Needham Town (part 4 of 12)

July J, iy20 The Ordinance of the Lords Supper was firft admiftred in this Church of Chrift: Wee had near or about 50 Communicants, a few befides our felves, twas a comfortable fight, a pretty Show, confidering our infancy. The Lord increafs us both in Number & holinefs. On the fame day Deacon Timothy Kingjbury^s Daughter Ruth was baptized.

Aug. 7. iy20. I propof'd to the Church (before the Congregation) the having the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper adminftred once in Six Weeks, & I took their Silence for a confent to and compliance with the Propofall.

On April 20, 1720, Thomas Metcalf and Josiah Newell were chosen deacons, but as they both declined the choice was made, on May 17, of Jeremiah Woodcock and Timothy Kingsbery. Deacon Woodcock resigned January 7, 1729/30, because it was "not agreeable to the mind of the Church that the Deacons be ordain'd", and Eleazer Kingsbery succeeded him on February 4.

Both Kingsberys were deposed on January 9, 1746/7; Eleazer's offence was that he "went over to y Anabaptists". The same day Josiah Newell, Jr., Joshua Ellis and John Fisher, Jr., were elected deacons. Deacon Ellis lived in the Springfield Parish, Dover, and in 1758 assisted to organize a Church there. Deacon Newell resigned November 21, 1783, and Deacon Fisher died October 17, 1788.

19, 1790 to November 22, 1803, when he resigned. Lieut.- Col. Silas Alden, irreverently known as "Old Growl", was elected in his place, and died in office February 22, 1826.

Zachariah Cushman was deacon from September 21, 1819, to his death June 11, 1826, and George Fisher from September 21, 1819, to his decease, November 13, 1845. Newell Smith was chosen deacon May 31, 1822, but declined, although he bore the title until his death, October 10, 1866. He was sometimes called "Deacon Could Be", but the town records give him the title without qualification, Jonathan Newell was deacon from August 25, 1822, until he died on July 8, 1853, the Rev. Daniel Kimball, A.M., September I, 1826 to June 3, 1859, when he resigned, Capt. Elisha Lyon from September i, 1826 to May 19, 1849, when he resigned, Thomas Kingsbury, Esq., and Timothy Daniell were chosen in July, 1849; Deacon Kingsbury died May 14, 1859, and Deacon Daniell March 5, 1894, his resignation of August 5, 1859, never having been accepted, although his later years were passed in Roxbury. Alvin Fuller and George Gay Stevens were elected deacons June 3, 1859; the former's resignation was accepted June i, 1872, as he had joined the new Unitarian Society in Grantville, and Deacon Stevens died November 30, 1875. Otis Morton was deacon from June i, 1872, to his decease, June 2, 1890. The Dedham Historical Register for 1892 contains an account of the deacons of this Church, contributed by George Kuhn Clarke.

"Oct: 7: 1730. At a Chh. Meeting at My Houfe. After Prayer. Voted, That Deacon Woodcock pay in speedily to Deacon Timothy Kingsbury the money in his hands, viz. : 20 Shillings which Mf Mayhezv gave to the Chh, and the ouerplus of the Chh's Contribution, viz.: I3« = i<^-, or I4«=9'^-. or thereabouts, to buy a Flagon, No usury to be paid". On August 20, 1738, the Church and congregation contributed at a special service £12 for "Sacramental Vefsels". "At a Chh: Meeting at my House, April. 6. 174.1. Voted alfo,

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That It Is the expectation & desire of the Chh that the Deacons procure the Baptlfmal Water. But Deacon Eleazar Kingfbury then fignifi'd that he refus'd to do It".

On April 6, 1741, the Church voted to have a contribution of the Church members of at least one shilling each "y^ next Sacrament Day", and of six pence each on every other "Sacrament Day" for a year "to provide the Sacramental Elements". Days of "Fasting and Prayer" were occasionally observed, particularly when religion seemed at a low ebb, or Illness was prevalent. There were six, or more, of these fasts from 1727 to 1744, and the record of a few of them will Illustrate the spirit that Inspired their observance.

^^ June, 14. 1727. We, the Church & Congregation In this Place, observed a Day of Fasting and Prayer to afk for y? outpourings of y? Spirit of grace on the rising Generation, & the revival of decaying Religion. Mr - Dexter began with prayer In y? fox'enoon, M.r Peabody preach'd from Matt: 17. 21. M"' Baxter began with ee prayer In the Afternoon, & I preach'd from Deut: 30. 6 ^ On November 21, of the same year there was a "Town-Fast, occafioned by the Earthquake [Oct: 2g. 1727.) "

" Nov: 16. 1743. A Fast was observ'd In this Town upon the ace? of the low and languishing circumstances of divers perfons among us; Some having been ill for fundry months, & others for divers years, and Phyficlans proving of little or no value to 'em. M? Dexter preach'd A. M. from Pfal: iig. 92. and Mr Peabody P. M. from Job: 5.8:'

The substance of an able plea, made at a town meeting, by Mr. Townsend in behalf of the Scotch-Irish is recorded on the last page of the Church book, and Is dated February 18, 1723/4. To the credit of our town no attempt was made to expel these immigrants, who had left home to find freedom of worship, and many of whom became valued citizens here. In some other towns they had fared ill, and had been driven from place to place.

Mr. Townsend had a taste for chronicling events, and for forty-two years he faithfully kept the records of the Church in a neat, but minute hand, recording two hundred and thirty-eight admissions to the Church, two hundred and nineteen marriages, one thousand and thirty baptisms, and the births and deaths.^ Few baptisms were recorded during the vacancy in the pulpit, which followed Mr. Townsend's ministry. Mr. West, however, chronicled one hundred and seven admissions to the Church, one hundred and fifty-three marriages and three hundred and fifty-nine baptisms for 1764-88. The total number of baptisms recorded in the books of this Church to 1905 is about two thousand. The old Church records contain the usual accounts of Church meetings, the election of delegates to attend ordinations and installations, cases of Church discipline, and public confessions of what was called a violation of the Seventh Commandment, although technically the offence was seldom so serious. Perhaps the sinners afforded as much edification as the saints when confessions were in order. Mr. Townsend used Latin in the records when it seemed desirable to do so. He was highly esteemed by the community, and his services were often required in ecclesiastical councils, sometimes at a considerable distance. His skill as a peacemaker was recognized, and the following extract from the Church records will illustrate an application of it at home when there was

^ It is unfortunate that his record of births, five hundred and forty-seven in number, and of deaths is lost for the years 1720-48. The first birth in existing records is numbered five hundred and forty-eight; he did not, however, give the name of the child in every instance.

This record of births and deaths, together with the marriages to 181 1, including some from the town books, and all of the baptisms to 1849, were prepared for the press by George Kuhn Clarke, and appeared in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register in the years 1901-3. There were eighteen hundred and fiftythree baptisms. The "Baptisms recorded by the Ministers, or Clerks, of the Church in the West Precinct in Needham, 1798-1849," numbered four hundred and seven, and the record of them was copied by Mr. Clarke, and appeared in the Dedham Historical Register in 1901.

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" March, 2Q. 1736. This Day We the following perfons, Jonathan Tozvnfend, Jeremiah Woodcock, Timothy Kingsbury, Eleazar Kingfbury, Thomas Metcalf, Jofiah Nezvel, Henry Prat, Benoni Woodward, Zechariah Mills, & Samuel Parker, having heard what Capt: Cook, & Capt. Fisher had to fay respecting the feveral matters of difference and difpute between them, They agreed to leave it with us, and fit down and abide by our advice and determination in the matter, and after fome difcourfe among our felves we united and concurr'd unanimously in y? following opinion and advice to 'em, viz: ' We, fome of yf Brethren of y? Chh here, having heard what Capt: Cook, & John Fisher Esqr have to fay about all paft matters of difference between them, do declare it to be our opinion that every paft difficulty and uneafinefs be forgiven and pafsed by by them, and we advife the faid contending brethren to bury all their differences in one common grave of forgetful nefs, and for the time to come to live and act together as brethren and Christians ought to do.' This advice they both thank'd us for, and accepted of: after this we fang Pfal: /jj. I call'd for a Tankard of Drink, and drank to both the heretofore contending, but now reconciled brethren, wifhing & praying, that y* peace of God which pafses all underftanding might keep their hearts and minds thro^ Christ Jesus, a7id that they, and all of us, for the time to come miH live and act together in love and peace that the God of love and peace might be with us, to which Capt: Cook faid, Amen. I gave the Tankard into Capt: Cook^s hand, he drank himfelf, and drank to Capt: Fisher, we all drank, et fie finitur, so the matter ended."

From the warrant for the town meeting on May 20, 1754, it appears that Mr. Townsend had written a letter and wanted a grant of £66, 13s., 4d. "for my yearly Support for the future & allow me intreft for the Fourty pounds granted three years ago as an Arrearage. If this Shou'd pafs in the affirmative well But if it Shou'd pafs in the Negotive Then whether the Town be willing to make up former Deficiencies to the amount of Sixty six pounds thirteen shillings & four pence for each year Viz. for the years 1750: 51: 52: & 53. This I expect Shou'd pafs in the affirmative & then the Town may expect that it will be there Bufinefs to Seek for Some other perfon to Supply the place of Minister here for the future". Undoubtedly Mr. Townsend's original letter was much better as a composition than the article in the warrant. The Town voted "no" on the question of a salary of £66, but voted to make the £90^ as good as a like sum was in 1720 "according to the Vallow of Silver". On May 23, 1757, the town declined Mr. Townsend's "Perpofels", whatever they were.

Mr. Townsend was a serious, dignified minister of the old school, but had tact, and held the affections of his people to the end. It is true the peace of the Church was interrupted about 1746, when some parishioners began to hear lay preachers, usually illiterate, and to seek "new lights".^ Mr. Townsend wrote in the Church records "On Nov: 16. 174.8. A Chh=Meeting was attended at the Meeting- Houfe, y^ defign of which was y? reftoration and establifhment of peace among us, if pofsible,-But fome of the difsatisfied Brethren rigidly infisting on leave and liberty to have illiterate Teachers among them, and to feperate from us when, and as often as they wou'd, the Meeting was broke up without obtaining the defired end. But James Smith desired to be reunited to us,".

