed October 12, 1860, and resigned March 31, 1862; Rev. Rushton D. Burr, installed November 12, 1862, and resigned May 4, 1868 ; Rev. Samuel R. Priest, ordained and installed January 20, 1869, and resigned January 2, 1871 ; Rev. James

F. Lusk was hired March, 1872, and resigned July 1, 1875 ; Rev. George Bremner, ordained and installed November 16, 1875, and resigned December 28, 1883 ; Rev. L. M. Burrington, installed September 28, 1884, and resigned July 25, 1886 ; Rev. W. R.

The pastors of the Evangelical Congregational Society have been : Rev. David Adams Grosvener, ordained and installed June fi, 1882, and dismissed at his own recjuest .June 15, 181:2; Rev. John Orcutt, installed December 18, 1842, and dismissed May 1, 1849; Rev. Jacob Jackson Abbott, D.D., installed in 1850, and resigned in 18(i2; Rev. J. B. Johnson, installed December 15, 18G4, and dismissed February 6, 1868; Rev. Thomas C. BIscoe, installed December 2, 1868, and dismissed May 25, 187(); Rev. George H. Johnson, hired for one year from May 1, 1877, and served faithfully till the year expired; Rev. William H. Cobb, installed September 18, 1878, and dismissed October 1, 1887 ; Rev. F. L. Bristol, installed May 1, 1888, and now remains pastor of the church.

The Baptid Church. - The Baptist Church, located at North LJ.\bridge, was organized June '22, 1842; and on the same day Rev. Austin Robbins was ordained and installed pastor of the new church. The church rapidly increased in numbers, receiving forty-seven members during the first year of its existence. Mr. Robbins resigned in 1850, after a successful pastorate of eight years. For the next four years the pulpit of this church was supplied by Rev. Job Boomer, Rev. Joseph Smith, Rev. Joseph Tillinghast and Rev. -S. S. Mallory, each officiating about one year. Rev. James W. Russell became pastor of the church November 11, 1854, and resigned in 1864 ; Rev. Joseph Barber became pastor in April, 1865, and resigned ia November, 1868, and was followed by Rev. J. W. Dick, in April, 1869, who continued his ministry here until July, 1871. In October, 1871, Rev. J. H. Tilton was installed pastor, and remained six years, closing his labors October, 1877. In November, 1877, Rev. B. H. Lane was installed, and resigned May 30, 1882; Rev. T. M. Butler was installed November 1, 1882, and resigned in June, 1888.

This society lias recently erected a fine church building at North Uxbridge, opposite Chase's Corner, with a convenient parsonage close by, and is rapidly grovying in membership and is free from debt.

Methodist Episcopal Church. - The first Methodi.st preaching in Uxbridge Centre began about September 1, 1874. Some of the citizens, desiring to reach a clas-i that was not hearing the Gosi)el, made arrangements with Rev. Mr. Merrill, then pastor ol' theM. E. Church in Whitinsville, to preach in Taft's Hall on Sunday evenings ; and Mr. Merrill continued hia services up to February 7, 1875.

Mr. F. T. Pomeroy, of Shrewsbury, a local preacher of the M. E. Church, a young man of excellent ability and pleasant aildress, succeeded Mr. Merrill, and remained here until April, 1877. His appointment was considered a mission of the church. The mission was formally organized as a church with eight members December 19, 1875, by Rev. Dr. Haskell, presiding elder of the Worcester District. Mr.

Hunter, of the Boston University, succeeded Mr. Pomeroy, but soon left. He was succeeded by Rev. John W. Collier, who began his labors, June 9, 1877, and closed them June 23, 1878, to go as a missionary to Peru, South America. For the remainder of the Conference year Mr. J. H. Thompson supplied the pulpit.

Mr. Thompson was returned to Uxbridge for the Conference year 1879-80, which was the first appointment made here by the Conference. Mr. Thompson was succeeded by Rov. Charles Perkins, who was in turn succeeded by Rev. J. W. Uodgers. The present pastor is Rev. J. T. Kennedy.

In March, 1878, the society purchased of the town, as a site for a church edifice, a part of the old burying-ground in the centre of the town. Subscription papers for the church were opened in January, 1879, which were very generously signed by the members of other congregations (notably the Unitarian), and on April 1st the amount pledged was three thousand five hundred dollars. The church, which cost about six thousand dollars, was completed early in 1880, and was dedicated with appropriate ceremonies. It stands nearly opposite the railway station, just north of the new town liall, and is a fine specimen of church architecture. This church has grown rapidly, and has a membership, at the present time, of about sixty.

JVte Friends, or (Quakers. - It a|)i)ears by the town records that at the time tlie town was incorporated, or very soon after, several families of Friends or Quakers were living within its limits, and, as is their custom, objected to paying the rates or taxes for the 8up])ort of ministers or preachers, then settled, anil paid by tax ; and the matter was brought before the town at a meeting held in March, 1728. At this meeting " they voted that they would not free the Quakers." This is the first information given by the town records concerning the fact that a part of the settlers of the town were members of that society. Mr. L. C. Wheeler, a member of the society, furnishes the following account of this sect, which is of great interest:

At the (late of the or^aniz.ation of the town, ttiu gimkerg were a part of the Siiiithiiehi ftlontlily meeting, and tiiuieuliteiUy liekl iiieetinKS, in indivitluals' lionsee, till 1770, when the Slonllily flieeting anthoiizt.ii "the bniltling uf a meeting-house in IJxbiiilge, near Moses Faniuui's.' The meeting-house stands at the junetion of the roaiis from Millvilln and Ironstone to Ll-vbridge Centre, anil is constructed of brick, with a tablet bearing the date of its erection, 1770, in the gable.

