Medford City (part 7 of 14)

April 30, 1832 : The subject of building a parsonagehouse was discussed in a parish-meeting, and resolutions to build were passed, and three thousand dollars voted as the highest sum to be raised on the credit of the parish. After plans and wishes on both sides had been proposed and argued, that Christian benefactor, who " does good by stealth and blushes to find it fame," offered a piece of land, as a gift to the parish, for the site of a parsonage. The parish accordingly voted " a formal acceptance of the very generous offer of Dr. Daniel Swan, which they esteem doubly valuable from the amiable and accommodating spirit in which it has been thus promptly made."

The committee chosen to build the house were Messrs. Abner Bartlett, Peter C. Brooks, and Jonathan Brooks, Esqs. It was built immediately, at the cost of $3,824.05, and was acceptable to pastor and people.

members of the parish ; and, at a public meeting on the 24th of March, 1834, a committee report, " that they find the act incorporating trustees passed the 9th of March, 1827 ; and it appears that Messrs. Jonathan Brooks, Nathaniel Hall, Turell Tufts, Dudley Hall, Nathan Adams, John Symmes, jun., and Jonathan Porter, were incorporated trustees by the said act."

These originators of the fund performed the duties of trustees with judgment and perseverance ; and the result is, that the fund now amounts to $8,600.

March 11, 1839: A committee of seven was appointed this day to consider the expediency of building a new meeting-house, and to procure plans and estimates. They finally recommended the erection of a wooden house ; and on the 2d of April, 1839, the parish passed the following vote : " That the present house be taken down, and a new one built on the same spot in its stead, not to exceed in cost the sum of $12,000." The building-committee were Messrs. Samuel P. Heywood, Andrew Blanchard, jun., George W. Porter, Samuel Lapham, and Milton James, Esqrs.

Whether the parish had learned wisdom from former times or not, we cannot tell ; but surely the unanimity and heartiness seen in these movements evince solid judgment and Christian character. Three judicious and disinterested gentlemen were chosen, from towns adjacent, to apprize the pews in the old meeting-house ; and they performed their duty acceptably, - not awarding over twenty dollars to the best pews. The parish took leave of the old house on Sunday, May 12, 1839 ; on which occasion the pastor delivered a valedictory discourse from 1 Chron. xvii. 1. This sermon was printed ,- and no one, whose early years were associated with that sacred edifice, can read the conclusion of that discourse without a throbbing heart and a tearful eye.

As soon as the first parish had voted to take down the old meeting-house, the second Congregational Society and the Universalist Society offered the use of their meetinghouses to the first parish at such times as would be mutually convenient. We love to record these acts of Christian courtesy ; for they were, in this case, offerings of the heart.

Peter C. Brooks, has helped them to secure a first-rate instrument, at the price of $1,650. The cost of the meeting-house and vestry was $12,566.22 ; of two furnaces, $220 ; repairs on clock, $224 ; carpets and pulpit trimmings, &c, $591.72; work on the grounds, &c, $195.69; making a sum total of $13,797.63. The parish paid the proprietors of pews in the old meeting-house $1,260, and received for said house $260. That the new house was larger than was needed, was a common impression ; but the time may come when it will be crowded.

It was solemnly dedicated to the worship of God and the promulgation of Christianity on Wednesday, the 4th of December, 1839. The exercises were : Introductory prayer, by Rev. Nathaniel Hall, of Dorchester ; selection from the Scriptures, by Rev. Edward B. Hall, of Providence, R.I. ; prayer of dedication, by Rev. Convers Francis, D.D., of Watertown ; sermon, by Rev. Caleb Stetson ; concluding prayer, by Rev. N. L. Frothingham, of Boston. It was the intention of the pastor and people that the original hymns and all the public religious services (except the sermon) should have been furnished, as the record says, " by children of this society." It would have been so, had not the writer of this history been absent with his family in Europe.

The preacher took 1 Cor. iii. 16 for his text. Worship was his subject ; and it was discussed with the power and beauty peculiar to the speaker. The opening sentences disclose the central thoughts of the sermon. " The soul that makes an offering is greater than the gift. No sacrifice is so noble as the spirit that hallows it ; no house built by human hands, for the service of God, is so holy as that which he hath chosen and sanctified for himself in every

Thus, on a spot sacred to many of our hearts, stands a second temple of the Most High, whose desk, we devoutly hope, will ever be filled with able scholars and true believers ; who, as teachers, shall " preach, not themselves, but the Lord Jesus Christ, so as to make men wise unto salvation ; " and who, as pastors, shall delight " to take the lambs in their arms, and carry them in their bosoms." Especially do we hope that its seats may ever be filled by those who hunger and thirst after God and Christ and truth and righteous- ness ; who will labor for temperance, liberty, and peace ; and who will not allow heaven-born, free inquiry to degenerate into licentiousness, nor Christian devotion to freeze into formalism.

According to the New England usage, the pews were sold at auction, after a committee had apportioned upon them a relative value, sufficient to cover the cost of the house, vestry, &c. Those pews which were leased by the parish paid seven per cent on their apprized value. On the sale of the pews, a premium was given for the right of choice. The amount accruing from the sale of seventy-one pews was $12,397. There were several small items not here noticed. The final balance against the parish was $2,024.47. In the last report of the committee are these words : " Your committee have much pleasure in being able to congratulate the parish on the entire success with which this enterprise has been accomplished, and the good effects that have resulted from it."

There are few parishes in New England which have had no trouble with their Sunday choir. Singers are dangerously sensitive, and not always blamable, as some imagine. Their popularity and success depend very often upon popular taste and fickle fashion ; therefore all their feelers are out to discover what people think of them. The poet and painter, depending measurably on the same principles of taste and fashion, are subjected to similar influences. The conflict between rival singers is peculiarly fierce ; and what committee-man, . who has " had the care of the singing," has not found that he must sometimes deal with the parish choir very much as he must with sick children ? That Medford has had some of these jarring experiences, is most true; and it is as true that it has enjoyed a general exemption. The first parish has owned generous hearts and sweet voices, who have given their services freely ; and the organ has been played gratuitously for years by a gentleman of taste and education.

It was customary with our early ancestors to appoint an individual from the church to read the psalm, two lines at a time ; after which reading, the whole congregation sang the two lines. The reading was so commonly done by a deacon, that this mode of announcing the psalm was called " deacon- ing " it. The scarcity of psalm-books was the origin of this custom ; and, when they became so common as to be left in the meeting-house through the week, the proposition to discontinue the " deaconing " of the psalm was made, and it met with quick opposition from the deacons and readers. The habit continued till the Revolution. It is related of the earliest days among us, that one line only was read at a time, but that this custom gave place to the reading of two lines from the following fact. In the psalm, which the clergyman had selected to be " deaconed " and sung, occurred these two lines : -

By making a full stop at the end of the first line, very queer work was made with the sense of the poem. Affirmation and contradiction came solemnly into the same breath ; but even this bewilderment was deepened by reading the second line : "Keep silence, but speak out."

April 27, 1846 : The subject of congregational singing was brought before the parish by a committee, who discussed the topic well, and recommended " all the members of the congregation to join the choir." We trust that the introduction of music into all our public and private schools will soon restore congregational heart-and-voice singing to our churches (a mode so piously adopted by our fathers) ; and this will put an end to that impious mockery of devotion, now sometimes witnessed, where infidel and licentious operasingers are hired to conduct this beautiful part of sacred worship.

The antislavery excitement had been conscientiously carried into many pulpits, and, in some parishes, had caused durable alienations between minister and people. The first parish in Medford felt somewhat the flux and reflux of the troubled waters. Fiat justitia, ruat ccelum.

April 19, 1847: "Voted to raise $1,700, by tax, for the support of public worship and the current expenses of the ensuing year." On the same day, "Voted to raise, in like manner, three hundred dollars, for the reduction of the parish debt."

Dec. 7, 1847 : Rev. Mr. Stetson having fallen from the sidewalk in Main Street, and much injured himself, the parish met, and passed the following vote : " To take measures

The change of the law in Massachusetts respecting the support of ministers, and the consequent change of action in some parishes, had produced fatal results. One statute provides thus : " No person shall hereafter be made a member of any parish or religious society without his consent in writing." The inhabitants of Medford were not exempt from the operation of these and similar causes. The Committee of the first parish saw their activity ; and when Mr. Stetson resigned his office of pastor, March 24, 1848, they say, in reply to his short and touching letter, that the parish, " under this state of things, must very soon become impotent for the fulfilment of its original contract by any legal form of taxation." They do not separate from their beloved minister without expressing their deep gratitude for his long and acceptable services. Their letter to him ends with these words :

" With sucli impressions of the character of your great ministry, accept, dear sir, assurances of our affectionate regard and sincere wishes for the happiness and prosperity of yourself and family."

During his ministry of twenty-one years, Mr. Stetson baptized 210 persons ; married 143 couples ; admitted to the church 106 communicants ; and officiated at 304 funerals.

He was very soon invited to settle as the minister of the Unitarian Society in South Scituate, near Kingston, his native town in the Old Colony ; and as he is there now laboring, with his warm heart and ready hand, the time to speak of his character has not yet come. May it be far distant ! But, when society shall lose him, there will not be wanting pens to note his various learning, to describe his brilliant conversation, to honor his large philanthropy, and record his ministerial faithfulness.