' The New England Historic Genealogical Society has an original letter, dated June 12, 1747, and addressed to Mr. Townsend by the following malcontents, viz., - "Eleazer Kingsbery Timothy Kingsbery James Smith John Kingsbery Nath: Toleman Jo°htan Smith unr william Ockinton Archabell Smith."

The letter refers to the election of new deacons, and charges the minister with neglect. On June 23 a Church meeting was held to consider these "matters of uneafmefs," and a committee was chosen to answer the disaffected.

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was difficult to collect the rates voted for him. The depreciation of the currency complicated matters, but the people never questioned Mr. Townsend's right to the equivalent of the £90 originally agreed upon. There were votes from year to year in reference to his salary, and to the ultimate payment of arrears. When the town met August 26, 1762, Mr. Townsend was ill, and October 14 a rate of £18 was voted to pay his funeral expenses; the town had supplied the pulpit for some weeks. On March 16, 1764, Ensign Eliakim Cook, Josiah Newell, Esq., and Michael Metcalf were appointed to make a final settlement with the heirs of Mr. Townsend, which they did March 10, 1766, when £16, los., 62d. was paid, discharging in full all obligations, including gratuities.

Mr. Townsend died September 30, 1762, in the sixty-fifth year of his age and the forty-third of his ministry, and was buried in the old graveyard near his home. His house was built in 1720, and is now the residence of the writer, but has been much changed. In Mr. Townsend's time it lacked the southerly quarter, and the porches at the north and west. It had a pitched roof, or rather two such roofs at right angles, the east chimney was on the easterly side of the parlor, and the windows had "diamond panes". The alterations of the interior have been numerous, but the northerly and westerly rooms have either remained practically unchanged, or have been restored by uncovering the old ceilings, and by putting ancient material, such as the oven door, back into its place. It is said that from the estate of his father-in-law, Capt. Gregory Sugars, Mr. Townsend got some money which enabled him to build this house. Captain Sugars commanded a squadron of thirteen sail, the largest of the squadrons, in the expedition against Canada in 1690. The land, eight acres, was probably bought from the heirs of Thomas Aldridge of Dedham. Mr. Townsend also owned twenty and one quarter acres of outlands, partly on North Hill, including where Charles Kingsbury Cutter and Francis Hinckley now live. Mr. Townsend had seven children and a grandson born in the house that he built, and in which he dwelt for more than forty years, and where he and his wife and one daughter died. His eldest son, Jonathan (Harvard College 1741, A.M.), was the minister at Medfield, and the second son, Samuel, was prominent in Needham until about 1789, when he removed to Tyringham, Mass., where he died September 11, 1822, aged ninetyfour years. In 1790 Samuel Townsend sold to John Clap for £210 his farm of fifty-five acres, with a house on the north side of what is now High Rock Street, near South Street, and with a barn and corn-barn on the south side of the road. Also "my Hornstall so called", three acres of meadow "near great Causey", and an undivided half of twenty acres that he owned with Eliphalet Kingsbery in Broad Meadow.

Gregory, the youngest of the three sons, was loyal in the Revolution, fled to the British dominions north, and never returned, but lived in Halifax, and died there in 1798 or 1799. It is only in recent years that our historians have recognized the high character and great sacrifices made by the Loyalists or Tories at the time of the Revolution. While Continental Europe was still under feudal and despotic rule. Great Britain was comparatively free, and the Americans enjoyed more liberties than any other subjects of the British Crown. Open rebellion, even when petty grievances involved great principles, seemed desperate and foolhardy to many Americans, especially to those of education and social position. They thought the chances of successful resistance small, which would probably have been the case had the mother country been able to exert her full strength, unhampered by opposition at home, and by the necessity of employing troops and ships elsewhere. That there were some Loyalists in Needham, besides old Captain Faris, may be inferred from a sketch, written long ago, of the life of the Rev. Samuel West, D.D.J Mr. Townsend's successor.

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Six of Mr. Townsend's sermons were published, and the writer has seen some in manuscript. Those printed are: i. Two on the annual Fast, March 21, 1727/8. 2. Two on the deaths of Solomon Cook and Samuel Kingsbury, who were drowned In Boston Harbor, preached May 13, 1737. 3. One on the death of Thomas Gardner, Jr., killed by lightning, preached April 4, 1746. 4. One at the annual Convention of Ministers in Boston, June i, 1758.

From The Decease Of Mr. Townsend To The Settlement Of Mr. West

On October 4, 1762, the town voted to use the balance of the rates collected to supply the pulpit, and a committee of five was chosen to provide preaching for "Part of this year". It was also voted to pay "M"" Thair one of the Tutors at the Colledge" (the Rev. Ebenezer, Harvard 1753, A.M.) for preaching one Sabbath "for m' Townfend wilft he Lay in his Laft Slcknefs''.^ The Rev. Bunker Gay, A.M., of Dedham, Harvard 1760, also preached one Sunday. On March 14, 1763, Capt. Eleazer Kingsbery, Joslah Eaton and Timothy Newell were chosen to provide preaching. After the death of Mr. Townsend the ministers who came to Needham to supply the pulpit usually stopped with his family, and "Madame Townfend" was paid four shillings per week by the town for entertaining them. In the spring of 1763 the Rev. Zabdiel Adams, A.M., Harvard 1759, officiated eight Sundays and on a Fast day for £1. 4s. per day, which seems to have been the usual price for "supplies". On September 12 the town "by Paper Votes" added Deacon Fisher, William Smith, Amos Fuller, Jr., and Aaron Smith, Jr.,2 to the committee to provide preaching, and instructed them to engage the Rev. Samuel West for another month. On December 5 "The Town have Concured with the Churches Choice that they have made of ml Samuel West to take the Paftoral Charge of them by Forty Seven Votes: And there was Fourteen that Did not Concur with the Church in there Choice of mi Samuel West". The town also voted Mr. West a settlement of £133, 6s., 8d., of which one half was to be paid the first year, and the other half the second year. His salary was to be £73, 6s., 8d., and Jonathan Deming, Josiah Newell, Esq., and Nathaniel Fisher were chosen to "wait on mr. West".

During the year 1763 and the early part of 1764 the ministers stopped over Sunday at the house of Amos Fuller, Jr., and the town paid him 3s., 4d. per week. Mr. Fuller's house, the Fuller-Ritchie-Newell house, is about half a mile east of the old meeting-house site, and was built about 1754. Others who preached in Needham at this time, according to the town treasurer's book, were: the Rev. Samuel Cotton, A.M., Harvard 1759, four Sundays in October, 1762, the Rev. Edward Brooks, A.M., Harvard 1757, seven Sundays in November and December, two in May, 1763, and two in June, the Rev. Edward Russell, A.M., Harvard 1759, four Sundays in January and February, 1763. Mr. Gay, previously mentioned, had officiated four Sundays in December, 1762, and January, 1763, the Rev. Mr. "Door" one Sunday in March, and the Rev. Joseph Bowman, A.M., Harvard 1761 and at Dartmouth 1802, eight Sundays, dates uncertain.^

The Rev. Samuel West'S Ministry

^ From the Account Books of William Mills, born 1718, we learn that the Rev. Mr. Childs preached May 29, 1763, and again on August 21. This was presumably Stephen Childs, A.M., Harvard 1738, as his first name under the second date is not entirely illegible. The Rev. Mr. Haven preached June 10, 1763, and the Rev. Samuel West took his first text in Needham, June 19, 1763, from John III, 3d verse.

"Mr. hollihock " officiated June 12, and the Rev. Mr. Bowman preached September 14. The Rev. Jason Haven, A.M., is probably the minister referred to. On the i6th of some month in 1764, date illegible, "A mr Word preacht at Capt Canrackf"; this doubtless refers to the house of Captain Kenrick.

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Fuller, Capt. Eleazer Kingsbery (who declined), Nathaniel Fisher, and Capt. Ephraim Jackson a committee "to Provide for the Council the Church Shall Send for to Ordain ml Samuel Weft:" On the i6th Capt. Caleb Kingsbery took the place of Capt. Eleazer. Captain Jackson was granted £5, IS., lod. "for providing for the Council". Mr. West's letter of acceptance, dated February 4, 1764, was addressed "To the Church and Congregation in Needham". At the ordination there were present the Rev. Thomas West of Rochester, father of the Rev. Samuel, the Rev. Thomas Balch of Dedham, the Rev. Andrew Tyler of Dedham, the Rev. Samuel Woodward of Weston, the Rev. Amos Adams of Roxbury, the Rev. Jason Haven of Dedham, First Church, and the Rev. Samuel West of Dartmouth. Mr. Tyler began with prayer, Mr. West of Dartmouth preached, Mr. Thomas West gave the charge, Mr. Woodward prayed, and Mr. Balch gave the right hand of fellowship.

Owing to the large attendance the ordination took place in the open air. Mr. West had been graduated from Harvard College in 1761, and was twenty-six years old when he came to Needham, and unmarried. From June 19, 1763, he had frequently preached in the town, and had boarded with Lieut. Aaron Smith on the South Road.^ On February 23, 1769, Mr. West was married to Priscilla Plimpton of Medfield, and April 28 he purchased for £200 the house and lands of his predecessor, Mr. Townsend, with the exception of about seven acres of outlands. Mr. West later increased his outlands from thirteen acres to thirty-five, and he also had the use of the Ministerial land. On Thursday, April 17, 1769, he brought his young wife to the old parsonage; the day was cold and gloomy, and he had to leave her and go half a mile to procure fire from the nearest neighbor, probably either Amos Fuller or Oliver Mills. Mr.

^ In his autobiography, which was formerly in the possession of Mr. John J. May of Boston, Mr. West describes the Lieutenant's wife, Martha (Ware), as one "who possessed all the virtues which piety without refined education could furnish to a mind or person to whom nature had been peculiarly indulgent."

West employed from four to six carpenters for two months, at a cost of £100, to repair the house, as it was then in a poor condition. This house continued the home of Mr. West as long as he remained in Needham, and here his four children were born.