In the 4tb month, 1770, the Sniithfield fllonthly Meeting ordered a meeting-house to be built a little Southerly of Muses Farnuni's, by the side of the tireat I'oad. In the nioidhs following the Ineise was bnilt, thirty-live feet long and thirty feet broad. Itnring llie .'itli tuontli, I77I, Adam Harkness, William Bnffnm and David Steere do report yt they find the whole cost of buildiiig the brick meeting-house to amount to Xi06 S». l(i.

years, its walls show no signs of weakness or decay, and its plain roof, without jets or ornamental finish of any kind, is in an excellent state of preservation. The window-sashes contain the same small panes of glass, and the same doors swing on leather hinges, as formerly. The internal .arrangements of the house are also left in their original style, having heen simply kept in repair.

A few years previous the Monthly Meeting had authorized the erection of a meeting-house in Uxbridge, and in 17i>(> one was erected in what was then the north part of Uxl)ridge, and which is now Northbridge, that town having been set oil' from Uxbridge in 1772. This house stood very near the location of the present meeting-house, - about half a mile south from Riverdale in Northbridge.

The meetings held .at Uxbridge and Northbridge were a part of the Smithfield Monthly Meeting, till 7th month (.Inly), 17S3, when the several meetings held in Uxbridge, Leicester, Northbridge and Richmond, N. H., were set oil', and formed a separ.ate Monthly Meeting under the name of the Uxbridge Monthly Meeting, which has continued till the present time, except that the Richmond Meeting has been dropped, and the meeting formerly .at Leicester removed to Worcester. In addition to the above, a meeting at Pomfret, Conn., and one at Douglas have been made a part of the Uxbridge Monthly Meeting.

The apjiroved ministers of Uxbridge Monthly, as far as ascertained, have been Daniel Aldrich, Richard Mowry ; Job Scott, approved 12lh month, 17.S3; Israel 8al)in, approved 1790; and Royal Southwick, Daniel Olapp, Timothy K. Earle, John B. Daniels and Salome C. Wheeler. In addition to the above, the following have moved into the Jlonthly Meeting from other places, viz. : Steidien Cortland, Lydia Haight and Susan A. Gilford.

Only two of the above-named ministers were natives of Uxbridge, and spent their whole lives in the town, ministering semi-weekly to the congregations that gathered in the " Old Brick," viz. ; Richard Mowry, who died Isl month 23d, 1835, aged nearly eighty-six years, and Royal Southwick, who died 11th month 30th, lS4it, aged eighty years. Job Scott, whose ministry w.as approved in 17S3, and whose journal giving a history of his labors in the ministry has been published, spent only a few years of his life in the town, anil Israel Saben lived here in 1770, at the time of his marriage, and for several years afterwards.

There .are now but four .ajiproved ministers of the denomination in the Monthly jMeetiiig ; and only one of these, Mrs. Salome C. Wheeler, is a resident of the town. Her labors in the ministry are usually at the Northbridge Meeting, but her influence in our schools - of which she is one of the Board of Examiners - her interest in temper.ance work, her kind symp.athy and Labors for the sick a.nd afflicted, are all gratefully appreciated by the people of Uxbridge, who are proud to claim her as one of our most respected citizens.

" The laat of liis sect to liis fathers may go, Ijeaving only Lis coat fur some Barn inn to show ; Bnt the trnth will ontlivp liini, and broaden with years, Till tile false dies away, and the wrong disappears/*

The Roman Catholic Church. - The earliest account of any Roman Catholic Church service in Uxbridge is that a service was held for the few Catholics then in town, in 1850, by the Rev. l^atrick McCJrath, of Hopkinton, in one of the laborer's tenements owned by .Joseph Th.ayer, Esq.

In 1853 Uxbridge was erected into a parish by Right Rev. J. B. Fitzpatrick, Bishop of the Diocese of Mass.achusetts, and Rev. E. J. Sheridan was appointed |ia.stor, August, 1853. The parish then included the towns of Grafton, Millbury, Northbridge, Dcmglas and Uxbridge. St. Mary's Church in Uxbridge was dedicated in 1855, the sermon on the occasion being preached by Rev. James A. Healy, afterwards Bishop of the Diocese of Maine.

In May, 18G8, Rev. Dennis C. Moran was appointed pastor, and the church in this town being insufficient to accommodate all the Catholics of Uxbridge and Northbridge, so rapidly hiid their numbers increased, that this pastor caused St. Patrick's Church in Whitinsville to be built in the year 1870, and thus gave relief to the overcrowded St. Mary's.

In 1871, Rev. Henry L. Robinson, a gentleman of great erudition and eloquence, was appointed pastor, and is still occupying that position, loved and honored by his congregation, .and highly respected and appreciated by Christians of other denominations. So highly have his labors in this field been valued by the head of his Church, that the additional title of "Doctor of Divinity" has been accorded to him, and is, we know, well deserved and modestly worn.

In the year 1870 St. Mary's w.as repaired and handsomely frescoed at an expense of over two thousand five hundred dollars. The present parish includes the towns of Uxbridge and Northbridge, with St. Mary's as the p.arish church. Dr. Robinson has charge of both churches .and congregations, and is assisted by a curate. The number of souls belonging to the parish is over two thousand, and its average Sunday attendance is very much larger than any other congregation in the town.