The time had now come, as it was thought, to abandon the former mode of raising parish taxes by assessments on polls and property. After much conference and reflection, the parish resort to the system of voluntary contributions ! A paper, therefore, is offered to each individual, annually, with the following preamble and obligation : - dered members of the first parish in Medford for the present year, do hereby agree to pay to the collector of said parish the sum of money which is set against our names, towards the support of public worship in said parish the present year."

This temporary and precarious provision for the support of God's worship and the spread of Christianity does not sound much like those iron-bound resolves of our pious ancestors, wherein life and property were for ever dedicated to God and to his church. Whether "the voluntary system," as adopted in New England, is or is not a failure, is with some no longer a question.

April 9, 1849 : " Voted, unanimously, to give Rev. George W. Briggs, of Plymouth, an invitation to settle with us as our minister in the gospel." $1,200 salary. April 15, Mr. Briggs communicated his refusal in a short and satisfactory letter.

" June 11, 1849 : Voted that the parish vote by yeas and nays on the motion to extend an invitation to the Rev. John Pierpont to settle with them in the ministry for one year, with a salary of one thousand dollars, - provided the connection be dissolved on either side by giving a previous notice of six months. Yeas, 25 ; nays, 24."

" That this parish do extend to the Rev. John Pierpont an invitation to become its pastor on a salary of one thousand dollars a year, - payable by quarterly yearly payments, - and with the understanding and agreement that either of said parties may put an end to the connection by giving to the other party six months' notice, in writing, of his or their intention so to do."

" Resolved, that, in view of the history of this parish, its present condition, and its future prospects, it is regarded as inexpedient, and hazardous to our best interests as a Christian church, for our pastor to preach any political abolition sermons or discourses in our pulpit on the sabbath."

This vote was interpreted by some as "limiting the topics upon wrhich the pastor is to be at liberty to treat in the pulpit." This, however, was disclaimed by the friends of the resolution. On the 23d of July, the vote was unanimously

Finding the parish so nearly divided in their vote of invitation, the friends of the pastor elect began to collect the signatures of those members of the parish who were not present when the vote was taken, and who were in favor of giving the call. Twenty-six legal voters signed ; twenty-one refused to act, and therefore are not counted on either side ; ten persons, not legal voters, who considered themselves as belonging to the parish, subscribed ; and four of those who voted in the negative. After anxious and patient weighing of the whole matter, with the assistance of friends, Mr. Pierpont accepted the invitation, July 5, 1849.

July 9, seven gentlemen were appointed a committee " to communicate with Mr. Pierpont on the subject of his settlement, and for conducting and making arrangements for his installation." « This committee report, April 8, 1850, as follows : -

"At a meeting of the special committee of the first parish of Medford, appointed, July 9, 1849, to make arrangements with the Rev. John Pierpont for the commencement of his pastoral labors in its pulpit, on conference with the pastor and with his concurrence, -

"Voted that the committee hereby ordain the Rev. John Pier" pont to become the pastor of the first parish of Medford, and install him in that office.

" Voted that the term of his engagement commence on the first day of August, 1849, and his salary be paid to him from that date, quarterly, as provided in the terms of the vote of his election to the office of pastor of this parish.

Having thus brought down the ecclesiastical history of the first parish, through all its changes, to the ministry of its present pastor, common usage requires that I here take leave of it. It has been my constant endeavor to record the important events in each ministry as I found them in the records of the town and parish. That some representative facts may have escaped my notice, is quite possible; and that undue stress is laid upon some of the facts which I have noted, is equally possible. I can only say, that I have wished to give a perfect daguerreotype likeness of every feature of the history.

In looking back through two hundred years, I can safely say, that Medford has not had more than its share of religious trials ; and that, under them, it has borne itself with intelligence, dignity, and moderation. If the troubles of two centuries be gathered into the mind in one cluster, they seem to be many and great ; but, when historically distributed over so long a period, they are few and far between. The questions in Medford which excited the deepest interest, and sometimes called out the warmest words, were those relating to the location of a new meeting-house ; the terms of the minister's settlement, and the amount of his salary ; the assessment of taxes ; the changing value of money, and the modes of raising it ; the alteration of a creed ; and the freedom of the pulpit. Of all these I felt myself called upon to be recorder, and not judge; and therefore have given the facts, without obtruding my private opinion.

A few words concerning Sunday schools, and this particular history closes. Since 1820, Sunday schools have multiplied greatly in New England, and books and manuals for them have abounded. The first parish early followed the auspicious good examples, and established a school, which had its superintendent ; also a teacher to each six children ; and a juvenile library, accessible to all the pupils. This school has had the best instructors ; and so deep has grown the interest in Sunday schools and in the other schools of New England, that ours is called the " children's age." It was believed they were needed, because parents did not sufficiently inculcate Christian doctrine and morals in their families, nor did the ministers communicate much juvenile instruction, nor could the public schools. There are no scales that can weigh moral effects ; but there can be no doubt that the salutary influences of Sunday schools have been immense. The whole force of the common-school system being directed to unfold and sharpen the intellect mainly, moral culture in them is only incidental. A consequence is, a most disproportionate development of mere intellect ; as if the aim of life was to empower a child to gain money and secure office. The consequence of this is, that the community becomes filled with men whose extensive knowledge, acute reason, boundless ambition, and unscrupulous selfishness, make them leaders in public plunder and commercial infidelity. The more enlightened the intellect becomes, unguided by conscience, the more adroit it makes the villain. Mere secular instruction is no security against crime ; therefore the Sunday school came to the relief and rescue of society when it maintained that something more was necessary to make men good than to make them intelligent. It taught that the affections are the source of happiness; and it endeavored to develop the moral powers, so as to introduce God and Christ and truth and heaven as permanent occupants of the soul. If it be true that the acquisition of mere science and literature imparts no adequate power to subdue vicious habit or restrain criminal passion, but often gives keenness to their edge and certainty to their aim, it follows, as a solemn consequence, that every patriot, philanthropist, and Christian, is sacredly bound to patronize the Sunday school.

Colonel RoyaJ. gave a silver cup to the church in Medford; but, he being an absentee, suspected of not liking the Amercan revolution, his agent could not deliver the cup without legislative authority. The following public document will sufficiently explain itself: -

" Resolved, That, for the reason therein mentioned, the agent of the estate of Isaac Royal, Esq., late of Medford, an absentee, be, and is hereby, directed to deliver a certain silver cup, referred to in the said petition, belonging to the said absentee's estate, to the said David Osgood, for the use of the church in Medford, agreeably to the prayer of the said petition, and take a receipt for the same.

«< Medford, Nov. 6, 1781. " Received of Simon Tufts, Esq., agent for the estate of Isaac Royal^ Esq., an absentee, the silver cup mentioned in the above order of court. David Osgood."

By a resolve of the church, in 1824, the pewter dish was sold, and a silver one purchased, - thus making the furniture of the table entire and appropriate.

Recapitulation

Desiring that full justice should be done to the history of each religious society in the town, I gave public notice in 1853, that whatever account should be furnished of any society, by its pastor or committee, should be inserted in these pages. The following notices have been sent, and they are accordingly printed without alteration ; and I have only to wish they had been more ample in details. It should be recorded of all the religious societies of Medford, that they live together in peace. All of them are faithful in laboring for the same great and holy end, - the salvation of souls ; and from my inmost heart I wish them all prosperity.

Second Congregational Society

Early in June, 1823, after the death of Rev. David Osgood, and soon after the settlement of Rev. Andrew Bigelow as pastor of the first church, it appeared that the members of the church entertained different views of Christian doctrines ; whereupon several members applied respectfully for letters of dismission, and began to meet by themselves for the worship of God. In their letters addressed to the church, they disclaim personal unfriendliness, and base their action solely on the ground of different views of the gospel ; particularly, as they say, " respecting the doctrines of the Trinity, the native character of man, the divinity and atonement of Christ, regeneration, and others allied to these."

" Under these impressions, dear brethren, we, conscientiously and in the fear of God, ask from the church letters of dismission, for the purpose of forming ourselves, in a regular manner, into a new and separate church ; and while we deeply lament the necessity, which we think exists, for such a measure, we wish to adopt it from the sole desire of enjoying religious instruction which accords with our views of the system of truth laid down in the gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."

" We shall then feel ourselves compelled in conscience, on the principles we have avowed (viz., privilege to determine our own religious convictions), to allow the liberty you ask. In such case, painful as the severance is, it will still meet with our sanction ; and, should your purpose remain unchanged, we formally consent by this our letter.

« In conclusion, permit us to assure you, that, whether in union with or separated from us, we shall ever cherish a lively and affectionate solicitude for your spiritual and immortal welfare. We wish you grace, mercy, and peace from our common Lord. It is our hearts' desire, that, whatever new relations you may mutually form, you may be edified therein, and may be built up in the most holy faith ; and we implore of the Lord, that both we and you, and all his people, may glorify him with that holiness which becomes his house for ever."

On the 20th of June, 1823, a public meeting was held, and a new society formed, called " The Second Congregational Society of Medford." After the following sabbath, the members of the new society fitted up a hall in the neighborhood as a temporary place of worship, and their members gradually increased.