He was a scholarly and faithful minister, very courteous and discreet. While in Needham it was his custom to have meetings in private houses for people unable to attend the regular services, and by his good judgment and tact these meetings were successful. For particulars of his patriotic efforts at the time of the Revolution, and of his acceptance in 1788 of the call to the Hollis Street Church, Boston, when he had previously declined other calls, see Mr. West's autobiography. The excellent memoir of him by the Rev. Thomas Thacher, and Felt's Annals of the American Pulpit, in which latter work Mr. West is classed with the pioneer Unitarians, may also be referred to. The writer has seen only a copy of the autobiography, but the sketch by Mr. Thacher is not a rare publication. Eight pamphlets, including nine sermons, and some articles in the Columbian Centinel are all of the printed contributions made to literature by Mr. West.^

While at Needham so much of Mr. West's time was consumed in preparing boys for college, in carrying on his farm and in pastoral duties, that he got into the habit of preaching without notes, and his people grew to prefer to have him do so. For many years pupils boarded and studied with Mr. West, and the large west chamber is still called "the school room", and on its walls, beneath the modern paper, are ample evidences of its ancient use. The Rev. Stephen Palmer, Mr. West's successor, had students at his house, and it is said that the Rev. Mr. Townsend, 1720-62, increased his slender income in the same way.

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circumstances. Although Mr, West's salary was raised to £80 in 1786, he "forgave" his people at different times nearly £250, and in 1774 he had no salary at all. On November 4, 1773, the town voted "that mi Weft Should Preach Near where the Meeting Houfe Stood: Provided it be no Co ft to the Town for a place to Preach in". Dartmouth College conferred the degree of S.T.D. (D.D.) on Mr. West in 1798. He lived to 1808.

The Rev. Stephen Palmer'S Ministry

After Mr. West left, the pulpit in the First Church was supplied by Messrs. Oliver Dodge, Jacob Coggin, Hezekiah Packard, Hendrlcus Dow, Emerson Foster, Nathan Underwood, Thomas Adams, Thaddeus Mason Harris, Solomon Spalding, Smith, Alden Bradford, Joshua Chamberlain, and perhaps others. Most of these preachers were recent graduates of Harvard, and while in Needham boarded with Thomas Hubbard Townsend, who had purchased Mr. West's home. Mr. Dow received a call to Needham, August 2, 1790, which he declined.

On October 30, 1791, the Rev. Stephen Palmer, A.M., Harvard 1789, first preached in Needham, and on June 11, 1792, he received a call here, which he accepted August 5, and was ordained on November 7, an ideal day. The Rev. Mr. Newell of Stow, a native of Needham, began the ordination with prayer, the Rev. Jason Haven of Dedham preached from 2 Timothy H, 2, the Rev. Joseph Jackson of Brookline made the ordaining prayer, the Rev. John Ellis of Rehoboth gave the charge, the Rev. Roland Green of Mansfield prayed, and the Rev. George Morey of Walpole gave the right hand of fellowship. Thus began the ministry of one of the best men and most influential ministers that our town has known. Some of the older people say that he was the ablest that the Church has had. The friendship between the young minister and the aged Colonel Mcintosh began when Mr. Palmer boarded at the M'^Intosh homestead, on what is now Great Plain Avenue. It perhaps led to the call, and lasted through life. Mr. Palmer bought the place where his predecessors had lived, and on May 28, 1794, when he took possession, he found his parishioners gathered there, and preparations for his comfort made. His home coming appears to have been much more satisfactory than that of Mr. West. Mr. Palmer's salary had been fixed at £80, settlement £130, and he was to have his firewood, and the use of the "Ministerial Land". From 1797 his salary varied from $300 to $333.33. Although an Orthodox minister in good standing, he was so liberal that when a Unitarian succeeded him, it seemed no radical departure.

Mr. Palmer was a large, stout man, and when in the pulpit he wore a great deal of lace at his throat. He never entered the meeting-house for a regular service until the people were seated, when he bowed to right and left as he passed up the aisle. He prayed with his eyes wide open, and fixed on the top of a certain window.

The christening basin, still in use, was his gift, and was first used May 5, 1816. That year the Parish bought, from the proceeds of wood sold on the Ministerial land, four silver plates and eight cups, which were first used July 21, 1 8 16. The earlier communion vessels, with the exception of a silver tankard given by the will of Thomas Hubbard Townsend in 18 10, were of pewter.^ In 1803 Mrs. Catharine Palmer presented the folio Bible, now in the Sunday School library. Thirteen years earlier the Church had received a now forgotten legacy under the will of Mrs. Elizabeth.? Cook, wife of Ensign Eliakim Cook.^ Mrs. Catharine Elizabeth (Smith) Fuller, born September 30, 1820, was the last child baptized by Mr. Palmer, and the last survivor of the large

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Mr. Palmer was a member of the Massachusetts Historical Society, and contributed to its publications. His printed sermons number fifteen, and include two "Charges" and two offerings of the "Right Hand of Fellowship". His revision of "Watts Psalms and Hymns, with occasional Hymns", i8ii,was published, and used in many churches. His "Century Sermon" is referred to elsewhere in this volume. The few of his funeral discourses which have come down to us are admirable, particularly that on the death of Colonel M-'Intosh, who died January 3, 1813. For a more complete list of his writings, see the American Quarterly Register, Vol. VHI, p. 53, 1836. Mr. Palmer wrote an autobiography, a copy of which, or of a portion of it, is in the possession of the Dedham Historical Society.

His son. Dr. Joseph Palmer, was also a member of the Massachusetts Historical Society, and presented the Church in 1837 with the mahogany Communion table, which is still in use.

Mr. Palmer died of paralysis, and breathed his last in the lower north room of his house, on October 31, 1821, aged fifty-five years, and was buried in the Palmer-M"=Intosh tomb, but his remains were later removed to a lot. The people of his charge bore the expense of his funeral. During his illness, which lasted two years, the pulpit was supplied by Messrs. Read, Lemuel Capen, A.M., Everett, and Thomas Rich, who were paid from seven to ten dollars per Sunday.

Later Ministers

The Rev. William Ritchie, Dartmouth 1804, was installed as Mr. Palmer's successor December 12, 1821, and died February 22, 1842, aged sixty-one years, and was buried in Needham, his flock bearing the expense. Mr. Ritchie's salary was to be $474, and, according to ancient custom, he was to have ten cords of oak wood and ten of pine "brought to his door yearly", but by agreement made In 1824 sixtyfive dollars was to be given him annually In lieu of the wood. As a matter of fact his parishioners continued to bring him six cords of oak wood and six of pine, the latter split; he also had the use of the Ministerial land north of the meetinghouse. In 1829 he gave up his rights in this land. That year no tax for his salary was levied, and subscriptions were relied upon. In 1832 "the subscription [was] offered to ladies". In 1834 the law authorizing taxation of all property in a parish for the support of the minister was finally repealed, having been much weakened by amendments subsequent to 1800. Mr. Ritchie's salary in 1840 was but $400. The cost of entertaining the Council at Mr. Ritchie's installation was $69. At first he boarded with the widow of his predecessor, but as he had a family, which included some noisy boys who disturbed Mrs. Palmer, he began soon to consider a home of his own. He purchased the Amos Fuller house, on Nehoiden Street, later the home of Artemas Newell, Esq., and lived there the remainder of his life. The house was struck by lightning on March 22, 1835. ^^ April 24, 1836, he preached twice at the last services held in the Second Meeting-house.

The Rev. Lyman Maynard was Installed September 7, 1842, and was the minister for four years. His pastorate was uneventful, but by vote of August 26, 1844, unfermented wine was to be used at the communion. In 1859 "the fruit of the vine" in an even milder form was substituted, and later sweetened water was used. Mr. Maynard bought of Galen Orr in 1844 two acres of land with buildings on Central Avenue, and made his home there. Mr. Orr had built the house on the premises In 1843, and had removed there a portion of the old Fairbanks barn, from what Is now Great Plain Avenue, near Greendale Avenue, and made the existing barn from It. Mr. Maynard sold this property in 1847 to George Revere, who also owned the Townsend estate and the Nehoiden Block. Mr. Revere sold the Maynard place in 1859, and the Nehoiden Block property ten years later, and in 1905 and 1906 both these properties were again acquired by the owner of the Townsend estate. Mr. Maynard weighed two hundred pounds, and appeared like a farmer. Mr. Tucker relates that one hot summer day Luther Morse, the blacksmith, who lived on Nehoiden Street, loaned the minister a small horse for harrowing, and was indignant when he learned that the parson was riding horse-back. Mr. Maynard died October 7, 1862, aged sixty-one years and eight months.

The Rev. Charles Henry Appleton Dall, A.M., Harvard 1837, Divinity School 1840, commenced preaching in Needham October i, 1846, and was installed February 7, 1847. In 1847 the parsonage west of the graveyard was built for his use at a cost of $2500, but he occupied it only from March I, 1848 to the end of 1849, when he closed his ministry. He was for many years a noted missionary in India, the first that the Unitarians had there. His wife, Caroline Wells Healey Dall, who is living in 191 1 at an advanced age, is widely known as an authoress, and is a remarkably strong character. Mr. Dall died in India July 18, 1886, aged seventyone years, after a service there of more than forty years.

The Rev. Nathaniel Gage supplied the pulpit for 1850, the Rev. James Francis Hicks, Meadville, was ordained over this Church July 14, 1852, and was the minister to January 2, 1853, and the Rev. George Gibbs Channing supplied the pulpit in the years 1853 and 1854.^ The Rev. Andrew Napoleon Adams, Harvard Divinity School 1855, began to preach in Needham in June, 1855, was ordained November 21, 1855, and concluded his ministry in 1857, engaging soon afterward in a business career. He died In Fair Haven, Vermont, his birthplace, March 13, 1905, in his seventy-sixth year. Prior to going to the Harvard Divinity

School he had studied at Meadville Theological School. The Rev. John Stetson Barry, A.M., Tufts 1861, honorary, was installed October 13, 1858, and resigned March 12, i860. He died in St. Louis December 11, 1872, in his fifty-fourth year. The Rev. George Homer Emerson, D.D., supplied the pulpit to December, 1866, and was a Universalist as were his immediate predecessors, Adams and Barry. The Rev. Dr. Emerson received his D.D. from St. Lawrence University, Canton, N. Y., 1871. He died in Salem, Mass., March 24, 1898, aged seventy-six years.

The Rev. Albert Buel Vorse, Meadville Theological School 1862, was the minister from March 14, 1870 to April 8, 1 87 1, when he resigned to accept the call of the newly organized Unitarian Society in Grantville. The Rev. Solon Wanton Bush, Brown 1845, Harvard Divinity School 1848, was the minister of the First Church and Parish in Needham for nearly eighteen years, and preached his farewell sermon February 17, 1889. He was greatly interested in the welfare of his people, kind and patient, and much beloved. It is reasonably certain that either he or Mrs. Bush was the unknown donor of $500 toward paying for the vestry or Parish House, which was erected and dedicated near the close of his ministry. He died in Boston on March 19, 1898, in his eightieth year. The Rev. Charles Adams Allen, Harvard 1858, Meadville Theological School 1864, succeeded Mr. Bush in October, 1889, but was not installed, and his last sermon as the minister of this Church was preached May 14, 1893. Mr. Allen is a scholarly and able man. The Rev. Philip Slaney Thacher, Meadville Theological School, became the minister April 26, 1894, when he was installed. He preached his last sermon as the pastor of this Church April 29, 1901. In the afternoon the seventyfifth anniversary of the Sunday School was observed, and fourteen young people united with the Church. The Rev.

The History Of Needham 243

William WlUett Peck, Wesleyan 1895, preached his first sermon in Needham on December 8, 1901, after he had accepted a call, and his farewell discourse on February 9, 1908. His ministry had been successful, but he received an attractive invitation to go to Winchendon, and his people in Needham were unable to offer any great advance in his salary. Before he went to Wesleyan Mr. Peck had been a student in the Hartford Theological Seminary, and subsequent to 1895 he took courses in the Harvard Divinity School. The Rev. Joseph Adams Puffer, A.B., Wesleyan, S.T.B., Boston University 1900, began to preach regularly on June 21, 1908, having accepted a call given him on May 19, and was at Needham till the close of 191 1.

Sunday services have been held from time to time for eighty years at Charles River Village, or the South Mills, usually on the Dover side in Noanet Hall, often called Newell's Hall. This hall was burned about 1868, and since then the religious meetings have been in the school-house. In the nineties there was a Sunday School Association, and a Sunday School, and in 1893 the Rev. George W. Andrews of Wellesley preached there. In earlier times the Unitarians and Universalists had services at the South Mills, and the ministers of the First Church in Needham frequently spoke there. It has not been unusual for the pastor of this Church also to have charge of a congregation at the South Mills, or at Dover, which latter town has an old and fully organized Unitarian Church. Mr. Allen organized a small society which worshipped Sunday afternoons in a hall at Newton Highlands. His successor, the Rev. Philip S. Thacher, who was minister at Needham 1 894-1901, was also for a portion of those years minister at Dover, where he held services every Sunday afternoon.

In 1876 there were only thirty members of the First Church in Needham, but the First Parish was a larger body, and there were many persons connected with the Society who were members of neither Church nor Parish. The

Sunday School then consisted of eight teachers and seventyfive scholars, and the well-remembered Dea. Otis Morton was the superintendent, and also the Church clerk.

George Kuhn Clarke was elected president of the Norfolk Conference of Unitarian and other Christian Churches in October, 1907, and served to October, 1910, being the first president that Needham has had of this Conference, although it has been in existence since December, 1866.

On March 20, 191 1, the "Two Hundredth" anniversary of the First Church was observed by an old-time service, such as had not been held there since the century before the last. The programme was as follows: Organ voluntary Mrs. Edith Lyman, Welcome by the minister, the Rev. J. Adams Puffer, then a service participated in by the Rev. Mr. Puffer, the Rev. E. Edward Marsh, the Rev. Newton Black, the Rev. William R. Lord, the Rev. William W. Peck, and the Rev. John de La Montaigne Waldron. The "Long Prayer" by Mr. Waldron was impressive and admirable, but limited, however, to fifteen minutes. The Rev. Mr. Lord, an able and accomplished man, read portions of a sermon preached by the Rev. Jonathan Townsend in 1727/8, on the occasion of a Fast to avert the wrath of God. The Historical Tablet was unveiled by Frederick Stillman Kingsbury, a descendant of Josiah Kingsbery, and of other first settlers of Needham. Mr. Kingsbury read the historical inscription, and the list of ministers which followed on the tablet. He was assisted by his second cousin, Emily Holland Kingsbury, and by Alvin Gay Stevens, the latter representing the Fullers, the Gays, the Eatons, and other old families of this town. George Kuhn Clarke gave an address of about fifteen minutes on "The Beginning of our Church", in which he pictured the conditions existing when the town was incorporated, and the then inseparable union of Church and State. Mr. John Fisher Mills read a portion of his paper on "Music of Y^ Olden Tyme". He is a descendant not only of the Mills family, which has been prominent in this locality from its first settlement by the white men, but of the Fullers, the Fishers, the Cheneys, and a number of the other pioneer families. It is singularly appropriate that he is chairman of the parish committee in the bicentennial year. The Rev. Mr. Peck read some extracts from the early Church records, with comments. The Rev. Mr. Lord gave the Benediction. The music was fine, and consisted of a large choir, and a number of instruments. Among the hymns sung were - "Before Jehovah's Awful Throne", "Russia", "Complaint", "David's Lamentations", "Northfield" and "Old Hundred". The evening closed with a social hour, with refreshments, and will be long remembered. The Church was organized on March 20, 1719/20, which would make it one hundred and ninety-one years old on March 31, 191 1, according to the calendar now in use. The observance was suggested by the fact that the town is two hundred years old in 191 1.

Congregational Church In West Needham

The Congregational Church in West Needham was organized on September 6, 1798, with ten members, seven men and three women, of whom six had been members of the First Church. Before the end of 1798 eight more persons joined with them, and that year the meeting-house, begun in 1774, was completed at a cost of about £1345. In 1834 it was replaced by another, which was dedicated January i, ^^35- The contract price of the new meeting-house was $2750 with the old one. A portion of the latter, including a porch, is now a part of the house of George H. Rollins of Needham. There were other expenses connected with the new meeting-house, which in its turn was superseded by the Third Meeting-house, which was dedicated July 11, 1872, and which cost upward of $28,000. The Second Meetinghouse was moved, and is now the main building of Dana

Hall. The original amount of land with the Church was only half an acre, bought for £2, but other land was acquired later. In 18 16 extensive repairs were made on the meetinghbuse. In 1824 it was heated, in 1857 coal was first used there, and in 1869 a furnace was obtained. The Precinct bought a hearse in 1805, a bass viol in 1838, and its first organ in 1856 for $650. Their first Church Manual was printed in 1828 and the second one in 1859. In 1869 a parsonage was built. Their earliest communion set was bought in 1798 for $18.25. The second one was purchased in 185 1, and was the result of a gift of $190.79 in 1833 by- Mrs. Persis Ware, who was also the benefactress of the First Church. It consists of two tankards, two plates and six cups. In 18 1 2 this Church began to use the ''fourth book of hymns", prepared by the Rev. Stephen Palmer of the First Church, and in 1861 voted to hire a "Seraphine" for the choir. In 1864 the name of this Church was changed to "The Wellesley Congregational Church". Classes for religious instruction were formed in 1806, and in 1828 the Church took charge of the Sunday School, which had existed for some years. The School of the First Church in Needham dates from 1826, and it is a question which was the pioneer Sunday School in town.

In 1776 Mr. Brooks and Mr. Adams preached acceptably in the unfinished West Meeting-house, and boarded with Jonathan Deming. Later the Rev. Daniel Oliver and Jonathan Whitaker, A.M., supplied.

The History Of Needham 247

The valuable history of the Wellesley Congregational Church, by Rev. Edward Herrick Chandler, 1898, contains portraits of its ministers and views of the successive meetinghouses, and renders unnecessary further details as to this Church, which is no longer within the limits of Needham.

On August 24, 1774, the town clerk recorded a list which was certified by certain men "being Chofen a Committee by the Society of the people Called Antipedobaptists, who meet together for Religious worfhip on the Lords Day in Needham" that Isaac Mills, John Edes, John Smith, Amos Mills, Nathaniel Tolman and Martha Dewing "Do Frequently and Ufually when able attend with us in Our Meeting for Religeous worfhip on the Lords Day, and we Do Verily bellve are, with Refpect to the Ordinance of Baptifm of the Same Religious Sentiments with us.

On March 11, 1750/1, the town had chosen Capt. Robert Fuller and Dea. Josiah Newell, to go to the General Court "to get a Refolve on the Law Respecting Anabaptifts

First Baptist Church In Needham

The Baptists organized a Church in Needham in 1780. Ten years later there were fifteen members, and the Rev. Noah Baker, an itinerant minister, was the pastor. A foot-note in The Annual Register of the Baptist Denomination, published by John Asplund, records under date of January 9, 1790, "No fellowship hardly with other churches". The Universal Register of the Baptist Denomination in North- America for 1790-3, and for a part of 1794, omits Needham, and in a foot-note says that the Rev. Mr. Baker, then at Chelmsford, was "Formerly Paftor of Needham Church (now dilTolved)". The History of the Baptists, Vol. II, by Backus, states that the Rev. Mr. Baker was the minister at Needham in 1784. It is evident that he preached for some years in Needham, where there was a Baptist Church. The Rev. Caleb Blood, minister of the Baptist Church in Newton in 1781-8, baptized people in Needham, and presumably preached here. The last persons baptized by him in this town were two girls, or women, and the immersion was in Amos Fuller's sawmill pond. That this Church had ceased to exist by 1795 is stated by another authority. The Rev. Joseph Grafton, whose active life ended about 1830, left a list of the towns in Massachusetts where he had preached, and in it mentions Needham. He preached on the first Sunday in January, 1830, a sermon in which he gave a history of the Baptist Church in Newton Centre, and in which he said "in the town of Needham, adjoining Newton, there were a number who embraced the Baptist sentiments. Among others, the two deacons of the Congregational Church, then under the pastoral care of the Rev. Mr. Townsend, viz. Timothy and Eleazer Kingsbury. They united with the second Baptist church in Boston (now Warren Ave.). Several of their descendants are members with us (i. e. Newton

The History Of Needham 249

Centre)." The certificates filed from 1805 to 1820 with the town clerk, in order to escape taxation for the support of the dominant Church, are evidence that there were upward of twenty families in Needham who worshipped as Baptists, the majority of them in Medfield or Newton. Investigations of the Church in Medfield indicate a larger number of Baptists resident in Needham than do these certificates.