Their pulpit was supplied by neighboring clergymen, and from the Theological Seminary in Andover, till Oct. 2; when seventeen members from the first church, with nine members of other churches who had removed lately to Medford, bringing with them letters of dismission, were organized into a church by an ecclesiastical council, of which Rev. William Greenough, of Newton, was chosen Moderator ; and Rev. B. B. Wisner, of Boston, Scribe.

The names of the original members were as follows (the seventeen first mentioned coming from the first church of Medford, the others from abroad) : -

An act incorporating the new society passed the Legislature, Feb. 21, 1824, and measures were adopted for the erection of a house of worship ; which, when completed, was dedicated to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, Sept. 1, 1824 ; and, at the time of the dedication, Rev. Aaron Warner, who had labored with acceptance nearly from the time of the organization of the church, was installed its first pastor.

His ministry of eight years was eminently successful. There were many accessions to the congregation, and above a hundred additions to the church, in which his memory is most affectionately cherished.

During his ministry, several precious seasons of revival were enjoyed, the church and congregation increased, and larger accommodations in the house of worship became necessary. From this time, Zion's children began to say, in prophetic language, " Give us room, that we may dwell ; " and the church became, in an important sense, the mother of churches. Besides furnishing members from time to time for the organization of several evangelical churches of other denominations, in July, 1847, she sent out a strong colony, sixty in number, to form the Mystic church of Medford, now a flourishing society.

Mr. Baker, after an efficient and successful ministry of over ten years, was dismissed by the decision of an ecclesiastical council in September, 1848.

For several years after, the church was without a settled pastor, passing through more than usual trials incident to such a condition; until, Feb. 25, 1852, Rev. E. P. Marvin, who had been supplying the desk for six months previous, was installed pastor. Under his labors, the society has regained more than its former peace and prosperity.

In the spring of 1853, they harmoniously renewed their church edifice, - replacing the desk with an elegant modern one, and the pews with those more commodious and pleasant ; and, by painting and furnishing tastefully, they have rendered their church one of the most appropriate and pleasant places of religious worship. The members of the church now number about 170 or 180 ; and, as they look back at their former experience, they are ready, no doubt, to adopt the language of devout Samuel : " Hitherto hath the Lord helped us."

Universalist Society

This society was formed March 10, 1831. The meetinghouse was built in 1832, and completed Aug. 10th of that year. The desk was supplied by transient preachers till the following spring. In April, the Rev. Mr. Winslow W. Wright was installed as pastor. He resigned in April, 1835, on account of ill health. Rev. Joseph Banfield was soon settled as his successor, but resigned in 1838. Dr. Hosea Ballou was settled in April, 1838. The meeting-house was remo- delled and enlarged in 1850. The society was kindly invited by the Unitarian parish to use their house for worship while the repairs were making. This invitation was accepted. Rev. Dr. Ballou, having been called to the Presidency of Tufts's College, resigned in August, 1853 ; and, in April, 1854, the present pastor, G. V. Maxham, was ordained.

This is the only society of this denomination which has been gathered in Medford. It has great prosperity ; and its Sunday school contains, on an average, one hundred and fifty pupils.

Methodist Society

In the year 1843, no Methodist Episcopal church existed in this place. Some twelve or fifteen individuals, members of that denomination, connected either with a church in Charlestown or the one in Maiden, were accustomed to meet each week and hold a class-meeting, which was conducted by one of their number who had been appointed leader.

During the winter of 1843-4, Rev. J. W. Whitman, stationed at Maiden, and whose circuit included this town also, preached several times, in a small building, to attentive congregations ; and, the Holy Spirit accompanying his earnest endeavors, a gracious revival was the result, and about sixty individuals were brought under a saving religious influence. In the spring of 1844, " Father Pickering," a veteran soldier of our Lord, was stationed, by the New England Conference, at this place. With true apostolic zeal, he organized a church, gathered the trembling ones within the fold, and, by his heavenly teachings, led them on to more perfect .trust and confidence in Christ. During this year also, and under his special supervision, - the result of the earnest self-denial of some, and the generous kindness of others, - a plain, neat, and commodious house of worship was erected.

In 1845, Rev. G. W. Frost was appointed to labor here ; and was succeeded, in 1846, by Rev. J. Augustus Adams, a thorough scholar and an earnest Christian, who bent all his energies to the great work of guiding souls heavenward. The year following, Rev. J. Shepard, a good man and full of the Holy Ghost, was pastor.

and was followed, in 1849, by Rev. "Willard Smith, who, in labors more abundant, was an instrument, in the hands of God, of an untold amount of good in this portion of God's heritage. He labored here two years ; and tears, such as were shed for Paul, expressed the sorrow felt at his departure.

During the years 1851-2, the station was filled by Rev. A. D. Morrill, who, as usual, labored with his whole soul for the spiritual benefit of his charge.

A prosperous and interesting sabbath school has, from the first, been connected with the church, where much good has been done for the rising generation.

Since the commencement of the present year (1855), the house has been neatly repaired, and now presents an inviting aspect to those who worship there.

Baptist Society

The origin of the first Baptist Society in Medford was in the summer of 1840, when a number of persons of the Baptist persuasion, some of whom had long been residents in the town, associated themselves together for the purpose of sustaining the preaching of the gospel, and especially for opening a place of worship for the special accommodation of the many strangers who patrolled our streets and thronged the public square on the sabbath. The use of the Town Hall was secured ; and public worship commenced on the 16th of August, 1840. The Rev. Dr. Lucius M. Bolles, of Boston, Secretary of the Baptist Missionary Union, officiated as clergyman, and preached to an interested and attentive audience.

The meetings were continued, with growing zeal, until late in the summer of 1841, when a church was formed, consisting of twelve members ; and George W. Bosworth, a graduate of the Newton Theological Institution, was invited to become its pastor. A council of delegates from neighbor- ing Baptist churches was convened, Sept. 8, 1841, in the vestry of the Second Congregational meeting-house. After due organization, the council proceeded to examine the articles of faith and covenant of the church ; which were found to be substantially the same as the New Hampshire articles, so called, and such as are generally adopted by the regular Calvinistic Baptist churches in New England. The council then proceeded to examine the pastor elect ; and, after a brief adjournment, the public services of recognizing the church were performed. At the same time, and by the above-named council, George W. Bosworth was publicly ordained to the work of the gospel ministry. Rev. Mr. Bosworth labored in his infant church, with great acceptance and success, for nearly five years ; when he found that the demands of his family required a larger salary, and he removed to a wider field of labor. He reluctantly yielded to a necessity, and left Medford early in 1846, greatly to the grief of the church.

A society was formed to act in concert with the church ; and was incorporated, under the general act of incorporation of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, May 29, 1842, on application of Moses Parsons, Lewis C. Sorntas, Robert L. Ells, William Parsons, and others.

Many inconveniences were experienced by the church and society from worshipping in a place so common, and appropriated to so many different uses, as the Town Hall. Preparations were now made for building a plain and neat chapel for the better accommodation of the worshippers. The very kind and fraternal feeling of Dudley Hall, Esq., enabled them to secure a convenient and eligible piece of land, adjoining the old burying-ground, near the centre of the town. The society proceeded to erect their chapel during the summer of 1842 ; being kindly assisted by some of their fellowcitizens, among whom were the late Peter C. Brooks, Esq., and others, and also by friends of adjoining towns.

On the 14th day of September, 1842, their chapel, being finished and ready for occupancy, was publicly dedicated to the service and worship of Almighty God. The church and society, rejoicing that they could now worship under their own vine and fig-tree, gladly removed to their chapel, where they still worship. After the removal of Mr. Bosworth, the church and society were for some months destitute of a pastor ; when they united in the election of Rev. B. C. Grafton, formerly of West Cambridge, as their pastor. Rev. Mr. Grafton continued but a few months in this relation, leaving the people again destitute of an under-shepherd. Some months now elapsed ; when Mr. G. F. Danforth, a graduate of New Hampden, N.H., was called, publicly ordained, and installed as pastor. Rev. Mr. Danforth resigned his pastoral relation after the brief period of little more than a year. A destitution of some months followed, when the people again succeeded in calling a minister to supply the sacred desk ; and the Rev. E. K. Fuller, of Somerset, Mass., was invited to fill the sacred office. Rev. Mr. Fuller commenced his labors on the 1st of April, 1849, and continued his work, with much success, until April 1, 1854, - a period of five years.

Notwithstanding the too frequent changes in the pastoral relation, it has been the good fortune of this church and society to enjoy its full share of increase and prosperity. Since its organization, two new societies of the Protestant faith have been formed in Medford, and two new churches have been built. Ours is the only Baptist church in the town ; but the increase of population, and the spread of our faith, have combined to make our present place of worship much too limited to accommodate the regular worshippers ; and we contemplate, as early as practicable, the removal of our meeting-house, and the erection of another, of more modern architecture, and much larger dimensions. We also take pleasure in acknowledging the generous gift of a piece of ground, by Dudley Hall, Esq., for the purpose of enlarging our meeting-house lot. The church and society have recently been so fortunate as to secure the pastoral services of Rev. Thomas E. Keely, the former successful pastor, for a number of years, of the Baptist church in Kingston, Mass. That his labors may be owned and blessed of the great Head of the church, and that the little one may continue, increase, and multiply, bringing glory to God and salvation to souls, is the prayer of the flock.