From 1835 to 1837 Baptists living in Needham, Dover and Natick held meetings in the house of Dea. Calvin French, who lived on the Dea. John Fisher place, which is near the river on the Needham side. On October 3, 1837, a Council was called to consider establishing a Church, and decided that the request for one was premature. On June 20, of the next year, however, a Council gave consent, and the Needham and Dover Baptist Church was formed, with a small meeting-house erected in Dover, on land given by Deacon French. Until i860 this Church stood near the large oak, on the east side of the road, a short distance beyond Fisher's Bridge. In i860 the Church was moved to the hill east of what is now Springvale Park, and is since known as the Springvale Baptist Church, although services have rarely been held there in recent years. The History of Dover^ by Frank Smith, contains a picture of this Church.

In September, 1854, a subscription was circulated in Needham to build a Baptist Church on the Great Plain, and was signed by thirty-three persons, including two brothers who gave jointly. George Rowland headed the list with $500, and three women contributed. The signers were not all Baptists, as several men interested in the development of the town gave $100 each, with the result that on September 17 $900 had been pledged, and was soon increased to $2000. Dea. George Rowland engaged at his own expense the Rev. Amos Webster to preach in the Great Plain school-house, and the first services were held there on Sunday, September 24, with an attendance of fifty-six in the morning and seventy-four in the afternoon. The subscribers to the building fund met on October i6, and voted to form the First Baptist Society. The signers of these Resolutions were: Messrs. Whitaker, Rowland, Burnham, Avery, Morton, Charles Fuller, George W. Palmer, William O. Swan and James D. Robinson. A building committee was appointed, consisting of George Rowland, Jonathan Avery, Edgar K. Whitaker, John Burnham and Stephen F. Harvey. Mr. Rarvey declined to serve, and Charles B. Alorton was chosen in his place. On November 6 the building plans were adopted, and on the 15th an informal advisory council gave encouragement by a favorable report. On April 27, 1856, twenty-seven persons voted in favor of a Church organization, which was formed on May 26. The Rev. Allen Eleazer Battell ^ was chosen moderator, and Charles M. Dinsmoor clerk. Letters were read dismissing twenty persons from other Churches to form the new one, eight, including Dea. John Rowland and family, were from Newton Upper Falls, of the two from Newton Centre, one was Miss Jane G. Avery, now Mrs. William Carter, the only constituent member of the Church who is still a member in 191 1, five came from the First Baptist Church in Cambridge, two. Deacon Burnham and his wife, from the Baptist Bethel in Boston, one was from the Union Baptist Church in Boston, and two, Charles Fuller and his wife, from the Needham and Dover Baptist Church. The Articles of Faith and the Covenant of the First Baptist Church in Charlestown were adopted. The Church was named the Needham Plain Baptist Church, and Charles M. Dinsmoor was chosen church clerk.

On June i, 1856, five persons were received as members, and they are counted as constituent members, as the Recognition Council was not held till June 11, on which day there were appropriate services in which the Rev. Dr. Samuel F.

' The Rev. Mr. Battell was a native of Dover. A sketch of his life in the Massachusetts Baptist Anniversaries, 1896, gives his middle name as Elihu.

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Smith and others took part. On June 22 four members of the Sunday School were baptized by the Rev. Allen E. Battell in the pond near Isaac H. Greenwood's blacksmith's shop. Mr. Battell had preached an impressive discourse in the morning, and the Rev. Joseph W. Parker, D.D., made an address at the pond. This was the first baptism in a pond since the Rev. Mr. Blood had officiated.

The Sunday School was formed in May, 1855, and began with four teachers and twelve scholars, but within a few months had eight classes with an average attendance of forty, or more. The fiftieth anniversary of the Sunday School was observed in June, 1905. The first letter from the Church in Needham to the Boston South Baptist Association was written in 1856, and stated that the Sunday School numbered ten teachers and sixty-six pupils, and that Charles M. Dinsmoor was the superintendent.

The first services in the new Church were held in June, 1855, in the vestry, for the upper audience room was not finished till 1872, although in 1856 $4200 had already been expended on the building. In 1871 the debt was reduced $700, and by a g^eat effort $4154 were soon obtained, the debt was extinguished, ?nd the Church building completed and furnished. The Rev. Dr. Smith had raised $1000 outside of the town for this Society. The Church was dedicated on June 5, 1872, when a sermon was preached by the Rev. William Lamson of Dedham, and an original hymn was sung, which the Rev. Dr. Smith had written for this occasion. In June, 1884, it was voted to have a baptistery in the Church, and the first baptism In it was on March 29, 1885. In 1889 a parsonage was finished, and in 1896 the Church was raised, and a cellar made under It. In 1901 an addition was built on the rear to give room for a new organ.

The land on which the Church stands formerly belonged to the Edgar K. Whitaker estate, a portion of which is now owned by John J. Morgan, and earlier was a part of the Dea. Timothy Kingsbery farm, which in old times extended for more than a mile. The land was sold for $350 by two trustees to George Howland on February 18, 1853. By a deed dated December i, 1854, George H. Howland conveyed this land to his father, Dea. George Howland, and others as trustees for the Society. Several more deeds were necessary to perfect the title, including releases from Mr. Whitaker and Henry Safford, which were obtained in 1870. The Church lot contains 40,600 square feet. The building committee consisted of the five men chosen on October 16, 1854, and the contract was made on December 8, 1854, and is recorded at Dedham in the Registry of Deeds (Lib. 237, fol. 24).

The bell was bought by subscription in August, 1876, and cost upward of $100. "The Bell we will have and the Clock we hope to have" was a watchword for a year or two, but the latter, which cost $785, including some alterations in the Church which it involved, was not obtained until the new century. At one of the festivals to raise money for the bell and clock an appropriate poem by George Avery was distributed. The seats in the Church were made free in 1880. For the year ending November i, 1861, the Rev. Frederick Augustus Willard received as pastor only his house rent and $216.49, including $65 from the Baptist State Convention. From 1862 to the present time this Church has been designated officially as "The First Baptist Church in Needham", ignoring the name adopted in 1856. To the year 1872 the Society had nominally existed in addition to the Church, but at the dedication Deacon Howland in behalf of the trustees of the Society transferred to Dea. William Moseley, representing the Church, the land on which the edifice stands. This land, according to the deed of the gift, was to become the property of the Church if a house of worship was finished and its congregation maintained Baptist principles. A constitution and by-laws were adopted by this Church on January 20, 1875, and these have been but little changed. On November 30, 1888, it was voted

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This Church has steadfastly maintained the doctrines of the Baptist faith as understood by its founders. Covenant meetings were formerly held in the daytime on week days, and were largely attended. In the spring of 1857 in addition to the weekly prayer meetings there were gatherings of the young people at dwelling houses for religious study, and these were rarely omitted on the designated dates, the attendance being from twenty to forty. The annual reunions of the Church date from 1887. The interest in missionary work dates as far back as 1856, and was stimulated by the Rev. Dr. Samuel F. Smith's visit in 1880 to the mission fields in Europe and Asia. On August 29, 1880, a farewell service was held in the Church, which testified to the esteem in which Dr. Smith was held by the Baptists of Needham, and on his return i.wo years later he spoke one Sunday evening in this Church. Home and Foreign missions have been liberally sustained, and no less than twenty-four good causes have engaged the attention of the people of this First Baptist Church, the contributions averaging $150 per year for fifty years, which is most creditable in view of the slender resources for many years. The Ladies' Circle and the Further Lights Society have done much for the missions. The former organization was formed on March 15, 1855, and the latter on December 29, 1897. The Senior Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor dates from July 27, 1887, and the Junior Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor from February 3, 1900, the former having forty members in 1906, and the latter forty-seven. The Men's League was organized under the auspices of this Society on March 16, 1898, and numbers about eighty. It meets in the vestry on a Monday evening once a month, during eight months of the year, when, after brief religious services, some practical subject is presented by a speaker, often a man of note from out of town. The meeting is followed by a social gathering and simple refreshments. The League Is entirely nonsectarlan, and has Catholic members, as well as Protestants of different denominations. The Boys' League dates from December 17, 1899, and for two years used the vestry, but a gymnasium was provided for them In the rear of the cellar, and they met there for the first time on December 5, 1901.

On Sunday, June 10, 1906, "The Jubilee Anniversary" of The First Baptist Church in Needham, was commemorated by appropriate services. Monday evening was "Denominational Night", when there were distinguished speakers from out of town, all of them ministers. Tuesday afternoon was "Woman's Session", and there were addresses by women noted in missionary fields. Tuesday evening was devoted to a reunion, at which letters were read from former pastors and members, and of the ministers the Rev. Messrs. Read, Clark and Webb were present and gave addresses. The observances of the anniversary concluded Wednesday evening, which was designated "Fellowship". Dea. Thomas Sutton presided, the Unitarian, Orthodox and Episcopal ministers spoke briefly, and George Kuhn Clarke gave an historical address, which presented phases of the early religious history of Needham. On all of these occasions there was excellent music.

At the completion of fifty years there were two hundred and forty-two members of this Church, of which forty-six had been received within one year, and the total number of members during the half century was five hundred and five, of whom two hundred and fifty-two had been received by baptism, two hundred and twenty-five by letter and twentyeight by experience.

Mrs. Jane G. A. Carter wrote a poem for the anniversary, which referred to the successive pastorates. Mrs. Carter's father, Jonathan Avery, had been an original contributor for the building of the Church, and subscribed $100.

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In 1876 there were seventy-seven members of this Church, and the Sunday School had ten teachers and eighty-five pupils, John Moseley, superintendent. He was also the treasurer of the Church, and Thomas Sutton was the clerk.

Rev. Amos Webster, D.D., from 1854 to October, 1855; graduated at New Hampton Literary and Theological Institution in 1848, received the degree of A.M. from Colby University in 1867, and the same year that of D.D. from Columbian College. He edited the Christian Era from 1855 to 1875. Needham was his only pastorate, although he was a well-known preacher for more than thirty years. Died in Hyde Park February 14, 1894, aged nearly seventy-seven years.