Mystic Church

This third Congregational Society in Medford had its origin in the second society. From its printed documents, the following history is extracted : - conference of four neighboring clergymen was called, in March' 1847, to whom were submitted statistics and other facts, showing the necessity of increased church accommodation for the orthodox Congregationalists. At this conference, Rev. Mr. Baker and a large number of the brethren of the Second Church were present. As the result, it was the unanimous opinion of the clergymen from abroad, and nearly as unanimously the opinion of the brethren who were present, that it was highly expedient that a new church and congregation should be formed.

" In pursuance of this advice, with the nearly unanimous consent of the Second Church, separate worship was established in the Town Hall, May 9, 1847. A new church, called the Mystic Church, was here organized, with sixty members, by a large ecclesiastical council, the 6th of July. Rev. Abner B. Warner, a nephew of Rev. Professor Warner, the first pastor of the Second Church, was installed over the Mystic Church, Oct. 27 of the same year.

" Beloved Friends, - You have presented yourselves before God and his people, and the world, to make a public profession of your faith, and to take on you the bonds of an everlasting covenant.

" We trust you have well considered the nature of this transaction, the most solemn and momentous in which a mortal can engage ; that you are prepared by divine grace to renew in public that consecration to God which you have made in private ; and that you deem it a duty, as well as a privilege, thus to unite yourselves with the followers of Christ.

" Having been duly examined and propounded, and having given your assent in private to the Articles of Faith, you will now publicly profess the same.

" Art. 1. - You believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are given by inspiration of God, and that they contain the only perfect rule of faith and practice.

" Art. 2. - You believe in the existence of one eternal, unchangeable, and glorious God, subsisting in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ; and that these three so exist that they are really and truly God.

" Art. 3. - You believe that God made all things for himself, and that he governs the universe according to the counsel of his own will, and that all events will be made subservient to his wise and benevolent designs.

" Art. 4. - You believe that man was created in the image of God, in a state of rectitude and holiness; that he fell from that state by transgressing the divine law ; and that, in consequence of the original apostasy, the heart of man, in his natural state, is destitute of holiness, and inclined io evil ; and that all men, previous to regeneration, are dead in trespasses and sins.

" Art. 5. - You believe that Christ Jesus has, by his sufferings and death, made atonement for sin ; and that all who are saved are justified wholly by grace, through the redemption which there is in Christ.

" Art. 6. - You believe that salvation is freely offered to all men, and that all men are under obligation immediately to embrace the gospel ; but that such is the depravity of the human heart, that no man will come to Christ until he is renewed by the special agency of the Holy Spirit.

" Art. 7. - You believe that all who embrace the gospel were, from the beginning, chosen unto salvation, through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth ; and that they will be kept by the power of God, through faith, unto salvation.

" Art. 8. - You believe that there will be a resurrection of the just and of the unjust, and a day of general judgment ; and that the wicked will go away into punishment, and the righteous into happiness, both of which will be without end.

" Art. 9. - You believe that in this world the Lord Jesus Christ has a visible church, the terms of admission to which are a credible evidence of regeneration, baptism, and a public profession of faith in Christ ; that the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper are to be observed to the end of the world ; that none but members of the visible church have a right to the Lord's Supper; and that such, and such only, have a right to dedicate their infant offspring in baptism.

"You come sensible that you are sinners; that you have departed from your Maker, and have lived under the influence of that carnal mind which is enmity against God ; that you have broken his law, and abused his love, and that you are unworthy his favor; and you give up yourselves to this God Jehovah as your God and Father, to the Lord Jesus Christ as your only Saviour, and to the Holy Ghost as your Guide, Sanctifier, and Comforter ; and, in this public manner, you dedicate yourselves to God in the bonds of his everlasting covenant.

" Depending on his grace, you promise to perform the various duties you owe to God, to your fellow-creatures, and to yourselves (and to bring up all committed to your care in the nurture and admonition of the Lord).

" You also covenant and engage, that you will sanctify the sabbath, and adorn your profession by a faithful adherence to the worship of God's house, and by diligently attending on all Christian ordinances, and holding communion in them, with this church, as

God in his word enjoins ; that you will watch over your brethren in love, faithfully reproving them when they go astray ; and that you will submit to the discipline of Christ in his house, and to the regular administration of it in this church, - seeking its peace and welfare in all things, so long as God shall continue you here. " Thus you covenant and engage. (Here the church rise.) "I, then, in the presence of God and these witnesses, and in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, pronounce you a member of this branch of his visible church ; and we covenant and engage to treat you as such, and, in the connection we now sustain with you, to watch over you in the spirit of meekness and love, as your brethren and sisters in the Lord.

"And now, beloved in Christ, remember that the vows of God are upon you, and will remain through life, in death, at the judgment-seat, and for ever. The Lord preserve and guide you in the path of righteousness and peace, give you triumph through faith in the hour of death, and at last receive you and us to that blessed world where our communion and joy shall be for ever perfect. Amen.

" 1. This church is independent, so far as relates to its internal organization and the regulation of its affairs ; it controls the admission, discipline, and removal of its members, according to its own understanding of the word of God.

" 2. This church will extend to other evangelical Congregational churches, and receive from them, that fellowship, advice, and assistance which the law of Christ requires. It will extend the usual rights of communion, and practise the usual transfer of members, according to its own convictions of duty.

" 3. This church will grant dismissions and recommendations to those members who are in good standing, and who conscientiously prefer uniting with other churches of any evangelical denomination, when they apply in a regular manner, and with a Christian spirit.

" 4. This church deems it irregular, if any members withdraw from them, and unite in communion and worship with other churches, either on account of any offence, or on the plea of better edification, without giving notice to the church, and requesting a dismission.

" 5. Any member having cause of complaint against another, in cases of personal offence, should immediately seek to have it removed in a Christian manner, the directions given in Matt, xviii. 15-17 being his guide.

" 6. In cases of offence against the church, it is the duty of any member cognizant of it to seek at once to have it removed, by personal labor, before making it a matter of public complaint.

" 8. This church regards slaveholding, the traffic in and use ot intoxicating drinks as a beverage, gambling, and such like things, as inconsistent with Christian character.

" 9. This church affectionately, yet earnestly, entreats its members to avoid all connection with dancing assemblies, theatrical exhibitions, secret societies, and similar associations, as tending practically to weaken the bond of Christian brotherhood, and to bring a reproach upon the cause of their Master.

The present house of worship was dedicated Feb. 14, 1849. Rev. A. B. Warner died May 26, 1853. Rev. Jacob M. Manning was ordained pastor Jan. 5, 1854.

Grace Church

The liturgy of the Protestant Episcopal _ church was first used in public worship, in Medford, on Christmas Eve, A.D. 1847. About the same time, a hall was procured, and the services of a clergyman were engaged for a limited time, in the hope that it might be found expedient to form a parish. It soon became manifest that a sufficient number of persons were interested in the enterprise to justify this step, and a meeting was accordingly called ; and, on the 15th day of February, A.D. 1848, a parish was legally organized, under the name of Grace Church. In March following, the Rev. David Greene Haskins was chosen rector. In September, 1849, measures were taken for building a church. A convenient location was chosen, and a small but neat and beautiful edifice was erected, and, on the 11th of May, 1850, consecrated to the worship of God.

Mr. Haskins retained the charge of the parish until February, 1852 ; when he resigned, and was succeeded by the Rev. Justin Field, the present rector.

Chapter Viii Education

Religion, and love of liberty, brought our pilgrim ancestors to Medford ; and as these principles sprang in them from intelligence and virtue, so they revealed to them the need of intelligence and virtue in their offspring. To educate, therefore, was to legislate for the future. The establishment of schools, during the first years of their residence, was an impossibility ; and, consequently, domestic instruction was the only alternative. The Bible and Primer were the reading-books. In those towns or plantations where a clergyman could be supported, he usually occupied much of his time in teaching the young ; and it was common for boys to be received into the minister's family to be prepared for college. Those pastors who had been silenced in England, and who came here to minister to the scattered flocks in the wilderness, were men of strong thought and sound scholarship ; and they kept up the standard of education. From the necessities of their condition, however, it is apparent that the children of our ancestors must have been scantily taught, and their grandchildren still greater sufferers ; for learning follows wealth.

The first movement for the establishment of schools took place under the administration of Governor Prence ; and, at his suggestion, the following order was passed in the Colony Court, 1663 : -

" It is proposed by the Court unto the several townships in this jurisdiction, as a thing they ought to take into their serious consideration, that some course may be taken, that in every town there may be a schoolmaster set up, to train up children in reading and writing.

" In 1670, the Court did freely give and grant all such profits as might or should accrue annually to the Colony for fishing with a net or seines at Cape Cod for mackerel, bass, or herrings, to be improved for and towards a free school, in some town in this jurisdiction, for the training up of youth in literature, for the good and benefit of posterity, - provided a beginning be made within one year after said grant."

Education

The occupants of the Medford plantation, being few and poor, secured instruction to their children by domestic teaching, and by using the schools of the neighboring towns. Towards the support of those schools, they were required by law to contribute ; and that they were benefited by them, is apparent from the fact, that all the persons who appear, through a series of years, as officers in the town, were well educated. The leading idea of emigration to this country, and the spirit of the age, would not allow them to neglect education. They provided for it in a way that did not require public record at the time.

In 1701, the penalty imposed by the Legislature upon towns for neglecting to provide grammar schools was twenty pounds. It was required that " the schoolmaster should be appointed by the ministers of the town and the ministers of the two next adjacent towns, or any two of them, by certificates under their hands."

These early resolves concerning schools and education indubitably prove two things : first, that our Puritan Fathers believed that the establishment of schools was a duty they owed to justice and humanity, to freedom and religion ; and, second, that they had resolved that these schools should be free. Here, then, was a new idea introduced to the world, - free schools ! And, from free schools and congregational churches, what could result but republicanism ? They held our republic as the acorn holds the oak. It is important to state that free schools originated in Massachusetts.

" I thank God there are no free schools nor printing-presses here, and I trust there will not be this hundred years ; for learning breeds up heresies and sects and all abominations. God save us from both ! "

Now look . at Massachusetts. The Rev. John Robinson, before the Pilgrims left Leyden, charged them to build churches, establish schools, and read the Bible without sectarian prejudice. He said, " I am convinced that God has more light yet to break forth out of his holy word. Receive such light gladly." Our fathers acted on this, wise, Christia.n, and republican advice, and engaged Philemon Purmount "to teach the children ; for which he was to be paid thirty acres of ground by the public authorities." How accordant this with that noble resolve of New England, to establish a college, " to the end that good learning may not be buried in the graves of our fathers " ! It is cheering to read in the early records of Medford, when a special townmeeting was called for this only purpose, - viz., " to see if the town will have a school kept for three months," - to find every voter in favor of it, and, at the end of this vote, appending these immortal words, - " and this school shall

Here we have, in short compass, the diiferent beginnings and opposite policies of two settlements : the one anathematizing free schools and printing-presses ; the other doing all it can for free inquiry, universal culture, and progressive truth. The natural result of one system is to overrun a state with slavery, darken it with ignorance, pinch it with poverty, and curse it -vyith irreligion ; the natural result of the other is to fill a state with freemen, to enlighten it with knowledge, to expand it with wealth, and to bless with Christianity.

We should never cease to thank God that our ancestors, though surrounded by savage foes and doomed to poverty and self-denial, laid deep the foundations of that system of common schools which is now the nursery of intelligence, the basis of virtue, the pledge of freedom, and the hope of the world.

The course of instruction was narrow and partial. Each hungry child got a crust ; but no one had a full meal. The New England Primer was the first book, the Spelling-book the second, and the Psalter the last. Arithmetic and writing found special attention ; grammar and geography were thought less needful. The school was opened and closed with reading the Scriptures and the offerings of prayer. The hours were from nine to twelve o'clock, and from one to four. Thursday and Saturday afternoons were vacations.

For the next fifty years, the inhabitants of Medford supported their schools at as cheap a rate as they could, because their means were not abundant. The spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak. The Rev. Mr. Porter acted as private teacher, and doubtless rendered great help to the cause of education.

Nov. 30, 1719, a special meeting was held, " to see if a school shall be established for four months. Voted in the affirmative. Also voted that the town will allow Mr. Davison three pounds money for keeping the school the time above said, and also to diet him for the town." Heretofore, schools had been kept in private houses ; but, Feb. 22, 1720, it was voted to build a schoolhouse.

Dec. 12, 1720 : Two schools proposed and organized for the first time ; one for the west end, and the other for the east. Mr. Caleb Brooks was engaged to keep the west school for three months, at two pounds per month; Mr. Henry Davison the east, at the same price.

In these ways, primary instruction was provided for. Although, in their votes, they used the word " established," it could not be strictly true ; for there was no school established, as we understand the term. Money raised for schools was not at first put among the town charges, but raised as a separate tax. Schools were any thing but perennial ; they could hardly be dignified with the title of semi-annual, and sometimes almost deserved the sobriquet of ephemeral. At first they were kept in a central "angle," or "squadron," which meant district ; the next improvement was to keep a third of the time in one extremity, a third in the opposite, and a third in the centre. Sometimes the money raised for the support of the school was divided according to the number of polls, and sometimes according to the number of children. The church and the school were, with our fathers, the alpha and omega of town policy.

By a traditional blindness, we charitably presume it must have been, our early fathers did not see that females required and deserved instruction equally with males ; we therefore find the first provisions for primary schools confined to" boys. As light broke in, they allowed girls to attend the public school two hours per day ; and it was not until April 5, 1790, that the question was formally considered. On that day, a committee was chosen to inquire "if it be expedient for girls to attend the master's school." The committee wisely recommended the affirmative ; whereupon, at the next townmeeting, it was voted " that girls have liberty to attend the master-school during three summer months."

" June 20, 1794 : Voted that females attend the masterschool separately, from the 1st of May to the 1st of October, four hours each day ; and that the boys attend four hours each day, - Thursday and Saturday afternoons being vacations." No one was admitted under seven years of age, nor unless he could read and spell. Woman, as the first instructor of man, needs a double portion of culture ; and, when we starve the mother, we curse the cradle.

The course of study was, for the most part, meagre and impoverishing. The healthy curiosity of the mind was fed on the dryest husks of grammar, arithmetic, spelling, and reading. Whatever could be turned to pecuniary gain was the great object in the selection of studies. Webster's Spelling-book, American Preceptor, Young Lady's Accidence, Pike's Arithmetic, and Morse's Geography, were the mines out of which4 pupils were commanded to dig the golden ores of all useful knowledge. The books were made with very slight apprehension of a child's mode of thought. They seemed to take for granted that the pupil knew the very things they proposed to teach him. They abounded with rules, without giving any instruction concerning the principles out of which the rules rose. It was somewhat like lecturing on optics to the blind, or on music to the deaf.

May 5, 1795 : On this day, the town voted to build a brick schoolhouse behind the meeting-house. They agreed " to give William Woodbridge two hundred and twenty pounds, with the old schoolhouse, to build it." This house consisted of one large room, sufficient for sixty or seventy children, and was arranged after the newest models, and furnished with green blinds. On the north side sat the girls, and on the south the boys, constantly tempting each other to laugh and play.

May 6, 1805 : Voted to prdcure a lot for a schoolhouse near Gravelly Bridge. Voted " to choose a committee to look out a piece of land at the west end of the town, procure materials (for a schoolhouse), and report their doings at March meeting."

March 7, 1807 : Voted to enlarge the schoolhouse, and dig a well. After this was done, the girls and boys were taught in separate rooms. Until this time there had been but one public free school in the town ; and this was all that was then deemed necessary. It was taught by an accomplished master through the year. After this time, two schools 'were not too many, and the town cheerfully sustained them. No provision had been made for what are now called " primaiy schools ; " and therefore every parent was obliged to pay for the schooling of his children until they had reached the age of seven, when they could lawfully enter the grammar school. So late as 1813, children under seven years of age were, by vote, prohibited from entering the grammar schools.

The " dame schools," or, as they were often called, the " marm schools," were numerous. Some vestal dames, whom it would not be profanation to call " sacred," and who never seemed young to their pupils, continued, through many years, to teach the young their first steps on the high and perilous ladder of learning. With what fidelity they administered the accustomed kisses, alphabet, and birch, some of us can never forget. Twelve cents per week, paid on each Monday morning, secured to each pupil an abundance of motherly care, useful knowledge, and salutary discipline. Our town rejoiced in a " Marm Betty." After all, these schools were more important to society than the march of armies or the sailing of fleets ; for they laid well the first foundation-stones of that immortal edifice, - human character.

In 1817, female teachers for the female department -were preferred. They taught through six months only. In 1818, when Medford had two hundred and two families, the expenses of the schools were as follows : -

Nov. 1, 1824 : Voted to divide the town into two disti-icts, to be called Eastern and Western ; and the $1,200, voted this year for the support of the schools, was to be divided equally between the districts. In 1825, the number of children in Medford, under fourteen years of age, was 525 ; and the thickening of population in new places made it necessary to multiply schoolhouses, and scatter them over the whole territory.

1829 : Voted to build a schoolhouse, of wood, in the west part of the town. This was placed on the Woburn Road, on land bought of Jonathan Brooks, Esq. In 1831, it was removed and placed near the alms-house, on land belonging to the town.

March 3, " 1834 : Voted that the school-committee be directed so to arrange the town-schools that the girls shall enjoy equal privileges therein with the boys throughout the year." This tardy justice to the female sex was not peculiar to Medford ; and we are now amazed that Anglo-Saxon men, living in a free commonwealth and, professing the Christian religion, should have needed two hundred years to convince them that girls have an equal right with boys to all physical, intellectual, and moral development.

The new interest awakened in the cause of elementary instruction, by the friends of common schools, produced its effects readily in Medford ; and, in 1835, the town chose a committee "to inquire how proper education might be more extensively and effectually promoted in the town." In this year a new schoolhouse was ordered, - the land and building to cost eight hundred dollars.

This vote shows that the efforts of the school-reformers of previous years had uot been lost on Medford. Among these early friends of a better system was a talented son of Medford, Mr. William Channing Woodbridge, who received from his father a knowledge and love of school-teaching, and who, as editor of the " Annals of Education," labored suc- cessfully for the great cause. His " Modern School Geography and Atlas " are proofs of his ability and enthusiasm ; and we deeply regret that all our efforts to learn more of his history and labors have been so unsuccessful. He is an honorary member of the Geographical Societies of Paris, Frankfort, and Berlin.