Rev. Frederick Augustus Willard, A.M., accepted a call to Needham on December 7, 1856, and preached his farewell sermon there on November 12, 1865. He graduated at Amherst in 1826, and at the Newton Theological Institution in 1830, where he had studied for three years. Died in Philadelphia March 17, 1866, aged fifty-nine years.

Rev. Samuel Francis Smith, D.D., the noted divine, and author of "America," preached at Needham from 1866 to 1873, and from 1877 to 1880. He graduated at Harvard in 1829, at Andover Theological Seminary in 1832, A.M. Harvard, D.D. (S.T.D.) Colby University 1853. Died November 16, 1895, aged eighty-seven years.

Rev. Stephen Gano Abbott, A.M., accepted the call to Needham on December 21, 1873, and resigned on June 4, 1876. He studied at the Hancock (N. H.) Literary and Scientific Institution, graduated at New Hampton (N. H.) Literary and Theological Institution in 1848, honorary A.M. from Bates College 1867. Mr. Abbott was chaplain of the First New Hampshire Regiment in the Civil War, was at one time a member of the Vermont Legislature, and later chaplain of the New Hampshire House of Representa- lives; also a trustee of New London Seminary, and moderator of the Dublin, N. H., Association 1888-91. Died February 9, 1901, aged eighty-two years.

Rev. Edward Andrew Read, A.M., elected pastor on January 6, 1881, accepted on the 12th, began his services at Needham on the 19th, and his resignation was accepted on March 23, 1883. He graduated at Colby in 1875, and at the Newton Theological Institution in 1878.

Rev. William Herman Clark, A.M., elected on December 19, 1883, resigned on January 9, 1887, and his resignation was accepted on the 17th, as he was in ill health. He was of the class of 1864 at Hebron Academy, Me., graduated at Colby in 1867, and was made A.M. in 1871.

Rev. Nathan Smith Burton, D.D., elected on June 13, 1887, commenced his pastorate on September i, and resigned on September i, 1893. He graduated at Western Reserve College in 1846, then studied theology there for one year, thence to Newton Theological Institution for his second year, returned to Western Reserve College and graduated there in Theology in 1850. He was made a Doctor of Divinity by Denison University in 1863.

Rev. Robert Lee Webb, Ph.D., called on October 31, 1893, accepted on November 8, ordained on the 27th, resigned on July 24, 1904, Ph.D. Columbian, now George Washington University, D. C, Newton Theological Institution in 1893. He also studied elsewhere for the degree of Ph.D.

Rev. Charles Edward Sawtelle, called on October 3, 1904, accepted on the i6th, commenced his pastorate on the 23d, ordained on November 30th. He graduated at Colby in 1896, and at the Newton Theological Institution in 1904.

The Deacons of this Church have been as follows: - George Howland May 26, 1856, resigned on October 24, 1863, and removed from town. John Burnham May 26, 1856, died September 4.

The First Baptist Church In Needham has never lacked unselfish workers, and the spirit of helpfulness has led them to strive with courage, and self-sacrifice, to bring people without a Church home under the influences of their Church, to instruct neglected children, and to do their best to uplift the community. In the early days their numbers were small, but a group of earnest people by constant faithful service kept this Church from closing its doors and gave a considerable portion of their resources to Its work. This was true as late as 1869, when a loyal few faced a difficult financial situation.

character, but that In their deportment and their dress they have ever been consistent with their calling. The list of deacons is a roll of good men, and zealous Christians, recognized as including in their number some of the most influential men of this town. No Church ever had more loyal sons than Deacons William Moseley and John Moseley, and the former In the early seventies, when some people thought that the Church must be given up, served at one time as deacon, church clerk, treasurer, Sunday School superintendent and janitor. Of those worthy of mention in connection with the first years of this Church is Gustavus Fellowes de Lesdernier, who was the clerk, and who died October 15, 1869. His son of the same name is Identified with this Church, and a regular attendant at Its services In 191 1.

There are five memorial windows In this Church. The three on the west side are in memory of Annie Moseley, of Ann Hills Sutton, and of the Rev. Amos F. Spalding, the first on the east side is In memory of Alonzo M. Mace, and the second of Dea. John Burnham, and of his wife, Martha M. Burnham.

In 1792 the noted Jesse Lee preached in the West Church, and many who were weary of the old theology heard him gladly. Including a number who had become Antipedobaptlsts, and for many years the Methodists of the Needhara Circuit were much In earnest. In 1796 the Rev. George Pickering, an able man, had charge of this circuit, and a few years later the first Methodist Meeting-house In Needham was built on land granted to Edward Hawes in 1661.^ The

^ From "Memorials of the Introduction of Methodism into the Eastern States: By Rev. A. Stevens, A.M.", Boston, 1848, and from "Memorials of the Early- Progress of Methodism in the Eastern States: (Second Series.)", by the same author, Boston, 1852, the following facts have been obtained as to the Needham Circuit, which in 1809 included twenty towns. It derived its name in consequence of the early establishment of the Methodist Society in Needham. In the first of these volumes is the statement that Joseph Snelling dedicated the "old Methodist Chapel of Needham" in 1798, and, as he went to Martha's Vineyard that year as minister, the dedication in Needham probably took place early in the spring.

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location was on Blossom Street on a knoll close to the Weston line, and the builders were Lot Jennison and Lieut. Winsor Moulton. The late John Mansfield said that he saw this meeting-house raised, and that a black bottle was handed to the man who first walked the "ridge". Many years later the meeting-house was moved eastward, and has long been on the Parker place. In recent years the early characteristics of the building have disappeared, but there are photographs of it taken prior to the more radical changes. Father Isaac Jennison, Joel Pierce and Tyler Harrington were leaders among the Methodists, and were known as "The Three Apostles". Mr. Harrington lived in the ancient house, still standing, on the west side of the road leading to Weston from Blossom Street. The Harrington homestead, which is in Weston, is typical of many that existed in Provincial times. It stands on a hill with great trees around it, and numerous old outbuildings. On the other side of the road from where the Methodist Meeting-house stood, but in Weston, in one of the oldest houses in this region, there dwelt the childless "Deacon" William Bogle and his wife Mary, most devoted Methodists. Each Sunday they not only entertained the minister, who was perhaps one of the founders of the faith in America, but brewed beer and prepared food each Saturday to refresh the brothers and sisters, some of whom came long distances to the services on the Sabbath.i

In this book it is not clear whether Jesse Lee preached in Needham in 1791 or 1792, but it distinctly says that his was the first Methodist sermon in Needham, and that it was preached on October 6, and that Mr. Lee left town the next day, although there were many hearers, and some besought him to tarry longer. He was in Needham later, but George Pickering was for several years the Presiding Elder of the Conference, and to him the people in the Needham Circuit looked for leadership more than to any of the other able and zealous founders of the Methodist faith in New England. The Rev. Jesse Lee in "A Short History of the Methodists in the United States of America", which was published in Baltimore in 18 10, under date of September, 1791, informs us that "The Methodists preached" "in Natick on the loth, and in Needham on the 13th of the same month. Before that time they had never had a Methodist preacher among them". The Rev. Mr, Lee does not tell us who preached.

^ This house is said to have been built by the Collers, and was their homestead until about 1721, when it passed into the possession of Nathaniel Dewing, and for

Epes Mansfield was another leader In the Needham Circuit. As late as 1843 camp meetings were held near the Bogle house, and some now living have attended them, and have worshipped In the old Methodist Meeting-house. The original communion service of this Church was presented In 1901 to the New England Methodist Historical Society.

The ministers assigned to the Needham Circuit by the annual Conferences, which were held in May, June or July, included men noted for ability, and almost without exception devoted and self-sacrificing servants of God, who were worthy of the esteem in which they were held by thousands of Christians. The famous Francis Asbury visited the Needham Circuit late in July, 1800, and doubtless at other times. The list of the early appointments to this Circuit, which it should be remembered was a large territory, is as follows: sixty years, or more, was his residence and that of his son, Nathaniel. When the town Hnes were perambulated in the eighteenth century by the selectmen of the towns concerned, this house was their rendezvous and headquarters. In early times this farm was known as "The Westown Farm," and was within "The Land of Contention". Mrs. Charles C. Greenwood has a drawing of the Bogle house, showing the gambrel roof and the huge chimney. When the latter was taken out in 1898 the bricks filled the yard. Within the memory of the writer a number of the oldest houses in this section have been spoiled as specimens of the early homes by pulling out the fine old chimneys.

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From the record book, hereinafter referred to, it appears that from 1844 to 1848 Messrs. Tyler Harrington, Nathan Rice, Joseph E. Pond, James Porter and Calvin B. Blanchard preached to the Methodists in Needham, the Rev. Mr. Harrington from time to time for many years, and apparently for more than one period of two years. A number of hours were expended in attempting to identify these early ministers, and to verify their names, but with imperfect success. The Rev. B. Otheman was probably identical with the Rev. Bartholomew Otheman, who attended the Methodist Convention in Boston, June, 1866, when Messrs. J. E. Risley and I. M. Bidwell were also present. In 1792 the number of Methodists in the Needham Circuit was reported as thirty-four, in 1793 as fifty, 1793, '94 as seventy-six. In 1802 there had been a slight increase from 1801.

In 1796 and 1797 the Boston and Needham Circuits were combined under the name of the Boston and Needham Circuit, but the next two years the Needham Circuit appears to have been separate, and unattached to any District. From 1800 to 1805, inclusive, the Needham Circuit was one of those in the Boston District, and in 1806 it was a part of the New London District.

In 1 801 the Rev. Joseph Snelling, while of the Needham Circuit, preached in four different places alternately on the Sabbath, and had formed Methodist societies in Weston and in Harvard. On July 12, 1802, the Rev. George Pickering stopped in Needham to demand the return of the minister's rates, amounting to upward of $100, which had been collected by the local authorities from Methodists. On this occasion the Rev. Francis Asbury was with Mr. Pickering, and they were on their way to Milford. Of the ministers of the Needham Circuit it may be said that the Rev. Joshua Hall was a veteran apostle, the Rev. John Finnegan a quaint character, and that the Rev. Benjamin R. Hoyt was only twenty years old in 1809, when first appointed to the Needham Circuit, and that he was later again assigned to that Circuit. Thomas Orr states that Mrs. Susan Burrill said that Whitefield preached from a rock back of where the Burrill house now stands on Central Avenue, and that the slope was then wooded. The land then belonged to the First Parish.