If another son of Medford has labored long and spent much for common schools, is it necessary that it should be noticed in' this history ? The writer of this has maintained, that, under the circumstances, it is not necessary ; but he has at last been syllogized into the belief, that what was publicly done by a son of Medford towards the " educationrevival" of 1835-7 belongs to the history of the town, and cannot be omitted without violating the rule followed in all other cases in town histories. Silenced rather than convinced, he yields to the wishes of those he has no right to disregard ; and, omitting all details, he consents only to the republication of a letter which first appeared in the Plymouth newspaper, Oct. 4, 1845, and was copied in the " Common School Journal." The introductory remarks of the editor will sufficiently explain the facts.

"Materials for a History of Massachusetts Schools. " The communications in our former numbers, respecting the Bridgewater Normal School and the late annual address before the pupils, have induced a friend of Mr. Brooks to write him, and ask about his first movements in the Old Colony. He reluctantly yielded to write an account ; but, as it connects itself so closely with the cause of education in our Commonwealth, we think our readers may be glad to see it. - Old Colony Memorial.

" My dear Sir, - You ask me to print my address delivered at Bridgewater before the Normal School. I thank you for the compliment implied in such a request ; but, my friend, the time has passed for such a necessity. Our battle with ignorance and prejudice has been fought in the Old Colony, and the victory is ours ; and there had better not be any parade of the old soldiers quite yet. Some educational antiquary, in his pardonable weakness, may show my lectures fifty years hence, as they sometimes show old cannon. They are fast growing into the sear and yellow leaf: so pray excuse me. *

1" You ask about the educational movements in the Old Colony with which I was connected. The story is very short, and to most persons must be very uninteresting.

knowledge of its nature and action. A good opportunity came to me without my seeking it. The King of Prussia had sent Dr. Julius, of Hamburg, to this country, for the purpose of collecting information concerning our prisons, hospitals, schools, &c. I happened to meet the doctor in a literary party in London, and he asked me to become his room-mate on board ship. I did so, and for forty-one days was with him listening to his descriptions of German and Prussian systems of instruction. I was resolved to attempt the introduction of several parts of the system into the United States. I formed my plan, and commenced operations by a public announcement, and an address at Hingham. I found some who understood and appreciated my views, and I worked on with a new convert's zeal. In 1835, 1 wrote and published; but few read, and fewer still felt any interest. I was considered a dreamer, who wished to fill our republican commonwealth with monarchial institutions. There were some amusing caricatures of me published, to ridicule my labors. These did me more good than harm. I worked with precious few encouragements. I occupied Thanksgiving Day of 1835 in advocating, in a public address, my plan for Normal Schools. I took my stand upon this Prussian maxim, lAs is the teacher, so is the school.' I thought the whole philosophy was summed up in that single phrase ; and I think so still. I accordingly wrote all my lectures with reference to the establishment of Normal Schools. I now began to lecture before lyceums and conventions, and had many stormy debates, and a wonderful scarcity of compliments. The noise and dust of battle began at last to bring many to the comitia, until we got quite a respectable campus martins. I thought there was one place where I could rely on intelligence and patriotism ; and there I resolved to go. I accordingly published in the newspapers, that a convention would be gathered at Plymouth, in court-week, ' to discuss the expediency of establishing a Normal School in the Old Colony.' The friends of common schools assembled, and a private room held us all ! But soon the truth spread ; and my friends in Hingham and Plymouth came up generously to the work. We felt that the two great ideas of the church and the schoolhouse, which our Pilgrim Fathers brought to this shore, were to be carried out, and ever trusted in God they would. %

" But this narrative is growing too long. In a few words, then, let me add, that I found conventions to be the best missionaries of the truth ; and I gathered them in Plymouth, Duxbury, New Bedford, Bridgewater, Kingston, Hanover, Hanson, &c. The Old Colony was ready to take the lead ; and we began with petitions and memorials to the Legislature, all recommending the establishment of Normal Schools. How many hundred pages I wrote on this subject, during 1834-6, I dare not say. It was the subject of my thoughts and prayers. The wisdom of the Prussian scheme recommended itself to the reflecting ; and, as I had studied it, I was invited to lecture in each of the New England States. I went to Portsmouth, Concord, Nashua, and Keene, N.H. ; to Providence and Newport, R.I. ; to Hartford, Conn. ; to New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania. I went through our own State, holding conventions at the large central towns. All this time I seemed to have little real success. I began to despair. I returned, after two years of excessive toil, to my professional duties, concluding that the time had not yet come for this great movement. One evening, in January, 1837, I was sitting reading to my family, when a letter was brought me from the friends of education in the Massachusetts Legislature, asking me to lecture on my hobby subject before that body. I was electrified with joy. The whole heavens to my eye seemed now filled with rainbows. January 18th came, and the hall of the House of Representatives was perfectly full. I gave an account of the Prussian system ; and they asked if I would lecture again. I consented, and, the next evening, endeavored to show how far the Prussian system could he safely adopted in the United States.

"4lere my immediate connection with the cause may be said to stop ; for one of my auditors, the Hon. Edmund Dwight, after this, took the matter into his hands, and did for it all a patriot could ask. He gave $10,000 for the establishment of Normal Schools, on condition the State would give as much. This happily settled the matter. A ' Board of Education ' was established, and they found the man exactly suited to the office of Secretary ; and at Worcester, Aug. 25, 1837, I had the satisfaction of congratulating the American Institute, in a public address, on the realization of wishes which they had for years cherished. Mr. Mann entered upon his labors that day ; and the results are gladdening the whole country. May God still smile on this cause of causes, until schools shall cover the whole world with knowledge, and Christianity shall fill it with love!

" My friend, do not misinterpret my letter by supposing that I originated these ideas. Oh, no ! They were picked up by me in Europe. There had been an attempt at a teachers' seminary at Lancaster ; and the American Institute, unknown to me, had discussed the subject before I was a member ; and the idea was not a new one. All I did was to bring it from Europe with me, and talk about it, and write about it, until the Old Colony adopted it. I hope the many early friends I had there will believe me when I say, that, without their generous and steady co-operation, I should have failed in my plans. The Normal Schools are of Prussian origin ; but let us not mourn on that account. The beautiful fountain of Arethusa sank under the ground in Greece, and re-appeared in Sicily ; but I have never read that the Sicilians mourned for the appearance of that foreign blessing among them.

To show how promptly our town took the form and pressure of the times, we need only state the appropriations annually made for the support of the schools ; and, beginning with 1832, they stand thus : -

It will take but little arithmetic to prove that here was an increase in appropriations, within ten years, beyond all former precedents, and beyond the ratio of increase in numbers or wealth in the town. Medford partook so fully of the new enthusiasm for the improvement of its schools, that in 1853 it stood twelfth on the list of towns in the county, and twentyfifth in the Commonwealth ; paying, at that time, $6.04.7 per head for each child in town between the ages of five and fifteen.

1840 : The age at which pupils were admitted to the primary schools was four years ; and they could not remain in the grammar schools after they were sixteen.

April 3, 1843 : Voted to build a schoolhouse, in High Street, upon land bought of John Howe. This house was to be sixty feet by forty ; three stories high ; of wood, with brick basement ; and its cost limited to $4,500, - to be called the High School.

" The Spanish, Italian, or German Languages may be commenced by such pupils as in the judgment of the master have acquired a competent knowledge of the French.

schoolhouse more ample in its dimensions and more classic in its appearance than the town's appropriation would procure, cheerfully united in adding to it, by subscription, the sum of nine hundred dollars. This sum was raised by residents of the " West End ; " and they who were most able to give, gave with abounding liberality. The building committee were Messrs. Charles Caldwell, J. B. Hatch, and J. M. Usher ; and they spared no pains in procuring a skilful draughtsman. Mr. George A. Caldwell was the masterbuilder.

On the 6th of August, 1851, the corner-stone was laid with appropriate religious and literary exercises. Edward Brooks, Esq., presided, and made the opening remarks. Prayer was offered by Rev. E. K. Fuller ; and then an original poem was spoken by a pupil, followed with short speeches by neighbors and friends.- The house is placed between Irving and Brooks Streets^ on the hill, where pure air comes from the heavens, and pure water from the earth, - the one securing a healthy ventilation, and the other as healthy a digestion.

On the £2d of December, 1851, a day chosen in honor of the Pilgrim Fathers who landed at Plymouth, the house was dedicated. The company was numerous, and the enthusiasm great. Prayers were offered by Rev. Dr. Ballou, the senior pastor in the town ; and the dedicatory address was delivered by the writer of this history, and afterwards published by request. An original poem, strikingly adapted to the occasion, was recited by a lad eight years old. Before the crowd separated, the chairman proposed from the committee that the school should be called the Brooks School. This was voted by acclamation ; and thus ended our literary festival.

We wish it were in our power to name the teachers of our public schools, who have filled their high and sacred office through many years with such distinguished fidelity and success. Usage forbids this ; but let every such teacher be assured that he has a reward infinitely higher than the applause of men.