For years after the meeting-house on Blossom Street was given up, the Greenwoods, Charles Hiram Dewing and others attended Church at Newton Upper Falls, but in April, 1867, the Methodist Episcopal Church at Highlandville was organized, with the Rev. John W. Coolidge as pastor. Many residents of Highlandville were members of the Church at

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In a book seven and one half by five and five eighths inches are the records of the Methodist Episcopal Church and Society in Needham from June 28 to December, 1842. On June 28 the following were chosen a committee to manage the Church affairs: - Tyler Harrington, Ephraim Cutting, Joel Peirce, John Mansfield, Robert Mansfield, John Stevens and Charles Ayres. John Mansfield was chosen secretary. Mr. Batchelder had entertained the ministers during the last year without charge, and offered to continue to do so. William C. Clark was chosen "to write to Hadassah Stevens at the west to preserve the records of the Methodist Episcopal Church and society in Needham if in her possession and send them back if she can with Safety". It does not appear what became of these earlier records. Various committees were appointed, including three to visit "absent ones". Of the women then prominent in the Church were Elizabeth Mansfield, Eunice Stone, Prudence Mansfield, Sarah Peirce, Nancy Loker, Sarah Greenwood and Esther Hodges. On July 9 it was voted to have the Sacraments administered four times a year and to buy a trunk. Some cases of Church membership and discipline were also considered at this meeting. On October 8, 1842, John Mansfield was chosen treasurer by the committee, whose meetings have been referred to. The treasurer's accounts for the years 1860-8 follow in the book, and from them it appears that the meeting-house was sold on March 9, i860, to Michael Cavnaugh for $200, and that the money was loaned to the Methodist Church at Newton Upper Falls. The committee met at John Mansfield's on May 25, 1861, and chose "B' Marcy" chairman, and John Mansfield secretary and treasurer. It was then voted to present Joel Peirce with twelve dollars. The trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Needham had met at Mr. Mansfield's on May 15, the Rev. Thomas Marcy "Stationed preacher at Natick presiding", and it had then been voted that as "Methodist preaching had been commenced at the Vilage near West Needham Depot" "J. Mansfield and his associates be Empowered to draw on our treasurer for Twenty Five Dollars to support the Expences of said place of worship during this present conference year". The next record is that of a meeting of the trustees at the house of Tyler Harrington in Weston on November 14, 1866. There were present L. R. Thayer, who was chairman, Broker Cromack, Noah Perrin, Aaron Fisk and John Mansfield. It was voted to increase the number of trustees to nine, and the following were chosen: - Noah Perrin, Charles H. Dewing, Charles H. Flagg, Mark Lee and Lewis N. Sumner. This meeting adjourned to January 2, 1867, when Mr. Perrin and Mr. Flagg were chosen a committee to consider "having a meeting established at Needham Plains and report to the Presiding Elder." They voted $25 to the Rev. John M. Bailey of the Church at the Upper Falls, for expenses "at the Plain". On March 13, 1867, there was another adjourned meeting when Brothers Lee, Sumner, Charles H. Dewing and Flagg were appointed a committee to secure, with the help of the Rev. Mr. Bailey, services at Highlandville and at the Lower Falls. On March 20, 1868, the trustees chose Lewis N. Sumner secretary and treasurer in place of John Mansfield, who had resigned, and passed resolutions on the deaths of Father Joel Peirce and the Rev. Tyler Harrington. The Rev. J. W. Coolidge was present as their minister. On February 5, 1870, John A. Wing was chosen treasurer, and Mark Lee secretary, and the trustees "for the coming year", according to a record of March 18, were Noah Perrin, Charles H. Dewing, Charles H. Flagg, Mark Lee and John A. Wing. A small appropriation had been made, in case it was needed, to pay the expense of services in Highland Hall. These meetings of the trustees were held at private houses, sometimes at Charles H. Flagg's on Brookside Road. The treasurer's account shows that the property of the older Church passed to the

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On June 18, 1874, the Rev. Gilbert R. Bent and William Carter were selected to raise hy subscription $1000 In order to purchase a lot containing 20,000 square feet of land, which land had formerly belonged to Jonathan Avery. The price paid was $1000, and the deed from John Avery to Charles H. Dewing, Jonathan Avery, Charles H. Flagg, Mark Lee, William Carter and John A. Wing, trustees representing the Methodist Episcopal Church In Needham, is dated June i, 1874. After the Church was incorporated In 1876 the surviving trustees and John Avery executed deeds to perfect the title In the Church. The first meeting of the corporation was on September 20, 1876, with Alexander Lynes as moderator. He was chosen president, Mark Lee secretary, and William Carter treasurer. The Church was built that year, and the building committee consisted of Alexander Lynes, William Carter, Mark Lee, Otis E. Bowen, Cyrus G. Upham, Andrew T. Bemis and John Lee. The land was paid for by January 4, 1876, and the cost of the Church with its furnishings was about $10,000. For nine years the Society had met In Highland Hall. From September 10, 1877 to March 26, 1882, nothing was recorded in the book used by the Methodists who had the earlier meeting-house, but in 1882 the records were resumed in that same book, and continued In It to 1892. A book Inscribed on the front cover "Records of Quarterly and Board Meetings of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Needham and Newton Lower Falls" commences with the records of the Quarterly Conference on April 16, 1867, and concludes with that of June 27, 1880; thus two books were In use during the years 1867-77.

The Methodists at the Lower Falls met for eleven weeks in the hall at the hotel, and then in another place, presumably Hoyden's Hall, where one or more conferences were held. In August, 1868, the Sunday School at the Lower Falls was reported as numbering thirty. The situation at this village appears to have been encouraging tlirough tlie year 1868, and then the records are silent as to the Lower Falls; probably because nearly all of tlie active Methodists lived elsewhere.

In 1867 Mark Lee was superintendent of the Sunday School at Highland^-ille, and two years later the school had a membership of one hundred and forty-two, with an average attendance of ninety, an increase of seventy-four in four years, as the school had been reported as numbering sixty-eight in 1865. In 1869 one hundred and twenty books were added to the school librarj^, and many have since been acquired. There were forty Church members in 1869. There were seventy members of this Church in 1876, and it had a Sunday School of eighteen teachers and one hundred scholars. Mark Lee was the superintendent. He was also the clerk and treasurer of the Church. The increase in the Church membership was small for fifteen years, but the average attendance at the morning service during the third quarter of 1890 was one hundred and tn-enty-nine, the number reaching one hundred and sixty-seven on one occasion. There were then about two hundred persons connected with the Sunday School, of whom fifty were under seven years of age. Early in 1900 the school attendance reached one hundred and sixty-two, and the Church began the new century* with about one hundred members, which number has since doubled. The twenty-fifth anniversary of the incorporation of this Church was obser\-ed on Sunday, October 6, 1901, and by a supper on the evening of the following Wednesday. In 1889 the anniversary of the dedication of the Church, which was in August, was selected as Children's Day. In 1896 a children's meeting was held every Saturday afternoon at 4 o'clock. Of the later superintendents of the Sunday School were: - Joseph B. Thorpe from 1893 to 1898, Horace A. Carter 1 898-1 903, Thomas F. Pickett 1903-1908, Preston Mitchell 1908- .

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also the minister at Newton Upper Falls, the services were held in the afternoon. In 1890 the Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor, which had been an important branch of the Church for some years, took charge of the Wednesday evening meetings, and as early as 1883 the Ladies' Circle was an important auxiliary. The latter is now known as the Ladies' Aid Society.

The Mudge Society of Christian Endeavor has at times numbered upward of seventy-five, including associates, and the Junior Society of Christian Endeavor, which was established December 22, 1901, has had more than fifty members. This Junior Society is for youths between the ages of seven and sixteen years, and has held its regular meetings on Sunday at 4 P.M. The older Society assumed the expense of providing the Church with electric lights in 1900. Preston Mitchell, the efficient secretary of the Church, was president of this Society for some years in the later nineties. The cause of Temperance has always had earnest advocates in this Church, and in 1893 there were two juvenile battalions of the Loyal Temperance Legion.

In 1902 a gymnasium costing about S400 was completed, chiefly through the liberality of William Carter, William Gorse and Joseph B. Thorpe, and soon a Young People's League was formed in order to avail of its privileges under proper direction. In 1906 the Boys' Fraternity, consisting of boys and young men from twelve to nineteen years of age, was supervised by the County Secretary of the Young Men's Christian Association, the minister taking charge of the Bible instruction, and of the military drill. In 1906 a Men's Club or League was formed, which soon numbered seventy. This League entertained the Cricket Club of the Young Men's Christian Association at a supper in 1907.

Music

During the pastorate of Mr. Johnston his son Ernest rendered important service as chorister. In 1902 Horace A. Carter organized a Sunday School orchestra, which was under the successful management of Mr. Bullock. In 1906 a Men's Glee Club was formed with Albert L. Perkins as its president, and in 1907 the Church purchased a fine Estey organ costing about $2100, of which sum $750 was contributed by Andrew Carnegie and $500 by William Carter. There is a Men's Chorus connected with the Church, but it is not the regular choir. This Church spends (1909) about $200 per year for its music.