There were twelve female and four male teachers employed by the town in 1854. The schools are reported as in excellent condition. The following abstract of the monthly reports of the teachers embraces the whole of the year 1854 : -

Medford has been famous for its excellent private schools. So early as 1790, Mr. William Woodbridge opened one for young ladies and boys, providing board in his own family for many who came from Boston and other places. He seemed to have discovered, what is now so commonly known, that the surest way of having a select and full school was to ask the highest price. At first he met with some success in teaching, but more in salary, and educated several of the first females of the State.

His academy was kept in the house formerly occupied by Colonel Royal. At one time he had ninety-six girls and forty -two boys. His sister was associated with him, and one male teacher. He had no objection to inflict corporal punishment on females ! He was greatly given to wild speculations in trade, and seemed to carry something of this spirit into his schoolroom. He had. no system of teaching, and let any pupil read from any book he pleased. Such teaching would not secure long patronage ; and Mr. "Woodbridge relinquished school-keeping for baking, and failed also in that business, in Charlestown. He then moved to Connecticut ; and we lose sight of him.

Mr. Joseph "Wyman, of Woburn, who had kept the public school in Medford, built the house now owned by the Bigelow family, and there opened a private school for boys and girls. He taught only a few years.

Mrs. Susanna Rawson succeeded Mr. Wyman, and opened a boarding-school for girls in the house which had been occupied by him. She was a lady of uncommon attainments, apt in teaching, and able to govern. Her school deserved its high popularity ; and that its numbers were great, may be inferred from the following vote of the town : -

"May 12, 1800: Voted that the second and third seats in the women's side-gallery in the meeting-house be allowed Mrs. Rawson, for herself and scholars ; and that she be allowed to put doors and locks on them."

Mrs. Newton succeeded Mrs. Rawson, occupying the same house from 1803 to 1806. She was a native of Rhode Island, and sister of Gilbert Stuart, the painter. Her success was so great at one time that she had sixty pupils, some of whom were foreigners, and many of them from neighboring States. Some of her pupils became distinguished ladies in New England. She removed to Boston, and continued her school there.

Dr. Luther Stearns (H.C. 1791) opened a classical school, first for girls, and afterwards for boys and girls, in his house, which fronted the entrance of Medford turnpike. This was a boarding-school ; and but a few children of Medford attended it. Dr. Stearns had been tutor of Latin at Cambridge, and ever showed a preference for that language. His school was filled with children from the first families of New England, with now and then a sprinkling of French and Spanish blood. A kinder heart never beat in human bosom ; so kind and tolerant as to forbid that imperial rule and uncompromising decision so needful for a troop of boys. He prepared many young men for college ; and some of us who are of the number remember with delight his mildness and generosity.

about the year 1806, and, by persevering fidelity, gained reputation. He built the large house on Forest Street lately occupied as a boarding-house, and superintended the amusements as well as the studies of his boarders. He was not one of those of whom it is said, Tanto buon, che val niente. He was perhaps less of a scholar than a disciplinarian ; yet he made skilful mathematicians and accomplished linguists, because he made students. He taught his pupils the force of this sentence : Sic volo ; sicjubeo ; stat pro ratione voluntas. He was neither severe nor unreasonable ; for, under a soldier's sternness, there nestled something of a lover's goodwill.

Miss Ann Rose, of London, opened a day-school, for girls, in May, 1811 ; and, in November, 1812, she, and Miss Hannah Swan, of Medford, converted it into a boardingschool, and soon found their house filled with young ladies from the best families in the State. The good influences of this academy can hardly be over-stated. Uniting extensive literary accomplishments with the highest moral qualifications, these ladies performed their legislative and executive duties with dignity and quietness, and labored to give that instruction which develops all the powers for health, usefulness, and station. They have lived to receive showers of blessings from grateful pupils. Fide et amove.

Mr. John Angier (H.C. 1821) opened a boarding-school, for boys and girls, May 1, 1821, and took the same house which Dr. Hosmer had formerly used. Having already acquired a reputation as teacher, and being as highly esteemed as he was well known in Medford, his success came early and copiously. He devoted his whole mind and time to his duties, and had a crowded school as testimony to his fidelity and usefulness. For twenty years his school grew in popularity ; and there was general regret when his health compelled him to resign it in 1841.

During his teaching, he had five hundred new scholars ; some remained seven years with him. Among his pupils, he counts Chief Justice Gilchrist, of New Hampshire ; and Justice Benjamin R. Curtis, of the Supreme Court of the United States.

The many of both sexes whom he has sent forth rejoicing in the way of knowledge and virtue will ever remember him with deepest gratitude. Fideli certa merces.

twenty-four years, with signal success, by Miss Eliza Bradbury, was deservedly ranked among the most useful seminaries within the neighborhood of Boston. Devoting herself to the most substantial and important branches of education, she produced the most durable and happy results. Her pupils were mostly from other towns, and several of them from the most elevated families. Fortiter, jideliter, /elicit er.

Other private schools, less extensive in numbers and of shorter duration, have done their share in the good work, and been a credit to the town. For more than half a century, the excellent schools of Medford have presented a strong inducement for strangers to settle among us. Courtesy forbids me to designate by name that private classical school taught by a well-tried and successful instructor ; and those private boarding and day-schools for young ladies, which have had such auroral beginnings. May they have unbroken success !

Medford Literary Institute

This interesting society was formed, March 10, 1853, by several intelligent and enterprising young men, for their advancement in literature. They began well, and have proceeded with enthusiasm. At their anniversary exhibitions, the Town Hall is always crowded. Forti et fideli nihil difficile.

Medford Social Library

This excellent institution was established about 1825, and has been silently doing its good work ever since. Turell Tufts, Esq., bequeathed to it five hundred dollars, the interest of which must be expended annually for the purchase of valuable books.

The constitution says, " The design of the society is to form a collection of books strictly useful, promotive of piety and good morals, and for the diffusion of valuable information. Books of a light and unedifying character shall not be admitted." Price of a share, one dollar ; annual tax, fifty cents. Each proprietor may take out two volumes at a time. " Any person, by paying ten dollars or more at one time, may become an honorary member for life, entitled to take out books as a shareholder, but without tax or assessment."

The selection of books, thus far, has been marked with scholarly taste and Christian principle ; and, should the town adopt this library, and enlarge it to meet the wants of the entire population, and make it free to all, it would be a benefaction of inconceivable value.

" West Medford Lyceum and Library Association '; was established by the zeal of Mr. T. P. Smith, and was incorporated in 1852. Mystic Hall, built by him, has been used for lyceum lectures and similar purposes. Valuable books, contributed at first by distinguished individuals from abroad and by neighbors, laid the proper foundation for a useful and free library.

Sunday-School Libraries

Each of the religious societies in Medford has expended money freely for the purchase of books suited to children. The libraries contain, on an average, three hundred volumes ; and the books are selected with judgment and taste. Additions of new books are made every six months ; and the older books are often given to destitute schools in the country.

Teachers Libraries

The commentaries and histories which explain the Sacred Scriptures are gathered into libraries for the free use of the Sunday-school teachers, and are also used as manuals in the Bible classes.

Lyceum Lectures

These seem to have become an institution. Where societies have not been formed, for the purpose of securing lecturers, towns have taken up the duty, and large annual subscriptions have been made. Thus the ablest scholars have been brought before the community, and have instructed and charmed thousands by their learning and eloquence. Medford early adopted the prevalent system ; and, for several years, has enjoyed, through the winter, a weekly lecture from the circle of favorite orators. The Town Hall has been filled, and the most friendly feelings promoted. As each itinerant lecturer prepares but one address in a year, he selects the most engrossing topic ; and then, with great study, condenses into one hour all the philosophy, wit, and pathos he can command. The pyrotechnic batteries of thought are loaded with surpassing skill. The consequence is, that the assembly is kept at the highest point of intellectual excitement during the time of the address. Thus an extraordinary standard of public speaking is erected, which the Sunday congregation applies with fatal injustice to the one hundred and six sermons which the stated preacher is annually compelled to bring before the same audience.

Instrumentalities for further education are needed in Medford. A town-library would be of exceeding value to thousands, who cannot buy, and will not borrow, the standard works they wish to read. Wherever such libraries have been established, they have created a taste for study, have brought the rich and poor together, have worn away sectional and sectarian asperities, and united a town in the noblest aims. What can be wiser than to bring the best results of the maturest minds within the reach of the inquisitive youth or the Christian philanthropist, of the ambitious mechanic or, the pious mother ?

A deepening moral responsibility rests on Christian republics. We are addressed on every side by emphatic voices. Our Pilgrim ancestors, from the Rock of Plymouth, call to us from the invisible past, and command us to follow up the two great principles of the church and schoolhouse which they have bequeathed to us in trust. So, too, from the invisible future, do coming generations call to us, ere they arrive, beseeching us to provide for them that instruction which shall make them equal to all the demands of an advanced civilization. Shall we be deaf to the commands of our fathers, or the prayers of our children ?

Tufts College

This is the first college on this continent, or in the world, which has been created by the combined efforts, and controlled by the exclusive agency, of the denomination called Universalists. It intends to take the motto of the age, - Onward, upward. It begins under the most favoring auspices, and will aim at the highest results. Medford looks upon it as an object of peculiar interest "within its borders. The selection of president and professors is a fortunate one ; and, believing that the denomination will be true to itself, we can anticipate numbers of intelligent and virtuous young men, who, in their old age, will look back with gratitude and joy to the happy and prosperous years they spent at Tufts College in Medford. Year after year, under the divine guidance and blessing, may this nursery of learning and virtue send forth those who shall hasten the coming of universal light, universal liberty, and universal love !

Tufts College originated in a movement among Universalists in the United States, who felt it important that the denomination to which they belong should take a more active part in the cause of liberal education. Some ten years ago, a number of them met in convention, at New York, to adopt measures for establishing a college. For this purpose they ordered a subscription to be opened for $100,000, as the minimum sum. The enterprise, however, was delayed for some years. At length another meeting of the convention was held, at which the Rev. O. A. Skinner, now of Boston, was appointed agent to obtain and collect the subscription. In the summer of 1851, he gave notice that the amount of $100,000 was subscribed; and a meeting of the subscribers was held in Boston on the 16th and 17th of September of that year. The trustees chosen at this meeting selected Walnut Hill, near the line between Medford and Somerville, for the site of the college. To this selection they were in some measure influenced by the offer of twenty acres of land on the summit, by Charles Tufts, Esq., of Somerville, and also by the offer of adjoining lots by two public-spirited gentlemen of Medford. In gratitude for a munificent donation by Mr. Tufts, the name, Tufts College, was adopted.

In the spring of 1852, a college charter was granted by the Legislature of this Commonwealth. Under the provisions of this charter, a board of sixteen trustees was subsequently chosen, of which Mr. Oliver Dean, M.D., of Boston, is president. In July, 1852, Rev. Thomas J. Sawyer, D.D., of New York, was elected, by the trustees, president of the college ; but, he declining to accept the office on the terms pro-

The corner-stone of the present college-edifice Avas laid, in form, on the 19th of July, 1853, after an able address, delivered on the spot, by Rev. A. A. Miner, of Boston. The building was finished in the spring of 1854. Mr. S. F. Bryant was the architect. It is a plain structure, of brick, one hundred feet by sixty feet, and sixty feet high, containing a chapel forty feet by thirty-three feet, and a library-room forty feet by twenty-two feet, besides recitation-rooms, lecturerooms, society -rooms, offices, &c, but no dormitories : these last will be provided in a boarding-house which is to be be erected next summer.

The course of instruction in Tufts College extends through four years, and is, in general, the same as that of other New England colleges. With the regular academical course, however, it is designed to connect other branches, as soon as the academical course shall have been carried into thorough operation. A few students are accommodated, for the present year, in the college-building ; but the institution will not be regularly opened till about the 1st of September, 1855.

Faculty

President, Hosea Ballou, 2/1, D.D., Professor of History and of Intellectual Philosophy ; John P. Marshall, A.M., Professor of Mathematics and of Physical Science ; William P. Drew, A.B., Professor of Ancient Languages and of Classical Literature ; Benjamin F. Tweed, A.M., Professor of Rhetoric, Logic, and English Literature ; Enoch C. Rolfe, M.D., Professor of Physiology and

Tufts College Admission To The Regular College Course

Applicants for admission must produce certificates of their good moral character. If they come from other colleges, certificates also of their regular dismission therefrom are required.

Latin: Virgil's Bucolics, Georgics, and six books of the ^neid; Cfesar's Commentaries or Sallust; Cicero's Select Orations (Folsom's or Johnson's edition); Andrews s and Stoddard's Latin Grammar, including Prosody; Arnold s Latin Prose Composition, to the Dative. Greek : Felton's or Jacob's (^reek Reader (or four books of Homer's Iliad, with three books of Xenophon's Anabasis) ; Sophocles', Crosby's, or Kuhner's Greek Grammar, including Prosody ; Arnold's Greek Prose Composition, to the Moods ; Writing of Greek Accents Mathematics: Arithmetic; Smyth's Algebra, to Equations of the Second Degree. History: Modern Geography; Worcester's Ancient Geography ; Goodrich's History of the United States.

For admission to an advanced class, an examination must be well sustained, both in these studies and in the studies through which such class shall have already passed.

Examinations for admission will be held on the day after the Commencement, and on the Tuesday preceding the beginning of the Fall Term. The examinations will begin at eight o'clock, a.m., on each of these days.

Before his admission, every candidate must give a bond of $200 with two sureties, to pay all his college bills. To be admitted to' an advanced standing, he must also pay, or secure the payment of, one-half of the tuition which shall have accrued in the previous years and terms of the regular course, unless he comes from another college ; provided that, if he be admitted at the beginning of the Senior Year, the tuition of the Junior Year shall be the only arrears required of him.

Partial Courses of Study. - Persons who do not enter for a college degree, and who produce certificates of their good moral character, may be received to such studies, in any class, as they shall, on examination, be found qualified to pursue with profit ; and they may continue therein at their pleasure, on condition of obeying the laws of the college, and paying one-third more than the regular tuition for the time they remain.

Course Of Study

Freshman Class. - First Term. - Latin : Lincoln's Livy ; Zumpt's Grammar, for reference ; Roman Antiquities ; Arnold's Latin Prose Composition. Greek : Felton's Greek Historians ; Grecian Antiquities ; Arnold's Greek Prose Composition. Mathematics : Smyth's Algebra. History - Weber's Outlines, to the "Macedonian Period;" Age of Themistocles, Pericles, and Aluibiades, in Smith's History of Greece. Rhetoric : English Grammar Elocution ; Murdock and Russell's Orthophony ; Declamations.

Latin Metres ; Latin Prose Composition. Greek : Homer's Odyssey ; Greek Prose Composition. Mathematics : Algebra, continued ; Euclid, five books. History : Weber, continued to the end of " Ancient History ; " Roman Commonwealth. Natural Theology : Paley's. Rhetoric : English Grammar, and Orthophony, continued ; Themes ; Declamations.

Sophomore Class. - First Term. - Latin : Horace's Satires and Epistles ; Cicero de Amicitia ; Writing Latin. Greek : Demosthenes' Olinthiacs and Philippics ; Buttraann's and Kuhner's Grammars, for reference ; Writing Greek. Mathematics : Euclid, continued ; Smyth's Plane Trigonometry ; Surveying ; Navigation. History : Weber, continued to the end of the " Middle Ages ; " Hallam's Middle Ages. Revealed Religion : Paley's Evidences. Rhetoric : Elocution ; Themes ; Declamations.

Second Term. - Latin : Cicero de Officiis ; Writing Latin." Greek : Aristophanes' Clouds ; Greek Metres « Writing Greek. Mathematics : Smyth's Calculus ; Spherical Trigonometry. History : Weber, continued to the " Colonization of America ; " Sismondi's Italian Republics ; English Commonwealth. Physiology : Hooker's, with Lectures. Rhetoric : Day's Rhetoric ; Elocution ; Themes ; Declamations.

Senior Class. - First Term. - Physics : Chemistry, with Lectures. Intellectual Philosophy : Wayland's. Political Economy : Wayland's. Rhetoric : Whately's Logic ; Themes ; Forensics ; Original Declamations. Elective Studies. - Latin : Terence's Andria ; Translations from Greek into Latin. Greek : Sophocles' Antigone ; Translations from Latin into Greek. German : Adler's Ollendorff and Reader. Mathematics : Davis's Linear Perspective.

Second Term. - Physics : Mineralogy and Geology, with Lectures. Political Economy : Wayland's. Natural and Revealed Religion : Butler's Analogy. Rhetoric : Lectures on the English Language and Literature ; Themes ; Declamations. Elective Studies. - Latin : Cicero pro Cluentio. Greek : Demosthenes de Corona. German : Schiller's Thirty Years' War ; Gothe's Iphigenia. , Spanish: Ollendorff's Grammar ; Novelas Espanolas. Mathematics : Davies's Shades and Shadows.

Public College Exercises. - A public examination of all the classes will be held, during not less than four days, immediately before the end of each term. There will also be, in each term, a public exhibition ; for which parts will be assigned to members of the Junior and Senior Classes, according to their general scale of merit.

Religious Observances. - All resident under-graduates, resident students in partial courses, and resident officers of instruction, are required to attend morning and evening prayers, and the reading of the Scriptures, in the chapel.

They are also required to attend public worship on Sundays, and on days of the annual Thanksgiving and Fast, at such places as the Faculty may appoint ; provided always that the parents or guardians may, at the beginning of the college-year, appoint the place of public worship for those who are under age ; and that those who are of age may, at that time, choose the place for themselves, and report it to the Faculty.

Terms, Vacations, and Commencement. - The academical year is divided into two terms. The first term of the academical year begins six weeks after the second Wednesday of July, and ends on the second Wednesday of January. The second term begins six weeks after the second Wednesday of January, and ends on the second Wednesday of July.

At the end of each term, there is a vacation of six weeks. There are vacations also from the Tuesday evening next before the annual Thanksgiving till the following Monday evening, on Christmas Day, on the day of the annual Fast, on Wednesday and Thursday of Anniversary Week, and on the Fourth of July.

Students, who choose, board themselves. Students who keep schools may be absent from college, on that duty, for a period not exceeding thirteen weeks, including the winter vacation ; they continuing their studies the mean while.