Improvements Of Church And Building Of A Parsonage

In 1889 extensive repairs were made upon the Church, which was formally re-opened September i. In 1892 William Carter gave $200 toward improvements of the Church and its grounds. Including concreting the walks and beautifying the lawn. The next year the question of owning a parsonage was considered, with the result that in 1898 Mr. and Mrs. William Carter gave a lot of land on the northeast side of Hunnewell Street, and a parsonage costing $3000 was built there. William Gorse was the chairman of the building committee, and J. H. Preston of Boston was the architect. The same year, or early in 1899, William Carter at his own expense repaired the auditorium of the Church, Franklin Low contributing carpenter work, and rendering other services. In 1896 Mr. Carter had enlarged the singers' gallery, and in 1901 and in 1904, when considerable sums were expended on the Church edifice, he gave liberally. From Mr. Carter's election as steward on April 26, 1867, he has been a leader in this Church, serving as a trustee for forty years, often chairman of the board, and at one time superintendent of the Sunday School. When he bought the building now the Lower Mill of the William Carter Company, the old bell, once the property of George Ashwell, was still there, and this bell Mr. Carter gave to the Church. In 1897 the

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Church voted to permanently care for and decorate the graves of Joseph and Rachel Poyner, as the latter had bequeathed to the Church a portion of her small estate. In 1896 the Church received $600 from an unknown friend toward the extinguishment of the debt, which was paid in full soon after. In 1900 the Church received $500 under the will of Mrs. Dorcas R. Avery, who had long been a supporter of its worship. Mrs. Susan Burrill gave the first hundred dollars toward the cost of the Church building, and Mrs. Phebe Gorse, wife of William Gorse, raised the first shovel of earth when work was begun on the site. Mrs. Burrill was a benefactress of the Methodist denomination by her will.

Ministers Of The Methodist Episcopal Church Of Highlandville, Now Needham Heights

Rev. J. W. Coolidge 1867, '68; Rev. Stephen Cushing 1869, '70, '78, '79; Rev. Samuel Henry Noon 1871-3, a member of the class of 1868 in Wesleyan University, but did not graduate, Boston University School of Theology 1869, S.T.B.; Rev. Gilbert R. Bent 1874-6, Boston University School of Theology 1854; Rev. William Silverthorn 1877, Boston University School of Theology 1859; Rev. R. W. Harlow 1880, '81; Rev. Zachariah Atwell Mudge 1882-5, of the class of 1839 at Wesleyan University, but did not graduate; honorary A.M. there in 1854, author of many publications; Rev. John Peterson 1886-90, Wesleyan University 1857; Rev. William Wignall 1890-3; Rev. Benjamin J. Johnston 1893-7; Rev. Joseph Henry Thompson 1897- 1901, Wesleyan University 1878; Rev. Garrett Beekman 1901-6, Boston University School of Theology 1870; Rev. Norman Egbert Richardson 1906, '07, Lawrence University, Appleton, Wisconsin, 1902, B.A., Boston University School of Theology, S.T.B., was one year in the Graduate School, and in 1907 was made a Fellow of Boston University. He studied philosophy and theology a year and a half in the

Universities of Berlin and Marburg, Germany. He preached his farewell sermon in Needham August 31, 1907. Rev. Elam Edward Marsh 1907- , Williams College 1890, A.B., Boston University School of Theology 1893, S.T.B. He began his ministry in Needham the last Sunday in October, 1907.

Until 1 87 1 the School of Theology was at Concord, N. H., and was called the Methodist General Biblical Institute. The Methodist ministers in Needham have officiated at a great number of baptisms, weddings and funerals. The Rev. Mr. Beekman reported more than fifty weddings.

The number of trustees is eight, and there are now thirteen stewards. The number of the latter was five in 1867. In 1876 there were six trustees and eight stewards.

The Treasurers: Mr. Sumner apparently did not serve when chosen, as Mark Lee was the treasurer in 1867. It is possible that the former was treasurer of the trustees only. John A. Wing was treasurer in 1868, and was in office some years, Charles Thorpe in 1881-91, Charles W. Jones in 1891- . On June 15, 1892, the Church voted resolutions appreciative of Charles Thorpe, a highly respected citizen, who died May 2. He had served the Church not only as its treasurer, but as a trustee and as one of the stewards.

Of the men prominent in this Church, and some of them its officers for many years, are, or have been, Noah Perrin, Charles H. Flagg, Charles H. Dewing, Mark Lee, William Carter, William Gorse, Jonathan Avery, Charles and Joseph B. Thorpe, Charles Evens, John Thompson, Alexander Lynes,^ William Humberstone, George L. Kennedy, James

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Smith Beless, Horace A. Carter, Charles W. Jones, Oliver Crisp, Cyrus G. Upham, George Clews, Francis T. Probert, Preston Mitchell, and Frederick H. Horrocks. The women have been most loyal and devoted to this Church, but to mention individuals discriminatingly is a task to which the writer Is unequal. The Women's Foreign Missionary Society and the Standard Bearers have been well organized in this Church, and the subscriptions by the people to such charities as the relief of the sufferers by the San Francisco and Chelsea fires have been liberal, and there has been no neglect of good causes, many of them not denominational. The equipment of the different societies Is of the best, and If anything Is needed, as was a piano by the ladies In the nineties, the sons and daughters of the Church raise the money by personal sacrifices if necessary. In 1908 the name of the Church was changed to the Methodist Episcopal Church of Needham Heights. The Standard Bearers numbered forty-four in 1904, and Is one of Its newer organizations.

Orthodox Congregational Church In Grantville, Now The First Congregational Church In Wellesley Hills

On December 24, 1846, a meeting was held at the house of the Rev. Harvey Newcomb, at which were present, Mr. Newcomb, Reuel Ware, John Batchelder, Reuben Ware, Dexter Ware, FItzwIllIam Rogers and Charles Noyes. Mr. Newcomb was the moderator and Mr. Rogers was the clerk, and with John Batchelder they were appointed "to draw up articles of Confession of Faith & Covenant, and Ecclesiastical Principles & rules". At an adjourned meeting on the 28th a committee of six was chosen to arrange for dismission from the Church In the West Precinct, and they adjourned to January 7, 1847, but no meeting was held on the 7th. A day of "Fasting and Prayer" was observed at the house of Mr. Newcomb on January 21, the morning being set aside for private devotions, and the afternoon and evening for meetings. On this day the Confession of Faith, the Covenant and the rules were adopted, and the Church named the Orthodox Congregational Church In Grantville. The following were dismissed from the West Church to form the new one: - William H. Adams, Mary A. Adams, Hannah D. Pettlnglll, H. Elizabeth Pettlnglll, John Batchelder, Rebecca S. Batchelder, Dexter Ware, Mary C. Ware, Rebecca A. Ware, Mary Jane DIx, George Smith, Eunice Smith, Charles Noyes, Sarah B. Noyes, Abigail Smith, Reuben Ware, Lydia P. Ware, Louisa M. Ware, FItzwilllam Rogers, Mary C. Rogers, Reuel Ware, Hannah Ware, A. Elizabeth Ware, L. Emellne Ware, R. Willard Ware, Susan Winship, Harvey Newcomb and Alithea A. Newcomb, twenty-eight in all. This list is dated December 14, 1846, and with the addition of the names of Silas G. Williams and Mary Williams, who were received from the First Church in Newton on January 24, 1847, includes the thirty original members of this Church. A Council was held at the houce of the Rev. Mr. Adams on January 27, with the Rev. Lyman Gilbert of West Newton as moderator, and the Rev. Samuel Hunt of Natick as the scribe, but the majority of the delegates from the nine Churches represented decided that it was unwise to organize a Church then.

On February 3, 1847, those desiring a Church in Grantville submitted to the West Church a lengthy argument. In three divisions, showing why the decision of the Council should not be considered as conclusive, and asking for another Council, which was held at Mr. Adams's on February 24, with the Rev. Jacob Ide, D.D., of West Medway, as moderator, and the Rev. Mr. Hunt as the scribe. This Council reversed the finding of the previous one, and organized the Church that afternoon. The services were as follows: Prayer by the Rev. Sewell Harding of East Medway, Sermon by the Rev. Joseph Haven, Jr., of Brookllne, from ist. of Timothy, 3d. C. and 15th. v.," Prayer by the Rev. Mr. Hunt, Recognition by the Rev. Dr. Ide, and the Right Hand of

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Fellowship by the Rev. Lyman Gilbert. Six Churches were represented in this Council. At a meeting of the Church March 5, with Mr. Newcomb as moderator, it was voted to obtain a record book, and that the clerk, Mr. Rogers, should procure a Communion Service for the next Sabbath. At an adjourned meeting, October 6, the Rev. Mr. Adams and the deacons were directed to extend to Mr. Newcomb the call which the Church had voted to give him on September 23, and which he accepted on November 15.^ He was installed on December 9, when ten Churches were represented, and the Rev. Dr. Ide and the Rev. Mr. Hunt again served as moderator and scribe respectively. Prayer was offered by Dr. Ide, the Invocation and Reading of the Scriptures was by the Rev. Andrew Bigelow, Introductory Prayer by the Rev. John W. Allen of Wayland, Sermon by the Rev. Nehemiah Adams, D.D., of Essex Street Church, Boston, Installing Prayer by the Rev. Lyman Gilbert, Charge by Dr. Ide, Right Hand of Fellowship by the Rev. Edward Dowse of "Sherburne," Address to the People by the Rev. Joseph Haven, Jr., Concluding Prayer by the Rev. Mr. Hunt, and the Benediction by the Pastor. On January 13, 1848, Silas Williams and the deacons were chosen a Committee on "Religious Instruction", which became one of the regular annual committees, as was the "Committee of Enquiry and Discipline". On March 2, 1848, a "Fast" was observed.

The house which Mr. Newcomb built in 1848, and where he lived, is now (191 1) the home of Richard Cunningham. At a meeting of the Church on March 16 the pastor was the moderator, as usual, and it was voted to make application to the Middlesex South Conference. The Rev. Mr. Newcomb, the Rev. Mr. Adams and Deacon Batchelder were appointed to superintend the printing of the Confession of Faith and the Covenant. At this time the Communion was celebrated once in two months. In a letter dated October 22, 1849, the Rev. Mr. Newcomb asked for a Council, as there appeared to be some dissatisfaction, although the Church then voted by a large majority that they were desirous that he should remain with them. The Council met November 8, five Churches being represented, and their decision was that Mr. Newcomb had better "seek another field of usefulness", which he did, and on June 20,

1850, the Rev. William Barrows was called by the Church. On July I Deacon Batchelder, Silas Williams and Elbridge Gardner were chosen a committee to join with the Parish Committee in extending the call to Mr. Barrows, who accepted on July 12, and on August 22 the Council met, with seven Churches represented, and two additional ministers present. The Rev. Constantine Blodgett of Pawtucket was the moderator, and the Rev. Mr. Newcomb was the scribe. The sermon was preached by the Rev. George Richards of the Central Church in Boston. On March 13,